In the first unit, students will learn to think critically about the role of social media in contemporary life.
Students will access a variety of sources of information, including opposing perspectives on social media, historical perspectives in literature, and contemporary theoretical approaches to social media.
The primary goal of this unit is to get students thinking critically about their digital footprints, social media interactions, and how those digital worlds are in conversation with face-to-face interactions.
Readings
Core Texts
- E.M. Forster, “The Machine Stops” (1909)
- Clive Thompson, “Brave New World of Digital Intimacy” (2008)
- Simon Sinek, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” (2009)
- Douglas Rushkoff, “Time: Do Not Always Be On,” “Place: Live in Person,” from Program or Be Programmed (2010)
- Ze Frank, “Web Playroom” (2010)
- David Gauntlett, “Conclusion,” from Making Is Connecting (2011)
- danah boyd, “Participating in the Always-On Lifestyle,” from The Social Media Reader (2012)
- Jill Walker Rettberg, “Serial Selfies,” from Seeing Ourselves Through Technology (2014)
- Brandon Stanton, “On How to Approach Strangers in the Street” (2014)
- Vinson Cunningham, “Humans of New York and the Consumption of Others” (2015)
- Sherry Turkle, “Stop Googling. Let’s Talk” (2015)
Supplementary Texts
- Susan Cox, “Facebook Has Totally Reinvented Human Identity: Why It’s Even Worse Than You Think” (2014)
- Pew Research Center, “Social Media Usage: 2005-2015” (2015)
- Jason Farman, “The Forgotten Kaleidoscope Craze in Victorian England” (2015)
- Jenny Davis, “Our Devices Are Not Turning Us Into Unfeeling Robots” (2015)
Blog 1
Directions: Choose one of the following prompts to respond to in 500-600 words. Include at least one (1) credited image in your post. Follow Blogging Guidelines.
Submission: 1) Post your blog on Blackboard.
Social Media Identities
- Action: Google yourself and review your social media profiles. Choose 3 social media profiles and/or Google results to examine more closely.
- Reflection: Introduce us to your digital self: who are you on social media? who do you want to be? What did you find about yourself online? While some of you will have more material to work with and analyze, all of you can begin building a plan for how you want to be perceived on social media.
- Connect your conclusions meaningfully to at least one of the above readings: Rettberg, Rushkoff, or boyd.
Project: Social Media Storytelling
Important Dates
- Feb xx: Draft due for peer review
- Feb xx: Groups 1-4 present
- Feb xx: Groups 5-8 present
Students work in groups of three to design an interactive project that promotes a positive sense of community and actively engages in course concepts through community outreach. The project is collaborative, incorporating not only the ideas and contributions of the group members, but also of campus strangers in the local community.
The project is multimodal, incorporating written, oral, and visual modes of communication, with options to include digital technology and social media. The goal of this social learning project is to use technology and face-to-face interaction to facilitate social connections on residential campuses.
In groups of three, design a project built around 20 stories and contributions of campus strangers that builds upon a course concept. Present the story of your project to the class in the form of a digital or creative artifact.
Step 1: Form Groups and Assign Roles
Roles | Note that roles and responsibilities often shift and rotate based on the needs of the project and the talents of the group members |
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Project Leader | This person will focus on developing the project's vision--what is the project’s purpose and what is its “why”? This person is also responsible for scheduling meetings, keeping the group on task, delegating responsibilities, and resolving conflicts. |
Technology Specialist | This person will focus on matching the best communication modalities and technologies to express the group's vision. This person is also responsible for troubleshooting technology issues, reserving equipment, and seeking out additional assistance when needed. |
Communications Expert | This person will focus on promoting positive social contact with campus strangers in carrying out the group's mission. This person is also responsible for facilitating interaction with campus strangers, developing interview questions and follow-up questions, and creating a comfortable environment for interviewees. |
Step 2: Design Your Project
Rhetorical Awareness | Design a project that engages with the campus community and one course concept. |
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Purpose | What kinds of contributions do you want to collect and what story do you want to tell? |
Audience | Why will campus strangers want to participate in your project? how will your project contribute to course concepts and your classmates’ learning? |
Product | What modalities and technologies will you use to present your work to the class? |
Step 3: Gather Contributions
Process | Make a plan for where, when, and how your group will approach campus strangers to solicit contributions and stories. While Terrell Mall between classes might seem like a prime time, most people are too busy rushing between classes and meetings to stop. Your first attempts will likely fail, so make a plan, test it, and try again. Some questions to consider as you make your plans. |
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Equipment | Consider all the elements of the interview that you wish to record (visual appearance, voice, body language, creative artifacts, personal information, story details). How will you capture these elements, and which elements are most important to displaying your final work creatively, consistently, and clearly? |
Questions | “Hey, will you help us with our class project?” Unless you’re talking to your parent, that question rarely works as an ice-breaker. Before you strike out in the wild, imagine how you might uncover gems hidden within the most reluctant participants. Start with broad, friendly questions. Then, when someone responds that their favorite food is chocolate, be prepared to ask follow-up questions: “tell me about a time when chocolate made everything better.” Have multiple back-up plans. |
Strike a pose. Or rather, encourage your participants to strike a pose and engage with you.
While Terrell Mall between classes might seem like a prime time, most people are too busy rushing between classes and meetings to stop.
Step 4: Submit a Draft for Peer Review
Peer Review | After gathering a few contributions, present your project idea, progress, and challenges to your class. Solicit feedback from your peers and actively comment on peer projects. When reviewing, consider the following questions. |
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Purpose | Can I identity the purpose of this project? What is the driving force or emotion? |
Audience | Are the individual contributions interesting? What else do I want to know about them? |
Format | Does the project have continuity in form? How might the contributions be made more consistent? More vibrant? |
Step 5: Present the Story of Your Project
Presentation | Your project is not simply a final artifact. Rather, it is a story that contains varied characters and many plot points. All group members will play an important role in communicating the presentation to the class. These are the key components of your presentation. |
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The Story of Your Project | Who are the people (or characters) that defined your project? Who are the characters that changed its course? Describe the origin of the project and how it developed: identify conflicts, climaxes, and rising action. How does your project end, and how have you been transformed by this narrative journey? |
Course Concepts | How is your project connected to the course concepts we have explored? Identify specific class readings, discussions, or activities that connect to your project. How does your project build upon these class materials? |
Multimodal Artifact | The presentation will include a well-developed digital or creative artifact, such as a website, video, or digital poster, to present the story of your project to the class and develop your discussion of course concepts. |
Learning Goals
Objectives & Outcomes
- Demonstrate rhetorical awareness of audience and purpose in appeals for community participation.
- Demonstrate ability to design and implement a large-scale creative project.
- Develop process-oriented skills in attention to (re)vision and self-documentation.
- Demonstrate understanding of the historical impact of technology as a medium of communication.
- Develop methods for working effectively and creatively with co-collaborators.
Rubric
Concerns (Areas that Need Work) | Criteria (Standards for This Performance) | Advanced (Evidence of Exceeding Standards) |
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Rhetorical Awareness Demonstrate rhetorical awareness in your choice of topic and your process for collecting contributions, evidenced by quantity and quality of contributions (minimum 20). | ||
Process and Revision Demonstrate attention to process and revision by documenting your creative, social, and technical process, with evidence of revision in your documentation of what works and doesn't work | ||
Technology Demonstrate awareness of how to choose a suitable technology for your project and how to make the most of that technology in social interactions | ||
Social Media Demonstrate understanding of the historical and present impact of social media as a medium of communication, as evidenced by connections made to course readings and concepts | ||
Teamwork Demonstrate methods for working effectively and creatively with co-collaborators, as evidenced by group synergy and project storytelling |