COM 216: Digital Media & Information in Society
Instructor Contact Information
Professor Steve Schneider
e: steve@sunypoly.edu
o: Donovan Hall 2143B
c: 315.520.8861
Course Meetings
- Section 01H: Mondays, Wednesdays 9:20am - 10:30am. Kunsela A-133
- Section 02H: Mondays, Wednesdays 10:40am - 11:50am. Kunsela A-133
Course Description
An introduction to the impact of mass and digital media on American society. Through study of communication theory and a comparison of broadcast to digital media, and creation of original digital media projects, students will explore the relevance of the emerging information technologies within various disciplines and their own lives. Meets General Education Humanities requirement.
Additional contact information for student issues or grievances about the instructor
- Department Chair: Professor Ryan Lizardi (lizardr@sunypoly.edu)
- College of Arts & Sciences Dean: Dean Carlie Phipps (phippsc@sunypoly.edu)
Goals, Objectives and Outcomes
Learning Goals
Broad statements describing overall desired learning outcomes
Understand and Analyze (Digital) Media and Information
- Comprehend the history, forms, and impacts of (digital) media and information
- Evaluate the relationship between people, information and technology in historical context
- Apply theoretical frameworks and scholarly traditions in communications and media studies to explorations about information and technology.
Develop and Apply Exploration and Research Skills
- Use ChatGPT as a collaborative tool to generate ideas, perform research, and refine writing.
- Use digital libraries to identify, review, and apply knowledge from relevant scholarly sources.
- Engage with Wikipedia, understanding the rules, guidelines, and ethics of contributing to Wikipedia, and utilizing Wikipedia for research, writing, communication, and learning citation skills.
Engage in Collaborative Knowledge Creation
- Create and share knowledge about the future of digital information on Wikipedia.
- Create and share collaborative conversations applying theoretical frameworks to course topics.
- Share reflections on the advantages, limitations, and ethical considerations of using AI like ChatGPT and digital libraries in research.
- Share reflections on the impact of engagement with public knowledge platforms like Wikipedia in digital media and society.
Learning Objectives
Specific statements outlining what learners should achieve
Apply Theoretical Frameworks
- Use relevant theoretical frameworks to explore course topics
Contribute to Wikipedia
- Identify and/or select Wikipedia articles related to the themes of the course and assess their current quality
- Create or enhance these articles according to Wikipedia's editorial standards
Use language models to explore topics
- Collaborate with ChatGPT to generate exploratory conversations on class topics
- Summarize, reflect on and share these collaborations
Use ChatGPT and Digital Libraries for Research
- Employ AI tools like ChatGPT for idea generation, research, and refining writing
- Utilize digital libraries tools effectively to identify and review resources.
Student Outcomes
Measurable results reflecting learnerns knowledge or skills acquired
Evidence of applying theoretical frameworks
- Portfolio of journal entries applying theoretical frameworks to class topics and reflecting on the experience of collaborating with a language model.
Evidence of enhancing Wikipedia content
- Provide evidence by completing project of enhancing Wikipedia content, demonstrating ability to assess quality and improve articles according to Wikipedia's editorial standards.
Evidence of proficiency in using ChatGPT for ideation and exploration
- Share collaborative conversations with ChatGPT about course topics.
Evidence of understanding Wikipedia's community, guidelines, and citation practices
- Provide evidence, through Wikiedu assignments, of understanding of Wikipedia's structure, dynamics, rules, ethical guidelines, and citation practices.
Learning Activities and Grading Scheme
Philosophy
- This class is designed to allow flexibility for students to select learning activities they believe will best allow them to accomplish the learning objectives.
- There are a limited set of learning activities that all students must complete in order to pass the class with a grade of C- or better.
- Completing additional learning activities provide a path to earn grades ranging from a C to an A+.
- Each type of learning activity earns students a specified number of points when completed.
- All learning activities completed by students receive full credit upon submission.
- All assignments are due on a specified date. Assignments submitted on or before the due date receive an on-time point. Assignments submitted late do not receive this point. Students are required to certify assignments that are submitted on-time.
Learning Activities
| Activity | Description |
|---|---|
| Wikipedia Assignment | Wikipedia assignments are individually described on the class COM 216 Wikiedu page. To earn credit for Wikipedia assignments, complete the assignment and the appropriate quiz in D2L Brightspace. |
| In-class Discussion | To earn credit for attending an in-class discussion, you must attend the class and complete the appropriate "quiz" in D2L Brightspace after the class has concluded. In-class discussions are scheduled most Mondays (and a few Wednesdays). Each class discussion will focus on a specific topic. The topic will be addressed in a Wikiversity page. The Wikiversity page will identify some sub-themes and a few Wikipedia articles to consult. |
| Outside-class conversation with the professor | To earn credit for scheduling and attending an outside-class conversation with the professor, you must schedule a meeting via the professor's calendar page, attend the meeting, and complete the appropriate "quiz" in D2L Brightspace after the meeting. |
| Discussion Extension Assignment | Each class discussion will focus on a specific topic. The topic will be addressed in a Wikiversity page. The Wikiversity page will identify some sub-themes, a few Wikipedia articles to consult. To extend the class discussion,
|
| In-class Workshop | To earn credit for attending an in-class workshop, you must attend the workshop and complete the appropriate "quiz" in D2L Brightspace after the workshop has concluded. In-class Workshops are scheduled most Wednesdays. Each class workshop will focus on a specific skill or platform. The workshop will be summarized in a Wikiversity page, which will contain links for further information. |
| In-class Porfolio Presentation | To earn credit for attending an in-class portfolio presentation, you must attend the presentations and complete the appropriate "quiz" in D2L Brightspace after the class has concluded. Presentations are scheduled the last week of the semester. |
| Portfolio Assignment | The portfolio assignment requires that you review your Wikiversity journal posts, and assemble them into a comprehensive and reflective document that explores your experiences with ChatGPT creating the discussion extension assignments and the Wikipedia assignments that required such collaboration. Post a link to your portfolio in your journal and in the appropriate D2L Brightspace quiz. |
| Project Assignment | The project assignment requires that review your Wikipedia assignments, with a focus on the final article you completed, and create a document that comprehensively reviews your work, and provides reflective comments on your experiences writing in Wikipedia. Post a link to your document in your journal and in the appropriate D2L Brightspace quiz. |
Implementation
The table below identifies the types of learning activities and the points earned for completion of each activity of that type.
| Activity Name | Activity | Number of activities | Points earned for each completed activity | Minimum to be completed | Maximum that may be completed |
| Wikipedia Assignment | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | 17 | 4 | 4 | 17 |
| In-class Discussion | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | 16 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| Outside-class conversation with the professor | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | 16 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Discussion Extension Assignment | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | 11 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
| In-class Workshop | Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance | 9 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| In-class Porfolio Presentation | Attend scheduled class session in which students present portfolios | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Portfolio Assignment | Create portfolio and post a link to it on appropriate Wikiversity pages | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| Project Assignment | Complete project assignment and a link to it on appropriate Wikiversity pages | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| Activity | Minimum Activities | Minimum Points Earned |
|---|---|---|
| Discussion Extension Assignment | 4 | 16 |
| Wikipedia Assignment | 4 | 16 |
| Portfolio Assignment | 1 | 12 |
| Project Assignment | 1 | 12 |
| Outside-class conversation with the professor | 2 | 4 |
| In-class Discussion | 2 | 2 |
| In-class Workshop | 2 | 2 |
| In-class Porfolio Presentation | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 17 | 65 |
| Activity | Maximum Activities | Maximum Points Earned |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia Assignments | 17 | 68 |
| Discussion Extension Assignments | 11 | 44 |
| In-class Discussions | 16 | 16 |
| Portfolio Assignments | 1 | 12 |
| Project Assignments | 1 | 12 |
| In-class Workshops | 9 | 9 |
| Outside-class conversation with the professors | 4 | 8 |
| In-class Porfolio Presentations | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 61 | 171 |
| Completed Minimum Activities | Earned Points | Grade |
| Yes | Fewer than 65 | F |
| No | 65 or more | D |
| Yes | 65-75 | C- |
| Yes | 76-86 | C |
| Yes | 87-97 | C+ |
| Yes | 98-108 | B- |
| Yes | 109-119 | B |
| Yes | 120-130 | B+ |
| Yes | 131-141 | A- |
| Yes | 142-152 | A |
| Yes | 153 or more | A+ |
Academic Integrity
- The SUNY Poly Academic Integrity policy (https://www.sunypoly.edu/sites/default/files/studentLife/Student-Handbook.pdf, pp. 47-52) provides some guidance for our course with respect to academic integrity.
- Article III - Summary of Academic Integrity Policy states that "a student's name or other unique identifier on any course exercises ... is taken as assurance that the exercise is the product of the student's own thoughts ... except as indicated by quotation marks, citations, references and footnotes." In our assignments, evidence of collaboration with ChatGPT by linking to the ChatGPT conversation is required.
- Article IV - Prohibited Behavior states that plagiarism is "Any piece of work that has been presented as the individual creation of the student is assumed to involve no assistance from any other person." In our assignments, this will extent to assistance from a language model, and thus work that has been collaboratively produced with a language model must include a link to the ChatGPT conversaqtion.
- Article IV - Prohibited Behavior - Section 7 provides examples of other prohibited behavior. In our class, an additional prohibited behavior is falsely certifying attendance in a class, falsely certifying on-time submission of an assignment, or falsely certifying submission of an assignment.
- Article V - Adjudication of Charges states that "The faculty member must make a judgement of whether the student’s action is an error of learning, an error of judgement, or an action of willful intention. In the event of errors of learning or judgement, the faculty member must follow the guidelines for the assignments or course, wherein the corrective actions and/or pedagogical responses must be stated for such errors. In the event of the latter two, the faculty member shall assess an appropriate penalty."
- To that end, a student making an initial false certification will be considered to have committed an error of judgement. Second false certifications will be considered actions of willful intention, and will receive a penalty of 12 points deducted from their semester grade. Additional acts of false certification will be considered actions of willful intention, and will receive a penalty of 117 points deducted from their semester grade (resulting, by definition, in an F grade).
- Upon discovery of any act of false certification, the professor will, within two weeks, communicate the nature of the intended penalty to the student by official University email, create a written record of the incident, including the evidence, the assessed penalty and whether the reason why the incident is believed to be an error in judgment worthy of penalty or willful misconduct, and report the to the Provost of the alleged offense and after notification has been made to the student.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
- In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, SUNY Polytechnic Institute is committed to ensuring comprehensive educational access and accommodations for all registered students seeking access to meet course requirements and fully participate in programs and activities.
- Students with documented disabilities or medical conditions are encouraged to request these services by registering with the Office of Student Accessibility Services.
- Please request accommodations early in the semester, or as soon as you become registered with the Office of Student Accessibility Services, so that we have adequate time to arrange your approved academic accommodation/s.
- Once Accessibility Services creates your accommodation plan, it is your responsibility to provide me a copy of the accommodation plan. If you experience any access barriers in this course, such as with printed content, graphics, online materials, etc., reach out to me or Accessibility Services right away.
For information related to these services or to schedule an appointment, please contact the Office of Student Accessibility Services using the information provided below.
Office of Student Accessibility Services
e: SAS@sunypoly.edu
p: 315.792.7170
o: Cayan Library L113
Schedule of Learning Activities, By Week
Week 1
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 28 Aug | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Hello, World |
| Mon 28 Aug | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Tue 29 Aug | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Hello, World |
| Wed 30 Aug | Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance | In-class Workshop | Introduction to Brightspace, Wikipedia & Wikiversity |
| Wed 30 Aug | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Sign up for the course in Wikipedia |
| Fri 01 Sep | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Start a class journal on Wikiversity |
| Fri 01 Sep | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Get started on Wikipedia and Wikiversity |
Week 2
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 04 Sep | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Mon 04 Sep | Regularly scheduled vacation day | Vacation | Labor Day |
| Wed 06 Sep | Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance | In-class Workshop | Wikiversity and Wikipedia Pages and Magic Words |
| Fri 08 Sep | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Evaluate Wikipedia article |
| Fri 08 Sep | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Make a small edit |
| Fri 08 Sep | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Copyedit an article |
Week 3
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 11 Sep | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Media and Information Ages |
| Mon 11 Sep | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Tue 12 Sep | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Media and Information Ages |
| Wed 13 Sep | Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance | In-class Workshop | Exploring Natural Language Models: Asking Questions About ChatGPT |
| Fri 15 Sep | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Collaborate with ChatGPT in a conversation about possible topics |
Week 4
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 18 Sep | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Orality |
| Mon 18 Sep | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Tue 19 Sep | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Orality |
| Wed 20 Sep | Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance | In-class Workshop | Starting conversations about possible topics for wikipedia articles |
| Fri 22 Sep | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Choose possible topics |
Week 5
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 25 Sep | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Early Literacy and the Manuscript Age |
| Mon 25 Sep | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Tue 26 Sep | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Early Literacy and the Manuscript Age |
| Tue 26 Sep | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Later Literacy and the Age of Printing |
| Wed 27 Sep | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Later Literacy and the Age of Printing |
| Fri 29 Sep | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Collaborate with ChatGPT in a conversation about a specific topic |
Week 6
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 02 Oct | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Telegraphic and Telephonic |
| Mon 02 Oct | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Tue 03 Oct | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Telegraphic and Telephonic |
| Wed 04 Oct | Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance | In-class Workshop | Quotes, citations and references |
| Fri 06 Oct | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Finalize your topic and find sources |
Week 7
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 09 Oct | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Mon 09 Oct | Regularly scheduled vacation day | Vacation | Mid-semester break |
| Wed 11 Oct | Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance | In-class Workshop | Editing, paragraph types and images in Mediawiki |
| Fri 13 Oct | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Start drafting contributions |
Week 8
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 16 Oct | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Broadcasting |
| Mon 16 Oct | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Tue 17 Oct | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Broadcasting |
| Tue 17 Oct | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Pre-Web |
| Wed 18 Oct | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Pre-Web |
| Fri 20 Oct | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Continue improving your article |
Week 9
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 23 Oct | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Participatory Web |
| Mon 23 Oct | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Tue 24 Oct | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Participatory Web |
| Wed 25 Oct | Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance | In-class Workshop | Exploring Natural Language Models |
Week 10
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 30 Oct | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Social Web |
| Mon 30 Oct | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Tue 31 Oct | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Social Web |
| Wed 01 Nov | Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance | In-class Workshop | Moving work to Wikipedia and peer reviewing |
| Fri 03 Nov | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Peer review two articles |
Week 11
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 06 Nov | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Advanced AI Models and the Semantic Web |
| Mon 06 Nov | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Tue 07 Nov | Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion | Discussion Extension Assignment | Advanced AI Models and the Semantic Web |
| Wed 08 Nov | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Web 4.0 |
| Wed 08 Nov | Complete project assignment and a link to it on appropriate Wikiversity pages | Project Assignment | Project Due |
| Fri 10 Nov | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Respond to your peer review |
Week 12
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 13 Nov | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Post-cybernetic: Human-Machine Integration |
| Mon 13 Nov | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Wed 15 Nov | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Post Cybernetic (Generalized Artificial Intelligence |
| Fri 17 Nov | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Begin moving your work to Wikipedia |
Week 13
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 20 Nov | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Post-cybernetic: The Singularity |
| Mon 20 Nov | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Fri 24 Nov | Regularly scheduled vacation day | Vacation | Thanksgiving |
Week 14
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 27 Nov | Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance | In-class Discussion | Reprise: Media and Information Ages |
| Mon 27 Nov | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Wed 29 Nov | Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance | In-class Workshop | Exploring Natural Language Models |
| Fri 01 Dec | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Polish your work |
Week 15
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 04 Dec | Attend scheduled class session in which students present portfolios | In-class Porfolio Presentation | Student Showcase |
| Mon 04 Dec | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Wed 06 Dec | Attend scheduled class session in which students present portfolios | In-class Porfolio Presentation | Student Showcase |
| Fri 08 Dec | Complete the Wikepedia assignment | Wikipedia Assignment | Final article |
Week 16
| Date | What to do | Activity Type | Activity Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 11 Dec | Schedule and attend a conversation with the professor | Outside-class conversation with the professor | Conversation with the professor |
| Mon 11 Dec | Create portfolio and post a link to it on appropriate Wikiversity pages | Portfolio Assignment | Porfolio Due |