Computer Mediated Communication

Speech 15

In just the last 50 years, the computer has gone from being a sophisticated calculator and filing cabinet used primarily by an esoteric technical cadre of programmers to a communication tool as common to most of us as a telephone. Even that stalwart of communication since Alexander Graham Bell invented it has merged with the internet so much that it is hard to see where telephony ends and the computer begins. 

In this class you will learn more about these communication technologies, about how they work, but also about how they are impacting our lives and our relationships with others. We will be going on cyber “field trips” and exploring ways of communicating online that you might not have been aware of previously. We will be discussing the thorny issues of online relationship and online collaboration. 

I hope this will be an interesting and fun course for you all. 

Course Outcomes

By the end of this course you should be able to:

A.	Discuss the concept of hyperpersonal communication in conjunction with online relationship formation
B.	Analyze online interactions 
C.	Effectively use the following types of web-based communication technologies to communicate on an interpersonal basis:
1.	Blog
2.	Social network site
3.	Email Discussion Group
4.	Discussion board
D.	Collaborate with others remotely to complete a group project
E.	Discuss the impact that interactive Web 2.0 has made on the social structure of modern culture
F.	Discuss cultural, gender and generational differences in utilization of computer-mediated communication
G.	Analyze the personal impact of at least one technology on the student's personal relationships
H.	Examine privacy and safety issues relevant to computer-mediated communication
I.	Discuss differences and similarities between computer-mediated communication and other forms of interpersonal interaction. 
J.	Discuss relevant legal and ethical concerns related to computer-mediated communication

Books and Equipment

There is no required textbook for this course. We will be using journal articles for our reading. I will post in the course documents section a guide to reading journal articles. If you have not yet encountered scholarly writing in your academic career, you may find the format and writing style intimidating. However, by approaching them properly, you should have no trouble. 

Since we will be doing a lot of “hands-on” work online you will need certain equipment:

•	A computer with Windows XP or above or any recent Mac version.
An internet connection or access to one
A sound card and either speakers or headphones
A headset with microphone (or built in microphone on your computer)
A word processor which can save documents in MS-Word (doc), Rich Text (rtf) or Plain Text (txt) formats
Internet Explorer or Firefox Browser with a current Java plugin
A media player which can handle .wav, .mp3, wmv, or wma formats. Windows media player which comes with Windows will handle these. 

Some equipment and software that might be helpful but not required include:

•	A webcam
•	SeaMonkey (A free download from http://www.seamonkey-project.org/)
Tweetdeck (A free download from http://www.tweetdeck.com/)

Just a note about cost here. Virtually everything listed above is free or is already installed on your computer. However, you might need to purchase the headset with microphone if you don't have one. That shouldn't cost much, but remember, you are not buying a textbook. Most texts cost 70-100 dollars today. So, that gives you some money to spend on your computer. 

Assignments

Virtual Field Trips

Blog Tour – 25

Chat Room with Class – 25
Outside Chat Room – 25
Discussion Board (outside of class) – 25
Email Discussion Group – 25

Application Assignments

Blog – 50
Facebook – 50
Twitter – 50
Podcast OR YouTube – 50

Collaboration Assignment

Website Creation – 100

Reviews – 100 

Discussion Board - 150 

Pew Reports - 75

Research Paper - 100

Details on each of these assignments will be posted under the “assignments” link on BlackBoard

Grading Scale

850 – 765 = A
764 – 680 = B
679 – 595 = C
594 – 510 = D
Under 510 = F

Turning in Assignments

Each assignment has a separate link in the “assignments” section of BlackBoard. You will find folders for each type of assignment with instructions for that assignment. Feel free to email me with any questions about the assignments. 

Important Dates

Portfolio Due Date – April 25

On this day all of the virtual field trip, Pew Internet reports, reviews and the research paper are due. 

Application Due Dates

Facebook/Twitter

You will need to post one status update per day Monday-Friday between February 28 and April 15 You can post more if you wish. You can use your own account or create one specifically for this class. So that we can keep track of the posts, you will need to “friend” the class Facebook account at http://www.facebook.com/cmcclass  and “follow” the class Twitter feed at http://www.twitter.com/cmclass . I know those are spelled differently. I had to work with what usernames were available. 

Blog Updates

You will need to post one blog post of at least 100 words each week between February 28 and April 15. You will need to post the URL (web address) for your blog in the appropriate forum on the discussion board by October 1. 

Podcast/YouTube

You will need to post either three podcasts or one YouTube Video by April 25. You will also have to post the URL in the appropriate discussion board forum. 

Collaboration Assignment

Due Date: February 25 Each member of your group will need to post the URL using the link made available in Assignments. 

Getting In Touch

I try to be available to students.  Here are the basic contact options.

Email

This is your best option most of the time.  I check email several times a day and try to answer student email as quickly as possible.  You can usually expect a 24 hour or less turn around. Please email me at webservant2003@yahoo.com. This is much better than the school email address since I can set up filters on this account. 

To expedite matters, I would like you to include the word student in the subject line of your email.  For instance, “Student Question about the Informative Speech.”  I have my email program set up to send all student email to a special file which I check first.  Also, make the subject line specific.  Instead of a subject line like “Your student,” use “Student needs help with research paper.”  

If you are emailing me through the Blackboard system, be sure your profile includes an email address.  If it doesn’t, I can’t respond.  Also, be sure you include your name in your email if you expect me to check on something related to your grade or assignments.  Email addresses are not always helpful.  Like my email address of webservant2003@yahoo.com . If I didn’t sign my name you wouldn’t know who I am. It is also helpful to give me the section number since I have several online or web assisted classes. 

Also, while I am willing to answer any question you might have, to provide the maximum time for me to answer questions, I ask that you help out by checking the syllabus thoroughly and reading assignment descriptions and reading the announcements before emailing with a question that might have been addressed there. It is annoying to answer questions which had already been addressed in one of those venues. 

One of the first things you should do is set up your email address on Blackboard.  You should do that this week. Here’s how:

1.	Click on Tools
2.	Click on Personal Information
3.	Click on Edit Personal Information
4.	Enter your email address in the proper box
5.	Scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Submit.”

Instant Messaging

You can instant message me online using Yahoo! Messenger.  My ID is webservant2003 .  If I am online, I will respond.  However, please identify yourself as a student.  If I’m busy, I may ignore people who just want to chat, but I don’t ignore my students.  

Virtual Office Hours

1.	I will be keeping online office hours this term.  I will be available online Tuesday evenings 8-9.  You can contact me by Yahoo! Messenger, AIM, or MSN Messenger during those hours. 

On Campus Office Hours

My regular office hours are Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 4:30-5:30 (Note: Sometimes, I do my office hour in the library. If you don't find me in my office check the periodicals room. The chairs are a bit better on my back there. If you need to discuss something confidential, we can go back to my office or use one of the library conference rooms. I am also available at other times. Email me for an appointment. 

Tegrity Tutorials

I will be posting a series of lectures and tutorials on Tegrity. This is a video lecture service. You will find the link to the lectures under the link “Tegrity Classes.” I will usually post an announcement when I add a new one. These fall into two categories: Tutorials and Lectures

Tutorials will guide you through the process of setting up and using various types of online communication software or services. You will be able to look over my shoulder as I set up various types of services. 

Lectures will address various issues related to computer mediated communication. After watching/listening to these lectures, we will discuss them in forums devoted to those issues. 

How the Class Works

If this is your first time taking an online class, I have posted a document for first time online students in the course documents called A STUDENT GUIDE TO ONLINE EDUCATON.

This course will be very hands on in nature. This works largely on an experiential model. You will be engaged in various online communication activities.

There are six types of learning experiences in which you will participate

Discussion Board

 Sometimes people feel that they will be studying “all alone” in an online class. That won't be the case in this class. We will engage in a variety of group  activities. One of the most important of these is participation in a discussion board. 

Each week you will read and discuss journal articles related to computer mediated communication. Each one addresses a concern in the field. You will post a response to each article and responses to at least two other student responses. It is important that you not just do the bare minimum with these. Students who enjoy online classes most seem to be the ones who engage with their fellow students most. 

You can start now, by posting an introduction. Just log in to Blackboard and click on Discussion Board. Then click on Introductions and then on Add thread. Let's get acquainted. 

Virtual “Field Trips

You will be asked to engage in various online communication activities outside of the Blackboard environment. You will take part in a blog tour, visit places in second life, visit chat rooms, take part in an email discussion group, and participate in a discussion board other than the one for this class. You will write short 200-300 word essays about these experiences.

Reviews

You will be visiting a lot of online communication venues, reading about social networking, and generally poking around. You will be asked to write reviews of websites, blogs, ezines, magazines, books and software. A list of possibilities will be found in the assignments section. These are short mini-reviews of 100-200 words. 

Research Paper

You will write a 1250-1500 word paper on a topic related to computer mediated communication, social networking, online relationship building or online collaboration. This will be a formal academic paper which follows APA style. 

Application Assignments

You will apply your skills by doing several activities such as building a blog, starting a facebook page, creating and using a Twitter account and doing multi media stuff like podcasting or creating videos for YouTube. 

Collaboration

 Much of the work we do today on the job revolves around online collaboration. Sometimes you will work with people on projects in distant locations that you will  never see in person. You will work with other students creating a website working entirely online. 

Pew Internet in American Life Reports

One of the most comprehensive collection of research on how the internet has impacted Americans has been done by The Pew Internet and American Life Project.  These reports cover many aspects of how the internet has impacted us as a people. Ranging from online education to religion to family and friends, these large scale surveys provide fascinating snapshots of the pervasive influence of the internet on every facet of our lives.

You will choose three of these studies and write a 200-300 word summaries of the main points of the research. 

One of the things I want to emphasize is to HAVE FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! with these assignments. I intend to. 

Late Assignment Policy

I have included in this syllabus and will post in a separate section of BlackBoard a set of due dates. Unless, I post an announcement extending the date, these are when the assignments are due. If you post an assignment within the first week after the due date, I will deduct 10% from the grade. Therefore, if you got 80 points out of 100, that grade would go down to 70. After one week, I will not accept late papers. 

Some Cautions about Communicating Online

The anonymity of the internet can be liberating. Many can find it easier to talk about certain subjects when not physically present. That can be both good and bad. Sometimes it is good to move outside your comfort zone and share feelings and experiences. However, sometimes you can share too much.L ikewise, the anonymity of the internet can bring out the worst in us. So here are a few cautions. 

First, don’t share too much personal information online. Avoid giving your address or phone number online.

Second, share only up to your personal level of comfort. One of the problems with the internet is that material put out online can be copied and passed on indefinitely. So, sharing intimate information about your divorce say, could find its way back to your ex. 

Third, don’t pass on information you read on the discussion boards. If I find out you have done so, I may remove all of your discussion points. 

Fourth, play nice. Ugly or insulting posts will be pulled. Repeat offense will result in the loss of your discussion points. 

Most of these are common sense rules, but I will enforce them. So, don't test me on this. I plan to make this a safe supportive environment for all my students. 

Concerning Plagiarism
 
          I had taught for 6 years before I had my first case of blatant plagiarism. Now, I get 2-3 cases per year.  In spite of my warnings that plagiarized work will result in an “F,” students continue to foolishly turn in the exact same papers as two or three other students in the same class.  It may reflect a general moral bankruptcy in our times, a Napster mentality, or just declining intelligence in the student population.  I suspect, that strange as it seems to me, many students simply do not know what it is and may not know it is wrong.  And I suspect many do not understand why it is a serious offense.  In the next few paragraphs I will discuss what constitutes plagiarism, why it is wrong, and how it can endanger your academic future. 
How Plagiarism will affect your Grade in this Class
Any plagiarized work I receive will result in zero points for both the paper and the oral report accompanying the paper, if any.  That means, if your term paper is plagiarized, you will lose 200 points for the paper and 100 points for the oral report for a total of 300 points.  If you plagiarize two papers, you will fail the class.  
What is Plagiarism?
 Put simply, Plagiarism is taking someone else’s work and passing it off as your own. At it’s most blatant, it’s directly copying a paper or purchasing one from someone else.  Incidentally, if you are considering purchasing a paper from some Internet company, don’t!  I have access to a web-based service where I can compare your paper to thousands available online.  So can virtually any instructor. 
Sometimes the sheer stupidity of the plagiarizers amazes me.  I’ve had four students in a single class who sat together and were best friends turn in the same paper right down to the misspelled words.  Like, I wouldn’t notice? Others have turned in papers with one person’s name obviously whited out and the student’s name typed in with a different font and color ink. 
 But a paper doesn’t have to be exactly word for word to count as plagiarism.  If the paper is “substantially similar” to another paper, it is still considered cheating.  For instance, I had two students, a boyfriend and girlfriend, turn in two papers which were identical except that the first two paragraphs were reversed from each other.  Just shuffling the order of the writing doesn’t create an original paper. 
 Sometimes a paper is plagiarized because it is made up of paragraphs taken almost bodily from books and articles and pieced together without any commentary by the student and with no source citations.  These tend to be obvious by the different styles of the authors of the paragraphs clashing and the lack of transitional material.  I actually had one person give a speech that she read directly from a Xerox copy of a magazine article.
Certainly, you can quote from other people, but give due credit and don’t pass the work of others off as your own.  Also, you need to create an original work which incorporates the quotes and doesn’t simply string a bunch of them together without obvious synthesis.
 Sometimes plagiarism occurs in take-home essay exams and even with the in-class exams in which I allow you to bring notes.  Many times I find that the answers are direct quotes from the text book.  That may have pleased your high school teachers, but it doesn’t please me.  Your answers must be your original work.  Likewise, if you have had one person write down the notes for everyone, don’t copy them word for word.  I had one class where no less than 8 people answered the same question the same way misspelling the same words.  And, frankly, the answers weren’t that good to begin with.
 In other words, if the paper, exam or speech is largely the work of someone else, then it is plagiarism.  These papers or speeches will receive an “F” grade and two such papers will give you an “F” in the class. 
 Why is Plagiarism Wrong?
I shouldn’t even have to address this, but I feel I need to.  A number of students when confronted with the fact of their plagiarism, look at me in all apparent innocence and say, “But I got the paper in on time.”  One explained that the plagiarism was okay because it was for extra credit.  Obviously, something has gone wrong with the moral compass of our society when students can be caught and not even realize that cheating is wrong.
Plagiarism is wrong on two levels. The first level is that of basic honesty.  When you turn in a paper, you make an implied claim that this is something original.  When it is not original, that quite simply is a lie.  Secondly, plagiarism is wrong because it represents an attempt to obtain the benefits of a college degree without doing the work.  Completing the courses necessary for your degree will give you an edge in the job market, and provide a certain social status in society.  However, if you have obtained that degree by cheating, you are benefiting from something you did not earn. And, of course, on a personal level, you won’t learn anything unless you do your own work.  That will reduce the skills you need to succeed in business and personal life.  You can’t cheat on the job and expect to do your job well.
In some ways, I have to admit that the college system which places such a high emphasis on grades rather than on comprehensive evaluation of learning, contributes to this.  We all know that grades do not always equate to learning.  And sometimes we as instructors lose sight of the purpose of assignments.  They are not simply products to be delivered, but tools to facilitate learning.  
However, in admitting this, it does not excuse students cutting corners by cheating.  A paper or a speech is not a product I have ordered which has value independent of your learning experience.  The assignment is for your benefit and not mine.  Only by completing the assignment will you learn.  In writing this policy, I am committing myself to making the effort to keep learning first and grading as merely a natural outcome of the learning process.  
What Effects Can Plagiarism Have on your Academic Future?
Most Four-Year colleges and universities treat plagiarism as a major infraction of the rules.  You can be placed on academic probation, fail a class or even be expelled from the college.  If expelled for plagiarism, you will find it hard to be admitted to another college. Even if you are not removed from the school, your hopes of graduate work could be diminished.  You can find it difficult to get a faculty advisor for your thesis or dissertation.  If an academic probation becomes part of your transcripts, it can also impact your ability to get a good job.  
This type of thing can haunt you for years.  About 20 years ago, Sen. Joe Biden was running for President.  He had a reasonable chance of taking his party’s nomination.  However, it was discovered and reported that he had plagiarized a paper in law school.  His support vanished and eventually he withdrew from the race over something that had taken place more than two decades before. 
Is it really worth the risk.  Do your own work.  It’s  the right thing to do.  It’s the smart thing to do.