Digital Media and Information in Society/Syllabus/

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

1. This class is designed to allow flexibility for students to select learning activities they believe will best allow them to accomplish the learning objectives.
2. 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.
3. Completing additional learning activities provide a path to earn grades ranging from a C to an A+.
4. Each type of learning activity earns students a specified number of points when completed.
5. All learning activities completed by students receive full credit upon submission.
6. 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, Collaborate with ChatGPT to explore using one of the theoretical frameworks ∞ to examine one or two topics raised in the class discussion that most interested you. Create an entry or entries in your Wikiversity journal that Reflects on your experience collaborating with ChatGPT Summarizes the most interesting part of the conversation Includes a link to your ChatGPT conversation Complete the associated "quiz" in D2L Brightspace
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

Students who engage in the minimum activities required will earn 100 points:

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

Students who engage in addition activities can earn up to 216 points:

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	65	171

Grades will be dependent on the number of points earned, as well as completion of all minimum activities:

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
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
Thu 31 Aug	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	Hello, World
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
Wed 13 Sep	Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance	In-class Workshop	Exploring Natural Language Models: Asking Questions About ChatGPT
Thu 14 Sep	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	Media and Information Ages
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
Wed 20 Sep	Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance	In-class Workshop	Starting conversations about possible topics for wikipedia articles
Thu 21 Sep	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	Orality
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
Wed 27 Sep	Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance	In-class Discussion	Later Literacy and the Age of Printing
Thu 28 Sep	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	Early Literacy and the Manuscript Age
Thu 28 Sep	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	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
Wed 04 Oct	Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance	In-class Workshop	Quotes, citations and references
Thu 05 Oct	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	Telegraphic and Telephonic
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
Wed 18 Oct	Go to Class Discussion and Confirm Attendance	In-class Discussion	Pre-Web
Thu 19 Oct	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	Broadcasting
Thu 19 Oct	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	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
Wed 25 Oct	Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance	In-class Workshop	Exploring Natural Language Models
Thu 26 Oct	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	Participatory Web

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
Wed 01 Nov	Go to Class Workshop and Confirm Attendance	In-class Workshop	Moving work to Wikipedia and peer reviewing
Thu 02 Nov	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	Social Web
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
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
Thu 09 Nov	Collaborate with ChatGPT to extend the class discussion	Discussion Extension Assignment	Advanced AI Models and the Semantic Web
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