Digital Citizenship Syllabus |
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Journal of Information Technology & Politics
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Digital Citizenship Syllabus
Overview: Citizenship is increasingly mediated by digital communication. Political parties interact with members online; interest groups use Web sites and electronic mail to woo the public; media organizations perpetually update the news on their information-rich sites; government makes vital information and documents available via the World Wide Web. Blogs, wikis, and Web 2.0 in general have helped redefine the media landscape, politics and the fundamentals of citizenship. Online information can provide the basis for community environmental or personal health protection, as well as alternate pathways to technological or other literacy. These and a wide range of other communicative functions are all aspects of the emerging digital citizenship.
The rise of the “virtual” individual and communities in cyberspace substantively and procedurally alters the manner in which citizens can engage their democracy, as well as the prerequisites for equitable participation. Individuals who lack Internet access or the skills necessary to use Information Technology (IT) are on the underprivileged side of a widely recognized "digital divide". This class explores the possibility for educational innovations that seek to identify, understand, and remove these barriers in a comprehensive and systematic manner. The most fundamental class goals are to better understand the impact of these information and communications technologies on the citizenship of novice computer users, and to assess service-learning as a means to lessen the digital divide.
Attendance: For our real world students, attending this class is required. Class meets only once a week and should be missed rarely, if at all. The class is blended, however, so there are also students who will be taking this class only online. Online students are required to view the lectures via the ‘Panopto’ system, which usually posts the lectures about a day after the class is recorded. I will maintain a Panopto index page on the class web site. Real world students will be required to sign a permission slip to be video recorded, or else sit behind the view of the camera. This arrangement is new to me and I will greatly appreciate any feedback you have about how to make it work equally well for the virtual and real students. When we work in small groups in the real classroom (this happens frequently), the expectation is that online students will do the same through Courseweb. Small group sessions in class will not be recorded. You will be graded, in part, on your ability to incorporate material from the class lectures and discussions (real and/or virtual) that cannot be found in the readings. To do well, you need to both attend and participate in all classes and avail yourself of class resources.
Courseweb:
The
primary online hub for this class is not the Courseweb portal
delivered by Blackboard. We will use Courseweb only for two major
activities: online discussions and reading tests. All other online
coordination tools and class resources can be found on my class web page,
which is located at:
http://shulman.ucsur.pitt.edu/digcit2.htm. We also have a class wiki,
which is a web site you can go to share materials with classmates:
http://digcit.wikispaces.com/. Reading: Reading is to be completed for the day listed on the syllabus. The required books are listed below. Other suggested readings are available online via the class website.
Required Assignments: There are four categories of graded assignments. · In-class and online participation will be graded and will constitute 20% of the final grade. · Students will write a 15-page reflection paper based on your service-learning experience, which will count for 30% of the final grade. · A service-learning journal, kept as a web log, will count for 10% of the final grade. · Online reading exams administered via Courseweb will count for 40% of the final grade. Detailed guidelines and grading rubrics for the reflection paper, service-learning journal, reading exams, and class participation grades will be distributed separately in class and posted on the class web site. In general, I expect students to be very familiar with the required readings and able to link them analytically to the main themes of the class. You will need to be able to draw on theory and evidence from all the class materials (readings, lectures, and in-class or online discussions) to make coherent, original arguments about the concept of digital citizenship. Service-Learning: Students working alone or in groups will arrange and complete at least 20 hours of service-learning. We will discuss the best approach in class every week on the logistics and pedagogical issues. We will devote as much time as it takes at the start of every class meeting to fully grasp the nature of the service-learning enterprise. Sessions will be with seniors, library patrons, middle or high school students, or low-income citizens, or anyone else who has had little or no experience with computers. Alternately, you may choose to serve and organization or group that is struggling to use computers and networks to advance the citizenship goals of its members. Schedule of Readings Week One (August 29) Introduction
Week Two: (September 5) The Digital Divide and Service-Learning Required
o http://digcit.ucsur.pitt.edu/doc/home/description.pdf
o http://digcit.ucsur.pitt.edu/doc/articles/Technology.pdf Suggested
o http://digcit.ucsur.pitt.edu/doc/reports/yr-3-focus-spr-group-rprt.pdf
o http://digcit.ucsur.pitt.edu/doc/reports/yr-3-focus-spring-student.pdf
o http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/11/report_display.asp
o http://www.ntia.doc.gov/reports/anol/NationOnlineBroadband04.pdf
o http://shulman.ucsur.pitt.edu/doc/Supplemental/DigitalDivide/divide.htm
o http://www.digitaldividenetwork.org/ Week Three: (September 12) Digital Civil Rights ***Dr. Shulman will be in Kazakhstan. Class will be entirely online this week***
Required
Week
Four: (September 19) IT, Equality, and Globalization
Suggested
Week Five: (September 26) Online Democracy ***Dr. Shulman will be in Italy. Class will be entirely online this week*** Required
Suggested
Required
Suggested
Suggested
Week
Eight: (October 17) Things to Regulate
Suggested
Week
Eleven: (November 7) Web 2.0 – Library 2.0 – Life as we know It 2.0
Week Twelve: (November 14) Wikis, Handheld Devices & Podcasts for Libraries Required
***Thanksgiving Break***
Week Fourteen: (December 5) Innovation and Storytelling Required
Week Fifteen: (December 12) Wrap-up discussions about the future of Digital Citizenship
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