Final Grades

Week Fifteen:
May 1 - last day of class.

Final Exam - Friday, May 5, 9 a.m. in our usual room.  The Final will cover McLuhan and the material covered in class since the midterm, including the student presentations.  There will be multiple choice questions and an essay question asking you to relate concepts from McLuhan's theory to the material we have been discussing.  You may choose your 250 word essay, to be written in class, from among the following.  If you wish to write on a different topic, get my permission by email by May 3. In grading these essays, I will not be looking for the "correct" answers so much as for an intelligent discussion using some of McLuhan's ideas.

• How does McLuhan's concept of "hot" and "cold" media apply to the Internet?
• How do McLuhan's ideas about the difference between TV and radio help to explain the effect of TV coverage on professional sports?
• How well do McLuhan's ideas about the impact of radio help to explain the rise of the Nazi movement?
• What are some of the ways in which we are becoming what McLuhan called a "Global Organism?"  Are the consequences what he expected?
• How do the new technologies change the role and impact of music or of movies or of sports in our society?  How do these changes reflect ideas in McLuhan's theories?
• What did McLuhan say the impact of Television on education would be?  Will the same be true of the Internet, or will there be differences?
• How is it different expressing the same ideas in a talk, in a presentation with computer "slides," in a term paper, on a WEB site, or on a poster board?  How "hot" or "cold" are each of these media?  How else do they differ?
• How does social communication between men and women on the Internet differ from such communication in person?  How can McLuhan's ideas about the differences between speech and writing, and about "hot" and "cold" communication, explain these differences?
• How does playing games on the Internet differ from such interaction in person?  How can McLuhan's ideas about speech vs. writing and "hot" vs "cold" media explain these differences?
• How would a college class offered over the Internet differ from one offered in the traditional way?  How would the differences be explained by McLuhan's ideas about the differences between speech and writing, and about "hot" and "cold" communication?
• How does making a purchase on the Internet differ from making one in person?  How can McLuhan's ideas about  speech vs. writing and "hot" vs "cold" media explain these differences?

Week One:
Jan 19  Overview of the course. Use of Netscape Navigator and the WEB. Evolution of Communication.
Reading assignment: The Communication Process.  Subscribing to the New York Times online.  Read The New Cyborg fashions  and Predictions for the Top Tech Issues in Schools from the New York Times.
Computer Assignment:  download a copy of J.C.R. Licklider's classic articles:  "Man-Computer Symbiosis" and "The Computer as a Communication Device"  available in Portable Document Format (pdf) and other formats from Digital.  If the computer you are using does not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you candownload it free from Adobe.    General Information on Plug-Ins is available courtesy of Bob Wood.   You may either print the downloaded articles, or save them on disk to read on screen.

Jan 21  In class exercise using Active Listening to explore ways in which we anticipate using communication skills.  Refer to the list of Active Listening Techniques.

Week Two:
Jan 24  Discussion of the stages of group development.   Reading: Stages of Team Development and Stages of Group Development for AmeriCorps and Other National Service Programs.
Jan 26 - Reading: Talking to the World from The Economist of January 31, 1999 and The History of Communication Media by Friedrich Kitler.  Illustrative reference: the Evolution of Communication WEB site.  Another example:  to what extent is the use of Power Point and other presentation software shaping the way we think?  We will end with a discussion of Internet communication, and of some of the means of communication we will explore as a class, including our mlist and Yahoo Club (see the revised syllabus for information).  If you do not have an email address, check with Jason for help in setting one up at Rutgers.  You will need a clam account for this course, if you do not have one already.
Jan 28  Discussion of television as a media of communication.  To what extent was Marshall McLuhan correct that "The Medium is the Message."  Reading: The Playboy Interview with Marshal McLuhan.  (printer friendly version here) Setting up a personal portal page on Excite - how this gives us access to TV listings and other things.  Everybody should set up a personal portal page on Excite (or somewhere else) and print out a copy and give it to Jason.  For information, go to http://www.excite.com and click on "New Members Sign In."  Some links relevant to the merging of computer and television technologies:  On CBS News, some of the images you see aren't really there.  AOL buys Time Warner. Go to the Whitney Museum of American Art  for a portrait of the 1960s, when McLuhan wrote his article.  Click on "exhibit" and then select 1960-69 on the bottom of the screen.   Here's a site with two McLuhan Video Clips, one a short interview, one a clip of the brain extended.  These require a Quicktime plugin. Sometimes they come in very slowly:  if so try the interview clip on crab or @home which might be faster.  Video is still slow on the WEB, even with a cable modem.

Week Three:
Jan 31  Discussion of the Computer as a Medium of Communication.  Reading:  J.C.R. Licklider's The Computer as a Communication Device (see Jan 19). Another important futurist statement, from 1945, was Vannevar Bush's article about the Memex Machine. This is discussed briefly in the brief history of the Internet (Feb 16).  Hand in a Personal Inventory Worksheet (print this out from the WEB, fill it out, and hand it in).
Feb 2  Demonstration of how to set up your own WEB site on clam.  Instructions for doing this are available online.  Hand In a printout of your Personal Portal Page (see Jan 28) to Jason. Instructions for setting up a Personal Profile on Yahoo:  You can create one by clicking on "options" under Member Tools in the box on the left.  Then click on "Edit Personal Profile."  Put in your real name, your hobbies, your home page address on clam, etc. etc.  This will be much the same information as on your Personal Inventory Work Sheet.   If you do expect to attend class on Feb 7 for help with your Home Page, you may hand in a printout of your Personal Profile on Yahoo on friday
Feb 4 - Hand in a brain hurricaine or brain mapping exercise for a topic for a presentation for this course.   Instructions for doing this are in: Selecting an Appropriate Topic.  Your topic must have something to do with the general theme of The Medium and the Message. That is, you should say something about ways in which the medium of communication influences the content.  You should make a few clear points, and illustrate them with examples.  You will be using two means of communication:  an in-person presentation and a WEB site.  Your presentation can be about any means of communication, but it must fit in with the theme of "the medium and the message."  If you wish, you can work with a group, contrasting different media as vehicles for communicating the same message. You might find this list of links to readings on computers and communication helpful as a source of ideas (although we are not limited to topics about computerization).  Many of these are from the New York Times online edition.

Week Four:
Feb 7-  Class will meet in the computer labs (BSB 108, 109, 110 and, if all machines there are in use, 132 and 133) in the Computer Center in the Business and Science Building for those students who need help setting up a WEB site.  If you email the URL of a functioning WEB site to Jason prior to today's class, and have already handed in a printout of your personal profile on Yahoo, you need not attend.  You should find a computer, open Netscape and get started following the instructions.  Jason and Ted will circulate around the labs and help individuals in setting up their sites. Assignment:  print out a copy of your Home Page and hand it to Jason today!  The printout should have the URL on it.  Also hand in a printout of your personal profile on Yahoo, if you did not do so on Feb 5.
 

Feb 9 -  Today we will discuss our ideas for topics for presentations.  In preparation for this discussion, you should read  A Purpose for Communicating and Audience Analysis and other relevant topics from the Workbookfrom Penn State University. What makes a good topic for this particular class?  In today's class, each student will be asked to answer the following question:  By the end of my presentation, I want the class to be more informed about                                               .  Remember that your topic must have something to do with the question of the relationship between the medium and the message.  Your presentation shoud NOT be organized like President Clinton's State of the Union Message!  For one thing, you have ten minutes to get your points across.
Feb 11 - Assignment: beforetoday's class, you should posta Residual Message Work Sheet for your class presentation on the Communications Club.  Simply go to the Club Home Page, click on "post" next to the "Recent Messages" title and type in the answers to the questions posed on the Residual Message Work Sheet:  The Topic, The Three Main Points and the Concluding Sentence.  We will look at these in class, so they must be posted before class begins.

Week Five:
Feb 14  How to research your topic on the World Wide Web.  Some general suggestions are in:  Researching your Topic.  Of course, you should use the Rutgers Library, not the one at Penn State. For February 18, please complete the Web Search Report Form.  An example of what you can find: a comparison of virtual and face-to-face communities by a well known sociologist.
Feb 16.  The history, present and future of the World Wide WEB, beginning with Vannevar Bush's 1945 futurist vision.   Reading:  A Brief History of the Internet.  In reading this online document, pay attention to the way in which it is structured as well as to the content.  Do you like this kind of reading?  For a more conventional, and perhaps easier to read history of the Internet, go to the Intenet Society. How does this compare?  Here are some notes on Vannevar Bush and the Internet.
Recent News: Is the Internet making Americans isolated, lonely, depressed?   What is the significance of recent"disruption-of-service" attacks on major Internet sites? Latest attempts to track down the perpetrators are listening in to chat rooms.
Feb 18 Hand in your completed Web Search Report Form.  We will view a video on "synectics" and act out roles in some synectics and brainstorming groups.  Here are some WEB sites on brainstorming, one of which includes a Brainstormer software program.

Week Six:
Feb 21 -  We will continue with the reading aloud that we began on friday, adding passages from Shakespeare to the transcripts of brainstorming and synectics groups distributed on friday.  Our goal is to develop our skills in speaking aloud.  For reading on this topic, go to How to Deliver - a wonderful site with sound clips - all about how to deliver a presentation.  One can also listen to quite a few clips at the Amazon.com site for Great Speeches of the Twentieth Century.
Feb 23 -  We will run an ideation group in class, on the topic "how can new means of communication be used to enrich the student's experience at Rutgers in Camden?"
Feb 25   Hand in theOnline Bibliographic Searching Exercise.
 

Week Seven:
Feb 28   Review for Midterm Examination.  The exam will be multiple choice, please bring a pencil with an eraser.  It will cover required reading and material covered in class.  The required readings that are most important for the test have been printed in bold type on this course log.  The most important is the reading from Marshall McLuhan (see January 28).

March 1 -  Midterm Examination covering all assigned reading and material covered in class.  Format will be multiple choice.  Grades will be posted on this site.
March 3 - we will meet in the computer lab in the basement of the library for help with library searching, as well as with any other topics such as WEB posting.  Remember that a draft of your Class Presentation must be posted by March 22  - this is a chance to practice posting files to the Internet.  Bring a floppy disk with any work you wish to post, or to save any work you do during class.
 
 

Extra Credit Opportunity:  If you wish to earn extra credit, attend an event at which someone gives a speech or presentation and write a description and evaluation using the same form we will use for the presentations on March 6 and March 20 (these two are required assignments and do not provide extra credit).  Two additional presentations of candidates for jobs in the department will be: Dr. Randy Kandel, 2:00 to 3:20 on tuesday, February 29, Executive Conference Room in the Basement of the College Center Dr. Eric Schneider, 11 to 12:20 on thursday, March 9, Science Lecture Hall You can write an evaluation of either or both of these for extra credit, even if you happen to be in the class that meets at that hour. You may attend up to four presentations or speeches for extra credit.  They must be live, not televised, so you can observe the audience reaction and interaction between the speaker and the audience. An evaluation form for rating presentations is available here.

Week Eight:
March 6 -  Presentation by Dr. Jane Siegel - you will be asked to evaluate her skills as a communicator.  In room 121 Armitage.
March 8 - Jason Leonardis will do a presentation on the impact of changes in communication technology on sports.  Everyone must hand in a photocopy of the poem they will memorize for class presentation.  If you do not have one by this day, I will give you one.
March 10 - No class today -   Online Assignment:

1. read "Survey Shows Widespread Enthusiasm for High Technology"
2. read "Portrait of a Newer, Lonelier Crowd Is Captured in an Internet Survey"
3. Complete the Computer and Internet Questionnaire and bring it to class on March 20.

March 13, 15, 17  Spring Break

Week Nine:
March 20 -  Presentation by Scott London, in 121 Armitage.  You will be asked to evaluate his skills as a communicator.  Hand in the rating form and Computer and Internet Questionnaire to Jason.
March 22 -  Poetry Day - everyone should be prepared to recite their poem to the class! Review of how to post Class Presentations on the WEB.   Evaluation form for poetry readings. Discussion of the questionnaire for a class survey.  We will do a group recitation of Shakespeare's All the World's a Stage.
March 24 -   Hand in a printed copy of your class presentation to Ted Goertzel today. These should also be posted as files on the WEB.  You can do this yourself, or you can wait until March 27 and we will do them in class in room 117 BSB.
In class today, we will pick up on the discussion of the application of new technologies to education at Rutgers, discussing the different areas suggested in our brainstorming session on Feb 23. and in the Computer and Internet Questionnaires completed by this class and the Methods of Research class.  We will discuss plans for our class survey, which is being developed by the Methods of Research class.

Week Ten:
March 27  Class will meet in room 117 in the Business and Science Building today.  Bring your presentation file in html format ready to post.  If you can't get it into html, we should be able to convert it from *.doc.
Questionnaires for our survey will be available today. Suggested PROBES are on a separate sheet.   Interviews are due on April 3.  Lists of respondents with their telephone numbers will be given out in class.  Everyone is required to do four telephone interviews, you may do two more for extra credit.  Instructions are online.
March 29 - We will discuss interviewing techniques.  Reading Assignment, Interviewing by William M. Trochim.
March 31 - John Sokokowski will speak on Public Speaking.  Bob Wood will speak on Thinking About the Internet Pedagogically.  Bob will be using Power Point, the very popular Microsoft presentation software package.  To what extent does this medium shape his message?

Week Eleven: Class Presentations will begin this week. For materials that have been posted, consult Links to Class Members' Home Pages.  Your presentation will be evaluated using the evaluation form we used for evaluating faculty presenters.
April 3 --Bring your questionnaires to class, we will code them in class today.  We will listed to Martin Luther King's Address at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom - August 28, 1963 (The "I Have a      Dream" speech.)  Available on streaming audio from the History Channel.  The History Channel also has Robert Kennedy's speech announcing Martin Luther King's assassination, an outstanding example of a spontaneous speech.  There are dozens of speeches available in Real Audio from the History Channel.
April 5  Advertising:  Aracoli, Colli and Hibbard.  Results of our survey are posted.
April 7 Travel:  Anderson.  Movies:  Poole.  Music:  Rodan.
"Napster" software makes it easy to find and copy music off the Internet.
An online screening of the film Matrix with a simultaneous chat with the producers.
Week Twelve:
April 10  Baseball:  Dunn & Diepold.  Sports technology:  Martorano & Miller.
Do Viewers Even Want to Interact with TV?
April 12 Hate Groups:  Nicole White.  Holocaust:  Shannon Cabrera.  Animal Rights:  Melissa Henry.
Story on Internet Hate Groups.

April 14  Chat:  Teresa Minerva.  Communities:  Tamika Drinks.  Talk Shows:  Sharika Perry.
A comparison of virtual and face-to-face communities by a well known sociologist.
Week Thirteen:
April 17  Dangers to Children: Christina Pipitone.  Attention Deficit:  Genevive   Diamond.
New rules for WEB sites aimed at children.
April 19  Computer games: Tamara Ali Bey.  Online gambling:  Michael Carty.
It's "Demons" vs "Angels" in computer games:  Christian theology in action games.
Sissy-fight, a new game aimed at adults.
Racial symbolism in video game characters.
A "Spotlight" presentation on online gambling.
Prosecution of Online Gambling.
Cato Institute Testimony on Prohibiting Internet Gambling.
April 21    Learning communities: Melissa McGuigan.
Librarian sees commercialization of the WEB as a threat.
A revolution in education clicks into place: computers on every desk in college classrooms.
Wireless Networks on College Campuses.
A new project for cross-border education.
The Book Bag of the Future:  Buy Four Years' Worth of Texts on one Disk.
hungryminds.com - "The Smarter Way to Get Smarter"  NYTAd says:  "learn what you want, when you want and how you want.  And if you're not satisfied, we'll give you your money back.  Pretty unorthodox thinking in the world of educaiton, huh?  Then again, we're not in the world of education.  We're in the business of education."
Growth in Distance Education Courses.

Week Fourteen:
April 24  Art: Mandy Najimi.  Portable communication:  Joseph Trombetta (presentation page still does not come up)  Joseph Delpalazzo. on Bluetooth Technology.
The official Bluetooth site.  And http://www.bluetooth.net/tech_list.asp
 An online art gallery of paintings of Camden by Prof William Hoffman of our art department.
Digital Art Galleries.
Problems of displaying Internet art in a gallery.
Kosovo inspires digital arts projects.

April 26  Shara Ranalli on music.
April 28  -  Marianne Finkel on Disance Learning,  Inga Mule on gender and communication. Poster Presentations.  Bring your poster to class, then to the Poster Session for extra credit.

Week Fifteen:
May 1 - last day of class.
Some Notes on McLuhan and Study Questions on  Student Presentations are available.

Final Exam - Friday, May 5, 9 a.m. in our usual room.

Links on Computers and Communications.
Instructions for WEB Pages and Oral Presentations.

Links to Class Members' Home Pages.
 

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