Iona CollegeDepartment of Mass Communication

MCO 230-A: Digital Literacy & Practice

Instructor: Prof. David Cundy Semester/Year: Spring 2014Office: Murphy Center, Room M219 Phone: 914 633-2364Office Hours: M, W 12:45-1:45 pm Email Address: dcundy@iona.edu

Class Meets on Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:30-4:48 pm, Murphy 325

Course Description:A practical course examining and applying current communications technologies and strategies to enable students to develop and produce effective communications vehicles of the caliber and nature used in the mass communication field. The course will deal with blog and Web site creation, social media, presentation tools, audio and video production and strategy development. Includes software and technical training.

Course Prerequisites:NA

Readings and References:As noted in lecture schedule below and:Holtz, Shel and Demopoulos, Ted. Blogging for business: everything you need to know and why you should care. Kaplan Publishing, 2006, ISBN 1419536451 Miller, Michael. YouTube for Business: Online Video Marketing for Any Business. Que, 2008, ISBN:0789737973Scott, David Meerman. The new rules of marketing and PR: how to use news releases, blogs, podcasting, viral marketing, & online media to reach buyers directly. John Wiley and Sons, 2007. ISBN: 0470113456

Professional Values and Competencies of ACEJMC

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The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC) requires that, irrespective of their particular specialization, all graduates should be aware of certain core values and competencies and be able to:

1. Understand and apply the principles and laws of freedom of speech and press for the country in which the institution that invites ACEJMC is located, as well as receive instruction in and understand the range of systems of freedom of expression around the world, including the right to dissent, to monitor and criticize power, and to assemble and petition for redress of grievances;

2. Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications;

3. Demonstrate an understanding of the gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and as appropriate, other forms of in domestic society in relation to mass communication;

4. Demonstrate and understanding of the diversity of peoples and cultures and of the significance and impact mass communication in a global society;

5. Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information;

6. Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in the pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity;

7. Think critically, creatively, and independently;8. Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the

communications professions in which they work;9. Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the

communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve;10. Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness,

clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness;11. Apply basic numerical and statistical concepts;12. Apply current tools and technologies appropriate for the communications

professions in which they work, and to understand the digital world.

Competencies most emphasized in this class are: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 12

Specific Course Objectives: This course is intended to give students insights into and experience doing original research into emerging media phenomena. Students will gain experience creating serial communications using emerging media, specifically blogs and related tools.

Students will learn information, gain skills, and will engage in critical thinking. By the end of this course, the student should be able to:

1. Define and apply current social media and Internet technologies to public relations projects and strategies. (This objective will be measured by essays, exams, laboratory projects, homework and class discussions). (PVC 3, 4, 6, 8, 11; Assessment Tools 1-5)

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2. Discuss use of online tools and applications in mass communications. (This objective will be measured by essays, exams, homework and class discussions). (PVC 4, 6, 8, 9, 11; Assessment Tools 1-5)

3. Apply common technologies and software and create professional deliverables in service to public relations and communications. (This objective will be measured by laboratory projects, exams, homework and laboratory applications). (PVC 4, 6, 8, 11; Assessment Tools 1-5)

4. Be capable of developing strategies to integrate traditional communications techniques and converged technologies. (This objective will be measured by essays, exams, homework and class discussions). (PVC 3, 4, 6, 8, 11; Assessment Tools 1-5)

5. Analyze and discuss the differences between traditional communications technologies (print, broadcast, mail, promotions) and Web publications in approach, editorial style, and audience service. (This objective will be measured by essays, exams, homework and class discussions). (PVC 4, 6, 8, 11; Assessment Tools 1-5)

Assessment Tools:Student Performance will be measured as follows:

1. In-class and online exercises and laboratory projects (75%): These exercises and examples will demonstrate professional applications and current use of technologies in the public relations field. Portions of each class will be devoted to applications of specific technologies.

2. Homework assignments (15%): various exercises will be assigned to help students understand the history, progression and current state of technologies. Students will have a number of essays to write, some of them one page and others longer.

3. Participation/Attendance (10%)

Each assignment will be evaluated on demonstrated writing and thinking skills, adherence to the assignment, satisfactory length, correctly formatted source documentation, and on-time completion.

Grades will be as follows: 90-100 = A; 86-89 = B+; 80-85 = B; 76-79 = C+; 70-75 = C; 65-69 = D; anything less than 65 = F)

Diversity ComponentAll courses taught in the Department of Mass Communication at Iona College contain a module integrated into the course that explores the issue of the diversity of groups in relation to the mass communication industry. Examples of diversity and discussion of diversity in websites and website design will be integrated into MCO314 class content.

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Specifically, MCO314 will discuss government and organizational guidelines and policies relating to website coding to accommodate the visually impaired, and to encourage students to develop websites whose content is directed toward diverse audiences. (PVC #3)

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty:College Policy: Cheating and plagiarism subvert both the purpose of the College and the experience students derive from being at Iona. They are offenses which harm the offender and the students who do not cheat. The Iona community, therefore, pledges itself to do all in its power to prevent cheating and plagiarism, and to impose impartial sanctions upon those who harm themselves, their fellow students, and the entire community by academic dishonesty. When a case of academic dishonesty surfaces, a report will be filed with the dean of Arts and Sciences. In the case of a second instance, a student may be suspended from the College. Students may appeal first to the professor who discovered the instance; second, to the department chair; and third, to the Dean of Arts and Sciences. The decision of the dean is final. Students may appeal to the Provost if the suspension is five class days or less. The student handbook describes the procedures of adjudication.

The College policy, as applied to this course, is that citations are required for all quotations, paraphrases or concepts derived from third party sources.

General Course Policies:Attendance and lateness: Because of the participatory nature of this course, you are required to come to class. If you must be absent, please e-mail me with a general reason (please do not provide personal details) in advance. More than three unexcused absences or frequent tardiness displays a lack of interest in the course and will be reflected in your participation/attendance grade. If you miss more than three classes (regardless of whether they are excused or unexcused) you may be given a grade of “FA,” or failure due to excessive absence.

Computers and cellphones: Your successful performance in this class will require concentration. Therefore, cellphones are to be used only during class break periods. Failure to follow this policy will result in a failing grade. Computers are permissible only for note-taking. If you bring a computer to class, you will e-mail your notes from that day to me.

Computer Skills: Computer literacy and facility with the college's on-line system is essential for this course. Much of the research will be done on-line and significant teacher-student communication will take place using e-mail or the Blackboard system. It is the responsibility of the student to have a working User ID and password and to schedule time in the school's computer labs if the student does not have at-home access. The student is expected to check his/her e-mail frequently during the week.

Timeliness: Timely submission of assignments is required. Again, e-mail me in advance if you cannot submit an assignment on time. The semester assignment must be submitted on or before the exam date.

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Appeal of Assigned Grade: If a student believes that an error has been made in grade assignment, there is a specific procedure to follow. First, discuss with the instructor the basis on which the grade was assigned. If the student is still not satisfied, an appeal may be made to the department chair. Such appeal should be made in writing, stating the basis upon which the grade is questioned and requesting a departmental review. If, following the review, the student is not satisfied with the departmental decision, a final appeal may be made to the academic dean of the department involved. A student has until the tenth day of the new semester to have a grade other than "I" changed.

Course and Teacher Evaluation (CTE) Iona College now uses an on-line CTE system. This system is administered by an outside company and all the data is collected confidentially. No student name or information will be linked to any feedback received by the instructor. The information collected will be compiled in aggregate form by the agency and distributed back to Iona administration and faculty, with select information available to students who complete the CTE. Your feedback in this process is an essential part of improving our course offerings and instructional effectiveness. We want and value your point of view.

Course Outline:Subject to change as required. Changes will be posted to Blackboard.

Week 1: Synopsis:

An overview of the spectrum of online and social media Lecture/Discussion:

History of the Internet; origins of email; the World Wide Web; origins of Weblogs (blogs); video; origins of social media; Podcasts; Twitter; Social media: MySpace, YouTube, RSS, podcasts, Facebook, Twitter

People and Ideas:The InternetKevin Kelly: The Next 5,000 days, TED Conference, 2007

http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_on_the_next_5_000_days_of_the_web.htmlKevin Kelly: The Next 7,000 days, Taipei, 2012http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QRGqdvBRxcKeenan Mayo and Peter Newcomb: "How the Web was Won," Vanity Fair, July 2008.http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/07/internet200807.print

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Week 2: Synopsis:

The impact of technology; technological determinism; media as metaphorTechnology:

Weblog setup, WordPressLecture/Discussion:

Communication and media theory vìs-à-vis technology; media ecology; Marshall McLuhan, Fr. Walter Ong, Neil Postman

People and Ideas:Media theoryMarshall McLuhan, The Medium is the Massagehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8YYM_7KUpwhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQkWZqqvyCMNeil Postman, Amusing Ourselves to Deathhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amusing_Ourselves_to_Deathhttp://www.neilpostman.org/ - articlesGeorge Orwell, 1984Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

Week 3: Synopsis:

Convergence in Advertising, Broadcast, Journalism and Public RelationsTechnology:

WordPress dashboard, menus and editing: WYSIWYG vs. HTML editing, "kitchen sink" menu, text vs. MS Word copy entry

Lecture/Discussion: Convergence of public relations with journalism and advertising Media and consumer culture; pervasiveness of media; media and propaganda

People and Ideas:Professional convergence; media pervasiveness; ethicsMorgan Spurlock, Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Soldhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c0VtOdibcIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEphQtvzyaghttp://www.npr.org/2011/05/03/135957787/spurlocks-movie-sold-to-product-placement?ft=1&f=135957787Sut Jhally, “Advertising and the Edge of the Apocalypse.”http://www.sutjhally.com/articles/advertisingattheed/Allen Ginsberg, "Howl"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVGoY9gom50http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJDV9z8XvEo

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Week 4: Synopsis:

Blogs vs. websitesTechnology:

Advanced blog configuration: WordPress templates; Pages and CategoriesLecture/Discussion:

Blog architecture vs. website architecture; configuring a blog as a website; template implementationPeople and Ideas:

Access to knowledgeVannevar Bush, "As We May Think," The Atlantichttp://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/3881/Hans Rosling, "The Magic Washing Machine," TEDWomenhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZoKfap4g4w

Week 5: Synopsis:

Blog functionsTechnology:

Blog content entry functions: Uploading graphics and media (YouTube)Lecture/Discussion:

Incorporating media in a website or blogPeople and Ideas:

Time managementJorge Luis Borges, The Book of Sandhttp://anagrammatically.com/2010/03/08/the-book-of-sand-el-libro-de-arena-by-

borges-translated/Henry David Thoreau, Walden, Chapter 2http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/walden/hdt02.html

Assignment 1 due:Write a 250-word essay comparing the ideas presented by Vannevar Bush and

Hans Rosling.

Week 6: Synopsis:

Principles of HTMLTechnology:

HTML code basics; code basics; tags and attributes; hexadecimal color; Cascading Style SheetsLecture/Discussion/Workshop:

Laboratory: Google blog implementationPeople and Ideas:

Online economicsChris Anderson, The Long Tailhttp://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail.html

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Week 7: Synopsis:

A comparison of WordPress vs. Google Blogs and TumblrTechnology:

Implementation of Google (continued) and Tumblr blogsLecture/Discussion/Workshop:

Laboratory: Google and Tumblr blog implementationResearch discussion

People and Ideas:Diaries and blogsSamuel Pepys, Diary.http://www.pepysdiary.com/Jimmy Wales, Blog.http://jimmywales.com/

Week 8: Synopsis:

Online resourcesTechnology:

Search engines for PR researchScholarly research toolsGoogle, Yahoo, Bing, Dogpile, Copernic, Surfwax, OpenDirectoryOxford English Dictionary, JSTOR, Iona 360 Mass Communication search

Lecture/Discussion/Workshop: Issues in converged communications: access, intellectual property, privacy, anonymity, commercialization, professional commoditization, time management, the "electronic hallucination," addiction Research discussion

People and Ideas:Disruptive technologiesMaureen Dowd, "A Penny for my Thoughts," New York Timeshttp://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/opinion/30dowd.htmlEric Alterman, "Out of Print," The New Yorkerhttp://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/31/080331fa_fact_alterman

Week 9: Synopsis:

Website research, design and development processesTechnology:

Types of benchmarking; user profile (VALS); information architecture structureLecture/Discussion/Workshop:

Intro to Website development/goals/strategies; constituent and objectives-based design;

Website development: wireframes and designResearch discussion

People and Ideas:

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Online communication psychologyAbraham Maslow: Hierarchy of Needs; Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles (VALS)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Maslowhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VALS

Assignment 2 due:Write a 250-word paper about an issue in converged communications as it has

affected you.

Week 10: Synopsis:

Site performance analysis; "reading" analyticsTechnology:

Implementing site analytics; search engine optimization; QR code generationLecture/Discussion/Workshop:

Analytics: Measuring results; Google Analytics; WordPress Analytics; StatCounterPeople and Ideas:

TransactionalismProf Cundy: "Gone in 6 Seconds: Infinite Access, Infinitessimal Retention"

Week 11: Synopsis:

History of social media; Facebook business model; future of social media; implications of social media

Event planning in FacebookTechnology:

Facebook "apps"; Event planning in FacebookLecture/Discussion/Workshop:

Social media sitesThe Facebook phenomenon: A fad – or the Future?Social media event planning

Assignment 3 due:Write a 250-word essay analyzing John Perry Barlow's assertion that "Information

wants to be free."People and Ideas:

PrivacyThe Social Network (film).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Social_NetworkVargas, Jose Antonio. "The Face of Facebook," The New Yorker, April X, 20XX.http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/09/20/100920fa_fact_vargas

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Week 12: Synopsis:

Social media, continued; G+Technology:

Establishing a G+ accountLecture/Discussion/Workshop:

Social media worldwide; comparison of Facebook and G+Privacy issues

Ideas:Intellectual propertyPirate Bay: Steal This Film IIhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xpXK8mDTiNgLawrence Lessig: Codehttps://www.socialtext.net/codev2/table_of_contentsJohn Perry Barlow, " The Economy of Ideas," Wired; G-8 Conference, May 2011http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/2.03/economy.ideas_pr.htmlhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX4ciDBHfNU

Week 13: Synopsis:

Microcasting; mobile media and appsTechnology:

Establishing a Twitter accountEstablishing a YouTube channel

Lecture/Discussion/Workshop: Twitter as a Public Relations vehicleYouTube as a Public Relations vehicleMobile media and apps

People and Ideas:Information overload and managementRichard Saul Wurman, Information AnxietyJames Gleick, The Informationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Information:_A_History,_a_Theory,_a_Flood

Assignment 4 due:Write a 500-word paper on Steal This Film II, with a critical analysis of the concepts of intellectual property, file sharing, "information socialism," and the Internet as a freely accessible environment.

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Week 14: Synopsis:

Principles of site performance analysis; analyzing analyticsTechnology:

Google applicationsLecture/Discussion/Workshop:

Information utopia: Understanding Google; Google booksResearch discussion

People and Ideas:The Big PictureBuckminster Fuller, Operating Manual For Spaceship Earthhttp://www.bfi.org/about-bucky/resources/books/operating-manual-spaceship-

earthAssignment 5 due:

Write a 500-word paper on a Google application, comparing it to competing applications offered by other enterprises.

Week 15: Synopsis:

Crowdsourcing and collaborationTechnology:

Generating and editing Wikipedia entriesLecture/Discussion/Workshop:

Collaboration and crowdsourcing (National Geographic; We Feel Fine) Wikipedia and "Information Socialism"The Wiki; Wikipedia for Public RelationsJimmy Wales, Brewster Kahle; Larry Page and Sergey BrinStrengths and weaknesses of Wikipedia

People and Ideas:AnonymityClay Shirky, Here Comes Everybodyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Here_Comes_EverybodyJuicy Campus and Topixhttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/us/small-town-gossip-moves-to-the-web-anonymous-and-vicious.html

Final Exam: Use your online lecture notes to write a paper on a topic to be provided on exam day.

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