Self and society in virtual contexts/Weekly agenda

Link to Content and Readings (Fall 2017)

 * Content and readings (Fall 2017)

Overview
During our first in-class session, students will be involved in the following activities:

Introductions


 * Course Overview
 * Course SyllabusPreview the documentView in a new window review (the Syllabus and important course information can also found in the Course Information Module in this course)


 * Course Readings: There is no textbook for the course. Readings will be found in the "online" portion of each week's module, and should be completed before doing weekly Instagram discussions.


 * Introduction to Canvas - the learning management system:
 * Hybrid course structure: each week - "Online" component then "In-class" Session
 * Set up Canvas "notifications" and email in "Settings" (Global Navigation)
 * Email instructor and/or students through "Inbox" (Global Navigation)


 * Key course assessments and grading rubrics (today: Attendance & Participation RubricPreview the documentView in a new window)


 * Preview to Week 2/Online, which is to be completed before the next class.
 * Important! Before the next class, be sure to view ALL pages in the Course Information Module, which will provide important course information to help you succeed in this course, particularly the course assessments and grading rubrics, course policies, etc.

Review

 * None
 * Electronic Devices OK in Class. Bring your laptop / notebook to class - it's a necessity! Tablets are a 2nd option, harder to type. Phones, a last resort.

New Learning

 * Course Intro, Syllabus Review, Instructor Intro

Activities

 * Lecture - course intro
 * Complete Email Address Signup; and then Bio
 * Sign into the Email Address & Phone Number Google Doc to provide your email address (Rutgers and Personal), and Preferred Way to Reach You (Phone Number).
 * After this is done, complete a "Mini-Bio" (a Google Doc). Make a Copy of It with Your First Name and Last Name, and when it is completed, then Share it with me (Prof. Fisher) at: sf623@scarletmail.rutgers.edu I will review it so that I can get to know you better, and more quickly.
 * 3 things (groups of 4-5): Your Name, Field of Study / Major; What did you do during the summer?

Readings

 * Module 2 in Canvas

Prepare for Class

 * Photo Release - PRINT, Complete, Date, Sign It - and then BRING TO CLASS.

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * None.

Review

 * Past week's readings - None.
 * Class cycle: Today ends the week - Friday (tomorrow) is the start of the next week.
 * Attendance
 * Collect photo release(s)
 * Sign up for Instagram - create account / introduce yourself - #DCIMPACT17 - introduce yourself - some people (19) already started; in future, respond substantively to at least two (2) people - conversation
 * Some people already posting to the Class Instagram Hashtag #DCIMPACT17
 * Week 3 - Begin posting on Instagram - Course Content
 * Electronic Devices OK. Bring your laptop / notebook to class - it's a necessity! Tablets are a 2nd option, harder to type. Phones, a last resort.
 * My passion 1: Active Facilitation + Create activities on the fly (when I see students engaged/not engaged), Experiment, Creativity, Learn from Others / Students; time / not enough time
 * My passion 2: Focus on careers and job performance; application of theory to practice in jobs / careers
 * Interview skills
 * Future note about internships

New Learning

 * Module 2 - PowerPoint - Goffman and Bayman
 * Terms - Simplicity / applicability
 * Technological Determinism
 * Social Construction of Technology
 * Social Shaping of Technology

Activities

 * Sign in
 * Welcome new people - point to the announcement in Canvas
 * Collect Photo Releases (Source: https://rutgers.instructure.com/courses/4116/files/737298?module_item_id=303624)
 * Complete Email Signup and Bios
 * Lecture - Goffman, Beyman PPT
 * Review Instagram & Social Media Policies
 * Students to be careful when online and discuss the social media policies in the syllabus.
 * Discussion: Does anyone in the class knows anyone who has been "catfished" and what they did about it.
 * (In future: Students in your class can create a new Instagram account if need be or even do without one, though then you will have to make up and give them some alternate assignments.
 * (In future: Students in your class can create a new Instagram account if need be or even do without one, though then you will have to make up and give them some alternate assignments.

Readings

 * Module 3 PPT in Canvas

Papacharissi, Z. “Without You, I’m Nothing: Performances of the Self on Twitter,”Preview the documentView in a new window International Journal of Communication (2012) - this text is rather dense and you should focus on pp. 1989-1992 and 2001-2002 (pp. 1-4 and pp. 13-14 in the pdf).

Marwick, A. E., & boyd, d. (2010). "I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the imagined audience,"Preview the documentView in a new window New Media & Society (2011)

Rachel Thompson, “This Snapchat feature can tell you if your crush is into you,” Mashable.com, June 28, 2016 http://mashable.com/2016/06/28/snapchat-story-dating/#aJ6QtePGHgql (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Robinson Meyer's article "How Instagram Opened a Ruthless New Chapter in the Teen Photo Wars" (author interviews his brother).

Instagram Posting + Replies
Sign up for an Instagram account and post one “introductory” post about yourself (e.g., your major, year in school, etc.) and photo to the class hashtag.

There are no required response posts this week, but you may respond to one another if you like. Your Instagram posting is due in Instagram to the class hashtag AND as a response to this Assignment (post the URL to your Instagram post) by WEDNESDAY, 9/20, 11 p.m. and will be graded as Complete/Incomplete.

Note: At mid-semester and at the end of the semester, students will receive a 'cumulative grade' for their Instagram postings to date, based on the Instagram Postings Discussion RubricPreview the documentView in a new window.
 * INTRODUCTIONS
 * Place a photo on the hashtag introducing yourself to the group. Include some brief information.


 * Add Instagram Identity to chart in Canvas

Review

 * Attendance - sign in
 * Assignment - ALL Assignments MUST BE SUBMITTED on CANVAS
 * Defining words (i.e., shallowness)
 * Online media allows "introverts" to really share their ideas and perspectives in broader / deeper ways; this might not usually come out in physical class participation.
 * Higher participation online is expected from class folk who are quieter (i.e., less frequency, quality of contribution) in class
 * Remaining Photo Releases
 * Class Seating chart
 * Add Instagram Identity to Chart in Canvas
 * See: Instagram posting and Social Media Policies

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * ADD INSTAGRAM IDENTITY TO CANVAS CHART


 * INSTAGRAM POSTINGS & RUBRIC:
 * BONUS Point: The 1 bonus point has to do with timeliness of the posting, frequency (as in contributing to a conversation), and a high quality of the posting, for setting the tone / direction of the discussion.
 * Here's the phrase (pp. 34-35): "Exceeds required postings; postings are early into the discussion and throughout the discussion; provides more than enough time for classmates to read and respond prior to deadline"


 * QUIZ - MIDTERM & FINAL
 * Information about Quiz 1 and 2 - cumulative, 45% of overall grade
 * Test 1: October 19 - 25% -- covers units 2-6; Test 2 - November 23: 20% -- covers units 8-11; Tests are closed-book, multiple-choice/short-answer in format. Bring a pen.

Discussion

 * INSTAGRAM HASHTAG -
 * In class today we'll spend some time looking at the hashtag together and discussing why we posted what we posted. Why did we choose certain photos to represent us? What imagined audiences did we have in mind?


 * We will also make sure that the process and policies for our Instagram discussions are clear, and
 * that the grading schedule and rubric is understood.
 * If you have any questions about the activity, now is the time to ask them! Our Instagram hashtag will be ongoing throughout the semester.

Readings
Liu, H. (2007). Social network profiles as taste performances.Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13 (1), 13.
 * Module 4 PPT in Canvas

Marwick, A. E., & boyd, d. “To See and Be Seen: Celebrity Practice on Twitter. ”Convergence (2011)

OPTIONAL: Mendelson, A. L. and Papacharissi, Z. “Look At Us: Collective Narcissism in College Student Facebook Photo Galleries,” pp. 251-273 in A Networked Self (2011)

OPTIONAL: “Essena O'Neill quits Instagram claiming social media 'is not real life,'" Elle Hunt, The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/nov/03/instagram-star-essena-oneill-quits-2d-life-to-reveal-true-story-behind-images

Instagram Posting + Replies
Find and post an example of a clear taste performance. It can be your own or from someone else’s (a celebrity/politician/other public persona) social media account. Make sure that your examples display taste, for example by listing or showing off favorite music, books, films, etc.

Your initial Instagram posting is due in Instagram to the class hashtag AND as a response to this Assignment (post the URL to your Instagram post) by MONDAY, 9/25, 11 p.m., with 3+ responses due to the hashtag by WEDNESDAY, 9/27, 11 p.m., and will be graded as Complete/Incomplete.

Review

 * Free trial on Netflix.

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * Assignments to include more theory
 * Business vs. Academia
 * Netflix - team of people - to hook people for 3 episodes (binge watching, subscriber base)
 * Twitter - increase characters from 140 - 280)
 * Fruit Basket Example (edible arrangements)
 * Who is this for? Who buys this? What "need" does it meet in them?
 * Lecture
 * Example: subcultures: rap culture, gun culture
 * Example: changing prefs / history / brands - Louis Vuitton example
 * Example: Robin Williams - living behind a mask (humor, depression)

Readings

 * Module 5 PPT in Canvas

Prepare for Class - Online Dating, Relationships & Love

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * TASTE PERFORMANCES AND AUTHENTICITY
 * Find an example of a clear taste performance. It can be from one of your own or someone else’s (a celebrity/politician/other public persona) social media account. Make sure that your examples display taste, for example by listing or showing off favorite music, books, films, etc.

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module 6 in Canvas

Prepare for Class - Groups & Communities

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * ONLINE DATING, RELATIONSHIPS AND LOVE
 * Think about what face-to-face interactions provide to a relationship that online interactions do not, and vice versa, and express this in an Instagram post. Perhaps a picture of an interaction that you feel it would be impossible to have online and explore why - what is it that will be lost in a "virtualization" of that interaction? Or look at the opposite - what is an online interaction that could not take place face-to-face?

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module 7 in Canvas

Prepare for Class - Prep for Test 1

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * GROUPS AND COMMUNITIES
 * Find an example of an online community or a networked public (perhaps one that you consider yourself to be a part of) and describe. What makes this a community or networked public? Decide how best to express this visually in your photo as well.

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module 8 in Canvas

Prepare for Class - Marginalized Groups & Counter Publics

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * TEST PREP - for TEST 1
 * Ask at least one question to the class relating to some aspect of the class . As you answer one another, discuss your responses and deepen your understanding of the issues. Scroll the hashtag so there is no duplication of issues. Accompany your question with any relevant photo.

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module 9 in Canvas

Prepare for Class - History of Virtual Worlds

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * MARGINALIZED GROUPS & COUNTERPUBLICS
 * Try to find a counterpublic and give an example of how it communicates and organizes online. This can be a counterpublic you consider yourself to be a part of. Include some kind of photo.

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module 10 in Canvas

Prepare for Class - Possibilities & Risks in Online Environments

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * THE HISTORY OF VIRTUAL WORLDS
 * Are you part of a game or social virtual world like Sanchez and Taylor describe? How do your experiences of being part of those communities correspond to what they talk about in the readings? Create a post that speaks to the relations you have made with people there and/or to the avatar you have chosen to represent yourself in the virtual world. If you are NOT part of a virtual world, post and discuss a photo example that addresses some of these questions.

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module 12 in Canvas

Prepare for Class - Moral Panics: Digital Lives of Teens

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * POSSIBILITIES AND RISKS IN ONLINE ENVIRONMENTS
 * Discuss an example of online harassment you have seen. Include a photo that you think depicts the emotional aspect of this issue. NOTE: These need not be photos of people – be creative.

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module 13 in Canvas

Prepare for Class - Prep for Test 2

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * MORAL PANICS ABOUT THE DIGITAL LIVES OF TEENS
 * Discuss and pair with a photo an example of when a teenager’s social media use has become a problem (for example leading to bullying, exposure to risk due to oversharing, or access to inappropriate behavior); OR
 * Discuss and pair with a photo an example of Internet addiction.

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module 13 in Canvas

Prepare for Class - Work on Projects

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * TEST PREP for TEST 2
 * Ask at least one (1) question to the class relating to some aspect of the class
 * As you answer one another, discuss your responses and deepen your understanding of the issues.
 * Scroll the hashtag so there is no duplication of issues. Accompany your question with any relevant photo.
 * Scroll the hashtag so there is no duplication of issues. Accompany your question with any relevant photo.

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module 14 in Canvas

Prepare for Class - Storify Story Projects DUE

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * TBD

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module in Canvas

Prepare for Class - TBD

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * TBD

New Learning
See Canvas

Activities

 * TBD

Readings

 * Module in Canvas

Prepare for Class

 * TBD

Instagram Posting + Replies

 * TBD