ACOM465: Communicating on the Internet

Course Description

This course explores the principles and practices of computer-mediated communication, focusing on the creation and management of digital content through e-zines, web design, and virtual communities. Students will develop skills in web publishing, online collaboration, and digital media creation, with an emphasis on interpersonal communication, online identities, relationships, and communities. Key aspects include ethics and privacy, information quality and assessment, search techniques based on reasoned inquiry, critical analysis for information use, and understanding text-based communication technologies such as email, asynchronous discussion, and real-time chat.

Course Objectives

• Define and describe the Internet and its relationship with the Web.
• Articulate the impact the Internet has had on the ways people communicate.
• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of electronic communication.
• Gain a working knowledge of several Internet-based communication tools.
• Gain experience working in virtual teams.

You Will Learn How To

• Take responsibility for your own learning.
• Create an Internet e-zine.
• Communicate with others via email, newsgroups, mailing lists, the Internet, and web conferencing.
• Access and transfer files with Telnet and FTP.
• Build web pages (using Dreamweaver 4).
• Organize information in various formats into WWW (HTML) presentations.

Note: The key for all projects is to clearly define your audience and demonstrate why this resource will be beneficial to them. The final project must include a wide range of links to sites that support or augment your topic, as it will be a WWW resource.

Marking Scheme

• Journal (20%): Assessed online, due on the following dates:
  • 5% - June 2
  • 5% - June 9
  • 10% - June 16
• Sectional Tests (30%):
  • 10% - June 2
  • 10% - June 9
  • 10% - June 16
• Bulletin Board Contributions (20%):
  • 5% - May 29
  • 5% - June 5
  • 5% - June 12
  • 5% - June 19
• Attendance (10%): Taken after the break (7:30 PM each day). Everyone starts with 10%, losing 2 points per class missed.
• E-zine Total (20%):
  • 5% - June 5
  • 5% - June 12
  • 10% - June 19

Course Schedule

Texts and Readings

• Ess, Charles, Ed. (1996). Philosophical Perspectives on Computer-Mediated Communication. State University of New York Press, Albany, NY.
• Herring, Susan C., Ed. (1996). Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. John Benjamins, Philadelphia, PA.

Weekly Readings

• Week One: Ontological Perspective on CMC
  • Condon, Sherri L. and Cech, Claude G. "Functional Comparisons of Face-to-face and Computer-Mediated Communication" in Herring.
  • Korenman, Joan and Wyatt, Nancy. "Group Dynamics in an E-mail Forum" in Herring.
  • Ziv, Oren. "Writing to Work: How Using E-mail Can Reflect Technological and Organizational Change" in Herring.
  • Gurak, Laura J. "The Rhetorical Dynamics of a Community Protest in Cyberspace: What Happened with Lotus Marketplace" in Herring.
• Week Two: Epistemological Perspective on CMC
  • Kolb, David. "Discourse across Links" in Ess.
• Week Three: Ethical Perspective on CMC
  • Elgesem, Dag. "Privacy, Respect for Persons, and Risk" in Ess.
  • Danielson, Peter. "Pseudonyms, Mailbots, and Virtual Letterheads: The Evolution of Computer-Mediated Ethics" in Ess.
  • Lawrence, John. "Intellectual Property Rights: The Paper Club and the Digital Commons" in Ess.
  • Herring, Susan. "Posting in a Different Voice: Gender and Ethics in CMC" in Ess.
• Week Four: Religious Perspective on CMC
  • O'Leary, Stephen D. and Brasher, Brenda E. "The Unknown God of the Internet: Religious Communication from the Ancient Agora to the Virtual Forum" in Ess.
  • Mullins, Phil. "Sacred Text in the Sea of Texts: The Bible in North American Electronic Culture" in Ess.
• Week Five: Linguistic/Semiotic Perspective on CMC
  • Shank, Gary and Cunningham, Donald. "Mediated Phosphor Dots: Toward a Post-Cartesian Model of CMC via the Semiotic Highway" in Ess.
  • Collot, Milena and Belmore, Nancy. "Electronic Language: A New Variety of English" in Herring.
  • Yates, Simeon J. "Oral and Written Linguistic Aspects of Computer Conferencing" in Herring.
  • Herring, Susan. "Two Variants of an Electronic Message Schema" in Herring.
• Week Six: Social Perspective on CMC
  • Adams, Carol J. "'This Is Not Our Fathers' Pornography': Sex, Lies, and Computers" in Ess.
  • Yoon, Sunh-Hee. "Power Online: A Poststructuralist Perspective on CMC" in Ess.
  • Ess, Charles. "The Political Computer: Democracy, CMC, and Habermas" in Ess.
  • Kollock, Peter and Smith, Marc. "Managing the Virtual Commons: Cooperation and Conflict in Computer Communities" in Herring.
  • Deuel, Nancy R. "Our Passionate Response to Virtual Reality" in Herring.
  • Hall, Kira. "Cyberfeminism" in Herring.
• Week Seven: Cross-Cultural Perspective on CMC
  • Ma, Ringo. "Computer-Mediated Conversations as a New Dimension of Intercultural Communication between East Asian and North American College Students" in Herring.
  • Meagher, Mary Elaine and Castanos, Fernando. "Perceptions of American Culture: The Impact of an Electronically-Mediated Cultural Exchange Program on Mexican High School Students" in Herring.
  • Colomb, Gregory G. and Simutis, Joyce A. "Visible Conversation and Academic Inquiry: CMC in a Culturally Diverse Classroom" in Herring.

Additional Resource: The Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication

Additional Notes

The course includes practical components such as setting up an e-zine with individual, group, and class contributions. Students will explore various digital tools and platforms to enhance their communication skills in a digital environment. For further details, contact Professor Dr. Terrell Neuage.