Introduction

Joseph Reagle

Me

Geek

A lot of stuff is interesting and even boring stuff can be made so.

What is a geek?

Internet timeline

Course attributes

Meaningful

We engage topics relevant to our lives.

Engaged

Not the sort of class where “just get Prof’s notes and you’ll get an A.”

Active

You will be working on:
- a QIC log and quizzes,
- wiki assignments,
- in class exercises, and
- exam review.

QIC

After each class’s readings, note a Question, an Insight, and a Connection.

one or two sentences each
anchored in a specific concept, example, or quotation
in your HackMD log, emailed to me 90 minutes before class

I read them to prepare our discussion.

What makes them good?

	weak	good
Q	“How does this affect society?”	names the claim that provoked it
I	“I found it interesting that…”	a sentence someone could disagree with
C	“This reminds me of TikTok.”	names both things and the concept joining them

See Questions, Insights, and Connections.

Quizzes

five unannounced quizzes each half of the term; the best three count (30 pts each)
at the start of class, on paper, no notes or devices
a recall question on the readings (20), plus: restate your Q, I, or C from today’s log (10)
both are simple recall—about five minutes

Two quizzes are dropped, so you can skip two QICs a half with no risk.

That is the grace—which is why there are no makeups.

Motivation

Digital communication is central to contemporary life and yet (or consequently) we take it for granted.

This course will remedy this; at its successful completion you will be able to explain the technical basis, communicative effects, and commercial aspects of digital communication.

Skills

recall, compare, and give examples of key issues and theories of online communication (e.g., deindividuation);
explain how the Internet & Web work (e.g., DNS);
ask complex questions and have a sense of how to address them (e.g., are Millennials tech-savvy?);
exercise practical digital competencies (e.g., writing markup and assessing your digital footprint);
compellingly write in both a short-form online venue and longer-form academic format;

The “digital native” debate

Phase 1: Conception (1996–2006)

If educators wanted to reach their students, the traditional academic pace which is slow, should be cast aside for the sake of speed and the sensation of urgency (Prensky, 2001a, p. 6). (Evans & Robertson 2020, p. 2)

Phase 2: Reaction (2007–2011)

Phase 2.1: Moral panic

moral panics occur when a particular group in society such as a youth subculture, is portrayed by the news media as embodying a threat to societal values and norms. (Evans & Robertson 2020, p. 3)

For example…?

Phase 2.2: Myths

Myth 1

“Digital natives possess inferior social skills or are more likely to avoid personal interaction in favor of digital interaction.” (Moran 2016)

Apparently not.

Myth 2

“Digital natives are much better at multitasking than digital immigrants.”

while digital natives may be more likely to choose to multitask, they are not more efficient multitaskers. (Moran 2016)

Myth 3

“Digital natives have natural instincts about how to use or fix computers and other digital products.”

young adults were no more knowledgeable than older adults about the underlying structure of the web, major tech leaders (like Bill Gates), or even important concepts like net neutrality. (Moran 2016)

Evans & Robertson agree

“technological sophistication did not extend beyond the most basic and widely used of digital tools”
“[not] have radically different learning styles, as Prensky claimed”
“could not be viewed as homogeneous in their proficiency and appreciation of technology”
“nor were they unique in their ability to employ and thereby reap the benefits of technology”
education is the most important association with ICT proficiency (Evans & Robertson 2020, p. 3)

Phase 3: Adaptation (2012–2017)

what about the digital divide?
device usage can reduce information literacy
it’s hard to teach tech literacy unless a specific focus
“so called digital natives cannot actually multitask in the way that they have been mythologized to do”

Phase 4: Reconceptualization (2017 To Present)

are you the “IGen” (born 1995–2012)?
Twenge worries about depression, suicide, narcissism
- yet negligible correlations, and inappropriate interpretations
solutions?
- take a technology break?
- …

Your Bloom question?

Knowledge (identification and recall of information)
Comprehension (organization and selection of facts and ideas)
Application (use of facts, rules and principles)
Analysis (separation of a whole into component parts)
Synthesis (combination of ideas to form a new whole)
Evaluation (development of opinions, judgments, or decisions)

Generations

Are there generations?

Does Evan & Robertson’s periodization make sense?

I’d posit overlapping cycles of myth and panic over time.

Are you tech savvy? (Sidibe 2015)

Tech

Have you benefited from early exposure to tech?

“Lost Generation”?

What are the implications for the future?

⌘+f

What would you like to learn?

What do you think?

Chris Ware, New Yorker — Chris Ware, *New Yorker*

Infrastructure

Syllabus

It’s the Web!

Tools like Obsidian allow you to “make information your own.”

BTW: Posting Style

In emails, click the ‘…’ to see my response.

Please see my comments below. —Dr. Reagle
…

On Tuesday, Sue wrote:
>>> Michael Pollen argues agriculture is the new industrial.
>>
>>typo: it's "Pollan"  —Dr. Reagle
>>
> Thanks for noting that. — Sue
It's an easy mistake to make. —Dr. Reagle

Zip of PDFs

Course policies

high expectations	respect
academic integrity	collaboration
gadgets	attendance
participation	late work

Office hours

see syllabus and
“end of class” conference

Communicating

You can post to our Canvas discussion thread for show & tell, follow-ups, critical thinking puzzles, funnies, etc.