INSTRUCTOR CONTACT

CLASS OVERVIEW

Human history has been marked by dramatic social changes facilitated by communication technologies. Of these changes the most recent, known as the digital revolution, has significantly affected all our lives. The world you are living in is in great flux—new ways of communicating between friends, relatives, and co-workers are being forged, more fortunes will be won and lost, and the balance of social power may shift. Your generation will be responsible for codifying a completely new way of socializing, communicating and conducting business.

The purpose of this course is to help you understand the implications of the communication revolution taking shape around us; however, the class will be concerned not only with present or future technological developments. Our conversation will be broader than that, including social, legal, moral and intellectual concerns. In order to get you to think about the role of the professional communicator in the new digital world we will first familiarize ourselves with several basic technological principles. We will continue the semester with the socio-cultural ideas that inspire communication technologies, will discuss the practical applications they enable(d), and will end with a debate about the policy and regulatory framework that rules emergent communication technologies.

Course Objectives

This is an upper level, large, theory driven, lecture class. The students are expected to participate actively in the class, to be able to work independently, to strive to perfect the technical skills described in the class through their own efforts, to be self-starters, to be proactive, to be curious, and most importantly to come to class with the readings done and ready to ask questions. 

The immediate consequence of this format is that the class will be discussion oriented. The instructor will ask frequent questions during the lectures and will call on members of the class to answer them. The focus of the discussion will be the specific information found in the readings. The conversation will focus on explaining the large social and technological processes involved by the emergence of the new communication technologies.

The class is not meant to train you in using specific software packages or online design, although you will pick up some valuable online research and collaborative skills. For this purpose we have a number of 491 classes. The class will help you understand how the latest technologies will impact your future professional lives in the long rather than in short run.

Upon completion of this course, each student will possess a better understanding of:

1. the technologies behind the electromagnetic/digital/networking revolution
2. the mechanisms and ideas that make this revolution possible
3. some practical applications of digital and networked technologies especially those that are collaborative in nature
   
4. the regulatory and policy framework surrounding communication technologies
5. how theory can inform our understanding of communication technology

Readings

Online readings can be found on the course website, as detailed in the weekly schedule linked from the right column of this page. Access to some of the readings is password protected by your career accounts username and passwords. Make sure you provide us, during the first day of class, your career account username to enable your access to the readings. (Please do not send your password). In case you sign up late, send your username to the class email address 435@wikiway.net.

Do not share with anyone not enrolled in the class the URLs or the reading files you download on your personal computers. These are reserved only for use by Purdue students enrolled in this class.

Evaluation

Grades will be based on performance on the following:

• 3 exams 750 points (3x250)
• Wiki class activity (250 points)

Total – 1000 points

Grading is on a straight scale:

890 – 1000 = A

790 – 890 = B

690 – 790 = C

590 – 690 = D

590 and below = F.

Course Policies

1. This is a collaborative class and it encourages all students to become stakeholders in the learning process. It will reflect equally a set of general learning objectives proposed by the instructors and proposals and suggestions advanced by you. This is illustrated by the fact that you can request clarifications about this syllabus in the Special:Forum/9 discussion section of this site.
2. To further emphasize the collaborative nature of this class, students will be directly involved in writing the course study guide. In addition, they can propose exam topics and questions. This also means that low or no involvement with these activities can hinder your success in the class.
3. The class relies on the assumption that all students are active participants in the learning process. All readings are supposed to be done in advance of each week or class meeting and students are expected to be able to have an informed conversation during class periods about them. Frequent questions about the class readings will be asked during the class discussions and students are expected to be able to contribute to and support a substantive discourse concerning proposed discussion topics.
4. Students are encouraged to ask questions during the class period. They are also expected to make appointments with the instructor or with the TA to discuss any subject matter that might need clarifications.
5. Professional, mature classroom behavior is expected from all students. Conversations or activities that are not related to the class (chatting or creating a distracting atmosphere) are strongly discouraged. All class members are encouraged to request from any colleagues who might find themselves in noncompliance with this rule to cease the activity that disturbs the class.
6. All work done for this course must be your original work and must be written expressly for this course.
7. For some lectures the instructor will use powerpoint slides. Class powerpoint slides are a teaching aid, not a main content material. They help illustrate some, albeit not all, course concepts and are meant to organize the narrative flow of the class. They should not be used instead of reading the class materials or of taking personalized notes during the lecture. All slides can change in advance of each lecture. They will be released to the class after the lecture.
   
8. Make-up exams, incompletes, deferred grades, and late assignments are available only in cases of documented emergency situations. It is your responsibility to contact the instructor immediately to make arrangements and to provide documentation upon request.
   
9. All class email correspondence is to be sent to 435@wikiway.net. Dr. Matei and Qian Wang have equal access to this account. For communications of a personal nature, beyond the immediate scope of the class you can contact Dr. Matei at his Purdue email address smatei at purdue dot edu. Messages sent over the weekend or during a holiday might not be answered until the next working day.
10. If something is due during the session that you will miss, turn the assignment in early.
11. Students are responsible for notifying Qian Wang about grade discrepancies or other evaluation issues regarding any score or grade within a week of the date the results were provided to them. An initial notification should be sent to her via the class email (435@wikiway.net). The note should describe in a narrative and detailed manner the main issues the student wants to discuss with him together with any supporting evidence. The note should also request an in-office meeting to clarify the situation. It is our policy that such matters will only be settled via an in-person conversation. Students can also discuss the issues they brought up with Qian Wang with Dr. Matei, but not before discussing them first with Ms. Wang. No grade disputes will be held after the 7 day notification period has passed.
12. Attendance
    1. Attendance is mandatory. A sign up sheet will be circulated at the beginning of each class period.
    2. Absences due to medical, family, etc. emergencies should be supported by appropriate documentation. (An emergency is an unexpected unplanned event that can’t be avoided. e.g. appendicitis is an emergency, a scheduled doctor’s appointment is not). Each student can miss four classes with no documentation to take care of personal matters. Missing classes due to other reasons can be discussed with Qian Wang at least 48 hrs in advance but exemptions to the above policy are rarely granted.
    3. Unjustified absences after the first four discretionary absences will be penalized according to this incremental schedule:
       1. For the first 1-5 missed classes a 10 point penalty will be applied for each missed class.
       2. Missing 6-10 classes will result in 15 points penalty for each missed class after the first 5.
       3. Missing 11-16 classes will result in a 20 point penalty for each missed class after the first 10.
       4. Missing 17 or more classes can lead to an automatic F.
    4. Signing the attendance sheet at the end of the class is treated as a "tardy". Two tardies are counted as a missed class. NOTE: Common sense should be used in cases of tardiness and I hope you understand that this does not need to be "legislated". If you are late more than 10 minutes, please do not join the class. It disturbs the lecture and shows a lack a respect for your colleagues and for your instructor.
       
    5. You are responsible for obtaining any information from the classes you missed.
13. You are responsible for reading and following all class materials, including the syllabus, the study guide, and all related materials posted on this wiki or distributed in class. If you have questions or require clarification please contact Qian Wang or Dr. Matei. In addition, it is your responsibility to assure that you have access to resources and understand how to use the technology in advance of deadlines. This information is covered in class. If you have any questions or difficulties please contact us, we would love to help. Failure to access the system or failure to understand the technology is not an excuse for not completing the assignments. We recommend testing your accounts well in advance of the deadline and completing the assignments – wiki postings—well before they are due. Back up all your assignments, print them out and file them, even if you are asked to post them on a server or wiki.
14. The material you contribute to this site is invisible to the world outside. At the end of the semester the class will decide, as a whole, if we want to release the content to the world for non-commercial use.
15. If you have any concerns about participating in a wiki exercise please set an appointment with Dr. Matei.

Academic Misconduct

As a student in this course, it is assumed that you have read and understood the official position of Purdue University on matters of academic misconduct (see the University Regulations booklet and other relevant on-line materials, such as this brochure, [1] ). If misconduct occurs in the context of this course, it will be handled according to the procedures specified in the University Regulations booklet.

Special Technologies for this Class

1. The class readings will be distributed over the Internet, as html or pdf files. Some of them will be password protected by your career account username and password. The username and password procedures will be detailed in class. Due to copyright reasons, you should not use the articles for any other purposes than those specified by this class and you should not share the password or the materials distributed through this website with anyone outside this class.
2. The class will use email communication for making important announcements, especially related to coordinating our wiki work. A class mailing list will be maintained by Qian Wang. Please make sure that you give her a current email address that you are using all the time. In case you joined the class late, please make sure that your name is on the list.
3. The class will use this site very frequently. Its wiki abilities will facilitate one of your assignments. Accessing the wiki requires a username and password that you need to create until February 1st. The username should be your real name in the format First Name Last Name (eg, Sorin Matei). Further instructions about the username and password will also be offered in class.
4. Please make sure you do not miss any class period dedicated to tutorials. Not understanding the technology due to missing training sessions is not an excuse for not completing the assignments. If you have difficulties with using the site come to our office hours and/or arrange an appointment right away. We would love to help.
5. A preliminary activities and assignment schedule is outlined below (this may be slightly modified throughout the semester according to various contingencies that might appear in time). The exam material will come primarily from lectures and online readings.

Exams

The exams will be a combination of multiple-choice, true-false, short answer/essay format items. A study guide will be prepared by the entire class, as detailed in the "Wiki activity" section. You can also propose exam topics and exam questions, or edit proposed exam questions and topics through this site. A description of this process will be provided in class. If found satisfactory, a substantial number of exam questions will be selected from those proposed by you. To qualify for being used in an exam, the question should be proposed, however, at least one week before the actual date of the test.

1. 435 Exam 1: Student proposed Exam Questions -- Propose questions no later than Feb 3rd
   
2. 435 Exam 2: Student proposed Exam Questions -- Propose questions no later than March 3rd
   
3. 435 Exam 3: Student proposed Exam Questions -- Propose questions no later than April 25th
   

Wiki activity

Introduction

The class will emphasize the role of openness, mass collaboration, and peer production in shaping today's communication technologies. To help you better understand the importance of these processes you are invited to participate in a class project that will harness the capabilities of a representative collaborative technology, namely a wiki platform. Specifically, you are invited to co-write with your colleagues and assisted by Dr. Matei and Qian Wang the study guide for this class. The study guide will consist of a series of encyclopedia-like entries, listed below. All exam questions will be derived from, will refer to, or contain information extracted from these entries.

Deliverables

DUE BY THE DAY BEFORE THE EXAM, noon

You are invited to contribute to the study guide your relevant knowledge about communication technologies gained through reading the class texts or other sources and from attending the class lectures. Specifically, you are invited to contribute new or edit existing information in/to at least 10 study guide entries (topics). Since we are working wiki-style, which means that everybody will have access to all the entries, you are NOT expected to write an entry all by yourself. All you have to do is add at least one 5 sentence paragraph to each of the ten entries of your choice or edit at least 10 sentences in each of them. Editing means significantly rewording and rewriting the sentences. As a suggestion: do NOT compose your contributions/edits merely with an eye on meeting the minimum requirements above. Write as much, or as little, to sufficiently convey what you wanted to contribute/alter (which, of course, does meet stated minimum requirements).

It is entirely up to you what you decide to contribute to the study guide. You can, for example, provide a brief description of a device. Or, you can provide a definition for a legal or policy issue. You can illustrate the functioning of a law or principle with an example. Or, you can link to other resources on the web or insert graphics.

Ideally, however, you should focus on the elements that you consider the most important or those we spent most of the time on during class discussions.

Caveat regarding the quality of the study guide entries:  The entries will be as good or as bad as you make them. This means that each and every contribution counts. Do not rush the job. Do not be vague. Check the details. And when you read the entries in preparation for your exams check the authenticity and validity of any claim you find unclear or mistaken. The entries will be regularly checked by the instructors and by the honors students enrolled in this class, but given the changing nature of the study guide, it is extremely important that you use the study guide for what its name indicates: a tool for further learning, not a final learning deliverable.

Acceptable materials to be used in the study guide:You should privilege as sources of information the class readings. That is, you should cite and refer to the class readings as much as possible. Use outside materials only if the entry has already covered the class readings.

As mentioned in the next section (Rules regarding using or uploading...), DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA as a primary source of information. You should also keep in mind that the tone should be neutral and should reflect the fact that the entries are reference materials. Stay away from phrases such as "I believe" or "I think". Use direct, neutral, expository phrases. Be precise and use appropriate language. Mention all relevant details. Cite materials using the APA style. Create internal links (to other entries) as often as you mention topics covered by our study guide. Use external links (to web materials) or graphic illustrations as much as needed.

Rules regarding using or uploading on this site content created by other people and found on the web

Do not cut and paste information from random webpages, from Wikipedia or from print materials. Wikipedia cannot be cited as a primary source. The proper manner of handling Wikipedia entries is detailed in the document titled How_to_use_wikipedia. The gist of that document is that Wikipedia is to be treated as a springboard for research, as a search engine and not as primary information authority.

All your contributions should be your own and written specifically for this course. Please refer to this document to avoid situations that might indicate plagiarism [2][3] .

If you upload a picture on the site, make sure that the image is in the public domain or is available for use for non commercial purposes. It is preferable that you use the FLICKR collection of CC (creative commons) pictures.

If you cannot find anything on the FLICKR site, try the Creative Commons Search Engine for images[4]. Only if these two resources did not work for you should you go to the web to identify and use images and visual materials. However, you should only choose materials that do not infringe other people's copyright. How can you tell is an image is OK to use or not? A set of guidelines was provided in class and are restated here:

1. Most pictures posted on sites that end with .gov are in the public domain and can be used without permission.
2. Most pictures posted on .edu sites are probably OK to use but you need to ask the owner of the page or the webmaster if it is ok to do so.
3. Most pictures on sites that are covered by GNU or CC copyright agreements are OK to use, but make sure you familiarize yourself with these licensing formulas. It is always safe to ask the owner of the content if it is OK to use it on our site.
4. Most pictures on Flickr are OK to use but ask the owner first.
5. Most pictures on .com, .org., .net, .info, and countries tld sites (that end with .uk, .jp, .fr, etc.) are probably copyrighted and it is a smart idea not to use them unless you get written permission from the owner of the picture (not of the site) that it is OK to do so and even then you should do this sparringly because you never know who you are talking to
6. Most pictures from Wikipedia or Wikicommons are OK to use, but check the status of the picture first by clicking on it
7. All pictures you find through Google Images or other search engines are to be checked against this list of rules
8. For all pictures you need to provide the author and the copyright status (e.g., used by permission, creative common license, etc.) which should be included both on the picture page and each time you use the picture (detalis here).

Everything you contribute should be in compliance with the Purdue honesty code and with the class policies.

Throughout the process, keep in mind that the study guide is supposed to be a continuous process of collaboration which will spread over the course of the entire semester. Thus, each contribution should be seen as a building block that others will build on. It is not an end in itself, but a means toward an end.

An example of what an entry should look like can be found here:

Paul Baran

Editing process

The editing process, including details about using the wiki platform and its editorial conventions, will be demonstrated in class a few times, especially on the second week of classes. Make sure you do not miss any of these classes. If you have any difficulties using the system, please post your questions to the Forum. Also, Qian Wang is ready to offer you personalized tutorials during his office hours. Dr. Matei can also assist, in case you need supplementary help.

NOTE: The site allows you to add You Tube clips. Make sure you follow the instructions provided in the Help file.

Monitoring your progress and grading

The wiki exercise relies on self monitoring. To figure out how many entries you have edited and how much you have contributed to each you should log into your wiki account, click on your username in the upper right corner of the screen and then on the "user contributions" link in the navigation (left) sidebar. You will see a list of your contributions, including the name of the entry and the date when you edited it.

You will be credited your 250 points if you have contributed sufficient material to ten different study guide entries. This means that you need to have at least 10 contributions to 10 different pages. If you have 10 contributions but to fewer than 10 different entries you will lose points in a proportion to the number of entries you failed to edit. For example, if you edited only 8 entries, you will get only 200 points (80%) of the 250 allocated for this exercise.

Sufficient material means adding a paragraph of at least 5 sentences, or significantly editing (changing the wording and the structure) of 2 paragraphs (or 10 sentences). The accuracy and quality of the contributions needs to be at least satisfactory. This means that the contributions should demonstrate good command of the English language and should provide details that are factually accurate and verifiable.

Your first contribution should be posted no later than midnight Feb 1 and should include at least 5 sentences, an internal link, an external link, and a picture. Failure to post your first contribution by Feb 1 will result in an automatic deduction of 25 points from the total of 250 points allocated for the wiki activity. 'Your last contribution to the wiki cannot be posted later than MAY 1st, 12 PM''''.

.

Study guide entries

To contribute to the study guide click on the entry link of your choice below. If it is empty, start it by adding as much information as you feel necessary.

The number following the entry designates the exam it is relevant for.

If the entry already contains some information you can edit it or add new information. You can delete, proofread or rephrase anything you want. However, do not repeat the same idea with different words.

You can propose a new entry (topic) by inserting its title, at the appropriate spot, in alphabetical order, below. To do so, click on the "edit" link next the the title of this section ("Study guide entries") and insert the title of the new entry within two square brackets and preceded by a pound sign at the appropriate point on the list. Keep in mind that the longer the study guide is, the more difficult to manage will be. So only do this sparingly.

For example, to add an entry for computer insert Computer between Compression and Convivial technologies

Entries list

1. Altair 2 T
2. Analog 1 A
3. Apple 2 A
4. ARPANET 1 T
5. Astore 2 T
6. Augmented reality 3 T
7. Avatar 3 A
8. Bandwidth 1 A
9. BASIC 2 A
10. Bill Gates 2 T
11. Binary multiples 1 T
12. Binary 1 A
13. Cafepress 2 A
14. CDA 3 T
15. Client 1 T
16. CPU 1 A
17. Collaborative Knowledge 2 T
18. Compression 1 T
19. Convivial technologies 2 A
20. COPA 3 A
21. Copyleft 2 T
22. Copyright 3 T
23. Counterculture 2 A
24. Design principles for information appliances 3 A
25. Digital 1 A
26. Digitization 1 T
27. Domain Name 1 A
28. E2E 1 T
29. Elastic computing cloud 2 T
30. Electromagnetism 1 A
31. ENIAC 1 T
32. Envision Lab 3
33. Ethernet 1 A
34. Exponential growth 1 T
35. Fair Use 3 T
36. Firegram 1 A
37. First Amendment and the Internet 3 A
38. Free Software 2 A
39. GNU 2 T
40. GPL 2 A
    
41. Hacker 2 A
42. HDTV 1 T
43. Hollerith Machine 1 A
44. HTML 1 T
45. HTTP 1 A
46. Hyperlink 1 T
47. IBM 2 T
48. ICANN 3 T
49. Information Appliances 3 A
50. Information wants to be free 2 A
51. Innovations Commons 1 A
52. Internet 1 A
53. Invisible Computer 3
    
54. IP address 1 T
55. JPEG 1 A
56. LAN 1 T
57. Larry Roberts 1 A
58. LINUX 2 T
59. Location aware application 3 T
60. Markets are conversations 2 A
61. Mass collaboration 2 T
62. Millenium Act 3 A
63. Moore's law 1 A
64. MP3 3 T
65. Multisphere 3 A
66. Net Neutrality 1 T
67. Network Core 1 A
68. Network Edge 1 T
69. Numeric Systems 1 A
70. Operating_System 2 A
71. Open Source 2 T
72. Packet Switching 1 T
73. PAN 3 T
74. Paul Baran 1 A
75. Personal Computer 2 A
76. Peer Production and Innovation 2 T
77. Peer-to-peer 2 A
78. Pre-litigation Letter 3 A
79. Privacy act of 1974 3 T
80. Regulation 3 A
81. Resource 1 2 T
82. RIAA 3 T
83. Richard Stallman 2 A
84. Robert McHenry 2 T
85. Root Server 1 T
86. Router 1 A
87. Samuel Morse 1 T
88. Second Life 3 A
89. Selfexpression 2 A
90. Server 1 A
91. Smart network 1 T
92. Steve Jobs 2 T
93. Steve Wozniak 2 A
94. Seigenthaler 2 T
95. TCP IP 1 A
96. Technoreversionaries 2 A
97. Ted Nelson 2 A
98. Telegraph 1 T
99. The Cathedral and the Bazaar 2 T
100. The homebrew computer club 2 A
101. The impact of industrial revolution on computing 1 A
102. Tim Berners-Lee 1 T
103. Viral marketing 2 T
104. Visible Past 3 T
105. URL 1 A
106. WAN 3 A
107. Wiki 2 A
108. Wikipedia 2 T

ESSENTIAL TOOLS

Vital Dates

• JAN 21st, MLK DAY UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY
• FEB 1st, LAST DAY TO POST YOUR FIRST WIKI CONTRIBUTION AND TO CREATE A WIKI ACCOUNT WITHOUT PENALTY
  
• FEB 3rd, LAST DAY TO PROPOSE Qs for Exam 1
  
• FEB 11th, FIRST EXAM
• MAR 3rd, LAST DAY TO PROPOSE Qs for Exam 2
• MAR 7th, SECOND EXAM
• MAR  10-15th SPRING BREAK
• APR 25, LAST DAY OF CLASSES
• APR 25,  (ONE WEEK BEFORE FINAL EXAM), LAST DAY TO PROPOSE QUESTIONS FOR FINAL
• MAY 1, 12 PM(ONE DAY BEFORE FINAL EXAM), LAST DAY TO POST YOUR LAST WIKI CONTRIBUTION
• FRI, MAY 2, 2008 10:20-12:20 PM, THIRD AND FINAL EXAM LOCATION TBA
  

Assignments and course materials

• Exam questions proposed by the class

1. 435 Exam 1: Student proposed Exam Questions -- Propose questions no later than Feb 3rd
   
2. 435 Exam 2: Student proposed Exam Questions -- Propose questions no later than March 3rd
   
3. 435 Exam 3: Student proposed Exam Questions -- Propose questions no later than April 25
   

• Details about our wiki activity
• Rules regarding creating and uploading content on this site
• Rules regarding using Wikipedia on this site
• Details about the Study Guide
• Model study guide entry: Paul Baran
• APA Style Guidelines

Help

• If you have any questions about the class or about the syllabus use the site forum

• If you need help with editing or formatting our class study guide entries go to Help:Editing
• All email inquiries related to the class should be sent to 435@wikiway.net.This email account is checked both by the instructor and by the TA, Qian Wang. You will get an answer from either of them typically the same day, on MWF, or within 24 hours on TTh. Messages sent over the weekend or during a holiday might not be answered until the first working day that follows.

Class Schedule

1/7-11/2008: Introductions

• Web materials for weekly discussion
  • Overview
  • Class Technologies
  • It's all about You!
  • Dan Gillmor, We the media

1/14-18/2007: Communication Technologies, From Firegrams to the Electromagnetic Revolution

IMPORTANT: ON FRI JAN 18 WE MEET IN ENAD 240/242

Students whose last names start with A-L go to ENAD 240, those whose last names start with M-Z go to ENAD 242

• Introduction to Communication technology chapter 2 from Gheris, D & Szul L, 2002, Communication Technologies, Prentice Hall, NJ.
• A history of electromagnetism and telegraphs
• Websites presented during lecture, in class:
  • Ancient Greek Methods of Communication
  • Electromagnetic pulse
  • How a speaker works
  • How power generators work
  • The induction process
  • Brief description of electromagnetism
  • Witricity
  • Electromagnetic Spectrum
• Slides

1/21-25/2008 The Digital Revolution

• Bill Gates, The Road Ahead, Penguin Books, NY. chapter 2, The beginning of the Information Age
• Binary System defined
• How Stuff Works
  • Hollerith Machine
  • Analog vs. Digital Recording
  • HDTV

Other Resources presented in class

• Binary/Digital Convertor
• Captcha
• Moore's Law
• Slides
• Digi Tech Video
• [5] Cupon program for digital converters

1/28-2/1/2008 The Internet as a Network of Networks

• Wrapping up the digitization conversation-Guest lecturers on HDTV
• Neil Randall, 1997, The soul of the Internet. Thomson Learning, NY, Chapters:
  • It's all cuz o'them Commies! Maybe...
  • The soul of the Internet: The Web
• The Internet Sleuth's tools
  
• Who.is Find out who owns what site
• Visualize the path of any connection you make on the net
• Add the geolocator extension to Firefox
• What is my IP address?
• Slides Here are the direct links to the definitions embedded in the slides Protocol, Internet Protocol, Packet, HTML, Server, Client
  

2/4-2/8/2008 The Internet as an E2E medium

• Lessig, L. 2002. The Future of Ideas. Vintage Press. New York. Chpater: Commons of the Wires.
• Should the Internet be neutral?
  • The gist of the debate-USATODAY
  • A more detailed view from CNET
  • An Opinion Levy-Newsweek

2/11-15/2007 How did the Internet become "Open"? The Counterculture

FIRST EXAM FEBRUARY 11

• Theodore Roszak. 1994, The Cult of Information. University of Calfiornia Press. Berkeley, CA.
• Matei, SA, From counterculture to cyberculture, JCMC
• Slides
• 435 Internet videos
• Optional
• Steve Wozniak's Biography
• The birth of the Mac

2/18-22/2008 Internet Openess and Free Software

• The History of the GNU Project
• The Free Software Definition
• Eric Raymond, The Cathedral and the Bazaar & Copyleft slides
• Linux slides
• Copyleft definition
• Server Market Evolution
• Firefox marketshare
• Linux share

2/25-29/2008 Open Source Becomes Mainstream

• Peer Innovation and Production -- How IBM Embraced Copyleft & Amazon.com opens up to collaboration
  
• The Faith Based Encyclopedia
• Know it all & New Yorker's editorial note on its Know it all article blunder
• Seigenthaler oped  &  Tracking down the Siegenthaler slanderer
• How_to_use_Wikipedia
• Wikipedia class slides & Mass collaboration slides
• The right to kick midgets
• The power of the chaperones(proposed by a classmate)

Resources presented in class

• Astore
• The Cafepress Site
  

• Wikipedia's list of administrators
• Wikipedia's 5 Pillars
• Neutral Point of view
• Wikipedia's Most Viewed 100 pages  Paper on the same topic
  
• Wikipedia Bureaucrats
• Job openings at Wikipedia
• Wikipedia Staff
• Overview of Wikipedia Statistics
• Detailed Wikipedia statistics (use the drop down menu for checking various stats

Optional

• History Flow and Wikipedia interaction
• Who writes Wikipedia
• Wales talking about Wikipedia at Oxford Internet Institute

3/3-7/2007 How will mass collaboration, peer production and group interaction influence your careers as communication professionals?

• Markets are Conversations, From the Cluetrain Manifesto, by Levine, Locke, Searls & Weinberger
• Viral Marketing Grows Up
• The Mentos and Diet Coke Phenomenon
• The Coke & Mentos EEPYBRID Guys
• Markets are conversations slides

MARCH 5, GUEST SPEAKERS FROM THE PODCASTING COMPANY TRUFFLE MEDIA

Shown in class

• The 95 Cluetrain Manifesto theses
• clue train defined
• The power of viral marketing
• Kontraband, the viral infection starts here

SECOND EXAM MARCH 7

3/10-15/2007 Spring Break

3/17-21 The Future of Communication

• The Net Captain and the World of Tomorrow Slides
• Norman, D., The invisible computer
• The Book of Visions: from LAN to PAN
• Matei et al, Learning and Dicovering in Real and Virtual Space up to but not including "Innovative, forward–looking computer and information science facets"
• Chumby
• What is second Life?
• Interviewwith Peter Ludlow, the author of Second Life Herald
  

Resources presented in class

Augmented Reality in Switzerland

Augmented Reality as a Game

Augmented Reality as a way of reading books

Ambiental Devices: The $150 ORB

3/24-28/2008 Internet Regulation

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

• The first Amendment Analyzed
• The First Amendment and Mass Media
• Why and how is broadcasting less protected-briefer argument
• The First Amendment and the Internet
• The Internet and Patriot Act
• French Press Law
• Slides Part 1
• Slides Part 2
  

Sites listed in the Powerpoint slides and shown in class:

• Al Manar
• Al Tawbha
• Jihad Watch articles on Jihadi sites in the US
• Facebook Terms of Use
• Yahoo Terms of Use
• Lis of Gripe Sites

3/31-4/4/2008 International Regulatory framework

• International
  • What is ICANN <<< See the three documents embeded on this page
  • The future of international Internet regulation
  • Yahoo vs. France
    • Yahoo vs. France, the gist of the matter
    • Yahoo vs. France, the final ruling
• Slides

4/7-11/2008 Copyright. Should P2P music sharing be legal or not? Copyright issues at Purdue

• Copyright Basics
• Copyright Slides
• Purdue Copyright Policy
• Letter Send by RIAA in the spring of 2007 to potential copyright infringers
• Purdue FAQ in the aftermath of the RIAA letter campaign in the Spring of 2007
• Have you seen this letter? Read it, is mandatory

Shown in class

• Single mom making 36,000 dollars a year loses RIAA lawsuit; should pay 220K for 1,700 downloaded songs; jury finds her guilty for downloading 24 of them
• Is Karaoke music covered by copyright? YES!

4/14-18/2007 Class debate

• Have you downloaded a music MP3 file recently? In view of the slides would you argue that your practice is "fair use"? Why? (think about her four criteria for determining if a copyright infringement occurred and also read this NYTimes Debate on Fair Use).
• If you are a frequent downloader, how do you explain your behavior? What legal and moral justification do you have for it?
• If you are a frequent uploader, how do you explain your behavior?
• This table was compiled and published by the Recording Industry Association of America. It reflects the most recent CD sale trends. This document, also issued by RIAA, explains that the "real" (adjusted for inflation) cd price has been going down for the past decades. You can also use this inflation calculator. What conclusions do you draw after analyzing the table and the explainer?
• In the picture below CNN explains the cost of a CD. And this is how Rolling Stone explains the same thing (making the point that CDs can be cheaper). Read both materials and be prepared to discuss their arguments in class.
  
• Suppose CDs go the way of the dodo. What business models would you propose so that the music would keep coming?

Legal music sites (presented in class)

last.fm

Yahoo Launch Cast

Aol Music

Rhapsody

4/21-25 Privacy Issues

Readings

US Privacy Act Explained

Privacy Defined

US Privacy Act of 1974

Safe Harbor Principles

Corporate Self-regulation and Privacy

What to do if your personal data is stolen or misused

Also, review the PATRIOT act readings and mentions discussed during our regulation week

SLIDES

Part 1

SITES AND RESOURCES PRESENTED IN CLASS

Tools you can use to defend your electronic privacy

Ten legal downloading sites

LegalTorrents

THIRD AND FINAL EXAM

THIRD AND FINAL EXAM FRI, MAY 2, 2008 10:20-12:20 PM. LOCATION TBA