Course Descriptions

LIS 150 - Social Media and Ourselves

3 Credits, 3 Contact Hours
3 lecture periods 0 lab periods

Distinguish how social media sites are influenced and impacted by users, as well as the role of social media in interpersonal relationships. Includes a focus on social media sites and the various implications and functions of social media in contemporary times. Also includes the study of new media taking place across disciplinary divides and from multiple theoretical perspectives.

Gen-Ed: Meets AGEC - SBS; Meets CTE - SBS.

1. Analyze the role of social media in personal and social interaction.
2. Define basic concepts related to social network theory and social media.
3. Identify and critically evaluate social theories and concerns related to how people work, consume, and present themselves on the web.
4. Illustrate how social thinking, influence, and relations impact individual behavior.
5. Examine the role of interpersonal influence on self-perception, attitude formation, and behavior.
6. Empirically evaluate social networking characteristics while examining how data mining can be used to answer social science questions. 
7. Differentiate the popular and academic perspectives on social media, and recognize the interdisciplinary nature of media research. 

1. Information society to e-society
   1. Information in history
   2. The information revolution (Information age)
   3. The social media revolution
2. Cyberspace, virtual communities and online social networks
   1. The physical internet and the concept of cyberspace
   2. Virtual communities
   3. Social networks
   4. Social media

1. Traditional roles

2. Purposes

1. Disciplinary approaches to social media
   1. Psychological perspective
      1. Psychology of social media
      2. Intrapersonal factors in virtual communities
      3. “Sense of self” and others
      4. Gender, sexuality, and virtual identity(s)

5. Gender and age in behaviors on the web

6.  Personal pages, self-presentations, and virtual selves

1. Sociological perspective
2. Social networks
3. Functionalism
4. Constructivism
5. Internalism and externalism
6. Feminist theory
7. Social constructionism
8. Social construction of technology (SCOT)

C. Anthropological perspective

1. Social media characteristics and their cultural usage
2. Participatory culture
3. Anomie
4. Storage and expressions of culture
5. Gaming
6. Social activities: flash mob, smart mobs, meet-ups

D. Economic perspective

1. Substantivism and social media
2. E- commerce
3. Marketing and social media
4. Economic Inequality and discrimination
5. Globalization

1. Interpersonal relationships in virtual communities 
   1. Connectedness and personal welfare
   2. Collaboration, collective intelligence, and crowdsourcing
   3. Citizenship and participatory journalism
2. Contemporary issues in social media and social networking
   1. Privacy, personal information, and data protection
   2. Addiction, depression, loneliness, exploitation
   3. Cyber bullying, online shaming, viral rage
   4. Health concerns related to social media and social networking
3. Analyzing social media empirically
   1. Web based research from academic perspectives
   2. Requirements for scientific research
   3. Qualitative and quantitative web based research
   4. Empirical versus theoretical questions
   5. Designing and conducting web based research
4. Analyze an aspect of social media
   1. Use scientific methods to investigate an aspect of social media
   2. Use online tools to conduct qualitative and/or quantitative research
   3. Use or examine online tools to discuss, interpret, evaluate and discuss evidence
   4. Produce written discourse requiring critical inquiry totaling 2500 words or more
   5. Combine in-class and out-or-class written work

LIS 210 - Hacking and Open Source Culture

1. Articulate the roles of early hackers and the development of the hacker community and their relationship to the methodologies found in open-source software.
2. Explain the debate around open source software, proprietary software, and intellectual freedom.
3. Explicate the impact of open source and open access as alternatives to traditional intellectual property law and policy.
4. Evaluate the roles of government and private enterprise in the development of our digital society.
5. Determine how the hacker ethos can be applied to current social and technological problems
6. Explain how the future of technology (AI, automation, etc) will impact society and culture, how it can be hacked to be more open and human-focused.

1. Introductions
   1. What is a hacker?
   2. Hacking and being hacked
2. History of Hacking 
   1. Development of the computer
   2. Early history of hacking (MIT 1950s-1960s)
   3. Hardware Hacking (California 1970s)
   4. Hacking in the PC age (1980s-early 2000s)
   5. Impact of personal computing on hacking
3. The Internet
   1. Early architecture of the internet
   2. Development of World Wide Web and open web protocols
   3. Beginnings of open source culture
   4. Net Neutrality
   5. The Dark Web
4. Copyright, Licensing, and the Law
   1. History of copyright and licensing
   2. Modern applications of copyright and licensing rules
   3. Torrenting, illegal downloading
   4. Open alternatives to dominant model
   5. Modern anti-hacking laws
5. Hacktivism
   1. Anonymous 
   2. Edward Snowden, Julian Assange, WikiLeaks
   3. Hacking in developing countries
6. The Modern Open Source Movement
   1. Open textbooks
   2. Open Access research
   3. Creative Commons
   4. Makerspaces
7. How the Hacker Ethic has influenced modern culture
   1. Facebook and hacker ethic
   2. Google
   3. Business applications
   4. Games and gaming
   5. Hackathons

LIS 260 - Learning in the Information Age

1. Compare and contrast the advances of Machine Learning to human learning.
2. Explore the impact Machine Learning is having on our society. 
3. Discuss how social media, Machine algorithms, and various other technological tools are impacting the way we learn. 
4. Generate a more modern and fluid definition of technological learning to align with our current teaching and learning experiences, both within personal, academic, and workplace environments. 
5. Define traditional learning theories (Behavioral, Cognitive, and Constructivist) of the 20th and 21st Centuries within traditional school settings. 
6. Compare and contrast these traditional learning theories to distant learning theories (online learning). 
7. Explore how the integration of technology can impact your own learning. 
8. Examine the impact modern technology has had on generations born before 1980.

1. Learning Theory 
   1. 20^th and 21^st century learning theories. 
   2. Teaching–Learning Process.
   3. Use of technologies to enhance pedagogical practices.
   4. Social, economic, and technical barriers. 
2. How Technology has Impacted How We Learn and Teach 
   1. Experiential Learning. 
   2. Using technology to motivate and engage learners. 
   3. How technology is changing our brain structures. 
   4. Gamification.
   5. Online teaching and learning. 
3. Artificial Intelligence (Machine Learning) 
   1. Introduction to Machine Learning. 
      1. Automation and minimal human interaction (pros/cons).
   2. Comparing Machine Learning to Human Learning. 
   3. Will machines take over? 
   4. Ethical and Moral considerations. 
4. Where Are We and How Do We Move Forward? 
   1. Facebook and Popular Platforms Debacle. 
   2. Ethical Issues. 
   3. Algorithms. 
   4. More of AI and Machine Learning.