DB 13: Course Reflection

This is an exercise in metacognition (thinking about your own thinking), which is an important part of the learning process. Reflecting on what you learned helps exercise essential skills such as critical and creative thinking, useful failure, adaptability, and more.

For the final DB, write a reflection on the semester as a whole. Questions to consider include, but are not limited to:

• What readings, discussions, or concepts from the semester stuck with you, and why?
• What topics were the most interesting? Least interesting?
• Has your perspective on the current information and media landscape changed since the beginning of the class? If so, how and why? If not, why not?
• What will you take away from the course? Are there skills or awareness you’ll apply in your academic work, or in your life in general?
• Were there topics or areas that weren’t covered, but you wish they were?

DB 12: Archives

Write a reflection in which you consider this week’s readings on archives in various forms. 200-400 words

You do not have to answer all of these questions, they are suggestions of questions you could answer or ways to frame your response.

• Pull the most interesting quote (to you) from one or more readings, and respond/react/reflect on that quote.
• Do you have experience visiting archives or using archival material (in their physical or digital form)?
• Find an archival collection of interest to you and consider it in light of the readings. What kinds of things can be learned from the archive you chose? Why did you choose it?
  • Local examples of archival collections include CCNY Digital Archives, the Lesbian Herstory Archives, and the Interference Archive. NYPL has many collections, including (but not limited to) the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and the Act Up NY Collection. NYU also has many interesting collections, like the Riot Grrrl Collection and the Downtown Collection. The Library of Congress has extensive digital collections, or search for archival collections around the world on Archive Grid.
• How do these readings connect with previous readings or topics covered in this class? Or from outside class–other classes, news stories, your experiences, etc.

DB 11: Libraries & Classification

Write a reflection in which you consider this week’s readings on public libraries and library classification systems. 300-500 words.

You do not have to answer all of these questions, they are suggestions of questions you could answer or ways to frame your response.

• Consider how the systems in place in libraries reflect the biases of those who created the systems, and how it impacts people today.
• Was there anything about the content of this week’s readings that was new, interesting, or surprising to you?
• Did the readings change the way you think about or perceive libraries as institutions, or how libraries work?
• Consider how an individual’s place in society impacts their ability to find or access information as it relates to libraries.
• How do these readings connect with previous readings or topics covered in this class? Or from outside class–other classes, news stories, your experiences, etc.
• Was there anything you would like to explore further or find out more about?

DB 10: Literature Review Resources

Your final literature review requires you to have at least 8 sources, 3 of which must be scholarly (peer reviewed) articles. There rest can be news articles, long form essays, or other types of sources.

Details for the literature review structure, requirements, and timeline can be found here. Examples of the final paper are in the group library. Use library databases to find scholarly sources.

Your post this week should include citations for at least 3 (but feel free to include 4 or more) sources on your literature review topic. They can be a mix of scholarly and news (or other) sources.

For each source, provide

• A citation in the format of your choice (APA, Chicago, or MLA)
• A short (3-4 sentences max) summary of the main points of the source

DB 9: Academic Publishing & Citation as Political Practice

Write a reflection in which you consider this week’s readings on academic publishing and citational practice. 300-500 words.

You do not have to answer all of these questions, they are suggestions of questions you could answer or ways to frame your response.

• Relate academic publishing paywalls and the open access movement to previous conversations in this class about the internet as a place to find freely available information.
• Was there anything about the economic model of academic publishing that surprised you?
• Consider how an individual’s place in society affects experiences, values, or choices as they relate to citational practice.
• What are the ethical views that support seeing citation as a political act?
  What was new to you, and did it change the way you think about or perceive citation in either an academic or public context?
• How do these readings connect with previous readings or topics covered in this class? Or from outside class–other classes, news stories, your experiences, etc.
• Was there anything you would like to explore further or find out more about?

DB 8: Social Media Activism

Write a reflection in which you consider this week’s readings, which explore the concept of social media activism. 300-500 words

Your should not be a summary of the readings, but rather an integration of how the readings complement or contradict each other, what themes tie them together, and (potentially) how they relate to your own experiences.

You do not have to answer all of these questions, they are suggestions of questions you could answer or ways to frame your response.

• Do you agree or disagree with Hu’s suggestion that the “B.L.M. uprising of 2020…has evinced a scale, creativity, and endurance that challenges those skeptical of the Internet’s ability to mediate a movement.”
• Do you agree or disagree with Tufekci’s critique of social media activism “The speed afforded by such protest is, however, as much its peril as its promise. After a swift expansion, spontaneous movements are often prone to…“tactical freezes.” Because they are often leaderless, and can lack “both the culture and the infrastructure for making collective decisions,” they are left with little room to adjust strategies or negotiate demands. At a more fundamental level, social media’s corporate infrastructure makes such movements vulnerable to coöptation and censorship.”
• What, if any, personal experience do you have with social media activism? Is it limited to online only, or has it spurred you to other types of organizing or activism?

DB 7: Data Visualization

For this post, you’ll create a data visualization.

In your post, include your visualisation and write a little bit about it. Tell us what data you choose, why you decided to use the visualisation you did, any design or other choices you made, how you feel it came out, and any other thoughts on the process.

You can upload images directly to the post, the group library, to Imgur, or add a link to a Google or Microsoft document.

Regardless of what data and what visualization form you decide on, your visualization should take into account conclusions from the week’s reading. In particular, when creating your visualization, consider

• What is the function or aim of the visualisation?
• Is it going to inform you of something new, confirm something you already knew, or persuade you to a particular viewpoint?
• How will you effectively convey your message to your viewer?

Data visualizations can take many forms, from simple charts to storytelling visualisations to interactive displays of datasets and more.

Your data visualization can take whatever form you’re comfortable with. You can hand draw or paint, you can use an online tool like Canva (which has infographic templates) or Piktochart, you can use a spreadsheet program like Excel or Google Sheets.

The data that you visualize is also up to you. You could create an infographic that shows a process like this one for a peanut butter & jelly sandwich. You could take a dataset and create a chart–or series of charts–to tell a story. You could copy all of the text of the discussion board posts into one document, and use it to create a word cloud visualizing the conversations. 

Here are some data sets you can explore, or find one on your own.

• CUNY Student Datasets
  • Ancestry of Undergraduates
• CCNY Student Datasets
• NYC Open Data has a huge amount of datasets on nearly every aspect of NYC life
  • For example: NYC Film Permits
• NY State also has an Open Data site

DB 6: Topic for Literature Review

• Post due Sunday Oct 11, midnight

This DB post is the first step towards the final assignment in this class, the literature review.

You are not required to respond to classmates this week (you can if you want, but it is optional).

This DB has 2 parts. Your post should include both your topic and your inquiry question.

To get started on your literature review assignment you will:

1. Choose a topic that you are interested in researching and learning more about.
2. Formulate an inquiry question that specifically describes what would like to know about your topic.

Topic Choice
The parameters for your topic choice are expansive.

You can choose a topic directly from this class and explore it further.

Examples: algorithmic bias, citation as political practice, social media activism. Anything on the list of topics in the course schedule.

Or, you can choose a topic that is of interest to you and consider how it intersects with the themes of the class (information, how it is created, how it moves through the world, how it is received and evaluated, technology, bias, objectivity, neutrality, etc).

Areas of interest for you can be something related to your major, a topic or idea you’ve encountered in another class, or something non-academic.

Examples: sports fans & social media, influencers & health information

Inquiry question
Take your topic and use it to write a question about what specifically you’re going to research.
Sports fans & social media might turn into “How do sports fans use social media as a way to create identity?”
Algorithmic bias might turn into “How does algorithmic bias impact facial recognition software and systems?”

If you have multiple inquiry questions, you can include them here, and choose one as you start to research.

If you have questions about the literature review in general, please post them in General Course Questions.

DB 5: Misinformation, Disinformation, Viral News

• Initial post due: Thursday Oct 1, midnight
• 2 responses due: Saturday Oct 3, midnight

Write a reflection in which you consider this week’s readings, which explore the concepts of viral news, ‘fake news’, misinformation, and disinformation.  300-600 words

Your should not be a summary of the readings, but rather an integration of how the readings complement or contradict each other, what themes tie them together, and (potentially) how they relate to your own experiences. 

You do not have to answer all of these questions, they are suggestions of questions you could answer or ways to frame your response. 

• How, if at all, do the readings shed light on our current moment (including but not limited to COVID, the presidential election, catastrophic climate change, rampant conspiracy theories)?
• Did anything in the readings change the way you think about or perceive viral news or viral social media posts? Or cause you to reconsider how you consume or share news or social media posts?
• What, if any, connections can you make between this week’s readings and previous readings or topics? 
• What, if any, connections can you make between these readings and topics from outside class–other classes, news stories you’ve seen, etc?
• What are the main points of these readings? How are the concepts in the readings related? Focus on concepts, ideas, and themes.

This DB is eligible for a Flipgrid response (you can do max 2 DBs as videos). If you choose this option, use this link to record your response, and post it as a reply to this thread. Your video must be at least 2 minutes, and should be substantive and integrate the readings.

DB 4: Analyzing Search Engines

• Initial post due: Wednesday Sept 23, midnight
• 2 responses due: Saturday Sept 26, midnight

This DB has 2 parts. Please complete them both.

It also requires you to take screenshots (phone or computer) and include them in your post. You do this in any way that works for you, as long as the rest of us can see the screenshots. Options include: put them directly into your response, or upload them to the group library, paste them in a Google or Office 365 document and include the link, upload them to Imgur and include the link.

Part 1: Analyze and compare personalized search results from Google with results from Duck Duck Go, a search engine that does not collect IP addresses and other search history information.

Part 2: Analyze Google Image results for the dominant narrative inspired by our reading from Safiya Noble.

500-900 words total

Part 1 – Analyzing & Comparing Search Engines (300-450 words)

1. Login to your Google account via Gmail, Docs etc.
2. Open a new tab and run three separate searches in Google:
   1. Hotels
   2. Immigration to the U.S
   3. Your choice – pick something you have looked for recently that is safe for sharing.
3. For each search, take a screenshot image of your first page of results
4. Next do the same searches in Duck Duck Go and take a screenshot image of your results
5. In your response, paste your screenshots for each search and compare your results. Write approximately a paragraph (100-150 words) for each of the three searches (3 paragraphs in total, 300+ words). Consider the following questions, and incorporate them as you see fit in your response.
   1. Where do you see advertisements in your results?
   2. What services and websites are prioritized in each search system?
   3. How did each search system interpret what you were searching for?
   4. Which results are more relevant to you?
   5. What narrative is being told in the results?
   6. What are the ethical considerations around the use of personal data, search histories, and other information to inform what you see in the results?

Part 2 – Analyzing Google Images (200-400 words)

1. Select a phrase to search for from the following list, or choose your own
   1. working mom
   2. lead singer
   3. doctor
   4. handsome
   5. beautiful women
   6. cute children
   7. happy family
   8. professor
2. Search Google Images for your phrase with Safe Search on.
3. Take a screenshot image of your results and describe and analyze what you are seeing. Consider the following questions, and incorporate them as you see fit in your response.
   1. What is the perspective represented by these searches?
   2. What narrative is being told in the results?
   3. What autosuggestions does Google recommend for similar searches? Do these suggestions change your interpretations of the results you’re shown?

DB 3: Digital Divide & Net Neutrality

• Intial post due: Wednesday Sept 16, midnight
• 2 responses due: Saturday Sept 19, midnight

Here is the general Discussion Board Rubric. This is a reading response sample from a student in a previous class on NYC history & society. While the topics are different, this provides an example of how to integrate a set of readings via a theme. The sample is available in the group library.

Prompt

Write a reflection in which you consider this week’s readings, which explore the concepts of the digital divide and of net neutrality. 500-800 words.

Your should not be a summary of the readings, but rather an integration of how the readings complement or contradict each other, what themes tie them together, and (potentially) how they relate to your own experiences. 

You do not have to answer all of these questions, they are suggestions of questions you could answer or ways to frame your response. 

• What are the main points of these readings? How are the concepts in the readings related? Focus on concepts, ideas, and themes.
• Did anything in the readings change the way you think about or perceive the idea of the internet, and of how you access it?
• Can you make a connection between this week’s readings and previous readings? Or between these readings and topics from outside class–other classes, news stories you’ve seen, etc?
• Consider how an individual’s place in society affects their experience accessing the internet. How does the digital divide reinforce existing inequities (race, class, geographic location etc)?

This DB is eligible for a Flipgrid response (you can do max 2 DBs as videos). If you choose this option, use this link to record your response, and post it as a reply to this thread. Your video must be at least 2 minutes, and should be substantive and integrate the readings.

DB 2: Media Diet

• Intial post due: Wednesday Sept 2, midnight
• 2 responses due: Saturday Sept 5, midnight

DB rubric is here. This post is not eligable for a Flipgrid response.

Track your media use over the course of one (12 or 24 hour) day. Write a reflection on the data you’ve gathered on yourself. Consider patterns, deviations, habits. 300-500 words.

For this assignment, you will take time to reflect on the role that communication technologies play in your everyday life. In this assignment, you will track your media use and write a reflection based on your findings. The definition of media for this assignment is broad: social media, TV, print, online, YouTube video, Reddit, etc. In what ways are you consuming and creating information?

Thinking about your media habits will help you consider how local, national, or global trends or ideologies impact on your individual or collective decision-making, what you read, and who you trust for information.

Field Notes: Take notes on type, time, duration, activity, and any other observations you want to include (location, how you felt while using, how other people acted in response to your use mediated or real world, what you notice about other people using media, patterns in your use, intentions for use, unintended consequences of use, social activity, who you communicate with, code switching, motivations for use, social expectations, etc).

Write a summary of your findings (300-500 words) across all your data. Did anything in your media habits surprise you? What patterns did you see emerging? Did you notice specific responses to specific types of content or platforms? Certain times of day in which you were more active? Was your use of media a response to boredom or other situation?

Summarize how you consume various types of media, and what gratifications you get from it (or not). Consider your habits in light of the week’s readings. Do any of them relate to or describe part of your own media habits? If so, how?

DB 1: Introductions & Syllabus Response

This DB has 2 parts: video introductions and syllabus response.

Due dates

• Post Thursday 8/27 midnight
• Response Saturday 8/29 midnight

For the introductions:

Make a short (1-3 minutes) introductory video using Flipgrid. Tell us you a bit about yourself. You can include your academic interests, non-academic interests, pets, family, borough…enough to give us a sense of yourself!

• Class Introductions Flipgrid link https://flipgrid.com/cohn2148
• Choose the Join with Microsoft link & sign in using either your CityMail address (@citymail.cuny.edu) or your CUNY login (@login.cuny.edu).
• Follow the instructions to record a video.
• When you’re done, copy the link to share the video.
• Add a reply in this Introductions DB with your name (and the syllabus response, detailed below) and the link to your Flipgrid video.
• Watch your classmate’s videos!
  • You can see my intro video here
• Respond to at least 2 videos.

For the Syllabus Response:

Review the course website, https://researchfall20.commons.gc.cuny.edu/  including the course schedule of topics. When you post your video, include your name and

• One question you have about the syllabus.
• One thing you’re excited about or interested in or looking forward to.