Course Description

This course will survey the impact of the Internet on communications of all kind, including entertainment, news, education, and business. Additional topics covered include streaming media, Web communities, and other Web applications.

Objectives

The Mass Communication and the Internet seminar is designed to enable the students to:

Gain an understanding of the history of the Internet.
Understand how the Internet has changed the way our society communicates.
Be able to use the tools of the Internet to communicate.
Gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities the Internet makes possible.
Critically observe and discuss the changes in society, from communities to commerce, that the Internet has brought about.

Textbook:

Kaye, B. K., and Medoff, N. J. (2001). The World Wide Web: A Mass Communication Perspective. 2001 Update. Mountain View, CA. Mayfield Publishing Company

A course reader will also be made available online and in the Mass Comm Office.

Students are expected to read all materials in the office and on the Web site.

Attendance Policy

You are allowed three unexcused absences. Each unexcused absence after that will result in a deduction of five points from your final average. Because this is a course about the Internet, some class meetings will take place via electronic means. Therefore, those sessions will count as class meetings. Dates and times will be announced.

Grades

Grading Scale: 90-100=A; 80-89=B; 70-79=C; 60-69=D; 59-00=F

Grades will be based on an evaluation of class participation, group product evaluations, and individual product and paper grades.

Course grades will be determined as follows:

Class Participation: 40%

Midterm: 20%

Final Research Paper: 20%

Team Project: 20%

Total: 100%

The Final Research Paper will consist of a 7-10 page paper on an aspect of the impact of the Internet. Topics will be individually assigned by the instructor by the middle part of the term.

The class will be broken up into 3-4 teams to complete a product assigned by the instructor. The suggested products are: 1) make the MCS newscast available via streaming video, 2) produce streaming audio Webcasts of UM sporting events, and 3) create a Mass Communication alumni/ current students portal on the Internet, where pictures, videos, and other content may be posted by current and former students.

Each team will turn in regular progress reports, a major paper outlining research, findings, and recommendations, and a demonstration of the product by the end of the semester.

Papers must conform to the APA style and be spell and grammar checked. Any papers that do not meet these criteria will be returned for no credit.

Academic Conduct

Students at the University of Montevallo are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the University's functions as an institution of higher education. Inappropriate conduct, which includes, but is not limited to academic dishonesty, cheating, plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of information in any academic exercise, or aiding and abetting such inappropriate conduct, is subject to disciplinary action under the terms of the Student Conduct Code.

Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty: To claim as one’s own the ideas or words of another is plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as the following:

using the exact words of another person’s work/writing without acknowledgment of your source through the use of quotation marks and correct citation/documentation;

rephrasing a passage by another writer without giving proper credit;

using someone else’s facts or ideas without acknowledgement;

using a piece of writing for one course that was already used in a previous course (or in courses in which you are simultaneously enrolled) without express permission from both instructors to do so; and

presenting fabricated or falsified citations or materials.

Please consult with the instructor of this course if you are unsure about how to document sources. Cheating on exams is also an affront to the principle of academic honesty. At the very least, an assignment on which plagiarism or cheating has occurred will receive no credit, i.e., a "zero," and an Academic Dishonesty Incident Form concerning the incident will be kept on file in the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. A plagiarist/cheater is also subject to failure in the course and/or appearance before the Justice Council. (Approved by Faculty Senate, Spring 2000)

ADA

It is the policy of the University of Montevallo to afford equal opportunity in education to qualified students. If you have a disability that may prevent you from meeting course requirements, contact Student Support Services (6250) to develop an accommodation plan. Course requirements will not be waived but reasonable accommodations will be developed to assist you in meeting the requirements. [Accommodation cannot be retroactive. You must ask for an accommodation at the beginning of the semester.]

Spring 2003 Schedule MC-450-001

Week	Topics	Readings

Jan. 13-17	The History of the Internet	Chapter 1
Jan. 22-24	Internet Communication Tools: E-mail, Threaded Discussion, Chat, Video/Audio Conferencing, Streaming Media
Jan. 27-31	Searching the Web	Chapter 2
Feb. 03-07	The Impact of the Internet on Communications	Chapter 3
Feb. 10-14	The Impact of the Internet on News, Entertainment, and Content Delivery	Chapters 4 & 5
Feb. 17-21	-continued	Chapter 6
Feb. 24-28	Impact of the Internet on Business
Mar. 03-07	-Continued
March 10	Midterm
Mar. 10-14	Community on the Internet	Chapter 9
Mar. 17-21	Impact of the Internet on Education	Chapter 10
Mar. 24-28	-Continued
Mar. 31-Apr. 04	SPRING BREAK
Apr. 07-11	Impact of the Internet on private lives	Chapter 11
Apr. 14-18	-Continued
Apr. 21-25	Advanced Internet Applications, Future of the Internet	Chapter 7, 8
Apr. 28-May 02	Team Product Presentation Week
May 05	Final Research Paper Due by 12:30pm