Textbook Suggestion Needed
All, I am teaching an upper division Internet Communication (theory) course online in the fall and am interested in suggestions for a basic textbook/reader. In the past I have used Thurlow, C., Lengel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer-mediated communication: Social interaction and the internet. London: Sage. My students did not like it very much (typical), but the main issue now is that it is dated. This is same issue with Castells' Internet Galaxy. I have considered going with journal articles, but I generally like to have a foundation text as well that lays out the basics; history, culture, CMC, basic theory, etc. I teach at a California State University campus with a slighty older student population who may not have the best skills but do have plenty of life experience. Straight forward language and pragmatics are a plus. Ideally any text would be broad and include both social scientific and cultural perspectives. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, -TED -- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State University
I would like to recommend "Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age" (Routledge) by Christian Fuchs (2008).
From the introduction:
The Internet is ubiquitous in everyday life. [ ] How has this system transformed our lives and our society? What are the positive effects? What are the negative ones? Which opportunities and risks for the development of society and social systems are there? This book tries to contribute in helping people to find their own answers to such questions. Its main goal is to work out a theoretical understanding of the relationship of Internet and society. For further information visit: http://fuchs.icts.sbg.ac.at/i&s.html :: Celina -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org im Auftrag von Ted Coopman Gesendet: Sa 5/16/2009 02:23 An: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Betreff: [Air-L] Textbook Suggestion Needed All, I am teaching an upper division Internet Communication (theory) course online in the fall and am interested in suggestions for a basic textbook/reader. In the past I have used Thurlow, C., Lengel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer-mediated communication: Social interaction and the internet. London: Sage. My students did not like it very much (typical), but the main issue now is that it is dated. This is same issue with Castells' Internet Galaxy. I have considered going with journal articles, but I generally like to have a foundation text as well that lays out the basics; history, culture, CMC, basic theory, etc. I teach at a California State University campus with a slighty older student population who may not have the best skills but do have plenty of life experience. Straight forward language and pragmatics are a plus. Ideally any text would be broad and include both social scientific and cultural perspectives. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, -TED -- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State University _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
Hi everyone, We are currently looking to fill 4 positions in Future Media at Salford - A Professor and a Lecturer in the School of Media, Music and Performance and the same in the School of Computing, Science and Engineering. I thought this might be of interest - you can find the advertisement on jobs.ac.uk and in on the Guardian and Times Higher websites. Details can be obtained from the University of Salford HR site here: https://jobs.salford.ac.uk/vacancies.php?cat=ac Best, Ben Ben Light Professor of Digital Media Director: IS, Organisation and Society Research Centre Acting Head of School - Research School of Media, Music and Performance University of Salford Adelphi House SALFORD M3 6EN Tel. +44 (0)161 295 5443 www.benlight.org <http://www.benlight.org/> www.smmp.salford.ac.uk <http://www.smmp.salford.ac.uk/> www.isos.salford.ac.uk <http://www.isos.salford.ac.uk/> <http://www.smmp.salford.ac.uk/> <http://www.business.salford.ac.uk/> ________________________________ From: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org on behalf of Celina.Raffl@sbg.ac.at Sent: Sat 16/05/2009 11:42 To: ted.coopman@gmail.com; air-l@listserv.aoir.org Subject: Re: [Air-L] Textbook Suggestion Needed I would like to recommend "Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age" (Routledge) by Christian Fuchs (2008).
From the introduction:
The Internet is ubiquitous in everyday life. [...] How has this system transformed our lives and our society? What are the positive effects? What are the negative ones? Which opportunities and risks for the development of society and social systems are there? This book tries to contribute in helping people to find their own answers to such questions. Its main goal is to work out a theoretical understanding of the relationship of Internet and society. For further information visit: http://fuchs.icts.sbg.ac.at/i&s.html :: Celina -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org im Auftrag von Ted Coopman Gesendet: Sa 5/16/2009 02:23 An: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Betreff: [Air-L] Textbook Suggestion Needed All, I am teaching an upper division Internet Communication (theory) course online in the fall and am interested in suggestions for a basic textbook/reader. In the past I have used Thurlow, C., Lengel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer-mediated communication: Social interaction and the internet. London: Sage. My students did not like it very much (typical), but the main issue now is that it is dated. This is same issue with Castells' Internet Galaxy. I have considered going with journal articles, but I generally like to have a foundation text as well that lays out the basics; history, culture, CMC, basic theory, etc. I teach at a California State University campus with a slighty older student population who may not have the best skills but do have plenty of life experience. Straight forward language and pragmatics are a plus. Ideally any text would be broad and include both social scientific and cultural perspectives. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, -TED -- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State University _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org <http://aoir.org/> Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/ _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org <http://aoir.org/> Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
I would suggest New Media: A Critical Introduction edited by Martin Lister<http://www.amazon.com/New-Media-Introduction-Martin-Lister/dp/0415223776> . One of my professors used it in a grad class I took last year and I really enjoyed the book and still references it often. -- Jacqueline Vickery Co-Coordinating Editor, FlowTV.org Department of Radio-Television-Film University of Texas - Austin http://www.jvickery.com/ On Sat, May 16, 2009 at 5:42 AM, <Celina.Raffl@sbg.ac.at> wrote:
I would like to recommend "Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age" (Routledge) by Christian Fuchs (2008).
From the introduction:
The Internet is ubiquitous in everyday life. […] How has this system transformed our lives and our society? What are the positive effects? What are the negative ones? Which opportunities and risks for the development of society and social systems are there? This book tries to contribute in helping people to find their own answers to such questions. Its main goal is to work out a theoretical understanding of the relationship of Internet and society.
For further information visit: http://fuchs.icts.sbg.ac.at/i&s.html
:: Celina
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org im Auftrag von Ted Coopman Gesendet: Sa 5/16/2009 02:23 An: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Betreff: [Air-L] Textbook Suggestion Needed
All,
I am teaching an upper division Internet Communication (theory) course online in the fall and am interested in suggestions for a basic textbook/reader.
In the past I have used Thurlow, C., Lengel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer-mediated communication: Social interaction and the internet. London: Sage. My students did not like it very much (typical), but the main issue now is that it is dated. This is same issue with Castells' Internet Galaxy.
I have considered going with journal articles, but I generally like to have a foundation text as well that lays out the basics; history, culture, CMC, basic theory, etc.
I teach at a California State University campus with a slighty older student population who may not have the best skills but do have plenty of life experience. Straight forward language and pragmatics are a plus.
Ideally any text would be broad and include both social scientific and cultural perspectives.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
-TED -- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State University _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
Thanks, I actually used this book for a class I taught as a grad student at the U of WA - I thought it was great and appreciated the non-linear approach because new media is basically non-linear - my undergrad students hated it. I have found most students desire having a textbook that is laid out in easy to follow format with definitive statements (x means y). Perhaps it is all the testing they get in high school. Had a similar issue with Carey [Carey, J. W. (2009). Communication as Culture (revised edition)] in a comm and culture class I just taught. Is it depressing? - yes - is it worth trying to shove it down their throats? Usually not. -TED On Sun, May 17, 2009 at 12:08 PM, Jacqueline Vickery <jvickery183@gmail.com>wrote:
I would suggest New Media: A Critical Introduction edited by Martin Lister<http://www.amazon.com/New-Media-Introduction-Martin-Lister/dp/0415223776> . One of my professors used it in a grad class I took last year and I really enjoyed the book and still references it often.
-- Jacqueline Vickery Co-Coordinating Editor, FlowTV.org Department of Radio-Television-Film University of Texas - Austin http://www.jvickery.com/
On Sat, May 16, 2009 at 5:42 AM, <Celina.Raffl@sbg.ac.at> wrote:
I would like to recommend "Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age" (Routledge) by Christian Fuchs (2008).
From the introduction:
The Internet is ubiquitous in everyday life. […] How has this system transformed our lives and our society? What are the positive effects? What are the negative ones? Which opportunities and risks for the development of society and social systems are there? This book tries to contribute in helping people to find their own answers to such questions. Its main goal is to work out a theoretical understanding of the relationship of Internet and society.
For further information visit: http://fuchs.icts.sbg.ac.at/i&s.html
:: Celina
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org im Auftrag von Ted Coopman Gesendet: Sa 5/16/2009 02:23 An: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Betreff: [Air-L] Textbook Suggestion Needed
All,
I am teaching an upper division Internet Communication (theory) course online in the fall and am interested in suggestions for a basic textbook/reader.
In the past I have used Thurlow, C., Lengel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer-mediated communication: Social interaction and the internet. London: Sage. My students did not like it very much (typical), but the main issue now is that it is dated. This is same issue with Castells' Internet Galaxy.
I have considered going with journal articles, but I generally like to have a foundation text as well that lays out the basics; history, culture, CMC, basic theory, etc.
I teach at a California State University campus with a slighty older student population who may not have the best skills but do have plenty of life experience. Straight forward language and pragmatics are a plus.
Ideally any text would be broad and include both social scientific and cultural perspectives.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
-TED -- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State University _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
-- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State Universit
On Mon, May 18, 2009 at 11:23 AM, Ted Coopman <ted.coopman@gmail.com> wrote:
I have found most students desire having a textbook that is laid out in easy to follow format with definitive statements (x means y). Perhaps it is all the testing they get in high school.
It's probably just where they're at developmentally as young people. While dated, William Perry's work in intellectual and moral development is still foundational and useful. Kevin
Hi Ted (and the group), Your comments ring true for me. I think students really do want linearity. At the same time, I've seen research by sociologists that found that students don't read textbooks as much as they read articles in a reader. That suggests that a non-linear textbook has two strikes against it in students' eyes. It also suggests that the best thing to give students is a reader that is organized in some linear fashion. Cheers, Christian On May 18, 2009, at 11:23 AM, Ted Coopman wrote:
Thanks,
I actually used this book for a class I taught as a grad student at the U of WA - I thought it was great and appreciated the non-linear approach because new media is basically non-linear - my undergrad students hated it. I have found most students desire having a textbook that is laid out in easy to follow format with definitive statements (x means y). Perhaps it is all the testing they get in high school.
Had a similar issue with Carey [Carey, J. W. (2009). Communication as Culture (revised edition)] in a comm and culture class I just taught.
Is it depressing? - yes - is it worth trying to shove it down their throats? Usually not.
-TED
On Sun, May 17, 2009 at 12:08 PM, Jacqueline Vickery <jvickery183@gmail.com>wrote:
I would suggest New Media: A Critical Introduction edited by Martin Lister<http://www.amazon.com/New-Media-Introduction-Martin-Lister/dp/0415223776
. One of my professors used it in a grad class I took last year and I really enjoyed the book and still references it often.
-- Jacqueline Vickery Co-Coordinating Editor, FlowTV.org Department of Radio-Television-Film University of Texas - Austin http://www.jvickery.com/
On Sat, May 16, 2009 at 5:42 AM, <Celina.Raffl@sbg.ac.at> wrote:
I would like to recommend "Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age" (Routledge) by Christian Fuchs (2008).
From the introduction:
The Internet is ubiquitous in everyday life. […] How has this system transformed our lives and our society? What are the positive effects? What are the negative ones? Which opportunities and risks for the development of society and social systems are there? This book tries to contribute in helping people to find their own answers to such questions. Its main goal is to work out a theoretical understanding of the relationship of Internet and society.
For further information visit: http://fuchs.icts.sbg.ac.at/i&s.html
:: Celina
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org im Auftrag von Ted Coopman Gesendet: Sa 5/16/2009 02:23 An: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Betreff: [Air-L] Textbook Suggestion Needed
All,
I am teaching an upper division Internet Communication (theory) course online in the fall and am interested in suggestions for a basic textbook/reader.
In the past I have used Thurlow, C., Lengel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer-mediated communication: Social interaction and the internet. London: Sage. My students did not like it very much (typical), but the main issue now is that it is dated. This is same issue with Castells' Internet Galaxy.
I have considered going with journal articles, but I generally like to have a foundation text as well that lays out the basics; history, culture, CMC, basic theory, etc.
I teach at a California State University campus with a slighty older student population who may not have the best skills but do have plenty of life experience. Straight forward language and pragmatics are a plus.
Ideally any text would be broad and include both social scientific and cultural perspectives.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
-TED -- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State University _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
-- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State Universit _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
I've faced the same dilemma. For my undergrad new media class, I've used the Thurlow et al CMC book, but only the first few chapters and only in the first third of the semester. Then we read online articles for the remainder. (I agree it's getting very dated, and in fact recently I wrote the authors asking about a 2nd edition - not in the works at this point.) My experience is that (at least with the students I've worked with), undergrads like a textbook because it gives the field legitimacy in their eyes. Ted's description below really rings true with mine - a textbook seems to give many undergrads a sense of finality and control. I've found that one of the challenges of teaching content that is so interesting and publicly visible (e.g. social network sites) is trying to keep classroom discussions at a higher level than pub or coffee-shop conversations, and a textbook and/or academic readings are necessary to do this. Depending on how they are written, some academic articles just don't work for some undergrads. It's definitely a challenge! For fall, I'm planning on using the Thurlow et al textbook and a collection of online articles, but this will probably be the last year and I'm also interested in hearing about an accessible, updated replacement. Thanks, N Quoting "Christian Nelson" <xianknelson@mac.com>:
Hi Ted (and the group), Your comments ring true for me. I think students really do want linearity. At the same time, I've seen research by sociologists that found that students don't read textbooks as much as they read articles in a reader. That suggests that a non-linear textbook has two strikes against it in students' eyes. It also suggests that the best thing to give students is a reader that is organized in some linear fashion. Cheers, Christian
On May 18, 2009, at 11:23 AM, Ted Coopman wrote:
Thanks,
I actually used this book for a class I taught as a grad student at the U of WA - I thought it was great and appreciated the non-linear approach because new media is basically non-linear - my undergrad students hated it. I have found most students desire having a textbook that is laid out in easy to follow format with definitive statements (x means y). Perhaps it is all the testing they get in high school.
Had a similar issue with Carey [Carey, J. W. (2009). Communication as Culture (revised edition)] in a comm and culture class I just taught.
Is it depressing? - yes - is it worth trying to shove it down their throats? Usually not.
-TED
On Sun, May 17, 2009 at 12:08 PM, Jacqueline Vickery <jvickery183@gmail.com>wrote:
I would suggest New Media: A Critical Introduction edited by Martin Lister<http://www.amazon.com/New-Media-Introduction-Martin-Lister/dp/0415223776[1]> . One of my professors used it in a grad class I took last year and I really enjoyed the book and still references it often.
-- Jacqueline Vickery Co-Coordinating Editor, FlowTV.org Department of Radio-Television-Film University of Texas - Austin http://www.jvickery.com/[2]
On Sat, May 16, 2009 at 5:42 AM, <Celina.Raffl@sbg.ac.at> wrote:
I would like to recommend "Internet and Society: Social Theory in the Information Age" (Routledge) by Christian Fuchs (2008).
From the introduction:
The Internet is ubiquitous in everyday life. […] How has this system transformed our lives and our society? What are the positive effects? What are the negative ones? Which opportunities and risks for the development of society and social systems are there? This book tries to contribute in helping people to find their own answers to such questions. Its main goal is to work out a theoretical understanding of the relationship of Internet and society.
For further information visit: http://fuchs.icts.sbg.ac.at/i&s.html[3]
:: Celina
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: air-l-bounces@listserv.aoir.org im Auftrag von Ted Coopman Gesendet: Sa 5/16/2009 02:23 An: air-l@listserv.aoir.org Betreff: [Air-L] Textbook Suggestion Needed
All,
I am teaching an upper division Internet Communication (theory) course online in the fall and am interested in suggestions for a basic textbook/reader.
In the past I have used Thurlow, C., Lengel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer-mediated communication: Social interaction and the internet. London: Sage. My students did not like it very much (typical), but the main issue now is that it is dated. This is same issue with Castells' Internet Galaxy.
I have considered going with journal articles, but I generally like to have a foundation text as well that lays out the basics; history, culture, CMC, basic theory, etc.
I teach at a California State University campus with a slighty older student population who may not have the best skills but do have plenty of life experience. Straight forward language and pragmatics are a plus.
Ideally any text would be broad and include both social scientific and cultural perspectives.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
-TED -- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State University _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org[4] Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org[5]
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/[6]
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org[7] Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org[8]
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/[9]
-- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State Universit _______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org[10] Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org[11]
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/[12]
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org[13] Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org[14]
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/[15]
Links: ------ [1] http://www.amazon.com/New-Media-Introduction-Martin-Lister/dp/0415223776 [2] http://www.jvickery.com/ [3] http://fuchs.icts.sbg.ac.at/i&s.html [4] http://aoir.org [5] http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org [6] http://www.aoir.org/ [7] http://aoir.org [8] http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org [9] http://www.aoir.org/ [10] http://aoir.org [11] http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org [12] http://www.aoir.org/ [13] http://aoir.org [14] http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org [15] http://www.aoir.org/
Given the problem with how rapidly things are changing, might this not be more reason than ever to adopt a question/research based approach to teaching rather than a didactic model? By "question/research" based I mean one in which students are guided to the most interesting questions to ask about a phenomenon, and then led to the answers through their own research efforts? I know this is tough to do on a large scale, and perhaps means less coverage. But perhaps its more valuable in the long run, if feasible. --Christian On May 18, 2009, at 12:04 PM, Nicole Ellison wrote:
I've faced the same dilemma. For my undergrad new media class, I've used the Thurlow et al CMC book, but only the first few chapters and only in the first third of the semester. Then we read online articles for the remainder. (I agree it's getting very dated, and in fact recently I wrote the authors asking about a 2nd edition - not in the works at this point.)
My experience is that (at least with the students I've worked with), undergrads like a textbook because it gives the field legitimacy in their eyes. Ted's description below really rings true with mine - a textbook seems to give many undergrads a sense of finality and control. I've found that one of the challenges of teaching content that is so interesting and publicly visible (e.g. social network sites) is trying to keep classroom discussions at a higher level than pub or coffee-shop conversations, and a textbook and/or academic readings are necessary to do this. Depending on how they are written, some academic articles just don't work for some undergrads. It's definitely a challenge!
For fall, I'm planning on using the Thurlow et al textbook and a collection of online articles, but this will probably be the last year and I'm also interested in hearing about an accessible, updated replacement. Thanks, N
I have found that a majority of students are much too instrumental - at least at my institution - to be let loose from the start. Although I do follow your suggestion after I have laid down a foundation so they know enough to move forward with finding useful and compelling answer to things they find interesting. I front-load my classes and then turn them loose on projects. For example, whatever text I use the class would have read it by the end of the first half of the semester and then be on to topical journal articles and doing research projects. One thing I have noticed is that students are coming to class less well-versed in the internet and new media than they were before. My thought is that new media is becoming more like TV in that people use it but don't need to know how it works to get what they want from it. I think we have tendency to see students as an undifferentiated mass of tech savvy technophiles and while some certainly are, many are not that comfortable with the technology or simply don't know why things are or how they work. -TED On Mon, May 18, 2009 at 10:30 AM, Christian Nelson <xianknelson@mac.com>wrote:
Given the problem with how rapidly things are changing, might this not be more reason than ever to adopt a question/research based approach to teaching rather than a didactic model? By "question/research" based I mean one in which students are guided to the most interesting questions to ask about a phenomenon, and then led to the answers through their own research efforts? I know this is tough to do on a large scale, and perhaps means less coverage. But perhaps its more valuable in the long run, if feasible. --Christian
On May 18, 2009, at 12:04 PM, Nicole Ellison wrote:
I've faced the same dilemma. For my undergrad new media class, I've used
the Thurlow et al CMC book, but only the first few chapters and only in the first third of the semester. Then we read online articles for the remainder. (I agree it's getting very dated, and in fact recently I wrote the authors asking about a 2nd edition - not in the works at this point.)
My experience is that (at least with the students I've worked with), undergrads like a textbook because it gives the field legitimacy in their eyes. Ted's description below really rings true with mine - a textbook seems to give many undergrads a sense of finality and control. I've found that one of the challenges of teaching content that is so interesting and publicly visible (e.g. social network sites) is trying to keep classroom discussions at a higher level than pub or coffee-shop conversations, and a textbook and/or academic readings are necessary to do this. Depending on how they are written, some academic articles just don't work for some undergrads. It's definitely a challenge!
For fall, I'm planning on using the Thurlow et al textbook and a collection of online articles, but this will probably be the last year and I'm also interested in hearing about an accessible, updated replacement. Thanks, N
_______________________________________________ The Air-L@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/
-- Ted M. Coopman Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Communication Studies Department of Television, Radio, Film, & Theatre San Jose State Universit
participants (7)
-
Ben Light -
Celina.Raffl＠sbg.ac.at -
Christian Nelson -
Jacqueline Vickery -
Kevin Guidry -
Nicole Ellison -
Ted Coopman