COMM 120P Digital Media Pedagogy
  Brian Goldfarb,
Fall 2013
  Dept of Communication, UCSD

Overview

Meetings: Tues/Thurs 9:30 -10:50 AM (Communication Bldg MCC 201, and Thursdays at HTMMA in Point Loma)
Office Hours: Tues 11:00 am - 12:30 pm or by appointment in MCC 241 
Email: bgoldfarbat-signucsd.edu
Website: http://communication.ucsd.edu/goldfarb/comm120p-w13/

The class will be limited to 28 students.

Course Objectives:
To develop students' critical understanding of educational uses of digital media technology and to provide first-hand experience engaging with students using digital media in school settings. Participants will consider the challenges, benefits and pitfalls of educational application of communication technology through discussion of readings and experiences in public school classrooms. Questions addressed include: How do digital media shift the relationships between various sites of learning including the school, the home and the workplace? What are the challenges digital media present to teachers, students and schools? How do educational uses of digital media compare to older technologies such as pen and paper, textbooks, typewriters, film cameras and analog video? How do gender, class, age, differences in ability affect the way students and teachers respond to and learn digital media? Are computers improving school-based education?

Course Requirements:
Students must complete all readings and attend all class/lab meetings. In addition students are required to spend 3 - 3/12 hours per week at site visits to High Tech Middle Media Arts (HTMMA) school in Point Loma. The class will be meeting on campus every Tuesday in Center Hall 218, and at the HTMMA school during our scheduled meeting times on Thursdays 9:30 -10:50. Your hours of weekly site visits can be scheduled either on the day that we meet at the school or on other days that fit your schedule. You should account for a half hour transportation time from campus when figuring out your schedule for attending the site visits and the classes at the school. I will send a schedule of available times in a follow up email very soon.

The site visits will involve participatory observation of teaching/learning with teachers and students at the school. You will be working on digital media projects with middle school students.

Written work for the course includes: journals observations and reflections on the weekly site visits and readings; and a lesson plan that may draw on experiences in the classroom. In addition, you will be making oral presentations of your lesson plans.

This class requires dedication at an advanced level in terms of time and academic considerations. Quality work is expected.

Evaluation:
Grading is based on:

 No incompletes will be granted for this course!

Attendance and Participation:

Required Texts:

Disability Accomodations:

The professor is dedicated to making this course as accessible to all students as possible. If you require accommodations or services for disabilities, please communicate with the professor immediately and register with the Office of Students with Disabilities (OSD) in order to obtain a current Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter. This letter is required for eligibility for requests. Receipt of AFAs in advance is necessary for appropriate planning for the provision of reasonable accommodations. OSD Academic Liaisons also need to receive current AFA letters.

Academic Integrity:
You are required to observe university regulations regarding academic integrity. This means no student shall engage in any activity that involves attempting to receive a grade by means other than honest effort; for example:

Any plagiarism will result in a grade of "F" for the assignment or exam, will be reported to the Academic Integrity Office, and may result in an overall course grade of F. To view the UCSD Academic Integrity policy, visit:
http://senate.ucsd.edu/manual/appendices/appendix2.pdf.