COMMS 301 : Digital Communication and Practice

Arts

2020 Semester Two (1205) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Offers a practical and creative approach to digital communication within the critical context of platform studies. Students will navigate the capacities, affordances and limitations of a variety of digital platforms by developing the skills to create platform-specific outputs, such as podcasts, gifs, vlogs, mobile films and digital storytelling shorts.

Course Overview

This course combines creative work of making digital objects (e.g., Twitter bots, animated GIFs, data visualisations, slideshow presentations) with critical discussion of online platforms as well as conceptual frameworks for understanding the roles digital media play in society. Our time is divided into two large units of six weeks each: 
 
The first unit, “Digital logic & computational thinking”, will focus on different ways of thinking with and about computers. This will include basic programming skills in the JavaScript language (no prior experience necessary). This portion of the course concludes with creation of a Twitter bot and discussions about artificial intelligence.  
 
The second unit, “Digital media & configurable culture”, emphasises more user-friendly tools to create, remix and present multimedia work including animated GIFs, data visualisations, slideshow presentations and more.

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: 15 points from COMMS 200-208 and 15 points in BA courses

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 5: Independence and Integrity
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities
Graduate Profile: Bachelor of Arts

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Create digital media that integrates historical perspective, critical thinking, and creative exploration with technical skills including programming in the JavaScript language, generating data visualisations, and various other techniques across multiple platforms. (Capability 1.2, 1.3, 2.2, 3.2, 4.2, 5.2 and 6.3)
  2. Understand essential logics of computation and digital media and how they relate to human thinking and culture (Capability 1.1, 1.3, 2.1, 3.1 and 4.2)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Projects 70% Individual Coursework
Quizzes 30% Individual Test

Workload Expectations

The number of hours of required work for this course is in line with expectations for a 15-point course at the 300-level, and the weekly 2-hour lecture + 1-hour lab are familiar, but the assessments are distributed across the semester a bit differently from many courses in Arts. There's no large project or final exam at end of semester. Instead, we complete small projects that incrementally build on and relate to each other. This can feel demanding on a week-by-week basis, but at the end of the semester, when your other classes are stressful, this one will be comparatively light. 

Digital Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website at http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Well-being always comes first
We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - for more information, look at this Canvas page (https://canvas.auckland.ac.nz/courses/33894), which has links to various support services in the University and the wider community.

Parenting and being a student at the same time can be difficult. Breast-feeding babies are always welcome in class, and although we cannot regularly accommodate other children, you are welcome to bring a child to class if there are last-minute unforeseeable disruptions to childcare (e.g., the normal caregiver falls ill without adequate time to find someone else). 

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter (https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html).

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course you may be asked to submit your coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. The final decision on the completion mode for a test or examination, and remote invigilation arrangements where applicable, will be advised to students at least 10 days prior to the scheduled date of the assessment, or in the case of an examination when the examination timetable is published.

Published on 10/07/2020 01:28 p.m.