IT University of Copenhagen
Digital Media and Design program

BMMS::Mobile Media and Social IT
Instructor: Dr. Adriana de Souza e Silva

 

Home

Syllabus

Class schedule

Assignments

Readings

Weblog

Assignments:

Below are some things you are encouraged to take into consideration while preparing your assignments:

  • The originality and creativity of your ideas
  • The quality of your argument
  • The quality of the sources you use to support your argument
  • How well you connect your assignment to the topics we are discussing in class
  • The quality of your writing / speech

Students are required to complete ALL assignments in order to take the final exam.

 

1. Weekly reflections (lecture and exercise sections)
We will have weekly readings, as specified in the class schedule. Each week, you are expected to read the texts assigned for that class and bring 2-3 questions to class. The questions might be related to some aspect of the article you would like to discuss further, or they might address some quotidian experience related to that theme that you wish to explore in class and with your classmates. I expect you ask these questions and/or address these comments during in-class discussions either during the lecture section or the exercise section.

In addition to your own questions, I will post to the class blog questions about the weekly readings. You are expected to write down preliminary answers to these questions before coming to class and to be prepared to discuss your answers in class.

 

2. Creative group project (exercise section)

In groups of five or six, students will produce a creative piece on the social use of cell phones in today's society. Groups can choose among the following:

  1. a short mobile video narrative (1-5 minutes). The group can create a motion movie or a still movie. In both cases, the group is encouraged to add voice over / soundtrack. You can use a regular film camera to do this, but you are encouraged to use your mobile phone camera
  2. A short play (5-10 minutes). This is similar to the video narrative, with the difference that instead of filming it, the group will perform it in class
  3. A short novel (5-10 pages)
  4. Or other creative project, as long as it is discussed with the instructor

You are strongly encouraged to use your e-portfolio to document the different phases of the project. If you choose to do that, please post the link to the video project on the class blog as soon as groups are chosen.

In the beginning of the course, students will choose among major topics/ research questions explored in the course. For example:

  • ubiquitous / pervasive computing / locative media (How does embedding computational devices everywhere change how we interact with urban spaces?)
  • micro-coordination (How can cell phones mediate interpersonal relationships?)
  • macro-coordination (How can cell phones be used for collective communication and activism?)
  • safety and security (Do people fell safer with their cell phones? What would happen if you are a day without a cell phone?)
  • intimacy (Is there a parallel between online dating and cell phone dating?)
  • identity and fashion (How do cell phones work as part of people's identity?)
  • appropriation of technology (How are cell phones used by low-income communities / in the developing world?)

The group might also suggest a topic, as long as it is discussed with the professor. Your group's story should reflect a particular view of the cell phone based on its ability to create (or not) social environments, and social imagination (for more examples, see Kato, H. (2005). Japanese youth and the imagining of keitai. In M. Ito, D. Okabe, & M. Matsuda (Eds.), Personal, portable, pedestrian: Mobile phones in Japanese life (pp. 103-119). Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.

Your group will develop the project by completing a series of four small assignments, as follows:

  • Define work groups (09.09)
  • Present a written (one paragraph) proposal of the final project to be discussed in class (23.09)
  • Present an initial storyboard for the final project (07.10)
  • Present a draft version of the final project to be discussed in class (04.11)
  • Final presentations (25.11)

Here are some topics you should take into consideration while preparing your project:

The topic definition (proposal) should:

  • Clearly analyze mobile phones as social media
  • Be narrow and well-defined
  • Reflect the group´s creativity and original ideas
  • Clearly connect to broader historical, social, and spatial implications of mobile technologies.
  • Connect to the topics discussed in class

The storyboard should:

  • Be clear, well-defined and presents a logical sequence of ideas (i.e., I can have an idea of how your final project will be by looking at your storyboard)

The final project / presentation should:

  • Reflect the work done on the proposal and storyboard
  • Represent your group´s ideas in a clear and logical way
  • Respect the adequate established proposed length
  • Properly cite credits / sources
  • Should address inspiration for the project and connections to class texts and contemporary mobile media phenomena

The last class meeting will be reserved for students’ demonstration / presentation of their project. The final video should be also be given to the instructor in a CD/DVD.

 

3. Final Exam (individual short academic paper)
This will be a research paper which combines rigorous analysis of some topic within the general subject of Mobile Media and Social Information Technologies. The final written project is an individual short academic paper. It is supposed to build on the knowledge you will acquire through class sections, and the development of the creative group project. Every research paper starts with a clear research question (e.g. How do mobile phones work as part of people's identity?) and/or a clear statement recognizing a shift in the current situation (e.g. shift from using mobile phones as business tools to identity statements).

The final paper must be an original study written by you for this course and based on scholarly sources. You should start from the topic chosen for your group assignment (e.g. use of cell phones for education and entertainment, micro-coordination, mobile phones as fashion items) and develop it according to your own individual ideas. These are some suggestions of what you can do (these are just examples, not mandatory topic choices):

  • make a comparative analysis of two mobile phone applications (e.g. Loopt / Brightkite), two films that deal with cell phones as social media (e.g. Denise Calls Up and Cellular)
  • develop a case study for a situation using mobile as social media phones (e.g. appropriation of cell phones by a specific community, how cell phones are represented in the local newspaper)
  • or select a topic of your choice, as long as it is connected to the topics we discussed in class

No matter which topic you choose, you should always connect to broader social/spatial implications and include conceptual analysis, as stated in the class learning outcomes.

Your paper must follow the structure of a short academic conference paper. It must have:

  • abstract / 5 keywords / Introduction / Conclusion / References
  • clear research question(s)
  • a clear thesis statement
  • clear supporting points
  • a logical, argument-based structur, and
  • concrete, well-documented evidence

Directions for the paper (Here is a template that you should use):

  • Maximum of 5000 words, including notes, references list, and appendix
  • Follow the Chicago style guide with endnotes. (information on the Chicago style guide can be found here)
  • You must have at least 7 sources; at least 4 of these must be scholarly sources. You should cite at least 2 texts used in class

In addition to fulfilling ALL the learning outcomes, the paper will be evaluated based on:

  • the originality of your idea
  • how you define your thesis statement in adequate detail
  • how you define your research question(s) in adequate detail
  • the quality of your methodology (comparative analysis / case study)
  • how you completely and clearly discuss the issues involved drawing from relevant scholarly literature and class lectures, discussions and readings
  • if the paper is clearly organized (including title, abstract, keywords, introduction, conclusion and sections sub-division)
  • the quality of your writing (paragraph transitions, spelling, grammar, punctuation)
  • the adequate total number of sources, scholarly sources and class sources
  • the proper formatting of the sources (according to the Chicago style)
  • the adequate length of your paper

Here's a model of the final exam grading rubric.

You will write this paper by completing a series of 4 individual assignments, as follows:

  • A one-paragraph statement of your proposed topic (30.09)
  • Paper outline + an initial annotated list of 5 sources relevant to your topic; at least 3 of these must be scholarly articles or books. A good example on how to write a paper outline can be found at the Online Writing Lab at Purdue's University: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_outlinS.html (28.10)
  • The final paper (15.12)