[Air-l] Seminal papers in online interaction research

[Ulla Bunz]

David and others -
I taught a very similar course to what you are describing just this semester. It was
called "Information Systems & Communication." The website is
http://www.scils.rutgers.edu/~bunz/347
I structured the course similarly with lectures on topics and then applied lab
experiences, but we also did website design, so that took up time on the syllabus. I
had my students keep two kinds of blogs - one about their experiences in the online
environments they chose, and one I called the "course assessment" blog where they
had to answer questions I posted on a regular basis. Their answers were based on
course lecture, and information they themselves found online and linked to. I found
it quite a rewarding experience and the students say they enjoyed it greatly.
Like you I had a difficult time finding readings, but you can see that I used some
online sources, a foundational book that I like (and it's cheap!), and then required
the students to find their own readings, which had the double effect of a) having
them read online sources, and b) enhacing their critical thinking and evaluation
skill of web resources. I purposefully asked students to find popular press sources
online as those are the kind of information sources that they need to learn to
examine critically rather than taking them at face value.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who's done a course like this (indeed I know I'm not)
but I hope that my website and syllabus will provide inspiration.
Looking forward to your own findings,
Ulla


-- 
Ulla Bunz
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
Rutgers University
4 Huntington Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901