Communication Technologies



University of Northern Iowa

Department of Communication Studies

48E:161g Communication Technologies                                                       Spring 2010

Instructor: Dr. Joyce Chen                                            Office Hour: TTh 3:30-5 pm

Office: 321 LNG                                                                                      W 1-3 pm

Office Phone: 32574                                                                          or by appointment

Class meeting times: TTh 11:00-12:15pm 213 LNG

Required Textbook:

Grant, A.E., & Meadows, J.H. (Eds.) (2008). Communication technology update and fundamentals, (11th ed.). Boston: Focal Press.

Course Objectives:

There are three areas covered by this course. One is to examine past, current, and emerging communication technologies. The second is to discuss about the relationships between communication technologies, individuals, and society. And the third, through exercises it will help you learn multimedia production foundations, especially Webpage design. By the end of the semester, you will:

--be aware of the rapid development of communication technologies, and the convergence of computer and electronic media technologies;

--understand basic technical principles and applications of important communication technologies;

--be aware of your responsibilities for the impact of communication technologies on society;

--be able to apply multimedia production technologies to professional fields related to electronic media major, such as Webpage design, teleconferencing, and Web broadcasting.

Class Organization:

The class time will mainly contribute to demonstrations, discussions, and exercises of communication technologies. For certain technology areas, we will have guest lectures.

At the beginning of the semester, there may be knowledge gaps between those who know a lot and those who do not know much. Since my teaching philosophy is to promote students' learning processes, I will accommodate your learning needs based on your individual background. The course will not be difficult but it needs substantial work for everyone in the class to achieve the objectives described above. Please do not hesitate to meet me individually in order to catch up with the class progress.

"The University of Northern Iowa is an Affirmative Action Equal Opportunity Institution. Students with disabilities and other special needs should feel free to contact the professor privately if there are services or adaptations which can be made to accommodate specific needs."

Leading Discussion:

The leading discussion is related to the textbook. Each student will be responsible for presenting the technology described in one of the chapters in the textbook and leading the class discussion. You are required to use the materials in the chapter as the basic content and to find additional information to up-date the development of the technology and its applications. The detail will be described in the handout for leading discussions.

Class Responses:

The requirements of your responses to the class will vary, depending on different course materials and class activities. You will be informed about the requirements in each class session.

Skill Assignments:

There will be four skill assignments for you to learn and practice skills, including Photoshop, Webpage Design html coding, Flash animation, and Desktop publishing. Each student is required to keep a portfolio for him/herself.

Exams:

There will be Midterm and Final exams to test your knowledge about communication technologies, and the relationship between technologies and society.

Digital Literacy Investigation/Presentations:

This is a group project, investigating the use of communication technologies, the problems encountered, and the impact on education, business, community, organization, or daily lives. It requires both paper and class presentation. By the end of the semester, each group will use webpage as a visual aid to present the project in the class.

Grading:

All the work turned in to this class should be your original work for this class. According to University policy, plagiarism will result in FAILURE of the course and further DISCIPLINARY ACTION. Plagiarism includes "borrowing" other student's paper or other writer's work, submitting the papers that you wrote for other courses.

The grading composition is shown as follows:

|Attendance/Participation |10% |

|Responses |20% |

|Leading Discussion |10% |

|Skill Assignments |20% |

|Midterm |10% |

|Digital Literacy Investigation/Presentation |20% |

|Final Exam |10% |

|TOTAL |100% |

The grades will be weighed by the percentages shown above and combined to result in your final course grade. The letter grading scales are shown as follows:

|A: 95% & Above |B+: 88-91% |C+: 77-79% |D+: 67-69% |F: < 60% |

|A-: 92-94% |B: 85-87% |C: 74-76% |D: 64-66% | |

| |B-: 80-84% |C-: 70-73% |D-: 60-63% | |

Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date, unless otherwise stated. The penalty for a late assignment is 1 percent deduction for each day late. Any late assignment accepted will be graded based on the reduced percentage. Before giving you the final grade I need to make sure that you achieve the objectives of this course.

Tentative Schedule

1/12 (T) Orientation and syllabus (Application for a Unix account)

             Assignment #1: Photoshop

1/14 (Th) Introduction

Ch. 1: Introduction to Communication Technology

              Ch. 2: Historical Perspectives on Communication Technology

Practice: Photoshop

1/19 (T) Due Assignment #1: Photoshop

WebPage Design & Html Tags and File

Unix account setting up and FTP

1/21 (Th) Photoshop Practice

1/26 (T) Ch. 3: Understanding Communication Technologies (Joe)

               Ch. 4: The Structure of Communication Industries (Hattie)

Ch. 5: Communication Policy and Technology (Ruben)

1/28 (Th) Electronic Mass Media

Ch. 6: Digital Television (Bevan)

Ch. 7: Multichannel Television (Brittany)

Assignment #2 Webpage A: Html Coding

2/2 (T) Ch. 8: IPTV: Streaming Media (Alex)

Ch. 9: Interactive Television (Evan)

2/4 (Th) Ch. 10: Radio Broadcasting (Angela)

Ch. 15: Digital Audio (Julie)         

2/9 (T) Introduction to Dreamweaver

Design and Coding

Due Assignment #2 Webpage A: Html Coding

2/11 (Th) Computer & Consumer Electronics

Ch. 11: Personal Computers (Eric)

Ch. 12: Video Games (Andy)

2/16 (T) Ch. 13: Virtual & Augmented Reality (Ryan)

Ch. 14: Home Video (Steph)            

2/18 (Th) Ch. 16: Digital Imaging and Photography (Brendan) (Megan)

2/23 (T) Introduction to Desktop Publishing

             Assignment #3: Poster Design

2/25 (Th) Practice InDesign

3/2 (T) Networking Technology

              Ch. 17: Telephony (Tiffany)

Due Assignment #3: Poster Design

3/4 (Th) Ch. 18: The Internet & The World Wide Web (Amanda)

Midterm

3/9 (T) Ch. 20: Electronic Commerce (Nicholas)

Ch. 21: Broadband & Home Networks (Jennifer)

3/11 (Th) Ch. 22: Teleconferencing (Rick) (Kali)

Adobe Connection

3/16-18 Spring Break (No Classes)

3/23 (T) Ch. 19: Mobil Computing (Luke)

             Ch. 23: The Mobile Revolution (Josh)

Ch. 24: Conclusion

3/25 (Th) Introduction to Flash Animation

Assignment #4: Creating Flash Animation for Web

3/30 (T) Practice Flash

4/1 (Th) Due Assignment #4: Creating Flash Animation for Web              

4/6 (T) Social Impact of Communication Technologies

Assignment 5: Digital Literacy Investigation Project

4/8 (Th) Discussion: Project ideas

4/13 (T) Report: Investigation progress

4/15 (Th) Working on Web for Presentation materials

4/20 (T) Working on Web for Presentation materials

4/22 (Th) Presentations

Due, Assignment 5: Digital Literacy Investigation Project

4/27-29 (T, Th) Presentations

5/6 (Th) Final Exam (10-11:50AM)

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