LONDIE T. MARTIN, PH.D.

University of Arizona School of Information Resources & Library Science 1515 East First Street Tucson, AZ 85719

TEACHING PORTFOLIO
520.621.0242 londiem@email.arizona.edu www.londietmartin.com

collaborating in online communities

fall 2013 / 35 students course description
In light of the increasing reliance on new media for collaborative work, social connection, education, and healthrelated support, this course will analyze human collaboration and community processes online. By considering how people create a sense of community, maintain group connections, and cooperate with others to bring about a particular outcome, this class will focus on what humans do, how they present themselves, and how they do the work of collaboration in online contexts. In addition to focusing on how humans work together in online communities, this course will examine the many theories and interdisciplinary bodies of literature that pertain to community generally, and online communities specifically. With a focus on both theory and practical applications, this course gives learners opportunities to think intellectually about technology-based collaborations and to apply course-based knowledge in their mediated social lives. This course is not a technical experience, rather it focuses on the theories pertaining to and the processes in play when humans engage in group collaborations (e.g., gaming, teaching, learning, working, or gaining health-related support) via mobile technologies and online sites.

required textbooks
Jenkins, Henry, Sam Ford, and Joshua Green. Spreadable Media: Creating Value and Meaning in a Networked Culture. New York: New York UP, 2013. Print. Papacharissi, Zizi, ed. A Networked Self: Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites. New York: Routledge, 2011. Print. Shirky, Clay. Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations. New York: Penguin, 2009. Print.

course objectives
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to: Articulate the ways in which online communities function across contexts in contemporary life. Complicate and think critically about key concepts at work in the course: collaboration, community, and online space. Students should be able to recognize various perspectives on community and online communities, to include rhetorical, philosophical, historical, sociological, and psychological viewpoints. Be conscious of many group-related issues and practices relative to the use of computing technologies to facilitate group collaboration.

summaries of major assignments

Quotes and Questions (15%) Each student will participate in the Quotes & Questions assignment three times during the semester. Within the first week of class, I will distribute a Google Doc sign up sheet so students can select the class meetings at which they will deliver their Quotes & Questions assignments. By 10:00 pm on the day before your Quotes & Questions are due, upload to the appropriate D2L Dropbox folder a document containing two typed quotes from the

Collaborating in Online Communities Syllabus

assigned readings (i.e., what we are reading on the day you elected to submit your Quotes & Questions) and two original, creative questions that emerged for you after considering the readings and the quotes you selected. You should pose open-ended questions that generate conversation and cannot be answered with a yes or no. Your question can address a specific reading or a theme running through several readings. Quotes may be anything from the readings that resonate with you. Along with each quote, write a paragraph or two explaining why you find the quote significant. Personal reflections that are connected with the readings/discussions are perfectly appropriate for this assignment. On the day your Quotes & Questions are due, bring a hard copy of your Quotes & Questions to class. You will have the first 5-10 minutes of class time to (a) confer with other students who are also submitting Quotes & Questions that day, (b) briefly share and discuss the questions each of you crafted, and (c) quickly draft a plan for engaging the rest of the class in a thoughtful discussion of the days readingsa discussion that proceeds from the Quotes & Questions you and your fellow classmates have generated for the day. Your grade for this assignment will be determined not only by the quality of the writing you deliver, but also by the enthusiasm and curiosity with which you participate in and lead the days discussion. Critical Response Papers (15%) Each student will deliver three separate Critical Response Papers three times during the semester. Within the first week of class, I will distribute a Google Doc sign up sheet so students can select the class meetings at which they will deliver their Critical Response Papers. Submit a copy of your paper to the appropriate D2L Dropbox folder by 10:00 pm on the day before you are due to discuss your paper in class. Critical Response Papers should be 2-3 double-spaced pages in length. Appropriate font size and margins, please. No monkey business. @(^_^)@ In your paper, you should put the days reading(s) in conversation with at least one other previously assigned text. Your paper should not be a summary of the readings, but should critically engage with the arguments the authors are making. Your grades on these papers will be determined by how well you make meaningful connections among the readings and situate yourself as an informed and thoughtful participant in an ongoing conversation about key and contested concepts: collaboration, community, and online space. It would be wise to bring a copy of your paper with you to class as I will expect you to share the main insights of your paper with the rest of the class as a way of inspiring discussion. Quizzes (5%) Five times during the semester, I will distribute short-answer quizzes. The quizzes will cover the days reading assignments but may also cover any readings previously assigned. Be prepared!

Collaborative Research Project and Memo of Delivery (20%) This semester, our course will partner with a local community organization whose members are working to create a digital memorial to the victims and survivors of the January 8, 2011 shooting in Tucson. Early in the semester we will negotiate and establish 4-7 (depending on class size) student groups. Each group will be responsible for conducting research on a social website (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr) in order to collect and catalog the ways in which people used social media to share information about the shooting, offer public memorials to the victims, honor survivors, and learn about the lives of those involved. This project will require you to collaborate with your group and our community partners in both face-to-face and online contexts, thus providing you with a valuable opportunity to consider collaboration as a process that blurs the boundaries between so-called online and real life spaces. To complete this project, you will need to work with your group to deliver your research to me and to our community partners, and you will need to document this delivery with a Memo of Delivery. Specific guidelines for conducting/sharing your research and crafting your Memo of Delivery will be posted to D2L. Throughout the project, I will expect each student group to participate in weekly in-class updates; these updates will help us manage the project collaboratively and negotiate/resolve concerns as they arise. You will receive an individual grade for this project, and your grade will be determined by the quality of your groups deliverables and the feedback I receive on both self- and peer-evaluations.
LONDIE T. MARTIN, PH.D.

teaching portfolio

Collaborating in Online Communities Syllabus

Individual Research Journal (20%) Due five times throughout the semester to the appropriate D2L Dropbox folder; check the course calendar to see when journal entries are due. Journal entries should be 2-3 pages in length and can incorporate typed text as well as visuals, sounds, hyperlinks, and other creative uses of media. As a whole, your journal entries should document how you experienced collaboration (in class and with community partners; online and face-toface) during the semester. In each journal entry, you should reflect on how your collaborations are going, but you should also connect your experiences to the course readings. In other words, you should use what you are learning in the course readings to help you make meaning ofto make sense ofwhat you are experiencing in the course with regard to collaboration and community. Documented Research Paper (25%) In lieu of a final exam, each student will submit a Documented Research Paper at the end of the semester. The paper should be 8-10 pages in length and should make thoughtful use of relevant course readings as well as at least four scholarly sources discovered through your own research. The focus of your paper should be a question that emerged for you over the course of the semester. The question that guides your research paper should involve some consideration of concepts central to the course (i.e., collaboration, community, and online space) and should draw on your experiences with collaboration, course readings, and outside resources to complicate and extend these concepts. Additionally, your papers focus might extend to a topic not covered in the course (e.g., a specific online community in which you participate). To complete this assignment, you will create a brief class presentation on your topic, turn in a rough draft of your paper (for feedback from me and from your classmates), and then submit a final draft.

daily course schedule

SM = Spreadable Media HCE = Here Comes Everybody NS = A Networked Self D2L = Reading is on our course website

Week & Topic

Date Tue 8/27 Thu 8/29

Daily In-Class Activities Freewrite: community Introduce syllabus, textbooks, assignments Personal introductions Sign up for Quotes & Questions days and Critical Response Paper days Quiz #1 Discuss Pratt, teaching philosophy, and sample Questions & Quotes Quiz #2 Revisit community freewrite Community mapping activity

Readings & Assignments Due at the Beginning of Class

Introduction to Our Course & Identifying Key Concepts

o Read:

[D2L]

Pratt, Arts of the Contact Zone

2 3

Community: Ways of Defining

Tue 9/3 Thu 9/5 Tue 9/10

o Read:

Community: Complicating Coalition

Thu 9/12

Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Guest speaker: Sarah Gonzales, founder of TruthSarita, LLC, discusses online collaboration in/across activist, pedagogical, and business contexts. Meet in the Tubac Room of the Memorial Union. Quiz #3 Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers

McDowell, Community, City, and Locality [D2L] o Read: Barlow, Cyberhood vs. Neighborhood [D2L] o Read: Bizzell, What Is a Discourse Community? [D2L]

o Read:

Reagon, Coalition Politics: Turning the Century [D2L] o Read: McIntosh, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack [D2L]

LONDIE T. MARTIN, PH.D.

teaching portfolio

Collaborating in Online Communities Syllabus

Week & Topic

Date Tue 9/17 Thu 9/19 Tue 9/24 Thu 9/26

Daily In-Class Activities Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Guest speakers: Michelle Crow and representatives from the One Eight memorial board share their experiences and organizational goals. Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Guest speaker: Dr. Jennifer Haley-Brown, September 11, 2001: A Turning Point in (Digital) Memorial Practices

Community: Establishing Connections / Online

Readings & Assignments Due at the Beginning of Class o Read: Jenkins et al., How to Read This Book [SM] o Read: Jenkins et al., Introduction: Why Media Spreads [SM] o Read: Collection of articles on the One Eight events [D2L]
o Read:

Collaboration: Are We Collaborating Yet?

Collaboration: How About Now? Are We Collaborating Now?

Tue 10/1

Thu 10/3

Social Networks as Collaborative Spaces

Tue 10/8

Quiz #4 Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Details of the Collaborative Research Project and Memo of Delivery Form collaborative project groups Class meets at the UA Main Library in room 112A Groups will receive social media research support from librarians Work in project groups to form next steps Quiz #5 Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Collaborative group project work day (groups determine location)

Shirky, Ch. 1, It Takes a Village to Find a Phone [HCE] o Read: Shirky, Ch. 2, Sharing Anchors Community [HCE] o Read: Doss, Remembering 9/11: Memorials and Cultural Memory [D2L] o Read: Sections from CollaborativeFutures @ www.booki.cc/collaborativefutures: A Brief History of Collaboration and all seven sections under What Is Collaboration Anyway? o Read: Shirky, Ch. 5, Personal Motivation Meets Collaborative Production [HCE] o Read: Johnson, A Survey of Current Research on Online Communities of Practice [D2L]
o Read:

Thu 10/10

Liminal Spaces of F2F/Online Collaboration, part 1

Tue 10/15 Thu 10/17

Aragon, A Tale of Two Online Communities [D2L] o Due: Individual Research Journal #1, Reflecting on past collaborative experiences o Read: boyd, Ch. 2, Social Network Sites as Networked Publics: Affordances, Dynamics, and Implications [NS] o Read: Parks, Ch. 5, Social Network Sites as Virtual Communities [NS] o Read: Ellison et al., Ch. 6, With a Little Help from My Friends: How Social Network Sites Affect Social Capital Processes [NS] o Read: Jenkins et al., Ch. 4, What Constitutes Meaningful Participation?
o Due:

[SM]

Individual Research Journal #2

LONDIE T. MARTIN, PH.D.

teaching portfolio

Collaborating in Online Communities Syllabus

Week & Topic

Date Tue 10/22

Daily In-Class Activities Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Group presentations and class discussion about assignment: whats working, whats not, and what can we do? Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Engage with Questions & Quotes and Critical Response Papers Collaborative group project work day (in class) Individual Research Journal #5 (well compose this in class) Brainstorm DRP topics Academic research, evaluation, and citation: entering the conversation Sign up for Lightning Prezis Work with memos: moving forward Preparing for our Lightning Prezis and rough drafts: rhetorical strategies, evaluating sources, and organization Group conferences for DRPs Thanksgiving (no class meeting) Lightning Prezis: half the class presents on their Documented Research Papers. Lightning Prezis: half the class presents on their Documented Research Papers. Last class! Documented Research Paper: Collaborative Composition Workshop Parting thoughts on building community Reading Day (no class meeting)

Readings & Assignments Due at the Beginning of Class o Read: Shirky, Ch. 7, Faster and Faster Jenkins et al., Ch. 5, Designing for Spreadability [SM] o Due: Individual Research Journal #3 o Due: Mid-project group reports. o Read: Jenkins et al., Ch. 7, Thinking Transnationally [SM] o Read: Shirky, Ch. 8, Solving Social Dilemmas [HCE] o Read: Andrejevic, Ch. 4, Social Network Exploitation [NS] o Due: Individual Research Journal #4 o Read: Gilpin, Ch. 11, Working the Twittersphere: Microblogging as Professional Identity Construction [NS] o Read: Watson-Manheim, Ch. 8, Exploring the Use of Social Network Sites in the Workplace [NS]
o Read:

Liminal Spaces of F2F/Online Collaboration, part 2

[HCE]

Thu 10/24

10 11 12 13 14
(cont.)

Workplace Collaboration, part 1

Tue 10/29 Thu 10/31 Tue 11/6 Thu 11/7 Tue 11/12 Thu 11/14 Tue 11/19 Thu 11/21 Tue 11/26 Thu 11/28 Tue 12/3 Thu 12/5 Tue 12/10 Thu 12/12 Tue 12/17

Workplace Collaboration, part 2

o Due:

Group Projects Due

Collaborative Research Project and Memo of Delivery

o Due:

Documented Research Paper Memo

Preparing for the Documented Research Paper

15 16 17

o Due:

Sharing & Feedback

Workshops

Group 1 Documented Research Paper Prezis o Due: Group 2 Documented Research Paper Prezis o Due: Bring 2 hard copies of your Documented Research Paper.

Final Exam Week

Documented Research Paper due by 12:30 pm (the end of our scheduled final exam time) Upload your Documented Research Paper to the appropriate D2L Dropbox folder

LONDIE T. MARTIN, PH.D.

teaching portfolio