Sources

You need to find at least 3 readings for each of the 2 topics you have been assigned, for a minimum of 6 readings. You may bring in extra if you feel it is worthwhile.

You’ve gone over the CRAAP test, so you know something about evaluating readings for quality. We strongly recommend taking advantage of library resources, because these materials have gone through some evaluation already, when the library acquired them. Do not be intimidated by books – you may only need one chapter for your topic. Use the librarians as well. They can save you a lot of time.

You can use Google and Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.com) to locate online readings. You can use encyclopedic sources like Wikipedia as tools to help you find readings, but you would not use an encyclopedia as a source.

Use the ideas we brainstormed in class. (Here are a set of photos of the blackboard during our brainstorming session.)  You want to find readings that you feel good about bringing to class for discussion – something that you and your classmates can learn from, and something that captures your interest.

When you select a reading, consult the Reading List (http://theinternetcourse.net/readings/) to make sure no one else has chosen it.

If it is not taken, enter it into the Readings Form  with your name, the article title, the author’s name, and, if it is an online reading, the article URL. If the reading has more than one author, use the name of the first author listed.

Summaries

You are to summarize each of the readings you select in a blog post. You should have a minimum of 6 blog posts, one for each summary. The summary should give the reader a good idea of what the reading is all about and why it is significant. You can look at abstracts of academic journal articles to get an idea of what a good summary looks like.

You should also include in each post a short statement justifying your selection of the reading, saying why you decided it was worth bringing to the rest of the class. NB: If the instructors consider any of your choices unworthy, you will be told to find something else.

You are to read all your classmates summaries. Feel free to comment on them as well. We will all go into the discussion weeks with a good background on all the topics.

Tags

Each of your summaries must be tagged. When you blog your summaries, tag the posts with appropriate tags from this list:

• how it works
• history
• creation/consumption
• IP/fair use
• privacy/openness
• digital identity
• impacts
• future

I shortened some of them for simplicity. (history = where it comes from; future = where it’s going; impacts = social/economic/cultural impacts; IP/fair use = intellectual property/fair use) So if you’re in the “where it comes from” group, you would tag your summaries with the history tag. If the article you’re summarizing looks like it would fit in one of the other categories, use that tag as well. That way, you will be able to click on one of the tags and The Flow (http://theinternetcourse.net/tag/tic104) would bring up all the related summaries. Many of these topics have some overlap, so multiple tagging is encouraged. Tag the summaries for the subtopics (digital divide, for example) as well.

This is quite a bit of work, so you should get started ASAP. Your summaries are due by this coming Thursday, 1/23. He who hesitates is lost.

We will give you feedback if your reading selections or summaries need to be improved. We are doing this because we want the collection of readings and summaries to be the best it can be. You can all get full points for this part of the course as long as you meet the deadline.

Topic Assignments