This course examines the nature, production, value and uses of information in historical perspective; the latest developments in information technology; the ways information is produced and disseminated and how they affect business, politics, media, science, arts and culture; the growth of the information society; and major information policy issues.

• Identify the nature, value, and uses of information in the past and present
• Describe the principles of the organization, production, and dissemination of information
• Describe the impact of the latest developments in information technology on social, cultural, political, and economic institutions
• Analyze the major issues in information policy and ethics
• Be able to identify an information need, find and evaluate information, and use information for a specific purpose
• Apply knowledge gained from coursework to analyze a major information policy issue

Class will meet Fridays from 11:10 am - 2:05 pm

August 30

• Course intro
• How to use the course blog

September 6

• Reading
  • DIKW pyramid
  • Constitution of the United States
  • Bill of Rights
• Blog post #1 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Topics covered
  • What is information
  • Origins of information policy in the US Constitution and Bill of Rights
  • Intro to the group research project
  • Using Google News

September 13

• Blog post #2 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Reading
  • Webster, Frank. "Information Society." International Encyclopedia of Communication. Ed. Wolfgang Donsbach. Wiley Online Library, 2008. Be prepared to talk in class about the 5 definitions Webster mentions for "the information society" and how each one is problematic.
• Topics covered
  • Finding relevant sources
  • The information society

September 20

• Blog post #3 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Reading
  • No required reading for today
• Topics covered
  • Evaluating sources by relevance and other criteria
  • Why we might not accept rational, reasonable information

September 27

• Blog post #4 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• No reading required for today
• Topics covered
  • The social informatics model for analyzing information use

October 4

• Blog post #5 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Reading due (make sure you bring printed copies to class)
  • Wikipedia contributors. "Technological determinism." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 25 Sep. 2019. Web. 26 Sep. 2019.
  • Wikipedia contributors. "Social shaping of technology." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 13 May. 2019. Web. 26 Sep. 2019.
• Topics covered
  • Scholarly sources
  • Technological determinism vs. the social shaping of technology
  • Writing skills: rules for capitalization

October 11

• Milestone essay #1 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Blog post #6 due today or October 18 (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Topics covered
  • Scholarly sources
  • BEAM model of using sources
  • Writing skills: quoting, paraphrasing, and avoiding plagiarism

October 18

• Blog post #6 due today if you didn't turn it in on October 11 (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Blog post #7 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Topics covered
  • Information policy
  • Copyright
  • Net neutrality

October 25

• Blog post #8 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Topics covered
  • Economics of scholarly information

November 1

• Blog post #9 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Topics covered
  • Using Microsoft Excel to store and analyze data

November 8

• Blog post #10 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Topics covered
  • Freedom of speech
  • Intellectual freedom

November 15

• Blog post #11 due by Sunday night (November 17)
  • (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Milestone essay #2 due
• Topics covered
  • Social media, democracy, and an informed citizenry

November 22

• Individual annotated bibliography due (see the "Assignments" page for details)
• Blog post #12 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)

December 6

• Group presentations
• Blog post #13 due (see the "Assignments" page for details)