MMEDIA-1A03: Introduction to Digital Media in
the Humanities (Fall 2010)
Communication Studies and Multimedia
Instructor: Dr. Stéfan Sinclair (send messages via website)
Office Hours: Mondays 1:30-2:30pm (or by appointment), TSH-328
Lectures (TSH-120): Mondays & Thursdays from 12:30-1:20pm
Tutorials (TSH-206): consult your schedule
Summary
Lectures will explore the history, development and current state of digital media, with special attention to
social and cultural issues surrounding the use of technologies. Tutorials will help students to express
themselves effectively with digital media, and especially on the web. Objectives for the course include
providing students with a richer sense of the potential of digital media as well as some of the challenges in a
contemporary context; students will also be able to create media-rich web pages.
Topics
Week 1 – Introduction to the Course; Week 2 - What is Digital Media? Week 3 – How Did We Get Here?
Week 4 – Digital Devices; Week 5 - Design of digital media; Week 6 – Digital Text; Week 7 – Digital
Images; Week 8 – Digital Sound and Video; Week 9 – Interface and Usability; Week 10 - Interactivity;
Week 11 – Social Networking; Week 12 – Coding; Week 13 – Review.
Format
There will be two one hour lectures/demonstrations each week. Summary slides will be available from
the website, but they are insufficient for quizzes and the exam – students are expected to attend all
lectures.
Hands-on tutorials will be organized for relevant computing skills and discussion, held in TSH 206.
Students will complete quizzes individually, assignments in pairs, and worksheets in groups of 3-5.
All readings and other course materials will be available on the website; there's no textbook to be
purchased.
Students will be expected to check the website and their email at least once a week for announcements.
Grading
There will be several online quizzes to be submitted individually. No late quizzes will
Quizzes
15%
be accepted. Each quiz question will be weighted equally for the final 15%). There will
Worksheets 10%
be several worksheets related to lecture materials and readings, to be completed in
Participation 10%
groups of 3 to 5 students. Worksheets will be assigned one of three marks: 1)
Assignments 30%
incomplete; 2) satisfactory; 3) excellent. No late worksheets will be accepted. There
will be two assignments, to be completed in pairs and submitted online only, focusing
Final Exam 35%
on 1) content and basic HTML (10%, due October 11th); 2) the completed project
(20%, due November 29th). Part of each assignment will be a description of the contributions of each team
member. Late assignments will be penalized at a rate of 5% per day (all days, including weekends). There
will also be a final exam, covering lectures, tutorials, and readings.
Academic Honesty
Academic dishonesty consists of misrepresentation by deception or by other fraudulent means and can result
in serious consequences, e.g. the grade of zero on an assignment, loss of credit with a notation on the
transcript (notation reads: “Grade of F assigned for academic dishonesty”), and/or suspension or expulsion
from the university. It is your responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. For
information on the various kinds of academic dishonesty please refer to the Academic Integrity Policy,
specifically Appendix 3, located at: http://www.mcmaster.ca/univsec/policy/AcademicIntegrity.pdf.
Email & On-Line Disclosure
It is the policy of the CSMM Department that all email communication between students and instructors
(including TAs) must originate from their official McMaster University email accounts. This policy protects
the confidentiality and sensitivity of information and confirms the identities of both the student and instructor.
In this course we will be using a Learning Management System (LMS). Students should be aware that, when
they access the electronic components of this course, private information such as first and last names, user
names for the McMaster e-mail accounts, and program affiliation may become apparent to all other students
in the same course. The available information is dependent on the technology used. Continuation in this
course will be deemed consent to this disclosure. If you have any questions or concerns about such disclosure
please discuss this with the instructor.
Accommodations For Students With Disabilities
If you require special accommodation for learning or have any special needs please let your instructor know
of them as soon as possible in order that arrangements can be made. Students with disabilities are encouraged
to register with the Centre for Student Development.
Contingencies
The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term. The
university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme circumstances. If either type
of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and communication with the students will be given
with explanation and the opportunity to comment on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check
their McMaster email and course websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.