SCHEDULE #21704 - 21707
JMS 210
Social Media in the Digital Age
Instructor: Dr. Rebecca Coates Nee,
Assist. Professor
E-Mail: RNee@mail.sdsu.edu
Office: PSFA 338
Office Hours: Mondays 12:50 – 1:50
p.m. and by appointment
OVERVIEW
The emphasis of this course is on effectively and ethically creating and consuming information via social networks in an
increasingly connected and rapidly changing global environment. Students meet for lectures on Mondays and Wednesdays and
in lab sessions on alternate Fridays.
I. Prerequisites & Requirements
JMS 210 is one of nine courses students may take in the General Education area of Foundations. Foundations courses cultivate
skills in reading, writing, research, communication, computation, information literacy, and use of technology. They furthermore
introduce you to basic concepts, theories, and approaches in a variety of disciplines in order to provide the intellectual breadth
necessary to help students integrate the more specialized knowledge gathered in their major area of study into a broader world
picture.
More specifically, this course is one of two Foundations courses students will take in the area of Social and Behavioral
Sciences. Upon completing this area of Foundations, students will be able to: (1) explore and recognize basic terms, concepts,
and domains in the social and behavioral sciences; (2) comprehend diverse theories and methods of the social and behavioral
sciences; (3) identify human behavioral patterns across space and time and discuss their interrelatedness and distinctiveness;
(4) enhance your understanding of the social world through the application of conceptual frameworks from the social and
behavioral sciences to first-hand engagement with contemporary issues.
Course Procedures
To further the understanding of the content, this course will heavily utilize Blackboard discussion blogs, wikis, and journals;
classroom clickers; and, other forms of digital technology and social media. The class is divided into three modules: 1) Intro to
social media and social networks; 2) Ethical and legal issues in social media use; 3) Creating communities and professional uses
of social media. Class sessions will be held as follows:
Mondays and Wednesdays – IN CLASS Lecture and discussion related to the module topic and assigned readings. PowerPoints
from each lecture will be made available online after class sessions. Note: PowerPoints will not include all the material covered
in class. Students are responsible for taking notes on material presented by guest lecturers and getting class notes from their
peers if a class session is missed.
Fridays – Labs Students will meet on alternate weeks in breakout lab sessions, according to an odd/even schedule, with their
graduate teaching assistant to discuss required readings and assignments (see Schedule for dates).
Materials
i>Clicker2: Clickers must be purchased at the SDSU bookstore.
Readings
Qualman, Eric (2013) Socialnomics: How social media transforms the way we live and do business. Second edition.
Students are responsible for keeping up with social media news by following Mashable’s social media news and PBS MediaShift, Social
Media. A Twitter list useful for social media resources, news, and tips will be constructed as a section assignment.
Additional readings will be assigned and posted in the Blackboard lecture course for each module.
Videos
The Social Network (watch by 9/4). (On reserve at SDSU library or available through Netflix and Amazon.)
Blackboard
Each student should have access to two Blackboard portals related to JMS 210: the LECTURE portal and the LAB portal (if you do not
have both sections, notify your teaching assistant).
Lecture: This portal is used to register and record your clicker scores and exam scores. Module material and readings also will be
posted as well as the overall syllabus, schedule and general announcements.
Lab: This portal is used by your Graduate Teaching Assistant to record your lab participation grades and grades on your assignments.
Many assignments will be turned in through this portal (see the schedule for details). At the end of the semester, your GTA will import
your lecture grade to tally and post your final grade.
Learning Objectives
The goal of this course is to prepare students to become more effective global citizens by understanding social media networks
and using them to communicate in an ethically responsible manner. Students will be asked to:
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Become participatory, responsible citizens by identifying the most effective ways to create and consume information on
social network sites
Think critically about the practical and theoretical implications of emerging media technologies on all sectors of life on
local, regional and international scales
Move beyond their geographic and cultural comfort zones to engage cross culturally with others globally through online
communities
Utilize digital and social media to become fluent in the practices, ethics and conventions of these spheres
Analyze the effectiveness of the social media presence of celebrities, corporations, news media, politicians and other
prominent figures.
Learning Outcomes
After successfully completing this course, students should be able to:
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Create appropriate media content (written, verbal, visual, audio, etc.), for specific audiences on a variety of social
network platforms
Evaluate mediated discourse within a variety of contexts and analyze how the contextual boundaries are changing in
the digital age
Identify characteristics of virtual audiences or communities in online environments
Understand the history of social network formations and explain the impact of newer media technologies on societal
norms and practices.
Participation and Grading
Attendance and participation are required in the face-to-face lecture sessions twice a week and in breakout
sections on alternate Fridays. Students will receive points for their clicker responses to questions asked
during lectures. These points cannot be made up for any reason (including technical issues, forgetting
the clicker, and illness). Students are expected to bring their clickers and extra batteries to every class and
report clicker failures to the SDSU Bookstore immediately.
In addition to participation, students will be assessed both on their individual progress in the class and a
group project. Individually, students are graded on three exams: two midterms and a final exam. Group
collaboration is another important component of this class. Small groups of students will form within each
section for the purpose of creating a social media case study wiki or video. The case study will be presented
in face-to-face lab section meetings.
Exam Policy
Exams must be taken on the date and time shown in the syllabus. Exams cannot be taken earlier or later. If a
student misses a midterm for a school-related event or illness, documentation MUST be provided to the
instructor prior to the exam for a planned event and the next class meeting after the exam for an emergency
illness. In this case, the student’s final exam will be weighted to include the missed exam. Students failing to
comply with this policy will not be allowed to make up the points.
The final MUST be taken at the time stated. Students will not be allowed into an exam after the first student
completes the exam and leaves the building. For more information on SDSU final exam policies, please see the
Office of the Registrar final exam schedule: http://arweb.sdsu.edu/es/registrar/finalexams/13_spring.html
Social Media Policy
This is a class about social media, therefore social media use is encouraged in an appropriate manner related to
the class. Students should not use social media to complain about the class, people in the class, assignments, or
other inappropriate ways. As we will discuss in this class, the use of social media is a reflection of the user.
The hashtag for the class on Twitter is #JMS210. Please be aware that the instructor follows this hashtag regularly
and may show tweets using the class hashtag during lecture. What should students share with the #JMS210
hashtag? News about social media! Students are welcome to follow the instructor on Twitter (@rcnee) and may
be followed back, if they have a public account. The instructor has a personal Facebook account but prefers to
accept friendship offers from students after they have graduated.
Policy regarding incompletes:
The instructor will strictly adhere to the University policy regarding the authorization of an
Incomplete grade:
I (incomplete authorized) indicates that a portion of required coursework has not been
completed and evaluated in the prescribed time period due to unforeseen, but fully justified,
reasons and that there is still a possibility of earning credit. It is your responsibility to bring
pertinent information to the instructor and to reach agreement on the means by which the
remaining course requirements will be satisfied.
-SDSU Catalog, Part Six, p. 462
The chart below shows how points are assigned for grades:
Note: A detailed schedule with links to required readings and description of all the course
assignments are attached to the end of this document. All section activities and the social media
analysis will be completed in the lab section course on Blackboard.
Assignment/Assessment
Point Value/Percentage
LAB SECTION GRADES:
Lab section in class quizzes and participation
activities (6 classes, 5 pts each)
30 (3%)
Peer evaluation 1 - paper
20 (2%)
Peer evaluation 2 - paper
30 (3%)
Group case study - wiki
40 (4%)
Social media analysis (3 blog posts x 10)
30 (3%)
Lab Total
150 (15%)
LECTURE GRADES
Clicker score
50 ( 5%) 64 clicker points will be available
Module 1 exam
260 (26%)
Module 2 exam
260 (26%)
Final examination (comprehensive)
280 (28%)
Lecture Total
850 (85%)
Total Possible
1000 (100%)
Point-to-Grade Conversion
930-1000
A
900-929
A-
870-899
B+
830-869
B
800-829
B-
770-799
C+
730-769
C
700-729
C-
670-699
D+
630-669
D
600-629
D-
0-599
F
What an A looks like for this course:
To earn an A in this class a student must –
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o
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Participate in class and online discussions consistently and on time
Show, through written assignments and discussion board postings, a good grasp of
social media and other digital skills covered in class
Work collaboratively within groups on projects, including the case study
Demonstrate superior knowledge of course content through strong performance on
exams
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious offense. Students will immediately be reported to the Center for Student
Rights & Responsibilities if the instructor suspects any type of plagiarism, whether on a formal
assignment or in a discussion board post.
From the SDSU Library (http://infotutor.sdsu.edu/plagiarism/what.cfm?p=graphic):
“Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's words, sentences, or ideas and passing them off as your
own without giving credit by citing the original source.” DISCUSSION BOARD posts must not be
plagiarized.
You might be plagiarizing if you:
 Submit someone else's work as your own.
 Buy a paper from a papermill, website or other source.
 Copy sentences, phrases, paragraphs, or ideas from someone else's work, published or
unpublished, without giving the original author credit.
 Replace select words from a passage without giving the original author credit.
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Copy any type of multimedia (graphics, audio, video, internet streams), computer programs,
music compositions, graphs, or charts from someone else's work without giving the original
author credit.
Piece together phrases, ideas, and sentences from a variety of sources to write an essay.
Build on someone else's idea or phrase to write your paper without giving the original
author credit.
Submit your own paper in more than one course.
San Diego State University regards plagiarism as academic dishonesty. Consequences of
plagiarism may include failing an assignment, receiving a lower course grade, and even failing a
course.
Read SDSU’s policy on Academic Dishonesty: http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/academics1.html
Students with Disabilities
Students who need accommodation of their disabilities should contact me privately in person, to
discuss specific accommodations for which they have received authorization. If you need
accommodation due to a disability, but have not registered with Student Disability Services at 619594-6473 (Calpulli Center, Suite 3101), please do so before making an appointment to see me.
One point will be deducted for every grammar, spelling or punctuation error.