Overview

Communications technologies have been transforming social, economic, and political geographies for a long time. The invention of the telegraph, for instance, radically transformed the way that nations related to each other, affected the speed and the content of the news, and enabled new economic links among distant places. Until recently communication has largely been ignored as a topic for study in Geography. The emergence of the Internet and the World Wide Web has forced geographers to finally pay attention to issues of communication. At the very least, the metaphors we use to describe these new technologies-cyberspace--are geographical. Beyond that, electronic communications technologies are transforming the ways that people and places relate to each other. A major emphasis in this course will be upon community networking, a form of cyberspace activism intimately connected with place. We won't, however, ignore other scales and other geographies of the emerging information society. Finally, cyberspace is partly a product of the way that it is imagined, therefore, we also explore the geography of cyberspace through its depiction in film and in cyberpunk fiction.

This course does not assume any familiarity with the Internet, the World Wide Web, or computers though a basic understanding will be helpful. If you need help with any of the technical aspects at any time during the course be sure to ask. That said, the best way to learn about using the Internet is through exploration and through trial and error. If you have well developed Internet and computer skills I encourage you to help those who are just developing their skills.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course students will…

• understand how communication both structures and is structured by geography.
  
• understand the uneven geographical development of the Internet and other communication technologies.
• recognize the significance of the location of physical telecommunications infrastructure in the construction of cyberspaces.
• understand the ways that communications technologies may be undermining or enhancing the creation of community.
• critically analyze the content of online communications.
• apply principles of good web design (including principles of accessibility for people with disabilities) to become a content creator as well as a content consumer.
• be able to identify the ways that online and offline worlds interconnect.
• understand the interrelationships among the disciplines of communication and geography.
• understand how their own relationships with others are affected by telecommunications technologies.
• understand how technological skills may be used to benefit their own and other's communities.
• develop skills in managing complex projects and in working as a part of a team. be able to identify both printed and online sources of information that they can use in the future to understand the changing geography of communication.
• develop web design skills that may be useful for gaining employment upon graduation.

Course Components

There are 6 major components to this course.

1. Reading, Discussion, Attendance and in class activities

You will need to purchase three books for this semester.

• Stephen Graham, editor. 2004. The Cybercities Reader. London: Routledge
• Martin Dodge and Rob Kitchin. 2001. Mapping Cyberspace. London: Routledge.
• Neil Stephenson. 1995. The Diamond Age or A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. New York: Bantam Books "
• Optional: a good guidebook on HTML and/or Dreamweaver. If you are unfamiliar with HTML or web design and like to learn from a printed source and excellent reference is Elizabeth Castro. 2002. HTML For the World Wide Web Visual Quickstart Guide 5th Edition. Peachpit Press.

Additional articles from the Internet and from old-fashioned, paper-based media will also be assigned. Articles on paper will be available on reserve in the library and at my office. See the partial list below.

You will gain the foundational knowledge in communication and geography from your readings, discussion, and in class learning activities. These readings will provide the basis for our daily discussions and learning activities. It is therefore essential that you not only do the assigned reading before you come to class, but that you also take some time to digest and reflect upon your reading. Please come to class with some questions, ideas, or insights that you want to discuss in class. Our goal is to have discussions where everyone is able to actively participate. Furthermore, this is an extremely small class, and both your classmates and I will know if you haven't done the reading. I may, if necessary, hold a pop quiz (for a grade) to assess whether or not you have come to class fully prepared for discussion

Attendance Most of the assignments for this class will be completed (or at least started) during class. On-time attendance at all class sessions is therefore very important. If you must be absent because of an illness, a family emergency or university event please send me an e-mail and let me know so that I may excuse your absence. Be sure that you inquire about what you missed. If you are absent for any other reason or are consistently late points may be deducted from your participation grade.

2. Your Communication Geography Web site

In order to practice skills in online communication, you will establish a web site on which you will post many of your assignments throughout the semester. Your website will be graded in terms of both the quality of the design and the quality of content. In addition many of your assignments will not be turned in but will be posted on the site for the world to see! In order to construct a website you need to make sure that you have your own personal space on the VU website. To create a WWW account, go to http://student.valpo.edu/, click on the "Manage WWW account link in the black bar at the top of the page and follow the directions you are given. Your website will also need to conform to the VU Web Page Policy posted at http://www.valpo.edu/it/sop/dirgen/dirpol/vuwebpol.html.

Your web site will be checked at the beginning of the semester for an initial grade and at the end of the semester to see how you have further developed it. At the end of the semester you will need to have refined your design and content and incorporated links to all of the assignments that you complete online during the semester.

3. Analytic Essays

In order to practice skills in analysis and writing you will be asked to write two analytic essays. The first is on selected chapters from Howard Rheingold's The Virtual Community. The second is on the novel The Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson. For these assignments you will be expected to give a short summary or description of the readings that you are analyzing (no more than a few paragraphs highlighting the main argument or plot of the reading). Then you should spend the rest of your paper raising and answering questions about the reading.

• For the first assignment on The Virtual Community you should answer the following question in addition to any of your own questions that you would like to explore: To what extent is the virtual community that Rheingold describes also a geographical community?
• For the second assignment on The Diamond Age you should answer the following question in addition to any of your own questions that you would like to explore: What insights about the interconnection of geography, cyberspace, and technology can one obtain from reading the novel?
  

Standards for Written Work
Your written work handed in on paper (the analytical essays, etc.) should conform to the following standards:

• Papers should be typed, double spaced with one inch margins, using a Times Roman or other similar serif font. Courier style fonts are not to be used). Papers should be stapled in the upper left hand corner. Plastic report covers should not be used.
• Papers should cite sources and use the author date style of referencing commonly used in the discipline of geography. See a copy of the Annals of the Association of American Geographers for examples.
• With regard to citing online sources you need to provide at minimum the Author (if available), date (if available), Title of the page, Address (URL), and the date accessed.
• Papers should make use of sources from the World Wide Web only when the source is a government agency or other reliable institution, and online version of a print resource (i.e. article databases), or when it is the online source itself that is the subject of the paper. You should not use Wikipedia or other online encyclopedic references in a college level paper. See your professor concerning the appropriateness of using sources from the Web.
• Papers should be free of mechanical and grammatical errors.
• Papers should conform to the requirements of the specific assignments.

4. Experiential Learning: Virtual Field Trips

I will create a series of virtual field trips and other online learning activities for you to complete throughout the semester. Their purpose is to familiarize you with the phenomena that we are studying this semester. For most assignments you will visit a variety of web sites to obtain first hand experience with the course subject matter. Other assignments may ask you to analyze online materials or to map portions of cyberspace. Some assignments will be designed to help you further develop teamwork skills as well as skills in applying content learned in class. As the semester develops I may begin to ask you to create your own virtual field trips. Most field trips will be completed during class but some may require you to spend time outside of class to complete. You are encouraged to discuss the sites you visit with your classmates as you complete the field trip.

5. Service Learning Project

The entire class will collaborate in choosing, designing, and executing a service learning project that aims to aid a local organization or government agency with their use of online communication. The project might involve building a web site for a local organization, helping seniors or children learn about how to use the Internet, or producing a locally oriented online guide on a particular topic for the general public, among other possibilities. This project will help you to appreciate the increasing role that online communications plays in promoting community development and supporting the non-profit sector. It will also help you to appreciate how the technological skills you learn in college may not only benefit you in your career but may also be of benefit to your community. The project may require meeting outside of the regularly scheduled class period. Should an unavoidable conflict with extracurricular activities arise, the project should take precedence. You will be graded on your participation in the project (including attendance at all project related events and class sessions, on time and competent completion, and professional attitude), on a series of preparatory memos presenting ideas for organizing and executing the project, a research project on similar websites, your individual contribution to the project, and a final reflection paper. Members of the class, not the professor, will be responsible for planning and executing the project.

The last time this class was taught, members of the class helped a local non-profit organization to build a web site through a "web raising.' The class met with volunteers from the organization for three hours one afternoon and constructed the web site. The project was deigned to accomplish the following four goals: 1) build a web site for the organization; 2) build the web site in a way that builds community (within our class, within the community organization, and among the two groups); 3) teach students about some of the challenges involved in community networking and non-profit web development; 4) teach community members about building a web site. We might do a similar project or explore alternative ideas but whatever project we decide upon it will have similar goals.

Because the ability to complete this project depends somewhat upon the skills and ideas that students bring to the class, at the time of this printing a specific project and client organization has not been identified. Students who dislike the ambiguity and challenge of completing an open-ended group project that is not well defined at the beginning of the semester should consider dropping the class. Should it occur that a suitable project or client organization can not be found, or that the class is not able to complete the project, a research paper will be substituted for the service learning project.

7. Exams

There will be a midterm and a final exam. Both will have essay and short answer questions. One or both of the exams may be turned in online.

Grading

Your final grade will be based upon the following subject to changes in the course schedule and assignment load.

Grading Scale (points)

Modifications to this distribution may be required depending upon the nature of the final project.

Policy on Late Assignments

You must hand in all of your assignments on time. If because of circumstances beyond your control you need more time to complete an assignment please see me ahead of time (at least a day in advance) to ask for an extension. Extensions may or may not be granted depending upon the circumstances. If you must turn in an assignment late and you did not ask for an extension, include a written explanation of the reason for its tardiness along with the assignment (via e-mail if assignment is handed in on the web). If the explanation is judged to be inadequate the assignment will not be accepted or will be accepted for reduced credit. Because some assignments will be posted on the web, please pay attention to specific deadlines and ensure that your work is posted. If you experience technical difficulties that prevent you from posting, please inform your professor.

An important note about flexibility in the course design

One of the major virtues that Nell, the main character in the Diamond Age, advocates is the ability to tolerate ambiguity and to adapt to one's circumstances. This class will require the same from you. In order to accommodate the service learning project, our class schedule, and the specific number and nature of assignments may need to be rearranged or changed. In addition because the very subject matter of our course is constantly changing and because technology is involved, there may be times when we cannot complete assignments or readings as planned. You can be assured that whatever the end result of the class, you will be graded fairly and that your grade will reflect the true quality of your work.

Course Web Site and E-mail list

I have started a web site for this course at http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/geo/courses/geo280x/. All of your assignments will be posted here. Some of the work you produce will also be published here. Most of your assignments will be submitted in electronic format. You need to check your e-mail regularly (once a day Monday-Friday at least) for heads up on updates, reminders, and all that. The course e-mail list address is 2006FA-GEO-280-X-L@valpo.edu. You will hand in some assignments via e-mail to your professor and/or to the list.

Accommodations for students with disabilities

If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let me know during the first week of class so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. All discussions will remain confidential.

Kallay Lab Information and Rules

You have been given access to the Schnabel 34 computer lab. With great access comes great responsibility. Please do everything you can to keep the lab safe and secure as well as to take care of the brand new computers and the room by observing the following rules:

• Keep the door to the lab closed. Do not leave the lab unattended. Do not let people who have not had their hand scanned into the lab.
• Do not open the window.
• Turn off the lights in the lab when you are done and please pick up any trash you see (even if it is not your own) and straighten up the lab before you leave.
• Please do not bring food or drink into the lab. Enjoy food and drink in the pleasant lobby areas in Schnabel or in Kallay-Christopher.
• If you encounter a problem with a computer or with specific software notify your instructor so that the problem can be addressed appropriately.
• If you have a general problem or need help contact IT.HelpDesk@valpo.edu or by phone at 5678.
• If you use the printer and it does not print your document the first time, please do not try printing again. Either wait for the output, or try printing at another location. Please do not press buttons on the printer or adjust the printer yourself.
• Your access expires at the end of the semester. If you want to continue to be able to access the lab you will need to ask for access at the beginning of next semester

Honor Code

The Honor Code will be upheld in this course. Authorized aid in this class will be limited to your own personal knowledge during exams and your own work on all written exercises. You may discuss readings with classmates but your writing should be your own. You are encouraged to use the services of the writing center and you should have someone else proofread or offer suggestions on your written assignments before handing them in.

You must use quotation marks for direct quotes, cite your sources, and include a list of works cited in your writing. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism and may be considered unauthorized aid because you are essentially representing someone else's work as your own. Many first year students mistakenly believe that it is OK to cut and paste text from web sites into their papers without providing both quotation marks and a proper citation. Web sites are no different from any other source and need to be cited fully. Please refer to a writing guide for details on proper methods of citation (you should have bought one for your freshman core class). Please ask if you do not understand methods of citation since not citing or improperly citing your sources can lead to Honor Code violations. Finally sharing your papers written for this class with others on the Internet is expected. Downloading papers or assignments written by others to hand in (either in part or in their entirety) constitutes unauthorized aid.

Intellectual Property Issues

You may be tempted to use images or other media from the web for your assignments without permission. While this is a common practice it is not a moral or for that matter a legal practice. It also violates VUs Web Page Policy. If you would like to use a graphic from some other site make sure either that the creator of the graphic has given permission for its use or that you have requested and obtained permission to use the graphic. Better yet make your own graphics! Please respect the intellectual property of others.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the people who made this class possible: Lynn Staehelli for helping me figure out how to do cybergeography; Don Mitchell for encouraging me to explore cybergeography; Martin Dodge for the advice and "beverages" in London; Rob Kitchin, Anthony Townsend, Matt Zook, and Sara Fabrikant for great writing and advice; Mark Bjelland and Bob Douglas for giving me the chance to teach the class for the first time; Jerod Klava, Lucas Ahlberg, the hockey guys, and everyone else for taking it the first, second, and third times; Isaac Johnson for letting me know that it was worth taking; and of course you, the current students for taking it!