12/11: Final Exam

Class

You will have two hours to compose a reflective essay based on the questions in this document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JWvRWnL1nbAM5PqtHzZAh4oFBL7cgwPerfY6z25SLbk/edit?usp=sharing

Please take your time to find good examples to support your claims. This essay will allow me to understand how well you understand our approaches to writing during the semester.

Note: Your Essay 6 is due this Thursday by the end of class. We shall meet next Tuesday for grades and advisement.

11/27 and on: Writing Workshops

From here on, each of you will work at her own pace. Ann and I will be available to read and comment on your work, so pleas let us know when you need our assistance.

11/13: Writing Workshop

Instructions on how to turn in Assignment 3: When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback  (first draft)
• Draft 2
• Response Paper Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

Class 

Writing is a way to end up thinking something you couldn’t have started out thinking.
--Peter Elbow, Writing without Teachers

Writing a series of drafts allows these drafts to come together to produce an emerging “center of gravity” that then translates into the main focus on the work. This process should be a holistic process, not a linear process. Elbow’s reasoning behind this concept of multiple drafts follows the idea that, “if [the writer] learns to maximize the interaction among [their] own ideas or points of view, [s/he] can produce new ones that didn’t seem available to them.”
--From Elbow, as quoted in Wikipedia's entry for "Draft document": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft_document

1. Things you should have done by now

• Get a Wikipedia account. 
• Read the prompts for Assignment 5:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vBBfMXAu4aHFWLu6JCGgrnYRckCtwpKXbel2itjLEms/edit?usp=sharing
• Print out this form and turn it in for  me to approve:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YiM0YD2BHfUPinolJGPrirGyo79Z4BdW2VMFuTLRw3Y/edit?usp=sharing

2. Once you have my approval for your topic and thesis, for the rest of the class time

Work on Assignment 4, Assignment 5, and on your Wikipedia contribution. If you have any previous assignments you have failed, make sure you give yourself some time to revise these so they are passing.

Last drafts of ALL your assignments must be in your shared Google Drive folder.

For Homework: 

Continue with your drafting and revising. Find two readers for Assignment 5. 

11/8: Knowledge Production and the Hacker Ethic

Class

Introduction to Creative Commons: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Jgv-Rf_k5xqSy5VVZzbhhWICyFhE046BMbnd8Z3r2Gs/edit?usp=sharing

Introduction to Wikipedia:   https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10K7wUwLAGwIbJ5ZBd3773S8QZZTpiwBkrTjt3rwCIvw/edit?usp=sharing

Presentation of  "Open" Internet Organizations

How does hacker ethic revise our understanding of knowledge production?
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1YujAD3gm3rS54aY__DeS9-oiE-SNAhTlJvRw8HjqF_c/edit?usp=sharing

11/6: Knowledge Production

Instructions on how to turn in Assignment 3: When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback  (first draft)
• Draft 2
• Response Paper Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

Class

Essential questions: How is knowledge produced? Whose knowledge is disseminated? Who benefits from this knowledge? What is your place in the knowledge society? 

1. Some Context (work on these with a partner)

A. Consider: Information Society versus Knowledge Society    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_society

B. Consider: The Production of Knowledge
 http://camellia.shc.edu/literacy/tablesversion/lessons/lesson1/production.htm

C. Consider: Information Privilege

1. What information resources do you have access to by virtue of your institutional affiliation that others do not?

2. What are the potential effects of this “information divide” for those who find themselves on either side of it? See also, “digital divide”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide

3. What are the structures that perpetuate this system, and what can challenge these structures?

4. What responsibilities (if any) do you think are associated with privileged access to information?

2. Library Orientation 

A. How to read free websites using list of "hacker" ethic sites:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hOX8ikMviJvo-PVWG28oo-MWs9LInUL6f_r_KF-A0CE/edit

B. Library Databases

C. Scavenger Hunt

For next Class

• Complete your Research for a 3-minute presentation:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hOX8ikMviJvo-PVWG28oo-MWs9LInUL6f_r_KF-A0CE/edit
• Read the prompts for Assignment 5:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vBBfMXAu4aHFWLu6JCGgrnYRckCtwpKXbel2itjLEms/edit?usp=sharing
• Print out this form and turn it in for  me to approve:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YiM0YD2BHfUPinolJGPrirGyo79Z4BdW2VMFuTLRw3Y/edit?usp=sharing

11/1: Big Data and Political Bias

Instructions on how to turn in Assignment 3: When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback  (first draft)
• Draft 2
• Response Paper Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

Class

• Review and Watch/discuss: Eli Pariser, “Beware online ‘filter bubbles.’” (TED Talk and transcript): https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles
• Quick report on Cadwalladr by Dr. X
• "The Great Brexit Robbery" https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/may/07/the-great-british-brexit-robbery-hijacked-democracy
• How Cambridge Analytica Exploited the Facebook Data of Millions: https://www.nytimes.com/video/technology/100000005806669/cambridge-analytica-facebook-profiles.html
• "Cambridge Analytica whistleblower: 'We spent $1m harvesting millions of Facebook profiles' – video": https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-whistleblower-we-spent-1m-harvesting-millions-of-facebook-profiles-video
• Introduction to Writing Body Paragraphs and Using Sources, Continued
• Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2
  

For next class

• Complete your Research: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hOX8ikMviJvo-PVWG28oo-MWs9LInUL6f_r_KF-A0CE/edit?usp=sharing 

                                ALL Journals are due Saturday 11/3 by 9:00AM

10/30: The Web and (Mis)Information

Class

Essential Question: How does the World Wide Web help and hinder the sharing of information and the creation of a knowledge society?

1. From Nineteen Eighty-Four

2. Read: The Onion: “Facebook User Verifies Truth of Article by Carefully Checking it Against Own Preconceived Opinions”

3. Report on Shane. See the definition for Yellow Journalism

4. Reflect and Discuss:

Problem 1: What's legitimate information? What is dubious information? How can we tell the difference? Why does being able to tell the difference matter?

Step 1: Individually, evaluate and report:

A. Here is a sample of the homepage for Slate.com. Identify which of the numbered items is a news story, and which is an advertisement. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Egjt-4g-yZaUgza0pnTEM0TGs/view?usp=sharing

B. Does this post provide strong evidence about the conditions near the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant? Explain your reasoning.  http://imgur.com/gallery/BZWWx

What about the original posting? https://twitter.com/san_kaido/status/603513371934130176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

C. Why this tweet might and might not be a useful source of information?https://twitter.com/moveon/status/666772893846675456?lang=en

More on the Fukushima Mutant Flowers

• As  reported by The Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3171748/Land-mutant-daisies-Radiation-causes-flowers-grow-strangely-near-site-nuclear-plant-suffered-meltdown-tragic-tsunami.html
• As reported by Weather.com: https://weather.com/science/nature/news/mutant-flowers-japan-fukushima-famous
• As reported by National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150723-fukushima-mutated-daisies-flowers-radiation-science/
• As fact-checked by Snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/nuclear-mutant-daisies/

Step 2: With a partner, define and report: What is and is not "fake news"?

• Satirical news from a site like The Onion (“Dolphin Spends Amazing Vacation Swimming With Stockbroker”) 
• The daily clickbait in our social media feeds (such as the one written by the "new yellow journalist" Shane).
• Outright invented news, like pieces that claimed, just before the election, that Pope Francis had endorsed Donald J. Trump, or that Donald Trump had once said that “Republicans are the dumbest group of voters.”
• Erroneous interpretation of a fact that is distributed without fact-checking (as with the  Fukushima Mutant Flowers). 
• "Native advertising": Advertisement passing as news (as in Slate.com).  
• News that shows a highly partisan bias. 

 Consider: Are some of these forms of unreliable news more dangerous than others? Which? Why?

Problem 2: How do the Internet and Web help and hinder fake news? 

Individually, reflect and report: In a recent letter to the world, Sir Tim Berners-Lee reminded us that he imagined the world wide as "an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information, access opportunities and collaborate across geographic and cultural boundaries." In what ways do the specific characteristics of the Internet and the World Wide Web, especially in its 2.0, 3.0, and mobile versions contribute to the boom of fake news?

Possible solutions: Explore and report: CUNY Graduate School Fake News Cheat Sheet 

See also :

Fact-checking sites:

• http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/  
• http://www.snopes.com/
• http://www.politifact.com/
• To check the authenticity of images, reverse-Google them to find their origins: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/1325808?hl=en

Browser plug-ins:

• BS Detector (Chrome, Firefox, Safari): http://bsdetector.tech 
• Fake News Alert (Chrome): https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fake-news-alert/aickfmgnhocegpdbfnpfnedpeionfkbh  
• This is Fake (Chrome, for Facebook feed): https://www.thisisfake.org/

For next class

• Read: Wikipedia brochure
• Write: Journal 9 (the last one!) by reflecting on the ideas discussed in the brochure and answering some pointed questions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1S9fjIYe33XFh6VnRfE4sacXPjCUkKmqX1wNqeNrdWjA/edit?usp=sharing
• Get a Wikipedia account and create a userpage

ALL Journals are due Saturday 11/3 by 9:00AM

10/25: Mass and Targeted Surveillance

Instructions on how to turn in Assignment 3: When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback  (first draft)
• Draft 2
• Response Paper Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

Class

1. Lecture/discussion on the documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply

• If you have not watched  Terms and Conditions, you must do so now.
• If you have watched the documentary: Watch and react to 4 moments in Terms and Conditions
• Vocabulary: 
• Clip 1: The Onion, Stasi; 
• Clip 2: Pre crime, Minority Report, The Royal Wedding; 
• Clip 3: loophole, gag order, 4th Amendment, Third-party doctrine

http://laguardia.kanopystreaming.com/playlist/1323442
Interview with Director Cullen Hoback

2. Lecture on The Guardian's "The NSA Files: Decoded"

3. Freewriting: Your reaction to the information you have learned today

4. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class

• Read: Shane, “From Headline to Photograph, a Fake News Masterpiece.”
• Write: Journal 8 on Shane using the 7Ws

10/22: Hackers

Class

1. Review: Check "Algorithmic Accountability: A Primer”: https://datasociety.net/output/algorithmic-accountability-a-primer/ and maybe watch this video: https://youtu.be/e_WfC8HwVB8

2. Report on Honan

• Worried about your digital shadow? Detox your digital self: https://tacticaltech.org/news/data-detox-kit/

2. Writing lesson: Introductions and Conclusions

3. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class

• Watch: Terms and Conditions
  http://laguardia.kanopystreaming.com/video/terms-and-conditions-may-apply-1
• Read: 
• The lead for the Wikipedia entry on the National Security Agency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Agency
• The lead for the Wikipedia entry on Edward Snowden: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden
• The NSA Files: https://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/nov/01/snowden-nsa-files-surveillance-revelations-decoded

https://www.flipsidewallet.com/blogs/news/100429702-tech-writer-kevin-roose-asks-hackers-to-hack-him-at-defcon-and-quickly-regrets-it

10/18: Algorithms, Data Mining, Profiling, and Rateocracy

Instructions on how to turn in Assignment 3: When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback  (first draft)
• Draft 2
• Response Paper Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

Class

1. Report on Andrews and Silverman

2. How bad is it? Check:

• This advertising from data-aggregator Acxiom: https://vimeo.com/166527182 and its accompanying handout: https://www.acxiom.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/BRO-AbiliTec_web.pdf

• "Big data meets Big Brother as China moves to rate its citizens"

3. Watch/Discuss: Zeynep Tufekci, “Machine intelligence makes human morals more important.” (TED Talk and transcript)

4. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class

• Read: Honan, Mat. “Kill the Password: Why a String of Characters Can’t Protect Us Anymore" 
• Write: Journal 7 on Honan using the 7Ws

Ongoing:  Watch the documentary Terms and Conditions
http://laguardia.kanopystreaming.com/video/terms-and-conditions-may-apply-1

10/16: The Web and Privacy

Essential Question:  How has the current version of the World Wide Web changed our relationship with the establishment, particularly in terms of personal information?

Class

1. Report on George Orwell's Nineteen eighty-four. 

• See the definition of Panopticon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon 
• Watch Orwell's Warning from George Orwell: A Life in Pictures (BBC documentary): https://youtu.be/s6txpumkY5I?t=1h25m8s

2. Writing lesson: The Whys and Hows of Modern Language Association style. Here are some guides to help you:

• https://library.laguardia.edu/files/pdf/MLA8completedsample_printable.pdf
• https://library.laguardia.edu/files/pdf/MLA8highlightedindexedrev12122016.pdf

Check that Assignment 3 is properly formatted. The paper

• has a header, heading, and title
• the title of the paper and the title of the Works Cited page are centered
• the entries of the Works Cited page are formatted using hanging indent
• is in 12 size font 
• is double spaced
• has the first line of its paragraphs indented

4. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class
Read:

• Andrews, “George Orwell...Meet Mark Zuckerberg”: Armani, Jaden,Yorheli, Cheyanne,Olga, Gabriel,  Yaneiry, Diamond, Lucia, Kyla, Majik
• Silverman, “The Reputation Racket”: Rafael,  Hans, Abigail, Kevin, Harry, Gabriella, Erik, Shella, Nanjin,  Mary, Shidedsi,Yang

Write: Journal 6 on Andrews, checking on vocabulary and using the 7Ws or on Silverman

Instructions on how to turn in Assignment 3: When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback  (first draft)
• Draft 2
• Response Paper Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

10/11: Writing Workshop for Assignment 3

Class

1. If you have a complete first draft, get together with your reader so you can complete the Reader Feedback for Assignment 3, online or by hand. Decide on who will be your second reader

Once you have completed and read feedback from two people, work on the second draft of Assignment 3

 OR

If you have not finished the first draft, finish the first draft. You will have to find two readers to complete the Reader Feedback for Assignment 3

3. Introducing the Response Paper Checklist

For next class

• Read: George Orwell's Nineteen eighty-four
• Write: Journal 5 on Orwell using the 7Ws

Instructions on how to turn in Assignment 3: When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback  (first draft)
• Draft 2
• Response Paper Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

10/9: Writing Workshop

Class

1. Thesis Workshop:

Responses to your thesis statements HERE

• I will group you with others to discuss your thesis for feedback
• If you did not write a thesis, write it now. 

Criteria to consider for the evaluation of theses:

• Does it address the prompt? Here is the prompt for Assignment 3
• Is it an argument?
• Is it concise?
• Is it clear?
• Is it sexy? 
• (Optional) Is it a map of the paper?

2. Create: A document to write Assignment 2 in your Google Drive folder

3. Work on your Useful Introduction (suggested turn-in date: this Thursday) or the response paper (suggested turn-in date: next Thursday, 10/18)

For next class

• Begin reading George Orwell's Nineteen eighty-four  and complete the 7Ws for it

 Instructions on how to turn in Assignment 3: When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback  (first draft)
• Draft 2
• Response Paper Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

10/4: How the World Wide Web Has Changed

Class

Review:  https://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/internet-versus-world-wide-web1.htm or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web#Function

1. Report on the ACLU
2. Define (in groups): What is the web? How does it work?

Example:

TCP/IP:  Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) are two distinct computer network agreed-upon set of rules that are commonly used together. When two computers follow the same protocols, they can understand each other and exchange data.

• Transmission Control Protocol divides a message or file into packets that are transmitted over the internet and then reassembled when they reach their destination. 
• Internet Protocol is responsible for the address of each packet so it is sent to the correct destination.

Your Turn: What is.....?

• a browser
• a search engine
• a server
• a protocol
• a path
• an IP address
• the cloud
• hyperlink(ing)

4. Comprehend: The Types of Web:

• The Surface Web
• The Deep Web/ Invisible Web/ Hidden Web
• The Dark Web (see Tor on Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_(anonymity_network)
• The Internet of Things

5. Comprehend: The Development of the Web

• Web 1.0: Static, hyperlinked pages such as Internet Shakespeare Editions
• Web 2.0: Interactive pages, such as Wikipedia, Facebook, Amazon.com
• In the works: Web 3.0: Categorized web that "learns" about itself and its users (also called Semantic Web)

6. Overview: The Uses and Values of the Internet/World Wide Web as Designed by Their Creators

7. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class
Preparing for Assignment 3

• Read: "Thesis Statements" and "Introductory Paragraphs" (writing package) and submit your tentative thesis for Assignment 3 HERE. Responses HERE
• Start reading George Orwell's Nineteen eighty-four (reading packet, pp. 47-61)

10/2: History of the Internet and the World Wide Web

Essential question:

• How does the online world work and how has it changed since its inception?

Class
1. Introducing Assignment 2: The Useful Introduction

The Internet
2. Report on Rosenzweig: The 7Ws.
3. What are summaries for?

• As reading notes for self and others. See my summary for the Grad Center Students:   https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zW2siJBl0pKaQAUSNyofNkTNrVRxxHDdXNaYZ7_hgfE/edit?usp=sharing
• As a means to introduce your own topic and thesis. See summary in action in this blog post:   https://witnesstointernment.wordpress.com/home/origin-stories/

4. Write an introductory sentence in this form:   https://goo.gl/forms/6kVVcSKH8MCjbR5x2
--Responses here:   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PWI3GSi0KWKhg3wgJTbKY0wuLD0YrgSZZ75SUNRghxs/edit?usp=sharing


The World Wide Web
5. Watch: Stuff of Genius: The World Wide Web


For next class
Read

1. “How the Web Works-In One Easy Lesson.” http://mkcohen.com/how-the-web-works-in-one-easy-lesson
2. Lamo and Kumar, “The Deep and Dark Webs”
3. Web 2.0  & Web 3.0 definitions
4. ACLU. “Net Neutrality”
5. Watch: Burger King/Whooper Neutrality: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltzy5vRmN8Q 

Using the 7Ws, write Journal 4 on ACLU, “Net Neutrality”

9/27: Turkle on connection versus conversation

Class

1. Print and hand in Essay 1, if you have completed it.
2. Quick review of Postman
3. Report on Turkle:

• Interview on the 7Ws
• Class review of Turkle (you may want to fix your journal accordingly)

4. Writing practice: How W1, W2, W3, and W4 can be used in introductory and signal phrases.

• Read about introductory sentences in your writing packet, page 33. We will attempt to write an introductory sentence that follows the pattern of signal phrase #4. 
• Write an introductory sentence in this form: https://goo.gl/forms/6kVVcSKH8MCjbR5x2
• Responses here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PWI3GSi0KWKhg3wgJTbKY0wuLD0YrgSZZ75SUNRghxs/edit?usp=sharing

5. Reflection: The Internet: What have we gained? What have we lost? Is it worth it? Complete this form: https://goo.gl/forms/XDoWNPZWWjdEYeo32

Responses: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rWGwnKYgETmehxC6cw7iI9ai-usg1Jo2g2DNZAZUAaY/edit?usp=sharing

6. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class
1. Read: Rosenzweig, “Wizards, Bureaucrats, Warriors and Hackers”
2. Write: Journal #3 on Rosenzweig using the 7Ws and following my special instructions about the summary
3. Watch: “World Wide Web in Plain English"

9/25: Neil Postman's “Five Things We Need to Know about Technological Change.”

If students get a sound education in the history, social effects and psychological biases of technology, they may grow to be adults who use technology rather than be used by it.
   --Neil Postman

Class

1. Print and hand in the diagnostic essay, if you have completed it

2. Report on Postman:

• Sit with your reader (the person assigned to you last class, remember?)
• Interview them on their 7Ws 
• Class review of Postman (you may want to fix your journal accordingly)

3. Writing practice: How W1, W2, W3, and W4 can be used in introductory and signal phrases.

• Read about introductory sentences in your writing packet, page 33. We will attempt to write an introductory sentence that follows the pattern of signal phrase #4. 
• Write an introductory sentence in this form: https://goo.gl/forms/6kVVcSKH8MCjbR5x2
• Responses here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1PWI3GSi0KWKhg3wgJTbKY0wuLD0YrgSZZ75SUNRghxs/edit?usp=sharing

4. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class

• Read: Turkle, “Connected but Alone?” (Ted Talk transcript). For the actual TED Talk, go here: https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_alone_together
• Write: Journal 2 on Turkle using the 7Ws and answering my questions about the reading

9/20: College Work

The essential questions for this class:

• How has the World Wide Web changed American society and culture? 
• What is my place in the resulting information society?

Class

If you did not attend last class:

• Fill: Information Form.
• Join: Google Drive/Google Group

• Create your Google account HERE, if needed.
• Create a Google Drive Folder and add it to the appropriate Google Group
• In your folder, create a document for Assignment  1, ONE document for your journals, and one document for Reader Feedback

Today's meeting

1. Discussing College and College Writing: "Not a Kid Anymore, or How Learning Happens in College"; “Roles of the Writer”; “Reader Feedback”

2. Meeting your appointed Readers

3. Beginning Assignment 1: Reflective Diagnostic

4. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class

Read: Postman, “Five Things We Need to Know about Technological Change.”

Write: Journal 1 on Postman using the 7Ws and answering my questions about the reading

9/13 Welcome to ENG101!

This blog is our assignment space. If you have questions, my contact information is on the syllabus as well as under the section titled "About" on this blog.

Class

1. Read/Discuss

• Syllabus/Class Packets 
• 2 minute-interview. Ask your partner the following questions and jot the answers down on a piece of paper so you can introduce the person to the rest of the class later
1. What is your name? What is the name you want to be called in class? What is your preferred pronoun? 
2. What is one thing you are worried will be hard about this class?

2. Fill: Information Form.
3. Join: Google Drive/Google Group

• Create your Google account HERE, if needed.
• Create a Google Drive Folder and add it to our Shared Class Folder by following the instructions on the whiteboard

4. Review of Basic Writing Skills
5. Reading Strategy and Journal Writing: The 7 Ws
6. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class

1. Read: "Not a Kid Anymore," "The Roles of the Writer," and "Online Writing =21st Century Writing" (writing packet, pages 7-10)
2. Make a comment or ask a question in THIS FORM. 

9/13: Welcome to ENA101!

Class

1. 2 minute-interview. Ask your partner the following questions and jot the answers down on a piece of paper so you can introduce the person to the rest of the class later
1. What is your name? What is the name you want to be called in class? What is your preferred pronoun? 
2. Tell me a bit about yourself and your plans at LaGuardia

     2. Create a shared Google Drive folder and a document for Assignment 1 and put it in our Google Groups thread.

     

Revising Essay 4

If you are revising Essay 2 or 3 into Essay 4, with the new draft

• Turn in the original draft and my evaluation 
• Turn in your typed or handwritten work for the revision strategy you chose to use
• Write a brief cover letter explaining 1) what you changed when revising, 2) whether the strategy of your choice worked (how do you know?),  and 3) what you learned from revising.

If you are writing a newspaper article, the piece must

• have an attractive but honest HEADLINE (no clickbait!).
• open with an anecdote or example relevant to your topic and thesis.
• use information from at least 5 sources, but NOT cite them in MLA style. Instead, use the journalistic approach of introducing sources thoroughly the first time

Revision & Open Workshop

Class

Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines.   -- William Strunk, Jr., The Elements of Style

1. Definition of Revision

2. Open Workshop

5/16: Workshop for Essay 3, continued

Class

Essay 3 Workshop: Introduction and Conclusion for Essay 3

1. Check these models for how to write an interesting introduction:
personal anecdote, anecdotal, scene setting, zinger leads
2. Check the purpose of an epigraph
3. Complete the So What? activity with three classmates.

From now on 

You should be working on Essay 3, then Essay 4, and on your Wikipedia contribution.

If you are turning in Essay 2 or Essay 3:  When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback
• Draft 2
• Essay Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

5/14: Essay 3 Workshop, continued

Essay 3 Workshop, Continued: Thesis and Outline for Essay 3

1. Here is the prompt for Essay 2
2. Create: A document to write Essay 3 in your Google Drive folder

• Place the thesis on top
• Create an outline to be filled up as you decide on sources

From now on 

You should be working on Essay 3, then Essay 4, and on your Wikipedia contribution.

If you are turning in Essay 2 or Essay 3:  When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback
• Draft 2
• Essay Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

5/9: Essay 3 Workshop

Class

Essay 3 Workshop: Thesis and Outline for Essay 3

1. Evaluation of Theses

• Theses for Essay 3 here:
• Criteria to consider for the evaluation of theses:

• Does it address the prompt? Here is the prompt for Essay 2: 
• Is it an argument?
• Is it concise?
• Is it clear?
• Is it sexy? 
• (Optional) Is it a map of the paper

2. Create: A document to write Essay 3 in your Google Drive folder

• Place the thesis on top
• Create an outline to be filled up as you decide on sources

From now on 

You should be working on Essay 3, then Essay 4, and on your Wikipedia contribution.

If you are turning in Essay 2 or Essay 3:  When you have completed the writing process, turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback
• Draft 2
• Essay Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

5/2: The Internet/WWW and the Politics of Knowledge

Class

Essential questions: How is knowledge produced? Whose knowledge is disseminated? Who benefits from this knowledge? What is your place in the knowledge society? 

1. Some Context (work on these with a partner)

A. Consider: Information Society versus Knowledge Society   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_society

B. Consider: The Production of Knowledge    http://camellia.shc.edu/literacy/tablesversion/lessons/lesson1/production.htm

C. Consider: Information Privilege

1. What information resources do you have access to by virtue of your institutional affiliation that others do not?

2. What are the potential effects of this “information divide” for those who find themselves on either side of it? See also, “digital divide”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide

3. What are the structures that perpetuate this system, and what can challenge these structures?

4. What responsibilities (if any) do you think are associated with privileged access to information?

5. Research:  Some Open Access / Free Culture Organizations 

2. The Case of Wikipedia

A. an encyclopedia (a tertiary source)
B. a wiki
C. a community

Imagine a world in which every single person on the planet is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge

But what does the Wikipedia community mean by "the sum of all human knowledge?" Let's consider Wikipedia as a rhetorical tool:    https://docs.google.com/document/d/150oQzyeijHgs_BTGYTnQ7QLsAPKjjMU3dKx0QHwOGXA/edit?usp=sharing

Keeping a healthy skepticism in mind, experience the scope of the Wikipedia project:

What did we edit 2015? https://youtu.be/Rm1LKcHD1VE

And its attempt to bridge the digital divide:

Wikipedia Zero  https://youtu.be/ZaZf6h0Pus8

For next class

• Complete all journals
• Decide on a topic for Essay 3, narrow the topic down, and start asking essential questions about the topic in this form: https://goo.gl/forms/T2broPszmQEIszHZ2

4/30: Internet Search and Bias

If you plan to turn in Essay 2,  turn in 

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback (2 reader reports)
• Draft 2
• Essay Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

Class

• Quick report on Cadwalladr
• Introduction to Using Sources and Writing Body Paragraphs
• Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2
  

For next class

• Watch/discuss: Eli Pariser, “Beware online ‘filter bubbles.’” (TED Talk and transcript): https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles
• Read: Wikipedia brochure
• Write: Journal 10 (the last one!) by reflecting on the ideas discussed in the brochure and answering some pointed questions

Today! Fake News Poetry Workshop

Fake News Poetry Workshop: Radical Digital Media Literacy  

Room E-229 

Zine Making & Poetry Workshop on Monday, April 30 from 1:00-3:00pm in Room E-111

FREE AND OPEN TO ALL - Hosts include: the LaGuardia Community College student literary magazine The Lit (http://www.laguardia.edu/English/The-Lit/) and Professor Lucy McNair; students from Professors Tuli Chatterji and Christopher Schmidt's classes. Writing guidance will be provided with poet Lisa Cohen.

This series of experimental poetry workshops/community conversations was created by Alexandra Juhasz (Chair of Filmby Read more about it here:https://medium.com/the-operating-system/10-tries-100-poems-alexandra-juhasz-field-n...

4/25: The Web and (Mis) information

Reflections from last class: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1K2fab-0OlHALibhGoIP8qnMWij9hV-Xb5q9kfs_Eqoo/edit?usp=sharing



Class

Essential Question: How does the World Wide Web help and hinder the sharing of information and the creation of a knowledge society?

1. From Nineteen Eighty-Four

2. Read: The Onion: “Facebook User Verifies Truth of Article by Carefully Checking it Against Own Preconceived Opinions”

3. Report on Shane

4. Reflect and Discuss:

Problem 1: What's legitimate information? What is dubious information? How can we tell the difference? Why does being able to tell the difference matter?

Step 1: Individually, evaluate and report:

A. Here is a sample of the homepage for Slate.com. Identify which of the numbered items is a news story, and which is an advertisement. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_Egjt-4g-yZaUgza0pnTEM0TGs/view?usp=sharing

B. Does this post provide strong evidence about the conditions near the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant? Explain your reasoning.  http://imgur.com/gallery/BZWWx

What about the original posting? https://twitter.com/san_kaido/status/603513371934130176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

C. Why this tweet might and might not be a useful source of information?https://twitter.com/moveon/status/666772893846675456?lang=en

More on the Fukushima Mutant Flowers

• As  reported by The Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3171748/Land-mutant-daisies-Radiation-causes-flowers-grow-strangely-near-site-nuclear-plant-suffered-meltdown-tragic-tsunami.html
• As reported by Weather.com: https://weather.com/science/nature/news/mutant-flowers-japan-fukushima-famous
• As reported by National Geographic: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/07/150723-fukushima-mutated-daisies-flowers-radiation-science/
• As fact-checked by Snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/nuclear-mutant-daisies/

Step 2: With a partner, define  and report: What is and is not "fake news"?

• Satirical news from a site like The Onion (“Dolphin Spends Amazing Vacation Swimming With Stockbroker”) 
• The daily clickbait in our social media feeds (such as the one written by the "new yellow journalist" Shane).
• Outright invented news, like pieces that claimed, just before the election, that Pope Francis had endorsed Donald J. Trump, or that Donald Trump had once said that “Republicans are the dumbest group of voters.”
• Erroneous interpretation of a fact that is distributed without fact-checking (as with the  Fukushima Mutant Flowers). 
• "Native advertising": Advertisement passing as news (as in Slate.com).  
• News that shows a highly partisan bias. 

 Consider: Are some of these forms of unreliable news more dangerous than others? Which? Why?

Problem 2: How do the Internet and Web help and hinder fake news? 

Individually, reflect and report: In a recent letter to the world, Sir Tim Berners-Lee reminded us that he imagined the world wide as "an open platform that would allow everyone, everywhere to share information, access opportunities and collaborate across geographic and cultural boundaries." In what ways do the specific characteristics of the Internet and the World Wide Web, especially in its 2.0, 3.0, and mobile versions contribute to the boom of fake news?

Possible solutions: Explore and report: CUNY Graduate School Fake News Cheat Sheet 

See also :

Fact-checking sites:

• http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/  
• http://www.snopes.com/
• http://www.politifact.com/
• To check the authenticity of images, reverse-Google them to find their origins: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/1325808?hl=en

Browser plug-ins:

• BS Detector (Chrome, Firefox, Safari): http://bsdetector.tech 
• Fake News Alert (Chrome): https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/fake-news-alert/aickfmgnhocegpdbfnpfnedpeionfkbh  
• This is Fake (Chrome, for Facebook feed): https://www.thisisfake.org/

For next class

• Read Cadwalladr, “Google, democracy and the truth about internet search.”
• Write: Journal on Cadwalladr using the 7Ws

4/23: Mass and Targeted Surveillance

If you plan to turn in Essay 2,  turn in 

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback (2 reader reports)
• Draft 2
• Essay Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

Class

More on algorithms:  https://datasociety.net/output/algorithmic-accountability-a-primer/

1. Lecture on the documentary Terms and Conditions May Apply

• If you have not watched  Terms and Conditions, you must do so now.
• If you have watched the documentary: Watch and react to 4 moments in Terms and Conditions: https://goo.gl/forms/lYE84NThnXdFusWm2
• Vocabulary: 
• Clip 1: The Onion, Stasi; 
• Clip 2: Pre crime, Minority Report, The Royal Wedding; 
• Clip 3: loophole, gag order, 4th Amendment

http://laguardia.kanopystreaming.com/playlist/1323442
Interview with Director Cullen Hoback

2. Lecture on The Guardian's "The NSA Files: Decoded"

React to the information in the NSA Files: Decode: https://goo.gl/forms/lYE84NThnXdFusWm2

Your reactions to both texts

3. Things to Come? "Big data meets Big Brother as China moves to rate its citizens"

4. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class

• Read: Shane, “From Headline to Photograph, a Fake News Masterpiece.”
• Write: Journal 8 on Shane using the 7Ws

4/18: Hackers

If you plan to turn in Essay 2,  turn in

• Draft 1 
• Reader Feedback (2 reader reports)
• Draft 2
• Essay Checklist
• Any slips proving you have visited the Writing Center (B200) or SGA Tutoring

Class

1. Report on Honan

• Worried about your digital shadow? Detox your digital self: https://tacticaltech.org/news/data-detox-kit/

2. Writing lesson: Introductions and Conclusions

3. Complete the Exit Questions: https://goo.gl/forms/cgcyno5ErSrpvlWb2

For next class

• Watch: Terms and Conditions
  http://laguardia.kanopystreaming.com/video/terms-and-conditions-may-apply-1
• Read: 
• The lead for the Wikipedia entry on the National Security Agency: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Agency
• The lead for the Wikipedia entry on Edward Snowden: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden
• The NSA Files: https://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/nov/01/snowden-nsa-files-surveillance-revelations-decoded