INFSCI 2955: Special Topics
The Social Web
(Spring 2010, CRN 29346)
[ Formal Data | Syllabus | Tools | Wiki | CourseWeb ]
Syllabus
What is the "social Web"? A term to describe web technologies that are highly interactive, conversational and participatory? Or a term to describe future of WWW in which people are linked together in addition to documents? Why is "social Web" so important? In this graduate course we will explore the theories, technologies, and issues behind and about social Web. The theoretical component focuses on analytic and behavioral interactions in social web from different perspective such as social psychology, and economics. Using the insight gained from theory, the practical component of the course will focus on how to design and use social web applications. Several different social Web systems will be used routinely throughout the course.
- Understanding the theories behind social Web
- Becoming familiar with social Web technologies
- Exploring the social technologies by conducting empirical studies of several social systems
- Employing your gained knowledge by designing and implementation a social system
After a brief introduction into the field provided by the instructor we will switch to a regular work mode. Every week we focus on one or two topics and will read and discuss several research papers related to it. The list of topics related to the social Web is provided on the class Wiki. This course will attempt to cover about 3/4 of all topics. Doctoral students, guest speakers, and the instructors will alternate in leading presentation for each of these topics. Students are expected to read 2 papers every week and comment on the readings on the course blog. To complement the "reading part", the students will perform a range of weekly and course-level activities with several selected social Web systems. The project part of the course includes one programming assignmemy, one social systems study project, and large final research or development project, which can be peformed individually or in groups.
Attendance (12pts)
- Your attendance at each class counts towards your grade. One point is given for attending one class. The score is capped on 12pts.
Weekly Coursework (6pts each week)
- Reading and reflection (3pts each week)
- There will be 4-6 assigned papers each week (2-3 for each weekly topic). Read 2 papers of your choice. Post critique, or an elaborated question on the papers you read, in the class WordPress blog. Examine earlier posts and reply.
Two post and at least two replies per week is reqiured for full grade
- The posts should be done by Monday midnight to allow other students to read and react. The replys should be posted by the next lecture.
- Resource discovery, sharing, and tagging(3pts each week, up to 12 weeks)
- After each class find 2 interesting resources (a system, a video, a blog posting, a comic, etc.) related to either topics discussed every class. You could also share papers, but among your 2 resources no more than one should be a research paper. Post it to BibSonomy system to the Social Web group (and your own account if you wish) and tag. One of the tags should be Lecture-X where X is the lecture number. Another tag should correspond to the lecture topic (see class Wiki). The remaining tags should describe the resource from your prospect. Include a short remark describing the resource. For all three links, you should be the first one to post it to the Social Web group.
- Find 2 research talks and post to CoMeT system. Try to find talks, which you could recommend to your fellow students and friends. Bookmark the talks using descriptive tags. Use contribution score to see the impact of your sharing. Those with highest contribution score will receive extra points.
- Find 2 cultural events and post to Eventur system. Share it with friends and groups. Try to maximize the impact of the information you shared.
- Posting has to be done before the next lecture
Course-level activities (13pts)
- LinkedIn/CourseWeb Profile Assignment (4pts)
- Create your LinkeIn profile and join the course group. Provide information about you, which could help your classmates to know you and to consider you for group project. Initialize your CourseWeb profile providing your picture and links to LinkedIN, Blog, and other course-related accounts.
- CoMeT Assignment (4pts)
- Attend one CoMeT colloquium (one over the whole course duration), preferably the one you posted yourself. Post a brief summary of the attended colloquium to the class WordPress blog (2pts each)
- Eventur Assignment (2pts)
- Attend one Eventur cultural event (one over the whole course duration). Post a rating and feedback of the event to Eventur
- Show-and-tell (3pts)
- Once over the course duration, presents the resources you have found to class. For this activity you should find a resource before the class. See schedule of presentations.
Programming Assignment (20pts)
- Complete a programming assignment to practice social web programming technologies. Details to be provided on the CourseWeb.
A Study of Social Systems (25pts)
- Pick up a class of social systems. Select and explore 3-6 systems in this class.
- Distill main features and needs covered by the systems. Perform a comparative anaysis of the systems. Consider possible improvements.
- Prepare a structured PowerPoint presentation, deliver in class
- Edit a section of the class Wiki on this topic: a brief, but structured presentation with a short intro and a separate section for each critical topic, issue, or system
Final Project (55pts)
- A small individual research project
- A pair research or development project
- A group development project (consider leading a team of MS students)
Course Policies
Academic Integrity
You are expected to be fully aware of your responsibility to maintain a high quality of integrity in all of your work. All work must be your own, unless collaboration is specifically and explicitly permitted as in the course group project. Any unauthorized collaboration or copying will at minimum result in no credit for the affected assignment and may be subject to further action under the University Guidelines for Academic Integrity. You are expected to have read and understood these Guidelines. A document discussing these guidelines was included in your orientation materials.
Special Considerations
If you have a disability that requires special testing accommodations or other classroom modifications, please, notify both the instructor and Disability Resources and Services by the second week of the term. You may be asked to provide documentation of your disability to determine the appropriateness of accommodations. To notify Disability Resources and Services, call 64807890 (voice or TDD) to schedule and appointment. The office is located in the William Pitt Union, Room 216,
Copyright © 2010 Peter Brusilovsky
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