CS 8113e:
The Design of Online Communities
| Instructor: |
Amy Bruckman |
|---|
| Office: |
CCB 255 |
|---|
| Tel: |
404-894-9222 |
|---|
| Email: |
asb@cc.gatech.edu
(Email is best way to reach me.) |
|---|
| Office hours: |
Tuesdays 3:00-4:00, and by appointment. |
|---|
| Time: |
MW 4:30-6:00 |
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| Location: |
CCB 101 |
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| Teaching assistant: |
Carlos Jensen
|
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This syllabus is still being revised.
Texts
Required:
- Cyberville, by Stacy Horn
- Connections, by Lee Sproull and Sara Kiesler
- Interviewing as Qualitative Research,by I.E. Seidman
- Life on the Screen, by Sherry Turkle
Recommended:
- The Great Good Place, by Ray Oldenburg
- My Tiny Life, by Julian Dibbell
- NetLingo, an Internet Language Dictionary
Currently out of print, but useful if you can find a copy:
One good place to try to buy out of print books on the web is
Powell's Bookstore.
Two copies of each book
are on reserve at the library. A number of other readings are online.
Online Sites
In addition to the required reading, there is at least one virtual
community to examine for each class. A few are available only from
Windows 95/98; one requires an expensive CD. These will be viewable
in the Electronic Learning Communities (ELC)
Lab,
room CCB 270.
If you don't have access to a Windows 95/98 machine,
feel free to knock on the door of CCB 270
and use the room if someone is there to let you in. Please give
priority for use of those machines to students doing
research in the ELC group.
Focus of the Course
Online communties are becoming an increasing part of how we work, play,
and learn. But how are they designed? What are they really good for?
Why are some communities more successful than others? What are the
key issues in this field of research?
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
- Understand important features of online interactions,
- Analyze online interactions critically,
- Design an online community, and
- Understand the research issues in this field.
While students will not actually found a new community
as part of this class, students whose designs are promising may
be invited to do so either as an independent study (CS8503)
or as sponsored research over the summer or next fall. However, please
keep in mind that starting such a community implies an ongoing commitment
to the real people who chose to become members.
This course counts for the HCI component of the graduate breadth requirement;
however, if you have any real interest in HCI, I recommend that you take
the graduate HCI class in addition to this class.
Assignments and Grading
Your grade is based on one short paper, two longer papers, two presentations, and class participation:
-
Short paper (2-6 pages): What are your best and worst experiences in a virtual community? (10%)
-
Midterm paper
(15 pages): Participate in a virtual community for a
significant amount of time (at least 10 hours) and observe it.
Interview at least 3 community members.
Analyze
how the commmunity is designed and in what ways it is successful. (30%)
- In-class presentation of midterm paper. (10%)
-
Final paper
(15-20 pages): Design a virtual community for a particular
purpose. Present a detailed rationale for your design decisions. (35%)
- In-class presentation of design project. (10%)
- Class participation. (5%)
Examples of previous classwork
Late Policy
You get a total of three late days for the first two papers.
If you use no more than three late days total, your grade will not be penalized.
Note that late papers may be returned to you substantially later than papers
handed in on time.
Your presentations may not be late; they must be delivered on the
correct day. Your final papers may not be late.
Course Outline
(Some readings may change.)
- (1/6) Introduction
Reading:
Required surfing:
- (1/11) Third Places
Reading:
- The Great Good Place: Cafes, Coffee Shops, Community Centers, Beauty Parlors, General Stores, Bars, Hangouts, and How They Get You Through the Day, by Ray Oldenburg. Chapters one and two.
- "Introduction" and
"The Heart of the Well," Chapter One in
The Virtual Community, by
Howard Rheingold
- "And Now?" and "The Rubberneckers" in Cyberville by Stacy Horn, pp. 1-46.
- "Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital" by Robert Putnam (handout)
Required surfing:
- (1/13) Research Methods
Reading:
- Interviewing as Qualitative Research, by IE Seidman.
Required surfing:
Short papers on best/worst experiences due.
- (1/20) Research Ethics
Reading:
Required surfing:
Please wait to begin research on your midterm paper until this lecture.
- (1/25) Design Factors
Reading:
Required surfing:
- (1/27) Identity
Reading:
Required surfing:
- (2/1) Gender
Reading:
- "The Strange Case of the Lectronic Lover," by Lindsey Van Gelder (handout)
- "Boyz and Gurlz" and "This Is the Chapter About Sex" in Cyberville by Stacy Horn
- "TinySex and Gender Trouble", in Life on the Screen by Sherry Turkle (chapter 8)
-
Gender Swapping on the Internet, by Amy Bruckman
Required surfing:
Recommended:
- "Will the Real Body Please Stand Up," by Sandy Stone (In Cyberspace, First Steps.)
- "Samantha, Among Others," (Chapter 4) in "My Tiny Life" by Julian Dibbell
Optional:
- (2/3) Constructionism
Reading:
Papers by Amy Bruckman:
Required surfing:
- (2/8) Student Presentations: Community Analysis Papers
Class will last into the evening. Please plan to stay if at all possible.
Pizza will be provided.
Midterm papers due.
- (2/10) Virtual Architecture
Reading:
- "Cybrids" by Peter Anders (In Convergence 4:1, Spring 1998. Handout.)
-
TransTerraFirma: After Territory by
Marcos Novak. (I can't
give you the direct URL in the frames interface--click on "words" in the
central pane and then on the paper title. Best read at higher bandwidth.
Novak's web pages are worth checking out, but you can also go directly
to a copy of the paper on another site by clicking
here.)
Recomended:
- "How did My Garden Grow" (Chapter 5) in "My Tiny Life" by Julian Dibbell
Required surfing:
- (2/15) Deviant Behavior
Reading:
Recommended:
- "The Purple Guest" (Chapter 3) in "My Tiny Life" by Julian Dibbell
Required surfing:
- (2/17) Governance
Reading:
Required surfing:
- (2/22) Children Accessing Controversial Information
Reading:
Required surfing:
- Amazon Books. Pay particular
attention to the book recommendation features.
- (2/24) Leadership and Hosting
Reading:
Required surfing:
- (3/1) Computer-Supported Cooperative Work
Reading:
Required surfing:
- (3/3) The CMU HomeNet Study
Reading:
Required surfing:
- (3/8) Graphical Worlds--Case Studies
Reading:
Required surfing:
- Ultima Online II (requires CD; copy available in CCB 270)
- (3/10) Student Presentations: Community Designs
Class will last into the evening. Please plan to stay if at all possible.
Pizza will be provided.
Final papers due.
Related Classes
Question welcome--email asb@cc.gatech.edu