Since spring 2015 I have been teaching a senior seminar on information governance (COMM491). To make it more engaging, students are producing podcasts and writing op-eds in lieu of tradition research papers. There is still a lot of research work they engage with – as everything they produced has to be based on peer-reviewed research – but there is also the added challenge of making it all accessible to the general public.
InfoNation
is a podcasting series produced by students in my information governance seminar. While in the seminar we learn about and discuss how communication, information, and the internet are governed. Students work in small groups to study in depth a topic of their choice related to this broad theme. Their goal is to investigate an ongoing policy debate, controversy or just a very interesting question on issues ranging from the ecological effects of submarine cables, through the right to be forgotten, to computer use by children, participation in the sharing economy, and concerns about privacy, copyright, and surveillance. Each group produces a podcast where it unpacks its puzzle by questioning relevant assumptions, truisms or misconceptions through careful review and synthesis of peer-reviewed research. In the process, they read, talk to experts, talk to their peers, and tackle the challenge of communicating complex policy and science ideas to the public.
For most students this is the first time engaging with both policy issues and podcast production, which makes for an exciting journey and refreshing insights. This world is also relatively new to me, so I feel I am learning a lot too.
As of the writing of this post, there are 10 episodes to the series. Enjoy! And do let me know if you have any feedback.
Spring 2015
#1: Copyright and creativity
#2: Psychology of the sharing economy
#3: The right to be forgotten (there is also a related op-ed)
#4: Unpacking cyber-bullying
Fall 2015
#5: Trust and the sharing economy
#6: The submarine life and the internet
Spring 2016
#7: Kids and screens (there is also a related op-ed)
#8: Being watched
#9: Trust and online surveillance
#10: Municipal wi-fi