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2013/2014  BA-2CMC  Computer-mediated communication and collaboration and Information in Context

English Title
Computer-mediated communication and collaboration and Information in Context

Course information
Language English
Exam ECTS 15 ECTS
Type Mandatory
Level Bachelor
Duration One Quarter
Course period Autumn
Time Table Please see course schedule at e-Campus
Study board
Study Board for BA in Information Management
Course coordinator
  • Torkil Clemmensen - Department of IT Mangement (ITM)
Main academic disciplines
  • Communication
Last updated on 30-01-2014
Learning objectives
At the 5th quarter exam students should:
  • Describe the concepts of the theoretical fields covered by the curriculum of the courses "Information in Context" and "Computer-mediated communication and collaboration"
  • Explain the basic principles of organizing information
  • Describe users' information needs, assess their implications for organization of information and recommend an information architecture design
  • Apply concepts and theories from the course reading to explain social aspects of information and the role that computer-media play for culture, communication and collaboration
  • Apply concepts and theories from the course reading to analyze and explain various forms of computer-mediated communication and computer supported collaboration and give recommendations for empirical cases
Examination
Computer-mediated communication and collaboration and Information in Context:
Examination form Written sit-in exam
Individual or group exam Individual
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) Two internal examiners and one external examiner
Exam period October
Aids allowed to bring to the exam Open book: all written and electronic aids, including internet access
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
Description of the exam procedure
This exam (the 5th quarter exam) covers the two courses "Computer-mediated communication and collaboration" and "Information in Context".

The students write an essay, drawing on the curriculum of the two courses examined.

The essay is assessed by 1 internal examiners and 1 external examiner.

The retake exam for students who did not pass the ordinary exam as well as students who were ill during the exam take place according to the same rules as for the ordinary examination.
Course content and structure

The course has a broad perspective on communication as it takes place within organizations. Drawing on social psychology, sociology, anthropology and social studies of media use, the course will introduce major theoretical and practical approaches to understanding and designing for uses of media to create and facilitate social reality in organizations. The aim of the course is:
- to provide the students with concepts, theories from the fields of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) and practices relevant to communication in organizational contexts
- to provide the students with an understanding of social aspects of information and the role that computer-media play for communication and collaboration
- to enable students to understand and analyze various forms of computer-mediated communication (chat, forums, email, websites…) and computer supported collaboration (groupware, virtual communities, virtual teams…)
- sociability of social representations and cooperation forms (meeting agendas in collaborative software, folksonomies, tagging, collective bookmarks, user defined keywords, blogsoftware, wikis)

The course has a broad perspective on communication as it takes place within organizations.

The course includes but is not limited to the following topics:

- situated action, distributed cognition, activity theory

- virtual organizations, virtual teams

- social representation and speech act theory

- sociology and psychology of virtual groups and online communities:

o decision making in virtual communities

o online demographics: users, lurkers

o empathic communities
o usability and sociability
o cyber ethics and privacy

o social presence, social awareness

-methods to study online social networks and online collaboration
Teaching methods
Thematic lectures that develop the core themes of computer-mediated communication and collaboration. Throughout the course students are expected to give presentations and to participate in class discussions.
Expected literature

The “CMC” textbook to buy:

Thurlow, C., Lengel, L., & Tomic, A. (2004). Computer mediated communication: Social interaction and the Internet, Sage Publications Ltd., see book website at

http://www.com.washington.edu/cmc/

The other prescribed readings are collected in a compendium which will be available in the CBS bookstore.
Last updated on 30-01-2014