Understanding Digital Media and Society

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate your understanding of the following course concepts:

1. How companies or organizations and individuals use digital or social media to effectively communicate ideas, information, arguments, and messages to achieve a specific goal.
2. How digital or social media has transformed the communication of idea, information, and arguments in society.
3. Access, analyze, interpret, and evaluate digital media to foster learning and to guide decision-making.
4. Make responsible choices in the creation and consumption of digital media based on awareness of global, social, ethical, and legal contexts.

Project Description
In this project, you will select a topic discussed in class from the list provided below, conduct additional research on the topic, and share this information in a research paper.

Project 3 consists of:

1. Project Requirements (topics and content to cover)
2. Paper Requirements (content organization)
3. Submission Requirements (how to submit your assignment)
4. APA Resources (how to cite and select sources)
5. Due Date Information and Late Policy

Project Requirements
Select one of the 15 research topics below and complete ALL THREE sections: 

RESEARCH TOPICS

Topic 1: Digital Media as a Distraction (week 1)
1. Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier – Chapter 1: Distracted by Everything PBS Online Video Documentary Series – Chapter 1 (00:00 – 08:28 minutes)

Topic 2: Digital Media’s Affects on the Brain (week 1)
1. Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier – Chapter 2: What’s It Doing to Their Brains?(PBS Online Video Documentary Series – Chapter 2 (08:29 – 10:40 minutes)

Topic 3: The Use of Digital and Social Media in Politics (week 2)
1. Social media and participation in political protest: Observations from Tahrir Square(web page)
2. In 2012, campaigns target voters through their phones (web page)

Topic 4: Digital Humanitarianism (week 2)
1. Paul Conneally: Digital Humanitarianism (TED Talk video)

Topic 5. How Citizens use Digital and Social Media to Report News in Repressive Regimes (week 2)
1. Clay Shirky: How Social Media Can Make History (TED Talk video)

Topic 6: Virtual Worlds and Their Impact on Society (week 3)
1. Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier- Chapter 7 Virtual Worlds PBS Online Video Documentary Series – Start the video then Navigate to Chapter 7 (52:05 – 1:01:26)

Topic 7: Digital Rights Management (DRM) (week 4)
1. What is DRM? (web page)

Topic 8: Moral Operating Systems (week 4)
1. Damon Horowitz: We need a “moral operating system” (TED Talk video)

Topic 9: The Security Mirage
1. The Security Mirage: Bruce Schneier (TED Talk video) (week 4)

Topic 10: Customer Data Collection by Phone Companies (week 4)
1. Malta Spitz: Your Phone Company Is Watching (TED Talk video)

Topic 11: Social Media and Likes (week 5)
1. Jennifer Golbeck: The curly fry conundrum: Why social media “likes” say more than you might think (TED Talk video)

Topic 12: Filter Bubbles (week 5)
1. Eli Pariser: Beware online “filter bubbles” (TED Talk video)

Topic 13: The Digital Divide (week 6)
1. The Digital Divide is Still Leaving Americans Behind (web page)
2. Aleph Molinari: Let’s bridge the digital divide! (TED Talk video)

Topic 14: Cognitive Surplus (week 6)
Clay Shirky: How cognitive surplus will change the world (TED Talk video)

Topic 15: E-commerce (week 7)