In your assigned group, students will create and share an immersive experience related to a course theme or topic. The Deep Dive Lessons are meant to take up an entire class session and augment the overall course experience by allowing each group to focus on a specific question or area of interest and then share their findings back with the class in a creative and experiential way. The goal of each lesson is to create a unique, engaging, collaborative, and educational experience for the entire class.

Each group will be assigned a week in which they will present. As mentioned, the lesson should take up the entire class, it should be "interactive", and there should be opportunities for class participation and discussion. While slides are welcome, this should not be an hour-long slide presentation and or a lecture divided into 4 parts. Be creative!

After the lesson, post a one page written explanation of what you did, why you did it, what the goals were, how it went, and any relevant references (links are fine). You are welcome to create one blog post for the group, but each group member should have a link to the post from their own site. The post is due one before the class following the presentation.

The presentation schedule is as follows:

• Group #1 - Thursday Sep 20
• Group #2 - Thursday Nov 1
• Group #3 - Thursday Nov 15
• Group #4 - Thursday Nov 29

GRADING RUBRIC: 100 Point Scale

• 20: Research
• 20: Cohesive Lesson & Presentation
• 20: Student Interactivity, Engagement, & Participation
• 20: Creativity, Originality, & Personal (i.e. Group) Expression
• 20: Documentation

Draft - Due 9PM Monday Oct 15

Final - Due 9PM Monday Oct 29

In a 4-5 page paper (min 1200, max 1500 words) identify a specific communication technology that was developed or emerged in your hometown, city, or country of origin. Your paper must identify and argue for factors (i.e. social, cultural, technical, political, economic or others) that caused, related, and resulted from its emergence. Also, attempt to analyze its impact and significance within the world stage of communication technology. You MUST go back prior to the 20th Century. Your paper should include, but not be limited, to the following:

• clear explanation of the specific technology and its significance
• description of your hometown/city/country and its culture at the time the technology took hold
• analysis of when, how, and why development and adoption occurred there
• analysis of who was involved and who was affected, both positively and negatively
• discussion on whether the technology was or was not received throughout the world at that time - was there mass adoption or was it unique to your hometown/city/country and why
• take into account Neil Postman's 7 Questions
• incorporate at least 1 source from class material and at least 2 non-class material sources

GRADING RUBRIC: 100 Point Scale

• 20: Grammar/Spelling/Punctuation
• 20: Thesis - your main point which should be arguable + Evidence/Support (data, facts, examples)
• 20: Analysis - going beyond a summarization of the facts, interpreting, connecting, commenting, synthesizing, breaking down, etc.
• 20: Style - this includes paragraph and sentence structure, word choice, transitions, and flow
• 20: Sources - clear citation and bibliography using MLA style, please see the linked page for details on proper citation

Final - Due 9PM Sunday Dec 16

In a 4-5 page paper (min 1200, max 1500 words) choose an area of emerging communication technology and present a critical argument that articulates the implications, effects, and consequences, both positive and negative, related to its development and adoption. Your paper should:

• clearly explain the technology along with the experience of how it is being used or may be used
• include some original written material that “embodies the form” of this emerging technology
• highlight key players and any historical precedent
• offer forecasts in terms of impact, both positive and negative
• take into account Neil Postman's 7 Questions
• incorporate at least 2 sources from class material and at least 3 sources from non-class material

GRADING RUBRIC: 100 Point Scale

• 20: Grammar/Spelling/Punctuation
• 20: Thesis - your main point which should be arguable + Evidence/Support (data, facts, examples)
• 20: Analysis - going beyond a summarization of the facts, interpreting, connecting, commenting, synthesizing, breaking down, etc.
• 20: Style - this includes paragraph and sentence structure, word choice, transitions, and flow
• 20: Sources - clear citation and bibliography using MLA style, please see the linked page for details on proper citation

Final - Present In Class Tuesday Dec 11

Share - At the IM End-of-Semester Show Thursday 6-8pm Dec 13

Working in your Deep Dive groups, students will:

1. Identify an issue, opportunity, precedent, or prediction addressed in the context of the class and attempt to push forward on this theme in a significant way.
2. Based on your group's choice of topic, attempt to project the next great creative leap in communication technology relevant to this area. This should be in the form of a speculative technology that pushes the boundaries of our knowledge and imagines new experiences, environments, and scenarios. In terms of a timeline, it should be something that your group believes could occur within your lifetimes. Keep in mind, although this new technology may not yet exist, it should not be "fantastical, but rather rooted in rational and scientific thought.
3. Develop a branded website for the debut of this technology. Do not worry so much about "how" it works. While technical feasibility is a plus, it is not mandatory. Focus on "what" it is, which should include it's use, experience and application. The design and messaging of the site should embody the mission of the product and the world in which it has emerged.
4. Produce at least one piece of original media to be featured on the website that demonstrates the use of the technology (i.e. what it is, how it works, why it exists). The media could be a video, an animation, a physical prototype with photographs, design drawings and mock-ups, etc. Regardless, it should be clear what the EXPERIENCE of using the technology will be like.

You will be expected to present your project in class on Tuesday, Dec.11 and display your work at the end of the semester Interactive Media Showcase on THursday December 13.

GRADING RUBRIC: 100 Point Scale

• 20: Web Site Implementation
• 20: User Experience & Design of the Site
• 20: User Experience of the Technology
• 20: Original Media Production
• 20: Creativity, Originality, Personal Expression