Overall Course Information

3-credits, online, asynchronous. Typically offered in both Fall and Spring semesters.  

Section One: Truth or Bull

Section Two: True Crime

Section Three: Titanic

What Will I Learn?

  1. Students will understand the importance of responsible media consumption and be able to discuss the role of the media in society.
    1. Students will be able to discuss the role of the 1st Amendment in the news media in order to evaluate the tension between the 1st Amendment and attempts to remedy the problem of “fake news.” 
    2. Students will be familiar with copyright and intellectual property, and be able to discuss the issues surrounding remix culture and participatory culture.
    3. Students will be able to discuss how to share information responsibility, and the need for responsible distribution of information. 
  2. Students will be able to evaluate media sources and stories in order to strategically explore the origin and value of a source.
    1. Students will be familiar with the history of news media and be able to discuss changes to the process of creating information in order to understand the origin of information. 
    2. Students will be familiar with and able to discuss the history of “fake news” and its effect on society in order to reflect on the value of quality information.
    3. Students will be able to discuss modern media ethics in order to understand the authority and context of a source. 
    4. Students will be able to analyze media for indicators of quality and reliability. 
  3. Students will be able to follow the steps of a research inquiry in order to be prepared for college level research.
    1. Students will be able to choose a topic, do preliminary research, and formulate a research question. 
    2. Students will be familiar with the steps of the research process 
    3. Students will be familiar with the philosophy behind citation and will become comfortable creating citations. 
    4. Students will be able to identify various sources of information, differentiate between types of information, and select and use the information they find. 
  4. Students will understand the issues surrounding equitable access to information and be able to discuss information privilege in order to contribute to societal discourse.
    1. Students will be able to discuss issues related to diversity in information creation. 
    2. Students will be able to discuss issues related to access to information. 
    3. Students will be familiar with the concept of “marginalized knowledge.”