Description

NMD 200 Designing Humane Tech examines the goals and impacts of New Media technologies. Topics include how design choices respond to and influence our bodies, our communities including our political and economic structures, and ecological systems. Focus on how humane design choices enable us to create a healthier and more sustainable world.

This semester we’ll use Permaculture Ethics and Principles as a guide to evaluate and design tech that promotes Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share. We will also put into practice the 12 Permaculture Principles as an eco-literate design guide for creating wealth for planet, people, and communities

While hands-on design projects using previous NMD class skills will be regularly assigned, this is also a writing intensive class with reading, discussion, regular posting to class website and personal portfolio in wordpress.com.  Budget your time to succeed.

Disclaimer

In order to best accommodate student projects and course goals, the format, schedule or content for this course may be modified. In addition, student input may alter the content and direction of our work. In such case, changes will be made directly to this online syllabus, with in-class announcements.

Professor

• Joline Blais, Associate Professor of New Media
• 225 Boardman Hall
• Zoom / Slack   Please use Slack direct message to contact me–it’s private (if you send a Direct Message only to me) and much faster than email
• email: jblais@

TA

• Bill Giordano
• iPHD grad student
• Zoom / Slack
• email: william.giordano@

Office hours

Prof Blais

• 225 Boardman Tues 2-3 pm, most weeks, by appointment; send a Slack DM if you plan to stop by
• Via   Zoom Wed 4-5 pm
• Slack anytime

Bill Giordano

• Thursday 1:30-3 pm in 138 Boardman or Tuesdays  by appointment via Zoom, also on Slack

Class

• Neville 108, Tues/Thurs 12:30-1:45 pm
• Remote–if needed via Zoom
• 3 credit hours

Labs

• Wed 9-10:50  & 11-15:50
• Barrows 126

Materials

• Website: http://umainenewmedia.net/nmd200/  You MUST be logged in to see ALL class content.
• Register for the class website during the first class using your @maine.edu email (all others deleted for security)
• Login: https://umainenewmedia.net/nmd200/wp-login.php/
• Texts, video and other materials via website
• Your own FREE (DONOT sign up for the PAID version) WordPress.com account/NMD Portfolio for drafting, revising and publishing your writing. You will later be migrating this content to your own professional portfolio.

Tutoring

Tutoring is available for a wide range of UMaine courses using the tutor matching platform Knack. To meet with a UMaine peer tutor, go to umaine.joinknack.com and sign up with your MaineStreet account. During signup, there will also be an opportunity to download the Knack app for apple or android. Using the Knack app, you will be able to select the course in which you want tutoring and then select a tutor. You will communicate with the tutor through the Knack app to arrange a time and location for your tutoring session.
For more information or with questions, contact: Office of Student Academic Success in 104 Dunn Hall, or call 207-581-2351.

Learning Objectives

Recognize critical issues relevant to design and evaluation of New Media technology.

• Learn to incorporate wholistic design in your creative and technical work
• Apply best practices design strategies to create work leading to a healthy sustainable world that reflects your values.
• Think critically & creatively about benefits and dangers of the New Media technologies you are exploring and how their use influences cultural, political and eco/nomic outcomes.
• Give helpful feedback in discussion and writing, work in peer environments, and collaborate in teams.
• Create a portfolio for aggregating your work across New Media courses.
• Publish your work and projects in your own portfolio, to improve career prospects
• Contribute to the social media culture of the department with contributions to the NMD Website & its social media outlets to build career networks.

Writing Intensive Outcomes

• Think critically:  Understand, summarize, synthesize, and critique course material using informal and formal writing.
• Practice writing: as an essential tool for learning course material.
• Persuade: Craft a central argument and claims in writing assignments, integrating and organizing evidence to support claims.
• Revise: Compose multiple drafts to revise and improve writing.
• Give and use feedback: from faculty and/or peers during the revision process.
• Cite sources: accurately.

Feedback

Part of your class/lab grade depends on your contribution to the class and to your peers. Credit comes from both in-class/zoom comments, Slack feedback, and WordPress assignment comments. Practice giving honest, helpful and supportive feedback.  A simple model is to say what you genuinely appreciate and then mention something that isn’t working so well for you or that confuses you. Invite the other person to improve.

I am impressed and give credit for BOTH giving & getting substantial help from peers (tell me via Slack).

Intelligence is a social (and interspecies) thing.  Listen, share, collaborate to be smart.

Grading criteria

Avoid missing any quizzes or assignments.  Any missed work = 0, and that can really bring down your grade and give a poor reflection of the overall quality of your work.

Make up work: Life happens, and sometimes it’s more important than school.  For these occasions, you will have 1-2 “freebies”, which are opportunities to turn in late work, without an excuse.  Do not use these unless you have a serious issues–save them for when you might need them.

• 30% Weekly design and writing tasks
  Posted to BOTH class website (grades shown in comments after your post) AND your portfolio
• 15% Weekly quizzes & Attendance
   Great way to prep for class and raise your grade (or lower it if you skip or fail); these are 60 minute, 1 attempt “open book” random quizzes. Do NOT open quiz until ready to take it–after all readings are done. 
• Class participation/attendance info
  All students get 2 free absences (no excuses needed). After that, all absences drop your 100 attendance points by 5 points per absence)
  Class participation will include class & lab attendance and contribution (getting or giving help), and any helpful feedback or contribution on Slack. If you are shy, reach out via Slack, and do ask us for ways to help you chime in.  eg giving tech assistance to fellow students a few times during class can make up for many class comments. 
• 15% each Project 1, 2, 3  (Oct 3, Nov 14, Dec 13)
• 10% WordPress Portfolio (Oct 17, Dec 15) graded twice during course at midterm time & end of semester

Final

There will be no final exam if your quiz average is 80 or above.  Final exam will cover any quiz questions from previous quizzes and will be given at my discretion.

Class may select best final projects for showing during Mid Year New Media Night.

Grading scale

It is easy to earn a B in this class with consistent effort, it is also easy to fail the class if you miss classes/labs,  miss making up work, just do the bare minimum, or do not work consistently. My goal—and that of your classmates— is to help you earn the best grade you can.

• A Outstanding work that goes above and beyond class requirements, generous contribution to improvement of your own and other student work, robust contribution to class and peers. 
• B Very good work fulfilling ALL class requirements, clear contribution to improvement of your own and other student work, robust contribution to class and peers
• C Good work fulfilling basic instructions of class assignments, minimal contribution to class or peers; ie this is the grade for just “doing most of the work in a mediocre fashion”
• D Just getting most of the work done, but without much learning, contribution or improvement. Many missing assignments, low or missing quizzes, poor projects.
• F No evidence of learning from posted work, projects or quizzes; substantial missing or failing work.

Completing work

My main expectations for the class are that you do the work as best you can and keep up.  Even partial work is better than no work or late work, since you will get a few choices of projects to revise. While quality is important, it is more important to keep up, and perhaps revise or drop any low grades.  Assignments have clear logged due dates on the class website, and you will lose points for unexcused late work. I will also factor in unexpected individual circumstances where needed..

Attendance

Factored into your grade–see above.  For medical, family or school events, you may request to do make up work at my discretion.

Talk to me beforehand if you know you’ll have to miss extended time in class, or if you have a sudden attendance crisis. I will work with you as best I can to support you if I see evidence of responsibility and effort.

Behavior

Encourage diversity of thoughtful viewpoints.  This means telling your truth and doing so in ways that are constructive and supportive.  Respect professor, guests, and classmates with clear attention and engagement, and give thoughtful, genuine feedback designed to encourage growth.

Equipment

Have your computer and/or whatever you need to enable you to work during every class. Phones will NOT be sufficient for class work.

If conditions are safe, you may make use of the various equipment and labs on campus, including IMRC, Focus Ring/Stillwater, SCIS labs and any other available resource you need.

Personal constraints

See me if you have an especially difficult personal constraint–such as your own illness, or children or parents you need to care for. I may not be able to help, but I can probably direct you to someone who can. Students with disabilities can also go directly to Services for Students with Disabilities (581-2319). I do not hold any personal circumstance against you in terms of grading (though I cannot credit you for work not done) and will work with you to achieve your best work.

Don’t wait until these constraints affect your class work, however. Try to alert me to any impending or disruptive issues before and as they happen, so I can do my best to get you the support you need (and have paid for) to get over those common life challenges.

Register to Vote

Voting is one of the key powers you have to shape your future.  Don’t give away your power.

For information about voting–how to vote, how to register, absentee ballots, see https://umaine.edu/studentlife/uvote/

UMaine Policies

Covid 19:  For more information see Black Bears Care Pact: https://umaine.edu/return/black-bears-care/
And:  UMaine Covid 19 policy

• Academic Honesty
• Students Accessibility Services Statement
• Course Schedule Disclaimer
• Observance of Religious Holidays/Events
• Sexual Discrimination Reporting

Additional Policies

• Student Conduct Expectations
• Classroom Civility
• Inclusive and Non-sexist Language
• Copyright Notice for Materials Accessible through the Course Website
• Contingency Plans in the Event of an Epidemic