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DTC 356: Information Structures

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Grade

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Table of Contents

What Students Say

“Dr. Whitson didn’t just study the topic and whatnot, but it’s part of his life. He’s really interested in computers and their impact on our lives, which was cool.”

“Professor Whitson is eager to hear what the students have to say and to show us why we should care.”

“I loved going and looking at all the old technology. Overall such a good class!”

“I found Dr. Whitson’s class personally challenging, but ultimately fulfilling.”

“Prof Whitson has a very natural talent for teaching, cares about our success, and knows how to keep a

Fellow Students

Dr. Whitson

Course Resources

Smartphone youcanbookmeComputer and Blackboard

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Teaching PhilosophyTechnology is changing the world. DTC is quite possibly the most important major on this campus because it explores how technology is changing everything around and about us. As Marshall McLuhan said, “the medium is the message:” our technologies shape our senses, our senses change us, we change the world.

Rethinking one’s perspective can be highly valuable. Our perspectives are inevitably colored by our background. I value students who try to empathize with people that might not have the same values or perspectives. We all have blind spots, even me. We can all learn from questioning our assumptions and broadening our horizons.

Instead of trying to be the smartest or funniest person (or conversely instead of being silent, angry, or reactive), what if we practiced kindness, openness, and compassion? As bell hooks says, while students shouldn’t see my classes as therapy sessions “it is appropriate for them to hope that the knowledge received in these settings will enrich and enhance them.” No one who takes this course’s content seriously, who participates regularly, and who turns in assignments in on time should feel anxious about the grade they will receive at the end of the course.

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Objectives

Catalog Description356 Information Structures 3 Course Prerequisite: DTC 101. Social and cultural role of information; research with electronic sources; production, validation, storage, retrieval, evaluation, use, impact of electronic information. (Crosslisted course offered as DTC 356, ENGLISH 356).

Course DescriptionDTC 356 explores the cultural, aesthetic, and political roles of information and data. Beginning with library classification systems and the structures of Wikipedia, this course then turns to the technological and engineering aspects of data as it is disseminated worldwide, while also exploring how artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing how we understand information. The conclusion looks at smart cities and blockchain to see how information will regulate our lives in the future.

Demonstrate an understanding of how digital

media and information circulate in

multiple cultural contexts (DTC

3).

Demonstrate an understanding

of the history of technological development, from local to

global perspectives,

and its implications for

a variety of mediums (DTC

4).

Utilize an interdisciplinary perspective in

order to understand the global changes brought about

by digital media (DTC 5).

Effectively communicate

through writing and speech why and how digital

media texts make meaning

(DTC 6).

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ScheduleAssignments Are Due On Date Listed. Schedule May Change with Notice from MeClass Topics / Theme In-Class Learning Experiences Texts Due Assignments DueM: 8/20 Introductions Introduce Ourselves

Course Overview

W: 8/22 What is a Library? Watch, Tomes and Talismans , Episode 1 (1986).

Think, Pair, Share: How has technology changed since the production of this show? What role does the library have in preserving or evaluating information?

F: 8/24 What is Classification?

Activity: Classify the objects in your backpack.

Watch: The Man Who Wanted To Classify The World.

M: 8/27 Watch: The Man Who Wanted to Classify the World.

Think, Pair, Share: Consider three separate parts of your life in which a good classification system either makes your life easier or more difficult.

Unit 1: Wikipedia Keywords: Collaboration, Edit-a-Thon, Talk Page This unit focuses on the history and use of data, and it particularly references the obscured histories of women in computing.

W: 8/29 Structure of Wikipedia Activity: Look up a Wikipedia article that you’d like to use for your first project. In-class writing for the first blog post assignment.

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Does it have any editing restrictions (lock on the upper-right hand side of the page)? If so, what sort? When was the page created? How does the first version compare to the current version? What are the basic features of the current version? What do the most recent edits change/contribute? Check out the ‘talk page’ (in the upper-left-hand side of the page). What issues, if any, have been discussed there?

Write 150-200 words either proposing a change for this page or writing a new page. Be sure to consult the Wikipedia Essentials, Editing Basics, and the Editing page on Wikipedia.

F: 8/31 History of Wikipedia Watch: Jimmy Wales, “The Birth of Wikipedia”

Think, Pair, Share: How does Wales characterize the collaboration occurring on Wikipedia? How does it compare with your own analysis of a specific Wikipedia page?

First Short Assignment Due By Midnight.

M: 9/3 NO CLASS: LABOR DAY

W: 9/5 Gender and Collaboration

Quotes and Discussion: Opp and Reagle Jonathan Opp and Joseph Reagle, “Inside the Culture of Wikipedia.”

F: 9/7 Distant Reading Quotes and Discussion: Gleick and Women.

Think, Pair, Share: What was the initial motivation for moving American women authors out of the “American Authors” category and the reason for the controversy? What are the problems Gleick lists with categorization?

James Gleick, “Wikipedia’s Women Problem”

M: 9/10 Women in Computing Watch: Hidden Figures (2016).

W: 9/12 Women in Computing Watch: Hidden Figures (2016).F: 9/12 Women in Computing Finish and Discuss: Hidden Figures (2016).M: 9/14 In class work on Wikipedia project. W: 9/17 No Class Work on First Project First Project Due by Midnight.

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Unit 2: DataThis unit looks at the technological use and history of code and data.

M: 9/24 Quantitative Information

Watch: Charles and Ray Eames, “An Information Primer”

Think, Pair, Share: Determine three different ways that you use information every day. What is the medium of information? How do you distinguish signal from noise? How is information encoded/decoded?

W: 9/26 Code / Data / Algorithm

Group Read/Examine: Paul Ford, “What is Code?”Group 1: Part 2: “Let’s Begin”Group 2: Part 3: “Why Are Programmers…”Group 3: Part 4: “Why Are Coders…”Group 4: “The Time You Attended…” Group 5: “How Are Apps Made?”Group 6: “The Triumph of Middle…”

F: 9/28 NO CLASS, Professor at Meditation retreat.

Second Short Assignment due by Midnight.

M: 10/1 File Compression Watch: “This is What Happens When You Re-Upload a YouTube Video 1,000 Times”

Activity: Glitch mp3 and video files using some of the methods Owen talks about in his essay.

Trevor Owen, “Glitching Files for Understanding”

W: 10/3 Databases Group Read: Stephen Fortune, “A Brief History of Databases”

Apply for your Facebook Data for next Wednesday.

F: 10/5 Group Read: Kashmir Hill, “How Target Figured Out a Teen Girl Was Pregnant Before Her Father Did.”

M: 10/8 Data/ Metadata Group Read: Michael Ossmann, “The NSA Playset”

Examine: “The NSA Playset”

W: 10/10 Data/ Metadata Watch: “The Cambridge Analytica Files.”

Think, Pair, Share: Share your Facebook data with your group. Pick 3 unexpected things you learned. What do you think

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companies like Cambridge Analytica can harvest from your profile?

M: 10/12-16 NO CLASS – Professor at Conference

10/22 Watch: Frontline: Putin’s Revenge Part 110/24 Watch: Frontline: Putin’s Revenge Part 210/16 Finish – Putin’s Revenge

Consider one way that this documentary personally impacts you. What kinds of data collection techniques do governments, social media sites, or corporations use on you?

10/29 No Class Second Project Due at Midnight

Unit 3: Artificial IntelligenceThis unit focuses on how our data is being used to improve artificial intelligence

M: 10/22 What is artificial intelligence?

Watch: The Turing Test: Can a Person Pass for a Human?

Activity: Zach Whalen, “How to Make A Twitterbot with Google Spreadsheets”

W: 10/24 Twitterbot Watch: Vox.com, “How Smart is Artifical Intelligence?”

Continue working on your TwitterbotF: 10/26 Machine Learning Chelsea Kozyrkov, “9 Things You Should Know

About Tensorflow”

Activity: Tensorflow for Poets

Resource: Tensorflow Discussion

Resource: GitHub Repository

M: 10/29 NO CLASS Work on ProjectsW: 11/1 Tensorflow Watch (Selection): “On Device Machine

Learning: Tensorflow on Android”

Activity: Tensorflow for Poets

Rescource: Tensorflow Playground

F: 11/3 Tensorflow Activity: Tensorflow for Poets Resource: Tensorflow Site.M: 11/6 Tensorflow Watch: AlphaGo11/8-10 No Class Veteran’s Day.

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11/15 Gaming AI Watch: AlphaGo11/17 Gaming AI Watch: AlphaGo Final Short Assignment Due at

Midnight11/20-5 No Class Thanksgiving

Conclusion: Smart Cities These concluding reflections look at how information will be used in the future. 11/27 Cryptography Activity: Look up information on various figures

in hacker/cryptography history. What did they contribute? Group 1: Edgar Allan Poe, “The Gold

Bug” Group 2: Hashing Group 3: Colossus Computer Group 4: Data Encryption Standard Group 5: Quantum / Post-Quantum

11/30 Blockchain Watch: The Blockchain and Us

What 2 ways can blockchain change society? 12/1 Smart Cities Watch: Smart City: In Search of the Smart

Citizen12/4 Smart Cities Watch: Smart City: In Search of the Smart

Citizen

Activity: Explore one of the technologies mentioned in the film and explore how it will change urban living. What challenges will they pose to us?

12/8 Data, Cities, and the Future

Group Read: Bryan Boyer, “Civic Futures”

Concluding Discussion: What is the future of information? How will it impact our actions? Our lives?

12/10 No class Work on Your Project. Final Project due by Midnight

Rubric (75 pts for Design, Argument; 50 pts for Context)Needs Work Criteria Exceeds Standards

Research: Explains research process and discusses the experience researching and editing Wikipedia. Edits: Edits are made with appropriate and verifiable research outside of class readings and also follow Wikipedia’s rules.

Context: Discusses the experience of editing Wikipedia and contextualizes the experience using at least two sources.

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Project 1: WikipediaDUE: 9/17Objectives: Make a lasting contribution to Wikipedia.

Action: Write a research prospectus (150-200 words), a list of documented edits, and a reflection essay on your experience of editing Wikipedia. See the first blog post assignment for details about the prospectus.

Reflect: The essay should 1) frame the project using at least two of the sources we used in the class; 2) as specifically as possible, explain your research process and the edits that it produced; 3) discuss your own experience editing Wikipedia. I need to see the contributions you made to Wikipedia, either as a new page or as an elaboration of an existing page. Use links. And describe editing policies, interacting with other editors, or just describe the feeling of editing a Wikipedia page.

Connect: Your conclusions to any two articles we’ve read during this unit.

Wikipedia Logo

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Project 2: DataDUE: 10/29

Objectives:. Examine a dataset and write 900-words about its social and cultural implications.

Action: Select a dataset. Some possibilities include:

Google or Facebook data Twitter archive Census Data Million Song Dataset

Analyze: Write 1,000 words where you: describe the dataset and what it contains including who, when, where, how, and why the data was collected – and other contexts that might be important to the dataset. Also:

What does the dataset help us notice or ignore?

What technologies were required to create the dataset?

Who does the dataset empower?

Who is the audience? What implicit claims about the

world does the dataset make?

Connect: Your analysis to any two sources we’ve discussed in the data unit.

Rubric: (75 pts for Examples, Questions; 50 pts for Context)

Data in Binary

Needs Work Criteria Exceeds Standards

Examples: Analysis is paired with frequent examples from the dataset.

Questions: The essay highlights the limitations and benefits of the dataset, as indicated in the questions above.

Context: Connections made to course readings and concepts.

Rubric (75 pts for Information, Rhtoric; 50 pts for Contextualization). Needs Work Criteria Exceeds Standards

Process: Does your Twitterbot or Tensorflow application actually work?

Rhetoric: Clear discussion of how the application works and the process of making a bot.

Contextualization: Theoretical connections between sources and your own programming work.

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Project 3: Artificial IntelligenceDUE: 12/10

Objective: Finish creating either a Twitterbot or an image classifier with Tensorflow and reflect on the process.

Create: A complete Twitterbot, using Zach Whalen’s tutorial or a Tensorflow image classifier using the tutorial.

Reflect and Contextualize: 2,000 words. Comment, why did you pick either a Twitterbot or Tensorflow? What made it easy or difficult? What is the algorithm actually doing? If you want an easy project, make a Twitterbot; but if you want to challenge yourself, play around with Tensorflow and see what you can do.

Connect your insights to any one of the sources we’ve explored this unit.

Tensorflow Process

Short Assignments

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3. Artificial Intelligence: Documentary ReviewAction: Pick either Putin’s Revenge or AlphaGo and write a group review.

Reflection: What does the film say about artificial intelligence or surveillance? How do these phenomena impact our lives?

Connect: your ideas to any three of the sources we’ve encountered this year.

1. Wikipedia: Project ProposalAction: Create a proposal for an edit on Wikipedia.

Consult: The training modules Wikipedia Essentials, Wikipedia Editing Basics, and Editing. These will give a basic understanding about which edits are often accepted and which edits are not.

Compose: A 150-200 word proposal in class. The proposed edits can, and in all likelihood will, change. Describe which pages you want to edit or a page you’d like to add and why your proposed edits follow the rules outlined in the training modules.

2. Data: Everyday InformationAction: Write about three ways you use information everyday.

Reflection: Consider how that information gets to you. What is the medium or technology of information? How do you distinguish signal from noise? How is information encoded/decoded?

Connect Your insights to Shannon’s theory of information and the Eames Office video about information.

Course Values

Time Bank: I have built-in grace periods for the due dates of major assignments. You may choose to take:

1 two-day grace period for one major project. 2 one-day grace periods for two major projects.

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Inclusion: Your success in this class is important to me. We will all need accommodations because we all learn differently. If there are aspects of this course that prevent you from learning our exclude you, please let me know as soon as possible. The sooner I know about these, the earlier we can discuss possible adjustments or alternative arrangements that might help you. If you have a documentable disability, please visit the Access Center (Washington Building 217; 509.335.3417) to schedule an appointment with an advisor.

Attendance: I hope you participate actively in the course, because this is the best way for me to engage you in learning. Taking daily attendance is also a good way for me to learn your names and to know who you are. Of course, we all participate differently, and I’ve built-in mechanisms to help ensure that you can engage the content in a variety of ways. If you have any difficulties with regular participation, please talk to me.

Reading and Homework: I encourage you to read all of the work for this course, since it enables us to complete discussions, ideas, and projects. I also know that college can be busy, as it was for me. I consider this class a learning community, and such a community works better if everyone has read the proper materials. If you are consistently finding it difficult to complete your readings, please talk to me and we’ll try to figure out a workable solution.

Safety: Washington State University is committed to enhancing the safety of the students, faculty, staff, and visitors. It is highly recommended that you review the Campus Safety Plan (http://safetyplan.wsu.edu/) and visit the Office of Emergency Management website (http://oem.wsu.edu/) for a comprehensive listing of university policies, procedures, statistics, and information related to campus safety, emergency management, and the health and welfare of the campus community.

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Contract Weighing: I realize you may be more interested in some aspects of this course than others. You may reassign a total of 15% of the final grade in any allotment you wish, as long as your grade adds up to 100%. Some examples:

Remove 10% from the Video Games project and 5% from Participation, then add 10% to Blogs / Exercises and 5% to the Social Media Project.

Remove 15% from Blogs / Exercises and add 15% to the Data Tracking Project. Remove 5% from all 3 major projects, add 10% to Participation and 5% to Blogs.

Email: I would rather talk to you in person than via email, since email depersonalizes the exchange and makes it easier for me to misinterpret what you mean. If emailing me is necessary, please allow me at least 24 hours to respond to your email inquiries. I try to respond in a timely manner, but I do not always check my email when not in town or on the weekends.

Academic Honesty: Everyone in this class, including me, must abide by the standards of academic honesty set up by Washington State University. See that statement here: http://wsulibs.wsu.edu/library-instruction/plagiarism. I work hard to model appropriate academic citation. Please see me if you are unclear about any of these requirements.

Sources

Assignments:Lauren Klein, “Studies in Communication and Culture: Data.” Spring 2013. Georgia Tech.

David Squires, “DTC 356: Information Structures.” Spring 2017: Washington State University.

Readings:Lee Skallerup Bessette. Facebook Conversation. August 2018.

Mike Edwards, “DTC 356: Information Structures.” Fall 2016: Washington State University.

Tara McPherson, “DH by Design: Alternate Origin Stories of the Digital Humanities.” 3 March 2016.

Mark Sample, “DIG 210: Data Culture.” Spring 2014: Davidson College.

Policies and Design:John Aycock and Jim Uhl. “Choice in the Classroom.” ACM SIGCSE Bulletin. 37.4 (2005): 84- 88.

Ashley Boyd. Young Adult Literature. Fall 2015: Washington State U.

Anne-Marie Womack, Annelise Blanchard, Cassie Wang, Mary Catherine Jessee. Accessible Syllabus . Web. 3 August 2016.

Anne-Marie Womack. First-Year Writing: Rhetoric and Research in the Digital Era . Spring 2014: Tulane U.

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