For this assignment, students will spend time as a critical media observer - namely, their own uses of media in a 72 hour period. In order to complete the assignment, students MUST record each time they use/engage with media for a complete 72 hour (3 day) period in a LOG, recording their exposure to, uses of, and interaction with mediated communication (e.g., cell phone, social media, TV, radio, etc.) During this time, students are also required to make detailed autoethnographic “field” notes of their experience and how they were personally (socially, culturally) effected by the media- what interfaces/platforms/sources they interacted with, which were intentional and which were not, the effects (if any) on their mood, time management, body, further use of media, etc. After the 72 hours, students write a 2-3 page self-reflexive paper that responds to the prompts (see handout)

Students create an entry in the Fremont Wiki - http://localwiki.net/fremont. Students incorporate information literacy concepts, have hands-on experience conducting research, and create actual content on the Internet [while also learning how easy it is for anyone to change that content]. It could also be a great chance to get students into local museums and archives.

Students are asked to reflect on their experience writing a required “literature review” for the course through a first-person “comic.” The visual narrative format allows students to come to terms with their own experience of what was hard, easy, or confusing about the literature review process and express it in a creative way.