Courses
The Master of Communication in Digital Media curriculum includes three core courses and a variety of electives. You must complete 45 credits to graduate. Core required courses are Narratives and Networks in Digital Media (Autumn quarter), Strategic Research and Business Practice (Winter quarter), and Law and Policy (Winter and Spring quarters).
2011-2012 Course Roster
Summer 2012
COM 597 A: Mobile Phones in Development: Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Technology Appropriation (Sey)
Mondays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 302
This course explores patterns of mobile phone appropriation in emerging market economies and the contribution of micro-entrepreneurs and consumers in fueling innovation in the industry. We will focus on entrepreneurs as intermediaries; map the relationships of action and reaction amongst intermediaries, network service providers and end-users of mobile phone technologies; and consider the impacts of these interactions on livelihoods, the industry as a whole, and broader socio-economic development agendas. Students will come away with an appreciation of the nature of micro-entrepreneurial activity in emerging economies and how these intermediaries fit into the complex dynamics in the mobile phone industry.
Core questions include:
• What is technology appropriation and how does this concept help us to understand dynamics in the mobile phone industry?
• How do global developments in mobile technology affect behaviors at the local level?
• What factors drive innovative mobile phone trends in emerging economies?
• What role do micro-entrepreneurs play in bridging service delivery gaps?
• How do micro-entrepreneurs navigate the changing technological environment?
• How sustainable is the livelihood micro-entrepreneurs gain from working in the mobile phone industry?
• Using the experiences of micro-entrepreneurs as an illustration, how can we assess the impacts of mobile technologies on social and economic development?
• Is it possible to “design for appropriation”?
COM 587: Business Fundamentals in Digital Communications (McPherson)
Tuesdays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 302
A practical understanding of key business fundamentals is essential in being able to create and implement digital communications strategies in today’s organizations. This course will be useful for students that are employed in large and small businesses, wanting to start their own business, or for those working in or with NGOs/non-profit organizations. The learning focus will be on business fundamentals within the world of digital communications companies and departments within organizations. We will cover the following subjects: Marketing/Sales, basics of Finance and Accounting (including understanding ROI), operations, and implementation. In addition to discussing materials and concepts in these business areas, students will be applying what they are learning by building a business plan of their own or on a team that is of interest to several students. As a result of taking this course, students will have a better understanding of the underlying issues facing business and be able to develop more relevant strategies and tactics to leverage the opportunities and challenges that digital media presents. At the completion of the class, students will be able present their ideas and initiatives in a more persuasive way to the decision makers in organizations by aligning their suggestions with the needs and issues facing the organization.
“Business Fundamentals is the perfect crash course for any up and coming entrepreneurs in the program. While developing a comprehensive business plan in 10 weeks is a tall and, at time, stressful order, the course guides you, step by step, through product development, marketing, operations, finance, and more. It can be a great exercise to firm up your understanding of business in general or a challenge to take the first step towards making a reality out of your bright idea and produce something that’s ready to be pitched to investors.This class allowed me, as a marketer for a startup, to deepen my knowledge of the other areas within my company and also helped me better understand how each area interrelates to one another, as well as the priorities of my executives and board members. For me, now, business plans are no longer an insurmountable and intimidating project, but something that I know I can produce with confidence.”
COM 597 B: Media Theory for Media Professionals (Rufo)
Wednesdays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 302
The digital and social landscape appears these days to be more fluid than solid, with new technologies and platforms displacing technologies that seemed themselves magical and revolutionary only a handful of months earlier. It can be difficult in this environment either to do much beyond play catch-up or overly narrow one’s specialty. But what if we could see the bigger picture? Theory, derived from the Greek word for “a way of seeing,” offers a chance to look at the broad reach of media history and derive lessons about how media behave, how they are innovated, why some succeed and some fail, and so on. This class focuses on media theory that is actually useful to the modern media professional (“there’s nothing so practical as a good theory,” as Scott Macklin likes to say), and juxtaposes theory with case studies of those media technologies that have disrupted successfully, as well as some that have failed to do so.
COM 597 C: We The Network: Social Transformations in the Digital Age (Lingle)
Thursdays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 302
The digital revolution seems to have no endpoint: instead, we find ourselves in a state of constant change. But not all change is equal and some ripples represent deeper shifts in society. Successful leaders employ a range of conceptual tools that allow them to interpret and even influence such shifts. This class examines practical challenges and friction points in four critical areas of society—business, media, politics, and civic life—through the lens of culture and communication. We start by asking some key questions: What happens when data-flow replaces relationships? How do we navigate continuous transformation? How do people invent digital identities? Then we practice taking apart complex situations and analyzing their core elements. This gives us a valuable perspective we can use to design smart, goal-oriented strategies in response. Through readings, writing exercises, examples, and experts, we will learn an engaging, theory-based way to see through the confusion of digital media and make sense of important social trends.
COM 597 D: Digital Democracy (Gill)
Saturdays, 8:30am-4:30pm, 6/23, 7/14, 7/21, 7/28, 8/11
CMU 126 on 6/23 only, then CMU 302
This course examines how open, distributed, decentralized digital networks are affecting the dynamics of power in politics and society in the United States. This seminar focuses on the November 2012 presidential election and Washington statewide campaigns (initiatives, gubernatorial) as well as recent digital issue campaigns (such as StopKONY). Readings draw from political science, sociology and communication. Coursework includes writing for ElectionEye, the UW/Seattle Times collaboration, and FactCheckWa.org, a project of this class in 2008 and 2010.
COM 597 E: Storytelling Intensive (Keller) 3 Credits
Wednesday-Sunday, June 20-24, 8:30am-4:30pm
CMU 302
Media creation is a multi-step effort, with thoughtful decision-making involved throughout the process. How do the choices you make in the telling and delivery of your story affect the reception of your message? This course is aimed at expanding thought about how web-delivered media is affecting storytelling. Additionally, students will gain hands-on practice in producing web-based video stories. The skills-based aspect of this course is designed to familiarize students with the technologies associated with storytelling. Specifically how to refine, shoot, edit, and distribute their web video.
COM 592: Legal Implications of Content Production and Distribution (Baker) 2 Credits
Mondays, 4:00-5:50pm, June 18-July 23
CMU 302
Content production, acquisition and distribution have increasingly become a currency of communication for organizations (for-profit and not-for-profit) that seek to create sustainable relationships with customers and communities. It’s an exciting opportunity for media professionals, but it’s one that comes with serious considerations surrounding intellectual property. This course is designed to be a hands-on exploration of how to obtain and manage rights for anyone who produces, licenses, manages, or distributes content, including documentary filmmakers using third party footage, photographers trying to design a licensing strategy, developers integrating branded products into a game, or a designer creating a new campaign. During the course, we will identify the right licenses for each use, processes for obtaining rights from third parties, how to think about royalty and payment strategies, techniques for managing collaborators and independent contractors, how to manage releases, how to decide when you can rely on fair use, how to design methods for managing content and rights databases, and how to avoid regulatory and privacy traps. Coursework will focus on the development of practical skills that can be applied to the production and exploitation of any type of content.
COM 591: Flip the Media: Content Strategy and Community Engagement Practicum (Stonehill)
Flip the Media is the independent student publication of the MCDM program. It is an outward-facing channel for news and analysis from MCDM students and faculty on the crossroads of media, culture and technology. Each quarter, a select group of independent study students run the blog, in cooperation with student editors and faculty advisers. Participating students develop marketable skills in content strategy, community engagement, analytics, SEO, WordPress, web design, brand development and online journalism, and are afforded significant publication opportunities. This course is available as an independent study for one or two credits, depending on commitment, or as a non-credit experience. During Summer Quarter, meetings will be held biweekly on Tuesday evenings. Contact Faculty Adviser Alex Stonehill at stonehil(at)u.washington.edu for more information.
Past Quarters
Autumn 2011
CORE:
COM 546: Foundations: Narratives and Networks in Digital Media (Hosein)
(formerly “Evolution and Trends in Digital Media”)
Tuesdays, 6:00-10:00pm
Paccar 290
As the digital media revolution turns communication upside down, it also poses new challenges and opportunities to professional communicators. It’s no longer enough to be heard. Professionals and amateurs, organizations and individuals are all competing for attention through a multiplicity of platforms. In this new reality, every organization is a media organization, every market is a media market, every manager is a media manager, every experience is a mediated experience. Successful communication necessitates the creation of compelling content, and sustained engagement by distributing this content through relevant networks. In this foundational MCDM course, you will confront this paradigm shift head on by creating your own channel and network engagement strategy. By doing so, we will accomplish the following learning objectives: (1) Understand the key communication and social changes facilitated by digital media through networks, along with their opportunities and risks. (2) Apply the practice of creating powerful narrative through storytelling as a primary method of influence and persuasion in communication. (3) Describe and assess the basic characteristics of networks and their role in sustaining engagement. At its foundation, the MCDM balances the conceptual with the applied: both are crucial in order to equip students with the kind of strategic thinking you will need to influence and persuade in the digital media era, measure the success of your efforts, and most importantly, understand why this fundamental shift is happening now. That’s what we want you to have once you complete this foundational class to the program – in addition to enhancing your critical thinking and communication skills. You will also become acquainted with the curricular emphasis of the MCDM through its “Four Peaks:” Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Community, and Story.
ELECTIVES:
COM 583: Advanced Multimedia Storytelling: People and Story (CLP)
(formerly “Multimedia Storytelling: Narrating Lives Online”)
Monday, 6-10pm
CMU 302
Just a few years ago, creating rich multimedia was a boutique interest of elite journalists and filmmakers. But as lives and communities move further online, multimedia and character-driven, documentary-style storytelling is becoming a lingua franca for journalists, advocates, entrepreneurs, communities, and organizations. This course is a project-based class that teaches character-driven video production. Instruction will take students through story development, research and interview techniques, the technical aspects of shooting, editing, and production, as well as distribution and marketing. Emphasis will be given to reporting, interviewing, and the challenges of telling others stories well. Project clients will range from small businesses to journalism outlets and from nonprofit organizations to personal projects defined by students. Previous foundational MCDM storytelling class or demonstrated digital storytelling or video experience is strongly recommended. The Common Language Project is a journalism nonprofit based in the UW Department of Communication and known for creating experimental, human-centered multimedia.
COM 585: Managing Your Web Presence: Strategic Digital Platform Fundamentals(Gill)
(formerly “Web Tools for a Digital World”)
Wednesdays, 6:00-10:00pm, Sundays, October 16 & November 20, 8:30am-4:30pm
CMU 302
This course examines the framework of social media applications. It introduces terminology, history and evolution of web site development and content management systems; introduces elements of effective web site design; introduces project management techniques needed to organize digital assets, allocate resources, and meet deadlines. Students will gain a solid understanding of legacy and emerging technologies, which are essential skills when managing cross-functional teams, while developing a simple, branded web site. This course provides a strong foundation for students interested in the spring course, “Managing Your Web Presence: Advanced Content Creation, Curation, and Optimization.”
“Managing Your Web Presence has changed the way I look at website design as well as content generation. Kathy’s passion to give her students the best hands-on learning experience helped me walk away from class understanding the importance of the basics of website development on the backend as well as the essentials of site design and content on the surface. Kathy taught how to design a website that speaks to our audience; stands out from competing sites by utilizing SEO techniques and effective design, and most important how to make the site “findable” and “social.” I highly recommend this class for anyone who is part of the MCDM program as I believe this basic knowledge is key to our field as grads of communications in digital media degree.”
COM 587: Business Fundamentals in Digital Communications (McPherson)
Mondays, 6:00-10:00pm
Savery 130
A practical understanding of key business fundamentals is essential in being able to create and implement digital communications strategies in today’s organizations. This course will be useful for students that are employed in large and small businesses, wanting to start their own business, or for those working in or with NGOs/non-profit organizations. The learning focus will be on business fundamentals within the world of digital communications companies and departments within organizations. We will cover the following subjects: Marketing/Sales, basics of Finance and Accounting (including understanding ROI), operations, and implementation. In addition to discussing materials and concepts in these business areas, students will be applying what they are learning by building a business plan of their own or on a team that is of interest to several students. As a result of taking this course, students will have a better understanding of the underlying issues facing business and be able to develop more relevant strategies and tactics to leverage the opportunities and challenges that digital media presents. At the completion of the class, students will be able present their ideas and initiatives in a more persuasive way to the decision makers in organizations by aligning their suggestions with the needs and issues facing the organization.
“Business Fundamentals is the perfect crash course for any up and coming entrepreneurs in the program. While developing a comprehensive business plan in 10 weeks is a tall and, at time, stressful order, the course guides you, step by step, through product development, marketing, operations, finance, and more. It can be a great exercise to firm up your understanding of business in general or a challenge to take the first step towards making a reality out of your bright idea and produce something that’s ready to be pitched to investors.This class allowed me, as a marketer for a startup, to deepen my knowledge of the other areas within my company and also helped me better understand how each area interrelates to one another, as well as the priorities of my executives and board members. For me, now, business plans are no longer an insurmountable and intimidating project, but something that I know I can produce with confidence.”
COM 591: Independent Study – Technology Blogging and Web-Publishing with Flip the Media (Stonehill)
Flip the Media is an outward-facing student publication with news and analysis from MCDM students and faculty on the crossroads of media, culture and technology. Each quarter, a select group of independent study students run the blog, in cooperation with student editors and faculty advisers. Opportunities include: writing and publishing analysis on contemporary media issues; engaging with emerging entrepreneurs in our region; producing innovative multimedia; mastering web and social media analytics; developing, editing and posting work on WordPress; website and brand development. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to have a full-immersion experience in multimedia journalism and help advance a go-to site for coverage of the digital media revolution. To apply, email Alex Stonehill at: stonehil(at)u.washington.edu with a paragraph description of your interest and a resume. One or two credits, depending on commitment.
COM 591: Analytics Seminar: Theory to Application (Batra)
Wednesdays, 4:00-6:00pm, October 26, November 2, November 9
CMU 302
This one-credit seminar is part of a 5-credit sequence that will span Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. Seminars are intended to flow from one another, but can also be taken as stand-alone courses, based on the student’s interest and background. The Fall 1-credit class will be a foundational overview about the importance of optimizing your digital communication efforts. You cannot control what you cannot measure. This seminar will emphasize the theory behind why you measure, combined with select exposure to practical tools for how to measure so that you can learn from customer behavior and feedback and optimize your digital communication to drive the ROI for your business. In this seminar you will learn about the importance of tracking and understanding customer behavior in various online channels such as search, social media and your own site. The Winter and Spring courses will include final applied deliverables that will involve the use of analytical tools.
COM 597: Young Entrepreneurs and Digital Media in Emerging Markets (Salkowitz)
Wednesdays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 126
This class explores the spread of new information and communication technology around the globe and its impact on social and economic development. We will examine how demographics, globalization, technological innovation, entrepreneurship, political liberalization, and the investments of governments, NGOs and multinational companies have created new opportunities across Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, and where these trends might lead in the future. Readings and lectures will emphasize how young populations use digital media to disrupt incumbent institutions and build new organizational models appropriate to the challenges of the 21st century. Students will research examples of these trends to produce a final presentation illustrating their findings.
“This is class is a fascinating look into the impact that digital technology and media is having on the lives and livelihoods of people in emerging markets and the third world. With a particular focus on youth and the millennial generation the class examines how universal access to mobile and other technologies is empowering people with information and tools to improve their financial wellbeing as well as their health and security, their communities, and their government. Throughout the quarter, the class dives into each of the world’s emerging regions – Africa, India & the sub-continent, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. Students are tasked with finding examples of how the digital age is applied in each region and then this is paired with speakers, readings and lectures on entrepreneurship and economic development in emerging economies as well as the societal impact of the millennial generation. This class will expand your frame of reference on how digital and mobile technology can transform people’s lives through the simplest of applications. It may even give you a new perspective on how digital technologies can be applied in solving business and community problems in your own backyard. This is an excellent opportunity to go on a global exploration of the digital age and be inspired by people’s ingenuity, creativity, and spirit.”
COM 597: Interactivity Design: Usability (Evans)
Thursdays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 302
Designing effective websites and applications requires an understanding of basic interactivity design theory and a robust appreciation for the user experience. And while some degree of intuition and experience can help facilitate good design, the best practices for design incorporating rigorous usability testing into the design iteration process. This course investigates the user experience and how to analyze it, beginning with some basic background on how individuals read, use, or otherwise engage digital media interfaces and then moving into different methodological approaches for analyzing usability. Usability testing will be conducted utilizing both qualitative (ethnographic) and quantitative (statistical) methods, with the goal of understanding whether a site or application can be made more user-friendly or provide a more emotionally satisfying user experience. A background in statistical methods is helpful but not necessary for success in this course.
“Design is important. But design without usability testing is incomplete design. Students in David Evans’ UI/UX class engage in real-word client service opportunities that explore real world user experience research methodologies and testing protocols. Students in this class benefit from the Instructor’s experience running a usability testing firm with major Northwest clients. David’s extensive knowledge about usability testing coupled with his training as a behavioral psychologist gives students a comprehensive overview of how audiences and customers engage with online content. The tools that you learn in this class can be applied to a diverse range of real-world applications and environments. This is one of those graduate school experiences that stays with you long after the last project has been handed in.”
COM 597: Leadership in the Digital Age: Establishing Authenticity through Story (Crofts)
Saturdays, October 8, 22, November 5, 19, December 3, 8:30am-4:30pm
CMU 126
Leadership skills are not just traits you are born with, but competencies you learn and refine throughout your life. Today, with office structures flattening and transparency at a premium, authentic leadership is critical for success in the digital age. Whether it is crowdsourced decision-making, the arrival of the Millennial Generation as customers and colleagues, or the wider reach of personal narrative in the age of new media, the challenges and opportunities that leaders face are evolving as quickly as the technology itself. This course will consider how the rise of new media has amplified the teachings of traditional leadership development scholarship, called into question outdated models of engagement, and accelerated the need for genuine relationship building. As leadership development is a deeply personal pursuit, emphasis will be placed on individual leadership development and theory, but nested in the context of leading within an organizational structure. Leaders at all levels and across all sectors will be able to apply teachings from this class into their work. Attention will be paid to the concept of storytelling, or life narrative, as a key leadership tool in the 21st century.
“When I first read up on Leadership in the Digital Age, I had planned to take it as a sort of capstone to the end of my time with the MCDM. I figured by then, I’d fully be ready to learn about and embrace leadership. However, through last minute scheduling changes I ended up taking as part of my first quarter in the program, which ended up being the option I recommend! The term “leadership” I think can be a bit loaded, with the expectation that you are a manager of people or high-up in the organizational chain. I am neither of these. But through this course, I learned leadership really has nothing to do with that. The class is a very good combination of enlightening readings, discussion based class within a small group (you really get to know everyone by the end of the course!), and great guest lecturers from the community. I was surprised that the eight-hour weekend classes actually seemed to flow by very quickly, and Anita organizes your time during these days very well, so the classroom time is well spent. There is a lot of reading, writing and the final project that pushed me out of my comfort zone to interview local leaders I admired. The course is challenging, but in the best way – I learned a lot about leadership and even more about myself. Anita is a very nurturing presence and allows for a very safe space to explore your own belief system, and I left the course with a major boost to my self-confidence. I highly recommend that everyone take this course during their time in the MCDM, it should be a requirement!”
COM 597: International Trends in Mobile Technology and Marketing (Wells)
Saturdays, October 1, 15, 29, November 12, December 10, 8:30am-4:30pm
CMU 126
This course is an exploration of global patterns of consumer mobile behavior, with a specific emphasis on the socio-cultural motivations and attitudes that are driving these behaviors, as well as the transformational affects mobile technology is having on all corners of the globe. Upon successful completion of this course students will have a foundational understanding of the cultural impact and influence the mobile phone has with respect to the proliferation of the unwired internet, search, communications, entertainment, content creation, commerce, banking, marketing – on global, regional and local scale. This course provides an appropriate introduction to the mobile landscape for students interested in taking the spring course, “Advanced Mobile Media Development and Integration.”
“International Trends in Mobile and Marketing was one of my favorite classes I took during my time in the MCDM. The articles and case studies we covered in this class were essential to my understanding of what makes mobile a fundamentally different platform than anything that’s come before it. Even if you’re not interested in mobile as a career pathway, this class will give you the toolset to design and target new media services in a thoughtful and intentional manner. Part business course, part design project, and part anthropological study, this class is unique to the program and should not be missed.”
Winter 2012
CORES:
COM 529: Foundations: Research Strategy & Business Practice (Evans)
Wednesdays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 302
“What percent of our users would…?” Very often, digital ventures encounter questions about their user-base that cannot be answered with reasoning or authority alone. Instead a conversation must be initiated with users, whether individually, in focus groups of a dozen or so, or in surveys of hundreds, to collect empirical market-research data. This course will empower students to resolve business and strategy debates with empirical research findings. After completing this course, students will be able to (a) match the best research method to answer the question at hand, (b) design valid instruments of data collection, (c) use Excel and SPSS to test the significance of differences in distributions, correlations, and differences across experimental conditions (d) construct intuitive, compelling graphs following the best principles of infosthetics, and (e) ensure the persuasiveness of the data by defending against common research criticisms. Previous coursework in statistics is helpful but not required, and this course will emphasize hands-on action over probability theory, drawing heavily on the instructors past and current work with clients in the private sector. Although we will touch on online analytics and usability testing, these topics are explored in detail in other courses.
COM 558: Foundations: Law and Policy (Baker)
Tuesdays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 302
Legal issues are pervasive in the use and implementation of all types of digital media. Copyright owners consistently struggle with how to monetize content without alienating end users, bloggers confront the parameters and limits of free expression, and consumers are more and more sensitized as to how companies will make use of their personal information. This course examines the existing frameworks that govern how companies, organizations, and end users approach free expression, intellectual property, privacy, security, and advertising. Students are provided practical guidance for applying these frameworks to varying news, entertainment, social media, and digital media environments.
ELECTIVES:
COM 569: Gaming, Virtual Worlds and Communication (Rufo)
Mondays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 242
No technology better defines the digital media experience than the video game. What was once the domain of the maladjusted introvert has become the dominant new media experience, with whole generations of console and PC gamers competing against other players online, crafting avatars and walking the halls of virtual worlds, playing, cheating, and building their “second lives.” This course will explore these virtual environments, mapping the communication that happens within and through this new medium. We will ground the class through a variety of game-playing, both in and outside of the classroom, and will do so in a way that works for “noobs” as well as hardcore gamers. Speakers will include those that live, breathe, and design video games right here in the Seattle area, one of the hubs for national and international video game production. Emphasis will be placed on determining strategies by which new video games may solve old communication problems.
“I rediscovered an old passion in the MCDM’s course Gaming and Virtual Worlds. I rediscovered that I like to make learning fun. I consider fun and play fundamental qualities in a full life experience. Up until this class, the focus of my career and passion had been in the classroom and in the edit suite. My experience in Dr. Rufo’s class gave my lifelong passion new direction in analog games and the Kinect. I now apply the theories I learned in this class most everyday as I work as a Producer and PM for Microsoft in the IEB division and as I pursue personal projects to ensure learning stays fun for people of all ages. My new favorite VUI command is ‘Xbox! Get me a victory milk!’”
COM 583: Multimedia Storytelling: Content & Flow (Macklin)
Tuesdays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 242
This is a pivotal time in the history of digital media. Inexpensive technology and powerful distribution networks mean nearly anyone can transmit their creations. Since the advent of human communication, storytelling has been a key factor in our survival and development. Over the last century, storytelling to an audience beyond our immediate social circle has largely been the preserve of industrialized, mass media. But now, with digital media, we can not only listen to new voices, we can be those new voices – leading some to conclude that we have entered into a new Storytelling Age. Despite our newfound access to these tools of creation and distribution, effective communication still requires the timeless basics of effective, credible storytelling – perhaps even more so given the exponential increase in new content competing for attention. In this hands-on course, we will explore what it takes to conceive, develop, and create compelling multimedia stories. At the end of this course, students will be able to identify the essential elements to successful storytelling, evaluate the societal impact of accessible, inexpensive content creation technology, and assess the strategic communication considerations, business opportunities and legal issues, related to digital media content creation.
“I learned a lot from the storytelling class. From the first class that everyone presented his/her story in a ‘beginning, middle and end’ theory to the last class that every team presented their final video project, I made huge progress every week. It’s a great class where you can learn not only theories from books, but also have real practice with companies in the real world. Because of the storytelling class, I learned how to use a flip camera, handycam HD camcorder, and digital microphone to shoot different types of footage including “B-rolls” for the final video project. I also learned how to edit videos using Adobe Premiere and found it a great learning experience. I become addicted to editing once I started it! I learned a lot from the instructor with his professional knowledge and shooting and editing skills. I also learned a lot from my classmates. It’s a great class if you want to know more about how to create and tell a story for your company or the things you want to present, and how to shoot videos and edit them to create memorable work.”
COM 588: Marketing and Branding in Digital Communication (Marr)
Thursdays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 302
This course is designed for students that will be utilizing their MCDM education and experience in the marketing arenas in businesses and organizations (including non-profits) or in leadership functions where an understanding of marketing is an important skill. The focus on the course will be on how to best utilize digital media vehicles along with more traditional forms of communications and advertising (and other marketing or Research and Development functions). Because of the ever changing nature of the advertising world with the advances and acceptances of digital media platforms, we will showcase industry “heavy hitters” from local marketing and advertising agencies to discuss the trends and issues the industry faces, using real life situations to explore alternatives and solutions. We will also explore how new media can be used with traditional channels of distribution (clicks and bricks), as well as in the R & D functions by encouraging and mining information from current and potential customers. Students that have not had a basic marketing class will be assigned pre-course supplemental readings and we will do a quick review at our first session so that everyone has a common understanding of the subject before we move into the more cutting edge concepts.
COM 597: Digital Transformations of Organizations (Neff)
Saturdays, 1/7, 1/14, 1/21, 1/28 & 2/4, 8:30am-4:30pm (Final deliverables due at the end of Week 6)
CMU 242
The process of transforming organizations — both for-profit companies and non-profits alike — is often complex, even more so when new technologies are involved. There are many reasons why technology adoption fails, why people resist the introduction of new tools, and why these tools have unintended consequences and effects. Managing technology change within organizations or being a “change agent” is reward yet extremely challenging work. This course prepares students to take such a role. Using a case study approach, students in this class will learn how to identify potential roadblocks to change and develop analytical tools for measuring qualitatively and quantitatively the impact of technological change on organizations. Together we will examine the following five themes: When Good Tools Fail, Teams/Collaboration, Hierarchy/Heterarchy, Values/Valuation and Leading Change.
At the end of this course students will be able to identify key strategies for managing technology change and apply these strategies in different settings through their final deliverables. Please note that for Winter 2012 this class will be taught as an intensive five week course, meeting in full-day Saturday sessions. The expectations for reading and workload will be equivalent to a full ten-week course. Deliverables will be due by the end of the sixth week.
“Gina Neff’s ‘Digital Transformation of Organizations’ is equal parts business application, organizational development, leadership, communication theory, and pure brilliance. The intensive format of this class (5 consecutive Saturday classes) allows for in depth engagement with the material and results in rich discussions and exploration of the concepts and theories presented in class. Gina does a masterful job of tying broad concepts together with technology. Seemingly unrelated concepts become inextricably twined, creating a new context to view organizational challenges. I highly recommend this class to anyone interested in the technology driven transformations organizations throughout the world are currently experiencing. One word of caution – you will absolutely do a full quarter’s worth of work (10 weeks) in the 5 week timeframe. Come prepared to immerse yourself in course.”
COM 597: The Health of Networks (Rufo)
Thursdays, 6:00-10:00pm
CMU 126
As digital media professionals interested in the future of communications and business, we use terms like social media and social network with an almost casual abandon. And yet we are hard pressed to explain in detail the nature, function, or structure of the “social” formations that structure these “networks.” This is unfortunate, because a more nuanced, more granular understanding of social network formations can help facilitate stable, useful, and attractive social networks and thus enhance the potential success of social media strategies. Fortunately, there is a robust set of literature focusing on “network theory,” literature that tries to understand and anticipate why some networks work better than others. Engaging this theory through digital and analog case studies, this course will explore concepts like small worlds, strong and loose ties, positionality, agent-based modeling, and emergent properties, among other ways of understanding how to advance social networking. The goal is to move beyond social networking as a label and into a deeper, more complex understanding of the phenomena at work beneath the surface of the social formation.
“The Health of Networks is a timely and relevant class for anyone in a communications or media-based profession, and a fascinating study of humanity and behavior for everyone. The reading for this class is significant, but Ken is willing to explain the network jargon well, if you ask. He punctuates each section with real-life, easily understandable examples of networks, from communicable disease networks to social media networks. Using two different networking software programs, NetLogo and NodeXL, you will create your own small network and analyze how it functions, and then select a network to analyze in depth for the final project. Using network theory, you’ll learn how and why certain elements and a network are important—identifying key influencers, bridges between disparate groups, and hubs of information.”
COM 591: Analytics Seminar: Theory to Application (Batra)
Wednesdays, 1/4, 1/11, 1/18, 1/25, & 2/1 (with 2/8 & 2/15 as back-ups in case of instructor travel), 4:00-6:00pm
CMU 302
In this class you will learn the inner workings of web analytics, how data is collected, formatted, etc. Then we will move to the advanced concepts of web analytics such as analyzing the data, presenting the data, and making recommendations for improvement. You will also engage in practical exercises that will allow you to apply your learning. Final deliverable will be due at the end of the quarter.
COM 591: Technology Blogging and Web-Publishing with Flip the Media (Stonehill)
Flip the Media is an outward-facing student publication with news and analysis from MCDM students and faculty on the crossroads of media, culture and technology. Each quarter, a select group of independent study students run the blog, in cooperation with student editors and faculty advisers. Opportunities include: writing and publishing analysis on contemporary media issues; engaging with emerging entrepreneurs in our region; producing innovative multimedia; mastering web and social media analytics; developing, editing and posting work on WordPress; website and brand development. Winter quarter 2012 will have a special focus on implementing a redesign of the blog to bring it into alignment with other freshly redesigned MCDM web properties. To apply, email Alex Stonehill at: stonehil(at)u.washington.edu with a paragraph description of your interest and a resume. One or two credits, depending on commitment.
Spring 2012
CORES:
COM 529: Foundations: Research Strategy & Business Practice (Evans)
Wednesdays, 6:00-9:50pm
CMU 302
“What percent of our users would…?” Very often, digital ventures encounter questions about their user-base that cannot be answered with reasoning or authority alone. Instead a conversation must be initiated with users, whether individually, in focus groups of a dozen or so, or in surveys of hundreds, to collect empirical market-research data. This course will empower students to resolve business and strategy debates with empirical research findings. After completing this course, students will be able to (a) match the best research method to answer the question at hand, (b) design valid instruments of data collection, (c) use Excel and SPSS to test the significance of differences in distributions, correlations, and differences across experimental conditions (d) construct intuitive, compelling graphs following the best principles of infosthetics, and (e) ensure the persuasiveness of the data by defending against common research criticisms. Previous coursework in statistics is helpful but not required, and this course will emphasize hands-on action over probability theory, drawing heavily on the instructors past and current work with clients in the private sector. Although we will touch on online analytics and usability testing, these topics are explored in detail in other courses.
COM 558: Foundations: Law and Policy (Baker)
Tuesdays, 6:00-9:50pm
CMU 302
Legal issues are pervasive in the use and implementation of all types of digital media. Copyright owners consistently struggle with how to monetize content without alienating end users, bloggers confront the parameters and limits of free expression, and consumers are more and more sensitized as to how companies will make use of their personal information. This course examines the existing frameworks that govern how companies, organizations, and end users approach free expression, intellectual property, privacy, security, and advertising. Students are provided practical guidance for applying these frameworks to varying news, entertainment, social media, and digital media environments.
ELECTIVES:
COM 583: Multimedia Storytelling: Digital Distribution and The Story (Keller)
Mondays, 6:00-9:50pm
CMU 302
The landscape of web-distributed video can be broadly divided into three motifs: Entertainment, Newsgathering, and Business Communication. From YouTube to Vimeo, Netflix to Hulu, 12seconds.tv to Facebook, online video is a storytelling revolution. Or is it? How do storytelling choices affect message reception? Storytelling has been part of the human experience since the formation of language. Today, the technology that surrounds the “tell” of a story (the modes and channels of communication) directly shape the immersive experience felt by the viewer, while leveraging the lessons of narrative and myth. This course focuses on the decisions we make when we tell our stories. This course is both theoretical and practical. Students will be afforded the skills to create and distribute video stories. Additionally, students will be expected to display critical thinking around point of view, audience targeting, ROI success criteria, methodology, and production standards. Students are expected to exercise the craft of content creation while at the same time critically evaluating and deconstructing content they see in the marketplace.
COM 591: Analytics Seminar: Theory to Application (Batra)
Wednesdays, 4:00-5:50pm, 4/11, 5/9, 5/16, 5/23, 5/30
CMU 302
In the last two courses of the series you learned about analytics and how to use the data, analyze it and provide actionable recommendations to the various stakeholders. In this course students will learn how to take actions on those “Actionable recommendations.” Students will learn about A/B testing, Multivariate testing, personalization, and targeted marketing. This course will walk you through a process of setting up testing and conducting a test.
COM 591: Group Independent Study: Transmedia Storytelling for Marketers (Gauntt)
Independent study meeting times will be determined collaboratively by the students and professor. Please email john.gauntt AT media-dojo.com for more information.
Marketing no longer happens in a world of the mainstream and the counter-culture. Today’s audiences traverse multiple mainstreams and counter-cultures via a riot of socially connected, interactive devices and services. How then, do marketers tell a brand’s story across such complexity at scale? More marketers are attempting to use transmedia storytelling to reach fragmented audiences with access to unlimited digital media. A transmedia story unfolds almost simultaneously across multiple media platforms ranging from websites, to game consoles, to tablets, to smartphones, graphic novels and so forth. Any one piece of the narrative is satisfying in its own right but also representative of the story as a whole. This independent studies project will focus on determining whether there are repeatable, transferable skills, templates and techniques for applying transmedia storytelling to marketing. At the end of this ten-week project, students should possess the knowledge base and applied experience to evaluate whether and how transmedia storytelling might work for various types of marketing campaigns.
“John du Pre Gauntt’s Transmedia course surprised me on at least a couple of fronts. First, I hadn’t realized how often examples of transmedia jump out at us every day. Whether a cleverly timed cross-promotional TV commercial or an intoxicating new video game steering consumers back to a movie theater or a favorite product, I found a certain charm on keeping a closer eye on a digital media phenomenon even our events planning company is hoping to incorporate through a variety of upcoming galas for non-profits and for-profits alike. John prepares you with his warmly engaging style – clearly laying out expectations – then winds you up and lets you learn. He trusts your motivation to collaboratively create original work. Seeing the bigger picture (or Transmedia’s “story universe”) is John’s reachable goal for you. I can’t imagine talking intelligently about transmedia without benefit of my time in transmedia class. How all this applies to your life’s work will vary, but a strong understanding of this evolving phenomenon is well worth your time.”
COM 597: UW Election Eye 2012: Strategic Channel Management through Story Creation and Social Engagement (Crofts)
Mondays, 6:00 – 9:50 PM
CMU 242
Note: There will be opportunities for weekend travel as part of UW Election Eye reporting that will influence a few weeks of class meeting times. (Likely Saturday course dates are April 14 and May 12) There will not be class on Memorial Day Weekend.
This class is an advanced, hands-on class on content creation and social media strategy through an election year focused channel. Spring quarter presents a unique opportunity to chart the course for a channel that our department owns, and the success of failure of that channel is something that as a department –and as a particular MCDM class—we help to control. Building off teachings from the Narratives & Networks class, as well as the work of Summer 2011’s “Anyscreen Era,” (Brooke Shepherd will be a frequent presence in classes) this seminar will focus on UW Election Eye and will present MCDM students the opportunity to shape, develop, distribute, and syndicate the channel through strategic engagement, credible and compelling content, and leveraging all the various outlets and growth areas for the channel. We will ask questions about building audience, pushing the envelope in content distribution, and sustaining the channel through to the November election and beyond as a credible source for the stories that humanize and civilize political discourse. The opportunities in this class for MCDM students run the gamut and are as broad a spectrum as the range of MCDM students who find a home in our program: writing, video, photography, engagement strategy, or transmedia—to name just some. Not just for political wonks, though wonks welcome! Travel opportunities within Washington State on two Saturdays will likely be part of the class experience, offsetting some of the weekly course meeting times.
COM 597: Interactivity Design: Practice (Levine)
Wednesdays, 6:00-9:50pm
CMU 242
What makes interactive experiences compelling and how are they designed? This course analyzes existing interfaces, discussing what makes them effective, and provides an overview of tools and theories that guide user experience designers in their practice. Students will be introduced to information architecture (wireframes, sitemaps), information design (information graphics) and visual design (composition, typography, composition, color) and encouraged to apply their learning towards practical design assignments. Our focus is on computer interfaces but is not limited to its traditional “keyboard/mouse/monitor” triangle, as we will also discuss innovative consumer products such as Kinect. Interactivity Design: Usability will provide good foundation for discussion in this class but is not required. A basic understanding of Adobe Creative Suite software, CSS or Visio is helpful, but not necessary for success in this course.
COM 597: Mobile Media Development and Integration (McIvor)
Thursdays, 6:00-9:50pm
CMU 302
This course will take students into the planning and development of mobile as a communication medium. Students will learn when and how mobile is used to create engaging and interactive experiences as well as explore the depths to which mobile impacts an organization’s communication, marketing, and business practices. This hands-on course will involve creating media that is designed and optimized for mobile consumption including applications, video, websites and sms campaigns. In addition, students will work in a group setting with local companies to produce a strategic plan for how mobile should be integrated into each company’s existing media and marketing methods.
“I found the class to be incredibly interesting. This course focused on understanding how mobile can businesses can successfully incorporate mobile into their organization. About half of the classes had a guest presenter from a local company that spoke about how they have used mobile (Starbucks, Expedia, Übermind, Hip Cricket). When I took the class, there were three deliverables, two of which were group projects and one was a solo paper. The final project was developing a mobile strategy for a real Seattle company. It was a really interesting opportunity to think strategically about the platform as well as do some networking with key people in the industry. I definitely recommend the class!”
I'd love to be a video producer and/or editor, working for non-profits and small companies...>
- Flip is Hiring!!!
Its true. We are hiring. I will be leaving my position at the end of the month when I graduate but I will be on hand over the Summer for an orderly transition.
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