Editing Online Communities (UW COM481 Spring 2024) (section)

== Overview and Learning Objectives ==
Today, online communities are central parts of each of our daily lives and have an important impact on our cultural, social, and economic experience of the world and each other. This course combines an in-depth look into several decades of research into online communities and computer-mediated communication with exercises that aim to give students experience applying this research to the evaluation of, and hands-on participation in, online communities.

As students of communication in the twenty-first century, I expect that many of you taking this course will, after graduation, work in jobs that involve communicating in, working with, or managing online communities. This class seeks to inform these experiences by helping you learn how to use and contribute to online communities more effectively and how to construct, improve, or design your own online communities.

I will consider the course a complete success if every student is able to do all of these things at the end of the quarter:

* Write and speak fluently about the rules and norms of the Wikipedia community and demonstrate this fluency through successful contributions to Wikipedia.
* Recall, compare, and give examples of key theories that seek to explain why some online communities grow and attract participants while others do not.
* Demonstrate an ability to critically apply the theories from the course to the evaluation of a real online community of your choice.
* Engage with the course material and compellingly present your own ideas and reflections in writing and orally.

I also have a "stretch goal": I want your work in this class to help you, in some direct way. Maybe it's having a great answer in a job interview when it's time to convince the interviewer that you have a lot to offer. Maybe it's having a piece of work you can feel good about sharing with others. Maybe it's applying your COM481 thinking to a new assignment at work. Maybe it's seeing your world in a new way that helps you solve a problem. Or maybe it's just having an answer when someone asks skeptical questions about what you got out of studying Communication! This goal is hard to measure but it's my hope for you and what I'm working for every day during the quarter.

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