COURSES TAUGHT

(The following courses were taught at Northwestern University)

WINTER 2010

COMM ST 395-0: Exploring Children's Culture
This course is intended to place current debates about childhood and children's media technologies within their larger historical, social and technological contexts. Students will examine children's culture (and the myths adults construct for and about children) from psychological, sociological, anthropological, historical, critical, pedagogical and technological perspectives. We will also critically engage with key examples of books, films, television programs, and digital media artifacts aimed at children. Our goal is to gain insights into the nature of children's lives, their culture, their relationship to the media, and the social institutions they confront. An intrinsic part of the course will be to reflect on (and engage with) the problems of creating new media for children, and recurrent efforts by adults to regulate children's culture and play.

FALL 2009

COMM ST 525-23 / CS 431-20: Theories & Technologies for Human Communication
Technologies as diverse as videogame/synthetic characters, airline telephone reservations systems, online chat communities, search engines, and interactive tutoring systems all rely on the use of language between two people mediated by a computer, or between a computer and a person. In order to carry out critical analysis of these technologies, and in order to be effective designers of systems that communicate with humans such as these, one needs to have a certain background in how the language of discourse and dialogue work, and how they change when one of the speaker/ listeners is a computer. In this course we pair theory about how the language of discourse and dialogue function with computational work that relies on that theoretical foundation. Topics covered will include communication and culture, communication and nonverbal behavior, communication and social emotions. The goal is to give students practice in how theory in this domain can be adapted and adopted in the design of innovative interactive technology. To this end, the student will engage in a increasingly complex set of design exercises based on the nitty-gritty fundamentals of discourse, and culminating in team projects.

SPRING 2008

EECS 395, Comm.Studies 395, EECS 495, Comm. Studies 525: Innovative Technologies for Autism
Current statistics estimate that Autism Spectrum Disorder affects 1 in 150 people. Despite the impact that this disorder has on our society, autism is still relatively misunderstood, and both research and practice are in their infancy. In particular, although it is known that many people with autism feel a special affinity for technology, little has been done to develop technologies to diagnose, treat, support, or unite those with autism. In this new course, therefore, students will gain an introduction to both the theory and practice of autism research, and of developing technologies for autism. That is, students will spend time becoming familiar with the relevant theory behind the diagnosis, treatment, description and personal experience of those with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as with relevant readings in human-computer interaction, human-centered computing, affective computing, virtual reality, and computer-mediated communication. Throughout, students will complete increasingly sophisticated and novel design exercises, culminating in team final projects. Students do not need an engineering background, but must be willing to work in teams on projects to design and prototype innovative technologies to diagnose, treat, support or unite those with autism, and their caregivers. This course is open to undergraduate and graduate students in Communication Studies, Communication Science and Disorders, Linguistics, Psychology, Learning Science, EECS, Computer Science, and Mechanical Engineering (as well as allied fields).

FALL 2007

COMM ST 525-24 / CS 491-20: Theories & Technologies for Human Communication
Technologies as diverse as videogame/synthetic characters, airline telephone reservations systems, online chat communities, search engines, and interactive tutoring systems all rely on the use of language between two people mediated by a computer, or between a computer and a person. In order to carry out critical analysis of these technologies, and in order to be effective designers of systems that communicate with humans such as these, one needs to have a certain background in how the language of discourse functions, and how it changes when one of the speaker/listeners is a computer. In this course we pair theory about how the language of discourse functions with computational work that relies on that theoretical foundation. The goal is to give students practice in how theory in this domain can be adapted and adopted in the design of innovative interactive technology. To this end, the student will engage in a increasingly complex set of design exercises based on the nitty-gritty fundamentals of discourse, and culminating in a project of the student's own design.

SPRING 2007

COMM ST 395 /CS 395 /CS 495:
Online Communities and Computer-Mediated Communication
In the 21st century the Internet has become a central focus for communication --- business meetings that rely on collaborative software, distance learning applications, and personal exchanges that involve email, instant messenger, MySpace, Friendster, Facebook, chat rooms, online communities - or a combination of all of the above! In this course we will examine many different types of on-line communication, including those that target business, education, and recreation, that engage different kinds of communities -- young and old people, monolingual and multilingual, mononational and international, laypeople and hard-core gamers. In doing so, we will analyze very closely the types of computer-mediated interactions and collaborations that occur among people who share common (or perhaps uncommon) interests, and the language that they use to express themselves. This is a hands-on class - students will analyze existent communities, and implement new ones.

SPRING 2006

COMM ST 395 Sec. 28 / CS 395 Sec. 28:
Online Communities and Computer-Mediated Communication
In the 21st century the Internet has become a central focus for communication --- business meetings that rely on collaborative software, distance learning, and personal exchanges that involve email, instant messenger, chat rooms and online communities.  In this course we will examine several different types of online communication -- both business-, education- and recreation-oriented, that engage several different communities -- young and old people, monolingual and multilingual, mononational and international.  In doing so, we will analyze very closely the types of computer-mediated interactions and collaborations that occur among people who share common (or perhaps uncommon) interests, and the language that they use to express themselves.

WINTER 2006

COMM ST 390-0 Sec. 20: Exploring Children's Culture
This course is intended to place current debates about childhood and children's media technologies within their larger historical, social and technological contexts. Students will examine children's culture (and the myths adults construct for and about children) from psychological, sociological, anthropological, historical, critical, pedagogical and technological perspectives. We will also critically engage with key examples of books, films, television programs, and digital media artifacts aimed at children. Our goal is to gain insights into the nature of children's lives, their culture, their relationship to the media, and the social institutions they confront. An intrinsic part of the course will be to reflect on (and engage with) the problems of creating new media for children, and recurrent efforts by adults to regulate children's culture and play.

FALL 2005

COMM ST 525-24 / CS 495-24: Theories & Technologies for Human Communication
Technologies as diverse as videogame/synthetic characters, airline telephone reservations systems, online chat communities, search engines, and interactive tutoring systems all rely on the use of language between two people mediated by a computer, or between a computer and a person. In order to carry out critical analysis of these technologies, and in order to be effective designers of systems that communicate with humans such as these, one needs to have a certain background in how the language of discourse functions, and how it changes when one of the speaker/listeners is a computer. In this course we pair theory about how the language of discourse functions with computational work that relies on that theoretical foundation. The goal is to give students practice in how theory in this domain can be adapted and adopted in the design of innovative interactive technology. To this end, the student will engage in a increasingly complex set of design exercises based on the nitty-gritty fundamentals of discourse, and culminating in a project of the student's own design.

WINTER 2005

COMM ST 390-0 Sec. 20: Exploring Children's Culture
This course is intended to place current debates about childhood and children's media technologies within their larger historical, social and technological contexts. Students will examine children's culture (and the myths adults construct for and about children) from psychological, sociological, anthropological, historical, critical, pedagogical and technological perspectives. We will also critically engage with key examples of books, films, television programs, and digital media artifacts aimed at children. Our goal is to gain insights into the nature of children's lives, their culture, their relationship to the media, and the social institutions they confront. An intrinsic part of the course will be to reflect on (and engage with) the problems of creating new media for children, and recurrent efforts by adults to regulate children's culture and play.

COMM ST 395 Sec. 28 / CS 395 Sec. 28:
Online Communities and Computer-Mediated Communication
In the 21st century the Internet has become a central focus for communication --- business meetings that rely on collaborative software, distance learning, and personal exchanges that involve email, instant messenger, chat rooms and online communities.  In this course we will examine several different types of online communication -- both business-, education- and recreation-oriented, that engage several different communities -- young and old people, monolingual and multilingual, mononational and international.  In doing so, we will analyze very closely the types of computer-mediated interactions and collaborations that occur among people who share common (or perhaps uncommon) interests, and the language that they use to express themselves.