All lectures, interactive assignments, and exams are online in this course. The course provides unit credit toward graduation on all UC campuses, as well as GE at UCD, UCR, UCSC, and UCSD (for other UC campuses: please petition GE and major/minor credit with your advisor and with uconline@ucop.edu ). To interact with the content, you need to have/create a UC Davis computing account (https://canvas.ucdavis.edu ). For help, contact: ithelp@ucdavis.edu, 530-754-HELP.

 

Course Content

Throughout this course, we explore how digital technologies & societies co-evolve. Digital tech is currently the driving force behind social evolution, and, at the same time, society is socially constructing our digital future. Our generation has the luck to live through –and the responsibility to shape– an era in which mediated information has become the catalyst of human progress. Digital technology is the most powerful and also the most tangible tool we currently have available to shape social change. We will not shy away from asking the big questions that arise from the complex dynamic of artificial intelligence, the downsides of social media, the metaverse, and the blockchain (...dynamics all of us already live in, day by day...).

 

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, you will:

• Interpret personal experiences and global digital trends with formal theoretical frameworks;
• Apply the learned concepts to examples of your own choice, making them meaningful to you;
• Understand strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and imminent threats of the digital age;
• Appreciate the complexities of human development during fast-paced technological change;
• Gain insights into how organizations manage the disruptive social change of digitalization;
• Become a more effective information processor in an information-overloaded world, filling unique gaps in your personal knowledge base.

 

Office Hours and class interaction:

• For content questions: use Piazza (see navigation bar). Sign up and don't miss the ongoing conversation in the class!
  
• For assignment-related questions, please use Piazza. If the problem persists, ask our TAs (see below).
• For personal questions: send me a private message on Piazza or Canvas (see "Inbox" in navigation bar).
• If none of this solves your issue, we can always set up a video-conference.
• I make regular "Announcements" (see navigation bar), incl. video messages. Make sure to enable notifications to get them.

TAs:

Arti Thakur <athakur@ucdavis.edu>

Piyush Kulkarni <pkulkarni@ucdavis.edu>

 

Evaluation

Final grades are based on a 100-point system as follows:

Grade Component	Points	Weight	To obtain your final grade, divide the points you accumulated by 100. Canvas shows you two grades throughout the course. One version allows you to calculate "what-if" scenarios, but can be confusing! Your final grade is % of obtained points divided by 100 points. You might be able to get more than 100%: still, divide by 100 (not whatever % Canvas suggests).
Lecture questions	10	10%
Assignments & labs	30	30%
Midterm Exams	5+20	25%
Final Exam	35	35%
TOTAL	100	100%

 

Interactive Assignment Participation (40 %)

Interactive assignments include

• Reading Questions (multiple choice);
• Online Discussions, sometimes with peer-comments;
• Interactive Video Questions are graded.

Contributions are usually due before 9pm Pacific Time (PST, to adjust time zone see guide here) and the main submission has to be registered before the indicated deadline. Late submissions for any assignment/ lab/ video questions are still welcome until the deadline of the week 9 assignment, but you lose 15 % of the points for each late day for the first three late days, and will MAXIMALLY RECEIVE HALF POINTS (50 % of obtained points) after the third day.  

Interactive assignments include Online Discussion, which invites you to a personal application of a learned concept, and Reading Questions, which guide you through the reading by pointing to some of the important aspects. 

 

AI & integrity

Online AI tools & Academic Integrity. Cheating, plagiarism, and other misconduct are serious violations of your contract as a student. Please make sure you are familiar with them: http://sja.ucdavis.edu/scs.html . Ignorance is not an acceptable excuse.

This being said, I don't prohibit but EXPECT you to use AI, including LLMs (ChatGPT and others) in this class, considering the guidelines provided by the university. If only some of you would use it, it wouldn't be fair, because of the undeniable productivity gains. Some assignments will require their use. Learning to use AI is a new skill and we are all learning together here. Please use Piazza if you have questions. As you use AI, please be aware of the following:

• Minimum effort "prompt engineering", give low quality results. Fine-tune your search.
• Do not trust ANYTHING the AI says. Assume it's wrong. The (marketing term) "copilot" captures its role well: you are still in the driver seat and you are 100% responsible for any errors or omissions you adopt. AI is a wonderful servant, but a horrible master...
• As with any help, you need to acknowledge its use. Please add a paragraph at the end of any assignment in which you use AI explaining its use. I expect that you use it, but hiding it is in violation of academic honesty policies. 

 

Midterm (25 %) and Final Examination (35 %)

Study Orientation: Exams consist of some multiple choice questions, closed books. We start with a little "study equilibration midterm exam" during session 3 (covering sessions 1 and 2), which allows you to get used to the rhythm of this class and to the online testing method. The more heavily weighted midterm exam covers sessions 1 - 4 (inclusive), and the final exam covers sessions 5 - 10. There are three kinds of questions on the exams:  (1) application of learned concepts; (2) how well you paid attention / took notes during lectures; (3) if worked through readings/assignments: Sample Mid-term Exam Questions. Here some recommendations on how to efficiently and effectively study for exams, starting on day 1: Exam study orientation

Exam Format. The only way to take the mid-term and the final is through the online proctoring service. We will walk the talk of "digital technology and social change" and exploring this modern online testing method is an integral learning aspect of it. You can take the exam at a quiet place of your choice. If you have special SDC requirements, the service will give you your assigned extra time. 

Dates for exams: During the exam, you need to be alone, in a private room, and cannot leave the room. 

Study equilibration midterm exam (5% of final grade: session 1 & 2): Online, any time during Jan 29 - 31. 

Midterm exam (20% of final grade: session 1 - 4): Online, any time during Feb 6 - 8.

Final exam (35% of final grade: session 5 - 10): Online, any time during Mar 15 - 20.

1. To be sure to find a slot that fits your schedule, you need to schedule well in advance!
2. If you (re)schedule an appointment within 24h of the exam time, you have to pay a $5 fee to Examity.

Proctored exams (online exam): The only way to take the exams is through the online proctoring service Examity. We will walk the talk of computer-mediated interaction. You can take the exam in any quiet place of your choice. Please take the time to prepare for the setup! Examity Proctoring is available during the determined period and is free for you. You will need to have a high-speed internet connection, a webcam (internal or external), a Windows or Apple Operating System, and a government-issued photo ID. To sign up for it, see About Examity Proctoring . Nothing is allowed on your table, and your room will be checked. Everything will be recorded and (if necessary) passed on to Judicial Affairs for evaluation.  If you have special SDC requirements, please make sure I get your letter through SDC, so I can let Examity know, or submit requests to cmntesting@ucdavis.edu . If you need a computer and/or a private room, please coordinate with https://testingcenter.ucdavis.edu/  

Academic Integrity. Any kind of cheating, plagiarism, and other misconduct are serious violations of your contract as a student and will automatically result in a failed class. Additionally, the case will be referred to Student Judicial Affairs. Please make sure you are familiar with them: http://sja.ucdavis.edu/scs.html . Ignorance is not an acceptable excuse.

 

FAQs (important: please read!)

1. I have so many questions about studying at UC Davis. Where can I start? Answer: Feel free to start here.
2. Will the test cover mostly class material or reading material? Answer: Tests draw from both sources of information. Some questions will be based on both lectures and reading material.
3. What is the difference between the Study Equilibration Midterm Exam and the regular midterm Answer: The "midterm" is two-fold, with a small "equlibration" exam (worth 5 points = 5% of your final letter grade), covering Sessions 1 & 2, and a larger exam covering Sessions 1 - 4, worth 20 points (two entire letter grades). I do this so you can check if you're on track and, if necessary, can "equilibrate" your studying strategy before taking an exam that's worth two letter grades. Please take both seriously, as they are both worth real points.
4. If I just read the material, participate in the online forums, and do the assignments, do I need to watch the lectures? Answer: We do not have a textbook for this class. This is simply because I don't know of any adequate textbook out there and I haven't written one myself because the content is changing quickly, so I rather record what I understand so far and tell it to you directly. Therefore, the content of the video lectures is the core of this class. Exams will include “video attendance questions” which ask for specific content from video lectures. These are questions that you would be unlikely to answer correctly if you haven't watched the video lectures, but often easy points if you did.
5. Are the intermittent questions in the video lectures graded? Answer: Most of them are graded. You can find out which one in the Assignment tab. In any case, the questions are mainly for you. To check your understanding and hold you accountable in terms of attention. Some might reappear in the exams, but probably not in a literal sense! If you were not able to answer a video question, please go back and re-watch that segment. The points in the exam will be more valuable than the intermittent video questions, so if you get some wrong, please don't worry about it: just re-watch that segment!
6. The PlayPosit interface shows that I got points on the questions, but it doesn't show up in Canvas?  Answer: Something went wrong with the sync process (maybe an internet connection problem...). The player always tries to sync grades AFTER reaching the end of the video. If that effort fails, then the Sync Grades button should show up. You can refresh the page and open up the Review tab again to click on the newly re-enabled Sync Grades button. Please ALWAYS CHECK at the end of your Session if all grades got synced. It is always your responsibility (here and elsewhere) to check if the tech you are using also worked.
7. How should I prepare for the examination? Answer: The best way is to watch lectures when they are assigned, and do all readings and assignments when they are assigned. Do not procrastinate! ...past experience has shown that students who "binge-watch" lectures before exams get utterly confused and do not do well (the exams test for a deeper understanding, not for memorization). For more, check out this video here: "Study orientation, learning recommendations, and course philosophy". Also, check out the Exam Study Orientation
8. Will there be questions that require any extra skills like a math background or statistics? Answer: No, no prerequisites are required. If you pay attention and do the readings, there is absolutely no reason why not to achieve an A+. This class does not test “how smart you are” (we take your smartness for granted), but if you spent time thinking about and dealing with the issues we discuss.
9. Are we required to watch lectures through the PlayPosit interface or can we simply watch them directly from YouTube instead? Only PlayPosit provides you with all content. Technically, I use PlayPosit as an editing tool and pull content from my lectures (which I had previously uploaded on YouTube), but also from other online sources. I do this so you get exposed directly to the source of some of these insights. Also, only in Playposit do you get the intermittent questions. Both external videos and intermittent questions will help you prepare for the exams. So stick to PlayPosit!
10. I have anxiety during exams, especially during multiple-choice tests. What can I do? This is a serious disadvantage, but one you have to learn to confront. I encourage you to visit the Student Academic Success Center or the equivalent at other UC campuses.  They offer workshops and individual training on taking exams.  Additionally, they can provide instruction on note-taking in video lecture classes.  You can find out more about their services on their website: http://success.ucdavis.edu/ .
11. Will the final exam be accumulative (cover material from the first part of the course)? Answer: The final exam will only treat concepts and issues that came up during the second part of the course (weeks 5-10). Some concepts will follow us around during the entire course, in the first part (sessions 1-4) and the second part (sessions 5-10). Naturally, the final exam will cover those. But the final exam will not ask about issues that did not come up (again) after the mid-term. Note that the midterm exam after session 4 covers sessions 1-4.
12. Can we collaborate with others in homework reading quizzes? Do you support Google docs and online helps like crowd-sourced study guides? Answer: I'm a big fan of Study Groups! Our common enemy is the lack of understanding of the content, and misunderstandings of it: so get together, and fight it together! There are several students from other campuses, so meet where ever it is convenient for you and feel free to coordinate here: Study Groups Coordination .
    Being a scholar of digital communication, I'm of course also aware that there is a myriad of forms to collaborate online in real-time... Therefore, I designed the grade distribution in a way that students who rely too much on the work of others in these "collaborations" will receive a double penalty during the exams due to a lack of understanding of context. In other words: you won't be successful in your overall grade when relying on the work of others. The reading questions guide you through and point you to some of the important aspects of the readings. They show you what to pay attention to. The reading questions on the exams won't repeat them literally, but will test if you read and if you understood these aspects. As for third party study guides, experience shows that you will not be successful when you work on the basis of third party notes, compared to making your own notes. This is because what matters in this course is not the memorization of notes, but the understanding of concepts. It is not "about the notes" but about the "making of notes" and the "reviewing of YOUR notes" that allow you to engage with the content to a level that allows you to understand it. Experience shows that students who "study" (= memorize) the notes of others will fail in the exams. If you never engage with the content yourself, you will have difficulties flexibly applying it to new settings on the fly during the exams. All of this being said, I think it is a great idea to join forces (in personal meetings or through online collaboration) to identify gaps in your understanding. At the end, your enemy is the lack of understanding, not your peer student. So join forces, please! However, if you rely too much on your colleague, and let them do the active work, while you gamble on flying through by passively consuming what they elaborate, you will pay the consequences. In this sense, collaboration is always good to check your understanding and to clarify doubts. However, they are counterproductive when abused.
13. What is "Piazza" and why do I need it? Answer: Our ongoing class discussions happen in Piazza (see sidebar). Just like it sometimes useful for you to listen in when others ask questions in class (and sometimes not), most students find it useful to follow along in these discussions. But just like with most apps, you can regulate the frequency these notifications get send to your email inbox. You have to sign up for Piazza: it is an add-on app to our main platform Canvas. Be aware that "if you choose to opt-in to Piazza Careers (a separate service they offer), you consent to the release of information included in your user profile, which may include education records, to companies that participate in Piazza Careers and to other users who have opted into Piazza Careers". We will NOT use and NOT need Piazza Careers and I do not promote it.
14. What communications/messages should I get in order to be on top of what's going on? Answer: Through Canvas (our main platform) you will get one Welcome email from the instructor per Session and sometimes general feedback for assignments from TAs. These are IMPORTANT! Make sure you have your Canvas notifications settings TURNED ON!

 

About the instructor:

Prof. Hilbert chairs the campus-wide emphasis on Computational Social Sciences at UC Davis, where he studies the implications of digitalization in complex social systems. He holds doctorates in Economic and Social Sciences (2006), and in Communication (2012). His work is recognized in academia for the first study that assessed how much information there is in the world; in public policy for having designed the first digital action plan of Latin America and the Caribbean at the United Nations; and in the popular media for having alerted about the intervention of Cambridge Analytica a year before the scandal broke. Before he joined academia he served as Economic Affairs Officer of the United Nations Secretariat for 15 years, where he created the Information Society Program for Latin America and the Caribbean ( www.CEPAL.org/SocInfo). Prof. Hilbert provided technical assistance in the field of digital development to more than 20 countries and dozens of publicly traded companies as digital strategist. Policymakers from the highest political levels have officially recognized the impact of his projects in public declarations. In combination with this practical experience, he has written five books about digital development and has published in recognized academic journals, such as Science, Psychological Bulletin, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, and World Development, and regularly appears in popular magazines, including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Economist, NPR, BBC, Die Welt, among others. International perspectives are no mere theoretical perspective to Prof. Hilbert, as he speaks five languages and has traveled to over 70 countries. More: www.martinhilbert.net & https://www.youtube.com/@Prof.MartinHilbert