Overview
Welcome to Communication Studies 421: Being Online, a three-credit senior-level course that focuses on an inquiry into the psychological experience of being online. After an overview of Internet history and use, the course considers how the self is experienced online, how Internet use affects children, parents, and the elderly, as well as our relationships with others. Then two of the major psychological experiences of being online are taken up: video game play and social media use. These topics are followed by a discussion of the problems associated with Internet use and an exploration of some therapeutic and health solutions. The final unit considers the future of life online by examining how the experience of being on the Internet has implications for individual consciousness, as well as various applied and practical considerations for the future of the Internet. The course relies on recent research to explore issues and concerns about this relatively new medium of technology.
Outline
CMNS 421 is divided into nine units:
- Unit 1: Internet Overview—Implications for “Being Online”
- Unit 2: The Self Online—From Avatars to Selfies
- Unit 3: Developmental Perspectives—Children, Parents, and the Elderly
- Unit 4: Relationships Online—From Friends to Lovers
- Unit 5: Video Game Play—Empowerment or Violence?
- Unit 6: Social Media—Community or Narcissism?
- Unit 7: Deviance and Pathology—From Addiction to Bullying
- Unit 8: Therapy and Health—Psychotherapy, Rehabilitation, and Self-Diagnosis
- Unit 9: Theoretical and Future Speculations
Evaluation
To receive credit for CMNS 421, you must complete all of the assignments, achieve a minimum mark of 50 percent for the final examination, and obtain a course composite grade of at least D (50 percent).
| Activity | Weight |
| Assignment 1: Units 1 & 2 Discussion Question | 10% |
| Assignment 2: Units 3 & 4 Discussion Question | 10% |
| Assignment 3: Social Media or Video Game Activity Report | 20% |
| Assignment 4: Units 7 & 8 Discussion Question | 10% |
| Assignment 5: Essay | 20% |
| Final Examination | 30% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University鈥檚 online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Gackenbach, J. I., & Bown, J. (Eds.). (2017). Boundaries of self and reality online: Implications of digitally constructed realities. Elsevier/Academic Press.
Other Materials
All other materials, including a Course Information, Study Guide, and additional readings are available online through the course site.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive credit for the CMNS 421 challenge registration, you must achieve a grade of at least D (50 percent) on the examination and on the take-home questions.
| Activity | Weight |
| Take-Home Questions | 63% |
| Exam | 37% |
| Total | 100% |
Challenge for credit course registration form