As this class focuses on “Social Production,” I want to engage you in the process: including class focus and readings.

I propose that our typical class will consist of a lecture that focuses on the week’s subject matter, followed by discussion. Many classes will include expert guest speakers with whom we will engage in a two-way conversation from the outset about our projects. Some of these guest speakers may even serve as "clients" as we seek to produce stories.

No matter what we choose, this will be a collaborative environment. This means:
- Everyone is expected to participate in class discussions.
- There'll be some group work, but I'm flexible on whether you work with others or alone.

Every day brings more news on the evolution of digital media and social production. Please try and bring at least one item to class for discussion during our “Breaking News” portion of class.

Near the end of each class, you’ll be required to write a “one-minute paper.” This will constitute one line summarizing or questioning what we have covered over our evening together. You have until 10 a.m. the day following class to e-mail this to me.

Each one of you is required to start and maintain a Twitter account (
http://twitter.com, it's free). Follow me (http://twitter.com/hrhmedia).

This will give us a new way to communicate, as well as an opportunity to further test the viability of social networking.

We will use the hashtag #mcdm581 for all class-related tweets. We'll monitor the stream throughout the class.

And I’m rolling out the prototype Media Space collaborative platform in this course. More on that soon.