CourseMaterialsProject/InformationTechnology Spring2024

SUNY Poly Spring 2024 Students

Introducing the Co-Instructors: Steve Schneider and ChatGPT

This course represents an exploration into co-teaching with ChatGPT, focusing on a semester-long collaborative effort. The text and materials presented here are products of this collaboration. This endeavor seeks to understand the dynamics and practicalities of integrating AI, specifically ChatGPT, into the teaching process. It's part of a broader initiative to experience and evaluate AI's role in educational settings over an extended period. Link to project to come. Full links to chatGPT archive will be available. This document is largely generated in the conversation, "Co-Teaching with ChatGPT". This is a link to the chat as of 10 Jan 2024:

https://chat.openai.com/share/702eb875-9bde-452f-9e7f-b0c08ffc4aaf

https://web.archive.org/web/20240110165838/https://chat.openai.com/share/702eb875-9bde-452f-9e7f-b0c08ffc4aaf

Course Overview

IDT 507: Information Technology, part of SUNY Polytechnic's MS in Information Design and Technology program, offers a comprehensive exploration of the history of information technology. This graduate course, engaging with James Gleick's "The Information," guides students through eight key eras of information evolution, from Orality to Artificial Intelligence. The program, emphasizing interdisciplinary examination and new media within contemporary culture and communication, aligns with the course's focus on the transformative impact of information technologies across different societal aspects. Students are encouraged to engage actively with ChatGPT, facilitating discussions and creating diverse outputs like essays and digital art, reflecting the program's commitment to hands-on, practical learning. This approach empowers students to develop unique research areas, resonating with the program's aim to examine the relationship between diverse types of information and their communicative technologies. This course not only delves into the historical significance of information technology but also emphasizes its contemporary relevance and potential social impact.

Course Goals

Understanding the Reciprocal Relationship Between Social/Cultural Factors and Information Technology

• Imparting a deep understanding of how social and cultural factors influence, and are influenced by, the evolution of information technology from orality through artificial intelligence.

Application of Theoretical Frameworks - Social Practice Theory and Affordance Theory

• Analyzing and explaining the relationships between social practices and information technology using these two specific theoretical frameworks.

Encouraging the Active and Applied Use of Artificial Intelligence

• Aiming to engage students in actively using and applying AI technologies, specifically in understanding their significance in the continuum of communication and information technologies.

Learning Outcomes

Critical Analysis of Information Technology Evolution

Students will be able to critically analyze and compare different eras of information technology from orality through artificial intelligence, identifying key technological advancements and their societal impacts.

Application of Theoretical Frameworks

Students will demonstrate the ability to apply Social Practice Theory and Affordance Theory in analyzing the relationship between social practices and information technology across various historical periods.

Collaborative Knowledge Creation with AI

Students will effectively utilize ChatGPT as a research and discussion tool to create diverse outputs (such as essays, presentations, and digital artifacts) that reflect on the historical and contemporary aspects of information technology.

Reflective Practice and Critical Thinking

Students will exhibit reflective thinking and critical evaluation of the role and impact of AI in the historical and modern contexts of information technology.

Learning Objectives with Conditions

Era-Specific Analysis

• Objective: Identify and articulate the key features and impacts of at different eras of information technology development.
• Condition: Utilizing resources such as course readings, lectures, and interactive discussions with ChatGPT.
• Criteria: Successful articulation through essays, presentations, or digital artifacts demonstrating understanding and critical analysis.

Theoretical Application

• Objective: Apply Social Practice Theory and Affordance Theory to a selected era or technological development.
• Condition: Drawing on theoretical frameworks discussed in course materials and supplemented by engagement with ChatGPT for deeper insights.
• Criteria: Evident understanding and application of theories in a comparative analysis or project, showcasing clear correlation with the chosen era or development.

AI Collaboration

• Objective: Engage with ChatGPT to explore, analyze, and create outputs related to course content.
• Condition: Utilizing guided prompts and exploration themes provided in the course, along with independent queries and research with ChatGPT.
• Criteria: Submission of documented, meaningful interactions with ChatGPT, along with a relevant and coherent project that aligns with course themes.

Critical Reflection

• Objective: Reflect on the learning process and the insights gained about the interplay between technology and society.
• Condition: Through the creation of a reflective journal or portfolio, incorporating course experiences, ChatGPT dialogues, and personal insights.
• Criteria: Depth of reflection, critical analysis, and synthesis of course themes and personal learning demonstrated in the journal or portfolio.