COMM11112 - The Internet Never Lies?: Social Media and Society

General Information

Unit Synopsis

Claims of misinformation and fake news frequently dominate media headlines- so how do we critically consume information in our current world? How can we produce information that is accurate and evidence-based? In this unit, you will build your media literacy skills to become a critical consumer and creator of information. You will reflect on how technology influences personal and professional information creation and consumption. You will learn how information is created, distorted, and shared in online environments and then interpret texts for information which could be misleading. By engaging with a range of contemporary topics you will build the skills you'll need to manage information on behalf of organisations. Finally, you will cumulate your learning by creating a media product suitable for disseminating accurate information in online media environments.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Class Timetable View Unit Timetable
Residential School No Residential School

Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2024

Term 2 - 2024 Profile
Online
Rockhampton
Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Online
Rockhampton

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Reflective Practice Assignment 15%
2. Written Assessment 40%
3. Portfolio 45%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 17.39% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Verbal Student feedback
Feedback
Students noted that while interactive learning elements are engaging, it can be challenging to find where materials are located for revision purposes.
Recommendation
Create a downloadable Unit Navigation guide which provides students with guidance about where to access particular topics and learning materials.
Action Taken
A downloadable unit navigation guide was created to give students guidance about where to access particular topics and learning materials.
Source: Verbal Student feedback
Feedback
Students noted they would find a glossary of unit key terms valuable.
Recommendation
Create a unit glossary which outlines key terms, with assistance from previous students who have kindly provided their own personal glossaries.
Action Taken
A unit glossary was created. The unit glossary includes material contributed from previous students and outlines key terms in the unit.
Source: Student Unit Evaluations T2 2022
Feedback
Students felt comfortable and supported to engage in contemporary debates about unit learning materials.
Recommendation
Continue developing a learning community which encourages respectful and robust debates.
Action Taken
The unit continues to offer a learning community which offers space for respectful and robust debates.
Source: Teaching Staff Evaluation
Feedback
Templates which assist students to structure written assessments appear very useful
Recommendation
Provide templates for all assessment items in the unit.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student Satisfaction Survey
Feedback
The structure of Zoom classes, which review learning content, was helpful for students
Recommendation
Continue to run Zoom classes which include a balance of content delivery and opportunities for student interaction and engagement.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Teaching Staff Evaluation
Feedback
Unit content needs to have clearer relevance for students not planning careers in the communication and media industry
Recommendation
Expand content to better express the value of public relations skills outside the communication and media discipline.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Reflect on how technology can influence personal information consumption
  2. Analyse information from the perspective of a content consumer, moderator and producer
  3. Use media literacy and critical thinking skills to assess how information can be created, shared and distorted
  4. Interpret texts for information which could misinform or mislead
  5. Create a media product which promotes accurate information dissemination in online environments.

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Reflective Practice Assignment •
2 - Written Assessment • •
3 - Portfolio • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Communication • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • •
4 - Information Literacy •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • •
8 - Ethical practice • • • •
9 - Social Innovation • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 - Reflective Practice Assignment • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • • • • • •
3 - Portfolio • • • • • • •