Joanne Steinhardt

How is the change from an economy of goods to an information economy manifest?
What do “post-industrial” and “information age” mean and why do we care? What do
you imagine information systems for the home do? How soon will they be common
reality? And how will they change our lives? How will new technologies be marketed?
How much will they cost? How will these new technologies work? Do they utilize
existing technologies? How do mergers and data monopolies affect the answers to
these questions? How do these issues affect your career choice? Is the basic nature of
“learning” changing? What, if any, is the role of government in bringing about these
transitions? Do these changes threaten basic values and constitutional rights? Where
do you fit into this discourse? This course provides knowledge about and insight into
these and other questions surrounding the telecommunications revolution. In order to
achieve this goal we will approach telecommunications from five siloed perspectives:
(1) technology (2) business, marketing, or economic (3) as a social (4) political, and
(5) legal. We begin with six weeks of foundation material. Think of this information as
the working tools you will need for the next part of the course. The foundation material
includes history, facts about the structure of our telecommunications environment,
past and present, and some ideas about where society may be headed. We will
accomplish this with concise seminar and debate driven by readings. During the second
part of the semester the class will separate into five groups based on the categories.
This is the experimental learning component of the course. As you concentrate your
energies in different areas, we will all benefit from the information and interpretation
you bring to class. This section includes project creation as well as guests and cross
group critique. The course culminates in a presentation of the group project at least
half of which should be new data or information area and the other part an
interpretation of that data.
The Students will:
Learners will participate in active discussion, partake in readings and streaming
presentation independently, participate in group collaborative work all in order to
experience product development with the freedom of a singular perspective. The
desired outcome is a better understanding of the historical arc of telecommunications
as well as how each individual learner fits into current discourse. Readings include but
are not limited to historical documents, legislation, agency formation, case law, theory,
and philosophy.