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Winter 2018, Dr. John V. Richardson Jr.
Professor
Emeritus of Information Studies, UCLA
Wednesday,
2-3:00 PM in GSE&IS 228
Office Hours: Wednesday, 204 GSE&IS
Bldg.
Course Description:
Google, the world's most popular search engine, indexes more than one billion
websites and nearly as many registered host names and accounts for more than
80% of all US searches (and 98% of all mobile searches) at the rate of one
billion per day--thereby generating many trillions of keywords. Yet, many
searchers don’t know what keywords to use.
Hence, the problem is finding relevant results in this mess. Therefore, this Fiat Lux course (first
offered in Spring 2007 and apparently the first of its kind) explores the
rise of the Internet and the World Wide Web as an important, if not
authoritative, source of information (for facts, geography, news, and
shopping). Describes Google's features, compares and contrasts it with other
WWW resources, and thereby explores evaluative criteria including such issues
as accuracy (and repetition), authority, believability, credibility,
legitimacy, and trust as well as significant social issues such as anonymity,
cultural hegemony, self-identity, personas, self-respect, community building,
copyright and fair use, and privacy rights.
Learning
Objectives:
By
the end of the course, students will have learned when it is appropriate to
use Google and more importantly, when it is not.
Course Outline:
I. Google's History
and Founders' Background (10 January)
II. Google Search (17
January)
III. Google Scholar,
Book Library Project, Catalogs, and Inventorying and Finding Books (24
January)
IV. Google's YouTube,
Images, and Google TV (31 January)
V. Google
Government. Formerly Uncle Sam and Patents (7 February)
VI. Google News (14
February)
VII. Google Earth,
Local, and Maps and Street View (21 February)
VIII. Google's
Product Search for business and finance) (28 February)
IX. Google Trends and
the Future of Google (7 March)
X. So, what is
Google, where have they been, and where’s it going? (14 March)
Recommended, NOT required, Textbooks (see addall.com for best prices)
- Ken Auletta, Googled: The
End of the World as We Know It (New York: Penguin,
2009)--Which Google is it: a search company or an advertising company?
- John Battelle, The Search:
How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed
Our Culture (New York: Portfolio, 2005)--another early
look at Google's innovations
- S. Cleveland and I. Brodsky,
Search & Destroy: Why You Can’t Trust Google Inc. (Saint Louis:
Telescope Books, 2011).
- Greg Conti, Googling
Security: How Much Does Google Know about You? (New York:
Addison-Wesley, 2008)--Must read on privacy related issues
- Jeff Jarvis, What Would
Google Do? (New York, Collins Business, 2009)--A reverse-engineering approach to what other
companies can learn from Google
- Jean-Noël
Jeanneney, Google and
the Myth of Universal Knowledge (Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 2007)--a cross-cultural perspective raising the issue of
cultural hegemony
- Andrew Keen, The Cult of
the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture
(New York: Currency, 2007)—A critique of Google and others providing
equal access.
- Steve Levy, In the Plex:
How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives (New York:
Simon & Schuster, 2011)—“Written with full
cooperation from top management”
- Eli Pariser, The Filter
Bubble: How the New Personalized Web is Changing What We Read and How We
Think (New York: Penguin Books, 2012).
- William
Poundstone, Are You
Smart Enough to Work at Google?
Trick Questions, Zen-like Riddles, Insanely Difficult Puzzles
(New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2012).
- S. Vaidhyanathan, The Googlization of Everything (and Why We
Should Worry (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011).
- David Vise
and Mark
Malseed, The Google
Story (New York: Delacorte Press, 2005)--a classic, if
somewhat dated now
ONE SHORT WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT, ONE GROUP ORAL PRESENTATION, ONE
FINAL EXAM, AND DUE DATES
1) The first written paper must not be longer than two pages,
double-spaced, numbered, stapled, and handed-in. Use Google.com to search a
topic such as your name. Do not discuss what you found rather
explain why you found the ranked order results AND provide at least
five possible factors that influence the ordering; in other words, what is
the likely algorithm which Google uses to create their ranked list of
results? Be sure to provide footnotes/citations to
readings (5% of grade)—Due
at the beginning of the second-class session. 5% of grade
2) Volunteer to prepare and present one topic in class from the
above list (see Roman III through IX). Grading will include content foremost,
but will also include good eye contact, use of gestures, lack of
disfluencies, and use of appropriate technology (e.g., a handout or
PowerPoint)—see presentations
for more specific guidelines. Worth 45% of final grade. I will try to
give you your first or second choice, if at all possible.
3) Write the final essay, about three pages, double-spaced, on
the topic when it is NOT appropriate to use the top-level Google search
engine. Be sure to provide footnotes/citations to
readings--50% of final grade
GRADING CRITERIA
Attendance is expected; you cannot pass this course, having missed
the first two sessions. Otherwise, attendance is not formally counted except
for the class presentation; class contributions are formally graded during
the oral presentations; in borderline cases, however, I will consider overall
attendance and class contributions in determining your final Pass/Fail grade.
As you know, all grades, including the final grade, are subjective--merely
the opinion of the instructor. Papers should cite the textbooks and/or other
sources. When you receive a paper back with a grade, be sure to check
ursa.ucla.edu or My.UCLA.edu to be sure that they match.
Again, grading is necessarily subjective;
if these standards are not clear, please ask for further clarification at any
time.
STUDENT EXPECTATIONS
"Readings," so labeled above, are required;
"additional readings" are optional. Backup your work
regularly. During class, cell phones should be off or on vibrate. As
for late papers: all papers and presentations are due on due date. Unexcused
late papers will be substantially penalized--half letter grade per session.
Suspected research misconduct (including fabrication, falsification, or
plagiarism--such as click, drag, copy, and paste without adequate
attribution) will result in a grade of DR and be reported to the UCLA Dean of
Students; be sure to submit your first paper to TurnItIn.com, if you have any
doubts about plagiarism, before handing it in to me. No extra credit is
given. Incompletes are not awarded in this class; plan accordingly.
Disabled students must present the appropriate form from the Office of
Student Disabilities at the beginning of the quarter, if they wish special
accommodation. You may drop the class up until the last class, according to
the UCLA Registrar.
I reserve the right to change the content of this syllabus for
any reason including the accommodation of field trips and guest speakers.
Revised: 6 March 2018; created: 30 August 2006
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