Unit Outline

How do emerging technologies and communication practices integrate into society? This unit invites you to consider the speculative environment for emerging and new media. We consider how new media technologies and their uses encounter legal and ethical issues, and the social implications of these technologies. What does the future hold for our dominant media industries, and what do we carry forward with us, and what is left behind?

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

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


1	Discriminate between emergent media and legacy media technologies
2	Critique how media designs are communicated, and how emerging media are negotiated into the present
3	Contextualise and theorise the political, ethical and economic implications of these technologies in local, national and trans-national communities and networks
4	Speculate on possible cultural scenarios, both positive and negative, created by emergent media technologies and their integration into society

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	25 credit points in intermediate level units in Media and Communication

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Media failure case study	See the MyLO site for the due date	20 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 2:	Speculative design project	See the MyLO site for the due date	40 %	LO2
Assessment Task 3:	Future Knowledges and Platforms Project	See the MyLO site for the due date	40 %	LO1, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Media failure case study

Task Description:

Choosing a ‘failed’ media object, platform or practice, chart media discourses around the failure of your chosen case study. Why was it deemed a failure? What components did not resonate with audiences? Using this information, explore potential parallels between your case study and contemporary media. Can you identify any patterns with broader media design and use? What does your case study tell us about the difference between design and use? How was your case study promoted, and what does it tell us about how the future of media was understood at the time?

You will present your case study as a written piece, with associated referenced images or other supporting material.

Task Length:

1000 words

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identify a relevant case study and articulate the connections or disconnections between that case study and contemporary media design and use	LO2
2	Analyse the historical context of the case study, and demonstrate through contrast and comparison the way that media futures were encapsulated in the case study’s design and promotion.	LO1
3	Clearly present your argument using documentation and correct referencing	LO2

Assessment Task 2: Speculative design project

Task Description:

Speculative design asks us to consider ‘what if?’ In this assessment, you will design a media platform, object or practice that you think responds to current and/or future challenges facing the media industry. Your design will be shared in class with your peers, with documentation submitted following class, allowing you to adapt your design based on feedback from your peers, particularly in relation to potential unintended consequences. When designing your project, you should consider the following questions:
- What challenge does your project rise to respond to?
- How do the components of what you’ve designed show the relationship between your research and what you have produced?
- Are there unintended uses of your project? How might the design adjust to limit those, or will you embrace them?
- How do you imagine this design being rolled out?

Task Length:

5-minute presentation and 800-word submission or equivalent

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Synthesise research into contemporary and speculative media futures into a media practice, object or platform	LO2
2	Contextualise your speculative project into documented discourses, debates and arguments about the possibilities for media.	LO2
3	Respond to peer feedback that demonstrates how your design might be encountered by others, and demonstrate reflection and adaptation where relevant.	LO2

Assessment Task 3: Future Knowledges and Platforms Project

Task Description:

This unit concludes with a Future Knowledges and Platforms symposium, in which you will present to the conference your provocation and analysis of the future of media. In the final module of the unit, you will work with a group on responding to one of these thematic areas based on knowledge and how we share it:
- First Nations knowledges and media
- Artificial Intelligence and automation
- Platform politics and censorship
- Media ownership and control
- Entertainment in a time of crisis
- Co-design with community
Your group will develop, with guidance, a 5-minute video essay that shares a summary of research into this area, provocations for the future, and speculation on how current media players and stakeholders may adapt or change to meet these opportunities and challenges. This will be presented to the symposium, and then opened up for discussion with the group, which will be led by the presenting group

Task Length:

20-minute presentation including 5-minute video essay

Due Date:

See the MyLO site for the due date

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Execute a thematic analysis of media industries, practices and audiences	LO1
2	Develop research and group work into a guided discussion with your peers, demonstrating understanding of broader industrial and social contexts	LO3
3	Adapt video essay techniques for a symposium audience, and demonstrate consideration of a broader audience and legacy	LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.