KMDI - Knowledge Media Design Institute

Knowledge media are building blocks of a knowledge society


Course Offerings for the 2008/2009 Academic Year

Current KMD courses are listed below. Information is being continuously updated. The descriptions here represent individual offerings, or "editions," of the standard KMD courses. For general descriptions of the standard KMD course roster see Descriptions. For past courses, course syllabi and websites, see Past.

Find out how to enroll [Enrolling] *NEW*
See: KMD-affiliate courses
See: U of T qualitative and quantitative research methods courses

Current Course Offering: 2008/2009

The following is a tentative schedule.

KMD1001H S
Knowledge Media Design: Fundamental Concepts
Mark Chignell
Spring term, Jan-April. Wednesdays 5-8 pm *NEW*
Room BA 7231 Bahen Centre
Syllabus [to be added]

Knowledge media are systems incorporating computer and communications technology that enhance human thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, and learning. Examples include the Web, email, instant messaging, blogging systems, knowledge management systems, digital libraries, collaborative virtual environments, video conferencing environments, and webcasting systems. This course reviews the emerging field of knowledge media design, and the use of digital media for communication, collaboration, and learning. The course includes topics in human-centred design; knowledge media technologies; social implications of knowledge media; examples and applications of knowledge media; and the future of knowledge media, and is organized via themes of design, media, and knowledge.

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KMD1002H S
Knowledge Media Design: Contexts and Practices
[TBD]
Spring term, Jan-April.

This course complements the survey begun in KMD1001F by considering the multiple contexts in which KMD is situated – personal, organisational, institutional community, etc. The goal is to explore how, and in what ways, the design and use of both media and media technologies are informed by a KMD perspective grounded in a philosophy of human-centredness and methodologies of participation. This focus calls for reflexive inquiry into the practice of KMD itself – first on the concepts of collaboration and interdisciplinarity that inform it; second, on the multiple modes of inquiry and the diversity of methods that characterise it; and third, on what constitutes a defensible knowledge claim in this area.

Throughout the course, students will reflect critically on their use of knowledge media and knowledge media technologies.

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KMD2001H F / FIS 2169H F *NEW*
Human-centred Design
Andrew Clement
Fall term, Sept-Dec. Tuesdays 1-4 pm
Room BA 7231 Bahen Centre
Syllabus [to be added]

An approach to design grounded in understanding the real-world practices of users and communities. The course draws most heavily from the 'participatory design' school, in which the prospective users play a vital collaborative role throughout all stages of the development process. Students work in teams with a 'real' user group developing a prototype knowledge media application.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with both theoretical foundations and practical experience in developing information systems that are driven by the needs and active participation of users. It will prepare students for collaborating with users in a variety of settings to develop their own systems. In contrast to conventional rationalistic approaches to information systems development, in this course information systems will be regarded as fundamentally social processes that can be supported by information technologies. It views systems design as an on-going, multi-faceted process involving the balancing of conflicting social and technical opportunities and constraints requiring experience within the actual use context.

The main focus will be upon the development of relatively small scale information systems and knowledge media applications with relatively well-defined and accessible user communities using networked personal computers and popular software packages. This is currently the scene of rapid growth, largely without the benefit of appropriately user-oriented development techniques.

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KMD2002H F
Technologies for Knowledge Media
Not offered in 2008-2009 *NEW*

Our goal in this course is to gain experience in designing knowledge media, with a focus on case studies in communication, collaboration, and information access. The focus will be on requirements analysis, prototyping, and evaluation. We will interpret “technologies” broadly in this course to include methods as well as tools.

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KMD2003H F
Knowledge Media & Learning
Jim Slotta
Fall term, Sept-Dec. Thursdays 5-8 pm
Room BA 7231 Bahen Centre
Course URL

In this course, we will think deeply about learning and instruction in the classroom, on the playground, in the museum, online, or anywhere else that learning may happen. We will start with the research on cognition and instruction. What is known about how people learn? Why should we even think that technology should expedite learning? If we do believe it, then what are the guiding principles of technology-enhanced curriculum?

We will also think deeply about classrooms - both K-12 and higher education. What should be happening in the culture of today's classrooms, and how can technology make an impact? What should the role of the teacher be, in the ideal world? How can we develop "smart" educational content that helps teachers with assessment and helps scaffold students in otherwise challenging pedagogical structures?

We also need to discuss different methods for evaluating technology-enhanced material, and how research can help us develop purposeful and meaningful learning material. What are the different research methods used in education, and in which contexts are they most effectively employed?

In addition to class discussions and readings, there will be a design component of the course where students work in groups to develop a theoretically grounded lesson, using technology-enhanced media. And finally, there is a wiki element, where we gradually construct a living and working document that we can use within the course.

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KMD2004H F
Knowledge Media, Culture & Society
[TBD]
Spring term, Jan-April.

The development and widespread implementation of new technologies is frequently disruptive and controversial, at least in their early days.  This is especially so for the most prominent information and communications technologies and related knowledge media, as they inevitably interact with established power relations and communication patterns.

This course examines contemporary controversial technologies in context. Explicitly resisting the conventional but overly simplistic notion of ‘social impacts of technology’, it treats technological development as a complex socio-technical phenomenon with multiple stakeholders vying with each other to shape trajectories of development and to define ‘success’ and ‘failure’.

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See general course descriptions [Descriptions]

See recent editions of these courses [Past]  

Find out about course policies [Policy & Procedure]

Find out how to enroll [Enrolling]

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