University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
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Advising Track: Social Informatics

Social informatics provides students with an understanding of the social contexts of information technology creation and use, as well as the effects of IT on society. The classes in this track help prepare students to use information technologies in both work and leisure contexts. This track is particularly useful for students who have a good grounding in the more technical aspects of information technologies and want to increase their ability to understanding the applications and implications of these technologies. By understanding the social influences on and social consequences of information and communications technoloiges, like tablets, PDAs, and cell phones, students will be prepared for careers that emphasize technology design and management.

Within the broad area of social informatics, students may specialize in a particular area. Several examples are provided below.

GSD 403 · An Introduction to Top Down Video Game Design

Students will apply theoretical concepts taught during lectures to a semester-long video game design project of their choosing., which will involve the design and creation of a multi-player, 3D video game using an existing platform/framework/engine.

INFO 326 · New media, culture, & society

Digital media is an immensely pervasive and powerful form of communication that despite its rapid growth has yet to reach most of the world’s population.

  • This lecture-based survey course for undergraduates traces
  • the history and formation of personal computing and the Internet,
  • the development of virtual communities and virtual worlds,
  • evolving forms of digital representation and communication, igital visual cultures,
  • features of new media industries, and
  • the rise of participatory media.