Unit 08

Unit 8: Assignment #1 (due before 11:59 pm Central on MON MAR 11):

1. First, prepare for Unit 8: Assignment #4.
   1. Read Huitt’s (2011) definition of motivation and his classification of seven sources of motivation.
   2. Read the instructions for the Internet Motivation Diary and decide on a time to record your Internet Motivation Diary.
   3. You will not submit your Internet Motivation Diary until Unit 8: Assignment #4, but you should become familiar with the requirements of the diary now so that you can choose when you want to record your diary.
2. Next, begin Unit 8: Assignment #1, the topic of which is students’ motivation for using and professors’ motivation for banning laptops (and Internet access) in lecture classrooms.
3. Read these two brief article excerpts, which document the existence of student disruptions in lecture classrooms prior to the popularity of the Internet.
   1. one page from De Lucia and Iasenza’s (1995) article, “Student Disruption, Disrespect, and Disorder in Class: A Seminar for Faculty”
   2. one page from Carbone’s (1999) article, “Students Behaving Badly in Large Classes”
4. Read these two brief article excerpts, which document the existence of student boredom in lecture classrooms prior to the popularity of the Internet.
   1. one page from Fisher’s (1987) article, “Boredom: Construct, Causes, and Consequences”
   2. abstract of Aldridge and DeLucia’s (1989) article, “Boredom: The Academic Plague of First Year Students”
5. Read the results of Mottett et al.’s (2004) study, which might explain the motivation of some professors who don’t ban laptops but who stipulate that students who choose to use laptops sit away from the professor’s view.
6. Lastly, read the entirety of this review paper (by Gernsbacher & Pomerantz, no date), which summarizes the results of nearly 100 studies. [NOTE: This is a password-protected file. The password is the same one you have used for previous password-protected files in this course.]
   1. After reading the review paper, make sure you understand
      • all three figures in the paper;
      • students’ motivations to use laptops and to not sit in a far away or separate location of the classroom; and
      • how taking attentional breaks (on the Internet) might actually improve, rather than degrade, attention (a topic we’ll return to in the next Unit).
7. Go to the Unit 8: Assignment #1 and #3 Discussion Board and make a new post, of at least 200 words, in which you discuss, based upon (and referring to) all the articles you were required to read, the following:
   1. First, the history of student disruption in lecture classrooms (according to De Lucia and Iasenza’s, 1995, article and Carbone’s, 1999, article).
   2. Second, the history of student boredom in lecture classrooms (according to Fisher’s, 1987, article and Aldridge and DeLucia’s, 1989, abstract).
   3. Third, students’ motivations for using laptops for note-taking (according to the Gernsbacher & Pomerantz, no date, review article).
   4. Fourth, students’ motivations for going off task with their laptops (according to the Gernsbacher & Pomerantz, no date, review article).
   5. Fifth, students’ motivations for not wanting to sit in a faraway or separate location (according to the Gernsbacher & Pomerantz, no date, review article).
   6. Sixth, professors’ motivations for not wanting to see students with their heads in their laptops or amusing themselves with YouTube or TikTok (according to Mottet et al.’s, 2004, study).
   7. Then, propose a creative solution that satisfies ALL of these competing motivations.

Unit 8: Assignment #2 (due before 11:59 pm Central on TUE MAR 12):

1. To learn some of the possible motivations underlying one of our favorite Internet-based past-times:
   1. Watch Buzzfeed’s (2014) tongue-in-cheek (meaning “humorous”) video, “What It’s Like To Bingewatch a Show.”
   2. Watch Professor Gernsbacher’s lecture video “Why Do We Binge-Watch?” (a captioned version is here; a transcript is available here).
2. Go to the Unit 8: Assignment #2 Discussion Board and make a new post, of at least 200 words, in which you do the following:
   1. Discuss one of the 12 motivations for binge-watching that Professor Gernsbacher presented in her video.
   2. You must discuss a motivation that no one else in your section has yet discussed.
      • If you’re absolutely sure that other students have already selected each and every one of the 12 motivations that Professor Gernsbacher presented in her lecture, then you may select a motivation that one — but only one — other student in your section has already selected.
      • However, if other students have not already selected each and every one of the 12 motivations that Professor Gernsbacher presented in her lecture, then you must select a motivation that no other student has already selected.
   3. Reflect on whether the motivation you selected has ever motivated you (or someone you know) to binge-watch.

Unit 8: Assignment #3 (due before 11:59 pm Central on WED MAR 13):

1. Read all the posts written by all the other members of your Section (not your Chat Group, but your Section in the Unit 8: Assignment #1 and #3 Discussion Board.
2. Review from the Course Syllabus the “Best Way to Respond to Another Student’s Discussion Board Post” (p. 6). Remember that your responses should always include at least two of the four recommended components.
3. Then, write TWO response posts:
   1. one response post should be to a student whose solution (to the conflicting motivations about laptops in lecture classrooms) was most similar to yours;
   2. one response post should be to a student whose solution (to the conflicting motivations about laptops in lecture classrooms) was least similar to yours; and
   3. each of your two response posts should be at least 200 words.
   4. If two other students in your Section have not yet posted to the Unit 8: Assignment #1 Discussion Board, you will need to wait until they do OR until the due date for Unit 8: Assignment #1 has passed (you will not be held responsible for responding to two other students in your Section if the Unit 8: Assignment #1 due date has passed, and two other students in your Section have not yet posted on the Unit 8: Assignment #1 Discussion Board).

Unit 8: Assignment #4 (due before 11:59 pm Central on FRI MAR 15):

1. Record and complete your Internet Motivation Diary.
2. Save your Internet Motivation Diary as a PDF named YourLastname_PSY-532_InternetMotivationDiary.pdf.
3. Remember that your completed Internet Motivation Diary needs to record each of your 20 consecutive uses of the Internet, and, for each use, you must record
   1. what TIME it was;
   2. what you DID on the Internet;
   3. which DEVICE you were using;
   4. WHERE you were; and
   5. your MAJOR MOTIVATIONS (note, plural motivations, meaning more than one motivation) for each Internet use, according to the motivation categorization scheme provided by Huitt (2011).
4. Go to the Unit 8: Assignment #4 Discussion Board and make a new post in which you
   1. attach, as a PDF,  your completed Internet Motivation Diary (saved as a PDF named YourLastname_PSY-532_InternetMotivationDiary.pdf).
      • To attach your PDF, look beneath the Discussion Board text box for the link to “Attach.” It is accompanied by a paperclip icon.
   2. In your post itself, in at least 200 words, discuss, using Huitt’s classification of motivations, your motivations for using the Internet (during the period you kept the diary).
      • Were your motivations varied or do you see some patterns in your motivations?
      • Do any of your motivations seem more prominent than others?
      • Do any of your motivations seem to be associated with your being in a certain place, your using a certain device, or it being a certain time of day?

Unit 8: Assignment #5 (due before 11:59 pm Central on SUN MAR 17):

1. At this point in the course, you will construct new Chat Groups. Please follow closely the instructions below.
   • IMPORTANT: If the due date for this assignment is approaching, and you haven’t been contacted about being in a new Chat Group, reach out to ALL the students in your Section who are responsible for recruiting new Chat Groups.
   • You probably also want to monitor the Unit 8: Assignment #5 Discussion Board so that you will know which new Chat Groups have already been formed.
2. If your last name is LAST alphabetically in your “old” Chat Group, these are your responsibilities for forming a new Chat Group:
   1. You’re responsible for recruiting new people to your new Chat Group. You can contact students via their wisc.edu email (which you can find on the “old” Chat Group List by clicking, or right-clicking, on any student’s name).
   2. You may recruit any student to your new Chat Group from your Section (but only from your Section) except
      • you may NOT recruit a student who was a member of your “old” Chat Group (because the goal during the second half of the course is to mix up the Chat Groups a bit); and
      • you may NOT recruit a student whose last name is also last alphabetically in their “old” Chat Group (because those students whose last names are last alphabetically in their old Chat Groups will also be the students responsible for recruiting students to a new Chat Group).
      • If you can’t remember which section you are in, you might want to return to Unit 1: Assignment #2 (and the part of the assignment that said “From the Course How To, learn how to find out which section you are in and find out which section you are in”).
   3. If your “old” Chat Group had three members (including you), then your new Chat Group should also have three members (including you); if your “old” Chat Group had only two members, then your new Chat Group will have only two members (including you).
   4. When recruiting new members to your new Chat Group:
      • It does NOT matter if the students you are recruiting were previously in a two-member or three-member “old” Chat Group.
      • It only matters how many members you (the person whose last name comes LAST alphabetically and therefore the person doing the recruiting) had in your “old” Chat Group.
      • Similarly, it does NOT matter if the students you are recruiting previously worked together in their “old” Chat Group; it only matters that none of the students you are recruiting are students with whom you worked in your “old” Chat Group.
   5. Appoint one member of your new Chat Group to set up the new Chat Group’s Chat Space.
      • Remind this person that the instructions for setting up a new Chat Group’s Chat Space are below in c.
      • You must NOT be the Chat Group member to set up the new Chat Group’s Chat Space; rather, you must appoint someone else — a member of your new Chat Group — to set up the new Chat Group’s Chat Space.
   6. Arrange with your new Chat Group a one-hour time period when all of you can meet online to hold your Group Chat for the next Unit (Unit 9: Assignment #5).
   7. Decide which Chat Group member will be responsible for using the browser Chrome on a laptop (not a mobile device) during your Group Chat.
   8. Go to the Unit 8: Assignment #5 Discussion Board and make a new post in which you list the following:
      • the full name (e.g., The Apps: Group X) of your new Chat Group (which will be the name of your “old” Chat Group);
      • the first and last names of all the members of your new Chat Group (including you);
      • the first and last name of the student you appointed to create the new Chat Group’s Chat Space;
      • the first and last name of the student who will be responsible for using the browser Chrome on a laptop (not a mobile device) during your Group Chat; and
      • the day (e.g., MON, TUE, WED), the calendar date (e.g., JUL 18, JUL 19, JUL 20), and the hour-long timeslot (e.g., 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm) that your new Chat Group has agreed to meet to hold your Group Chat for the next Unit (Unit 9: Assignment #5).
3. If you are appointed to set up the new Chat Group’s Chat Space for your new Chat Group, these are your responsibilities:
   1. Follow the instructions in the Course How To for “How To Set Up a Chat Group’s Chat Space on Your Laptop” OR “How To Set Up a Chat Group’s Chat Space on Your Mobile Device.”
   2. Title the Chat Space the name of the old Chat Group Space of the student who recruited you to the new Chat Group, AND add an underscore and a 2 to the Chat Space name to indicate the second half of the term (e.g., TheApps_GroupY_SP24_2).
      • You are responsible for finding out the name of the old Chat Group Space of the student who recruited you to the new Chat Group.
   3. Take a partial screenshot of the name of your new Chat Group’s Chat Space (if you don’t know how to take a partial screenshot (i.e., a screenshot of only part of the screen), this website will help you).
   4. Arrange with your new Chat Group a one-hour time period when all of you can meet online to hold your Group Chat for the next Unit (Unit 9: Assignment #5).
   5. Decide which Chat Group member will be responsible for using the browser Chrome on a laptop (not a mobile device) during your Group Chat.
   6. Go to the Unit 8: Assignment #5 Discussion Board and make a post in which you
      • embed (not attach, but embed) the screenshot of your new Chat Group’s Chat Space; remember from the Course How To that you might need to size your image, and
      • list the day (e.g., MON, TUE, WED), the calendar date (e.g., JUL 18, JUL 19, JUL 20), and the hour-long timeslot (e.g, 2:30 – 3:30 pm) that your new Chat Group has agreed to meet to hold your Group Chat for the next Unit (Unit 9: Assignment #5).
4. If you are in a NEW THREE-student Chat Group; if your last name was NOT last alphabetically in your “old” Chat Group; and if you were NOT appointed to set up the new Chat Group’s Chat Space for your NEW Chat Group, these are your responsibilities:
   1. Arrange with your new Chat Group a one-hour time period when all of you can meet online to hold your Group Chat for the next Unit (Unit 9: Assignment #5).
   2. Decide which Chat Group member will be responsible for using the browser Chrome on a laptop (not a mobile device) during your Group Chat.
   3. Go to the Unit 8: Assignment #5 Discussion Board and make a new post in which you list
      • the full name (e.g., The Apps: Group X) of your new Chat Group (which will be the name of the “old” Chat Group of the student who recruited you to the new Chat Group);
      • the first and last names of all the members of your new Chat Group (including you);
      • the first and last name of the student who recruited you to the new Chat Group;
      • the first and last name of the student who will be responsible for using the browser Chrome on a laptop (not a mobile device) during your Group Chat; and
      • the day (e.g., MON, TUE, WED), the calendar date (e.g., JUL 18, JUL 19, JUL 20), and the hour-long timeslot (e.g, 2:30 – 3:30 pm) that your new Chat Group has agreed to meet to hold your Group Chat for the next Unit (Unit 9: Assignment #5).
5. EVERYONE: Because we are a bit over halfway through the course, now is a good time to check in on the goals you set back in Unit 1.
   1. Review your Unit 1: Assignment #5 Discussion Board post in which you listed six skills you wanted to develop more proficiently through this course, three reasons why certain aspects of our course are structured the way they and how you will take advatange of that structure, and three strategies you wanted to employ to ensure your success in this course.
   2. You previously chose
      • three skills from Ward’s (2017) article, “Google Exec, Mark Cuban Agree that these College [Skills] Are the Most Robot-Resistant,” the excerpt from Coplin’s (2012) book, 10 Things Employers Want You To Learn in College, and Brooklyn College’s handout (summary) of Coplin’s (2012) book;
      • three skills from Karbach’s (no date) infographic, “Learning and Thinking Skills of the 21st Century Students,” the Center for Teaching Quality’s (no date) infographic, “Paths to 21st Century Success,” and the excerpt from the “21st Century Skills Self-Assessment”; and
      • three reasons why certain aspects of our course are structured the way they are (from the Pew Research Center’s (2016) report “The State of American Jobs; the Collegiate Employment Research Institute’s (2007) report, “Moving Up or Moving Out of the Company? Factors that Influence the Firing of New College Hires“; from D’Agostino’s (2023) article, “‘Procrastination-Friendly’ Academe Needs More Deadlines”; and from Berman’s (2016) article, “The Deadline Made Me Do It), and you committed to take advantage of that structure; and
      • three strategies from the Course Syllabus section on “How Can I Do Well in this Course” and the handout on “Why and How to Pay Attention to Details in this Course.”
   3. Assess your progress on these six skills and three strategies.
      • For example, if you chose “Teamwork Skills (works well with others)” as one of the six skills you wanted to develop more proficiently through this course, and you successfully navigated creating your new Chat Groups, you’re well on your way to developing this skill more proficiently.
      • Similarly, if you chose “Using technical and digital media skills in everyday work” as one of the six skills you wanted to develop more proficiently through this course, and you’ve been successfully embedding images, filling in fillable PDFs, and posting Discussion Boards, you are well on your to developing this skill more proficiently.
      • As a final example, if you chose to embrace the well-documented need for deadlines and work ahead while only sparingly taking advantage of the one-week extension, only during emergencies, then you have succeeded in taking advantage of the course structure.
   4. You previously told one other person (a roommate, friend, significant other, parent, spouse, neighbor, or classmate) about the six skills and the three strategies you chose. (You can refresh your memory about who this person is by looking back at your Unit 1: Assignment #5 Discussion Board post, where you listed this person’s initials.)
      • Update the person you previously told about your chosen six skills, three reasons, and three strategies with the progress you’ve made on those six skills and three strategies.
   5. Go to the Unit 8: Assignment #5 Discussion Board and make a reply post to your previous Unit 8: Assignment #5 Discussion Board post (where you provided information about your new Chat Group). In your reply post, of at least 200 words,
      • report your progress on the six skills, three reasons, and three strategies you chose; and
      • report briefly on how the person you updated responded to your progress.

Unit 8: Assignment #6 (due before 11:59 pm Central on SUN MAR 17):

1. Complete the Unit 8 Course Review Sheet (which is a fillable PDF; refer to previous Units’ instructions for how to download onto your own device, save on your own device, rename on your own device, and then fill in on your own device — by typing, not copying — a fillable PDF).
   1. Rename the unfilled PDF to be YourLastName_PSY-532_Unit08_CourseReview.pdf; then fill it in by typing, not copying.
   2. Remember that each Course Review Sheet in this course will be cumulative, so be sure to fill in by typing ALL pages.
2. Make progress on your Term Project.
   1. If you’ve chosen the Whole Course option, overview/journal the current unit (Unit 8).
      • Take a partial screenshot of your overview/journal of Unit 8 in your presentation medium (i.e., in your blog, Tumblr, Pinterest board, website, video, podcast, Prezi, Slideshare, PPT, Keynote, or Google slide deck). Make sure your partial screenshot shows the Unit number of the Unit being overviewed/journaled.

   2. If you’ve chosen the Deep Dive option, it’s time, if you haven’t already done so, to combine your notes on the material in this course that relates to your Deep Dive (that you summarized during Unit 4) with your notes on the at-least-six outside sources that you discovered through your search (during Units 5 and 6).

      • Take a partial screenshot to show how you have combined your notes from those two types of information (information from the course and information from your at-least-six outside sources).
      • If you’re not sure how to get all that information into one screenshot, you can always arrange multiple screenshots together and then take a screenshot of the combined screenshots, like this.
   3. Compose at least 200 words describing
      • which project you’ve chosen (if you’ve chosen the Whole Course option of assembling a detailed overview of the course for an audience other than college students, be sure to identify your intended audience; if you’ve chosen the Deep Dive option, be sure to tell us which topic/question you’ve chosen)
      • which presentation medium you’ve chosen,
      • and what work you completed on your Term Project during this unit. Remember that you should be allocating about two hours per Unit to your Term Project.
   4. Save your at-least-200 words as a PDF that includes your partial screenshot and that is named YourLastName_PSY-532_Unit08_TermProject.pdf. The text in your partial screenshot does not count toward the at-least-200 words you are required to compose.
3. Go to Unit 8: Assignment #6 (which is an Assignment link, not a Discussion Board) and
   1. use the “File Upload” tool to attach/upload your completed Unit 8 Review Sheet (click “Choose File” to attach/upload your filled-in PDF);
   2. click on “+ Add Another File” to attach/upload your 200-word composition about your Term Project (saved in PDF; remember to include your screenshot in your PDF); and
   3. immediately after submitting your assignment, check to make sure that your filled-in PDF is really filled-in (isn’t empty) and that your PDF about your Term Project is also attached and complete.

Congratulations, you have finished Unit 8! Onward to Unit 9!