Digital Citizenship and Civic Activism

A.Y. 2019/2020
6
Max ECTS
48
Overall hours
SSD
INF/01
Language
Italian
Learning objectives
The aim of the course is to provide the cognitive, methodological and technological tools to actively and consciously participate in the process of mutual influence between citizenship and information technologies, taking into account the institutional (top-down) and the spontaneous or ""self-organized"" point of view (bottom -up).
Expected learning outcomes
The aim of the course is to create the ability of using the technological tools for the participation to the civil life in a critical and conscious way.
Single course

This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.

Course syllabus and organization

Single session

Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
The "digital citizenship" layers , a model for the relationship between technology and citizenship.

0. The Network:
space and time distance, net-relativity, QoS, artificial scarcity, net neutrality, privacy, Locard's principle and breadcrumbs, digital event horizon, traffic profiling, data collection, NSA, survival tools (browser plugins, Tor, etc.)

1. Access:
Minimum services, Maslow's pyramid, digital divide, costs, bandwidth, digital barriers, laws, certified email, SPID (digital identity), civic clouds

2. Education:
Knowledge, threats (technical and political), ECDL, communities, crowdsourcing, crowdserving, usability, "learn to code", Free Software

3. e-Services:
Hardware and software compliance, formats (free, proprietary, de facto standards, de iure standards), APIs, exit-option, P.A. websites, slashdot effect, scalability, EULAs, ethics

4. Transparency:
Civic accoutability, top-down data, opendata, obtorto collo data, leaks, crowdsourcing, FOIA, opendata 5 star classification (Berner-Lee), other classifications (Davies, etc.), "webstacles", scraping, data APIs, REST & JSON

5. e-Participation:
Information gathering, social reporting (with many examples), institutional reporting, quality indicators for reporting sites, civic whistleblowing, citizen journalism

6. e-Consultation:
Types of consultation, types of e-consultations (with pros&cons), polling, petitioning, deliberation, the "Movimento 5 stelle" example case, idea gathering, comment gathering, solution gathering

7. e-Democracy:
Law editing and voting, liquid democracy, delegation, workflow, participatory budgeting
Prerequisites for admission
basic notions of informatics acquired in the Undergraduate Course (Bachelor)
Teaching methods
Lessons + "discussion" lab
Teaching Resources
Assessment methods and Criteria
Write down an article on a topic chosen in agreement between teacher and student, present the article during exam session
INF/01 - INFORMATICS - University credits: 6
Lessons: 48 hours
Professor: De Cindio Fiorella
Shifts:
-
Professor: De Cindio Fiorella