In this paper, we describe the design for PurpleState, an internship simulation that applies the epistemic game model for informed civic learning. PurpleState places students in the role of interns at a political media firm and asks them to design a media campaign on a state level policy issue. Unlike the use of these models in STEM education,…

The amount of available digital data is increasing at a tremendous rate. These data, however, are of limited use unless converted into a user-friendly form. We took on this task and built a natural language generation (NLG) driven system that generates journalistic news stories about elections without human intervention. In this paper, after…

Increasingly students, particularly those in the social sciences, work with survey data collected through a more complex sampling method than a simple random sample. Failing to understand how to properly approach survey data can lead to inaccurate results. In this article, we describe a series of online data visualization applications and…

The archive is a cultural institution that creates a framework for the social and collective memory and as such is one of the collection of knowledge institutions that not only preserves and classifies "texts" but uses them to re-create collective memory and sometimes to invent cultural histories. Like all knowledge institutions, the…

The course materials students are expected to utilise in online instruction vary. Studies have shown that students tend to enjoy online courses with lecture videos more than those without, but few studies have measured the impact of lecture videos on student outcomes. Do lecture videos increase student understanding and retention, thus improving…

This teaching case highlights the complex and unique strategic issues facing social media platform companies, using Facebook as the primary, motivating example. The case centers on the breach of trust that occurred when Cambridge Analytica acquired user data from 87 million Facebook accounts and then attempted to sway the 2016 U.S. Presidential…

This article describes a discussion-based approach for teaching college students to identify the characteristics of ethical journalism and scholarly writing, by comparing fake news with credible information in a strategically planned slideshow. Much has been written on the need to instruct our students about disinformation. This librarian shares a…

Despite recent and growing interest in using Twitter to examine human behavior and attitudes, there is still significant room for growth regarding the ability to leverage Twitter data for social science research. In particular, gleaning demographic information about Twitter users--a key component of much social science research--remains a…

This article outlines a linear regression activity that engages learners, uses technology, and fosters cooperation. Students generated least-squares linear regression equations using TI-83 Plus[TM] graphing calculators, Microsoft[C] Excel, and paper-and-pencil calculations using derived normal equations to predict the 2004 presidential election.…

Educating students to understand overt, subtle, and erroneous claims made by partisan advertisers is no small feat. Often students are passive consumers who need to learn how to become critical listeners, viewers, readers, and producers of all types of media. Because of this, media literacy--the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and produce…