Theory of Information and Communication

ESTIMATED LEARNING TIME

Establishing an equivalence, approximately 25-30 hours of study would amount to 1 ECTS credit. This subject corresponds to 6 ECTS credits, equivalent to 150 hours of student work. This course offers approximately 6 hours of explanatory videos with an average duration of 6-10 minutes.

PREREQUISITES AND RECOMMENDED PREVIOUS KNOWLEDGE

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE

The conceptual foundations and the study of information and communication from the perspective this subject embraces encompass the growing complexity and the universe of interrelationships that these concepts evoke.

Information and communication, as Francisco Sierra mentions, must be viewed beyond disciplinary boundaries, recognizing their entitative nature and areas of knowledge but without overlooking the cross-cutting nature imposed by the social context. Thus, this Information and Communication Theory teaching project is designed to acknowledge the singularities addressed by its foundations but understand both disciplines as interconnected within a complex informational framework where future graduates of the Degree in Information Management and Digital Content must develop their professional work. This guiding nature of the subject was already evident decades ago when discussing Information Theory as a "map" discipline (Valbuena de la Fuente, 1997) that serves as a guide to understanding the theoretical foundations of the discipline "Information and Communication Theory."

The course is divided into seven didactic units that encompass theoretical-practical perspectives of Information and Communication. It follows a principle of logical subordination regarding the structuring of its contents so that this hierarchy helps to ensure that certain concepts are necessary to understand the subsequent ones. This progressive learning sequence leads to presenting topics with strong conceptual content first, followed by their social or contemporary application.

The 7 units are as follows:

OBJECTIVES: KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The primary objective of this course is the analysis of communication and information in the contemporary world. The student will acquire a greater capacity for reflection on communicative and informational events through mastery of terminology, key concepts, theories, and their practical application.

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Master both conceptual and terminological currents and concepts related to information and communication.
2. Recognize basic concepts associated with Information and Documentation, their types, and properties.
3. Identify information problems in different media and propose solutions.
4. Understand the characteristics of information flows and the information lifecycle in various environments.
5. Understand the characteristics and evolution of the Information Society and the Knowledge Society.
6. Recognize the implications of ICT use for the field of Information and Communication.
7. Identify the traditional information intermediaries in today's society, from libraries, archives, and documentation centres in both their physical version and their role as providers of digital information services.

TEACHING MATERIAL

Students consistently have a similar didactic structure in each lesson that facilitates understanding and learning of the topics covered. Each unit will be divided into corresponding subheadings. Each subheading contains one or more videos explaining its key concepts. Additionally, each subheading includes supplementary theoretical content and an interactive activity. At the end of each unit, students will have access to a bibliography to delve deeper into the topics covered and an interactive test that assesses their competencies related to that didactic unit.

PRACTICAL ASSIGMENTS AND ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES

In this course, students will engage in various activities designed to reinforce their understanding and apply the concepts presented in each section. Each topic includes interactive activities with H5P that will strengthen the content covered in the video and the supporting theoretical material. These activities will vary in format. At the end of each unit, there will be a final test to reinforce learning.