Spring 2027

Digital Media and Science Communication

Digital Media and Science Communication explores navigating digital and networked communication tools for communication careers, evaluating social implications of digital media, and public engagement with controversial scientific issues.

no offering record for this termCredits unavailable
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 7

Past student reviews · Michael Xenos

One student noted that the project was split into manageable parts. They also reported that Xenos was helpful when they had issues fairly dividing work with group members.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Demonstrate understanding of the most influential theories and perspectives regarding the social and political implications and effects of digital communication technologies.

  • Evaluate contemporary claims about the social effects of communication technologies based on the extent to which they are supported by sound social scientific research.

  • Apply scientific knowledge about the societal implications of digital communication technologies to popular discussions about scientific topics and their social effects.

  • Demonstrate effective communication skills through the articulation of critical thinking about digital media and political communication through writing and informal oral presentation.

  • Analyze and synthesize relevant scholarly literature related to digital media and its relation to contemporary science communication surrounding emerging technologies and/or controversial issues involving science.

  • Formulate a research proposal articulating an original empirical research project exploring the role of digital media in contemporary science communication.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Satisfied Communications A or graduate/professional standing

    • Satisfied Communications A
    • graduate/professional standing
    take one
LSC 440

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Any of
    • Satisfied Communications A
    • graduate/professional standing

Professors

Spring 2027

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

MICHAEL XENOS is recorded teaching in Fall 2019, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Michael Xenos

A student found the lectures and readings fascinating and described Michael Xenos as passionate and caring. They enjoyed the class as their first in the certificate program.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2023: 3.75 GPA, 90.6% A/AB (n=64 letter grades); Fall 2023: 3.89 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=50 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.71 GPA, 80.5% A/AB (n=41 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Michael Xenos

One student noted that the project was split into manageable parts. They also reported that Xenos was helpful when they had issues fairly dividing work with group members.

Past student reviews · Michael Xenos

A reviewer appreciated that Xenos was responsive to questions and valued hearing from students. They described him as enthusiastic and caring in his teaching style.

Topics

  • Digital and networked communication tools
  • Social implications of digital media
  • Public engagement with controversial scientific issues
  • Contemporary science communication and emerging technologies

Skills

  • Evaluating social implications of digital media using scholarship and theories
  • Evaluating claims about social effects of communication technologies
  • Applying scientific knowledge to popular discussions about scientific topics
  • Formulating a research proposal for an empirical research project

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Spring 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2025 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1286 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records

No offering records for the selected term.

Raw records 
[]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "e7c1c860d5f68020835eb501197cfc1551dc0fd2b1171b323d1cfd9a50e80b99",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}