| |
|
|
SyllabusSpring 2009Course Information: WRIT 5250--section 001, ref # 93199--meets from 2:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. in Humanities 458 on Tuesday and Thursday. The course home page is available at: http://www.d.umn.edu/~cstroupe/sp09/5250/ Professor Information: Purpose | Expectations | Resources Needed | Grades PurposeThis class will explore the relationship between New Media and writing. You will learn skills and methods of New Media production (that is, the hands-on creation of digital, screen-based, networked, verbally/visually hybrid media), and the opportunities they provide for writing beyond the mere delivery of information. In doing so, you will gain perspectives on the not-always-apparent continuities between New Media and the literary use of words and design, and between digital and literary cultures. This course is designed to help you realize the following goals:
Purpose | Expectations | Resources Needed | Grades | Top ExpectationsExercises and ProjectsThis course is essentially a series of exercises and projects with a final exam covering the critical readings and major course concepts. We'll do the exercises together in class to learn particular skills or techniques, and you'll have 24 hours after the class meeting to complete and post each exercise to the Web for credit. As described on the Works Page, the projects are larger pieces of work that you'll complete individually over a period of two or three weeks using the skills you've learned from the exercises and insights from the readings and class activities. One of the major projects is an analytical essay. There is a three-point penalty per day for late projects. Due dates for all requirements are included in the online schedule, which will be updated throughout the semester. Final ExamWe will have a final exam during the scheduled exam time during finals week. Near the end of the semester, I will give you sample questions and conduct a review session to help you prepare for the final exam. Extra Credit for Participating in the Experts ListGiven the wide range of experience and learning styles in a class like this, it is important that each of you be responsible for your own progress in developing the hands-on skills in Dreamweaver and Photoshop necessary to complete the Web-based projects. The exercises—and the portions of class time devoted to them—are intended to acquaint you with these skills, but for some of you the exercises in class will not be sufficient, and for others these introductions will be unnecessary. I will offer extra credit to
We will use the Webx discussion board to match experts and clients, and allow you to arrange times and places outside of class to meet face-to-face. You can check the lab schedules to find available full-service labs if you wish. After you've met, both the expert and client should document details of their meeting via a Web form that I will make available, and this report will also serve as the means of applying for this extra credit. The amount of extra credit for each reported meeting may vary from zero to 1% of your total grade (up to a maximum of 8% for the semester) based on the specificity of the report and the usefulness of the meeting. Since this extra credit is based on the honor system, I will ask you to explain in the report the very specific skills and techniques that you taught/learned, and to point to the results in particular exercises, projects, or other samples of work. I will rescind the extra credit for reported meetings if the skills and techniques claimed do not become part of the client's everyday working skill set. Other Writing and Design WorkIn addition completing the exercises, designing and producing the projects, and taking the exam, you will earn credit through:
Readings On days when readings are assigned, please do the following:
Attendance Since this class will function as a community of writer-designers, your regular attendance is absolutely necessary.
Participation A larger goal of this course is to establish a community or network of writer-designers—with a wide variety of backgrounds, expertise, and interests—to enhance your learning and enjoyment during the next sixteen weeks. The class is designed to provide a number of avenues for this community building, including peer workshopping and critiquing, in-class production work, support groups, and various Internet-based communications and collaborations. Your sincere and regular contributions to maintaining this collaborative environment will count in your grade and of course will greatly benefit your final products in the course. Because your work is the subject matter for this course, turning in all projects and writings on time is critical; work turned in late will be assessed a 3% penalty per day. Special Needs If you have a disability, either permanent or temporary, which might affect your performance in this class, please notify me at the beginning of the semester. Methods, material, or testing will be adapted as required for equitable participation. Incompletes Incompletes for the semester will be given only in the following very limited circumstances:
Academic Integrity and Student Conduct Please see UMD's pages concerning these two issues: Purpose | Expectations | Resources Needed | Grades | Top Resources Needed
(Note: Books and the packet of readings will not be available until the second weeks of classes)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
