You will be required to publish a total of 11 blog posts on your own individual blog and periodically comment on the class blog. Your personal blog will also be used to host your final project. Each post should be between 500-700 words and include a multimedia component, such as web links, still images, video, and audio links. You are require to post the word count at the top of your entry.
Each blog post is worth 2 points.
I recommend http://www.blogger.com for hosting your blog site.
The writing on your individual blog and on the class blog should be clear, carefully considered, well-crafted, and error free; it is advisable that you compose with Microsoft Word before publishing your writing online.
There are a number of criteria to consider in evaluating the site as you work on it:
- a thoughtful domain name was chosen and framed in a site description (this could be in the about page),
- a thoughtful site title is clearly presented, an "about me" page exists (there are many ways to do this),
- a theme was chosen and customized reflecting you and the direction of your blog,
- plug-ins to add functionality have been activated, possibly adding hooks to various social media, creating galleries, etc.,
- blog posts are appropriately categorized and tagged, and
- all default pages, posts, comments, site description have been removed.
Learning good blogging practices is an essential component to this course. For that reason each blog post has its own value separate from the digital story project, critique, weekly reflection, and/or event you’re organizing that is described in the post. Essentially you should treat a post in one of two ways: simply reporting out or a deeper reflection. It is up to you the level of reflection you contain in a post, but the attributes of a good post are as follows:
Posts are graded using the following criteria:
- a thoughtful title
- an embedded media artifact relevant to the assignment (image, video, audio)
- a clear statement of the post’s purpose
- at least one contextual link related to the post’s purpose
- a clear statement of reflection
- good use of categories and tags
- appropriate grammar and syntax.
Podcast Project (20%)*:
Working in pairs, you will collaboratively conceive, plan, research, and execute a podcast project that tells a fictional story. You will be able to work on this project both during class and outside of class time.
The goal of the podcast project is to familiarize you with audio editing (through the Audacity or Garage Band platform) and to provide you with an opportunity to devise a way to tell a story using the short-form audio format.
Requirements:
- Minimum of two voices in your story
- Two or more related sound effects
- Incorporation of music
- Post final podcast on your blog using SoundCloud or related software
- Total length: seven to 10 minutes.
- Proposal and script draft due: Tuesday, October 10. Bring copies to class.
- The final and complete podcast must be posted to your blog by Tuesday, Oct. 24.
*Please note: Because this is a joint project, you will be asked to anonymously evaluate your partner (and vice versa). Your evaluations will be worth 5 % of the final grade for the project.
The final and complete podcast is due on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
Final Video Project (35%):
Project Proposal/Storyboard 10%
Final Video Project, including script/notes 25%
Your project should be a multimedia work that will be posted on your individual blog. It can take a variety of forms depending on your interests as a writer, and we will talk about multimedia nonfiction, poetry, and fiction in the first few weeks to give you some productive ideas.
Start thinking about your project early: a 3-4 page project proposal will be due to me by Oct. 31 and you will have a chance to peer workshop your proposal on Nov. 2. Language from your proposal might eventually lead to a brief critical introduction that you will be required to include in your final portfolio.
The structural guidelines for the project are as follows:
- That you generate a video that is between five and seven minutes in length (no longer than ten minutes)
- That you develop a project proposal prior to making the video.
- That you include in your project a storyboard and script/'notes for the video.
- That you make creative use of the medium (i.e. the iMovie or Movie Maker software program) - avoid simply collecting and splicing several long take video clips or that you throw a series of video capture clips together without any creative thought behind your construction - remember, as viewer engages with videos in fundamentally different ways than they do with print text, it will be necessary to approach this from the standpoint of a consumer/producer of media (i.e. anyone with a computer and a Wi-Fi connection in the 21st century)
- 16 panels of the storyboard due by Thursday, Nov. 30
- Copy of video embedded into your blog by Wednesday, Dec. 6.
Begin to acquire your supplies. If you need to collect video clips, do so. If you need to generate footage, first come up with a list of what you want to capture and what you need to get, if you are in a group, develop a distribution list for what each group member will be working on.
A word of warning: Both iMovie and MovieMaker can get glitchy. Be sure to save your project as you go. The last thing you want is to work for two hours on your video and then have it vanish. Please also note that technical difficulties on your end are not grounds for an extension on your project. You should be backing your video up as you go, and building in time for technical challenges. If you have technical difficulties, use a computer lab. You will not receive an extension on this deadline due to technical problems of any kind.
A word of warning: Both iMovie and MovieMaker can get glitchy. Be sure to save your project as you go. The last thing you want is to work for two hours on your video and then have it vanish. Please also note that technical difficulties on your end are not grounds for an extension on your project. You should be backing your video up as you go, and building in time for technical challenges. If you have technical difficulties, use a computer lab. You will not receive an extension on this deadline due to technical problems of any kind.
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