Daily assigned readings: scholarly article or Writer/Designer
Class blog: daily or weekly writing reflections
Class Presentations (pitch + work-in-progress)
Websites:
a. One featuring a personal home page that serves as a hub and contains your class blog
b. One featuring your semester-long project, made up of several assignments, below
Landing page that serves as an engaging hub for your project
Bibliography on your topic (secondary)
Annotated version of your bibliography
Review of Literature derived from your annotated bibliography
Primary Research read/report on real fan engagment
Infographic/other visual adaptation of primary + secondary research
Original fan media you create about your topic
Audiovisual keyword definition for a broad audience (<30 seconds)
Original short audiovisual element introducing your topic on your landing page
Critical analysis of fan studies theories and your topic
Assignments and values:
weekly blog 10%
participation 10%
presentations 5%
website, including all sub-assignments above 75%
I will create separate tabs for these descriptions:
Assignment descriptions:
website
Purpose: This is a chance to synthesize your thoughts on the topics raised in class, to explore some more fully than we had a chance to in this class, and to chart how your own thinking has grown or changed. 10-page website will include critical research-based points of view with the attempt to address research questions. Hyperlinked, with impactful visual design. Includes static images, video and audio appropriately and impactfully.
Goals:
Student-led reading discussion:
Choose an article from the required reader based on your interests. Prepare 10 open-ended discussion questions in advance of class. Select appropriate visual or audiovisual supportive materials to be shown during class (up to 5 minutes’ worth). Moderate class discussion.
Weekly Blogs:
Blog posts constitute your most frequent writing mode. Over the semester around half of the words you submit as assignments will constitute blog posts, so make the most of them. While they are only 300-500 words each, they are meant to be a significant part of the class. Blog posts must:
seriously and originally engage in the material
self-reflect and course or material-reflect
critique, analyze, pursue an idea with coherence
attempt to engage your peers, myself, and potential readers of your site
deploy tone purposively to suit your goals
tag keywords (we'll get into tagging after week 2)
include at least one relevant image
Blog posts should not contain more than 3 sentences of summary for outside audiences, try to constitute a mini essay, or be overly informal. After reading one another’s blogs you will selectively hyperlink to one another.
Visual rendering
Communicate a keyword to the audience using visual tools. You may try a new tool like piktochart or picmonkey. You are not limited as to digital composing tools: you may upload a photo of an original 3d or 2d rendering. Explain the meaning of your rendering in a paragraph. Display the rendering with a pull quote. This assignment should show critical thinking about media by using content to portray a intentional core message. It should add a unique layer of complexity to a media-related issue or idea. The meaning of the visual assignment should be clear to the readers and concise in its message. It should demonstrate complexity of thought through its meaning or visual display. Alternatively, it might demonstrate complexity through research. After publishing, view and discuss other students’ visual renderings in class. Then write a 1,000-page reflection about what this assignment taught you, incorporating course and assignment goals as fluidly as possible.
Grading
Students will collaborate on rubrics for each assignment based on course and assignment outcomes and goals. Rubrics will then be edited and published before each final version is due. Students will be graded based on the rubric and, after getting feedback, given a chance to revise their work for the final grade.
Class blog: daily or weekly writing reflections
Class Presentations (pitch + work-in-progress)
Websites:
a. One featuring a personal home page that serves as a hub and contains your class blog
b. One featuring your semester-long project, made up of several assignments, below
Landing page that serves as an engaging hub for your project
Bibliography on your topic (secondary)
Annotated version of your bibliography
Review of Literature derived from your annotated bibliography
Primary Research read/report on real fan engagment
Infographic/other visual adaptation of primary + secondary research
Original fan media you create about your topic
Audiovisual keyword definition for a broad audience (<30 seconds)
Original short audiovisual element introducing your topic on your landing page
Critical analysis of fan studies theories and your topic
Assignments and values:
weekly blog 10%
participation 10%
presentations 5%
website, including all sub-assignments above 75%
I will create separate tabs for these descriptions:
Assignment descriptions:
website
Purpose: This is a chance to synthesize your thoughts on the topics raised in class, to explore some more fully than we had a chance to in this class, and to chart how your own thinking has grown or changed. 10-page website will include critical research-based points of view with the attempt to address research questions. Hyperlinked, with impactful visual design. Includes static images, video and audio appropriately and impactfully.
Goals:
- to synthesize what you have learned from your work this semester: daily required readings and discussions, weekly blog posts, visual rendering, keyword definitions, project proposal, and research reports
- to practice applying your analytical skills to technical and rhetorical production of a multimodal text (Ball)
- to produce texts in response to a particular rhetorical situation that reaches a specific audience using multiple modes, media, and technologies (Ball)
- to understand how multiple texts create a “set” that often work together (Ball)
- to apply the assessment criteria we built as a class when making rhetorical choices that suit your scholarly multimedia text (Ball)
- to come to a more thorough understanding of audience (Ball)
- communicate about secondary and primary sources to audience
- bring secondary and primary sources to bear on one another
- 8-10 nonlinear pages of text conceived of in nonlinear fashion with meaningful hyperlinks
- shows sound visual design
- incorporates visual elements beyond design (images, perhaps video, etc)
- accessible to diverse audiences
Student-led reading discussion:
Choose an article from the required reader based on your interests. Prepare 10 open-ended discussion questions in advance of class. Select appropriate visual or audiovisual supportive materials to be shown during class (up to 5 minutes’ worth). Moderate class discussion.
Weekly Blogs:
Blog posts constitute your most frequent writing mode. Over the semester around half of the words you submit as assignments will constitute blog posts, so make the most of them. While they are only 300-500 words each, they are meant to be a significant part of the class. Blog posts must:
seriously and originally engage in the material
self-reflect and course or material-reflect
critique, analyze, pursue an idea with coherence
attempt to engage your peers, myself, and potential readers of your site
deploy tone purposively to suit your goals
tag keywords (we'll get into tagging after week 2)
include at least one relevant image
Blog posts should not contain more than 3 sentences of summary for outside audiences, try to constitute a mini essay, or be overly informal. After reading one another’s blogs you will selectively hyperlink to one another.
Visual rendering
Communicate a keyword to the audience using visual tools. You may try a new tool like piktochart or picmonkey. You are not limited as to digital composing tools: you may upload a photo of an original 3d or 2d rendering. Explain the meaning of your rendering in a paragraph. Display the rendering with a pull quote. This assignment should show critical thinking about media by using content to portray a intentional core message. It should add a unique layer of complexity to a media-related issue or idea. The meaning of the visual assignment should be clear to the readers and concise in its message. It should demonstrate complexity of thought through its meaning or visual display. Alternatively, it might demonstrate complexity through research. After publishing, view and discuss other students’ visual renderings in class. Then write a 1,000-page reflection about what this assignment taught you, incorporating course and assignment goals as fluidly as possible.
Grading
Students will collaborate on rubrics for each assignment based on course and assignment outcomes and goals. Rubrics will then be edited and published before each final version is due. Students will be graded based on the rubric and, after getting feedback, given a chance to revise their work for the final grade.