courses@JLR

class brainstorming on definitions of "privacy"

Terranova, Tiziana. "Free Labor: Producing Culture for the Digital Economy.” The Politics of Information: The Electronic Mediation of Social Change. Ed. Marc Bousquet and Katherine Wills. Alt-X Press, 2003. (99-121)

This packet contains some reminders about the final paper, the evaluation rubric, a sample essay, and a lengthy handout about the writing and revision process.

class brainstorming on the question: What is a cyborg? (Haraway)

This is of the webcomic "Cyanide and Happiness".  I like that webcomic.

This rubric will be used to assess your group projects. It defines the criteria for evaluation.

WHAT

Working collaboratively, you will create a multimedia web-based work that engages with the theoretical perspectives we have studied. It should include at least two of the following components: text, hypertext/interactivity, images, audio, video. Keep in mind that this is not a production course, and your project doesn't have to be technically ambitious to succeed. You will be evaluated based on your incorporation of course material, the originality of your critical approach, and the effectiveness of its presentation.

WHY

The goals of this assignment are to:

• learn and mobilize some technical and formal aspects of digital multimedia
• communicate ideas creatively and multimodally (rather than through linear non-fiction prose)
• further master theoretical concepts through direct participation
• experience the collaborative process that is typical of digital production

HOW

.organization

As long as three weeks before your project is due, you should touch base with your group to strategize and get in contact. Discuss your respective skills and talents and your goals for working together.

By two weeks before, you should be brainstorming ideas and ultimately settling on a topic and approach. You can meet in person and/or converse virtually (by email, IM, messages or discussion on the course website, Google docs, etc.).

You should be able to complete most of the work on your project and presentation in the week before (groups C and B are responsbile for class discussion the previous week, so that shouldn't be too taxing; for group A it worked out that you have blogs due the previous week, so consider that in your time management). Attending the Meyer help session on Wednesday afternoon is highly recommended if you're available, and having a clear sense of your objectives will help you get the most out of it. Dividing up the tasks or components amongst yourselves is a good idea. Aim to finish the work by Sunday to leave some time to plan your presentation.

.platform

You may construct and host your work on the course website (using any combination of its modules: pages, files, blogs, discussion, videos, bookmarks, calendar). There's the possibility of installing additional plugins as long as they run on Elgg 1.6 (http://community.elgg.org/mod/plugins/all.php) -- talk to the professor about your concept and we can determine whether it can fucntion here.

You may host all or part of your work on other online media sharing services such as Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, Google, etc. and/or use any external generators and shortcuts to build it.

You may also host your work on a personal web site by creating html pages or installing software. Talk to the professor if you want to get set up with a space and FTP account.

.tools

Monday workshops on January 25 and February 1 will introduce some options for accessible web and graphics design.

The resources of Meyer multimedia lab are also available to you, including help sessions with a consultant on Wednesdays February 3, 17, and 24 from 2-5pm.

Remember that it is possible to do interesting things with simple tools that fit your skill level!

.components

Combine at least two! We will go over how to create and embed these in a web page. For any of the components, you may write/design/produce original material; appropriate and transform existing material from course texts, web pages, popular culture, etc.; or both. We're assuming that use of copyrighted elements is considered "fair use" (but please cite your sources).

TEXT - The written word (but not necessarily organized in a linear/familiar way).

HYPERTEXT/INTERACTIVITY - There are several different ways to incorporate options for users to choose, including: links (from text or images), javascript, Flash, YouTube annotations or our Kaltura video plugin.

IMAGES - May consist of photographs, illustrations, digital drawings, digital manipulations, collages, screen captures, slides, and so on.

AUDIO - May consist of recorded or appropriated speech, music, noise, soundtracks, podcasts, and so on.

VIDEO - May consist of filmed or appropriated documentation, scenes, stories, animations, visualizatios, and so on.

WHERE

In addition to the project itself, your group will present the project to the class. 2/3 of your grade is based on the critical and creative approach of the work, and 1/3 is based on your articulation of its rationale in the presentation.

.presentation

You should demonstrate your work and explain your technical and theoretical process. Each member of the group should speak at some point -- you can aim for 3-5 minutes each or 15-25 minutes total (with the remainder of the hour spent on class discussion and critique).

Some things to cover:

• how you made it
• what concepts you intended to express
• how well you feel your execution works (i.e. it's OK to include problems you ran into)
• how it engages particular course texts and themes
• how it engages other artworks or popular media

After the presentation on Monday, each participant will complete an individual self-assessment that evaluates how well you worked within the group.

WHEN

You will present your finished project to the class on a Monday at 7pm. Assigned dates are as follows:

GROUP C - February 8  / GROUP B - February 22 / GROUP A - March 1

On most Thursdays discussion with be peer-facilitated -- that means the members of one group will be responsible for composing questions, fielding comments, making connections, and keeping us on topic.

I will be facilitating the facilitators to ensure that each gets a chance to speak and respond. This is an opportunity to practice leading and moderating a conversation.

To prepare, come up with a few fruitful questions that engage the day's readings. You'll want to write down these ideas so you can refer to them in class. Some strategies include:

• identifying a passage that you'd like to work through in detail  
• suggesting a difficult concept that could use clarification
• formulating relationships between the assigned texts
• inviting observations about the intersections of the theories and particular digital artifacts

(see the handout on "Critical Reading Toward Critical Writing" for more ideas)

You should also look over the blog responses from that week if possible. Building on your classmates' work is another great way to generate discussion questions. You could:

• bring up aspects of an essay that you don't understand
• propose answers to or productive ways of addressing questions raised in an essay
• indicate additional elements or examples that you think support or contradict an essay's argument

This assignment does not receive an individual grade -- combined with your collaborative class notes and general participation it is worth 16% of your final grade.