Course Documents
Note: The policy document below contains an outline for this course, but any information on this website supercedes the information contained in these files. When in doubt, refer to this site to find the most current information.
Weekly outline
19 August - 25 August
Week 1—Tuesday
Topic: Introduction to the course. Discuss diagnostic essay.
Week 1—ThursdayTopic: The culture of the mix; discuss Mix CD Assignment. Read: Two articles on mixtapes, linked below (in PDF format). Assignment: Work on your diagnostic essay (due on Friday night); come to class prepared to discuss the articles you read.
26 August - 1 September
Week 2—Tuesday
Topic: Mix CD show-and-tell; overview of Adobe InDesign; begin InDesign lab activity. Read: Explore the Art of the Mix website (linked below) before coming to class. Assignment: Bring at least one CD (more if you can) case that strengthens/complements/changes the way you listen to the music on the CD.
Week 2—ThursdayTopic: Continue InDesign lab activity; when you are finished with the lab activity, begin working on your CD label, cover, and liner notes using the Jewelboxing Templates. Assignment: sign up for a CD burning/printing session with Quinn. UPDATE: We'll sign up for printing appointments on Tuesday.
2 September - 8 September
Week 3—Tuesday
Topic: Mix CD workshop; review printing procedures; discuss pre-flighting and packaging in InDesign. Assignment: Sign up for a CD burning/printing session with Quinn using the scheduler linked below; bring all of your electronic files for the Mix CD to class.
Week 3—ThursdayTopic: The history of word processing; introduction to our next assignmentInterrogating the Interface. Read: Ten Things Every Microsoft Word User Should Know; WordStar and the History of Word Processing. Assignment: Upload your completed Mix CD Assignment (a single .zip file) before class; complete the Microsoft Word Reflection journal entry before you come to class.
9 September - 15 September
Week 4—Tuesday
Topic: Continued discussion of word processing; complete Microsoft Word lab assignment; begin discussion of PowerPoint. Read: The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint (print and bring to class). Assignment: Select a software program for analysis and post your choice in the Interrogating the Interface Topic Forum; complete the reflection on PowerPoint before coming to class.
Week 4—ThursdayTopic: Continued discussion of PowerPoint; Interrogating the Interface workshop. Read: In Defense of PowerPoint and two articles from Presentation Zen, all linked below. (You don't need to print the articles from Presentation Zen.)
16 September - 22 September
Week 5—Tuesday
Topic: Continued discussion of PowerPoint; Invention and organization strategies for essay writing; screenshots and screencasts; keeping it all together. Read: Review at least three of the articles linked below on the Interrogating the Interface Resources page. We'll discuss these in class as models for your essay.
Week 5—ThursdayTopic: Peer review workshop for Interrogating the Interface assignment; sign up for oral presentations, to be delivered during Week 6. Assignment: Bring an electronic copy of your draft to class (preferably in ".doc" format, so we can use track changes). The draft does not need to be complete, but it should be more than just an outline or a few paragraphs of text.
23 September - 29 September
Week 6—Tuesday
Topic: Interrogating the Interface oral presentations, in the following order: Gina Ruggiero, Valerie Gleason, Justin Gleason, Emily Sorensen, Mallori Phillips, AJ Whatling, Scott Hoger. If time permits, begin discussion of social networking unit. Assignment: Continue working on the final draft of your Interrogating the Interface assignment.
Week 6—ThursdayTopic: Interrogating the Interface oral presentations, in the following order: Tyler Ahrens, Alicia Clark, Mark Van Thomme, Marsha Davies, Mike Snider, Nicole Soderquist, Nate Cook, Ashley Otte. If time permits, begin (or continue) discussion of social networking unit. Read: "As We May Think," linked below. Update: Read "As We May Think" for next Tuesday. Assignment: Submit the electronic file for your Interrogating the Interface assignment before class; bring a paper copy of your essay to class.
30 September - 6 October
Week 7—Tuesday
Topic: The history of the Internet; begin discussion of social networking unit; introduce Social Networking assignment. Read: "As We May Think" and "We Are the Web" (print both articles and bring them to class).
Week 7—ThursdayTopic: MyLifeBits Project; begin discussion of online identity; introduce Social Networking assignment. Read: "Remember This" (print this one out) and peruse the MyLifeBits website and be prepared to discuss it. Assignment: Complete the brief Online Identity Self-Assessment before class.
7 October - 13 October
Week 8—Tuesday
Topic: Narcissism, exhibitionism, and privacy; building a social network from scratch. Read: "Say Everything" and Cornell University's "Thoughts on Facebook." Assignment: Complete journal entry on this week's readings before class; create an account at Ning.com (if you haven't already) and join the English 213 Ning site; determine (tentatively) the focus of your individual Ning site.
Week 8—ThursdayTopic: Social Networking workshop. Assignment: Create your individual Ning site before class. UPDATE: During class, complete the two lab assignments listed below. If you have additional time, work on customizing your individual Ning site.
14 October - 20 October
Week 9—Tuesday
Topic: Catch-up day; Photoshop workshop; work on social networking sites. Read: The Philosophy of Photoshop. Assignment: If you haven't done so already, please post the URL of your individual Ning site in the forum I created on the English 213 Ning site. Also, bring any digital resources (pictures, videos, music, relevant email addresses, etc.) that will help you build your Ning site.
Week 9—ThursdayTopic: Conducting online research; drafting workshop for social networking papers. Read: Tips for Conducting Internet Research and Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility.
21 October - 27 October
Week 10—Tuesday
Topic: Peer review workshop for Social Networking assignment; discuss checklist for final revision. Assignment: Bring an electronic copy of your draft to class (preferably in ".doc" format, so we can use track changes). The draft does not need to be polished, but it should be complete (4-5 double-spaced pages).
Week 10—ThursdayTopic: Conclude Social Networking assignment; introduction to "kinetic texts" and the Kinetic Text assignment; in-class tutorial on using video cameras. Read: Visit the Billy Collins, Action Poet website and view at least three (preferably more) of the videos on the site. Assignment: The final draft of your Social Networking assignment is due at the beginning of class. Please bring a paper copy of the essay to class and upload an electronic copy of the document before class begins.
28 October - 3 November
Week 11—Tuesday
Topic: iMovie workshop; begin gathering images, video, and sound for the Kinetic Text assingment. Read: Creating a Movie with iMovie and iDVD (textbook). Assignment: Select a "text" (a poem, a speech, a movie scene) for your Kinetic Text assignment; visit a Mac lab on campus and work through the tutorials in the iMovie textbook until you feel comfortable with the iMovie interface.
Week 11—ThursdayTopic: iMovie workshop; assembling clips, aligning audio and video, creating titles and credits. Assignment: Bring electronic copies of all components of your Kinetic Text assignment to the lab.
4 November - 10 November
Week 12—Tuesday
Topic: iMovie workshop; putting it all together. Assignment: Before class on Tuesday, gather all of the raw artifacts you'll need for the Kinetic Text assignment (video clips, images, audio, etc.) and import them into your iMovie project.
Week 12—ThursdayTopic: Watch kinetic text videos (in progress) and give feedback to each member of the class; continue editing videos during remaining time. Assignment: Come to class ready to share a rough version of your Kinetic Text assignment (in .mov or .mpeg format).
11 November - 17 November
Week 13—Tuesday
Topic: Discuss any final questions/concerns about the Kinetic Text assignment. Introduction to HTML and the Electronic Portfolio assignment. Assignment: Bring Creating a Web Page with HTML textbook to class.
Week 13—ThursdayTopic: Watch all Kinetic Text videos. HTML and CSS workshop. Read: Chapter 1 of Creating a Web Page with HTML; The History of HTML (just that section of the Wikipedia entry on HTML). Assignment: The Kinetic Text assignment is due at the beginning of class. For the video portion of the assignment, please upload your exported video to YouTube before class begins and bring the original iMovie file to class; Quinn will copy your iMovie file to his computer. For the memo portion of the assignment, please upload an electronic copy of your memo to the class website (at the Kinetic Text assignment link) and bring a paper copy of the memo to class.
18 November - 24 November
Thanksgiving Break—No Classes
25 November - 1 December
Week 15—Tuesday
Topic: Second HTML Quiz. Styling web pages with CSS. Using Acropolis, FTP, and other tools to publish your website. Read: Finish Creating a Web Page with HTML. Review the list of Electronic Portfolio Resources. Assignment: Complete the tutorials in Creating a Web Page with HTML. Select a template for your electronic portfolio and be prepared to submit the URL for the template at the beginning of class.
Week 15—ThursdayTopic: Continued discussion of HTML and CSS coding. Web design workshop. Assignment: Submit the URL for the rough draft of your electronic portfolio homepage.
2 December - 8 December
Week 16—Tuesday
Topic: Web design workshop. Assignment: Come to class with electronic versions of all artifacts to be included in your portfolio, as well as a customized homepage that features significant changes to the visual appearance of the template you selected.
Week 16—ThursdayTopic: Individual conferences with Quinn to discuss your final portfolio. Assignment: Sign up for a 20-minute conference with Quinn on Thursday or Friday. Come to the conference prepared to show Quinn your complete portfolio. In other words, even if some of the pages are still under construction, you should have created the entire structure of your portfolio before coming to the conference. IMPORTANT: We will not meet as a class today, but the lab will be available during our class time for you to begin work on your portfolio.
9 December - 15 December
Week 17—Final Exam (Wednesday, December 12, 9:45 a.m.)
Topic: Electronic Portfolio presentations; instructor evaluations. Assignment: Before coming to the final, upload your memo of transmission to the class website in MS Word format. Then, add a post to the forum below with two links: one that goes to the original template you selected, and one that goes to your finished website. (Hint: use your newfound HTML skills to make the URLs actually work as links!)