Course Documents
Note: The policy document below contains an outline for this course, but any information on this website supercedes the information contained in this file. When in doubt, refer to this site to find the most current information.
Weekly outline
24 August - 30 August
- Week 1—TuesdayTopic: Introduction to the course. Discuss diagnostic essay.
Week 1—Thursday
Topic: The culture of the mix; discuss Mix Tape assignment. Read: Three articles on music and 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.
31 August - 6 September
- Week 2—Tuesday
Topic: Mix tape show-and-tell; overview of Adobe InDesign; begin InDesign lab activity. Read: Explore the Art of the Mix website, the 8tracks website, and Quinn's sample mix (all linked below) before coming to class. Assignment: Bring at least one CD (more if you can) case that strengthens, complements, or changes the way you listen to the music on the CD.
Week 2—Thursday
Topic: Continue InDesign lab activity; when you are finished with the lab activity, begin working on your poster. Assignment: Select a theme for your mix tape and create a tentative playlist of songs (before you come to class).
7 September - 13 September
- Week 3—Tuesday
Topic: Mix Tape workshop; review printing procedures; discuss pre-flighting and packaging in InDesign. Assignment: Finalize your Mix Tape playlist and upload your songs to 8tracks.com. Complete a rough draft of your Mix Tape poster over the weekend and bring all of your Mix Tape files to class. Sign up for a poster printing session using the link below.
Week 3—Thursday
Topic: The history of word processing; introduction to our next assignment—Interrogating the Interface. Read: Ten Things Every Microsoft Word User Should Know; WordStar and the History of Word Processing. Assignment: Complete the Microsoft Word Reflection journal entry before you come to class.
14 September - 20 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). [UPDATE: If you are having trouble downloading the file linked below, try this alternate link.] 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. Upload your completed Mix Tape Assignment (a single .zip file) before class. (If you're unsure about how to prepare your InDesign files for printing and uploading, please refer to the Mix Tape Poster Preparation Tips.) Bring a printed copy of your Mix Tape Assignment memo 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.)
21 September - 27 September
- Week 5—Tuesday
Topic: Continued discussion of PowerPoint and word processing software; invention and organization strategies for essay writing; keeping it all together. Read: Print, read, and annotate at least three of the articles linked below on the Interrogating the Interface Resources page. (Don't forget to add them to your reading journal.) We'll discuss these in class as models for your essay. Also, click through the three sample PowerPoint files (linked below) before you come to class.
Week 5—Thursday
Topic: 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 polished, but it should be more than just an outline or a few paragraphs of text.
28 September - 4 October
- Week 6—Tuesday
Topic: Interrogating the Interface oral presentations, in the following order: Meagan Tunink, Kat Gordiner, Justin Gleason, Conor Evans, Michea Boyd, Curtis Baumgart, Janet Roberts, Adam Seitz, Alyssa Rutt, Ian Anderson, Kevin Shay, Kerry Holland, Carmel Summers. Assignment: Continue working on the final draft of your Interrogating the Interface assignment. If you are presenting today, bring your PowerPoint file (or whatever else you're using) to class and load it onto the instructor's computer before class begins. - Week 6—Thursday
Topic: Interrogating the Interface oral presentations, in the following order: Rob Sladek, Kendra Kavan, Olivia Langenberg, Erin Fischer, Justin Sovereign, Zach Thompson, Ashley Siegrist, Kari Pierce, Stephani Harris, Kelly McNamara, Hunter Braun, Brian Bicknell. Assignment: Submit the electronic file for your Interrogating the Interface assignment before class; bring a paper copy of your essay to class. If you are presenting today, bring your PowerPoint file (or whatever else you're using) to class and load it onto the instructor's computer before class begins.
5 October - 11 October
- Week 7—Tuesday
Topic: Interrogating the Interface oral presentations by Kendra Kavan, Curtis Baumgart, and Zach Thompson. Introduction to Collaborative Research Project. Discuss the history of the Internet. Read: "As We May Think" and "We Are the Web."
Week 7—Thursday
Topic: MyLifeBits Project; discuss online identity and ubiquitous computing; develop research agendas in small groups. 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.
12 October - 18 October
Week 8—Tuesday
Topic: Search culture in the age of Google and Wikipedia; research group workshop. Read: "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" and "Wikiality in My Classroom." Assignment: After you've finished the readings, complete journal entry linked below before you come to class; work with your group to finalize your research question and develop a draft of your survey/interview questions before you come to class.
Week 8—Thursday
Topic: Technology on American college campuses. Read: "Laptops vs. Learning" and "Schools Drop Laptops." Assignment: Continue to work with your group on developing your research plan. By the end of class today, you should be ready to submit your complete plan (see the link below).
19 October - 25 October
- Week 9—Tuesday
Topic: Conducting online research; short group meetings with Quinn. Read: Tips for Conducting Internet Research and Evaluating Online Information, both linked below. (You don't need to print these readings; just review them thoroughly before you come to class.) Assignment: Meet with your group sometime before class and make final plans for conducting your original research. Once Quinn has approved your research plan, you may begin conducting your research. When you come to class, be ready to talk to Quinn about what you've done so far and what you still need to do.
Week 9—Thursday
Topic: Collaborative writing processes; making sense of your data; drafting workshop for the Collaborative Research Project. Assignment: Bring whatever results (survey data, interview notes, observation data, etc.) your group has collected so far.
26 October - 1 November
- Week 10—Tuesday
Topic: Discuss challenges related to the Collaborative Research Project. Introduction to "kinetic texts" and the Kinetic Text assignment. Read: "Wikipedia and the Meaning of Truth." Visit the Billy Collins, Action Poet website and view at least three (preferably more) of the videos on the site. Assignment: Continue working with your group on the Collaborative Research Project (due November 4th); ensure that your essay uses a proper citation format (see resource below).
Week 10—Thursday
IMPORTANT: Quinn will be at a conference today, so we will not meet as a class. However, you should meet with your Collaborative Research Project group as needed during Week 10. Your final essay is due next Tuesday, November 4th. Please review the Collaborative Research Project assignment sheet before you submit your essay.
2 November - 8 November
- Week 11—Tuesday
Topic: iMovie workshop; begin gathering images, video, and sound for the Kinetic Text assingment. Read: Read pages 1–70 of Creating a Movie with iMovie and iDVD (textbook); visit a Mac lab on campus and work through the tutorials in the textbook until you feel comfortable with the iMovie interface. Assignment: The Collaborative Research Project is due at the beginning of class. Each group should bring one copy of its final essay, as well as copies of all original research materials (survey questionnaires, interview notes, etc.). You should also begin thinking about what "text" you would like to use for your Kinetic Text assignment. Finally, if you haven't added a post to the Kinetic Text Examples forum yet, please do so before you come to class.
Week 11—Thursday
Topic: iMovie workshop; assembling clips, aligning audio and video, creating titles and credits. Assignment: Begin collecting audio, video, and images for your Kinetic Text assignment; bring electronic copies of all components of your project to class.
9 November - 15 November
- Week 12—Tuesday
Topic: iMovie workshop—aligning audio and video; adding titles and cretdits; 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—Thursday
Topic: 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).
16 November - 22 November
- Week 13—Tuesday
Topic: Exporting and uploading videos for YouTube. Discuss any final questions/concerns about the Kinetic Text assignment. Introduction to HTML and the Electronic Portfolio assignment. Read: Chapter 1 of Creating a Web Page with HTML; The History of HTML (just that section of the Wikipedia entry on HTML). Assignment: Continue working on your Kinetic Text video; bring Creating a Web Page with HTML textbook to class.
Week 13—Thursday
Topic: HTML and CSS workshop. Quiz on Creating a Web Page with HTML. Read: Chapters 2 and 3 of Creating a Web Page with 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. NOTE: If you would like to resubmit your Reading Journal for an improved grade, today is the last day you can submit it.
23 November - 29 November
- Thanksgiving Break—No Classes
30 November - 6 December
- Week 15—Tuesday
Topic: Styling web pages with CSS. Using Acropolis, FTP, and other tools to publish your website. Read: Review the list of Electronic Portfolio Resources, if you haven't done so already. Assignment: If you haven't already completed the tutorials in Creating a Web Page with HTML, please do so over the Thanksgiving break. Download several templates from the Open Source Web Design (or Open Web Design) site that you think you may want to use for your electronic portfolio. By the end of class on Tuesday, you will need to select one of these templates as the starting point for your portfolio.
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.
7 December - 13 December
- Week 16—TuesdayTopic: 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—Thursday
Topic: Individual conferences with Quinn to discuss your final portfolio. Assignment: Sign up for a 15-minute conference with Quinn on Thursday. (If you can't meet on Thursday, please email Quinn to schedule a time for 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 work on your portfolio.
14 December - 20 December
- Week 17—Submit Final Project (DEADLINE: Monday, December 15, noon.)
Assignment: Due to an unavoidable scheduling conflict, we will not meet in person for our final exam. To submit your final, complete the following tasks before noon on Monday, December 15: upload your memo of transmission in MS Word format to the Electronic Portfolio assignment, 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. (Please use your newfound HTML skills to make the URLs actually work as links!) When you have completed these two tasks, you're all done. So long, and thanks for the memories!