Class Notes

Examples for Project 2

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This is the post for the September 24, 2014 class meeting.

What group work teachesToday we will look at some resources for Project 2, assessment guidelines for the project, and some examples for the web essay portion of Project 2.

Important Dates

  • October 1: Sign up for a presentation time slot
  • October 8: P2 draft due in class for Peer Review
  • October 13, 15, or 17: P2 presentations
  • October 17: P2 web essay due
  • October 24: P2 web essay deadline

Choosing Your Interface

If you have not yet done so, go to the Project 2 Sign-Up and choose one of the remaining tools for your project. Remember you are governed by the Honor Code (so don’t remove someone else’s name to add your own).

Gathering Details for Project 2

I have a slideshow that includes short definitions of the major components of your evaluation that you can use as you work. You can make a copy of a blank version of the Writer/Designer Analysis Questions that we used to analyze WordPress.com by following these steps:

  1. Open the blank version of Writer/Designer Analysis Questions. (If it asks you to login, use your vt.edu email login.)

  2. Under the File menu, choose Make a Copy command. Give the file a new name if you like in the box that pops up:
    make-a-copy

  3. Click the OK button, and Google Docs will open a version of the document with the name you have chosen.

You can probably find the file later by going to the top folder in your Google Drive (in other words, My Drive). If you have trouble, use the search tool to look for the file on your drive. Once you find it, you can find the name of the folder that it is in after the filename (indicated by the mouse pointer in the example below):
file-location

Examples for Project 2

The assessment guidelines for Project 2 outline what you need to do in your projects to earn the grade you are aiming for. Essentially, the movement from a C to a B to an A has to do with increasing sophistication with how you integrate the different modes of communication, the design of the web essay, and the balance on text and images in your oral presentation.

The example web essays included in the Project 2 assignment demonstrate how some students worked on the assignment in the past. Note, however, that the students did not have exactly the same assessment guidelines that you do. I will arrange the class into four small groups.

  1. The Video Star Verdict
  2. Haiku Deck
  3. Editorially
  4. PowToon

Each group will answer the following questions for the essay and prepare to share their findings with the class as a whole at the end of the session:

  • What are three good things about the project? What should not be changed? Why is it good?
  • What three suggestions do you have to improve the site?
  • What three lessons can you take away from the example as you work on your own project?

Have one group member take notes online and email your group’s notes to me by the end of the session. I will compile all the advice into one document and share it on Friday.

Homework

For Friday, the 26th, read the Introduction to Memes and explore some of the links on the page. We’ll discuss memes and make some in class. Be aware that some memes are in questionable taste and/or offensive stereotypes.

For next week, we’ll talk about the expectations for the oral presentation (and how to avoid bad PowerPoint presentations), and perhaps talk about working with screenshots as well as maybe do some more work with memes.


 
Last updated on 3rd October, 2014, 1:13 AM