Today 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:
   

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):

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.

Today you will have most of the class session to work on your WordPress site for Project 1. My goal is to move around the classroom and visit with each one of you to see where you are in the project and answer any questions that I can. If we run out of time before I visit with everyone, we will continue on Friday.

Assessment Criteria for Project 1

I use a system that allows you to aim for the grade that you want on each project, based on the work that you do, the risks that you take, and the effort that you put in. Risks primarily come into play with Project 3. The Web Portal Assessment Guidelines explain the expectations for each work level.

When you write your reflection memo about the work you did on the project, you will tell me what grade you have aimed for and how you went about fulfilling the criteria for that grade. You need to work consciously toward the grade you want, and you must be able to explain how you reached your goal.

Writing Content for Your About Page

The About Page tells someone about you, the author of the site, and why you made the site. At its most basic, it identifies you as the author and says you made the site for the course. It’s similar to the author bio that you’d find on the back cover of a book. Do protect your own privacy and only divulge information that you are comfortable with the entire class reading. If you are in the witness protection program, realize that you do not have to include a photo of yourself or use your real name.

Here are some random examples that show the kind of information you might include:

• About Traci (the about page for my teacherly website)
• About, from Tengrrl Cooks (the about page for a blog where I occasionally post recipes)
• About The Hudson Team (this page covers an entire team, where yours only needs to describe you, but it has example bios)
• HOLLY CROMER (I’m not in love with the layout of the about info, but the page is a nice, brief bio)
• ABOUT ERIN ANDERSON, THE SLEEPYTIME TEACHER (this one is longer than yours needs to be, but full of information)

I also also have some how-to links that might help you:

• “Meet the Team” Pages: Examples and Trends (Smashing Magazine)
• Are You Making These 7 Mistakes with Your About Page? (Copyblogger)
• How to Write Your About Me Page

Writing Content for Your Site Info Page

The Site Information Page tells someone about how you made your website. The information is the same kind of details that you would find on a colophon in a book. You would explain about the theme that you used and who made it, the plugins you are using, and the image that show up on every (or most) of the pages on your site. Here are some random examples that show the kind of information you might include:

• DAVE SABOL (this one is longer than I expect from you)
• Behind the Curtain (Colophon), from Pixelyzed (this page includes historical info that I don’t expect from you)
• Colophon, from The Design Office (this one is bare bones, but has all the necessary info)
• Kevin Shoffner
• Colophon, from The City of Birmingham Choir
• H&W Design Company

Homework

Be ready to share the draft of your Web Portal in class during the next session. You will post the link to your site in the forums along with details on what you want your readers to tell you about what they see on the site.

I will provide some guiding questions for you to use as you respond to one another, but come to class prepared to ask for help or specific feedback as well. For instance, you might want to know whether your background image seems too busy, or you might ask for suggestions on how to add more details to your About page.

Remember to also add a blog post for today that talks about “What you did” and “Why you did it.” These blog posts will help you when you write your Reflection memo next week.