Assignments

There are four major assignments this semester. All involve a mix of group and individual work. We will be working on all of these assignments at the same time. As the particulars of these projects become clearer, I will post detailed assignment sheets which include milestones (so you will have graded work before midterm).

Service learning

The major assignment for the semester is a service learning project in which you create a web site or similar computer-based project for a campus, community, or service organization. This project will both involve multiple uses of computers—as content creation tools, for research, for discussion and coordination, etc. The most important component of this assignment is applying the content of readings, from the most practical to the more theoretical, to writing, design, and computing.

Students in the Quad Cities will find clients on their own, working individually or in small teams. In Macomb, we will work as a class to develop a new web site for First Year Experience.
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Complimentary project

As a foil to the service learning project, you will complete a second work using computers. The idea here is to do something very different: if your primary work on the service learning project is developing documentation, for example, you’ll want to push this project in a creative, experimental direction. While I am very flexible regarding format (for example, you can create a web site, a portfolio of manipulated photos, or something different altogether), because this is a WID course, you’ll need to ensure the project contains a fair amount of writing. How much will depend on the amount you do for your service learning work.
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Group weblog

I have created a course weblog on my server wrecking.org. Both Macomb and Quad Cities sections will use this weblog to discuss course activities, assignments, readings, etc. Feel free to share things you believe are related, start discussions, comment on threads, etc.

Among my goals for the weblog:

  1. You will learn the form through engagement with it, participating in this and other weblogs, gaining understanding of common techniques (categories, quotations, trackbacks, etc), and considering issues raised by the readings in an online writing space.
  2. We will extend discussion and engagement beyond one night a week and engage both sections in a single conversation.
  3. The weblog will provide a space for content which at first doesn’t seem to fit the main stream of the course (and for considering how it might).

I expect everyone to post to the weblog (either starting a conversation or contributing to one) multiple times each week—and not only the day before classes.

Class participation

As noted in the course policies, participating in class discussions is a critical component of the course. Since we will devote little time to lecture and more in studio work and teacher- and student-led discussions, plan for an active, engaged class. Come to class ready to participate actively in class activities and discussions. Bring your textbooks, notes, and writing materials to class daily. Read all the material assigned multiple times and be prepared to discuss it. If you aren’t contributing to every class, you aren’t participating enough. You don’t need to say something profound to make a contribution—your questions are valuable too.