Assignments
Detailed assignment sheets and examples of some assignments are available; see the links below. Please keep all completed assignments, so you can keep track of your grades.
Class participation
Active engagement is expected. I will facilitate discussion, ask questions of individual students, provide in-class assignments, and do whatever else is necessary to ensure a lively, intellectual environment. Help your cause by speaking up as often as you can.
Weekly reading quizzes will help me determine your class participation grade.
I will evaluate your class participation after six weeks and again at the end of the semester.
Experiments and exercises
Post the experiments and exercises we create in-class based on the practical bent of our readings. This will add up to a web presence which shows your work for the course, among other things. You can include the use of online services to create content about your academic and professional interests, or a hobby, and connect yourself to online communities with similar interests.
I will comment on this work continually, with more detailed evaluations after six weeks and again at the end of the semester.
Group weblog
I have created a course weblog on my server wrecking.org. We will create user accounts in the first class session. Use this weblog to discuss course activities, assignments, readings, etc. Feel free to share things you believe are related, start discussions, comment on threads, and use the weblog for generally anything related to computers and writing.
Among my goals for the weblog:
- 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.
- We will extend discussion and engagement beyond two nights a week.
- The weblog will provide a space for considering things which at first don’t seem to fit the main stream of the course.
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. I’ll evaluate your weblog posts after six weeks and at the end of the semester.
Leading discussions
Two times One time this semester, you will lead an hour of class. You will provide a handout (or display a web page) which isolates several issues from the week’s readings you’d like to discuss, then moderate our discussion.
Semester project
You have two options for the semester project. Though each option will be broken down into components, spreading out grading and assessment throughout the semester, the final draft of this project still makes up the majority of your grade this semester.
- Create a well-developed, practical, sustainable, contact-rich web presence for yourself or a campus or community organization.
- Write a seminar paper which engages one or more of the concepts we’ve investigated this semester, or investigates another, contributing to the academic conversation about computers and writing in English studies.
Final examination
An essay examination. You will be given five questions and will answer three. I will write the examination based on my notes from classes—my records of the issues and materials which were most important for us this semester. So your best option for studying is reviewing notes taken during class.
Assignment point breakdown
Assignments are assigned points; the table below shows the proportion dedicated to each assignment and milestone.
| assignment | milestone | points |
|---|---|---|
| Class participation | weeks 1-6 | 50 |
| weeks 7-15 | 100 | |
| Group weblog | weeks 1-6 | 50 |
| weeks 7-15 | 100 | |
| Examples & experiments | weeks 1-6 | 50 |
| weeks 7-15 | 50 | |
| Project | prospectus | 25 |
| rough draft | 25 | |
| presentation | 50 | |
| second draft | 50 | |
| final | 300 250 | |
| Leading discussions | 50 100 | |
| Final examination | 100 | |
| Total | 1000 | |