ENL-491-02 ASSIGNMENTS

This course reflects the needs and expectations of a "real-world" electronic working environment. The work you will do is project-based, collaborative, complex, and intensive. Since ENL-491 is the core course of the E-Crit Program, your performance is greeted with VERY HIGH EXPECTATIONS. Because the group includes E-Crit majors at varying levels of experience, advanced majors will be expected to act as mentors and instructors for their classmates. They will perform this role by teaching class workshops, directing group projects, and participating heavily in e-mail discussions.

This term, you are expected to make formal proposals (or outlines) for each of your assignments (see due dates below). The proposals can be delivered electronically, orally, or in print, but they must be completed by the due dates indicated to receive a grade.

All assignments must be submitted at the beginning of the class for which they are due. Tardiness will result in a loss of one point per day past due. Plagiarism will result in an grade of F in this class.

NOTES, QUIZZES AND PARTICIPATION - 10 points

Quizzes: A brief quiz will be administered at the beginning of each class for which a reading is due. Students who are late for class will not have quiz questions repeated for them. Students can opt out of quizzes by submitting notes at the beginning of each class. Do not underestimate the impact that quizzes will have on your overall grade.

Notes: All students are required to submit notes for each article included in the course packet. Notes must be submitted at the beginning of the class in which the article is being discussed. How do you take notes? Read the article, underline what you think is important, and use a word processing program to transcribe the most important statements in the article. Beneath the transcription, you can make personal comments about why you think the statement is important.

E-Mail List: As dwellers in a Digital/Visual culture, you are expected to keep a critical eye open at all times, and to share your observations with others in an online forum. You should consider your classmates as a community to which you are responsible on a daily basis. All students will be expected to contribute regularly to online discussions; join the discussion list by clicking here and filling out the form. The E-Crit Listerv involves participants from several countries, and you will be expected to engage them in conversation. Performance will be graded according to quantity, quality and consistency. In short, WRITE WELL AND WRITE OFTEN. What do you write about? Start by reading the NY Times Circuits section. This will give you plenty of material. Besides that, you should write about issues covered in class, and any digital culture issue that you deem worthy of an "electronic critique discussion."

IN-CLASS PRESENTATION - 10 points

Each student group will plan and deliver a presentation on one of the weekly reading assignments. This presentation must include a simple Web "slide show" display to effectively enhance what is being said (details in class). This project requires you to demonstrate an excellent understanding of the reading, and you will be expected to put the reading within the context of other issues discussed in class and on the listserv. The week before the presentation, the presenter is responsible for generating discussion about the reading on the class listserv.
COMPREHENSIVENESS: 3%
INNOVATION: 2%
OVERALL INSTRUCTIVE QUALITY: 5%

ASSIGNMENT 1: Web Essay on Surveillance, Discipline and Technology - 20 points

This assignment requires you to write an academic essay on technologies of surveillance and discipline, and their impact on our everyday lives. You can choose to write about the presence of such technologies in your own life, in a film, or on the web. You must cite at least two articles from the class in your essay. Additional instructions will be provided in class. Note that the due dates below include submission of an outline and a first draft. The more complete your outline and draft are on the date of review, the more success you will have in the final version of your paper.

Due Dates:
Outline: Tuesday, February 1 - 2% (based on completeness, depth of thought)
First Draft: Tuesday, February 8- 3% (based on completeness, depth of thought, use of course readings)
Final Draft: Tuesday, February 15 - 15% (based on completeness, adherence to assignment, clarity, persuasiveness, evidence of revision)

ASSIGNMENT 2: Mediascape - 60 points
This project requires each group to create a dreadmill-run "mediascape" that reflects the readings completed in class. What's a dreadmill-run mediascape? It involves creating a quicktime movie for a computer that is wired to a treadmill. The speed of your movie will be determined by the speed of the runner/walker. Your "movie" might consist of nothing more than still images, simple animations, and text, but it must reflect the course readings and teach the dreadmill user about what you learned in this class.

Due Dates:
Storyboard: Tuesday, March 22- 10%
Using Storyboard Quick software, you will "pitch" your mediascape idea to the rest of class using visual aids from Storyboard Quick. By this point, you must have a very clear idea of what you want to do with the project. You will be graded on the completeness of your idea, your use of course readings, and your innovative use of the dreadmill device.

First Cut: Tuesday, April 5 - 20%
The first cut of your project must give a very good impression of how your mediascape is going to look. You will be graded on your ability to respond to the criticism of the storyboard and adapt accordingly. You will also be graded on the clarity of your work, your use of course readings, and innovative use of the dreadmill interface.

Final Cut: Tuesday, April 19 - 30%
The final cut will be graded according to your ability to respond to the critique of your first cut. You will be graded on the same criteria.

Mediascape Performances
On April 26, you will have a chance to "perform" your mediascape on the Dreadmill. Additional details in class.