This course takes for its foundational premise that digital media differs from that of print in several key ways, and because of these differences, to use digital media successfully, writers must develop specific skills for its mastery. WDM is designed to introduce students to these skills, provide them various projects in which to develop them, and teach them to become savvy producers and consumers of new media.
Orientation LitWiki #writdm Blogs Foundational Rubric Web Rubric
Goals
In this course, you will use lectures, texts, and daily practice to improve your writing for the screen. You will read, write, and workshop (discuss each other’s work in online environments for the purpose of improvement). Though this class teaches you how to gear your writing toward a digital audience and the basics of how to publish that writing on the web, it is not a technology class; it is a writing class, though we will undoubtedly address technology throughout. That said, our primary concern is writing, not the tech.
Required Texts
The following text will be available in the MSC book store, but you may also order via the link below.
- Carroll, Brian. Writing for Digital Media. Routledge (2010). (Available free for now)
- Lynch, Patrick J. and Sarah Horton. The Web Style Guide.
- Résumé Notes.
Course Policies
Students are held accountable for knowing and practicing each of the course policies. Consider them like the law: the excuse “I didn’t know” will carry no weight. Since these policies are applicable to every course I teach, they are available on a separate page.
As a Macon State College student and as a student in any of my classes, it is your responsibility to read, understand, and abide by the MSC Student Code of Conduct from the MSC Student Handbook (PDF).
Requirements
Participation (30%)
This requirement includes all work not included in additional requirements below. Basically, it will be your daily writing practice which will take place mostly in the form of Twitter discussions and potentially forum posts. One of the first
Focused Blog (40%)
For this assignment, students will construct a focused blog and develop it throughout the rest of the semester.
Contributions (10%)
Students will contribute posts to two published blogs: Big Jelly and the Media, Culture & the Arts.
Class Wiki Project (20%)
As a class, students will construct a wiki on a topic of their choosing. This will include a formal proposal, group contributions, and individual entries.
At a Glance: Assignment Due Dates
Assignments are always due on Fridays at noon. Know that on Friday of each week, you should have something to submit for evaluation, even if it’s just participation on Twitter. Assignments not yet linked below are forthcoming.
All Assignments- 01/11/13 — WDMWk1: Start due
- 01/18/13 — WDMWk2: Foundations due
- 01/25/13 — WDMWk3: About Page due
- 02/01/13 — WDMWk4: LinkedIn Résumé due
- 02/08/13 — WDMWk5: Focused Blog, first entry due (a minimum of ten entries due by the end of the term)
- 02/15/13 – WDMWK6: Focused Blog assignment extended a week — WDMWk5 now due 2/15
- 02/22/13 — WDMWk7: Big Jelly Contribution due
- 03/01/13 – WDMWk8: MCA Contribution due
- 03/08/13 — Spring Break (no assignments due)
- 03/15/13 – WDMWk9: Wiki Project Proposal due
- 03/22/13 — WDMWk10: Big Jelly Contribution (round 2) due
- 03/28/13 — WDMWk11: Wiki single entry due 4/5 @ noon
- 04/04/13 – WDMWk12: Wiki group entry due 4/12 @ noon
- 04/11/13 — WDMWk13: MCA Contribution (round 2) due
- 04/18/13 – Final focused blog due
- 04/25/13 — WDMWk15: Final Wiki due
