Syllabus

Contact Information

Instructor: Ms. Angela Harrison

Office Hours: Via Skype, AIM, or Google Plus; in person before or after class and by appointment

Email: aharr094@odu.edu

Skype: aharr094

AIM: aharrison094

Twitter: angela757

Course Fundamentals

This course introduces students to issues of writing in various digital environments like web pages, email, blogs, wikis, and discussion boards. This class also introduces fundamentals of hypertext authoring, digital and visual rhetoric, and image manipulation.

Thus, the course is structured so that every other week is a lecture, followed by a week of hands on activities. The hands on activities will be conducted in Adobe Connect. The purpose of doing so is to identify various forms of digital writing on the web and then produce documents based on what was learned the week before. Detailed goals include:

• Explore what digital writing is, how it is similar to/different from print media, and the different genres and conventions of each.

• Practice writing with digital tools and publish them to targeted audiences
• Create multimedia projects individually or collaboratively and provide constructive feedback
• Write ethically and responsibly
• Understand how meaning-making occurs in digital spaces on the micro and macro levels

Prerequisites

To best fulfill these goals, the prerequisites for English 307 include the 6-hour general education composition requirement.

Required Materials

Redish, Janice. (2007). Letting Go of the Words: Writing Web Content that Works. 1^st Edition. New York: Morgan Kaufman (this book is available on Amazon. Be sure to buy the first edition and not the second).

Course-related software and articles will be available online via Blackboard.

Project Management

Because the exchange of information and materials in this class will be electronic, familiarity with certain technologies is crucial for participation in the course. If you need any assistance at any point during the semester, please do not hesitate to ask for help. If you are having trouble with specific assignments and/or software, it is best to address the problem before it is too late.

• You must have access to your ODU email account. YOU are responsible for the transfer of messages and documents to your instructor or classmates.
• All emails sent to me must have ENG 307 and the name of the assignment in the subject line. Please practice standard email etiquette; I will not respond to emails that are simply demands or questions.
• Check the course calendar before the start of each class. You are responsible for keeping track of the date materials will be due. If you are confused for any reason, please ask. Better safe than sorry.
• You will be required to maintain a number of accounts and passwords for various software and/or sites. Please keep track of these passwords. Also, please do not download any software that is not outlined in the course instructions. You run the risk of downloading malware that may harm your computer.
• Practice is key. Please do not wait until the night before an assignment is due to learn the software required. This course is designed to allot practice time so you can become familiar with applications and technology, plus troubleshoot with your peers.
• Maintain back up copies of all projects. Your hard drive crashing, not saving your work, or puppies eating your flash drive are not excuses for turning in late work. Save your work often. If you are using a program other than Microsoft Word for written portions of projects, please use the Rich Text Format for saving and distributing documents.

Assignments and Grades

In class assignments/participation/meeting minutes: 15%

Twitter: 10%

Wiki Project: 20%

HTML Project: 20%

Photo Manipulation project: 20%

Blog: 10%

Final: 5%

Grading Scale

• A = 93 –100%
• A- = 90 – 92
• B+ = 88 – 89
• B = 83 – 87
• B- = 80 – 82
• C+ = 78 – 79
• C = 73 – 77
• C- = 70 – 72
• D+ = 68 – 69
• D = 63 – 67
• D- = 60 – 62
• F = <60%

Policies

Preparedness and Participation: Your preparedness and participation will affect your grade, and failure to hand in a major assignment constitutes failure of the course. Though aspects of the course require participation via Twitter, I do ask that you avoid other distractions in class. While there is no way to monitor you, it becomes obvious throughout the semester who is paying attention and who is not. I reserve the right to ask a student to leave the class either temporarily or permanently if the student does not conduct himself/herself in a mature and professional manner.

Distance course expectations: Distance courses require you to be responsible for paying attention to assignments due dates and contacting the professor when you need assistance. It is a good idea to print out the syllabus and keep it in a visible place. Keeping track of your attendance is also your responsibility. Participation in lecture and group meetings is also important to your grade in the course, so you should make an effort to participate. Several sites are also on camera, and if you are observed behaving inappropriately you will be asked to leave.

Adobe Connect Discussions: Approximately every other class meeting will be held in the Adobe Connect classroom (https://connect.odu.edu/eng307) where we are better able to conduct lively discussions with everyone’s participation. Logging in requires no passwords or downloads, but you must log in using your name so you can be considered as in attendance. All sessions are recorded and can be reviewed later at your request. Participation in discussions accounts for 15% of your course grade, so merely logging in and not participating will impact your final grade in this course.

Plagiarism: Writers who use the words or ideas of others are obligated to give credit through proper acknowledgment and documentation. Failure to give credit is plagiarism, a violation of the ODU Honor Code that can lead to expulsion from the University. If the quality of your in-class and out-of-class writing varies dramatically, I reserve the right to ask you to write under supervision. You are also not permitted to change your paper topic at the last minute, submit another’s work as your own (including HTML code), or submit work that you have previously submitted for evaluation in another class. If you have questions about how and when to acknowledge sources, please refer to Quick Access or see me for advice.

Special Needs: If you have special needs because of a documented disability, or if you have emergency medical information to share, please notify me during the first week of class so we may discuss the accommodation process.

 A Note to Technophobes

We’re going to do some heavy-duty work with technology. Regardless of your skill level, you will recieve the support, guidance, and instruction you need to succeed in the course. It is not required or even important that you are a technical whiz; we’ll all be working at different levels with the common goal that everyone advances. You will find that your classmates, web searches, and instructor guidance are all options you can use for help. In some cases, you may become frustrated. Remember, practice is key. If you need help, please ask.

 About This Syllabus

This syllabus is subject to change throughout this semester based on student needs and agreed to by me. When updates, additions, and subtractions are made, the class will be notified and the course site will be updated. Any typos or general nonsensical comments are mine and mine alone.