Syllabus

Course Description

Digital and interactive media permeate virtually every aspect of our society—from information delivery and product marketing to education and entertainment. In this course you will learn practical and critical skills necessary to become a technically proficient and cognitive digital media maker. Literacy in any medium is the ability to both access (read) materials created by others and to generate (write) materials for others. In this course you will learn to “speak” the language of digital media and to become conversant with the computer as an expressive medium. Through hands-on exercises and projects, you will be introduced to creative approaches to media production and to a range of software. The format of this class is designed to bridge theory and practice. We will explore contemporary issues including: digital imaging, the computer as a medium, typography, copyright, sound and moving image, and web design. We will concern ourselves with “how” and “why” the digital world is constructed the way it is. Students will be challenged to deconstruct this world and to develop an ability to analyze and critique the cultural implications of digital media in our lives.

Learning Goals

A successful student will develop the following skills by the end of the semester:

• Use a Macintosh computer, Photoshop (digital imaging) and Dreamweaver (for web design) to generate media.
• Understand the function and relationship of computer hardware, operating systems, input/output devices and the Internet.
• Generate media that is critical and cognizant of a larger context (social, political, historical, and/or economical).
• Develop an appreciation and understanding of the production process.
• Successfully find solutions to technical problems.
• Give and receive constructive feedback in a group setting.
• Use feedback given to others in the generation of new work.
• Develop, present and articulate creative ideas in both written and verbal formats.
• Analyze your relationship with digital technology, the role it plays in your life, in your work, in our society, and in the world.

Textbooks and Materials

materials:
USB Flash Drive (4-8 GB) - OR - portable Hard Drive

texts:
all required readings will be available online or handed out in class

attitude:
Your enthusiasm, curiosity and willingness to learn.

optional technical texts:
Technical books become out of date quickly; I recommend finding an appropriate online resource. Many tutorials (of varying quality) are available without cost online. Good video tutorials are available from Adobe. More advanced and complete tutorials specifically selected for this course are available at Lynda.com for $35. w3Schools offers great resources for coding (HTML, CSS, XML, PHP, etc.).

optional history/theory texts:

• The Reconfigured Eye by William J. Mitchell
• Multimedia - From Wagner to Virtual Reality edited by Randall Packer & Ken Jordan
• The New Media Reader edited by Noah Wardrip-Fruin & Nick Montfort

Grade Weights

Participation: 20%

A large amount of class time will be dedicated to group critiques, team projects and class discussion. I encourage you to take an active role in contributing to make our class a fun and dynamic place to be.

Weekly Assignments: 55%

This is where its at - you can't learn web development by osmosis or wait until the end of the semester to cram for an exam. Digital Media production involves a complex spectrum of techniques and software. If you do the assignments each week you will do well. If not, you will fall behind rapidly. Weekly exercises are due at the beginning of class the week after they are assigned unless noted otherwise.

Final Project: 25%

This group project integrates many of the skills you will learn this semester. Each team will be assigned a "client". You will perform an analysis of the client's existing website. Using this information, the clients goals and requirements and other research, you will design and build a new website using HTML and CSS.

Tips

• Warning - this course demands substantial work outside of class time to complete the projects. Unless you already own an Apple computer with the relevant software, you should plan on coming into the Digital Media lab for an additional 3 hours every week.
• Attendance is essential to succeed in this class. The skills and techniques taught are cumulative - they build upon previous ones. Missing just one week can make it very difficult to catch up. You will also note that class participation makes up a sizable percentage of your final grade - if you are absent you cannot participate and your grade will suffer.
• Save different versions of your projects and save often. Make back-ups of your files.
• Work in the lab with a friend - when learning new technology, 2 brains are usually better than one. You are welcome to work on your assignments at home but many students use the Multimedia Lab in room 556. Lab hours will be posted after the first week of classes. Students may not use the lab when another class is in session. If the lab is locked during regular lab hours you may get a key from the Security Desk.
• Ask for help!!!

Safety

Electrical:
Water/liquids are a excellent conductors. You can be shocked if you are touching water that touches electricity. Be careful with drinks around the computers!

Carpal Tunnel
Computer keyboarding, typing and use of the mouse are among many common activities that have been identified as contributing to repetitive stress induced [w:Carpal_tunnel_syndrome|carpal tunnel syndrome].

Eye Strain
Staring at a glowing monitor for extended periods of time can cause headaches, eyestrain and problems with your eyesight. Remember to take frequent short breaks by looking away from the monitor and focusing on something in the distance, or close your eyes for a moment. Your eyes need a break!

Attendance Policy

Attendance and participation are essential for success in this course. Remember that if you miss one class, you miss an entire week’s worth of material. You are allowed one unexcused absence (for the entire course) without penalty. You are responsible for the material (including exercises and projects) you missed during your absence. Additional unexcused absences will result in a penalty to your final grade in the course: your second absence means your final grade drops one notch (e.g. B+ to B); your third absence drops your grade an additional two notches. Your fourth absence results in a failing grade for the course.

Lateness is also damaging to the class dynamic and chronic lateness will adversely affect your final grade. Three late arrivals to class (or early departures) during the course of the 14 week sessions results in a loss of a full letter grade of your final grade in the course. A lateness is arrival to the classroom 10 minutes past the starting time or departure more than 10 minutes before class ends.

Any late assignments, written or media based, will result in a deduction of points from the grade for the assignment.

Disabilities

Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments for this course must either enroll in the Program for Academic Access or register with the Office of Student Support Services. For any accommodation, the instructor must be presented with either a letter from the Assistant Director of the Program for Academic Access or an Accommodations Card from the Office of Student Support Services during the first week of classes.

Academic Honesty Policy

MMC fosters an academic community where students and faculty work together to create a learning experience that imparts knowledge and forms character. To achieve this, the College requires all members of the community to adhere to the policy of Academic Honesty that can be found in the Student Handbook, the College Catalogue and on the College website.

Schedule

Week 1: February 1

In class:

• Course Overview - Focus on experiential and active learning, problem solving and life skills
• Introduction to Computers & Mac OS - Dock, Desktop, Server, RAM, ROM, Hard Drive, Processor, Ergonomics
• Layout Basics - Composition, Focal Point, Focus, Scale, Color, Contrast, Rhythm, Dynamic
• Photoshop: Layers & Transformation - Layers, Duplicate Layer, Transform (Scale, stretch, squash, rotate, translate), Alpha/Transparency, Blend Modes, Saving, File Types

Week 2: February 8

In class:

• Review Reading - Labels/Captions, Assemblage, Insertions, Deletion, Substitution, Cropping/Framing, Composites, Record/Document, Communication, Identification
• View “Retouched Photos” - Ethics, Responsibility, Representation
• Digital Imaging Concepts - Resolution, Pixels, Color Wheel, Inputs/Outputs, Analog vs. Digital
• Photoshop: Digital Imaging - Variations, Levels, Clone Stamp, Airbrushing, Dodge & Burn
• Scanning

Read for today:

• “How to do Things with Pictures” by William Mitchell [pdf]

Due:

1. Find an image in the world (magazine, Internet, on the street) that makes use of one of the techniques discussed in the chapter.
2. Write a 1-page response that explains this technique and how it was used (or misused) to convey a specific meaning to the viewer.
3. Turn in your typed response and a printout of the image (with your name and date)

Due:

• Collect 1 physical (analog) image of your favorite celebrity that is scratched/damaged [you can provide the scratches]

Week 3: February 15

In class:

• Review Reading - Who is involved in the re-touching process? What are the responsibilities/ethics associated with the profession? What are the similarities/differences to cosmetic surgery? What role does digital technology play in our understanding of body and body manipulation?
• View Example Composite Images
• Copyright - Copyright vs. Plaigarism, Fair Use, Creative Commons, copies & distribution, derivative works, “tangible form of expression”, Protection, Purpose/Origins
• Photoshop: Compositing Basics - Selections, Masks, Copy & Paste, Replace Color, Patch

Read for today:

•  "Pixel Perfect" by Lauren Collins

 Due:

• Image Repair

Week 4: February 22

In class:

• View & Discuss Digital Cosmetic Surgery Assignments - Believability/Lack of Evidence of Tampering, Process/Choices, Composition, Focal point
• Exercise: Finding & Matching Perspective
• Photoshop: Faking It - Distort, Creating Shadows

 Due:

• Cosmetic Surgery
• Bring Materials for Self-Portrait

Week 5: March 1

In class:

• View & Discus Self-Portrait Composite Images - Believability/Lack of Evidence of Tampering, Process/Choices, Composition, Concept
• Photoshop Tennis
• Introduce HTML

Due:

• Self-Portrait

Week 6: March 8

In class:

• Continue with HTML - Tags, Attributes, File Structure, HTML Grammar, Naming Conventions
• Write HTML Page: body, head, title, img, a, p, br

link to HTML cheat sheet

Read for today:

• Don't Make Me Think Chapter 1
• Don't Make Me Think Chapter 2

Week 7: March 15

In class:

• Introduction to Dreamweaver - Setting up site/Managing Site; Images & Links; Tables (cell, column, row, padding, spacing, border); Save for Web
• Discuss Website Project and Process
• Planning: Purpose/Mission, Content, Audience, Client, Writing, Editing, Information Architecture
• Design: Research-Mockup-Revision cycle
• Implementation: Templates, Testing, Make “live”
• Design Research - What is the website's mission and purpose? What goals would you like a website to help you reach? Who is your target audience? What do you know about the audience? What are their aesthetic and informational needs/desires? How can we find out more details? Who are your competitors and partners?
• Establish Teams

Due:

• False Identity

Week 8: March 22

In class:

• Mockup Basics - Resolution, Color Scheme Choices/Options, Integration of Logo, Maintaining Identity, Navigation
• Site Maps
• View Web Design Examples

Read for today:

• Usability Testing

 Due:

• 1-2 Creative Brief for Niche, your final project

Week 9: April 5

In class:

• Introduction to Cascading Stylesheets (CSS): Styling Text - Why Style?, Internal Vs. External Styles, Syntax, Selector, Property, Value
• View & Discuss Mockups - Composition/Layout; Focal Point; Color; Compliments organization and mission; Clear Structure; Fulfills recommendations
• Typography Basics - Serif, Sans-Serif, Concord, Contrast, Conflict, Size, Color, Cases, Style, Weight, Alignment, Readability, Legibility, Fonts, lorem ipsum
• Information Architecture and Information Hierarchy - Strategies to guide your audience through information
• Meet with Design Teams: Work on Revised Design

Read for today:

• Web Typography; Typographic Contrast & Flow

 Due:

• Usability Study
• Sitemap
• Mockup - 1st Draft

April 12 - NO CLASS - Advising

Week 10: April 19

In class:

• Review Styling Text Exercise
• From HTML Pages to HTML Sites - Best Practices, Linking Pages, Organization
• Digging Into CSS - Cascading Rules, Box Model (Height, Width, Margin, Border, Padding), Float, Class, ID, Styling HTML Tags, background, Starting from templates

Read for today:

• CSS Typography: Contrast Techniques, Tutorials and Best Practices – not just the homepage!!!

Due:

• Collect Materials for client Site (edit text, photos, etc.; create necessary graphics)
• CSS Styling Text Exercise #1
• CSS Exercise #2 (done in class)

Week 11: April 26

In class:

• HTML Implementation - Creating Templates; Comments; Making a Site Live; Testing In Multiple Browsers on Multiple Platforms
• Meet with Design Teams
• Continue Developing CSS Mockup

 Due:

•  * Final Website - 1st draft

Week 12: May 3

• Refining your templates
• Adding media - video, sound

Week 13: May 10

In class:

• Meet with Design Teams
• Site Testing

 Due:

• Final Website - 2nd draft

Week 14: May 17 NOTE: LAST CLASS

In class:

• Final Presentation of Sites

Syllabus

Course Description

In this second semester of the multimedia course sequence, students will develop, design and produce their own advanced interactive projects. Media theorist Lev Manovich claims we are living in 'Generation Flash'. Low bandwidth Internet connections created a demand for lightweight vector graphics software spurring a new aesthetic sensibility. Flash is an authoring environment that allows artists to weave together traditional linear animation, user interactivity, object-oriented programming and multimedia (video, sound, etc) blurring the lines between art, design and computer programming. In this class we introduce the fundamental principles of Flash animation and basic Action Script. Prerequisite: COMM 225.

Learning Goals

• You will be able to integrate many forms of digital media into cohesive multimedia projects using the Macromedia Flash authoring environment.
• You will use basic principles of computer programming to add interactivity to your projects.
• You will be able to present and articulate your creative ideas to others.
• You will be able to take ideas through a complete design process from concept to production.

Textbooks and Materials

materials:
USB Flash Drive (4-8 GB) - OR - portable Hard Drive

required texts:
all required readings will be available online or handed out in class

Grade Weights

Participation:

25% A large amount of class time will be dedicated to group critiques, team projects and class discussion. I encourage you to take an active role in contributing to make our class a fun and dynamic place to be.

Projects:

50% You can't learn digital media passively or wait until the end of the semester to cram for an exam. To learn this stuff you have to make things! Digital media production involves a complex spectrum of techniques & software. If you do each project you will do well. If not, you will fall behind rapidly.

Final Project:

25% This project will be self-initiated and should integrate many of the skills you will learn this semester. When the time comes I will help to suggest possible topics and approaches. You will have the option of working individually or collaborating with other students.

Tips

• Plan ahead! Digital media projects can be incredibly time consuming and occupy a lot of time outside of class. Don't leave things for the last minute.
• Attendance is essential to succeed in this class. The skills and techniques taught are cumulative - they build upon previous ones. Missing just one week can make it very difficult to catch up. You will also note that class participation makes up a sizable percentage of your final grade - if you are absent you cannot participate and your grade will suffer.
• Save different versions of your projects and save often. Make back-ups of your files.
• Work in the lab with a friend - when learning new technology, 2 brains are usually better than one. You are welcome to work on your assignments at home but many students use the lab in room 556. Lab hours will be posted after the first week of classes. Students may not use the lab when another class is in session. If the lab is locked during you may get a key from the Security Desk.

Attendance Policy

Attendance and participation are essential for success in this course. Remember that if you miss one class, you miss an entire week’s worth of material. You are allowed one unexcused absence (for the entire course) without penalty. You are responsible for the material (including exercises and projects) you missed during your absence. Additional unexcused absences will result in a penalty to your final grade in the course: your second absence means your final grade drops one notch (e.g. B+ to B); your third absence drops your grade an additional two notches. Your fourth absence results in a failing grade for the course.

Lateness is also damaging to the class dynamic and chronic lateness will adversely affect your final grade. Three late arrivals to class (or early departures) during the course of the 14 week sessions results in a loss of a full letter grade of your final grade in the course. A lateness is arrival to the classroom 10 minutes past the starting time or departure more than 10 minutes before class ends.

Any late assignments, written or media based, will result in a deduction of points from the grade for the assignment.

Disabilities

Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments for this course must either enroll in the Program for Academic Access or register with the Office of Student Support Services. For any accommodation, the instructor must be presented with either a letter from the Assistant Director of the Program for Academic Access or an Accommodations Card from the Office of Student Support Services during the first week of classes.

Academic Honesty Policy

MMC fosters an academic community where students and faculty work together to create a learning experience that imparts knowledge and forms character. To achieve this, the College requires all members of the community to adhere to the policy of Academic Honesty that can be found in the Student Handbook, the College Catalogue and on the College website.

Schedule

Week 1: February 1 - introduction - Setting the Stage

• introduction, syllabus, etc
• tour of the Flash authoring environment, vector graphics
• using text - static, broken, dynamic
• the Stage - movie properties
• frame-by-frame animation

look:

• http://www.yhchang.com
• http://www.6amhoover.com
• http://www.bornmagazine.org

Week 2: February 8 - T E X T

• drawing tools, shapes, strokes, fills, grouping
• shape tweens and shape hints

look:

• http://www.theyrule.net
• http://teddiesinspace.com/
• http://escapelab.com.au/
• http://svt.se/hogafflahage/hogafflaHage_site/Kor/hestekor.html
• http://becominghuman.org/

DUE today: "t e x t" - choose a word and illustrate either its mood or tone or meaning in a frame-by-frame animation. You may only use the one word - no other words are allowed. You may use other shapes. Your animation should be sized to 550x400, 12 frames per second and EXACTLY 60 frames in duration.

Week 3: February 15 - drawing a Tween - remix culture

• The Timeline - layers, framerate, keyframes
• Motion Tweens - shape, motion (position, scale, color, alpha)
• Using Symbols

DUE today: "morph-olution" - Create an animation that explores the notion of evolution in at least 5 stages. The project should incorporate at least 2 shape tweens that utilize shape hints. The final result should be a "perfect loop" - it should end exactly where it began. Your animation should be sized to 550x400, 24 frames per second and 10 seconds in duration.

Week 4: February 22 - creating a Mask - Thinking about Time

• importing artwork from illustrator/photoshop
• creating masks
• using motion paths and guides

DUE today: "crowded" - Create an animation of a walking crowd of people. Your animation should use MovieClips and MotionTweens.

Week 5: March 1 - incorporating Sound

• Finding sounds online
• Importing sound, recording sound in the classroom
• Event sound, streaming sound gets sounds:
  http://sounddogs.com
  http://flashkit.com

DUE today: "Banner Ad Jam" Think about the ad banners on websites as public spaces similar to billboards, posters, signs & other advertisements. Plan & design a 468x60 (24 fps) Ad Banner in flash that utilizes images and text and incorporates a corporate logo. The banner can advertise your love for something or someone, can express a political message, can be humorous - keep in mind that this is meant to be presented in a public places. You should be able to make the argument that your piece is an example of Culture jamming.
http://www.logotypes.ru/default_e.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_jamming

Week 6: March 8 - animation Tricks

• Animation techniques: easing, blur, gravity
• Working with MovieClips - nesting and animated loops

DUE today: "My Life" - Animate your life story in 30 seconds or less (bunnies optional). Your flash movie should be 640x480 at 24 fps. - 1st draft should include your soundtrack/voice over and approximately 10 seconds of completed animation (This will be graded)
http://www.angryalien.com
http://www.oddtodd.com

Week 7: March 15 - the Loop - Generation Flash

• Creating buttons
• Using Behaviors
• Using ActionScript

DUE today: "My Life" - final draft of My Life.

Week 8: March 22 - make it Interactive

• ActionScript - data types and variables
• Functions and events
• Input/dynamic text

DUE today: How-To script/storyboard Have a sitemap and at least 2 of the 5 scenes.

Week 9: April 5 - make it even more Interactive

• Approaches to navigation
• ActionScript - reusable functions

look:

• http://www.themeatrix.com
• http://dontclick.it
• http://www.mono-1.com/monoface/main.html
• http://www.strindbergandhelium.com
• http://www.amanitadesign.com

DUE today: How-To first draft

No Class April 12 - Advising Day

Week 10: April 19 - incorporating video

• encoding flash video files
• controlling video with behaviors.
• Introduce final project

look:

• http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/end
• http://fsk.deviantart.com/art/Line-Rider-beta-40255643
• http://www.beonlineb.com/click_around.html
• http://specials.washingtonpost.com/video/onbeing/
• http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/
• http://www.kirkshouse.com/
• http://www.donniedarkofilm.com/
• http://otnemem.com/index.html
• http://www.requiemforadream.com/
• http://www.wooagency.com/
• http://www.presstube.com/
• http://www.tokyoplastic.com/

DUE today: "How To": With a partner, develop an interactive Flash movie that illustrates/teaches your audience how to do something. This could be anything from how to make a PB&J sandwich to how to knit to how to make a Flash movie. It must have at least 5 different scenes; at least 1 voiceover and it must utilize buttons for your audience to interact with.

Week 11: April 26 - Individual Meetings

• ActionScript lesson
• Work on final project

DUE today: Final project proposal:

• project description (include any relevant background info)
• discuss your intended audience
• discuss your visual/aesthetic strategy
• discuss at least 3 URLs of other projects/websites relevant to your project
• Sitemap or Storyboard as appropriate

Week 12: May 3 - Individual Meetings

• ActionScript lesson
• Work on final project

Week 13: May 10 - Open Lab

• Work on Final Projects

Week 14: May 17 - Final Class

• In class critique of final projects and wrap-up

 

Syllabus

Learning Goals

• You will be able to publish (design, write, publicize, maintain) a blog dedicated to a topic(s) of your choice.
• You will be able to make contributions (design and content) to wikis and other online collaborative authoring environments.
• You will be able to discuss concepts of privacy and social networks as they relate to your digital identity.
• You will be able to discuss the relationship of participatory culture to notions of citizenship and democracy.
• You will be able to present and articulate your ideas to others in a variety of environments, both online and offline.

Textbooks and Materials

materials:
generosity and good will

required texts:
all required readings will be handed out in class or available online at: http://sodacity.net/courses

Grade Weights

Participation: 10%
A large amount of class time will be dedicated to group critiques, team projects and class discussion. I encourage you to take an active role in contributing to make our class a fun and dynamic place to be.

Pecha Kucha (chit chat): 10%
A passionate presentation of 20 slides shown for exactly 20 seconds each - click here for Pecha Kucha guidelines.

Qwik Writes 10%

Occasionally I will give "pop" in-class writing assignments, in which you will be asked to make critical reflections on the day's readings.

Citizen Journalism 20%
You will develop and maintain your own "inquiry blog" over the course of the semester. In writing your blog you will strive to develop a unique and personal voice about topics that are interesting and important to you. You will experiment with connecting and communicating with your readers.

Collective Intelligence 15%
As a class, we will engage in an experiment about massive authorship. Over the course of the semester, we will use a wiki, a form of collaborative software, to collectively research, write and visualize a specific topic. You will write a reflective essay comparing and contrasting your experience of writing an individual blog to co-authoring a wiki.

Your Public/Private Self 10%
Assignment details forthcoming.

Your Social Graph 10%
Assignment details forthcoming.

Final Paper/Project: 15%
This will be a group project - details will be presented later in the semester.

Digital Media Lab

Work in the lab with a friend - when learning new technology, 2 brains are usually better than one. You are welcome to work on your assignments at home but many students use the Digital Media Labs in room 556 or 559. Lab hours will be posted after the first week of classes. Students may not use the lab when another class is in session. If the lab is locked during regular lab hours you may get a key from the Security Desk.

Attendance Policy

Attendance and participation are essential for success in this course. Remember that if you miss one class, you miss an entire week’s worth of material. You are allowed one unexcused absence (for the entire course) without penalty. You are responsible for the material (including exercises and projects) you missed during your absence. Additional unexcused absences will result in a penalty to your final grade in the course: your second absence means your final grade drops one notch (e.g. B+ to B); your third absence drops your grade an additional two notches. Your fourth absence results in a failing grade for the course.

Lateness is also damaging to the class dynamic and chronic lateness will adversely affect your final grade. Three late arrivals to class (or early departures) during the course of the 14 week sessions results in a loss of a full letter grade of your final grade in the course. A lateness is arrival to the classroom 10 minutes past the starting time or departure more than 10 minutes before class ends.

Any late assignments, written or media based, will result in a deduction of points from the grade for the assignment.

Disabilities

Students with disabilities who require reasonable accommodations or academic adjustments for this course must either enroll in the Program for Academic Access or register with the Office of Student Support Services. For any accommodation, the instructor must be presented with either a letter from the Assistant Director of the Program for Academic Access or an Accommodations Card from the Office of Student Support Services during the first week of classes.

Academic Honesty Policy

MMC fosters an academic community where students and faculty work together to create a learning experience that imparts knowledge and forms character. To achieve this, the College requires all members of the community to adhere to the policy of Academic Honesty that can be found in the Student Handbook, the College Catalogue and on the College website.

Schedule

Week by week course schedule:

Assignments

Pecha Kucha

One week you will collaborate with a classmate to share or give something to the rest of the class. Each group will follow the "Pecha Kucha" presentation format 20 slides shown for exactly 20 seconds each. Presentations will be given at the beginning of each class. You must email me by the Tuesday night before your presentation with a zipped folder of your 20 slides according to the following convention:

format: 20 jpg images (1024 x 768 pixels, landscape orientation)
naming: your initials followed by consecutive numbers, i.e. ms-01.jpg, ms-02.jpg, ms-03.jpg

Please follow this format - if you don't your images will appear in the wrong order and affect your presentation. And please PRACTICE your presentation in advance to make sure your slides are named correctly.

presentation: each group shows 20 images. You have 20 seconds to show each image. You have no control over this. It will be programmed on a computer, so you should be fast and we recommend you practice your presentation. Members of each group should speak equally.

What should you present? The key to a great presentation is to present something you love - a creative project, your prized collection, how to make something…this is an opportunity to share something you enjoy greatly or feel passionate about. Here are some sites to refer to:

• http://www.pecha-kucha.org/ - watch previous Pecha Kucha presentations for inspiration
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pecha_Kucha - background and related websites

Inquiry Blog

• due: February 9 - blog brainstorm
• due: February 16 - blog creation, "hello, world" post, and 1st blog post
• due: 1 reflection or "digest" post weekly until April 20th (10 posts total + hello world) - these weekly posts should be 250-300 words in length (or longer) - use this tool to get a word count. You can "tumbl" (aka research) as regularly as you want. I'd suggest trying to post 1 item a day (you can schedule or "queue" these in advance). Regular posting helps to build your audience.

Your Public/Private Self

DUE: 3-4 page essay
This essay should grow out of your experiences in Second Life and the social bookmarking website del.icio.us.

1. Take a snapshot of your SL avatar and attach it to this assignment.
2. Describe the appearance of your avatar in Second Life in depth.
   • does your avatar resemble you?
   • do you change your appearance frequently or do you have one standard appearance?
   • what motivated any changes your made?
   • did you ask others for feedback on "how you look"?
   • have you spent any money on your appearance? How much? On what?
   • do you like how you look in Second Life?
   • are there changes you'd like to make but can't due to lack of funds, skills, etc?
3. Conduct interviews with 2 other people in Second Life (who are not in our class).
   • be sure to inform them that you are doing research for a class and that nothing they tell you will be posted publicly to the Internet.
   • ask your subjects questions about their own appearance
   • what motivates the way they look (certain gestures, purposefully androgynous, dressed as an animal or object)?
   • summarize each subject's comments
   • reflect on the role/meaning of appearance in Second Life. How does the way people form identities in this environment differ/align with Real Life. What were your expectations and how did they measure up to your actual experiences?
4. Finally, compare and contrast the experience of constructing your new alter egos - your new visual + virtual Second Life self/avatar and your new metadata delicious.com self. Specifically address how your notion of privacy is different with these identities than in Real Life (RL).

Social Graph

DUE: write and draw

1. write: How do people display social networks in everyday life (that is, not online)? Give 2 concrete, specific examples. Why do they do this? What are the costs of making this display? The benefits? Does honesty play in?

2. write: Explore two different social networking sites [LinkedIn, Ning, MeetUp, SoundCloud, Orkut, Tribe, Ryze and others…]. One must be LinkedIn and the other is up to you but CANNOT be Facebook. Here is a very big list. What different aspects of your personality/identity can be expressed in these sites? How does the design of these sites facilitate networking? How does this sort of display compare to traditional means of displaying social connectedness. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Are signals of friendship here reliable? Why or why not?

3. draw: a diagram of your social network (family, friends, acquaintances) using nodes and links. Aim to have between 30 and 60 people in your network - the more complete the better. Show connections among those people whom you know know each other. As you draw the diagram, think about where you are placing people - how have you grouped them, what meaning, if any, are you giving to adjacency or top/bottom? Try to identify brokers in your social network.

• Think about how you can draw connecting lines: they can be thicker, thinner, longer, shorted. They can be solid or dashed, dark or light, wavy, curved, straight or angular. Consider the challenge of showing people who are physically distant but personally close.
• Think about the groups/relationships in which people participate in your network. They might range from tight knit groups like families, to loosely focused groups like a college dorm. How can you use color, shape, size to represent these different types of groupings?
• The final result can be turned in as a digital file (photoshop, illustrator, flash) or on a physical sheet of paper. You might consider including a legend or codex for your diagram.

Collective Intelligence

DUE: 4-5 page comparative essay

Compare and contrast your experience of writing an individual blog to that of co-authoring a wiki. Your essay should draw from class readings. Try to look critically at the output of both endeavors.

Some similarities and differences you might consider:

• type of content generated
• quality of the content
• structure of the resulting document
• freedom of expression
• accountability
• strengths and limitations of each
• accessibility
• interactivity, participation

Final Project

The Networked Public Sphere is being designed as we speak. How this occurs will govern what you can do, what you can see, what you look like and who can gain access to what. It is our responsibility to participate in envisioning this future.

Imagine: your team has been offered 10 gazillion dollars of venture capital and a crack team of engineers and computer programmers who can make anything you design. You have 15 minutes to convince the funders that they should pick your project.

The Challenge: design either a new web service, app, or personal display (handheld or wearable device) that augments/enhances social interactivity.

Deliverables: Project Proposal (2-3 pages ) & Presentation (15 minutes)

Teams: work in groups of 3-4

Questions:

• What are you making, what does it do?
• Who are you making it for - who is your audience?
• What kind of identity information is emitted?
• Is the display/service public, private, both?
• How does it interact with other users - proximity, affinities?
• What problem does it set out to address?
• What are some related products/services - how does yours differ?

Project Proposal (2-3 pages)

Project Name: consider a neologism.

Background: How did the idea for this project come about? What is the problem it is trying to solve? Why does it need to exist? Who will use it?

Specifically address:

• Scope - What are you developing? What does the web service or app do? What does it NOT do?
• Audiences - Who are the major types of users you want the software to serve?
• Objectives - What goals should the software help your users meet?

Competitive Analysis: - Assess current alternatives/options. What are their strengths and weaknesses? How does your idea fit into the current landscape? You should case study at least 2 other products or services in this section.

Implementation:

Aesthetics
What is the look and feel for this project? How can specific design decisions make this service/app appealing and usable to your target audience?

Architectural Strategy
What is a suitable platform for your project? What kinds of existing technologies can you leverage (open-source code, hardware)? What kinds of new software/hardware needs to be developed to realize your project?

Social Strategy
Sharing and participatory culture are essential concepts for this course. What concepts of sharing, cooperation, crowdsourcing, open-source, gift economies, the commons, etc can you incorporate into your service. How does this differentiate your service from its competitors.
  

Project Presentation

A 10-15 minute presentation in the form of Power Point or a webpage/blog/tumblr. Please turn in either a copy burned to CD or a URL.

The presentation should incorporate the following:

1. A synopsis of your project proposal (include project name and answers to the above question)
2. 2 Use cases* or scenarios that demonstrate typical user experiences.
3. Visual designs - at least 4 visualizations that depict what the service/device/interface looks like and how it would be used. (These can be incorporated into your use cases.)

!!! your device/service does not have to work - but you need to explain how it would work.

* notes on use cases:

A use case is a description of how users will perform tasks with your software or app. Who can do what?

A use case includes two main parts:

• the steps a user will take to accomplish a particular task
• the way the software should respond to a user's actions

Each use case captures:

• The actor - Who is using the software? What specific characteristics does this user have?
• The goal - What is the user's goal?
• The interaction - What can the user do? How does the software respond?

You should present at least two use cases for your project.

Student Blogs

Blogs written by students in Sharing 101 during the Spring 2011 semester. In no particular order:

• http://annoyingcustomer.tumblr.com/ by Rebecca Acevedo (@XtremelyBadLies)
• http://hookahcaterpillar.tumblr.com/ by Ryan Johnston (@Shotinthedark45)
• http://generation-gap.tumblr.com/ by Evelynne Harary (@lynnegym)
• http://euterpethemuse.tumblr.com/ by Chelsea Hill (@chelseahill13)
• http://whathappenedto.tumblr.com/ by Serguei Astapkov (@what_happenedto)
• http://asyllable.tumblr.com/ by Bridget McLearen (@spinningsea)
• http://nycitychic.tumblr.com/ by April Decaro (@NYCityChic_212)
• http://iseedance.tumblr.com/ by Keenan Cooks (@callmekcookz)
• http://asktunez.tumblr.com/ by Ainsley Kurman (@asktunez)
• http://haitiangirl.tumblr.com/ by Kristina Delatour (@HaitianGirlNY)
• http://mentalgeography.tumblr.com by Sean Levan (@seanydeparrish)
• http://dos-and-dontsoflife.tumblr.com/ by Danielle Ingoglia (@danielley324)
• http://luggagelocalsandlingo.tumblr.com/ by Emily Goodwin (@thetravells)
• http://lets-talk-nyc.tumblr.com/ by Morgan Van Dorn (@Letstalknyc101)
• http://alexandraadventures.tumblr.com/ by Alexandra Harvey (@ajrharvey)
• http://styellexo.tumblr.com/ by Marielle Almanzar (@ellealmz)
• http://dessertisserved.tumblr.com/ by Karissa Basile (@mebeingK)
• http://kmk23.tumblr.com/ by Kayla Kreidell (@kmkreidell)
• http://world-of-food.tumblr.com/ by Christina Davies (@cc_davies)
• http://in-ones-cups.tumblr.com/ by Sydney Zarp (@inonescups)
• http://500squarefeet.tumblr.com/ by Leah Hagenstein