Please share a link to your media story via email with the class gmail account. Be sure to include the following information in your email:
1. The title of your media story.
2. The student(s) who made it (from our class)
3. the youtube or vimeo link.
Also be sure that your sharing preferences are correct, allowing anyone with the link to view the story. Please make sure that you watch the story all the way through before submitting it.
Thursday, September 01, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
How will my performance be assessed in this class?
I encourage you to set your own goals for this class. I do not believe that any experience where you rely on an outside evaluation of your work, involvement, and performance will affect you as significantly as an experience where you attempt to match your own evaluations with those you receive from others. What do you want to learn in this class? Why are you here? What might you walk away with? How can you grow as a person through this experience? What criteria will you use to judge whether or not you have?
That said, I am obliged to evaluate your work, involvement, and performance in this class. I don’t shrink from this duty, because I assume that the feedback I give you will be useful as you journey through this learning process. On the other hand, I don’t assume that you are the sum of your grade in this class. I know that your potential far exceeds any grade that’s available in this or any class. Hopefully you can use this system of grades to begin to push your own limits. In this class your learning will be formally assessed using these components:
Media Text Analysis
Mass Media & Shifts in American Culture
Media Story
Exams
Community Involvement
That said, I am obliged to evaluate your work, involvement, and performance in this class. I don’t shrink from this duty, because I assume that the feedback I give you will be useful as you journey through this learning process. On the other hand, I don’t assume that you are the sum of your grade in this class. I know that your potential far exceeds any grade that’s available in this or any class. Hopefully you can use this system of grades to begin to push your own limits. In this class your learning will be formally assessed using these components:
Media Text Analysis
Mass Media & Shifts in American Culture
Media Story
Exams
Community Involvement
What other policies do I need to know?
Know the syllabus. Starting on the second day of class, the syllabus is binding and should be referred to when you have a question. When information is required, I will post that info here, on the blog. As a result, you should think of the syllabus as an ongoing contract. It is also necessary that you familiarize yourself with the campus wide e-companion software. I will only use e-companion to store readings, but you will need to download the readings from that site. I will always let you know (in “real” class time) when I’ve provided more information on the web, and will never make changes to the syllabus without consulting you. In this course though, email is a requirement. I won’t answer any (process-oriented) questions in class unless you can first tell me what the course blog or syllabus says about it.
Attend class. Any absences beyond three will result in a third of a letter grade reduction from your grade (B to B-, etc.). Conversely, if you have a perfect attendance record, I will raise your final grade one third of a grade. No late assignments will be accepted except in cases of emergency. Emergency absences must fall into the following criteria:
1.) death,
2.) extreme sickness,
3.) college approved absences, and
4.) You must notify me in advance.
You may notify me in person, on the telephone, on voicemail, or by leaving a message with the department secretary. If you leave messages for me, be sure that you leave them prior to the class you miss, and that there is some outside authentication.
Turn in your work early. All work will be due in class on the due date marked in the calendar. Late assignments will only be accepted with permission. Assignments turned in on the due date but outside of class will have five points deducted. Ten points per calendar day will be deducted for later assignments.
Write carefully. The Communication Arts department policy for all written assignments is that students will receive one grade reduction for more than three errors in grammar, mechanics, syntax, spelling and punctuation.
Don’t cheat. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Any instances of plagiarism, cheating, or dishonesty will be dealt with as outlined in the student handbook.
Wait one night. I do not discuss the grades I assign on the day that I return them to you. I encourage students to question and be forthright about their questions, but our conversation will proceed more productively if you have at least one night to reflect on my feedback, and construct your response.
Attend class. Any absences beyond three will result in a third of a letter grade reduction from your grade (B to B-, etc.). Conversely, if you have a perfect attendance record, I will raise your final grade one third of a grade. No late assignments will be accepted except in cases of emergency. Emergency absences must fall into the following criteria:
1.) death,
2.) extreme sickness,
3.) college approved absences, and
4.) You must notify me in advance.
You may notify me in person, on the telephone, on voicemail, or by leaving a message with the department secretary. If you leave messages for me, be sure that you leave them prior to the class you miss, and that there is some outside authentication.
Turn in your work early. All work will be due in class on the due date marked in the calendar. Late assignments will only be accepted with permission. Assignments turned in on the due date but outside of class will have five points deducted. Ten points per calendar day will be deducted for later assignments.
Write carefully. The Communication Arts department policy for all written assignments is that students will receive one grade reduction for more than three errors in grammar, mechanics, syntax, spelling and punctuation.
Don’t cheat. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Any instances of plagiarism, cheating, or dishonesty will be dealt with as outlined in the student handbook.
Wait one night. I do not discuss the grades I assign on the day that I return them to you. I encourage students to question and be forthright about their questions, but our conversation will proceed more productively if you have at least one night to reflect on my feedback, and construct your response.
What can I expect to learn in this course?
The successful student, upon completion of this course should be able to:
1. identify fundamental trends in the history and development of mass media.
2. evaluate claims regarding the effects of media upon society.
3. articulate themes which frame mass media development today.
4. evaluate mass media messages and production processes using moral frameworks.
5. identify Judeo - Christian critiques of mass media
6. critically evaluate media using several different criteria.
1. identify fundamental trends in the history and development of mass media.
2. evaluate claims regarding the effects of media upon society.
3. articulate themes which frame mass media development today.
4. evaluate mass media messages and production processes using moral frameworks.
5. identify Judeo - Christian critiques of mass media
6. critically evaluate media using several different criteria.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Communication Arts Department Mission Statement
We, the Communication Arts Department, commit to develop communicators rooted in communities, acting as agents of truth, reflection, transformation and reconciliation in a way that celebrates God’s grace and faithfulness.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Merchants of Cool
I apologize for the late posting of this movie / reading. If you watched the film MERCHANTS OF COOL, you win great kudos (because how did you find it?), but since most of you couldn't -- we will watch part of it in class tomorrow and the remainder of it will be due on Wednesday.
The link to the movie is here.
The link to the movie is here.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Introduction to Media Stories
You will create a digital story telling a story about how a particular media text (or group of texts) affected someone personally.
The story should focus on the ways that a favorite or important media text or set of texts (formative media) has shaped or interacted with someone’s life.
You may tell a story about media in your life, but I encourage you to branch out and learn about media in someone else’s life. Each story will be five minutes or less. Your story should include sound & images and will eventually be posted on the internet.
Our in-class discussion about stories should help you, but you may want to check out these materials I allude to in the training sessions I offer in the mac lab in the basement of the library so you can feel at least somewhat familiarized with the process.
The rubric I will use to evaluate your story is available in document sharing in e companion.
I've posted a number of media stories from other semesters at this new blog. I recommend watching them for ideas of things that work, and things that don't work as well.
I also recommend watching the stories posted at the digital storytelling center and on the stories for change site. The stories posted at Media Storm demonstrate even more technical innovations, but may enlarge your vision for how you can proceed through this assignment.
I'm eager to see what you create!
The story should focus on the ways that a favorite or important media text or set of texts (formative media) has shaped or interacted with someone’s life.
You may tell a story about media in your life, but I encourage you to branch out and learn about media in someone else’s life. Each story will be five minutes or less. Your story should include sound & images and will eventually be posted on the internet.
Our in-class discussion about stories should help you, but you may want to check out these materials I allude to in the training sessions I offer in the mac lab in the basement of the library so you can feel at least somewhat familiarized with the process.
The rubric I will use to evaluate your story is available in document sharing in e companion.
I've posted a number of media stories from other semesters at this new blog. I recommend watching them for ideas of things that work, and things that don't work as well.
I also recommend watching the stories posted at the digital storytelling center and on the stories for change site. The stories posted at Media Storm demonstrate even more technical innovations, but may enlarge your vision for how you can proceed through this assignment.
I'm eager to see what you create!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
STEPS FOR CREATING A DIGITAL MEDIA STORY
1. Develop your story. Make an outline. Try developing your outline both with pictures and then separately with words.
2. Develop a storyboard. Tell your story using pictures. Lay the narration out beneath the pictures. You can find storyboard templates here.
3. Collect your pictures. You may want to find pictures on the internet. I assume you'll find some pictures from your past (or your story-subject's past). You may want to take some picture. There are other effective options, too remember. Click here for a post where I talk more about pictures and images and how they function in your story.
4. Digitize your pictures (scan them into the computer. Save them to a flash drive, external hard drive, CD or DVD) Make sure you scan them in at the largest size possible. You may want to crop photos or add filters or effects in Photoshop.
5. Drag and drop your photos into your project box (the top box on your screen).
6. Record your voice-over. You may record your voiceover in the Mac Lab or by checking out a recording device from Media Services and recording in a quieter room.
7. Add your narration to your project. You should be able to either drag-and-drop your audio file directly into your project box (the top one) or open it through itunes (look for the itunes icon in the right hand corner.)
8. Arrange your photographs in the timeline in order. Then adjust their time in relation to the narration. You may also adjust your narration to include pauses. Remember that silence and pacing are very effective emotional tools for a storyteller. To adjust the image time or the audio clip time, you click the little mechanical wheel icon in the corner of each image or of each sound clip. You can adjust by choosing in these options.
9. Add music. You can drag and drop song files or import them through itunes (look right to see the itunes icon.) You can adjust the volume by using the wheel icon and adjusting the volume. Remember you don't music throughout the whole story and sometimes more is less.
2. Develop a storyboard. Tell your story using pictures. Lay the narration out beneath the pictures. You can find storyboard templates here.
3. Collect your pictures. You may want to find pictures on the internet. I assume you'll find some pictures from your past (or your story-subject's past). You may want to take some picture. There are other effective options, too remember. Click here for a post where I talk more about pictures and images and how they function in your story.
4. Digitize your pictures (scan them into the computer. Save them to a flash drive, external hard drive, CD or DVD) Make sure you scan them in at the largest size possible. You may want to crop photos or add filters or effects in Photoshop.
5. Drag and drop your photos into your project box (the top box on your screen).
6. Record your voice-over. You may record your voiceover in the Mac Lab or by checking out a recording device from Media Services and recording in a quieter room.
7. Add your narration to your project. You should be able to either drag-and-drop your audio file directly into your project box (the top one) or open it through itunes (look for the itunes icon in the right hand corner.)
8. Arrange your photographs in the timeline in order. Then adjust their time in relation to the narration. You may also adjust your narration to include pauses. Remember that silence and pacing are very effective emotional tools for a storyteller. To adjust the image time or the audio clip time, you click the little mechanical wheel icon in the corner of each image or of each sound clip. You can adjust by choosing in these options.
9. Add music. You can drag and drop song files or import them through itunes (look right to see the itunes icon.) You can adjust the volume by using the wheel icon and adjusting the volume. Remember you don't music throughout the whole story and sometimes more is less.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Filmic Grammar and Visual Literacy.
I mentioned in class that there would be a video for you to watch to gain some more vocabulary connected to filmic grammar and visual literacy.
Thanks to Sarah M for reminding me to post!
Here's a helpful video on youtube. There are more like it. You may want to peruse some of them. Clearly this comes from the perspective of a filmmaker, developing the knowledge to be a "maker" -- while I don't expect most of you to aspire to the "maker" level of filming (except for your media story!), clearly we can benefit from his helpful indexing.
This link is actually more geared toward the savvy reader. It approaches film from the perspective of "film theory" & "film criticism" more fields of expertise that I don't necessarily think you need to aspire toward -- BUT fields that will definitely aid you in achieving the aims of this class -- shaping you into a media literate citizen.
Thanks to Sarah M for reminding me to post!
Here's a helpful video on youtube. There are more like it. You may want to peruse some of them. Clearly this comes from the perspective of a filmmaker, developing the knowledge to be a "maker" -- while I don't expect most of you to aspire to the "maker" level of filming (except for your media story!), clearly we can benefit from his helpful indexing.
This link is actually more geared toward the savvy reader. It approaches film from the perspective of "film theory" & "film criticism" more fields of expertise that I don't necessarily think you need to aspire toward -- BUT fields that will definitely aid you in achieving the aims of this class -- shaping you into a media literate citizen.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Assignment Rubrics
So you can succeed better at each of the assignments in the class, I am providing the rubrics I will use to assess your work.
Media Text Analysis Rubric
Digital Media Story Rubric
Political Economy Rubric
Media Text Analysis Rubric
Digital Media Story Rubric
Political Economy Rubric
What is "community involvement?"
Many teachers assign a grade for student participation in class. While I agree that student participation is very important for a successful classroom experience, I am even more interested in developing a community of learning that includes student (and teacher) participation both within the classroom and outside of the classroom. A community of learning encompasses both formal communication patterns and informal communication patterns. It includes our explicit discussions about mass media in our lives and world, but could include conversations with one another as we consume media. It also includes relationships between students just as much as the relationship between the teacher and each individual student.
This grade will be calculated based on multiple assessments, all of which will be measured considering the ways that you contribute to the community of learning in this class. Therefore, some of the areas that will be evaluated in this category include:
1.) your constructive contributions in class (amount, depth of insight, and other-orientation are all important here),
2.) your verbal and non-verbal interaction with others in the class,
3.) your attendance,
4.) your interactions with your peers both inside and outside of class time,
5.) any way you facilitate the learning of other students (clarifying examples in class, phone calls in the evening, sharing notes together, after class discussions, and study groups, commenting on blogs) or
6.) any other contributions that you can make to improving the learning climate within the class.
You should focus on developing a culture of learning together; while the development of relationships with one another is important – it is essential that you orient these relationships toward developing one another’s ability to think about and use mass media well. I assume that in order to succeed in this portion of the class, you will need to have read well and been an active participant in class lecture and discussion.
This grade will be evaluated several ways. I will invite the entire class to advocate on behalf of other members of the class. I will journal after class, noting contributions made by individuals. On some days, I will take notes. Halfway through the semester, I will suggest the grade that I think most appropriate for your community involvement thus far (based on my assessments and the assessments of your peers). If you feel that this grade doesn't accurately reflect the way you contributed to the community of learning, I URGE you to talk to me. We can together reflect on our differing perspectives, and set goals for a better understanding in the second half of the semester.
Clearly, this system doesn’t allow you to either be invisible or domineering in this class. Hopefully we can co-construct a positive learning environment together.
At the end of the class, I will assign the final grade, but will consider the following factors: your personal assessment, your peers advocacy, and observations from my class journal throughout the semester.
This grade will be calculated based on multiple assessments, all of which will be measured considering the ways that you contribute to the community of learning in this class. Therefore, some of the areas that will be evaluated in this category include:
1.) your constructive contributions in class (amount, depth of insight, and other-orientation are all important here),
2.) your verbal and non-verbal interaction with others in the class,
3.) your attendance,
4.) your interactions with your peers both inside and outside of class time,
5.) any way you facilitate the learning of other students (clarifying examples in class, phone calls in the evening, sharing notes together, after class discussions, and study groups, commenting on blogs) or
6.) any other contributions that you can make to improving the learning climate within the class.
You should focus on developing a culture of learning together; while the development of relationships with one another is important – it is essential that you orient these relationships toward developing one another’s ability to think about and use mass media well. I assume that in order to succeed in this portion of the class, you will need to have read well and been an active participant in class lecture and discussion.
This grade will be evaluated several ways. I will invite the entire class to advocate on behalf of other members of the class. I will journal after class, noting contributions made by individuals. On some days, I will take notes. Halfway through the semester, I will suggest the grade that I think most appropriate for your community involvement thus far (based on my assessments and the assessments of your peers). If you feel that this grade doesn't accurately reflect the way you contributed to the community of learning, I URGE you to talk to me. We can together reflect on our differing perspectives, and set goals for a better understanding in the second half of the semester.
Clearly, this system doesn’t allow you to either be invisible or domineering in this class. Hopefully we can co-construct a positive learning environment together.
At the end of the class, I will assign the final grade, but will consider the following factors: your personal assessment, your peers advocacy, and observations from my class journal throughout the semester.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Will we be exposed to controversial media in this class?
Because this is a course that deals specifically with the relationship of media and society, each of you will encounter messages, images and ideals with which you disagree. While we’re used to encountering such things in more removed and formal contexts within history, literature and art, they sometimes feel more threatening when we encounter them within the popular media of our time. The objectives of this course and the Mission of this Department encourages you to embrace these experiences as opportunities to develop your own ability to be an “agent of truth reflection, transformation and reconciliation”. I will try to warn you when we’ll be encountering “controversial media,” but I encourage you to envision such moments throughout the semester as opportunities to develop your own character and your vision of the world.
Want to think more about this idea? Check out our Department's Statement on Hospitality and Cultural Engagement.
Want to think more about this idea? Check out our Department's Statement on Hospitality and Cultural Engagement.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, July 20, 2009
Finding Music to Use With Your Digital Story
You should check out Moby's (huge) collection of music that he WANTS you to use...
Watch the vid below to find out more about it...
Googling will help you find many more resources of royalty free music.
Here is a link where you can check whether or not it's legitimate to use some other copyrighted music with your film.
My brother makes royalty free music -- and if you'd like to use something from his library -- stock20.com -- I could probably get you a good deal!
Watch the vid below to find out more about it...
Googling will help you find many more resources of royalty free music.
Here is a link where you can check whether or not it's legitimate to use some other copyrighted music with your film.
My brother makes royalty free music -- and if you'd like to use something from his library -- stock20.com -- I could probably get you a good deal!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Community Involvement Advocacy
As you remember, much of your grade for "Community Involvement" comes from the advocacy and support of your peers. Now is the time for you to spend a few moments advocating on their behalf, again.
As I asked you to do last time, you should type the name of the person you are advocating for first, and then on the next line, describe how this person helped your learning or the learning of others in the class. You are not obliged to advocate for everyone, but you may advocate for as many people as you'd like. You *must* advocate for yourself. Describe (in first person voice) how you helped the community learn.
Feel free to look here to see the example I provided at midterm.
Your Community Involvement Advocacy is due in my email inbox by noon on Friday, February 26th at five pm. My email is listed on the top of the paper syllabus. I will not accept any late sheets. Please title your email "MMS ComInv A" either "noon" or "one" based on your class time. If you do not turn in a community involvement advocacy sheet, your own community involvement grade (assigned by me) will automatically be reduced by 15% (*note that you will lose *more* points this time than last.
An index with your classmates pictures and names is available in Doc Sharing in E-Companion. Please refer to that sheet as you type up your community advocacy for each other.
As I asked you to do last time, you should type the name of the person you are advocating for first, and then on the next line, describe how this person helped your learning or the learning of others in the class. You are not obliged to advocate for everyone, but you may advocate for as many people as you'd like. You *must* advocate for yourself. Describe (in first person voice) how you helped the community learn.
Feel free to look here to see the example I provided at midterm.
Your Community Involvement Advocacy is due in my email inbox by noon on Friday, February 26th at five pm. My email is listed on the top of the paper syllabus. I will not accept any late sheets. Please title your email "MMS ComInv A" either "noon" or "one" based on your class time. If you do not turn in a community involvement advocacy sheet, your own community involvement grade (assigned by me) will automatically be reduced by 15% (*note that you will lose *more* points this time than last.
An index with your classmates pictures and names is available in Doc Sharing in E-Companion. Please refer to that sheet as you type up your community advocacy for each other.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Template for Storyboarding your Digital Story
You can download the official storyboard template from the Center for Digital Storytelling by clicking here.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Examples of Media Stories
You'll notice that I've posted a number of media stories from previous classes below. I'm not claiming that these media stories are perfect, but all of them have merits worth noting.
Stories are best at inciting something deep and emotional. They're best when they're about connection and meaning and shared understanding. So I'd definitely recommend that you approach these stories with the kind of hospitality that allows those kinds of responses to emerge.
*AFTER* these stories have done their best work on you -- you may want to think about them from a storyteller's perspective. You may even want to (I offer with trepidation) think about them from your student perspective -- and look over the rubric I've already provided for you.
If you have a question about your media story after you've watched some of these stories -- let me know!
Stories are best at inciting something deep and emotional. They're best when they're about connection and meaning and shared understanding. So I'd definitely recommend that you approach these stories with the kind of hospitality that allows those kinds of responses to emerge.
*AFTER* these stories have done their best work on you -- you may want to think about them from a storyteller's perspective. You may even want to (I offer with trepidation) think about them from your student perspective -- and look over the rubric I've already provided for you.
If you have a question about your media story after you've watched some of these stories -- let me know!
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