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New Media Inquiry Project

First Year Seminar

Vanessa Alander

Fall 2013

Intent:

You will develop a line of inquiry that is personal, local and acutely focused all while filtering through the lenses

of the course essential questions and your chosen line of research.

Sample research questions include the following. PLEASE NOTE: You may NOT use the following for yourown questions. These are ones to get you thinking... to inspire you... to get you thinking...

How does the social networking concept enable us to understand community and social exclusion?

Does the use of the internet foster or hinder social interaction?

The implications of Network Technologies on Identity and Sociability.

How do the public vs. private aspects of identity interact with the network society?

Why do programmers participate in open source products?

The role of the Internet in teenagers process of socialization: a look at cyberbulling.

The line of inquiry you chose is a multi-faceted, complex, and controversial question. These lines of inquiry,especially when viewed in terms of our course, raise controversial issues in our everyday lives. When we arefaced with controversy in our lives, no one hands us a ten-page research paper that outlines the issues and tellsus what to do. Instead, we have to wade through the controversy and the corresponding piles of paper, website,

video and more to figure out what the issues really are and how we should best respond to them.

Why Write a Final Research Paper as a Web Article?

This project allows you to use the advantages of the blog architecture and web rich media content ofreferences. links, and embedded media (images, graphics, video, music, etc). The point is to use the Webenvironment as a space to think with. Like all research papers, your essay must be motivated by a researchquestion with your own argument and interpretive framework. The web/blog format allows us to usemultiple media sources and a bibliography of references to supporting materials in any medium (text, image,

video, film, sound/music).

Using these approaches, theories, and methods in the seminar, develop a topic for an extended essay withexamples or cases to interpret or apply your ideas. Your final paper should be about 1250 words of writingand with a fully developed set of references and links to relevant sources. Be as creative as possible with the

Web environment of your paper.

Genres:

A genre is a type of expression. In addition to a digital, academic, research supported, standard essay, youwill create and then curate other artifacts that express and demonstrate your learning. This is your opportunityto think outside the box. You need to think about which genre would best express your learning. You will need

to explain why you chose those particular genres and what you were hoping to show, express or convey throughthat genre.

I will require that one of your genres is a Prezi (not a PowerPoint). Developing an effective Prezi is a veryvaluable skill and one that will be immediately useful in your other courses. The other genres are at your solediscretion and your overall project.

(See ideas of possible genres at end.)

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Requirements:

This is an academic project, you will have at least ten sources, five of which will need to be academic (booksor journals). Our course texts do not count towards your total sources but you should be using them.

Additionally, though there is no limit to the genres you can use, you are required to use six. This project isnot intended to be a straight 2500 word piece of written text, although 50% of it does need to be writtentext. Although, that written text could be the script for an audio podcast or documentary film. Think outsideof the box.

You may incorporate images, pictures, podcasts, audio, video and more (self-created or found...properly cited).This project needs to be housed online, through a medium you feel fits the scope of your project. Weebly,

Wordpress, Google Sites, Blogger, it is up to you, the direction of your inquiry and "text" of your project.

Process:

No, I will not tell you what to write (you should know me better than that by now). Rather, there are severalpieces to the whole project that are either due prior to the end of the project or need to be included in the final.

This project is an enormous intellectual and academic endeavor. As such, there are several components thatwill be due at specific times. This project has been broken down into manageable and sizable chunks. It isimperative that to do the best that I know you can do, you work on this throughout the rest of the semester.

Saving this project until the day prior will result in you not succeeding in this project. And, if you do notcomplete this project, the likelihood of passing this course dwindles significantly.

1. Vomit Draft: Your vomit draft for this paper will be a summary of your thoughts to date knowing that wehave not completed all course texts, etc. Again, I can not stress enough the fact that you should not leavethis until the end. It will be quite evident. And finally, your vomit draft needs to have a quick outline ofthe possible genres that you are thinking of including and why. This will include your line of inquiry. (DueDate to be Determined)

2. Initial Draft: This is solely your largest piece of writing for this project. It could fall into several categoriesor styles of writing. The two most important things are is it academic and does it contain research. (DueDate to be Determined)

3. Complete Project: Deep breath... The entire project is due, no exceptions, excuses, complaints, hiccups,

tech implosions, Armageddon's, roommate excuses, proverbial, yet non-existent pet consuming something,nor nonattendance maneuverings. It is due when it is due. You know the due date now, plan accordingly.

You will submit via the course blog the URL PRIOR to class time. Late submission will NOT be accepted.(Due 12/10)

Project Components:

Think of each of these as their own "page" on your site. This is where Wordpress comes in handy.

1. Dear Reader Letter: This will be the first thing that is visible on your site, but the last thing written. It isintended to not only guide your reader but also to demonstrate self-reflection on the process. It willprovide the reader with how to navigated your site and what information they need to know prior to

viewing your site. It will discuss your journey with the assignment and the challenges faced, your successes

and your failures. This does not count towards your minimum word requirements.

2. "Multi-Media Academic Paper": A larger, written paper is required for one of your genres, but you decideformat. Seeing how half of the 2500 words need to be written and academic, I am thinking that one of yourgenre will be a more formal, longer length paper (which is fine). Whatever method of paper you decide on,it must contain the following: in text citations with hyperlinks to sources used, images and more to fullyengage your audience. You will also need a MLA Works Cited page of all sources used in the paper itself.(The site/project will have it's own Works Cited on the site.) The essay must follow MLA style, have quotedand paraphrased information integrated within your own writing and parenthetically cited, links to ninesources used or the link to purchase the actual book, images, video/audio that demonstrate your point,links for further reading, headings that describe different parts of the essay.

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3. Genres: You need a minimum of six (yes, more are fine and highly encouraged). One of the six must be aPrezi. Some platforms allow you to embed, others only allow you to link. The other five genres are up to

you. Each genre will have it's own page on your site, in most cases. Please chose a genre from eachcategory on the following page.

4. Genre Rationale: This page is where you defend why you chose the genes you did. And stating that Irequired you to complete the Prezi is not a valid reason. Think about how the structure, organization,medium and more affect the message of the genre and why this particular genre was the strongest choice

for our project. This does not count towards your minimum word requirements.

5. Self-Assessment: Simply put, how well do you think you did? Tell me about it. This does not counttowards your minimum word requirements.

6. MLA Works Cited: This is the complete works cited for the entire project...paper and genre combined.

Last Thoughts:

Please don'tuse Wikipedia as a source. Definitely use it as a starting point and review the resources they linkto.

Please don't use websites that are not credible and reliable.

Work on this a little bit each week. Do not wait until the night before to complete a component of it. I knowyou are better and more than capable of succeeding with this.

Stuck? I am more than happy talking with you about this project whenever. Have an idea for a genre, but notsure how to make it digital, contact me. I have an immense wealth of web tools that can help you develop

your genres. Contact me and we can work it out.

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New Media Check List

Because of the non-traditional structure of this assignment, you need to be very careful to follow this checklistso you don't miss a vital aspect. The criteria, checklist and what I'm looking for overall is included below.

CRITERIA: Three major components. Here they are.

1. Presentation- ease of navigation and visual appeal.

a. How easy is your webpage to navigate?

b. Do the tabs or other navigation help or hinder your argumentative flow?

2. Argumentative Coherence- is an argument actually present?

a. Is the background of the project obvious at the onset?

b. Do you outline all sides of the argument throughout the process?

c. Is it completely evident what side you are arguing for by the end?

d. Do you meet the source requirements?

e. Does your research actually supplement your argument?

3. Overall use of media- how each image, word, video, etc. adds to the argument.

a. Do your genres successfully recreate the contact of the situation?

b. Do you have a variety of genres?

c. Is the reader/viewer engaged by the media you use?

CHECKLIST

Most importantly, do you meet the source requirements?

_____ 10 sources

_____ 5 academic (peer reviewed journal articles or blogs)

_____5 other sources (at a minimum, not including course texts) (newspapers blogs,magazines, web pages)

_____ Did you cite your sources in MLA format throughout your project (genres included)?

Next, do you have a variety of genres that recreate the context of your issue?

_____ 6 genres including a Prezi. Be creative! More is acceptable and encouraged!

Have you created enough content to meet the minimum word count?

_____ 2500 words at a minimum (should be more)

_____ Do you include the word count of each page at the bottom of each?

_____ Previously published content (newspaper, not original video, music, etc. only adds 100 wordsregardless of length. Plus, I will only credit these sources 5 times (500 words).

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Below is a list of possible genres. No, you are not limited to this list. Yes, you could use a different genre if youthink of one.

Academic Genres:

Book/film review

Classical argument

Biography/Autobiography

Interviews

Response papers

Case studies

Sermons

Proposals/Abstracts

Editorials

Critical essays

Commentaries

Feature articles

Research reports

Technical reports

Theory-based essays

Written debates

Speeches

Mission statements

Point/counterpoint

Public Genres:

Police reports

Letters to publicofficials

Memos

Newsgroup exchanges

Resumes

Job application

Email exchanges

Letters to the editor

Newsletter or pamphlet

Field notes

Letters to experts

Instructions (how-toguide)

Letters of complaint

Lab reports or doctors

note

Creative Genres:Poems

Adventures

Newspaper fillers

Songs and ballads

Childrens stories

Screen plays

Diary entries,dialogues

Anecdotes

Slide show script

Stories, mysteries

Telegrams

Prophesies/predictions

Letters to imaginarypeople

TV/radio scripts

Scenes from a play

Riddles

Recipes or menus

Contracts

Epitaphs, obituaries,wills

Fables

Lists groceries, to-do

Newscasts

Prayers

Quizzes or surveys

Advice columns

Marriage contracts

Visual Genres:

Graphs/charts

Photos with captions

Collages

Cartoons or comicstrips

Illustrations ordrawings

Advertisements

Posters

Puzzles

Postcards

Graffiti

Web pages

Bumper stickersFamily trees

Maps

Body art; tattoos

Costumes

Videos

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