Course Description

Digital media combine tools, automata and technologies. They also converge the traditional roles of producer and consumer, or publisher and reader, since almost anyone can publish via the Internet. As such, digital media are changing human communication by creating new meanings, using a computer interface that at its best simulates communication as easier than it is. This course explores these new, digital media and what it means to effectively communicate in them. Understanding the audience and exploring how different media behave – their unique limits and possibilities – will help students better develop content for digital formats and environments. Students will analyze the technical and rhetorical possibilities of online environments, including interactivity, hyperlinking, spatial orientation and non-linear storytelling. Emphasis on journalism.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, my goal is for students to:

Instructor: Dr. Brian Carroll, Laughlin 100
Office phone: 706.368.6944 (anytime)
E-mail: bc@berry.edu (not bdcarroll@berry.edu OR bcarroll@berry.edu)
Home page: http://www.cubanxgiants.com
Office hours: MW 2-5; T/R 4-6 | by appointment | walk-ins always welcome

What you will need (required)

What you may want (recommended, not required)

This is a seminar course, so much is expected of students. Discussion and participation are key components, and students will serve as discussion leaders. Hands-on application also is an emphasis. We will learn how to create content specifically for presentation in digital environments and to publish that content to the Web. This means becoming familiar with Macromedia’s Dreamweaver Web publishing program and publishing to a blog, among other things. Generally, new topics will be introduced on Mondays. Elaboration on those topics and software instruction will be on Wednesdays. Discussions on the readings will take place on Fridays (Topics – Tools – Texts, or Delving – Doing – Discussing).

Policies

• Attendance: Attendance is a part of your grade. Be here every day on time, just as you would for a job, surgery or a haircut. Everyone gets one unexcused absence >> no questions asked. Stuff happens. After that, unexcused absences will result in deductions from the "professionalism and participation" portion of your grade -- one point for each unexcused absence or late arrival. What is excused is at the instructor's discretion, so you are best served by discussing situations and extraordinary circumstances prior to class whenever possible.
• Distractions: This instructor is easily distracted. Ringing cell phones, therefore, will be lobbed out of the classroom window. Chatter during lecture will result in "professionalism and participation" point deductions, as will Facebooking or other Internet use during lecture or topic presentations, particularly after warnings have been issued. If you have to arrive late or leave early, clear it with the instructor beforehand whenever possible. Basic civility is what is expected. If you are at all unclear as to what “basic civility” implies, the professor would be more than happy to elaborate.
• Focus: During class and lab sessions, no e-mail, Facebook, IM or Web surfing. These activities prevent you from getting the information you need and it is distracting to your classmates and to me.
• Preparation: Complete the assignments and be ready to tackle the activities of the day. Be ready to discuss and debate ideas, approaches and opinions.

How you will be graded

Weekly projects & posts	30%
Quizzes on readings	15%
Research Project & Presentations	25%
Leading Discussion	10%
Final Exam (take-home)	10%
Professionalism and participation	10%
Total	100%

Viking Honor Code

It is not just policy. It is foundational to the academic environment we enjoy and in which scholarship thrives. It is in force in this classroom and during all lab sessions. For the complete Viking Code, please consult the student handbook. In short, each student is “expected to recognize constituted authority, to abide by the ordinary rules of good conduct, to be truthful, to respect the rights of others.” The College’s mission, in part, commits to a community of integrity and justice. During an era when ethics are sometimes suspect, there seems no higher goal toward which students ought to strive than that of personal honor.

Assignments

There are no exams in this course, although students may be quizzed from time to time. These will be no pop quizzes; students will be forewarned. Deadline pressure is an important dimension to the rigor of the course. Meet the deadline or take a penalty.