Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments, Spring 2020/Requirements

From Gerald R. Lucas
CRN 26149 nmac 5108.01 online Spring 2020
Requirement %
P1: Group Wikipedia Project 40%
P2: Wikipedia Project 30%
3Cs Log 20%
Participation / Daily Work 10%

This section of NMAC 5108 has three major requirements and daily work, listed in the chart on the right. For easy access, the first three correspond with tabs at the top of the syllabus, P1, P2, and Log respectively. Each requirement will be on-going throughout the semester, will require regular contributions, and be comprised of various assignments. Each assignment must be submitted in order to pass the course.

Wp-laptop-stick.jpg

Projects you complete online should be able to stand alone; that is, assignment P1 and P2 should not reference the class, but target a particular professional audience. Remember, these are public documents, not just assignments; your audience, if you’re considering yourself as part of an expert community, is not necessarily your classmates and professor.

Please read each project at the beginning of the semester, so you have an understanding of what will be expected of you during the semester. Some assignments will take longer to complete than others. Work a bit and practice every day — do not procrastinate.[1]

Group Wiki Project

Our group project for the semester will be to write an article from scratch: The Faith of Graffiti is a 1974 essay by Norman Mailer about New York City’s graffiti artists. We will read, research, and write about the essay on Wikipedia as a class.

Wiki Project

This project has you writing a new Wikipedia article from scratch or making significant contributions to one or more articles—work equivalent to a graduate-level research paper.

3Cs Log

A daily process log will help you document your progress in the class at the same time allowing you to practice your writing regularly. This log will be housed on various Wikipedia talk pages, emphasizing the betterment of Wikipedia and assist in community building.

Online Participation / Daily Work

Since there is no (or limited) face-to-face class time, regular and active participation in online platforms is required. Your daily work online represents your attendance, e.g.: discussions, (b)log posts, training, exercises, short writing responses, reading quizzes, peer editing, and similar activities. Your participation in group activities and your online engagement will be weighed heavily in evaluation: participation, effort, and attitude count significantly; online learning requires active participation and enthusiasm (see Student Behavior).

Required Materials

Carroll.jpg

This course has one required textbook (purchase using the Amazon affiliate[2] link below or through another bookstore), an essay, and several handouts as web links or PDFs.

  • Carroll, Brian (2017). Writing and Editing for Digital Media (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.
  • Mailer, Norman (1982) [1978]. "The Faith of Graffiti". Pieces and Pontifications. Boston: Little, Brown.
  • Various Links and PDFs.[3]

Your course book(s) and readings are an important part of the class and should be purchased (or downloaded) immediately. Lessons are built from specific readings and assignments will depend on those readings. If available, you may use an ebook, but be warned that page numbers referred to in lessons may not be the same in an electronic text. Book rentals are also acceptable, if necessary.

Even though this is an online course, I recommend old-fashioned, analog note taking. In other words: use an ink interface of some sort, as well as dead trees to take notes. Notes should not only reflect essential aspects of the readings, but individual interest in every topic researched for class.

Notes

  1. Seriously, procrastination is likely the cause of 95% of failures in this course. You must work consistently and carefully each week to be successful.
  2. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases; links to Amazon contain my associate ID. All revenue earned goes to support the costs associated with maintaining this web site.
  3. Mostly on the Wiki Education site.
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