CompFAQ/WritDM/NMAC 5108

NMAC 5108: Writing and Publishing in Digital Environments

Directions: For each lesson below, follow all links and read them carefully. All assigned readings not linked may be found on my server or in your assigned textbook. See your individual syllabus for due dates and additional instructions. Please read ahead to know what you are responsible for each week. The lessons will have less work, but others, have more to do.

 note: Flexibility and adaptability are essential skills for media professionals. Digital media is constantly evolving, requiring the ability to process, prioritize, and engage with information from multiple sources. This course mirrors that complexity to prepare you for real-world challenges, where navigating multiple platforms and tools is the norm. While it may feel overwhelming at times, approach each task with a problem-solving mindset: read instructions carefully, take notes, and don’t hesitate to ask questions or seek clarification. Treat this as an opportunity to hone your ability to manage information effectively and think critically about your workflow. Remember, part of mastering digital environments is learning to thrive within their inherent complexity.

0. Bootstrapping

Before you begin to work, complete these preliminaries.

1. Read your syllabus carefully and completely.
2. Sign up for the forum by following the directions on your syllabus.
   • Set up and personalize your forum profile.
   • Set up your journal index; add your link to the class index, following my example.
   • Post an introduction: Who are you, and what do you hope to gain from this course?
3. Create an account on Wikipedia.
4. Enroll on WikiWdu. (You must use this link, as it contains the enrollment key.)

1. Foundations of Digital Writing

Principles of effective digital writing, audience considerations, and planning content.

Read

• Carroll, Chapter 1 - “Writing for Digital Media: Laying the Foundation.”
• “Digital Writing Top Ten.”
• Editing Wikipedia, pages 1–5.
• Evaluating Wikipedia.

Activities

1. Remediation Project:
   • Read Remediating Articles through “Get Started” and follow the directions.
   • Optional, though encouraged: Post a short, professional biography on your user page. Add [[Category:Student Editors]] as the last item on the page before you save.
2. Wikipedia Training (via WikiEdu):
   • Wikipedia Policies.
   • Sandboxes, Talk Pages, and Watchlists.
   • Communicating with Others
3. Post a forum journal entry reflecting on any issues, challenges, or interests about your reading or experiences so far. Remember that journal posts are done in the NMAC 5108 forum. Be sure to add a link to your post on your journal index and comment on someone else’s post. Remember, you must be a member of the NMAC 5108 group in order to access the forum.

2. Editing for Digital Media and Storytelling

Read

• Carroll, Chapter 2 – “Editing for Digital Media: Storytelling Strategies.”
• Improving Representation and complete the exercises.
• Sources and Plagiarism.

Activities

1. Remediation Project:
   • Now that you have an assignment, begin your remediation. Follow directions on Remediating Articles: “Before Editing” through “Author Bio,” at least.
   • You might move on to working on the body of the essay, too.
2. Wikipedia Training:
   • Evaluating Articles and Sources. You should choose one of the articles the class is editing for the Wikipedia project.
   • How to Edit, including the optional activity.
   • Post Your Article Evaluation.
3. Post a journal entry reflecting on your work for this week. When posting on the forum, try to incorporate what you’re learning about writing for digital media in your reading, like using multimodal content, links, headers and subheads, etc. Remember, the forum is digital writing, so be sure you’re showing your understanding of the course material in your writing. Your posts should get better with each one you write. Don’t forget to add a link to your post on your journal index.

3. Tools, Techniques, and User Experience

Read

• Carroll, Chapter 3 – “Writing for Digital Media II: Tools and Techniques”
• Carroll, Chapter 4 – “Editing for Digital Media II: Creating the User Experience”
• Guide for Writing about Books: which will be relevant for the collaborative part of the Wikipedia project.

Activities

1. Remediation Project
   • You should be into remediating the bulk of your article, see Body and read to the end.
   • Finish the bulk of your remediation work this week, so you can concentrate on finalizing this project next week.
   • Assist other editors.
2. Wikipedia Training
   • Keeping Track of Your Work.
   • Choose Your Article: relevant for individual part of the Wikipedia project.
3. Post a journal entry reflecting on your work for this week. You might consider the content gap on Wikipedia, if you choose to write about picking an article.

4. Digital Storytelling and Remediation Project Wrap-Up

Read

• Carroll, Chapter 5 – “Digital Storytelling: Generating Ideas and Publishing the Story”
• Editing Wikipedia, pages 7–9.

Activities

1. Remediation Project:
   • Assist other editors in finishing the remediation of the volume of the Review you have been working on.
   • Submit and present your completed remediation project.
2. Wikipedia Training & Project:
   • Adding Citations.
   • Add a Fact to Wikipedia. While you may edit any article you wish for this exercise, this would be a good way to edit one of the articles you’re working on for your Wikipedia project.
   • Build a Bibliography. Add sources to one of the articles you’re working on.
   • Plagiarism.
   • Drafting as a Group.
3. Post a journal entry reflecting on your work for this week.

5. Misinformation and Responsible Advocacy

Read

• Carroll, Chapter 7 – “Responsible Advocacy: Public Relations and Social Media Management”
• Carroll, Chapter 9 – “Misinformation and Disinformation: Credibility in a ‘Post-Truth’ Age”
• Editing Wikipedia, pages 12–14.

Activities

1. Wikipedia Project:
   • Work on your Wikipedia collaborative and individual articles.
   • Collaborate with your group to refine and expand your draft article. Remember, you may use the class forum or Wikipedia talk pages to communicate.
   • Reach out to your Wikipedia Expert if you have any questions, listed on our course page.
2. Wikipedia Training:
   • Contributing Images and Media.
3. Post a journal entry reflecting on your work for this week. You might consider one of the questions or topics in “Thinking about Wikipedia.”

6. Writing for Wikipedia

Read

• Carroll, Chapter 8 – “Multimodal Storytelling: The Medium Is the Message”
• Editing Wikipedia, page 13.

Activities

1. Wikipedia Project:
   • Peer Review an Article.
   • Respond to your peer review. You probably have some feedback from other students and possibly other Wikipedians. Consider their suggestions, look for ways to make your work more accurate and complete, and edit your work to make those changes.
   • Continue to expand and improve your work, and format your article to match Wikipedia's tone and standards. Now's the time to revisit your text and refine your work. You may do more research and find missing information; rewrite the lead section to represent all major points; reorganize the text to communicate the information better; or add images and other media.
2. Wikipedia Training:
   • Move Your Work.
3. Post a journal entry reflecting on your work for this week.

7. Final Reflections and Digital Publishing

Read

• Editing Wikipedia, page 15.

Activities

1. Post a final forum journal entry summarizing your learning experience. See the reflective essay exercise for guidance.
2. Finish and Submit Wikipedia Project.

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notes

Written: 2002, 2022; Revised: 02-21-2025; Version: Beta 0.7

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