293 W20 Brey

293

University of Waterloo

Winter Term 2020

ENGL293 Section 1

Intro to Digital Media Studies

Tues/Thurs, 10:00-11:20AM in ECH 1205

Instructor Information

Instructor: Betsy Brey

Office: 1317A Choco Mountain, The Games Institute, East Campus 1

Office Hours: Tues/Wed/Thurs 12pm-1pm; or email to make an appointment

Email: ebrey@uwaterloo.ca

Course Description

A survey of the study of digital media, including critical, rhetorical, and semiotic approaches, and of the interpretation and creation of digital media artifacts.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, you will:

1. Understand and explain the connections between theoretical, critical and popular discourses concerning the who, what, where, when, why, and how of new media
2. Engage critically with your own digital media environments
3. Analyze cultural, material, and immaterial practices, objects, and artifacts of new media
4. Adapt and explore different conventions of genre, audience, cultural assumptions, and rhetorical context in digital media
5. Effectively and helpfully collaborate with other students through group work and fair project delegation, both in smaller and larger groups
6. Create projects in several formats, including a formal essay, weekly informal writing, and a creative/non-traditional multimedia project, demonstrating an informed understanding of core concepts and theories learned

Required Texts

Flew, Terry and Richard Smith. New Media: An Introduction. Third Canadian Edition. Oxford University Press, 2018.

Any additional readings available on Learn, either as a PDF or as a link. Readings are posted to their respective weeks.

Technology in the Classroom

We will be using the course page on Learn frequently in and out of class time. Access to Learn during class is required. This is a digital humanities course, so sometimes we will work online and sometimes offline. When we are working offline, I expect you to be fully engaged with class; you will lose participation points if you are on a device during offline work. When we are working online, if you abuse your tech privilege (by spending class time on social networks, websites, games, platforms etc. unrelated to the weekly topic or immediate discussion), you will lose participation marks at my discretion.

Absences and Attendance

You will note that attendance and participation are worth 15% of your final grade. Absences will impact this grade, as you cannot participate in class if you are not in class. Excused absences, as outlined by University Policy, will not impact your grade. If you have an excusable absence, you are responsible for verifying it as outlined in policy. Attendance is vital to your success in this course. If you choose not to attend, you will be missing points. There are no “makeups” for this work; you are there, or you are not.

Evaluation and Mark Distribution

This course is reading intensive, writing intensive, and participation intensive: I expect you to do the readings before class, take careful notes on the readings before class, show up to class, and take part during in-class activities.

There are five components of your overall mark in this class: course-long participation (20%), a group presentation (20%), weekly discussion boards (20%), a creative project (20%), and a response essay (20%).

Here’s what your marks “mean.”

90-100%: assignments earning 90-100% are truly outstanding and spectacular work that goes well above and beyond the expectations of an assignment at the 200 course-level. This work demonstrates mastery of the subject matter at the undergraduate level.

80-89%: assignments earning 80-89% show excellent, exceptional work. The work is communicated in a polished and effective manner with a great deal of attention to detail.

70-79%: assignments earning 70-79% demonstrate a solid understanding of the material. The work is communicated in an effective, appropriate manner and attention to detail is apparent, expressing an understanding of the material beyond the minimum level of comprehension.

60-69%: assignments earning 60-69% meet the expectations of an assignment but does not surpass expectations. The work shows comprehension and effort but only meets the minimum requirements of a task. These are the average marks for coursework.

50-59%: assignments earning 50-59% do not meet the expectations of the assignment, either due to misunderstanding, not following directions, or by not attending to the required tasks of the assignment.

1-49%: assignments earning 1-49% are failing marks. Academic assignments of any kind earn failing marks usually for two reasons. And your professors can always tell the difference between the two. One kind of assignment may fail because—even though the writer clearly worked conscientiously and made a genuine attempt—a student does not understand the material. It indicates that the student should meet with the professor or a TA or attend peer tutoring in order to understand the course material and the skills required at a university. A different situation is when the assignment was written by a student capable of much better work who has not taken the assignment seriously enough or given it the time it required. Assignments in this category were perhaps written at the last minute, did not go through a thoughtful revision process, and may not have been based on sufficient preparation, reading, or research. Students receiving failing grades in for this reason should interpret them as wake-up calls: careless work will not earn credit in university courses.

0%: the assignment has not been received by the professor.

Note: Grades in the 60-70% range are average and meet the terms of the assignment. Marks in 70-80% are good and worth being proud of; a 75% means I think you have a great understanding of the material and have made good decisions about how to present your knowledge. Marks in the 80-100% range are difficult to obtain and show work above the expectations of a 200-level course. If you earn a 95%, it means it’s one of the best pieces of work I’ve have ever seen for this kind of class. Doing the minimum does not earn 90s.

Assignment Submission, Deadlines, and Late Policy

All assignments have a specified format for submission on Learn—either files into the Dropbox, a weekly discussion board, a quiz, or a survey. I will not accept assignments via email unless I specifically ask for an assignment by email. This often only occurs for in-class exercises. Late assignments will be penalized 10% per weekday and may be graded without comments. Papers more than 5 weekdays late will receive a failing grade. But 50% is better than 0%. Turn your work in!

Assignments Descriptions

These descriptions are intended to help you see an overview of the assignment. They do not contain all the requirements of the assignment. Complete assignment sheets and marking rubrics are available on Learn.

Course-long participation (20%): Participation will be marked on a weekly basis. In order to contribute to the best of your ability and earn a high participation grade, you must complete scheduled readings before class. Come to class ready to talk about what you read. You’ll earn participation points in a few ways, including but not limited to: weekly reading quizzes; idea contribution; group work; in-class writing; regular attendance; being on time; staying awake during class; being respectful of your classmates and instructor; in-class activities; and of course, in-class discussion.

Group presentation (20%): In a small group, you will be responsible for reading, taking notes, and presenting the materials from your assigned reading. You and your group will sign up for a topic/date and work together to create a presentation reviewing the core concepts from the reading. Your presentation is intended to be a supplement, not a replacement, for reading the chapter. Consider your role as making a study guide for your classmates. You will create a PowerPoint or Google slides presentation and share your guide with the class. This is not a public speaking assignment, so you will not be marked on your speaking. Presentation date sign-ups will be during the second week of class. There are no make-up dates available for this assignment. Do not sign up for a date you will not be in class. Any sudden changes must be worked out with your group. Following your presentation, one group member will upload your slides and notes to the Dropbox for me to mark. After they are marked, I will add them to Learn so the whole class can use them in their Response Essays at the end of the term. After you present, you must then complete the Group Summary Response Quiz on Learn, located under the “Group Summary Report” tab on the content bar to the left. You will not receive any points for the assignment until you complete this final portion. The presentation is due to the Dropbox before the end of class on the day you present. The Summary Reports are due by Saturday at 11:59PM on the week you present.

Weekly discussion boards (20%): Each week, you are responsible for completing one of the two prompts on the Learn discussion board for that week. You have two options: choose one of the prompts and respond to it in 300-400 words OR choose one of your classmate’s responses to either prompt and respond to that with 300-400 words. The discussion boards are intended to be informal and reflective, encouraging you to connect different theories, concepts, and ideas from class each week. Your lowest two marks will be dropped. Each board is due Saturday at 11:59PM of the week it is posted. These may be completed for late points up until April 15^th at 11:59PM.

Creative project (20%): For this project, you will work in a small group or on your own. Using a one of three supplied format options, you and/or your group will create plan, write, and create a digital story. This may be accomplished in a few possible ways, which will be discussed in class: Option A, netprov; Option B, threaded storytelling project; Option C, Twine game. In addition to submitting your story, each student individually must also submit a personal reflection—a 4-5 page explanation of the project describing your storytelling goals, the ways your story worked with or against the affordances of your digital format, how your group worked together, and what your own contributions to the project were. At the start of the project, everyone must submit a Creative Project Pitch Survey via the Survey function on Learn, which includes an informal description of the story you want to tell and a workflow organization and delegation section. If you have another idea for a storytelling project beyond the suggestions, feel free to discuss it with me during office hours. Reflections are due posted to the Dropbox in Word or PDF format by each student individually. Only one student per group needs to upload the files, images, links, screenshots, etc., for the story itself. The Pitch Survey is due February 27^th to the Survey submission by the end of class. The completed assignment—reflection and project itself— are due March 19^th by 11:59PM.

Response essay (20%): By the end of class, you will have access to a comprehensive set of notes from presentations over the term, in addition to your Discussion Board posts. For the end of term essay, there will be four prompts to choose from; you will choose two of these prompts and write a 2-3 page essay using the book and the notes you took and collected over the course of the term. No outside research is required or allowed. Prompts will be posted to the Response Essay section on Learn during the last week of class and due posted into the Dropbox in Word or PDF format. This assignment is due April 15^th by 11:59PM.

Formatting and Citation

Use MLA (Modern Language Association) Eighth Edition documentation style. Remember to keep frequently updated backup copies in case of computer crashes. There are two helpful links for MLA style in the University Resources section on Learn.

Academic Integrity

In order to maintain a culture of academic integrity, members of the University of Waterloo are expected to promote honesty, trust, fairness, respect and responsibility.

• As a student, you are expected to know what constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offences, and to take responsibility for your actions. If you are unsure whether an action constitutes an offence, or if you need help in Learning how to avoid offences (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about rules for group work/collaboration, you should seek guidance from the course professor, academic advisor, or the Undergraduate Associate Dean.
• When misconduct has been found to have occurred, disciplinary penalties will be imposed under Policy 71 – Student Discipline. For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties, you should refer to Policy 71 - Student Discipline, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy71.htm
• If you believe that a decision affecting some aspect of your university life has been unfair or unreasonable, you may have grounds for initiating a grievance. Read Policy 70 - Student Petitions and Grievances, Section 4, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy70.htm

• You may appeal the finding and/or penalty in a decision made under Policy 70 -Student Petitions and Grievances (other than regarding a petition) or Policy 71 – Student Discipline if a ground for an appeal can be established. Read Policy 72 - Student Appeals, http://www.adm.uwaterloo.ca/infosec/Policies/policy72.htm
• More information: Academic Integrity Office (UW): http://uwaterloo.ca/academicintegrity/

Accessibility and Accommodations

AccessAbility Services, (https://uwaterloo.ca/accessability-services/) located in Needles Hall, Room 1401, collaborates with all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for those of us with disabilities, without compromising the academic integrity of curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to do your best in class, please register at the beginning of each academic term.

In cases where you are experiencing problems either in or outside of class that are affecting your attendance and/or work performance, please keep me informed. On a case-by-case basis, alternative arrangements may be made. In addition, please let me know what I can do that will make the course more accessible to you. The course is intended to be challenging, but the structure of the course itself should not be a barrier to your learning.

Mental Health Support

We all need a support system.

On Campus

• Counselling Services: counselling.services@uwaterloo.ca / 519-888-4567 xt 32655
• MATES: one-to-one peer support program offered by Federation of Students (FEDS) and Counselling Services
• Health Services Emergency service: located across the creek form Student Life Centre

Off campus, 24/

• Good2Talk: Free confidential help line for post-secondary students. Phone: 1-866-925-5454
• Grand River Hospital: Emergency care for mental health crisis. Phone: 519-749-433 ext. 6880
• Here 24/7: Mental Health and Crisis Service Team. Phone: 1-844-437-3247
• OK2BME: set of support services for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or questioning folks in Waterloo. Phone: 519-884-0000 extension 213

Full details can be found online at the Faculty of ARTS website, and you can download UWaterloo and regional mental health resources (PDF) and the WatSafe app to your phone to quickly access mental health support information.

Territorial Acknowledgement

The settler city of Waterloo is founded on stolen land. We are living and working on the traditional territory of the Attawandaron (also known as Neutral), Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples. The University of Waterloo is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. But acknowledgement isn't enough. We must actively work against the erasure of Indigenous people’s lives and rights.

A (Hopefully Unnecessary) Reminder about Respect and Safety

We are looking at digital media and discourse about digital media; I do not censor it. It may contain images, content, and language that is problematic, offensive, disturbing, or even traumatizing to some.