Assignments

Blog 20%
Each student will maintain a blog on a topic of his/her choice and post to it weekly. Posts are due by 5:00 pm each Friday. Detailed instructions to follow.

Technology Manifesto 20%
After extensive reading and discussion of authorship, ownership, and copyright in the digital age, you will write a manifesto that declares your position on what is ethical authorship in the digital age. Detailed instructions to follow.

Poster Design 5%
Using Robin Williams’s visual design principles, you will design a poster to raise awareness on an issue of your choosing. Detailed instructions to follow.

Personal Website 20%
You will design a personal website (i.e., a website about yourself). This project serves as an introduction to web design and provides you with a portfolio space to showcase all of the digital work you complete throughout the course. The assignment consists of three parts: a proposal that includes storyboards and a written rhetorical rationale; the site itself built using the web design program Dreamweaver and updated throughout the semester; and, a written rhetorical analysis of your site. Detailed instructions to follow.

Information & Advocacy Campaign group project 20%
This is a group project. Each group chooses an issue about which they think CSU students should be more informed (e.g., recycling on campus, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, sexual harassment). The group then designs an “information and advocacy campaign” that includes a website and other educational and promotional materials that can be delivered online. This assignment consists of three parts: an in-depth proposal for a website that includes storyboards and a written rhetorical rationale; the site itself built using the web design program Dreamweaver; and, a written rhetorical analysis of the project. Detailed instructions to follow.

Participation 15%
Participation is not the same as attendance (i.e., simply showing up), and is not limited to simply talking in class. For example, participation can include taking notes for group activities or responding thoughtfully to class discussion/readings on the course blog or in forum posts. But…poor attendance can negatively affect your grade. Please see the Policies section for more details on attendance. The participation grade includes engaging in class discussion and activities, in-class mini assignments, homework assignments, and quizzes.