Welcome to Summer 2015 WRA 110!
Note: this class runs on Eastern Standard Time (that is the time zone in which MSU resides), so make sure that no matter where you are in the country or world, the due dates and times are set via EST. Make sure you factor this in when you submit assignments.
Below in the left column you will find the entire course schedule for the 7 weeks we will be working together. Note that we will be doing something every day this summer. All of the writing for this course will take place in Eli Review, so make sure you create an account and enter the code that I email you (you must enter that code as it will give you access to the class and also make it free for all MSU students).
If you have any questions or concerns I highly recommend that you email me or try to set up an online video conference so we can talk.
My email: cmcardle@msu.edu
Below in the left column you will find the entire course schedule for the 7 weeks we will be working together. Note that we will be doing something every day this summer. All of the writing for this course will take place in Eli Review, so make sure you create an account and enter the code that I email you (you must enter that code as it will give you access to the class and also make it free for all MSU students).
If you have any questions or concerns I highly recommend that you email me or try to set up an online video conference so we can talk.
My email: cmcardle@msu.edu
Course Schedule
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Online ConferencesThere will be times when you may want to talk about various projects - if so, you may use these video conferencing applications to to meet with me. Make sure that you email me to set up an appointment for an online conference.
Skype Username: crmcardle Google Video/Hangout: cremcardle@gmail.com DocumentsSyllabus
MSU Rubric Project #1 Project #2 Project #3 Project #4 Project #5 Help VideosIntroduction to the class
How to Use Eli Review Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Reflection Memo Project #1 Project #2 Project #3 Project #4 Project #5 Project #1 – Technology LiteraciesYour task for this assignment is to construct a “tech-literacy autobiography” that gives a detailed and specific account of at least one significant way you encounter technology in school, outside of school, or both.
For this essay, you may wish to construct a chronological literacy narrative where you describe your experiences with how your current technology practices reflect technology usage over time (throughout your life, while in high school, etc). Or, you may wish to provide a non-chronological analysis, selecting nonsequential scenes that tell a story when placed together. Regardless, you might address any of the following questions (but do not answer them as if you are checking them off a list):
Your finished paper should:
Project #2 – Cultural LiteraciesYour job for this assignment is to write an artifact or profile analysis of a digital or multimedia “object” of some kind. The object could be a film clip, television episode, song, recording of a speech or poem, commercial, YouTube video, blog, or a website. If you have another idea, feel free to suggest it. Think about what the artifact or profile says about the culture that created it.
I want you to make an argument about the artifact or profile based on the details you find – try to think about these (but do not answer them as if you are checking them off a list):
Requirements: your paper should:
What’s the point?
Your finished paper should:
Project #3 – Disciplinary LiteraciesEarlier assignments for this course gave you opportunities to identify themes and terms for analysis so that you could begin to understand and practice meeting the expectations for writing in higher education. This assignment allows you to continue engaging effective invention, arrangement, revision, style, and delivery practices. It also introduces you to the ways that research and participating in important academic discussions prepare you to use literacy in successful ways across the kinds of writing situations you will find yourself in higher education and beyond.
Many students come to higher education with only a vague idea of what it means to become a participating member of an academic discipline. Your purpose in this essay is to give students who are new to the academic discipline/field you have chosen an introduction to the expectations for writing, reading, and researching in that discipline. Ultimately, your paper should help your audience understand the ways that literacies (both technological and rhetorical) are used to create and communicate knowledge in the discipline/field you choose to explore. Requirements: Different academic disciplines have different ways of presenting and analyzing information, different ways of building knowledge, and different ways of presenting knowledge in written forms. This paper gives you the opportunity to begin building your own understanding of how writing, reading, and researching operate within a discipline of interest to you. You may choose any discipline you wish to examine for this project. Whichever you choose, you must engage in the following activities:
If you are undecided, think about a discipline that interests you. Ultimately, the choice is yours, but don’t hesitate to ask. Make sure you schedule your interviews early – many professors and professionals will have busy schedules. Your finished paper should:
Sample Email: Dear Dr. Franklin, My name is Casey McArdle and I am a student in WRA 110. My current class assignment requires me to research a discipline that I would like to major in or that I am interested in. I notice from the Economics website that you are a professor here and I wondered if you have a few minutes to spare for a quick interview. Please let me know when you are free or if you have any time. I can interview face-to-face or over the phone – whatever is most convenient for you. Thank you and I appreciate your time. Sincerely, Casey McArdle Project #4 – Digital Remix ProjectFor this project, you will focus on the concept of revision as you convert your Disciplinary Literacy Project into a different medium—a poster. You will be tasked to translate the analysis found in your DLP into a digital poster, which will rely on images and text to, in one frame, communicate information about your chosen discipline as a means to advertise the field. You can use Adobe Photoshop, MS Word, or whatever other types of software to complete this task by applying the readings from Robin Williams' The Non-Designer's Design Book.
This work will emphasize the following 3 rhetorical moves:
Learning Outcomes: This project is designed to (1) complicate your ideas of revision, (2) give you experience in composing in digital media, (3) oblige you to consider how academic discourses can inform more business-oriented discourses. Audience: Much like the audience for your DLP paper, you should compose for an audience that has little familiarity with your chosen discipline or profession. However, instead of teaching this audience something, your goal is catch their fleeting attention and encourage them to conduct their own research. You must also understand that posters are not intended for lengthy readings, so your message must be compact and impactful. Grading: This Remix assignment is worth 15% of your overall course grade, divided into the following categories. Poster Visual Appeal: 3% To earn the full 3% for this assignment your poster should visually attractive and attention-grabbing. The text should be readable and grammatically effective (although the grammar rules for papers do not always apply for visual compositions). Your images should not be distorted or overly pixelated. Poster Arrangement: 8% To earn the full 8% for this assignment you must effectively deploy the Williams' CRAP principles. Your contrasting elements should be “strong;” e.g., the color of your text fonts should stand out against the color of your background without distracting the reader. You should repeat elements in order to create a unified theme. Your elements should show a definite pattern of alignment that enhances reading. You should use proximity in order to make connections between your elements; e.g., if you have a photograph of a person, should supply a caption that enables readers to easily match one to the other. Format: 4% To receive the full 4% for formatting you must submit for your rough and final drafts of the posters as .pdf files. If you use photographs or images that are not your own, you must cite them in an attached page to the .pdf final version of your poster. Your finished Poster should:
Project #5 – Revising LiteraciesThis assignment asks you to reread the papers and projects that you have created this semester to meet the following major goals:
You will write a final paper for this course that revisits and revises your individual literacy development for the specific purpose of helping incoming students understand the big picture of First-Year Writing to enhance their chances of success in the Program. The important thing to remember as you use Purpose, Audience, Subject, and Writer to define your final project is that the final product should help you both 1) revise and revisit your literacy development in a significant way by drawing on course materials and activities, and 2) create strong points of significance (i.e. strong purpose/audience/subject relationships) within and across each of four course assignments. Your finished paper should:
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