Description

ENGL 209, Enhanced Digital Text, provides an introduction to hypertext, web authoring and electronic documents. This course is designed both for students with minimal and advanced computer skills. You will have the opportunity to strengthen your critical skills as you read, analyze, and write digital texts; you will also develop your technology skills as you learn new applications for web design.

Critical Skills

1. Understanding Online Reading and Publishing
2. Assessing Online Technologies (texts, fonts, colors, images, style sheets, etc.)
3. Developing Standards for Website Evaluation
4. Comparing the Strengths and Weaknesses of Browsers
5. Choosing Appropriate Tools for Web Authoring
6. Using Images Thoughtfully
7. Understanding Fair Use Guidelines
8. Considering Language and Tone in Documents
9. Appealing to an Online Target Audience by Using Effective Rhetorical Strategies
10. Integrating Text, Technologies and Design Elements into a Cohesive Project

Technology Skills

1. Setting Up Public_html Directory
2. Uploading Files and Communicating with the Server
3. Creating Course Web Page
4. Using Web Authoring Tools – from Netscape Composer to HMTL
5. Constructing Style Sheets
6. Evaluating, Capturing, and Displaying Images
7. Annotating Texts Using Hyperlinks and JavaScript
8. Using Anchor Tags to Create Hyperlinks
9. Learning to Distinguish Between Static and Dynamic Content Websites
10. Understanding Encoding Standards

Course Requirements and Policies:

Attendance and Participation:

Attendance and active participation are expected at all course meetings. All classroom discussions and activities count toward your participation assessment. Students who have excellent participation may receive extra credit. Students who fail to participate satisfactorily, including those with excessive absences, may receive a lower final course grade.

Extra Credit: You may earn up to six percentage points to be added to your final course grade by

• participating actively and productively in class on a regular basis;
• attending class regularly (one absence maximum).

Assignments:

Submission: All assignments must be uploaded to your English 209 page by noon on the due date, unless otherwise specified.

Late Work: Late assignments will be marked down ½ letter grade per day, except in cases of documented illness or emergency.

Grading:

All assignments will receive letter grades according to the following grading standards:

A range: superior mastery of the material; complex understanding of skills and concepts; thoroughness and sophistication in interpretation, style, and presentation.

B range: above-average mastery of the material; clear, thoughtful understanding of skills and concepts; correct presentation.

C range: adequate mastery of the material; obvious, general, or vague understanding of skills and concepts; acceptable presentation.

D range: less-than-satisfactory mastery of the material; limited understanding of skills and concepts; poor presentation.

F range: unsatisfactory mastery of the material; inadequate understanding of skills and concepts; unacceptable presentation.

Final Course Grades:

Final course grades are determined by the criteria listed below.

Assignments and Percentages:

• English 209 Page and Homepage: 10%
• Website Evaluation: 15%
• Image Capture and Analysis: 15%
• Hypertext Annotation: 15%
• Peer Feedback Session and First Project Draft: 10%
• Presentation and Revised Project Draft: 10%
• Final Project: 25%

Converting Letter Grades to Numbers:

Final Course Grades:

Up to 6% may be added to your final course grade for outstanding attendance and participation.

Honor Code:
Academic honesty is expected of all students. Cheating and plagiarism violate the GMU Honors Code. Plagiarism means using the words, opinions, or factual information from another person/text without giving the person/text credit (adapted from the English Department statement). I am required to report any violation of the Honor Code to the University Honors Council.