Week-by-Week Schedule
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| Week One | Research: A Quick Survey a) Start with your computer and your room. To what multimedia do you have access? Explain briefly why you classify each item you cite as multimedia. b) Next visit a major online retailer which sells multimedia. What multimedia do you find there (again explain why you classify the items you cite as multimedia)? What categories of multimedia dominate your online retailer's holdings? For example, check which categories of multimedia appear in front page or close-to-front page advertisements. What ads. appear on the 'multimedia' area of your retailer's site? Does your retailer even have a section called multimedia or does your retailer use another name to categorize multimedia? c) Finally, visit a physical store that sells multimedia. Answer the same questions about the categorization of multimedia and the types of multimedia available as you did for the online store. What conclusions do you draw from your research about the multimedia available to contemporary audiences? |
| For 4 September | Journal 1: Send me your written research report by e-mail no later than mid-day, 4 September. |
| Week Two | |
| 4 September |
The Structuring of Interaction Play Myst for at least two hours this week! But it isn't all fun, alas. As you play, you should be noting down and subsequently analyzing the structure of the interactions you are offered/you experience. That's an important distinction: a multimedia production may intend to offer you one set of interactive experiences but as a unique user you may experience an entirely different set of interactions. Each person will probably experience this multimedia differently, depending on her/his familiarity with high-end interactive multimedia. Go to the study questions section for some suggestions on ways of structuring your experience. Remember to jot down ideas, notes, questions, etc. as you are exploring Myst. |
| For 9 September | Journal 2: Write at least 300 - 400 words describing your interactions. This first set of responses can be as informal as you like (but I should be able to understand them). For example, you might just want to type out your moment-by-moment responses. Remember that one of the key elements for writing multimedia is the structuring of interaction. Post to our Townhall forum by midnight on 9 September. |
| Week Three | |
| 11 September | Play Myst for at least two hours this week! Go to the study questions section for some suggestions on ways of structuring your experience. Remember to jot down ideas, notes, questions, etc. as you are exploring Myst. |
| For 16 September |
Journal 3: Explain how your experience exploring Myst differed (or did not!) from that during your first week. Analyze what changed/did not change. Identify key experiences during your play this week and analyze why they were so important. Write 300 - 400 words and post to our Townhall forum by midnight on 16 September. Use some of the ideas you have encountered in Garrand to your analyze your interactive experiences. |
| Week Four | |
| 18 September | Play Myst for at least two hours week! Go to the study questions section for some suggestions on ways of structuring your experience. Remember to jot down ideas, notes, questions, etc. as you are exploring Myst. |
| For 23 September | Journal 4: In your 300 - 400 words this week, analyze in particular the writing you encounter in your playing of Myst. Think not only of the writing that you experience 'on the surface' but also the writing that might have led to the creation of what you see, do, and experience on the screen. Use some of the ideas you have encountered in Garrand to your analyze your experiences. Post to out Townhall forum by midnight on 23 September. |
| Week Five | |
| 25 September |
Play Myst for at least two hours week! Go to the study questions section for some suggestions on ways of structuring your experience. Remember to jot down ideas, notes, questions, etc. as you are exploring Myst. |
| For 30 September | Journal 5: Look back over your experiences and writings for the last four weeks of playing Myst. What have you learned from your excursion into Myst-playing? What competencies have you used (cite evidence to support your choices)? Which competencies seem most critical to the writing of multimedia? Townhall forum by midnight on 30 September |
| Week Six | |
| 2 October |
Informational Multimedia Return to "Do You Remember When." Spend at least two hours working through and examining this online exhibition. Read the study questions before you begin your exploration and use them to structure your response. |
| For 10 October | Journal 6: Post your response to our townhall forum by midnight on 10 October |
| Week Seven | |
| 9 October | Columbus Day Holiday |
| 11 October |
On Location The next assignment stretches over five weeks. First, you should find an example of instructional multimedia situated in a physical building (try museums and art galleries - the Holocaust Museum, the National Gallery of Art, etc.). Make sure you choose a genuine instructional multimedia installation. Second, you should analyze the the location & apparent purpose of your chosen multimedia, and how the physical context influences the way you approach the multimedia installation. Third, you should analyze the instructional multimedia itself utilizing the concepts and vocabulary you have encountered in class. For more detail, see the study questions for this exercise |
| Week Eight | |
| 16 October | Continue with the On Location exercise. E-mail to me your chosen instructional multimedia installation by midnight on 21 September. |
| Week Nine | |
| 23 October | Continue with the On Location exercise |
| Week Ten | |
| 30 October | Complete your On Location report on your multimedia installation this week. |
| For 4 November | Journal 7: Post your On Location report to our Townhall forum by midnight on 4 November. Remember to cite evidence to support your judgments. |
| Week Eleven | |
| 6 November |
Choose a location on campus where a free-standing instructional multimedia installation or kiosk would prove helpful to students/faculty/visitors etc. Write no more than a 300-word pitch to me (as a prospective client) selling the concept, location and content of the multimedia installation as an invaluable enhancement to campus life. |
| For 11 November | Journal 8: Post your pitch to our Townhall forum by midnight on 11 November. |
| Week Twelve | |
| 13 November |
Professional Interview Over the next three weeks you should interview a professional writer/producer in multimedia production (instructional, narrative, gaming, etc.). You may not choose to interview a fellow GMU student or a GMU faculty member. You must choose to interview a working professional in a commercial, non-profit or educational context. You may interview a non-GMU faculty member, if their focus is writing for multimedia. You may conduct the interview either in person or by telephone or electronically. If you conduct the interview electronically you should schedule at least one follow-up interview. See list for possible contacts. But do not feel constrained by that list. If you love a particular game, for example, and you can establish contact with the writers, go ahead and do so. See interview guide for help in structuring this segment of your experiential learning. |
| Week Thirteen | |
| 20 November |
Continue with your interview project |
| Week Fourteen | |
| 27 November |
Continue with your interview project |
| Week Fifteen | |
| 4 December |
Write up your interview project. See the instructions for presenting your interview project. |
| For 9 December | Journal 9: Send me your report by e-mail by midnight on 9 December. |
| Exam. Week | |
| Date to come |
Journal 9: Write a 3 - 4 page reflection analyzing: a) what and how you learned during the experiential learning segment
of the course |
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