Texts and Supplies
Timothy Garrand, Writing for Multimedia and the Web, Focal Press
(paperback)
I still use this book for Writing for Multimedia and the Web because many students tell me how useful it is, not only for this class but also for other classes and professional projects. Garrand breaks down the tasks of the interactive writer, analyzes various levels of interactivity, and the strategies for scripting them, and provides strong examples of the main scripting formats you might encounter. He includes myriad examples of professional projects, accompanied by a helpful CD-ROM.
Supplies:
- Removable media to save your in-class work
- A writer's handbook (choose your own)
- Patience and a sense of humor (not compulsory but it helps)
Course Goals
This course aims:-
- to increase your awareness of the multiple roles of writing in multimedia production
- to expose you to the different styles and formats of writing you might encounter as a multimedia writer
- to practice those styles and formats and to choose the appropriate writing to achieve your goal
- to help you 'read' an audience and tailor your writing to your specific audience at each specific stage within a production
Participation
Writing for Multimedia is a workshop class. I like workshops because they let
us experiment and risk the unknown. You gain feedback from teachers and peers.
And you discover talents and skills you have never exercised. But the workshop
format does mean you need to attend class regularly. The work you complete in
one class prepares you for your homework, which prepares you for the next week's
class which prepares you for your assignment which prepares you for.... And
so on.
Class participation thus forms a significant segment of your grade. I am not at all looking for instant expertise in every workshop. I am just looking for assiduous attendance, thorough preparation and generous contributions to class discussions, writing exercises and ad hoc reading quizzes. Anyone can achieve A-grade participation, regardless of background knowledge, skill or learning style.
Late Work
Everyone in class has one "Life Happens," exemption and thus may submit one
assignment up to five days after its due date. Thereafter, the penalties below
for late work apply. The "Life Happens" exemption is not available for group
work or the final submission of the group project and its presentation to
the class.
Please remember that faculty rest under no obligation to accept late work. If you submit work late, you will lose one grade segment for every day beyond its due date. In extenuating personal or professional circumstances, I will accept late work without penalty, if you contact me as soon as the prospect of unfinished work arises. If you are ill, please provide medical documentation. Without medical documentation, faculty cannot offer exemptions on assignments.
Grading Breakdown
Mini-assignment #1: News Story --------------------------------------10%
Mini-assignment #2: Audio Script -------------------------------------10%
Mini-assignment #3: Video Script -------------------------------------15%
Multimedia script #1: Informational Multimedia --------------------20%
Group Multimedia Project -----------------------------------------------25%
Class Participation -------------------------------------------------------20%
Honor Code
Please familiarize yourself, in detail, with the university honor code (http://www.gmu.edu/facstaff/handbook/aD.html).
It is your responsibility to study it carefully and ask me for further explanation
of any part you do not understand. University faculty have an obligation to
refer the names of those who may have violated the Honor Code to the Student
Honor Committee, which treats such cases very seriously. Please also read
the statement on plagiarism and the guidelines for ethical collaboration below.
Plagiarism Statement
Plagiarism is the equivalent of intellectual robbery. According to the University
catalog, plagiarism includes the following:
- presenting as one's own the words, the work, or the opinions of someone else without proper acknowledgment.
- borrowing the sequence of ideas, the arrangement of material, or the pattern of thought of someone else without proper acknowledgment
You may, indeed should, discuss your ideas informally with others and receive feedback from peers on your drafts. However, it is not appropriate to ask someone else to rewrite, revise or finish your final submission. If your name appears on an assignment, your professor has the right to expect you to submit your own, unaided work.
You should also acknowledge the ideas you have acquired from others. Please give credit where credit is due, whether to a family member or friend with whom you have discussed the readings, to a writing colleague or a group member, or to a faculty member or any one else who has helped you to clarify your ideas.
Ethical Collaboration
Writing for Multimedia includes one group project. As many of you probably know
from experience, the professional world increasingly rewards potential employees
who possess sophisticated team-building and team-participation skills. But group
projects are also fraught.
Each member of the group should be part of the formal collaboration and feel equally responsible for the results. Divide work as equally as you can and try to play to each individual team member's strengths. As a group member, don't rely on the enthusiasm and skill of one or two colleagues. Imagination, organizational and logistical skills, the facilitation of meetings so that everyone remains in a good mood, experience in the use of multimedia, etc. are all valuable skills for the group project in this course.
In formal collaborative work, names of all the participants should appear on the work. If a group member does not participate in completing the project, her or his name should not appear on the project.
Learning Resources
The Disability Resource Center
If you have a learning difference which may influence your work in this class,
please give me as soon as possible the form from the Disability Resource Center
which details the accommodations you need to complete the course enjoyably
and successfully. Faculty can only offer accommodations to students who have
identified themselves to the Disability Resource Center.
If you think you may have a learning difference which may inhibit your work in the class, please try to see one of the counselors in the Disability Resource Center as soon as possible to determine the accommodations you might need.
The New Century College Online Writing Guide
NCC's Online Writing Guide (http://classweb.gmu.edu/nccwg/), created by Virginia
Montecino and Ashley Williams, provides you with 24/7 access to writing advice
especially designed for interdisciplinary, integrative writing activities.
The Writing Center
The University's Writing Center (http://writingcenter.gmu.edu/) offers free,
expert tutoring to writers at all levels who want to improve their writing.
Each individual session lasts for 45 minutes, and you should try to book an
appointment in advance. I strongly recommend that you schedule a Writing Center
sessions as frequently as you need them. Consultations will help you target
an audience, write concisely and hold your readers' attention. You can find
the Writing Center in Robinson A, Room 116.
Student Technology Assistance and Resource Center
STAR (http://media.gmu.edu/) provides free training in common software applications,
and classes in more advanced softwares for building creative web sites, CDs
and videos. Check out the schedule of free classes to learn, for example, HTML,
the code that lets you create web pages and some of the web authoring softwares
that automate that coding process for you. If this course whets your appetite
for creating multimedia, you will be able to learn many of the programs necessary
at STAR. But remember that your earn your grade for this course via your writing!
Important Dates
| Last Day to Drop without Tuition Liability | 13 Sept. |
| Last Day to Add Classes | 13 Sept. |
| Last Day to Drop with 33% tuition penalty | 20 Sept. |
| Last Day to Drop | 30 Sept. |
| Incomplete work from Spring/Summer 2001 due to instructor | 28 Oct. |
| Labor Day Recess | 5 Sept. |
| Columbus
Day Recess (Monday classes (i.e. us) meet on Tuesday |
10 Oct. |
| Thanksgiving Recess | 23 - 27 Nov. |
| Last Day of Classes | 10 Dec. |
Weekly Schedule --->