L. Christie Linger
Dr. Barnes-Pietruszynski
English 303-01
11 November 2010
Reading Response 3
Networked Communities
Rheingold like Wesch sees the internet as a new way that society has formed communities. They both bring up really good points. We do everything online that we do in person. At first I was skeptical but then I started thinking and really it’s true. We can kiss through blowing a kiss into a webcam. We can smile through a colon and a parenthesisJ. We can laugh by writing lol. Some people have relationships online. I won’t even go into sexting or whatever lies beyond that with webcams. We have created a way to live our lives online. We are instantly connected with people all over the world in communities we have created.
Being instantly connected to multiple networks with people in the United States and other countries that partake in those networks is something that I have taken for granted. Until Rheingold mentioned that not all countries have networked I had never thought about it. I go to Facebook and can instantly find out what is going on with the people in that community and I can let them know what is going on with me. I can email every student in my school network through typing something as simple as all students. All of these things are at my fingertips. Rheingold has pointed out that some countries have not updated their national technology to allow as many networked communities that we in the U.S. experience.
Rheingold has a very good observation about the places that have not updated their networking, “refuse to join the Net in its widest sense and face being left behind, or to join the Net and face social upheaval” (Rheingold Ch 8). The phenomenon of online communities has its pros and cons. The internet moves so fast and is constantly evolving therefore making our societies evolve faster. If other countries don’t jump on board the face being out of the loop. It’s like if a person who uses Facebook regularly to message friends, see what is going on with their friends and family, and to communicate what is going on with them doesn’t use the site for a week, when hey log back in even though it has only been a week, they have missed out on so much. They could have missed information about who broke up with whom, about whose family member passed away, or who had a baby. Our culture relays so much on technology that there have been times that I find out things like this online. One time I missed a post that a friend was pregnant. It was a couple months later and I saw her. I was shocked and asked why she didn’t call and share the good news (since we are such close friends). Her response was that she had posted it on Facebook so she could just tell everyone at once and it never crossed her mind that I might not have seen it. If you take these concepts and apply it to a whole country think of how much that country misses out on every day. Not just simple stuff like Facebook but important stuff. World news, political decisions, almost everything is online. But if the culture plugs in to our networked communities will they be losing some other part of their culture. They jury is still out on that one, but personally I think it is better to be plugged in and change a little than be unplugged and left in the dark.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Reading Response 3
L. Christie Linger
Dr. Barnes-Pietruszynski
English 303-01
11 November 2010
Reading Response 3
Networked Communities
Rheingold like Wesch sees the internet as a new way that society has formed communities. They both bring up really good points. We do everything online that we do in person. At first I was skeptical but then I started thinking and really it’s true. We can kiss through blowing a kiss into a webcam. We can smile through a colon and a parenthesisJ. We can laugh by writing lol. Some people have relationships online. I won’t even go into sexting or whatever lies beyond that with webcams. We have created a way to live our lives online. We are instantly connected with people all over the world in communities we have created.
Being instantly connected to multiple networks with people in the United States and other countries that partake in those networks is something that I have taken for granted. Until Rheingold mentioned that not all countries have networked I had never thought about it. I go to Facebook and can instantly find out what is going on with the people in that community and I can let them know what is going on with me. I can email every student in my school network through typing something as simple as all students. All of these things are at my fingertips. Rheingold has pointed out that some countries have not updated their national technology to allow as many networked communities that we in the U.S. experience.
Rheingold has a very good observation about the places that have not updated their networking, “refuse to join the Net in its widest sense and face being left behind, or to join the Net and face social upheaval” (Rheingold Ch 8). The phenomenon of online communities has its pros and cons. The internet moves so fast and is constantly evolving therefore making our societies evolve faster. If other countries don’t jump on board the face being out of the loop. It’s like if a person who uses Facebook regularly to message friends, see what is going on with their friends and family, and to communicate what is going on with them doesn’t use the site for a week, when hey log back in even though it has only been a week, they have missed out on so much. They could have missed information about who broke up with whom, about whose family member passed away, or who had a baby. Our culture relays so much on technology that there have been times that I find out things like this online. One time I missed a post that a friend was pregnant. It was a couple months later and I saw her. I was shocked and asked why she didn’t call and share the good news (since we are such close friends). Her response was that she had posted it on Facebook so she could just tell everyone at once and it never crossed her mind that I might not have seen it. If you take these concepts and apply it to a whole country think of how much that country misses out on every day. Not just simple stuff like Facebook but important stuff. World news, political decisions, almost everything is online. But if the culture plugs in to our networked communities will they be losing some other part of their culture. They jury is still out on that one, but personally I think it is better to be plugged in and change a little than be unplugged and left in the dark.
Dr. Barnes-Pietruszynski
English 303-01
11 November 2010
Reading Response 3
Networked Communities
Rheingold like Wesch sees the internet as a new way that society has formed communities. They both bring up really good points. We do everything online that we do in person. At first I was skeptical but then I started thinking and really it’s true. We can kiss through blowing a kiss into a webcam. We can smile through a colon and a parenthesisJ. We can laugh by writing lol. Some people have relationships online. I won’t even go into sexting or whatever lies beyond that with webcams. We have created a way to live our lives online. We are instantly connected with people all over the world in communities we have created.
Being instantly connected to multiple networks with people in the United States and other countries that partake in those networks is something that I have taken for granted. Until Rheingold mentioned that not all countries have networked I had never thought about it. I go to Facebook and can instantly find out what is going on with the people in that community and I can let them know what is going on with me. I can email every student in my school network through typing something as simple as all students. All of these things are at my fingertips. Rheingold has pointed out that some countries have not updated their national technology to allow as many networked communities that we in the U.S. experience.
Rheingold has a very good observation about the places that have not updated their networking, “refuse to join the Net in its widest sense and face being left behind, or to join the Net and face social upheaval” (Rheingold Ch 8). The phenomenon of online communities has its pros and cons. The internet moves so fast and is constantly evolving therefore making our societies evolve faster. If other countries don’t jump on board the face being out of the loop. It’s like if a person who uses Facebook regularly to message friends, see what is going on with their friends and family, and to communicate what is going on with them doesn’t use the site for a week, when hey log back in even though it has only been a week, they have missed out on so much. They could have missed information about who broke up with whom, about whose family member passed away, or who had a baby. Our culture relays so much on technology that there have been times that I find out things like this online. One time I missed a post that a friend was pregnant. It was a couple months later and I saw her. I was shocked and asked why she didn’t call and share the good news (since we are such close friends). Her response was that she had posted it on Facebook so she could just tell everyone at once and it never crossed her mind that I might not have seen it. If you take these concepts and apply it to a whole country think of how much that country misses out on every day. Not just simple stuff like Facebook but important stuff. World news, political decisions, almost everything is online. But if the culture plugs in to our networked communities will they be losing some other part of their culture. They jury is still out on that one, but personally I think it is better to be plugged in and change a little than be unplugged and left in the dark.
Reading Response 2
L. Christie Linger
Dr. Barnes-Pietruszynski
English 303-01
11 November 2010
Reading Response 2
YouTube: A New Kind of Community or a New Way to Communicate?
Want to be unique and individual but desire to be a part of a community? Then YouTube is the place for you. Michael Wesch, professor and creator of the Digital Ethnography of YouTube Project has come up with the concept of networked individualism. This is the idea that YouTube has become so popular because it provides us with the experience of a community yet thrives off of everyone contributing unique and individualistic content. YouTube has not changed the community atmosphere that we have been used to for centuries; it has only changed the medium in which we interact with one another.
Youtube feeds off of the desire of individuals seeking to gain video popularity. To do so, people share video blogs and comment on one another’s videos. People try to get the most unique, creative or individual idea. By creating a unique video people are enhancing their feelings of being an individual. At the same time the video is becoming popular and allowing individuals to feel a part of a community. Therefore, YouTube has created a cycle in which it takes being an individual to be a part of the community and being a part of a community to be an individual.
Since online communities like YouTube enhance and create networked individualism it allows for individuals to create who they are. Online, you can be who you want to be to the community that you are in. This creates a question about if the individuals on YouTube are being real or fake. There have been instances where it has been found out that people on Youtube were posting fake videos. An example is when the creators of lonleygirl15 made up a teenage girl blog and produced it. People got upset when they found out people on YouTube were pretending to be something they were not. But isn’t everybody? We are only showing people what we want them to see. So in a sense we are all hiding our whole selves just as the pretenders. This raises a series of other questions. Is anyone on YouTube real? Are we all fake? The makers of lonleygil15 wrote “She is no more real or fictious than the portions of our personalities that we choose to show (or hide) when we interact with the people around us” (“An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube”). If we as individuals on YouTube are fake, pretending to be something we are not, only showing a particular side of ourselves, or how ever we want to see it, then it is a realistic conclusion to come to that the community we have created in Youtube is fake as well.
Whether or not we as individuals have created a community in which we believe ourselves to be real even when we are not, we have created a community that has changed the world. We have not created a community that has changed how we as humans treat one another but instead have changed the medium in which we interact. For example, internet interaction has had little effect on gender roles. We have kept the same things that are a part of our culture we have just changed the way we communicate them. We reach more people, we reach them faster, but we are still communicating the same things. We have not changed out morals we have just changed the way we communicate them. For example, the Hug Project was started on YouTube as a way to promote peace, happiness, and a since of community. Because it was posted on YouTube the project was taken worldwide in a matter of hours. People all over the world took part in the Hug Project. YouTube has become a huge part of how we as individuals connect with one another; it has changed the way we as individuals have connected in a community.
Dr. Barnes-Pietruszynski
English 303-01
11 November 2010
Reading Response 2
YouTube: A New Kind of Community or a New Way to Communicate?
Want to be unique and individual but desire to be a part of a community? Then YouTube is the place for you. Michael Wesch, professor and creator of the Digital Ethnography of YouTube Project has come up with the concept of networked individualism. This is the idea that YouTube has become so popular because it provides us with the experience of a community yet thrives off of everyone contributing unique and individualistic content. YouTube has not changed the community atmosphere that we have been used to for centuries; it has only changed the medium in which we interact with one another.
Youtube feeds off of the desire of individuals seeking to gain video popularity. To do so, people share video blogs and comment on one another’s videos. People try to get the most unique, creative or individual idea. By creating a unique video people are enhancing their feelings of being an individual. At the same time the video is becoming popular and allowing individuals to feel a part of a community. Therefore, YouTube has created a cycle in which it takes being an individual to be a part of the community and being a part of a community to be an individual.
Since online communities like YouTube enhance and create networked individualism it allows for individuals to create who they are. Online, you can be who you want to be to the community that you are in. This creates a question about if the individuals on YouTube are being real or fake. There have been instances where it has been found out that people on Youtube were posting fake videos. An example is when the creators of lonleygirl15 made up a teenage girl blog and produced it. People got upset when they found out people on YouTube were pretending to be something they were not. But isn’t everybody? We are only showing people what we want them to see. So in a sense we are all hiding our whole selves just as the pretenders. This raises a series of other questions. Is anyone on YouTube real? Are we all fake? The makers of lonleygil15 wrote “She is no more real or fictious than the portions of our personalities that we choose to show (or hide) when we interact with the people around us” (“An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube”). If we as individuals on YouTube are fake, pretending to be something we are not, only showing a particular side of ourselves, or how ever we want to see it, then it is a realistic conclusion to come to that the community we have created in Youtube is fake as well.
Whether or not we as individuals have created a community in which we believe ourselves to be real even when we are not, we have created a community that has changed the world. We have not created a community that has changed how we as humans treat one another but instead have changed the medium in which we interact. For example, internet interaction has had little effect on gender roles. We have kept the same things that are a part of our culture we have just changed the way we communicate them. We reach more people, we reach them faster, but we are still communicating the same things. We have not changed out morals we have just changed the way we communicate them. For example, the Hug Project was started on YouTube as a way to promote peace, happiness, and a since of community. Because it was posted on YouTube the project was taken worldwide in a matter of hours. People all over the world took part in the Hug Project. YouTube has become a huge part of how we as individuals connect with one another; it has changed the way we as individuals have connected in a community.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Reading Response 1
L. Christie Linger
Dr. Barnes-Pietruszynski
English 303-01
24 July 2010
Reading Response 1
Changing Communication: Any Answer You Want, It’s Just Not Organized
Why is grass green? Did Marie Antoinette really say, “Let them eat cake?” With the creation of the World Wide Web came that ability to find the answer to just about any question a person may have. In the first three chapters of “The Virtual Community” by Howard Rheingold, Rheingold talks about how a community of people has made it possible to find the answer to any question asked. The trick is, knowing who to ask and where to find the information.
I find myself quite often at the computer typing key words, phrases, and questions into a search engine. I then sift through dozens of pages looking for helpful information. I pick out what I can use and then go back to the search engine home page to try a new set of key words to find more information. I’ve never thought about this process before. But after reading Rheingold’s statement about the information on the web not being organized, I realized he was telling the truth. I can type in the question, ‘Why is grass green?’ and get back countless links. Some links will be for song lyrics, others for gardening. Some of those links will be scientific answers that I am looking for and others will be random people guessing. Sites like Bing.com have tried to make sense out of all of the information online, but are still having trouble organizing information.
Why is organizing the information online so difficult? I thought to myself that with modern technology it shouldn’t be so difficult to organize information. Then I continued to read Rheingold’s thoughts. Millions of people are online everyday contributing information to different topics. Everybody has something different to say. Information changes quickly and people are able to edit their information. With all of the edits and new information it is near impossible to organize and categorize the internet. While it can be frustrating sifting through all that information, there is an upside. There is a community of people online, ready to hand out their knowledge at the drop of a hat.
Rheingold mentions a time his daughter had a tick on her head. Before his wife received a call back from the doctor, Rheingold had typed in his question, received an answer, and removed the tick. Information is readily available from credible sources at all hours of the day and night. The internet has created a community in which people are able to communicate all over the world. The internet has allowed people to share information as well as form relationships. Most importantly, the internet has changed the way people communicate.
Dr. Barnes-Pietruszynski
English 303-01
24 July 2010
Reading Response 1
Changing Communication: Any Answer You Want, It’s Just Not Organized
Why is grass green? Did Marie Antoinette really say, “Let them eat cake?” With the creation of the World Wide Web came that ability to find the answer to just about any question a person may have. In the first three chapters of “The Virtual Community” by Howard Rheingold, Rheingold talks about how a community of people has made it possible to find the answer to any question asked. The trick is, knowing who to ask and where to find the information.
I find myself quite often at the computer typing key words, phrases, and questions into a search engine. I then sift through dozens of pages looking for helpful information. I pick out what I can use and then go back to the search engine home page to try a new set of key words to find more information. I’ve never thought about this process before. But after reading Rheingold’s statement about the information on the web not being organized, I realized he was telling the truth. I can type in the question, ‘Why is grass green?’ and get back countless links. Some links will be for song lyrics, others for gardening. Some of those links will be scientific answers that I am looking for and others will be random people guessing. Sites like Bing.com have tried to make sense out of all of the information online, but are still having trouble organizing information.
Why is organizing the information online so difficult? I thought to myself that with modern technology it shouldn’t be so difficult to organize information. Then I continued to read Rheingold’s thoughts. Millions of people are online everyday contributing information to different topics. Everybody has something different to say. Information changes quickly and people are able to edit their information. With all of the edits and new information it is near impossible to organize and categorize the internet. While it can be frustrating sifting through all that information, there is an upside. There is a community of people online, ready to hand out their knowledge at the drop of a hat.
Rheingold mentions a time his daughter had a tick on her head. Before his wife received a call back from the doctor, Rheingold had typed in his question, received an answer, and removed the tick. Information is readily available from credible sources at all hours of the day and night. The internet has created a community in which people are able to communicate all over the world. The internet has allowed people to share information as well as form relationships. Most importantly, the internet has changed the way people communicate.
Paper 1 Brainstorm
L. Christie Linger
Dr. Barnes-Pietruszynski
Eng 303-01
24 July 2010
Project 1
My Engagement with Digital Culture
Blogs are one way that I engage in digital culture. Blogs are ways I personally and now academically engage. My first interaction with digital culture was video games. Well, not games, one game. I played Super Mario Brothers. I could talk about that game. I remember Tamigotchis. They were little hand held video games of a sort. You took care of a baby. Or Giga Pets where you took care of a pet. Tamagochis and Giga Pets taught me how to take care of things. They taught me basic nurturing skills. In school we played the computer game Oregon Trail. That's an academic digital culture example. I use to use Myspace. I wrote journal entries, commented on pages, etc. I currently use Facebook, You tube, and email. I use Google everyday, academic research, personal research, and to find just about anything I want to know. Ok, so when I started this brainstorm I thought I didn't engage in digital culture very much. I thought I would have nothing to write about looks like I was WRONG.
My role in Developing Digital Culture
Whenever I post something to blogs or social networking sites I expand what is on the Web. When I turn something in to Turnitin.com I am expanding on an academic database. Maybe I contributed in the context of Supply and Demand. I "demanded" the products so they were supplied. When consumers get things they always want something new and better when they get bored. All of the demanders are what have caused digital technology to expand so rapidly. I'll need to work on this aspect of the paper.
Layout of Paper and Research
I think it would be interesting to start with the way I engaged with digital technology as a child and progress to now. It would be interesting to show how my engagement increases as technology increases and expands. It would also give the appeal of a sequence of events.
As for research I can look for information about how the things I will talk about affected digital culture.
Dr. Barnes-Pietruszynski
Eng 303-01
24 July 2010
Project 1
Project 1 Brainstorm
For the first paper assignment I find myself being slightly confused, however as usual, I will talk myself through it.Only this time the brainstorming will be in the form of a blog entry. This should be interesting. I know I am to examine my level of engagement with digital culture and my role in developing the digital culture. I should start there.My Engagement with Digital Culture
Blogs are one way that I engage in digital culture. Blogs are ways I personally and now academically engage. My first interaction with digital culture was video games. Well, not games, one game. I played Super Mario Brothers. I could talk about that game. I remember Tamigotchis. They were little hand held video games of a sort. You took care of a baby. Or Giga Pets where you took care of a pet. Tamagochis and Giga Pets taught me how to take care of things. They taught me basic nurturing skills. In school we played the computer game Oregon Trail. That's an academic digital culture example. I use to use Myspace. I wrote journal entries, commented on pages, etc. I currently use Facebook, You tube, and email. I use Google everyday, academic research, personal research, and to find just about anything I want to know. Ok, so when I started this brainstorm I thought I didn't engage in digital culture very much. I thought I would have nothing to write about looks like I was WRONG.
My role in Developing Digital Culture
Whenever I post something to blogs or social networking sites I expand what is on the Web. When I turn something in to Turnitin.com I am expanding on an academic database. Maybe I contributed in the context of Supply and Demand. I "demanded" the products so they were supplied. When consumers get things they always want something new and better when they get bored. All of the demanders are what have caused digital technology to expand so rapidly. I'll need to work on this aspect of the paper.
Layout of Paper and Research
I think it would be interesting to start with the way I engaged with digital technology as a child and progress to now. It would be interesting to show how my engagement increases as technology increases and expands. It would also give the appeal of a sequence of events.
As for research I can look for information about how the things I will talk about affected digital culture.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Syllabus
West Virginia State University
English 303-01 Syllabus
Digital Cultures
Instructor: Jessica Barnes-Pietruszynski
Office: 234 Hill Hall
Phone: 766-3077
Email: jbarnesp@wvstateu.edu
Office Hours: by Appointment
Welcome
Hello and welcome to English 303. I am looking forward to working with you as you sharpen your skills in writing and learning the writing processes that work best for you. My goal is to assist you in your continued development as a writer.
Course Description
An advanced writing course which focuses on structure, style, and point of view in contemporary non-fiction writing. Assignments involve the skills of observing, investigating, reporting, interpreting and persuading. Examples from various disciplines are analyzed. Prerequisite: English 102
Our Class Theme
This class will concentrate on an examination of the rhetoric and ethics of internet technology and culture. We will look at theories of digital culture and its effects on both online and actual identities and communities, especially in relation to ethnicity, gender, class, physical ability, and sexual orientation. In that vein we will use a wiki space that I have set up particularly for this class and a blog we will use for invention and topic discussions.
Textbooks and Websites
All readings with be online- links can be found in the blog.
http://english303summer2010.blogspot.com/
Course Materials
• A jump (flash, thumb) drive or other medium for storing electronic files;
• A State email account.
• Note: Students are expected to have ready access to a computer and the Internet, or to make time to access the computer labs on campus.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• To practice daily writing in and out of class as a way to overcome writers block and to generate materials for writing.
• To develop an awareness of one’s own voice as a narrator or persona.
• To investigate topics as preparation for writing about them by techniques such as observing, interviewing, and researching.
• To read as writers by analyzing the style of various writers in order to understand the components of style and by analyzing the structure and content of various essays.
• To write essays that show development of appropriate structures, content, and style for various writing purposes.
• To develop an awareness of one’s own writing habits and processes, and to engage in revision and editing and
• To review some of the issues and rules of English usage and contemporary style and to review formats for documentation and introduction of researched information.
Class Assignments
1. 3 Projects: You will be asked to write and revise three different units throughout the semester, of which you will include in your final portfolio. While early drafts of these papers may be a bit shorter, each of these should be approximately 8-10 pages in the end. For each of these Unit assignments, you will include the following: all drafts, a Cover Page (see below), Works Cited or Bibliography page(s), response received from your Editorial Committee and instructor, responses you gave to members of your Editorial Committee, and your Unit Analytical essay.
Since this is a research-writing oriented class, outside research must be included in these projects using ethical and appropriate citation according to discipline or forum.
When each Unit is complete, you will receive an Advisory Grade for that Unit as a whole. This grade will not count toward your final grade, but will advise you on where the unit is at that point in time.
2. Reading Responses: One of the key elements of any writing course is reading: being able to read critically and with an eye toward style, rhetorical strategies, and revision precludes the act of writing. During the semester, we will spend some time reading and discussing other writers and their writing. You will be responsible for reacting to these readings through responses. I will give you some free writing prompts, but you will be able to write on anything that we have done or read in class thus far. You will post these responses on our blog where it can be responded on by the class. You will write three reading responses to any of the media that we read.
3. Blog Inventions: As we work through your project topics you will use the class blog to freewrite, brainstorm and web. This is a place to talk through your ideas, try out topics and get helpful feedback from your classmates and me. For each project you will be required to write one (more if you like) blog entry as an invention exercise. You will also be required to respond to your classmates invention exercises.
4. Class Responses: Your thoughtful responses to the other members of your editorial committee in peer responding to their projects as well as responding to reading responses on the wiki space and the class blog.
5. Final Portfolio: Your portfolio works as the capstone of English 303 and your final grade relies heavily on that portfolio. The portfolio system is the best way for students to most effectively work on the strategies for writing and revision. The purpose of portfolio assessment is to make an overall evaluation of your writing ability. This judgment will be based on your skills and abilities as reflected in a number of different types of tasks. All three of your projects will be revised and included in the portfolio.
Grade Breakdown
Reading Responses: 15%
Blog invention Exercises: 10%
Class Responses: 10%
Participation and Attendance: 10%
Portfolio Essay Revisions: 55 %
Revision: Writing is a recursive process never quite finished. During the course of every unit you will write drafts of paragraphs and essays. With the help of your peers, myself and multiple drafts your units will begin to take form. Revision is a major component of the writing process, which is why you will hand in all drafts of the essay. You will revise essay units in the portfolio.
Writing Guidelines:
• All papers must be typewritten and double-spaced on a computer and word processor. No hand-written papers will be accepted, and you are held responsible for any and all word-processing problems.
• Margins will be of the standard size: 1 ¼” from the top and bottom of the page and 1” from the left and right margins. Times New Roman size 12 font will be used (no others).
• The upper, left-hand corner of the first page should look as such:
Your Name
English 303
Jessica Barnes
Unit #
Date
• Skip one line and place your title in the center of the first page. Do not underline or put the title in quotation marks.
• Place page numbers on all pages, in the upper, right-hand corner.
• Always back-up your work in more than one place. Technological failure does and will happen and is not an excuse for late work.
POLICIES
Late Work: In college, and especially in this class, deadlines are extremely important. Therefore, I do not accept late work for daily assignments, quizzes, peer response, or in-class written papers. If not turned on time or you have not made arrangements with me, you will receive a zero for that assignment.
Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism is academic dishonesty. It is using other people’s words & ideas—from books, magazines, journals, newspapers, the internet, or papers-- without giving them credit. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class. If you plagiarize a paper, you will receive an F for the paper and possible be removed from the course. For further information on plagiarism, please read the attached policy towards the end of your syllabus.
Class Schedule and Assignments:
Below is a basic outline for the semester. This syllabus covers most readings, major due dates, and other important deadlines. Other assignments may be given in class in addition to those listed. You are responsible for knowing when assignments are due and turning them in on time.
English 303 Syllabus
Summer 2010
Week 1
1. Read through syllabus and read/view intro material
2. Read first assignment- write a brainstorming blog entry.
3. Read through first batch of readings.
4. Reading Response Due as blog entry.
Week 2
1. Work on project one.
2. Post updates and ideas/ process writings as blog entry
Week 3
1. Project 1 Due
2. Read second batch of media.
3. Read second project assignment.
4. Post Reading Response as blog entry.
5. Post Brainstorming ideas for project 2 as blog entry.
Week 4
1. Work on Project two.
2. Post updates and ideas/process as blog entry.
Week 5
1. Project two due.
2. Read third batch of readings.
3. Read Project 3 assignment.
4. Post Reading Response as blog entry.
5. Post Brainstorming as blog entry for project three.
Week 6
1. Work on project three.
2. Project three due by end of the week.
3. Revisions of projects one and two due by end of week.
English 303-01 Syllabus
Digital Cultures
Instructor: Jessica Barnes-Pietruszynski
Office: 234 Hill Hall
Phone: 766-3077
Email: jbarnesp@wvstateu.edu
Office Hours: by Appointment
Welcome
Hello and welcome to English 303. I am looking forward to working with you as you sharpen your skills in writing and learning the writing processes that work best for you. My goal is to assist you in your continued development as a writer.
Course Description
An advanced writing course which focuses on structure, style, and point of view in contemporary non-fiction writing. Assignments involve the skills of observing, investigating, reporting, interpreting and persuading. Examples from various disciplines are analyzed. Prerequisite: English 102
Our Class Theme
This class will concentrate on an examination of the rhetoric and ethics of internet technology and culture. We will look at theories of digital culture and its effects on both online and actual identities and communities, especially in relation to ethnicity, gender, class, physical ability, and sexual orientation. In that vein we will use a wiki space that I have set up particularly for this class and a blog we will use for invention and topic discussions.
Textbooks and Websites
All readings with be online- links can be found in the blog.
http://english303summer2010.blogspot.com/
Course Materials
• A jump (flash, thumb) drive or other medium for storing electronic files;
• A State email account.
• Note: Students are expected to have ready access to a computer and the Internet, or to make time to access the computer labs on campus.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• To practice daily writing in and out of class as a way to overcome writers block and to generate materials for writing.
• To develop an awareness of one’s own voice as a narrator or persona.
• To investigate topics as preparation for writing about them by techniques such as observing, interviewing, and researching.
• To read as writers by analyzing the style of various writers in order to understand the components of style and by analyzing the structure and content of various essays.
• To write essays that show development of appropriate structures, content, and style for various writing purposes.
• To develop an awareness of one’s own writing habits and processes, and to engage in revision and editing and
• To review some of the issues and rules of English usage and contemporary style and to review formats for documentation and introduction of researched information.
Class Assignments
1. 3 Projects: You will be asked to write and revise three different units throughout the semester, of which you will include in your final portfolio. While early drafts of these papers may be a bit shorter, each of these should be approximately 8-10 pages in the end. For each of these Unit assignments, you will include the following: all drafts, a Cover Page (see below), Works Cited or Bibliography page(s), response received from your Editorial Committee and instructor, responses you gave to members of your Editorial Committee, and your Unit Analytical essay.
Since this is a research-writing oriented class, outside research must be included in these projects using ethical and appropriate citation according to discipline or forum.
When each Unit is complete, you will receive an Advisory Grade for that Unit as a whole. This grade will not count toward your final grade, but will advise you on where the unit is at that point in time.
2. Reading Responses: One of the key elements of any writing course is reading: being able to read critically and with an eye toward style, rhetorical strategies, and revision precludes the act of writing. During the semester, we will spend some time reading and discussing other writers and their writing. You will be responsible for reacting to these readings through responses. I will give you some free writing prompts, but you will be able to write on anything that we have done or read in class thus far. You will post these responses on our blog where it can be responded on by the class. You will write three reading responses to any of the media that we read.
3. Blog Inventions: As we work through your project topics you will use the class blog to freewrite, brainstorm and web. This is a place to talk through your ideas, try out topics and get helpful feedback from your classmates and me. For each project you will be required to write one (more if you like) blog entry as an invention exercise. You will also be required to respond to your classmates invention exercises.
4. Class Responses: Your thoughtful responses to the other members of your editorial committee in peer responding to their projects as well as responding to reading responses on the wiki space and the class blog.
5. Final Portfolio: Your portfolio works as the capstone of English 303 and your final grade relies heavily on that portfolio. The portfolio system is the best way for students to most effectively work on the strategies for writing and revision. The purpose of portfolio assessment is to make an overall evaluation of your writing ability. This judgment will be based on your skills and abilities as reflected in a number of different types of tasks. All three of your projects will be revised and included in the portfolio.
Grade Breakdown
Reading Responses: 15%
Blog invention Exercises: 10%
Class Responses: 10%
Participation and Attendance: 10%
Portfolio Essay Revisions: 55 %
Revision: Writing is a recursive process never quite finished. During the course of every unit you will write drafts of paragraphs and essays. With the help of your peers, myself and multiple drafts your units will begin to take form. Revision is a major component of the writing process, which is why you will hand in all drafts of the essay. You will revise essay units in the portfolio.
Writing Guidelines:
• All papers must be typewritten and double-spaced on a computer and word processor. No hand-written papers will be accepted, and you are held responsible for any and all word-processing problems.
• Margins will be of the standard size: 1 ¼” from the top and bottom of the page and 1” from the left and right margins. Times New Roman size 12 font will be used (no others).
• The upper, left-hand corner of the first page should look as such:
Your Name
English 303
Jessica Barnes
Unit #
Date
• Skip one line and place your title in the center of the first page. Do not underline or put the title in quotation marks.
• Place page numbers on all pages, in the upper, right-hand corner.
• Always back-up your work in more than one place. Technological failure does and will happen and is not an excuse for late work.
POLICIES
Late Work: In college, and especially in this class, deadlines are extremely important. Therefore, I do not accept late work for daily assignments, quizzes, peer response, or in-class written papers. If not turned on time or you have not made arrangements with me, you will receive a zero for that assignment.
Academic Dishonesty:
Plagiarism is academic dishonesty. It is using other people’s words & ideas—from books, magazines, journals, newspapers, the internet, or papers-- without giving them credit. Plagiarism will not be tolerated in this class. If you plagiarize a paper, you will receive an F for the paper and possible be removed from the course. For further information on plagiarism, please read the attached policy towards the end of your syllabus.
Class Schedule and Assignments:
Below is a basic outline for the semester. This syllabus covers most readings, major due dates, and other important deadlines. Other assignments may be given in class in addition to those listed. You are responsible for knowing when assignments are due and turning them in on time.
English 303 Syllabus
Summer 2010
Week 1
1. Read through syllabus and read/view intro material
2. Read first assignment- write a brainstorming blog entry.
3. Read through first batch of readings.
4. Reading Response Due as blog entry.
Week 2
1. Work on project one.
2. Post updates and ideas/ process writings as blog entry
Week 3
1. Project 1 Due
2. Read second batch of media.
3. Read second project assignment.
4. Post Reading Response as blog entry.
5. Post Brainstorming ideas for project 2 as blog entry.
Week 4
1. Work on Project two.
2. Post updates and ideas/process as blog entry.
Week 5
1. Project two due.
2. Read third batch of readings.
3. Read Project 3 assignment.
4. Post Reading Response as blog entry.
5. Post Brainstorming as blog entry for project three.
Week 6
1. Work on project three.
2. Project three due by end of the week.
3. Revisions of projects one and two due by end of week.
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