course.goals
materials
assignments
grading
attendance
electronica
ethics
disability
instructor
kevin eric depew
office bal 4042
phone 757.683.4019
e.mail kdepew@odu.edu
web.page http://www.odu.edu/~kdepew
office hours w 2:30-4 & by appointment
quick
links
calendar
blackboard
(email, collaboration, and readings)
resources
This course builds off of the premise that the discourse about technology shapes the ways that individuals use technology; in this course we will focus on how individuals use computer technologies–in their multiple forms–to compose texts. Thus this course examines the culture that informs digital writing practices. To better understand this culture we will examine how the metaphors and myths about technology inform the ways that individuals both produce and receive digitally composed texts. As we study and question the metaphors and myths about technology, it is also important to understand how to learn what digital writers are actually doing with these writing technologies. The goals for the course include...
- examining the metaphors about technology
- considering how these metaphors influence composition practices
- analyzing how technology affects rhetorical strategies associated with race, class, and gender
- understanding how to design research to learn the actual practices of digital writers, especially in local contexts
- learning how to compose multimodal texts
course.materials
Race,
Rhetoric, and Technology: Searching for Higher Ground
Author(s): Adam J. Banks
National Council of Teachers of English
ISBN 0-8058-5313-8
The
PowerBook
Author(s): Jeannette Winterson
Vintage
ISBN 0-375-72505-9
Digital
Writing Research:
Technologies, Methodologies and Ethical Issues
Author(s): Heidi A. McKee Danielle Nicole DeVoss (Editors)
Hampton Press
ISBN 1572737069
Other readings will be retrieved from...
Progressive Annotated Bibliography (50 points): By reading above and beyond the assigned readings, you will have the opportunity to acquaint yourself with the fields of cybercultures and digital writing. For this assignment, you will find and annotate five academic articles from these fields. Your research should be geared towards a problem or an assignment that you are interested in or you will want to address in the subsequent assignments.
Metaphor Analysis (100 points): You will select an artistic or commercial text and analyze how the composer makes arguments about technology and explain how you feel this might influence how people use technologies to write.
Demonstration of Application (100 points): This is your opportunity to demonstrate that you understand the course topic and material by creating a project that applies what we have learned to a specific situation and is relevant to your academic agenda.
IRB Application (100 points): After examining the metaphors and the theories about technology use, you will propose a human research project–using official university administration–to learn how writers actually compose with these technologies.
Multimodal Argument (150 points): Taking the work that you have done earlier in the semester, develop an argument about cybercultures and its influence on digital writing. The argument will be presented as a multimodal text.
Three Means of Failing the Course related to Major Assignments
- Not completing a major assignment
- Major assignments will be given no credit if the assignment is not turned in prior to the instructor returning the respective assignment to the class. This becomes the equivalent of not completing a major assignment
- An act of plagiarism (or other forms of academic dishonesty)
Major Assignments
I will be looking for evidence of each student's progress towards professional level work. More specifically I will be looking for evidence of...
- well supported and "original" work that responds to a specific context
- an understanding of literacy, rhetoric, cyberculture theory, and digital writing, as well as the current discussions of its application
- an ability to generate sound teaching materials and justify their pedagogical use
- addressing your audiences appropriately, including fulfilling generic expectations
- prewriting and planning
- professional quality work, in terms of mechanics, design, and protocol
Grade Scale
Your final grade (500 points) and assignments will be graded on the following point scale* :
| A =92-100 % | A -= 90-91.9 % | B+ = 87-89.9 % | |
| B = 82-86.9 % | B- = 80-81.9 % | C+ = 77-79.9 % | |
| C = 72-76.9 % | C- = 70-71.9 % | D+ = 67-69.9 % | |
| D = 62-66.9 % | D -= 60-61.9 % | ||
| F = 0-59.9 % |
*
= The instructor reserves the right to adjust this scale based on the
students' performance throughout the semester. Any adjustments will 1)
apply to the entire class and 2) never deny a student the grade that she/he
earns based upon this posted scale.
attendance
Students are required to attend every class. If you miss a class, for whatever reason, you are responsible for making up any missed work.
In this class, you will do a lot of work and discussion of ideas in the classroom. Therefore the attendance policies are:
- you
are allowed the equivalent of the two absences, excused or unexcused.
More than two absences will result in failing the course. The
following scale is used to determine equivalency:
- being late to class will be marked as a tardy and considered when your final grade is tallied.
- students who miss between fifteen and eighty minutes will receive a half-absence
- students who miss more than eighty minutes will receive a full absence
You are not only required to to attend every class, but you are required to come to class prepared. If you do not come to class prepared, you will receive an absence–whether you stay or not. Therefore, it is recommended that you pay attention to the calendar.
- submissions
due the day of an absence
- if you plan to be absent the day an assignment submission is due, you are encouraged to make arrangements to submit the work before the class
- if you cannot submit the work prior to class you are encouraged to submit it at your earliest possible convenience, especially through email
- the last day to submit work for credit is the first day that you return from an absence
To learn what work you have missed consult the instructor or the calendar.
As a general rule, a student missing a class assignment because of observance of a religious holiday or participating in any official extracurricular activity shall have the opportunity to make up missed work by following the guidelines above.
Electronica refers to technology-related issues.
E.mail
Accounts
Having an email account
is required; a lot of information for this class will be exchanged via
email and Blackboard including some assignment
submissions and class updates. You will want to establish a consistent
email account that you will use throughout the entire semester.
Because Blackboard's "Send Email" function "talks to" your ODU account, it is recommended that you work with this account. At the very least, you are required to forward your ODU mail to the account you use most. To get an ODU account go to OCCS.
You are responsible for making sure that files and messages are successfully received by the instructor and your peers; other email providers cannot provide this security. Also you will want to be aware that some evaluated coursework will be returned via email; if you are concerned about other parties reading these messages, please make alternate arrangements with the instructor.
E.mailing
Protocol
When emailing the
instructor or the class list make sure that you include a subject line
that includes the nature of the email. A subject line, such as "assignment"
is vague. Instead be specific and state whether it is a "assignment
submission," "question about assignment," or "assignment
problem."
Also use the priority setting rhetorically; in other words, make your email message stand out when you really need to draw the recipient's attention to your message. Do not use the priority setting on your standard assignment submissions or simple requests.
LAN
Accounts
LAN accounts will
be necessary to use the computers in the computer labs throughout the
semester. If you do not already have a LAN account, please register for
one with OCCS.
Protecting
Your Work
Backup your document
files frequently. Also save all email transmissions for this course. Keep
your files on your home machine, floppy disks, cds, and/ or flash drives.
You can also email documents to yourself as a means of backing up your
work. The excuse "I lost my only copy" is not a valid one. Some
tips for protecting your work–and yourself–are:
- Save all English 662 work until the course is over
- Maintain copies of drafts and work-in-progress
- Create folders on your hard drive and in your INBOX (email) for this class.
- Keep copies of your email messages related to the course as a record of your work. For all messages that you send to the instructor, you should either have the message sent to your "Sent" folder in your email account or cc: yourself the message so that you have a copy for verification
Electronic
Ethics and Respect
Electronic media allows
us some freedoms that print media does not allow. Consequently, it is
also subject to abuse. Please be respectful of your peers throughout the
semester by not displaying, viewing, or posting web pages, files, or emails
that may make others uncomfortable. Violations of this respect can be
considered harassment according to university
policy and will be handled as such.
As per the University's Honor Code, you must do your own original work in this class–and appropriately identify that portion of your work which is...
- collaborative with others
- borrowed from others
- your own work from other contexts
Whenever you borrow graphics, quote passages, or use ideas from others, you are legally and/or ethically obliged to acknowledge that use by following appropriate conventions for documenting sources. In this class, the most serious form of academic dishonesty is to recycle another individual's major project under your own name.
If you have doubts about whether or not you are using your own or others' writing ethically and legally, ask the instructor. Follow this primary principle: If in doubt, ask. Be up front and honest about what you are doing and about what you have contributed to an assignment.
If you have a documented disability, make sure you register with Disability Services (757. 683.4655). Once you do so, feel free to talk to me about any special accommodations that you may need to fulfill the requirements of this course.
At the end of the semester, you will have an opportunity to evaluate the instructor and the course. This is very important for helping the instructor and the department assess the course. Please take the time at the end of the semester to do these online evaluations.
last.updated 1.7.09