junetsanders.com/teaching/digital_storytelling/syllabus

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Welcome to DTC 354 ⑇

Fall 2021, WSU Pullman
Spark 235
Class Time: M/W/F – 9:10 to 10:00 AM
Instructor: June T Sanders

E-mail: june.t.sanders@wsu.edu
Office Hours: https://calendly.com/june-t-sanders/officehours

COURSE DESCRIPTION
Digital Storytelling is a collaborative and experiment-driven course exploring digital media in relation to narrative, persuasion, and aesthetics. Beginning with historical, scientific, and craft contexts for analog storytelling, students will practice creating and adapting linear, multilinear, nonlinear, and fragmented narratives (both fiction and nonfiction) using a variety of techniques and platforms. Projects will include use of audio and video editing software, visual design skills, web based content, and principles of creative writing to engage audiences and encourage innovative thinking within the digital field.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Course-specific goals include:

Students will investigate a wide range of storytelling situations and critically analyze their roles in developing culture.

Students will explore the foundational elements of narrative such as character, dialogue, setting, and structure.

Students will be introduced to techniques that support storytelling in the digital environment such as sound, storyboards, and linear editing.

Students will use these foundational elements and techniques to create three multimedia projects using a variety of digital technologies.

DTC-specific learning outcomes include:

Demonstrate competency with technology for designing and distributing digital works in various mediums.

Demonstrate competency with design principles through both the production and analysis of media objects.

Utilize an interdisciplinary perspective in order to understand the global changes brought about by digital media.

Effectively communicate through writing and speech why and how digital media texts make meaning.

CLASS SCHEDULE
Please refer to the class website for an updated class schedule. This schedule is subject to change and it is your responsibility to check it often so that you know when projects, assignments, and discussions are due.


EXPECTATIONS // REQUIREMENTS


Projects
The three major projects for this course will represent the culmination of your ideas and developing skills in audio production, video editing, and information design. I will offer more detailed feedback and rigorous assessment on these projects.

Assignments
Your assignments will be experiments, in the sense that you will use them to practice editing and mixing skills, vetting software options, attributing sources, and so on. Provided you are meeting the assignment criteria, please feel free to think outside the box and try new things. Instructor feedback will be limited, but I welcome requests for specific critiques and/or questions upon submission if you have concerns re: any of your methods.


Project & Assignment Submissions
All work for this class will be submitted via canvas. Your projects and assignments will need to be uploaded to the web and you will need to submit the weblink via blackboard. Students will need a Soundcloud account and a Vimeo or YouTube account to host all multimedia content generated for major projects and assignments. These should both be free.

Reflection Papers
Each project is paired with a reflection paper. These papers will guide me in understanding your artistic, narrative, design, and editorial choices, and help me to assess your projects. Reflection papers, like discussion posts, are semi-formal in nature: feel free to use the first-person POV, explain your ideas and choices, challenges and triumphs, in as much detail as you can

Reading // Research // Discussions:
The best way to improve both your technical & conceptual media skills are to consistently view & read about historical and contemporary design, media, production, etc. I will be assigning you content to view and articles to read throughout the semester.

Discussion Posts
Discussion posts are semi-formal in nature, offering you a chance to synthesize your reading & media review for this course in writing, and for your instructor to get a sense of your interests and takeaways. Grading will be based on satisfactory completion & adherence to instructions, as well as appropriate level of detail and source citation as appropriate. Instructor feedback will be limited.  


Empty Files & Broken Links
If I receive an empty or corrupted file from you, or the link to your project submission is broken, I will notify your and give you a chance to correct the error. Check and double check your work, your submission links, and the assignments and files you upload.


Required Textbooks
All required readings and videos are available as links or PDF files.

Journal
You need to keep a journal for course notes, lecture notes, project planning, and sketches. A physical, old school journal. Trust me, it makes a difference.

Copyright
In this class, knowledge of copyright and the consequences of copyright infringement are extremely important. All components of students' projects, i.e. music, images, sounds, video, must be legally available for use. This means using material that has been created by the student, exists in the public domain, is licensed under an appropriate Creative Commons license, or is used with written permission of the creator. Correct attribution of all creative material is required for all assignments. Consult the following article for the correct attribution formats for various types of materials: Attributing Creative Commons Materials.


Help
Please come see me anytime you need help or advice. I want you to benefit from the course, and I’m here to assist in your learning.

Quizzes
There will be no quizzes for this class. However, your discussion assignments  will substitute and will give evidence of your engagement with the readings and other materials for this class.

Respect
It is important to provide a positive learning atmosphere for everyone involved. You are expected to respect your classmates, your instructor, and yourself by keeping an open mind and positive attitude. We are a team for the semester, and having positive, open dialogues makes for a fun, engaging learning environment. Racist, Sexist, Homophobic, or Transphobic attitudes, violent/hurtful/inappropriate behavior, and otherwise disrespectful actions will not be tolerated.


Diversity
My intent is that students from all diverse backgrounds and perspectives will be well-served by this course, that students' learning will needs be addressed both in and out of class, and that the diversity that students bring to this class be viewed as a resource, strength and benefit. My intent is to present materials and activities that are respectful of diversity: gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, race, culture, perspective, and other background characteristics. Your suggestions about how to improve the value of diversity in this course are encouraged and appreciated. Please let me know ways to improve the effectiveness of the course for you personally or for other students or student groups. You can also visit the resource page on my teaching website: https://junetsanders.com/resources. And the WSU Anti-Racist Resource Page via the library here: https://libguides.libraries.wsu.edu/antiracist

E-mail
Primary mode of communication outside of class. You can contact me with any questions and concerns via e-mail. I check my e-mail regularly, and expect that you will check yours regularly for course announcements. Failure to check your e-mail for course announcements is not a valid excuse for missing a class period, assignment deadline, etc. Please make sure to use your WSU e-mail account to ensure student privacy is not compromised. I will not always respond to e-mails indicating that you will miss a class period. You can expect a response within 24 hours during the week. Emails during the weekend will be answered Monday morning.


ATTENDANCE
Please make every effort to attend and actively participate in each class meeting. However, you are free to choose not to attend a class meeting if the circumstances warrant. Just please communicate with me as much as possible & realize that you are responsible for classes you miss. If low attendance becomes a persistent issue, a more restrictive policy may be put in place.


USE OF TECHNOLOGY IN CLASS
We will negotiate this as a class and come up with a set of guidelines regarding computers and phones.

EVALUATION
Students will be evaluated through a combination of projects, assignments, participation/attendance, and discussions. Additionally, because this is a project based class, students will be evaluated on creativity and their ability to produce work. This means that if you make a considerable effort, the instructor will take your labor into account, though this does not guarantee an "A." For maximum success, concern yourself less with your grade, and focus on investing yourself into the process and projects.


GRADING
Grades will be based on quality of your work, imagination/inventiveness, attitude and effort. Participation in critiques, discussions on readings, writing and attendance will all be factors in determining your grade. Grading breakdown is as follows:

60%: Major Projects (3 projects @ 20% each)
15%: Assignments ( 3 Assignments @ 5% each)
5%: Discussions (2 Discussions @ 2.5% each)
5%: Writing Assignment
15%: Class participation


LATE WORK
Deadlines are there to keep you on track and to streamline the grading process for your professor. Late work will be accepted on a case by case basis but must be communicated about with the professor. Late work with no communication will affect your grade.


GRADING STANDARDS
A Excellent, exceptional performance.  Fulfills all of the course requirements and performs at a level so far above the average as to be visibly outstanding.  It is assumed that the student does more than is required, demonstrates true originality, and works out of class 6 or more hours per week. (A 93-100, A- 90-92)

B Good, high level of accomplishment.  Fulfills all of the course requirements and performs at a level measurably above the average and averages 3-5 hours out of class each week. (B+ 87-89, B 83-86, B- 80-82)

C Average, satisfactory performance.  Fulfills all of the course requirements, works out of class at least an average of 3 hours per week and performs adequately.  This is the standard of competence. (C+ 77-79, C 73-76, C 70-72)

D Poor, passing grade.  Fulfills all of the course requirements, but performs at a level measurably below the average. (D+ 67-69, D 63-66, D- 60-62)

F Failure. Does not fulfill all of the course requirements, performs inadequately, has excessive absenteeism or all three. (F 59 and below)


REQUIRED MATERIALS
Digital storage (thumb drive, external hard drive, or cloud storage)
-   A soundcloud and Vimeo account for uploading projects.
Good quality headphones for audio editing.
A personal Computer with enough power to run video and audio editing programs (or use of computers in a lab)
Device to capture video and audio in digital formats: i.e. phone, digital camera or audio recorder (may be checked out from Academic Media Services or the Creativity Suite (Avery 451))
Access to video and audio editing software (available via Creativity Suite, Spark 210 Lab, Avery Micro Labs, or personal software programs)

WORKLOAD
Class hours alone are inadequate to provide the degree of involvement expected. Plan on spending a minimum of three hours a week beyond class hours to work on your projects. Work outside of class will include gathering and editing materials as well as research.


SYLLABUS  ✿  SCHEDULE  ✿  READINGS  ✿  PROJECT 1 ✿  PROJECT 2  ✿  FINAL PROJECT  ✿  ASSIGNMENTS  ✿  DISCUSSIONS