Digital Activism Project

Digital Activism Final Project (200 pts) - choose an issue that you feel passionate about, and create a digital activism campaign that uses digital communications platforms to raise awareness, organize community voices and/or mobilize action around the issue. Think about: the social capital of the way you use digital platforms; how your digital campaign may translate to on-the-ground change; how to use media to add a new voice to the mix, or amplify voices/perspectives that have been previously silenced.

• In-Class Presentation (50 pts): 5 min on: your issue’s background, your campaign creation process, evidenced and foreseen impacts of your campaign
• Final Paper (75 pts): 1000-1500 words on:
  

  your issue’s background

  why you chose it

  historical/cultural/political factors shaping its current implications

  previous digital campaigns relating to it

  your campaign creation process

  what is your unique perspective

  how is your campaign unique/different from other similar campaigns

  what platforms did you use and why

  challenges/successes in the campaign's creation

  evidenced and foreseen impacts of your campaign

  what is the social capital of the way you used digital platforms

  what are the markers of evaluation for success

  what has happened so far in the digital public’s response

  what is the potential for growth

  theoretical/conceptual connections from class

  what are class concepts that you thought about/integrated
  how does your topic/campaign relate to TD v SC debate
  how has this project changed/reinforced your position in the TD v SC debate
• Campaign “Materials”/Digital Artifacts (75 pts):
  

  Content constitutes unique perspective/information/story/take on the issue (i.e. you are not replicating a campaign that has already been done).
  Evidence of promotion of campaign
  Clear action for digital citizens to take is provided
  Campaign informs audience about the topic/issue, makes a compelling case for taking an action on behalf of it, indicates understanding of historical/political/cultural significance of the issue/
  Appropriate use of media (style/creativity)

• Due on our Final day - 3.23.15, 2pm

Remix Defense Assignment

Remix Defense Assignment (100 pts): You have been charged with Intellectual Property Violation regarding your earlier remix project. Prepare a defense (250-500 words) for your case and submit it to Canvas (we will talk about it as a large group in class). To build your argument, look to the points made in “RIP: Remix Manifesto” and any of Lessig’s TED talks that talk about the current copyright laws as well as Tim Wu's writing on Fair Use, and the applicability (or lack thereof) of the laws in relation to the digital public sphere.

Due Wed March 4th by the start of class

Remix Assigment

Remix Assignment (100 pts): Create an original expression of ideas/feelings/beliefs using appropriated piece(s) of media - this can be songs, videos, images, text, etc. We will go over open-source tools for creating re-appropriated media in class, as well as ways to create and link to your remix’s web presence. Register with Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/choose/) to license your and allow adaptations of your work to be shared. Post, embed, and link to the class blog along with a description of: your remix’s original media content, the unique perspective that you have added to it/them, and the creative process of remixing that you underwent to produce it.

Rubric

• Topic is relevant to student's Final Project Proposal (20 pts)
• Critical message is both present and understandable from the media without further explanation (20 pts)
• Creativity/Style (20 pts)
• Student used the re-appropriated materials to say something new (i.e. unique from the message of the original content) (20 pts)
• Publicly posted, Creative Commons Licensed, Brief Explanation given (20 pts)

TOTAL = 100 pts

Link to Mid-Term Evaluation Survey

Please answer as descriptively and honestly as possibly: Survey link

5 extra credit points to the entire class if we reach 100% response rate.

Wikipedia Assignment + How To Edit Wikipedia

Wikipedia Assignment (100 pts): Contribute at least one piece of cited information to a Wikipedia page that you find lacking. We will be going over how to edit Wikipedia in class, but it is your responsibility to ensure that your information maintains academic integrity through verifiably cited sources. Take a screenshot of your contribution (wiki pages get edited quickly) and post it to the class blog, along with a brief description of your process. Throughout the quarter, note the changes that occur to your entry.

Due Monday 2.9.15 at 2pm (file upload available on Canvas)

How to Edit Wikipedia

• Wikipedia Tutorial on Editing - start here
• Wikipedia Standards for Citations
• Section 1: Types of Citations
• Section 5: What Information to Include
• Section 6: Citation Style
• Can be ANY standard citation style (APA, MLA, Chicago) as long as it is consistent
• Create an account with Wikipedia
• Play in the Wikipedia Sandbox to practice
• Go to the page you want to edit, hit the "edit" tab
• Enter your addition, press the "Cite your sources: <ref></ref>" button (bottom right)
• Insert citation
• Be sure to include a brief edit summary in the box
• Press "Preview" -- double check your work
• Submit
• Be sure to take a screen shot!
• Macs: SHIFT + COMMAND + 4 (screenshot will be saved to Desktop)
• Windows - 3 options
• Submit in Canvas

Extra Credit Projects!

Two Options:

Option 1:

RECRUITMENT E-MAIL TO PARENTS TO BE POSTED ON COURSE BLACKBOARD SITES/E-MAILED TO STUDENTS

Students, please copy and paste the text below into an e-mail to the parent you’d like to participate in the study. Please include your code in the message, too!

Hello,

I am writing from the University of Denver because your child has nominated you to participate in a research study for which he or she will earn extra credit in a class. The study asks about your work and family experiences and attitudes at the time that your child last lived at home with you, and it will take about 15 minutes to complete. Your child will be completing his or her own version of this questionnaire. Please consider helping us with this project!

The study can be found online at: https://udenver.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_8umnT8bJMhjU94p

The code to enter to participate is: XXXXXX

If you have any questions about this study, please contact Dr. Mary Claire Morr Serewicz at Mary.Serewicz@du.edu.

Option 2:

Read and present on the following article:

http://www.laweekly.com/music/why-cds-may-actually-sound-better-than-vinyl-5352162 

Final Project Proposal (Assignment)

This assignment is a chance for you to make a case for an issue, problem, phenomenon, question or other interest that can be explored through an analysis of digital/virtual communication. This topic will culminate at the end of the quarter with the Digital Advocacy project. Please prepare 400-500 words on: 

a.) the topic and its background (20 pts); 
b.) how your understanding of the topic has been enhanced by the class’s study of digital communication (hint - use of glossary terminology is a plus!) (20 pts); 
c.) how the topic might be treated (differently) through either a technological determinist lens or a social constructionist lens (this may hint at which side of the spectrum you come down on, but be open to exploring both) (20 pts);
d.) your vision for creating a future Digital Advocacy campaign (be sure to include how you can invite other digital citizens to take action on behalf of this issue through your campaign) (20 pts);

*Writing style (including grammar, spelling, etc) and correct format of citations are worth 20 pts.

Due 1.26.15 by 11:59pm (in hard copy or digital via email)

Meme Lineage Report (Assignment)

Meme Lineage Report (100 pts): Find an internet meme (this can be of humorous/political/activist/serious nature) and research the possible origins/influential forces or ideas as well as its impacts/imitations. A good place to start is www.knowyourmeme.com. Note not only the shaping forces or iterations that took place within the digital public sphere, but also those that took place offline. This is especially important when looking at originating factors of memes, because memes are often a product of historical/political/cultural artifacts or events that took place long before digital technology existed.

• Written Report (50 pts): 750-1000 words on: Historical/Political/Cultural Origins; Emergence within the Digital Sphere; and Online/Offline Iterations and Impacts
• 10 pts - Comprehensive report of meme's origin
• 10 pts - Correct identification of digital platforms that distributed the meme
• 10 pts - Understanding of how online and offline cultures converge
• 10 pts - Correct/consistent citation of sources (can be any citation style, but see https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/ for APA guide)
• 10 pts - Conclusion that includes one or more of the following: a.) why it matters; b.) how your report relates to larger themes of the class; c.) how it relates to the technological determinism v. social construction debate
• In-Class Presentation (50 pts): 5 minute overview of the meme’s lineage, using at least one instance of visual communication (i.e. diagram, chart, timeline, link, video, still image)
• 10 pts - Comprehensive report of meme's origin
• 10 pts - Correct identification of digital platforms that distributed the meme
• 10 pts - Understanding of how online and offline cultures converge
• 10 pts - Conclusion that includes one or more of the following: a.) why it matters; b.) how your report relates to larger themes of the class; c.) how it relates to the technological determinism v. social construction debate
• 10 pts - Effective use of visual aids

Group Presentation Schedule

Date & Topic	Presenter 1	Presenter 2	Presenter 3
1.12 - Podcast: “WWI and the Birth of Public Relations,” CBC	Gaia Altshuler	Rachael Frantz	Sarah Tornatzky
1.14 - Blog: “A Hundred Walked out of my Lecture on Memes,” Susan Blackmore	Cassidy Rey	Oliver Brown
1.21a - Article: “Attention Shoppers! The currency of the New Economy won't be money, but attention,” Wired	Yuanuan Cai	Pengfei Ji
1.21b - Podcast: “Interview with Michael Lewis, author of Flash Boys,” NPR	Taylor Stimpson	Yvonne Pham
1.28 - Article: “Critical Glitches and Glitch Art,” Hz Journal	Madeleine Alvarado	Katherine Wadley
2.4 - Chapter: “Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling,” Henry Jenkins	Fritz Tappe	Max Robertson
2.9 - Excerpt: “Visual Economy,” from The Cinematic Mode of Production, Jonathan Beller (p. 19-24)	Bea Willemsen	Michael Gooch	Emily Krebs
2.11 - Excerpt: “Marshall McLuhan and the Cultural Medium,” from Understanding Media Cultures, Nick Stevenson (p. 121-128)	Highland Barry	Nick Hazard
3.2 - Chapter: “Virtual Body Modification: Embodiment, Identity and Non-Conforming Avatars,” Mary Kosut	Dannie McCullough	Sarah Chun
3.4 - Article: “@Dronestream: Defining the Contours of our Drone War,” Kate Hoyt	Emma Kaplan	John Seydel