Introduction to New Media & Digital Storytelling - Syllabus

Description

Instructor: Haas	Course Site: haasmedia.blogspot.com

This course is meant to be an introduction and exploration in new media and digital storytelling. That means students will examine the idea of everyday people telling stories through the use of digital tools. The course is intended to deepen digital literacy, foster digital identity, develop narrative and reflective skill by producing artifacts, as well as documenting the creative process. It is part media technology training and part storytelling workshop.

Prerequisites

This is an introductory course. Students should have access to the following digital tools: camera for stills and video, microphone for recording sound. Essentially, the features afforded a smartphone (iPhone or Android). While some resources are available for student use, there is a limited supply, and all students benefit from using their own devices. Students will be asked to use a series of Web 2.0 and social media tools, which may require dedicated accounts.

Goals

This course will enable participants to:

• Develop a deeper understanding of the concept of storytelling and the power of narrative
• Develop skills in using multimedia and technology as a tool for creative self-expression, storytelling, and sharing
• Critically examine the digital landscape, increase appreciation of technology used in storytelling, and participate in ongoing and meaningful conversation with classmates about ideas, theories, and technologies applied in class
• Publish online your own exploration of digital storytelling techniques and approaches to see if we can come to a better understanding of it through practice in doing it
• Explore multiple digital mediums to discover which ones are best suited for sharing different kinds of stories

Assessment and Course Requirements

You will be required to engage in careful reading or viewing and critical analysis of digital media. This includes works of recognized merit in an effort to develop critical standards for interpretation, exploring your own work and the work of your peers, all while attempting to better understand the complexities of digital storytelling.

Writing is an integral part of this course, including writing about media and writing your own work. One of the goals of the course is to increase your ability to understand what you read or view and explain clearly, cogently, even elegantly what you understand about storytelling and why you interpret digital media the way you do.

Each module includes readings and activities, which participants are required to complete. There are also discussions and blogposts that summarize and narrate the course experience at regular intervals. All required components must be finished for an assignment to be complete.

Earning the grade of an A in this course will be challenging. However, if you are willing to do the work you will not fail. For graded assignments, you will be provided with a grading criteria and minimum requirements. Beyond that, I look for both “tangibles” and “intangibles.”

Tangibles

• Fulfillment of requirements by following directions and timely submission
• Care and pride taken in preparation of submissions
• Attention to grading criteria

Intangibles

• Goes beyond the minimum requirements of the assignment
• Demonstrates original thinking or reflection
• Confidence, communication, and clarity

Course Materials

• Web Accounts/Software: You will need to set up accounts on various social media sites we will use for class. For the most part, the software available with a school laptop will work; you may need to use free web-based software to create media.
• Blog Account: You will be expected to manage your own digital space in any blog that can produce an RSS feed, which includes Blogger or Wordpress for example. It will also need to support tagging or labels for your class work to be properly associated.
• Class Web Site: The course's primary activity will be available at the Haas | Media site. It is where information about assignments and activities will appear.

Participation

In addition to the regular assignments you are required to do the following:

• Narrating your course experience. Throughout the course, you are encouraged to use your blog to regularly provide updates about your learning and activities. These posts should be, thorough and reflective.
• Commenting upon your classmates' work. You are expected to respond thoughtfully and critically to the work that others in the course are creating. This will be accomplished through thoughtful blog comments and feedback.

Modules

Setting Up Shop

This module is all about getting up and running to participate in the course. You will establish accounts with a number of Web 2.0 tools and services, introduce yourself to the class, and get started with a simple storytelling exercise.

Composition & Storytelling 2.0

This module addresses the kind of “reading and writing” that will be required for the course, as well as how to easily push and pull information from the web, including material created in this class. You will learn some storytelling basics and how they are evolving in the Web 2.0 world.

Visual

This module explores the power of the visual image as a storytelling device. Beginning with still imagery and moving into sequential, visual storytelling, you will explore the powerful connection between images and words.

Audio

This module focuses strictly on audio as a storytelling medium as an extension of both spoken and written language. You will both explore audio programs and models and create some of your own.

Copyright

This module explores the confusion associated with copyright and the provision of fair use. You will get a deeper sense of what best practices there are for exercising fair use, as well as gain an awareness of Creative Commons.

Video

This module builds on the Visual and Audio modules to explore the nature of video and all the meaning that it can generate. In addition to understanding how to read video better, you will also create video. You will combine all of the previous skills and knowledge into the crafting of a multimedia digital storytelling project.