Web Writing & Participatory Culture - Recently Updated Pages

Steph's Portfolio

BadgerBuddy — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:27:28 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Bree's Portfolio

sk8n_bree — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:18:07 CST

Dane's Portfolio

RikHunter — Tue, 20 May 2008 10:50:05 CDT

Research Paper

Paper trail

Proposal with comments
First draft w/o comments
Second draft with comments
Final version

Excerpts from process log:

03/07/08

Well, the research paper proposal is due, and I've decided my topic is going to be video games as learning tools. As I'm a little worried about how to find sufficient research, I am clued into gameslearningsociety.org. It turns out that this site not only contains works of James Paul Gee, an author suggested by Rik, but of other influencial writers in the field. I find Richard Halverson's work on Civilization III to be particularly relevant to my topic. It just so happens that this site compiles information and research done upon video games and it proved to be amost usefull compliation to my mission.

04/05/08

My peer reviewers clued me into the fact that my paper was poorly organized and completely lacked an introduction. Of course, they said it in a much nicer way than this, but the point remains that I need to add an introduction and improve the organization. I'm trying to find a way to do the typical funnel introduction, so I begin by showing why education in general is important and move on to video games potentially being a good way to provide this education. One interesting thing about my thoughts as I wrote this draft was that I actually changed my mind on the issue. The first draft left me feeling like video games would be an incredible learning tool, but now, after writing and researching more about the counter argument, I think the cost might outweigh the benefit.

05/08/08

Begging the final revision of my paper, I find that my peer reviewers and my professor have left comments and ideas on how to improve. Their comments are the focus of most of the changes I will make, but additionally I feel as though my paper only highlights the possibilities of one video game as a learning tool (civilization III). Thus, I will add a personal suggestion of a video game that could be incredibly usefull in a physics classroom (portal).

Wiki assignment

Link to wiki
Excerpts from process log:

02/20/08

I would like to write a wiki that could be beneficial to a given community, and I tend to be better at opined writing than the kind done on wikipedia. So I will write a strategy wiki on DotA as it affords educated opionion and I am experienced enough with the strategy of the game that my opinion could be beneficial to the community. The game is far too complex to write a strategy guide for the entire thing, so I will instead stick to itemization which is an aspect of the strategy that I routinely see people screw up on.

04/12/08

It is now time to actually begin writing the wiki. Since the content is all already stored in my head, I must simply decide how to get it on paper in an organized way. Potential options are giving an item build order for each hero, going over the functions of each item, or a more generalized approach in which I discuss the qualitative principles governed by the mechanics of the game that dictate proper strategy. Each of these approaches has some flaws. Giving an item build for each hero would be very clunky because there are almost 90 heroes, and it would not account for dynamics within the game and opponents. Going over the functions of each item would be fairly useless as that information is already available elsewhere on the web, and the generalized approach is flawed because the reader would have to take an active intellectual approach to apply it to in game decisions. In the end I feel it is better to go with the generalized approach because it caters to a "better" audience. I and many other serious gamers in the DotA community would like to extract the less intellectual players who are too lazy to apply the basic principles to in game situations. In this way I feel as though this approach will aid the appropriate part of the DotA community and thus be the most usefull.

05/04/08

I look back at my wiki and find that the site it is hosted on has been quite active but my contribution remains unchanged. I take this as a sign that the content has generally been accepted as accurate. Thus, I do not make any revisions to my wiki as in my opinion it was done properly the first time.

Blog

Thomas Aquinas

excerpt from process log

Well, it turns out I managed to piss someone off with my philisophical banter. The confusing part is that this anonymous person got angry at a post in which I was entirely kidding. Also, up till this point I have been very polite and respectful to theists despite disagreeing with them. So, I feel as though this person's outburst was uncalled for and warrants an intellectual beat down. This being the case, I must prepare to write the best and most complete argument I have done so far. Fortunately, this guy referenced a Christian of long ago by the name of Thomas Aquinas, whose theories have already been philsophically debunked. To find a complete argument I turn to wikipedia which has an extensive article on Thomas Aquinas, and from there I am able to find inconsistencies in his argument. Ah sweet revenge.

Argument for god

excerpt from process log

02/24/08

I feel as though my blog is becomming one sided in favor of atheism, and it is meant to be about atheism rather than just for atheism. Thus, I will present one of the more respected arguments for the other side despite my personal beliefs. Fortunately I ran into a more educated Christian who believed in god for this legitimate reason. In this way, I didn't come up with this theory, but rather put in writing what this guy explained to me. It is pretty incredible what can be learned from having intellectual discussions with complete strangers, and I actually respect this man despite our differences.

Dawkins

excerpt from process log

03/02/08

As the previous post dealt with the one sidedness of my blog, I feel as though it is time to make it a little bit more entertaining. So, instead of the typical in depth argument, I will present today a more comedic post. One in which I satire the christian religion using Dawkins as my god and the memorial union as my church. I hope this will be seen as humor rather than idiocy as my blog is dependent upon people respecting my abilities as a philisophical commentator.

Open media project

Zach's Portfolio

zippo512 — Sat, 17 May 2008 01:16:19 CDT

Open Media Project

Students of the Lakeshore Nature Preserve - Wiki

Process Log

February 14, 2008 - Winter sucks. My club can't do anything in the winter. Thank god for the internets. After using the class wiki WWNPC for awhile and after trying again and again to update my club's lame website.....I created a monster! No, not really. But I did make a pretty awesome wiki for my club. A little history about my club and our internets presence: 1) student org office gives us our own webspace. I have no idea how to make a webpage. Google. Download an illegitimate copy of dreamweaver from a torrent. Talk to website host people for awhile about my password which I forgot approximately 3 times. They changed it back to normal after I tried logging in to the site (unsuccessfully) around 20 times (that's what they said). Long story short, I make a awesomely bad website from a template in dreamweaver and somehow figure out how to upload it using a remote VPN app. 2) The Lakeshore Nature Preserve website is awesome. I know the woman that made it. Talked to her. She told me that if she makes a website for us that no one would update it and it would fall into disuse. I cried for awhile. 3) created wiki site and made the original site into a link to our wiki site. all is well.

February 18, 2008 - Today we held a group meeting for my club and I presented the wiki to them. We meet in room 110 Science where there are a bunch of computers, so I just had them sit down, create wetpaint accounts, and explore the new wiki. I just want to say: these people learn fast. They were creating new content, links, and pages in literally minutes. I pointed out some of the editing features and how to move pages around, but other than that, they were flying. Brit Ricci created a bunch of new stuff right away, but the others actually just added some stuff and never again :(

April 7, 2008 - So, after using this site for awhile now. I realized it’s real use: upcoming events. Besides the t-shirt page, this site hasn’t really been of much use. The calendar feature is useless – it’s just a calender template, no sharing, no repeating events, very web 1.0, maybe even web 0.7 beta. The photo page is ugly, and useless – also has a lot of catching up to do. But the upcoming events page, priceless. I can direct every listserv email to the upcoming events page for more info on every event, and even change details for times and places on the fly. And using google analytics, I can see that the readership of the upcoming events page skyrockets (comparatively) after I send out the emails. As Martha would say, “It’s a good thing”.

Blog

Cat's Win

Process Log

February 1, 2008 - Working on blog. What does one write on a blog? I'm pretty sure I don't have much to add to the mix. Hmm, I do enjoy drawing - maybe I'll include a few sketches in here. Maybe just find some awesome reddit posts and write about those.

February 26, 2008 - Thinking about the look. I like black and minimal, but not so minimal that it won't stand out at all. I just searched online for new templates, but most of them are a little too much and applying them takes away some of the functionality of my widgets and whatnot. So i made an awesome photoshop mash-up for my title, it'so a bunch of pictures i took while in budapest and innsbruck. Just like the title of the blog has no actual meaning or reference, the pictures don't either. it was really fun to do though. lots of layer effects and transparency stuff. good times.

March 16, 2008 - it's my birfday! blog, eh. not too impressed. again, i feel like i'm not really bringing anything new to the table. of course the audience for the blog is just the class though, and this kind of stuff doesn't cross their path that often....so it's like i have some new stuff to say, but no. I think if i had cool stuff to present i might have already created a blog for myself. i think i'll have good stuff one day, but now my mind and efforts are mostly on school work and the bleakness of winter in between. but yeah, today we did a video-a-thon for my birthday. we came up with this idea over martinis on thursday night: give each team a video camera and a list of ridiculous stuff to do. eg. secret handshake with cop, sit on roof, tic-tac-toe on state st. i got a quarter keg to start the party off. it went great and i've uploaded all the video footage to my computer. hopefully this will make it to the blog.

Exerpts

Mac people listen up, dump Firefox already [SafariStand's got your back]

Some great online comics

Undersea Optical Fiber is Awesome

Wiki Article

Green Walls

Process Log

April 15, 2008 - just got done editing the wiki article. not so much fun. it's a lot better now, even though i didn't add that much good stuff. but at least when people visit it, they'll have a better clue as to the definitions of what a green wall is compared to a living wall. the article was originally called "living walls", which doesn't encompass facade greening, which is vines on supports. hope no one gets pissed.

Capstone Essay

Often, it seems like the web is full. And not just full, overflowing. So before I add that one more comment, or that next post, I usually ask myself: do I really want to be that guy? The one absentmindedly standing at the pump while gasoline overflows around his feet? Are we all that guy? No, probably not. But you have to admit that there exists a very fine line between useful input on the web, and mindless chatter. I prefer to avoid mindless chatter in real life, so why would I want to participate in it on the web? I’d much rather add something of substance to the pot.

My brother used to tell me that in your writing, if a word or a sentence or a paragraph does not further your argument in some way, get rid of it. I think the same could very easily be applied to web writing as a whole: if your comment or post or entire webpage does not add useful content to the web, get rid of it. Web writing for the sake of web writing is missing the point. Putting words or media on the web means that you wish to share your ideas, interests, or news with a wider audience than would otherwise be possible. If your idea has already been hashed and re-hashed on multiple forums and you were too lazy to find them in a Google search, you become that guy covered in gasoline.

Let’s take one of my blog posts for example. I found the story of cut undersea optical cables in the mid-east really interesting. So I did some research on undersea optical cables in general, then combined it with some of the latest news stories about it. That post sucked. I could have said the same thing in about three hyperlinks. However, if I had drew up and scanned a picture of a mile-long Ethernet cable running from Memorial Library to my house (T3 internet!) and noted the similarities in the stories, it could have been a worthy post. Live and learn.

That being said, I think web 2.0 sharing and tech is a great advancement in the sharing of worthwhile ideas. And what better playgrounds for new web technologies than the college classroom. Having a class wiki like ours for all of my classes would have been priceless – sharing notes, fielding questions to your classmates, checking the schedule, posting powerpoints. Learn@UW makes an effort in this direction, but is not nearly as user-friendly or accommodating for non-tech-savvy professors, who tend to keep their pages very one-directional. Maybe they want it that way though,

Sharing on a wiki might undermine our current culture of learning – every girl for herself doesn’t apply anymore if you can collaborate on class notes and share study techniques effortlessly. I feel like most teachers are here to talk at you then put a test in front of you. Whether you learn the content doesn’t seem to be their main goal. Rather, their efforts seem to be aimed at finding out what letter they can put next to your student ID number (wow that’s bleak). Classrooms have become a place where we get rated. Pass or fail. Present or absent. A or B or C or D. You sit down in that lecture hall and the man (usually) standing at the front is right and whatever you think is probably wrong. (While this is not the condition in every classroom or every place of learning, it is a very common theme in modern schools.)

This type of thought is inherently contradictory to web writing. Much of the work I have done – even graded highly on – during my schooling, would most likely fall under the category of mindless chatter if they were posted to the web. The same information hashed and rehashed. If it could be said better in the book I read it in or on a webpage that already exists, why not just cut down a paper into a series of citations and hyperlinks? The reason is usually because you have to prove to your teacher that you have read and understood the text or lecture. Not to prove that you can take that information and use it to share a completely new idea. Collaborative spaces on the web are definitely a great way for students to self-teach and gain useful information from each other. But until the reason for connecting on the web becomes more than just an effort to stay afloat in a difficult class, real networking and useful web writing will not be achieved.

Gina's Portfolio

gina815 — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:32:14 CDT

Open Media Project:

Process Log 3/25: I just have begun thinking about the open media project and really want to make a video incorperating videos, pictures, and sounds that expresses my relationship with my mom. I thought this project would be fun to do as well as show my skills with imovie that I already am familiar with. When I am finished with this project I would love to give it to my mom for mother's day(something that would last forever!). I am currently in the process of getting everything I need together, which right now is just the pictures.
Process Log 4/5: So I tried creating an IMovie for my mom, and everything isn't go as planned. I don't have enough pictures for what I want. My digital camera doesn't have enough pictures of my mom and I do fill up the entire video. I also do not have my own computer so that is causing complications. I decided to do something else. I met with one of my professors from the communications department, and he said that I could use the computer lab in Vilas to do whatever I wanted. I decided to make a virtual map/tour of state street with using only pictures. I came up with this idea because i thought it would be interesting to express the realness/culture downtown madison has to offer. I had some pictures that I previously took this spring that I thought i could use. Considering I am only using pictures I thought that this project would be less time consuming and more simple than my last idea.

Process Log 4/28: I am almost done with my open media project! It has taken a little more time than I thought, but it was fun to do. It was different work than all my other classes so it kind of like taking a break from all my papers and exams that I have had. The cropping of the pictures was pretty simple and I did that in photoshop. Most of my time was focused on adding the transitions to the expanding pages. I also had a difficult time making expanding buttons work. For some reason they kept moving to different areas of the opening page, and would sometimes work and sometimes wouldn't. I also had a hard time downloading the final project to my usb port because of how large the file was. I am content with my final project, but I would have loved to add more interaction and animations as well as music to make it more interesting to watch and appeal more to my audience.

Interactive Map

Wikipedia Article:

Process Log 3/3: So I have decided to do my wikipedia article on a local brewery in Madison called Ale Asylum. Basically I chose this company because I was familar with their beers and was interested in finding out more information about them. I don't know that much about the company, so my plan now is to contact Ale Asylum and try to get information from them directly.

Process Log 3/20: I have tried to get into contact with Ale Asylum by emailing them a couple times, but still haven't heard anything back from them yet. If I don't hear from them soon I may have to choose a different topic to write about.

Process Log 4/5: I was able to complete my Wiki article, but I had to do it without direct contact with Ale Asylum. I was able to get most of my information off of their website and other local Madisonwebsites that have commented on Ale Asylum. I'm a little disappointed with the amount of information that I was able to include in the article. I wish I could have had more information to add to it. My basic guides were other brewery wikis such as New Glarus, and Leines. Unfortunately I couldn't find enough information to elaborate like the other wikis. At first I was having trouble passing the wikipedia standards because I was forgetting to cite my sources. I had to follow the step by step instructions on how to start an article that was provided by Wikipedia.com.

Ale Asylum Wiki

Research Paper:

Process Log 3/6: I've decided to write about something that really interests me. I love music, so why not write about it in relation to the internet and copyright which are issues that we have discussed in class. I took an internet class previous to this and we briefly talked about DJ Dangermouse and his mashup album called the Gray Album and wanted to look deeper into it, which is perfect for my research paper.

Process Log 4/5: I've decided to focus on the idea of copyright and mashups and relate it to Dj Dangermouse's Gray Album, instead of just focusing on the Gray Album. There just isn't enough information on The Gray Album to write a thorough research paper. While researching mashups and copyright, I have learned so much. I also sometimes get mad while reading about copyright because I just think those laws are stupid.

Process Log 5/4: I am almost done with my research paper. I have learned so much, but I am still confused about copyright. There are just so many laws and regulations that I never know how one could keep up. Also people go against copyright laws everyday and some people get caught and some don't. I don't understand how that works. Personally I think there should just be one copyright law and leave it at that. I strongly believe in the recycling of everything. Thats how our culture is and always has been.

Paper Trail:

Blog Posts:

Process Log 2/25: I am very excited that I finally have this opportunity to create my own blog, and I am glad that we can choose a topic that we are interested in. I chose travel because whenever I am planning on going on a trip I love to do a lot of research and planning before. It gets me excited and It's always better to get an average person's first hand experience instead of a travel company's or the destination website. I love to do things out of the ordinary on vacations, and I want to have a chance to help other people out, and give my own opinion

Process Log 4/4: My travel blog has somewhat gone off track since I first started it, but I still enjoy writing on it. When I first started my blog I had just gotten back from winter break and I did a lot of travelling then. During the semester I didn't really get a chance to do much of anything, and with the weather how it is, there isn't anything fun to talk about anyways. I still managed to figure out some interesting things to talk about however, and I got many responses which i enjoyed. I also enjoy writing on other people's blogs and see what they have to say. I also have learned a lot. I really like the political blog because it's a topic that I don't really like talking about with friends or family because it brings up a lot of controversial issues. With the blog I was able to say whatever I wanted(most of the time) and I would get respectful, honest answers.

Exotic Food Post
Atlantis/Camping Post
Spring Break Post (happy I got quite a few responses)

Capstone Essay:
I really enjoyed this class and everything that we had to do during the 16 weeks. Many of the projects and activities that we did, I probably would have never taken the time to do in my own time. I also did a lot of things that that were technology based, that I didn't think I ever could do. The main thing that suprised me during this course was that Wikipedia can be modified by anyone and everyone! I experienced however first hand that you can not just put whatever you want on a wiki article, and that it is closely regulated no matter what the subject it. Makes me look at Wikipedia differently in that I can be a reliable source. I enjoyed participating in an online based course because It allowed me to do things that many of the people around me had no idea about. I would tell my mom and friends about the things that I have been doing using the internet and they all seemed very impressed and interested. In a world so technologically based I think it is important to learn about these things. The one problem that I had was that I wasn't always around a computer. I also had some technical problems when trying to access wetpaint at times and my blog, but those were usually minor problems. I have previously taken a web based class and learned a lot of the same things that I learned in this class, but I found this class to be more useful and beneficial. The article based information by lessig and jenkins that we learned was more thoroughly taught and we applied their ideas and theories more to everyday activities, which I really enojyed. Considering this class was a comm b. course I thought that my writing has really improved. I thought it was beneficial to write about things that we were really passionate about instead of just being forced to write a 20 page paper. I have notice a change in my writing and I have noticed that it has become easier for me to put my thoughts out on paper than it used to be. I am really glad that we incorperated the peer review sessions to our research paper because it gave us the opportunity to see other people's ideas and have them give us productive criticism to our own ideas.

Yi Han's Portfolio

yihan96 — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:45:05 CDT

Wiki Article

Excerpts from Process Log

Feb 20, 2008
For my wiki article, I have pretty much decided on the biography of Dr. Adler. I am not sure if I should put it on Wikipedia or maybe on Wiscipedia. I will discuss with Rik about this. There is already an article about Adler on Wikipedia but I found it too brief. I intend to put up more information about Adler and the gist of the most important work that he has done. I will have to read up on the papers published by Adler and if possible, some biographies.

March 5, 2008
I am researching on Dr. Julius Adler. I found a short article written by Dr. Adler himself on how he got interested in his research work. This article is called “All because of a butterfly”. I also found an article in Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) classics that was a short biography about him and his work on bacterial chemotaxis. Both were very informative.

March 28, 2008
The wiki article was written based on information from his homepage, the 2 articles mentioned earlier (“All because of a butterfly” and JBC classics) and some of the papers published by Adler. I wrote the article on Microsoft Word before uploading it onto Wikipedia. I had some trouble with the syntax used in Wikipedia, so I had to keep referring to other articles when I tried to upload it onto Wikipedia. I also listed the references I used at the bottom of the page of the Wiki article.

Paper Trail: Wiki Article Proposal

Final Wiki Article: Julius Adler (biochemist)

Research Paper

Excerpts from Process Log

Feb 21, 2008
I am thinking of a theme that has to do with SMS or mobile phones. I want to base my research paper on mobile culture because I use mobile phones a great deal in my daily life. I went to a lecture by Mizuko (Mimi) Ito today. The lecture is “The Social Life of Mobile Media”. Her lecture described how her research followed the use of mobile devices by a group of people. While she presented mostly on the data she has, she also made a point that cell phones have led to no more need to cultivate personal relationships with the people surrounding you. The examples she gave were franchises such as Starbucks. In the past where mobile devices were not that common and coffeeshops were dominated by franchises, it’s usual to cultivate friendships with the coffee shop owner and you can rely on him to tell you if your friend has been there. With the use of mobile devices, you can just contact your friend yourself. I think this can be an example to use in my research paper.

March 22, 2008
I started writing my first draft of the research paper. It was easy to work since I already had a proposal. I tried to describe my ideas a little more, and supported it with examples I read from some books. The books that I am using are from Goggins and Ito. Also, while reading related articles online, I read about the term “mobile privatization” that was first coined by Raymond Williams in the 1970s. I think it fits well into my paper, but I will need to explain what the idea is about. There was also some modification to my original argument that people will use mobile phones to isolate themselves. That was somewhat of an inflexible argument. My interviews with college students showed that some may think using mobile phones in a public space is rude, so they avoid using mobile phones. However, they still tried to isolate themselves by listening to portable MP3 players. I think I am going to modify my argument into how people isolate themselves by using portable devices, not necessarily just cell phones. Nonetheless, it demonstrated the tendency of people to isolate themselves in public spaces.

April 28, 2008
I tried to modify my paper according to comments from the peer review session. I think the most constructive criticism is that my paper has stated some interesting points, but these points do not flow well. It gave a feeling of abruptness between paragraphs, as if I was emphasizing points that are irrelevant to each other. I tried reading it over a few times and I have to say that I think it is true: my argument does not flow smoothly. I rearranged it, and tried to link the various paragraphs together by making constant references to ideas mentioned in previous paragraphs. For this Final Draft, I also tidied up the references and sources I used.

Paper Trail:
Research Paper Proposal
Research Paper Proposal (with peer review's comments)
Research Paper First Draft
Research Paper First Draft (with comments): on paper
Research Paper Second Draft
Research Paper Second Draft (with comments)

Finished Product: Research Paper - Isolation through Connectivity

Open Media Project

Excerpts from Process Log

March 23, 2008
Spring break is over. I spent quite some time videotaping Murphy. It was harder than I thought because it is hard to catch Murphy doing all the funny stuff at the right moment. I needed time to turn on the camcorder and he would pause in whatever he is doing to watch me instead. The most ideal time is when he thinks I am asleep. I had to hide in bed with my camcorder and turn off all the lights, but in the end, I think I got most of what I need. I have about 40 minutes of raw footage, but a lot of them would need to be cut out because it was just recordings of him looking suspiciously at the camera.

April 13, 2008
I started editing the video today. I read online reviews that iMovie is the easiest to use, so I went to the DV stations in College library, and the staff there taught me how to transfer the video onto a Mac computer. They also gave me tips on the special and transitional effects that can be added to my movie. The movie is about 5 minutes long, but music has not been added yet.

April 28, 2008
I intend to present my Open Media Project for my oral presentation in class. The movie is mostly done; I rearranged the pictures and clips a little, and added music to it. Finding music for the clip was difficult mostly because my music collection is quite limited. The songs I have don’t seem to be suitable. In the end I decided on Le Festin which a movie soundtrack from Ratatouille. It seemed to fit the mood of the video that I wanted to portray, but the song was too short for the entire movie. In the end, I repeated the music. It doesn't make the movie look too bad.

Paper Trail: Open Media Project Proposal

Finished Product: MURPHY

Blog

Excerpts from Process Log

Feb 01, 2008
I created a new blog today for Eng 201. I was contemplating between using Blogger or Wordpress. Blogger appears to be more widely used, but most of the usernames are taken up, at least the ones I like are...so I would have to choose one I like followed by a long string of numbers. As for Wordpress, more user names are available, but I have never used it before, not sure of how the formatting and settings work. In the end, I chose Blogger since I have used it before, it would be easier for me to use. I used my old user name and created a new blog for this class. My first entry is about the name of my blog. I was thinking what should be the theme I use for this blog, but in the end I decided not to have a central theme. Instead I would blog about something that happened during the week. This blog would be a blog about my everyday life as a student.

Feb 24, 2008
I have posted several entries on my blog. In my posts, I have tried putting hyperlinks, putting pictures and embedding videos from YouTube. I think they make my posts more interesting than if my posts consist merely of words.

April 28, 2008
School is ending in a few weeks and I would be graduting. I wrote an entry expressing my feelings about having to leave a place that I have called home for the past 3 years. Having a blog has helped me expressed my sadness in having to leave. I am usually one who keeps emotions bottled out, and now it feels good to let it all out. I think I will continue blogging even after the class has ended.

3 Blog Posts:
My First Blog Post! (I learnt how to add photos)
Snow Day (I learnt how to embed YouTube videos)
My Very First YouTube Video (I embedded the first video I ever made)

Capstone Essay

This class was taken to fulfill my degree requirements so that I can graduate. I never really liked writing much, and I had envisioned a semester filled with tortuous writing when I first joined this class. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by the different kinds of writing required in different projects and found the class extremely enjoyable.

The first project I did was blogging. I had kept a blog before, but never had the perseverance to keep it going for more than two entries. With this blog, because I had to post an entry every week, I found myself reflecting more on what I did each week so that I can find something interesting to blog about. As this is a class blog, it was unlike the rest of the blogs I have kept before. For other blogs, it was more like a diary and there was no particular audience, so the tone and language used was more informal. Sometimes, incomplete sentences were used too. For the class blog, I made a conscious effort to make sure I get my ideas across in a clear and understandable way. At first, I always had writer’s block while writing entries, not because I had nothing to write about, but because I was unsure of the tone to use. I wanted to use a more formal tone, but a blog is like a diary to me and it felt awkward if my tone was too formal. I overcame this problem by perceiving the blog as something I want to share with friends, not something that was going to be graded and the words came more naturally. At the end of this class, I found blogging an enjoyable experience for it has allowed to express myself. Even if no one reads it, it is still an outlet for my emotions, and I liked reading past entries and reminiscing what had prompted me to write that entry. I will most likely continue to blog after the class ends, but probably not on a weekly basis.

I think the most time consuming yet engaging project was the open media project. I did a video on a cat. This was unlike all other assignments I have ever done for any class as I got to choose the subject for my video. In fact, it did not even need to be a video. While there was not much writing involved, I felt it needed a lot of creativity and technical skills. After getting all the video clips and pictures, I was unsure of how I should fit them together or maybe even created a storyline for it. This called for major displays of artistic creativity using a computer program I have never used before. There was an instance when I was so frustrated I contemplated creating a webpage and just uploading every file onto the webpage. While this would have made the work easier, I felt that a webpage was not the right medium to use. Navigating a webpage would require more effort on the part of the viewer and would not convey the idea as compactly as a video would. I asked for my friends’ inputs on the order of the video clips and the music I should use and I got many wonderful suggestions. Most of the solutions to the technical problems were also found in online forums. After this class, I do not foresee myself making videos often, but I think I have learnt valuable skills from this experience. My Dad is an amateur photographer and likes capturing videos too. I definitely can see myself helping him create clips using iMovie and putting it on YouTube to share with family and friends.

The research paper was a taste of the English assignments back in high school where a draft was written and edited several times before the final version is submitted. The writing process was not new but the knowledge I gained through researching on my topic has made me a more informed person on the influences of mobile devices on our culture.

The wiki article was also unlike other assignments I have done before. For the wiki, I was initially unsettled by the fact my audience is no longer my teacher and my classmates, but potentially the entire world. I was very conscious of the words and tones I used, and double-checked all my facts before I wrote them into my article. When I posted my article on Wikipedia, I kept expecting it to be marked for deletion. I was really relieved when it stayed on Wikipedia up till now. This experience and our discussion on wikis had made me more aware of how collective intelligence is displayed through wikis and the accomplishments of Wikipedia. I was proud that I was able to contribute to Wikipedia, and will try to contribute to more articles in the future.

Over the course, there have been a lot of readings. The most interesting readings for me were those related to copyright issues. It felt relevant to me because I download music occasionally and the legality of music downloads have always been highly controversial. When discussing copyrights, it became clear to me that I cannot view copyrights conflicts in black and white; there are many grey areas where something that is legal just doesn’t seem right. Works should definitely be protected, but when it is for the continued monopoly of certain big companies, creativity is being stifled and it questions the existence of a free society. Our numerous discussions have prompted me to appreciate free expression of creativity in the new media.

My idea of writing has changed. Writing is no longer about expressing your ideas in a predetermined format with words. The research paper was more of this old school writing style, but writing is an expression of self and should be done in different mediums. I have learnt to write for a big audience (the Wiki article) and also to write for a smaller informal audience (my blog). I am glad I took this class because I have come away with writing skills that will be useful in my life.

Paige's Portfolio

Paige3 — Fri, 09 May 2008 12:39:13 CDT

Open Media Project
Open Media Project

Blog Posts
Camping Adventure
On The Loose
Bambi II

Wiki Article
Northern Lights Community School

Paper Trail for Research Paper
Proposal
First Rough Draft
Second Rough Draft
Final Draft

Process Log
Blogs
2-29
So, far my blogging experience is going well. I didn't choose a specific topic to write about each week, I decided I would just write about something I experienced within the past week. However, my first post called Camping Adventure was a past story from my childhood. I was able to put a Youtube video on one of my posts, I was really excited after I was able to do that. I didn't know if I would be able to figure that out, but I remembered from class and it was really easy. I decided to change the color of my font through out the story and stories because my eyes hurt when I read on the computer for even a short period of time so I thought this would help with reading on black. I like the way my blog looks. I try to match the color with the story, too, or by the tone of it. For example, when I talked about my frostbit ear, I made the font red, like my ear. I thought it was clever.
3-31
Since last time I have written four more blogs. I was able to add pictures to one of my blogs. It wasn't that difficult, like the video. It almost makes me think I can do anything on a computer. I never add to the internet so it's exciting. As I wrote on my Blogging blog I enjoy writing on it because it's a lot faster than writing. I used to write in a journal a lot, almost every night, and my hand always hurt when I was done. The only thing that is different is that I don't write about personal things. But, both ways I have written were random, just what I was thinking or what happened to me recently. I think some people like that randomness, unless you are looking for something specific, a topic for the blog. I think that allows you to find what you want to read about, though.
4-14
Today our last post was due. I was very satisfied with my blog and all the comments I got. Only one of them didn't have any comments. I'm really glad we had to do this because I've never really looked at blogs before this class. I don't know yet if I will continue to blog. I feel like I will once in awhile when I'm bored. It's more exciting when you know that someone is going to read your blog. I even got a comment on my use of color for my text, which made me happy because I really liked that about my blog.

Wiki
2-8
We talked more about ideas for our Wiki project today in class. I decided on doing a Wikipedia article on a charter school my dad works at.
RE: Ideas for Wiki articles . . .
Feb 10 2008, 11:22 PM EST
I was thinking about doing an article on the Northern Lights Charter School in Minnesota. They are a new school and just got a federal grant for I believe a couple hundred thousand dollars. They are continually growing and I think it would be a good thing for the school to be more well-known. I know all this because my dad works at it and is the one that got the large grant for the school. I will get information from him and the man that owns the school. I thought about just writing about the mission of the school and what they are all about and what they offer to the student.
4-4
I finally was able to talk to my Dad and get some information and insight about the school so I could write the article in a tone that the school would like to represented. I got most of my information from him; however, the same information was on the school website. I was also able to use another website that described some of the programs and teaching strategies. Actually, writing the artcle was not that bad, I was able to figure out how to write the article and found out similar topics other schools used to compare. I decided what topics were pertinent for this school by the information available. I posted my article and only half of it showed up. I wrote on my discussion as help me so someone would respond quickly. I guess all I needed was a backslash. Someone fixed it for me.
4-5
My article has been posted. It says it may not be credible or something, though. I think it's because I used some information from my dad, and so they were not able to find it on the internet. However, some of the other charter schools I looked at didn't even have references or citations. So, I'm not really sure. I didn't really know where to add the citations because they are at the bottom of the page. My dad read it and the director of the school, they both really liked it and said that it was written very well. The director, Dave, even asked how I wrote it like that when I'm not really even affliated with the school. I feel that it was a success because of their reaction, because it was ultimately their approval of it I needed. I hope it helps the school.

Research Paper
2-19
Yesterday I had my meeting with Rik, and we talked about possibilities for my research paper. I decided to use Lost as my topic and talk about transmedia storytelling. I'm not sure yet how I'm going to go about it but it will interesting because I like the topic.
3-7
I turned in my proposal today. I think I got a good start on it. I found some websites about the different media used to tell the story of Lost, which of course helped. I started out by talking about the overview of transmedia storytelling and how it pertains to Lost. I want to talk about all the different kinds of media and how they help tell the story of Lost.
3-28
I added my rough draft on google docs. I got a good start on the intro. I added sections about storytelling in the past and why I think it is beneficial to stories and how it adds to the excitement for fans. I looked into the idea of using AI intelligence as comparison, but I didn't really find any information I thought would be useful. The peer review today helped. I was able to compare my paper my others and get some ideas on organization for my paper to help make it flow better. I was able to talk to one of my group members doing the same topic about new sites and media that I was not aware of before.
4-8
My second rough draft is done now. I added all the media into my paper that I wanted to talk about. I think it turned out well. I didn't change the tense of the paper, yet. I feel like my paper is almost complete after a few touch ups. I will have to wait for some feed back and see what others think. I definitely need to re-read it over and make sure it flows nicely.
4-9
I finished my bibliography this morning. I tried to find more scholarly articles but I couldn't find them online. I don't know if I was searching wrong words or what. I do feel that my paper turned out really well. I discussed everything I wanted to except for talking to people about what kind of media they like the best. I never got around to completing that task. Overall, I'm satisfied and I'm glad I choose this topic because it made it all that much more fun and exciting.

Open Media Project
3-30
Our proposal is due tomorrow. I want to make a movie. I want to take clips of two movies and put them together to make another movie. I don't really know how I'm going to go about this but I'm sure there is some program that will help me. Maybe iMovie or Flash. We have talked about them in class before. We'll see. I'll look into it and figure it out after I talk to some people and go look at the programs. The audience will be intended for anyone, just enjoyment. Maybe I will be able to put in on Youtube.
4-21
We went into the computer lab today. I think iMovie won't work. I didn't really see how I would get clips of the movies although there was a clips section. I don't follow directions well with programs like this and the help features never really answer my questions the way I want them to.
4-24
I was able to download a dvd ripper on my computer and get a clip onto it. I think this project might work now. It's going to take me a really long time to do this. To isolate all these clips I want. I want to make a converstaion between two characters from two different movies. I think that would be fun.
4-28
So, now I can't get a second clip on my computer. And I can't figure out how to add them to actually make the movie. Now, my computer is at risk for a virus. So, I deleted the programs, I was trying to use AoA dvd ripper. I'm changing my project. I talked to a friend from high school about it and she gave me an idea of putting a bunch of clips together in like a slideslow of an object in different places. We did this to a friends pumpkin once in high school, we took pictures of it all over town on swing sets. It was funny. i'm going to add a song, too. I think Paralzyer by Finger Eleven. It's my ringtone; I like it. I hope this works.
5-6
I gave my presentation today. My project turned out good I thought. I learned in class that I could have used the wavelengths of the music to help with the timing of the pictures. The first part of it I matched the pictures with the beat, during the parts with words I tried to make the pictures correspond. For example, when the girl in the song moved right through him I had "the girl" get closer to him and then appear on the otherside as if she moved through him. Also, for parts where "she's standing the still" I held the picture of my "girl" in a frame, and another example is when he said he wished he was cool I had a picture of my bear with ice all over him. I thought it was funny. My roommate laughed. She actually helped me because I didn't have enough pictures and so she made the bear dance so help take up some time, which was actually kind of fun because then I was able to even figure out to put in the movie. It was a big accomplishment for me. The hardest part was figuring out how I was going to play it for the class on a pc. After almost an hour of trying to put it on youtube or emailing it to me, I had to get someone from the help desk in the library to help. We ended up sharing it, so it was in the .dv format and then put it on a disk. However, it was really slow on a pc. So, I came in early to class and someone else from the help desk showed me how to put it on the network - scratch. So, that's how I opened it up to show it in the class. It was a difficult process. It stopped once in the presentation, but thankfully it was able to start up again quickly without missing anything. If I could have changed anything about it I would have planned out the pictures better, and maybe have told the whole story, rather than using parts with random pictures and some parts that corresponded. But, in the end, I was proud that I was able to pull this off, and it was fun. Oh, and I seriously let it upload onto youtube for over two hours but it never did. I think I need it in a different format or something.

Capstone Essay
At the beginning of class, I wasn't really sure if I was going to like this class because I don't do much with technology and I had no idea what people were talking about half the time. But, then I got used to it and I was able to figure out blogger and how to wikis and how to send out documents on google docs and all seemed to work out. I actually enjoyed it and I feel smarter just for knowing it. I think my greatest accomplishments were my open media project video and writing the wikipedia article. Those were the most challenging for me and I was able to get them to work. I don't know if I will continue to use these capabilities I know have unless I need to because of all the work, but I'm glad I know how to. Blogging was a good experience for me as well. It was kind of fun to have something online like that and then be able to search the internet and find other peoples blogs and even the ones in our class to see what other people think about. Overall, I really enjoyed this class in the end and I'm really glad that web writing and participatory culture was our topic because I feel I learned more things useful to me than I would have in any other composition course. I feel it was beneficial to use the interenet for all our exercises because of how much it is expanding and how little I know about it. I even learned more things about one of favorite tv shows by writing my research paper. And I even made a wikipedia article!

Tina's Portfolio

Tina524 — Fri, 09 May 2008 11:15:52 CDT

Research Paper

Paper Trail
Proposal - Feedback
Draft #1
Draft #2

Process Log Excerpts
2/18/08
Well, because I don’t have much internet experience like others do in class, and I don’t watch the shows discussed in class, I decided on a topic that has to do with on-line dating. I feel that this topic should fulfill my objectives on how the internet is useful. This topic also interests me, and I feel if I would have picked another topic it wouldn’t be as interesting and it could turn out to be painful. After researching more and more about my topic I have decided to change my thesis. Originally I wanted to focus on-line dating with the stereotypical ideas presented about it,i.e.; your putting yourself in danger on the internet, you could be getting yourself killed, blah blah blah. I also wanted to touch on ideas that I found from researching, with my traditional sources, about how on-line communicating could take a toll on interpersonal interaction. After researching this more, and tuning into my own thoughts, I personally didn’t believe this, and so forth didn’t want to argue it or write about it. So, I changed my thesis. I decided that I wanted to focus my paper on how traditional dating has not disappeared and has not been voted out, but has become the second step of on-line dating. Unfortunately the research is still suffering, but my ideas and philosophies are prospering.

3/22/08
Wow, writing this paper is a lot harder than I had imagined. Not only am I having a hard time incorporating research but the writing is just not coming. I stare at my computer screen for hours and can’t seem to make it any better. I have about 5 pages of rambling and no concrete writing skills. I feel that I am drowning in this research madness. Because I felt this way, I made an appointment with the writing center. It helped a lot! I got my thesis straightened out and made great changes to my intro.

Finished Product
The On-line Dating Craze

Wiki Article

Paper Trail
Hand written proposal-with Rik

Process Log Excerpts
2/13/08
Searching for a topic to write my wiki article on is like a blank thought-nothing comes to mind. So I do what I know best-I looked at the interior design wiki and find to my greatest interest, that it is lacking. I'm so happy about this because now I have an idea for this project.

2/18/08
I'm interested in writing a wiki article, mainly so I can tell people, because they won't believe it until they see it. I wan't to focus my article on interior designing; including: a specific definition, education, working hours, earning, ect.

4/3/08
I'm not sure I'm writing my article right because for one I don't know how to insert links for words, and I dont know which words to even link? So I didn't do it. I feel that my headings are good and describe what I'm going to explain well. I feel that the information I'm adding is beneficial to wikipedia because this article is lacking, and now I'm making it stronger.

4/17/08
I just checked my wiki after a very long time of not looking at it. To my surprise someone is editing my work. What is good about this is the fact that they have made links (something I did not do). I'm really irritated that they went ahead and changed the headings I made for the subtopics in the article. They are unprofessional and do not match the rest of the page. I don't know why they would do this, it looks stupid. I'm changing it back.

Finished Product
Interior Design Wiki

Open Media Project

Paper Trail
Proposal

Process Log Excerpts
4/18/08
I really have no idea where to start. We met in the classroom today and then moved to the computer lab. I recieved some quick information about Flash from Rik, including info about the frames. I now know what the difference between a key frame is and a blank key frame. I also learned about the tweening option and how to add text.

4/21/08
I'm not excited about this project at all, I'm really stressed about it. I'm planning on changing my project to a youtube video presenting me making one of the projects I completed on my blog. I think this will be easier than an animation and I hope it will be a faster process.

5/5/08
My animation is slowly working. Meeting with Rik really helped a lot, and I feel a little better. Even though it's not the best and not so exciting I'm really happy that I'm doing this on my own and making it work. I was really scared that I wasn't going to get it done and I didn't want to present!! I was so close to giving up, I wanted to cry, but I'm happy I stuck with it.

Oral Presentation
Powerpoint

Finished Product
"The House"

Blog Posts

Take A Seat
Bathroom Business
Fingerpainting

Process Log Excerpts
2/4/08
Creating a blog is something I have never done. I actually have to admit that I have never read one before. Yes, I haven’t read one before, but I did know that people were creating blogs and communicating with others through their blogs. What I learned from class is that many people use blogging as an electronic journal. Many people use their blogs to filter out their thoughts and get feedback from anonymous bloggers or connected friends. There are also many special interest blogs that people create to share their ideas about subjects that they enjoy, whether it be politics, celebrities, food, or travel. Having the opportunity to create a blog for myself is exciting and yet nerve racking. I’m a very private person especially when it comes to my feelings and thoughts. I knew right away that I was not interested in sharing my everyday thoughts about specific things that happen in my life, so my idea is to come up with a crafty page, which shares my creations. I am an interior design student and am very interested in creating my own interior accents through creative projects. Usually when I have an idea I find a way to create it myself while not spending a lot of money. My blog theme is going to pertain to interior decorating ideas that I have completed and used in my own home. One of the objectives is to show people that you can make your own decorations without spending an arm and a leg.

2/10/08
I’m a little concerned about how I’m using my language to get my ideas across. While reading other peoples’ blogs from class, I noticed that they use a very casual language and it is fun and exciting to read. What I find when I try to write like that, it just sounds stupid. So far my only problem with blogging is this. I don’t know if I feel uncomfortable talking like them or what, my thoughts on writing a blog is more professional than casual and I don’t think it is suppose to be like that.

2/26/08
Concerning feedback and comments: people from class are very generous when it comes to comments. They post comments about how they like my ideas, and they also comment about things they have done or even magazines that show how to do simple projects at home. What I have noticed is that many of the girls are taking a liking to my blog and not many men. I understand why of course, but it would be nice to get some male feedback. Another thing I have noticed is that my readers would enjoy before and after pictures. What I never did was take pictures of the process or of the beginning and ending product. Before writing this blog I never thought I would be sharing pictures and actually giving a tutorial on how to do such projects, so I never thought of taking any pictures. It would also be nice to have before and after pictures as a way to prove that I finished my projects on my own. I feel that some people have doubt about my abilities and possibly think that I’m not completing the projects that I have finished.

3/2/08
I noticed that I have inspired other classmates to share their creative interior ideas. Cool.

Capstone Essay

Through out this semester of English 201 I have been forced to experience different types of writing and communication. This course has opened my eyes to experiences that I have never conquered before, and probably never would have if it wasn’t for the class. At first I was nervous to participate in these new ways of writing, but after experimenting I have come to find and understand the meaning behind it all. Learning and using the language for different types of media has made me appreciate all of the ways and techniques we can express our ideas and thoughts. All of the projects, excluding the research paper, were very foreign to me. Blogging was completely new to me because I never really experienced someone else’s blog, let alone creating my own. This was a great experience for me because it encompassed untraditional writing, which was something I wasn’t too familiar with. I actually had a hard time making my blog casual, but as the semester progressed it got a lot easier for me. Creating a wiki article is something really cool and memorable. I think the reason that it is so cool is because you can share your experiences with others that did not know about contributing to wikipedia. For me sharing these ideas with my friends was so foreign to them, that it made me feel special. I participated in something professional and technologically advanced. The open media project was a great learning experience. I learned new software and learned little skills on how to manipulate animations. I feel that this was a big step for me considering I would have never completed something like this if it wasn’t for the class. Over all I was pleased with the out come of my project and will always be able to say that I created an animation in Adobe Flash. On a final note, I appreciate what I learned in this class. As a person I don’t take much initiative to educate myself with the technological world I live in. For me it is stressful more than anything. Since my experiences I feel that it is possible to contribute to our culture through different sources of media. You can participate in practically any form of media by contributing criticism, analysis, and feedback. Reflecting on the experiences that I have encountered in this class has made the greatest impact to my learning. I can look back and see how I have progressed and know that I am becoming educated about the culture we live in, which is highly participatory.

Ryan's Portfolio

Ryan747 — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:55:37 CDT

Open Media Project

Process Log Excerpts
March 29, 2008
I was thinking about the open media project and had a couple of ideas that I couldn’t decide on. During winter break I had visited my grandfather and when I had arrived he was editing a video in iMovie. After finished with the editing he submitted it to YouTube and later his movie was accepted. Although I had a great amount of ideas this interested me to create a movie. Ultimately my main goal for this project would be to submit this created movie to YouTube. The YouTube and College Humor videos that I have found the most interesting throughout my extensive experience over the years would have to be stop motion. Through my open media project I want to appeal to college students so something that is funny or informative for students will be needed.
April 26, 2008
My roommates and I have just returned from taking pictures to compile for the stop motion video. There were a couple of difficulties that we had encountered through the photo shoot. I definitely did not pick the correct day to do this project because it was extremely frigid and windy today. Also we used my roommates newly purchased digital camera, but he did not have a rechargeable battery yet so we went through about 16+ batteries. The largest difficulty while shooting was the jumping scenes. The stop motion videos that I have watched in the past had made these scenes extremely fluid, but I am afraid that our pictures aren’t going to look as good since we had troubles synchronizing the jumper and the photographer. I will be editing the pictures in iMovie tomorrow so I’m hoping for the best.
April 29, 2008
I had basically completely edited the stop motion video on Sunday but when I arrived at the library today to make minor changes I found that my saved work had in some way been corrupted. Therefore, my simple changes that I had planned to do had turned into another complete project. I had some troubles with PhotoShop creating my credits, which had been the original edits that I had planned to do today. Ultimately I reached my original goal for this project of uploading a video on YouTube. I was just the first to viewer my video, but I am not very pleased with the quality that YouTube converted it to. I think I will try to research and try to upload the video again in hopes that it will have a higher quality.

Paper Trail
Open Media Project Proposal
Stop Motion Script
Open Media Presentation

Finished Product
Open Media: The Art of Stop Motion

Nikki's Portfolio

mermaidmartini1 — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:26:57 CDT

Open Media Project
https://mywebspace.wisc.edu/xythoswfs/webui

Research Paper
http://mermaidmartini2.blogspot.com/2008/05/internet-breaking-down-musical-barriers.html

Blog Log
http://bloglog77.blogspot.com/

Wiki Article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Broussard

Drafts of Paper and Summary of Semester
On Google Docs

Rodney's Portfolio

Jetboot3 — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:07:48 CDT

Capstone Essay
Open Media Project
Wikiarticle
Blogposts
English Final Draft
English Draft
English Draft
English Draft
English Draft

Robin's Portfolio

Robinlady — Fri, 09 May 2008 05:23:09 CDT

Open Media Project:

Process Log:
Process Log: 3/10
I’m throwing around some different ideas for my open media project. I think it would be cool to put a video on You Tube but I think it will be much more challenging than I imagine. I’d like to do something kind of humorous for sure, but I guess I’ll explore some other possibilities. Maybe some kind of movie?

Process Log: 4/1
My mind is pretty flustered with ideas for my open media project. Originally, I though it would be neat to do a You Tube video but I’m pretty sure that is above my skill level. Rik said it was okay to do a poster, but I feel like that’s a cop-out and everyone else will have done something technologically savvy. I asked my roommate what she thought and she suggested something about a Photoshop project; that could be cool. I’ll have to play around with it a little and see if I could handle the task.

Process Log: 4/27
I decided on a Photoshop project. Originally, I thought about doing the project about propaganda in the media and how technology and computers have influenced it with forged photos and whatnot. When I started looking online for some base knowledge I started to get a little distracted and mainly browsed advertisements and campaigns. Then I changed my mind and decided to do the piece on advertisements, maybe an anti-smoking ad or something. Then I decided to take it from the other direction and do a pro-smoking ad. That way I can see how magazines can alter photos and make people so attractive. So I’ve finally settled on my project. I’m making a pro-smoking ad using Photoshop.

Paper Trail:
Project Proposal:
For my open media project, I’d like to continue to work on the subject my research paper is based on: WebMD. I think it’s a really interesting site and it’s fun to see what it can really do. I’d like to use an example illness, I haven’t chosen one yet. I would then like to use the symptom checker on WebMD to see where the information I provide about my condition will lead me. I think it would be an interesting way of testing out the site to see how accurate it could be. One weakness I am somewhat concerned about is my inability to use this medium to research more illnesses and correctness issues. I could try this experiment with a few different conditions to see what kind of average I get as far as correctness goes, but I obviously can’t identify this for a majority of the illnesses out there. When it comes to health, you can’t really have an ‘average’ score regarding how many diagnoses were correct; if a major illness or condition is unidentified, it could be fatal.
I think the information that I need to obtain for this experiment will be fairly easy to come by. I will need a credible medical dictionary or encyclopedia to teach myself about certain conditions. I’ll obviously need the WebMD site to check my symptoms and then I’ll need some sort of medium to display my results. I’d like to make some sort of poster display that has some pictures of the site and some written material that displays my results.

Original Photos:
These are just three out of the eight photos I took for this project. I didn't display them all because they pretty much look the same and it would just take up a lot of space.

Finished Open Media Project:
(sent to Rik, I couldn't fit it on this page.)

Wiki Project:
Process Log:
Process Log: 2/11
I’m preparing to start writing my wiki article soon. I don’t know if how I want to go about it, but I think I want to use Wikipedia, just because I am more familiar with it than with the other sites we’ve discussed. I would kind of like to write a new wiki article that doesn’t exist, but I guess we’ll see how that goes. I’m thinking about writing about chiropractic or something related to that.

Process Log: 3/24
I’ve already met with Rik about my wikipedia article proposal and he had some good ideas. Unfortunatly, I’ve researched chiropractic on Wikipedia and there is not much to add to the site, so I think I’m going to look at doing something else medicine-related. WebMD is a pretty interesting and well-known site so I’m hoping to write about that on Wikipedia.

Final Wiki Article:
Web MD wiki article

Blog Posts from "See You Robin":
February 17th blog post
March 30th blog post
April 13th blog post

Process Log:
2/18
This week I decided to write about my life… again. I broke up with my boyfriend so I’m glad I can vent into this blog that no one immediately close to will read. I hope I can get some feedback from some outside sources. I really feel like crap and I feel like this blog is like a journal that can talk back.

3/31
I’m glad I could write about something funny this week, it gets a little intense when I always write about the crazy things happening in my life. That was also the weirdest thing I’ve experienced so far in Madison and I’m excited to share it with everyone. This is my favorite blog so far!

4/13
I’m so glad I got to share my awesome weekend with my readers this week! I had so much fun and I’m glad I have it documented now so I can go back and remember how much fun I had this semester. I really like sharing my good experiences with everyone; I think that me writing about them makes me appreciated them more and relive them a little.

Research Paper:
Process Log:

3/3
My research proposal is due this week. I’ve decided to write about WebMD and talk about its importance to society and the benefits it has. I think it’s a topic with a lot of potential. I’m a little concerned because I’m not sure what to focus on exactly, but I’m sure I’ll work that out as I research it more and get a draft going. I’m actually excited about this topic, just because I think WebMD is such and interesting site and I’ve used it in the past.

3/20
I’ve gotten a good start on my research paper, but I was right about the concern I had at the beginning of the project; I don’t know what to focus on! Its supposed to be a longer paper so I can definitely focus on a few things but there is just so much information that I’m overwhelmed by it and I don’t know how to organize this. I’m glad we are doing peer reviews, its always helpful to get someone who hasn’t seen the work before to comment and give their input.

Final Paper:
WebMD: The Free Doctor
Works Cited

Capstone Essay:
I really enjoyed the semester of English 201. It was not what I expected at all. I signed up for the class because I needed a writing emphasis course and this fit into my schedule, so honestly, I hardly read the course description before I registered. I was really excited when the class started and I realized that it wasn't just another English class where I have to read crappy poetry and analyze it, but it was still a challenge.
It was really hard for me to get used to writing for a class and not have to censor everything I wrote. When I wrote my blog I could just write what and how I wanted to write, and I really enjoyed that for a change. I liked the kind of writing I got to do and I liked being able to choose my topics. I've definitely realized how great of an impact the Internet and technology have had on society and I owe that to this class. Prior to discussing, reading and writing about it I really took all of the opportunities that are available and advancements for granted. Writing my research paper especially helped me realize how much of an impact the web has on nearly every aspect of our lives.
I enjoyed the central projects of this course and I think they really helped me gain a better understanding of communication and technological impact. For instance, I was not even familiar with the term "blog" prior to this class. I can now understand and utilize the idea of a blog for my own benefit and achievement. I hope to continue writing in my blog after this class has ended; I feel like it's a good way for me to journal my concerns about life.
The project that I feel influenced me the most was the open media project. I was able to understand the techniques the media can use to sway our opinions. I really enjoyed making my advertisement because I don't get to do many projects that require simple creativity and fun programs like photo shop. I hope to use photo shop again in the near future, even if it's just for fun.
I'm planning on using my knowledge about wikis to make one for my family. I got the idea from class and I think it's an excellent way share information and collaborate with my family. I'll probably use wetpaint, just because I've used it before and I know how it works. I think it will be a challenge to explain the concept of a wiki to my parents and older relatives and I expect to encounter some blank stares and questions. I'm okay with that because the wiki concept is pretty far-fetched for generations who didn't grow up with the Internet and constantly changing means of collective intelligence and collaboration.

Steve's Portfolio

smartstudent — Fri, 09 May 2008 04:31:11 CDT

Blog Posts:
Collaborative View of Rap Music
Ted Turner is Protecting Your Family
Superbowl Sunday

Process Log:
February 1st- Blogs usually have personal posts which serves as a diary of sorts, or commentary posts which critique whatever is on the bloggers mind. I would feel silly if I were to write a personal blog, and I don't have feel involved enough in any field or activity to make any strong opinions that I think are worthwhile for others to read. Therefore, I need a subject that I can discuss where I don't need to be an expert. The first thing that came to mind was celebrities. Everyone has their favorite celebrity that they either love or hate, and everyone can contribute on their take on wild human behavior. I hope that the whole class will be interested in my blog because the topic has mass appeal and is entertaining. Hopefully, input from classmates will guide me in writing this blog. This is my first blogging experience.

February 15th- Even though this blog is one of the most informal forms of writing I have done, it has been harder than anticipated. Even though it is easy for me to talk about celebrities, this doesn't translate to an easy writing process. Talking about celebrities is usually spontaneous while blogging usually isn't. Also, blogging lacks a dialogue. My blog posts on Ted Turner ended up being more of a report than funny commentary. This is not exactly what I wanted to do for my blog, but I can't think of anything else to write about. Maybe I need to watch more television.

May 5th- I think my blog's life has come to an end. There were fun moments, but I prefer face to face interaction. I don't even talk on the telephone much. Part of the problem is that I still can't think of any topic I feel passionate enough about to blog about. I didn't enjoy reading other people's blogs either. I read enough stuff on the internet as it is. I know I'm sounding grumpy, but I feel there is so much information out there already that it's kind of a distraction from important news sources. I think people's opinions are important, however most blogs including mine are far too casual. I enjoyed people's comments and am pleased that I think almost everyone commented on my blog. This was my initial goal. One positive of blogging that can't really be done in other settings is that you can throw out a topic and let anyone respond. It's not like I could walk outside my room and yell, "Hey does anyone want to talk about Mariah Carey?" As a whole, I know everyone better in this class than any of my other classes.

Open Media:
King of the Web

Process Log:
April 24th- I am doing a song for my open media project because I have a friend that produces songs. An audio project is best in my mind because it is digital, has lyrics which is a form of writing, and it is entertaining.

April 29th- Recording music is somewhat difficult. It requires a lot of trial and error. I anticipated making more than one song, but I don't want to take up all of my friend's weekend.

May 2nd- My song is up on the internet, and I am a little bit excited. The song is called "King of the Web," and the story is that I'm a guy who can't use technology yet conquers the internet by making superior music. Obviously this is a joke and I am mediocre with computers.

Wikipedia Article:
Jolly Time

Process Log:
February 18th- I plan on writing a wikipedia article on Jolly Time Pop Corn because it is a business that has been in our family since it was started in 1914. It is a big enough company that I feel it deserves a page. A difficulty I anticipate is that wikipedia discourages primary sources, and much of the information that I know comes directly from my family which I could not site.

April 6th- Writing the wikipedia page has been technically difficult. I have had trouble forming a info box. I wrote my article on the edit page, and I accidently navigated away from the page losing all my work because it does not autosave. I have abandoned my quest to put up a photo of Jolly Time because there are too many hoops to jump through in making sure it is fair use. I am unsure what I need to do to form a talk page (if I need one in the first place). I have tried to find the answers through wikipedia's various help pages, but they are very confusing. My hope is that someone will fix things for me.

Research Paper:
Final Draft

Process Log: February 18th- Deciding on a research topic was pretty easy because I really enjoy video games; I enjoy reading and talking about them. Therefore, doing research will not be difficult for me. The hardest part is coming up with a question to answer. Obviously, it can't just be a review or history of a game. There needs to be some investigation of human interaction with the game. Writing about America's Army is the first thing that came to mind. One problem I might have is that I already have a strong opinion about the game prior to doing research. April 7th- Research has been somewhat problematic for this paper. Most sources are short online news stories that only state the issues rather than analyze them. I am reading a book about video games and learning, but that is problematic too because I can't invest enough time to read the entire book though I find it interesting. I can pick and choose sections in the book to read, but I am afraid that I wont fully understand it unless it has been read in a front to back manner. April 10th- I have tried to contact a friend in the Army to interview him. Without the internet I would not have been able to contact him. However, the internet has also made it easy for him to ignore me. Somehow "sure let me know what I can do" doesn't carry as much weight when it has come over a facebook message. I have sent out a mass questionnaire via facebook to random guys in the army. This has worked pretty well for me, though most of the responses I have a gotten are from guys who say they have not played the game. Trails: Proposal Draft 1 Draft 2
Capstone Essay:
For the first time in my life I felt as though my writing had a greater purpose beyond demonstrating my abilities for a teacher. Prior to this class, I had written on the internet, of course, with emails or forum posts, but this was simply talk with a friend or acquaintance. I had produced analytical writing before, but none it was put on the internet. This class combined these two experiences. The existence of a large audience that could give me feedback was an element that I had to focus on in my writing.

The project I am thinking most about is the wikipedia article. Though my blog was on the internet, it lacked a large audience, and I did not see myself adding unique content to the internet. When writing the article it was important to use clear language and assume readers would have no familiarity with Jolly Time. Language was important, but content was crucial. It is unclear how many people will read my article by accident. Since the article was did not have many tags, I concluded that most of the readers would be active seekers. Therefore, I tried to focus on content that could not be found on Jolly Time's website since most readers would come to my article in search of supplementary material. I also kept in mind the fact that others could add and edit my page. For this reason, I decided to leave material out if I thought others might be better suited. I expected someone from the company to add sales figures for example.
I am certain that I will have to write for a public audience again. Though I mentioned questions that must be addressed while writing, the hardest part is choosing what to write. In most classes you are told what to write because teachers place value on how closely you can align your thinking with a famous author, for instance. This is fine, but the most powerful writing on the internet is that which is most original. I should not write about what I think about Hilary Clinton because anything I would have to say about her has already been written . I could analyze her policies, but I'm sure many more people know her policies better than I. Therefore, the most useful writing has a unique topic, argument, or perspective. The reward for fulfilling this is often a strong response back from the community with praise and feedback. Interactions with the community has the potential to create new insights that will strengthen future writing.

Colby's Portfolio

Cheese88 — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:57:02 CDT

Open Media Project

3/17/08:

I was brainstorming last night over possible ideas for my open media project. When looking through possible ideas that the project could be, I really wanted to do some kind of photo narrative. I have never done anything like that before, and don’t really know where to start but plan to do some major googling soon. In terms of topics for the narrative, I am a really big fan of history and sports so maybe combining those two would work out well. I will need to consider how to get audio to go along with the photos and what sports would have that audio available for me to use.

4/1/08

The proposal for the open media project is completely done up. I got the idea to do Roberto Clemente simply because he was such a great man and baseball player. I think his message needs restoring to the world of sports in today’s society. I began my search for photos of Clemente and find that to be the most difficult part so far. I thought there would be a lot more, but I guess 40 years ago, there weren’t too many photographs that have now been put up online. Hopefully I can find enough to run a few minute slideshow.

4/25/08

I never thought I would say this but I am pleased with the way my slideshow turned out. I attempted to work with flash to create my slideshow but really could not figure out the timeline with incorporating audio. I searched endlessly for a guide online for that process and could not find the right answers. I decided to look into a program made by Windows called Photo Story 3. This program is designed to do exactly what I needed to do: make a slideshow and have the option of incorporating audio. What I really liked in this program is the ability to let me decide how I want the “camera” to zoom in on different photos. I could effectively choose how long I wanted it to take to zoom to a certain location of the image. This enabled me to take a more artistic approach and create a more dramatic effect than the average slideshow. I also finally got my audacity file to go together pretty well. The four different audio clips that I was picking and choosing from finally all go together well because of a lot of trimming and it is hard to tell it is not one audio file anymore. As a last touch, I figured out how to download youtube videos. I then took my created story board and imported it into Windows Movie Maker, and then I added the youtube clips of Clemente and added my audacity audio file through there. I am happy this project didn’t turn into a flop!

Wikipedia Article

Mike Leckrone Wiki Article

Wikipedia Proposal- Handed to Rik
Process Log Excerpts

2/13/08

I Thought I would never find an article on Wikipedia. I had no clue how many articles were actually online and all of the different topics covered. I was literally sitting in my room and typing random thoughts that popped in my head that pertained to my life, and every subject had a good article on it. It wasn't until I looked up at my UW Band poster that I got the idea to search for the band. Sure enough, there was an extensive article on the marching band. One of the sentences in that article directly linked to our director's article. I was surprised to find that there was about two sentences about Mike Leckrone on there. I know there isn't a ton of information to put on there about a band

director, but I am sure I could find more than a mere two sentences to honor Mike.

4/3/08

After reading everything I could about Mike Lecrone, I had a couple questions to ask him about what certain sentences meant. For example, a bio on him said he taught at his alma mater. This could have meant Butler or Indiana. When I first told this 71 year old man that I was writing a wikipedia article on him his response was "wiki what?". I tried to explain it the best way I could, and he ended up thinking it was a cool idea. He doesn't really even use email, so I am sure thinking it terms of a collaborative online community wasn't too easy. I plan to take the time to put up t the information on wikipedia pretty soon seing as the due date is approaching.

4/19/08

I was having some major difficulties with photos. I tried contacting the UW photo people but did not get an answer. I was planning on usingtheir photos for my wiki article but had to look elsewhere. I did a search for Mike on flickr and it came up with a bit of photos of him. I found a few good ones and went onto wikipedia to upload them. Turns out only certain flickr photos can be used, and you have to look at the rights reserved in tiny print near the photo. There was atleast one decent photo of Mike on gameday that I put as his main picture. I plan to use a picture from my camera at the latest Varsity Concert as an easier way to route copyright laws to include in another section of the article.

Blog Posts

Cheesehead's Perspective

Packer Game

Process Log Excerpts

1/29/08

I plan to write a sports blog for the semester in English 201. It is a theme that I believe I can write about each week and be able to put some thought into it. If all goes well, I can react with other people’s sports blogs to hopefully get a following on mine aswell. I plan to use blogspot because it seems like the easiest one to get started on. I already have a gmail account so it ought to be easy to get an account set up. In terms of the template, I would like the colors to be green and yellow to go along with the Green bay packers/cheese head idea because I plan to have the title of the blog be “A Cheesehead’s Perspective”. My goal for the project is to be able to use my sports knowledge, and even learn more about sports, to interact with an audience that is also knowledgeable in that category. One of my favorite things to talk about with friends is sports. Not just the “what was the score last night” but depth analysis of our favorite teams.

2/20/08
After a few more blog posts, I thought I ought to share my thoughts on the experience. It seems that the way to get the most interaction on my blog is posts that people can directly relate to. Such as the weather and spring break. They may not be the most enjoyable posts to make but at least it gets people to my blog. Hopefully those that posted will make it a habit to check back each week to see what else I have written or shared with them. I have been reading my classmate’s blogs, and other blogs I found on the internet. The most difficult thing I have found is trying to put my foot in the door on someone’s blog. Many good blogs already have a set of interactive people and it seems very difficult to make yourself known. On the flip side, my sister has started a blogspot and she frequents my blog often. It is really great to be able to share stories with her as I am a college student and she is a new mother. With such an age gap between us, 9 years, and major commitments, it is really difficult to stay in close contact. With her blog, I am able to watch videos of my niece and see pictures. Since she is not working at the time, she posts about everyday and it has been really enjoyable. It seems the most fun I have with my blog is interacting with friends, classmates and family. At the same time, I play many online video games and I find making friends online, and interacting with strangers can be fun too. It just seems to be a much more complex situation when working with blogs.

4/6/08
I finally got sick of my blog template. I thought about it last night, and I want to do something unique, or at least use a picture in my header that is unique for me. I decided to do the band cow that can be found here in Wisconsin. It connects to me and the band, and to my title of cheese head because where does cheese come from? I wanted to do something different with the text as well so I searched for a website that has fonts to download. I spent a chunk of time just testing different texts out on the picture I got. The most difficult part was getting the dimensions right so that it looked neat as a header. Overall, I am much happier with a different look to my blog.

Research Paper

Virtual Economy Blog
"Paper Trail"

Process Log Excerpts

3/23/08

To be honest, I was rather dreading having this project looming over my head. Rather than wait until the end of break to research and write the entire paper, I decided to start out right away by finding some articles, preferably by Castranova and getting a head start on the knowledge department. There seems to be a wide range of topics I can address in my paper, and with my first draft, I am afraid I may have bit off more than I can chew so to speak. I am a little stuck on whether I should focus more on the video game aspect, or the economic aspect, or both. Both topics interest me so I guess I will have to await feedback from class.

3/31/08
This week, I got feedback from a group of people in my class that are doing similar topics for their research paper. Overall, the comments were positive, but some important issues were brought up in discussion. I could tell my readers were really interested in what I was saying, but couldn't quite understand my points in how I was saying it. Once I explained to them in words what I was trying to say, they seemed to understand the direction of my paper better. The most important part of the talks was the idea that I use a blog for my research paper. Rik gave me that advice as a way to sort of show these virtual worlds and how they are functioning. I hope that this way, I will have to focus less on how to show my readers, because I will have videos/photos to show them exactly what I am talking about. The problem will be finding the videos...

5/5/08
I am very pleased with the way my blog turned out. It looks well done, and I have had many people tell me that too! I finally figured out the dreadful formatting problems I was having. I had to retype a bunch of words because they were showing up in an incorrect font color, even though it clearly was not selected. I also had a lot of indentation problems. I found a couple more videos too, the more the merrier! I think each video does a certain task in my paper, and should help the readers truly understand the concepts I am talking about. With all the time and effort I put into this project, and the interest I have in it, I hope to continue posting as I learn more from my ventures in virtual economies and from the ventures of others.

Capstone Essay
As a semester comes to an end, I often ask myself if what I learned has any value to my life. While I am sure much of the business knowledge I am learning will pay off in the end, it is not information that I use on a day to day basis. Yet, this class directly connected with a big interest of mine: the internet. Every day, I am surrounded by technology and the collaboration that takes place online, as it has become the backbone of our advanced society. Whether I am playing online video games, our browsing wikipedia, writing in an online sense has been a big part of my life. When I first heard about the topics to be covered in English 201, I was a little hesitant to want to start my own blog, and to be sharing my writing in online spaces. While it was already a big part of my life, it never really entered into my school work.

Initially, I thought of a blog as an online diary. In some cases, that can be true, but I learned about the extreme potential blogs have in communicating ideas and sharing knowledge. I had practiced much informal online writing before, on forums and other online spaces, but I never had kept a personal blog. I thought I would struggle each week to find something to write about, and to even write about something that my classmates would respond to. Each week seemed to prove me wrong as I never seemed to have trouble finding something to post on. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing my thoughts, you tube videos, and personal stories and hearing other people's reactions. As I have introduced my sister and other family members to blogging, I hope that it can act as a way for my family to keep in touch with what is going on in everyone's lives. I feel that as long as I have something to post about, why should I not go to my blog and post it. In time, I think I will look back on my blogging experience and be glad that I got started and decided to keep on going.

For years, I have watched others use technology to produce certain projects, and really enjoyed viewing them. It never occurred to me that I could produce anything worth watching. By allowing us to choose our open media project, this class really opened the doors to the wider use of technology and innovation. Once I got started with the project, it really became enjoyable as each hour of time spent could be attributed to the development of the project. One of the most interesting parts of the project wasn't even the project itself. Watching the different videos in class, and seeing what others have done, and the different messages they all convey really defines what this class is all about. People were using technology in innovating ways and sharing it in this vast public space. Ever since then, I have made it a habit to look around for those kinds of projects on youtube and other websites.

Similar to the open media project, the wiki article allowed me to take the driver's seat rather than be the one watching. I have used wikipedia for a long time for school purposes and out of school. Yet again, I never really saw myself adding content, but I found a way to use my knowledge to fill a gap. In the future, I probably won't write another article for wikipedia, seeing as it is becoming so difficult to find an article in need of anymore information. Yet, wikis in general hold a powerful component of collaboration in writing where people can share ideas for the common good. If I ever am in need of a collaborative space with others, I will surely turn to the use of a wiki like many of my classmates have.

The most enjoyable part of the class for me was the combining of my research paper with a blog. I was essentially blending two of the projects this semester into one. While I was using an informal style of writing in my blogs, my research paper called for a more formal style. This allowed me to see the potential blogs have, not of just being personal diaries, but for spreading knowledge. I hope to continue my blogging on virtual economies, in hope that others will find it useful and react to my writing.

Looking back, I did not change the way I wrote, I only created more ways to use my writing. Previously, I did not acknowledge the writing that took place online as real writing. With the help of this class, I can now say that I am more open minded about the potential of writing and collaboration online. I believe that many people are interacting with these forms of writing, but never stop and think about what is taking place. It is really important to not get lost in the advancement of technology, and to stop and think about the potential that it has for the sharing of knowledge and learning in the world. As technology continues to advance our society, it makes sense that it also advances our writing.

Adam's Portfolio

kowsy — Thu, 08 May 2008 21:41:51 CDT

Open Media Project: Mortgage Crisis Video

March 29 Process Log

Took a look at my open media project today and wrote a proposal. I've decided to look at the credit crisis and make a video or a flash presentation related to it. After doing some initial research, I found very little in the realm of simplified explanations. Writing my proposal, I've found that it may be difficult to find an audience - or at least get the information out to them. Much of it is contextual and getting the information in the right form is probably the biggest challenge I face.

Project Proposal
What?:   I plan on making a video outlining the current “Credit Crunch” crisis on Wall Street. My video will be in the vein of the “Common Craft” videos. My audience will be anyone with no experience in business or economics – i.e., the general public – who is confused by the crisis.
  Why?:
Because Youtube is an easy way to distribute information. A video is much more approachable than text, and can visually explain complex concepts without relying too heavily on unfamiliar vocabulary. Because the credit crisis is a ‘big deal’ right now.
How?:
I will have no ‘actors’. I will create props using Microsoft Visio, my printer, and pen and paper. I will then record it using a digital camera from the library. I will then edit it together and add a voice-over. Upon completion, I will upload it to YouTube.
I will need approximately a week to create an outline, script, and props. I will then need a few hours to shoot the ‘scenes’. I will then need about another week of work to edit the video together and fix any errors.
Where?:
How are you planning to circulate your writing? Where are you thinking of sharing or publishing it?
I plan on circulating it on YouTube. I will post it in my blog and on Facebook. I also plan on submitting it to Fark Video and posting comments containing my video on prominent economist’ blogs.

April 24 Process Log

I've written part of a script, but it's been a process that hasn't left me with much confidence in my ability to explain this simply. There are too many concepts that are difficult to grasp. Each word has too much behind it. Do I focus on specific cases? Or just on general information? Clearly, the entire system is too complicated, the causes broad. But I can look at what is actually happening - at least a model of what is actually happening. It's too much to say why it's happening.
Rik suggested that I do a storyboard instead of a script, which makes much more sense. I've written most of it out on notecards. It's actually made the entire process much simpler. I think I answered most of the questions I had about the choices I needed to make. I decided to focus on just building a model. This has also made it clear what tools i'll need and how I'll finish the project.

Project Script
Storyboards given to Rik

May 2 Process Log
My project has nearly ground to a halt. I've become incredibly frustrated using Adobe Flash. I have already made my icons in Photoshop, but now it's a pain in the butt to put them into Flash. Everything is being incredibly finicky. The tweening effect seems to change or reset itself every time I click somewhere else on the screen. It took me around three hours just to make the first frame. Although I feel I'm getting the hang of it, I've not mastered it. It's still very slow going and very frustrating. I feel like I put a lot of work in and I'm being stymied by something that should be my strong suit - technology.

Research Paper

March 3 Process Log
I started research for my project on Conservapedia after talking to Rik. I looked on Conservapedia through a number of articles. A lot of the articles are quite ridiculous. I'm not quite sure where to go, although I think I want to look at how the community responds to people who aren't quite 'conservative' enough. I also don't know where to get some scholarly research - or if what I'm doing isn't necessarily 'scholarly', if it's more just analysis of what is actually there.

March 9
I started my project proposal and my project today. I found a lot of stuff to tie in with what I want to do and I'm ready to go. I also think I could talk about Plato's Republic - and the idea that the formation of a closed community isn't so new. The tools have changed, but now these closed communities are open to the public.

Project Proposal
Title: Ideology, Rhetoric, and Conflict: The challenge of cooperation in an ideological online community
Abstract: Conservapedia, the conservative Wiki encyclopedia, presents a number of interesting questions. How do broad-based ideological communities react to conflict? Who is involved in conflict resolution? Does style and format matter when moderating ideological disputes in a completely editable open forum? This research will focus on the interactions in a specific Conservapedia article, the changes made, and the dialogue between users. Wikipedia, the original online encyclopedia, came under fire for its perceived liberal bias. Conservapedia was created in response to this perception using the same open source tools used to create Wikipedia. The user base is composed mainly of American conservatives. Like many big-tent political groups, conservatives are a coalition of groups, from fiscal conservatives, to religious conservatives, to libertarians - aligned because of recent political necessity. The moderators attempt to keep non-conservatives, or those who do not follow the Conservapedia "Ten Commandments", from participating, The moderators achieve this by banning accounts and controlling the speech on the page using ideological framework rather than style. In my paper, I will look at three different Conservapedia articles and their talk pages. I will trace the path an argument takes and document the rhetoric and tactics used by the moderators to control speech and encourage (or discourage) cooperation from different sectors of the conservative base. The analysis of Conservapedia as a source of 'truth' has been pored over; the analysis of the interaction of users of the site has not. Luckily, this interaction can be seen on the discussion pages.

Introduction: As American society becomes more and more polarized, individuals and collectives form around ideological segments. When new media came on the scene, conflicts between traditionally separate segments came to the forefront as communication began to span to the globe. The forms of interactive media which allow the most power to the users, such as Wikis, bred new conflicts. Which forms of media caused the most conflict? People converge their attention upon public sources. With the advent of editable content, conflicts in the public sphere became more prevalent. On many articles in the wiki space, ideological conflicts came to the fore. How, then, are conflicts moderated in ideologically motivated spaces? Is dissent allowed, or are conflicts solved with a heavy hand? Finally, is the corralling of opinion into so-called “debate topics” an effective control strategy?

Literature Review: Most of my research will be done in the public sphere of Conservapedia.
My main inquiry will be on four main pages (found by visiting http://www.conservapedia.org/ and adding the page name) and their discussion page (found by adding “talk:” before the page name and after the URL). First, “Debate_topics” will be analyzed to look at how topics in a “pressure-free” context are discussed. Second, the perception of bias in Wikipedia will be analyzed through the page “Wikipedia_Bias”. Finally, I will analyze two articles: “Abortion” and “Homosexuality”.
I will also use a few pages as supporting evidence. The page “Special:Ipblocklist” will provide supplementary evidence. The pages “Special:Wantedpages”, “Special:Popularpages” will be used to display the nature of Conservapedia. “Help:Editing_etiquette” and “Conservapedia:Desk” will be used to analyze style and the complaints of users.
Methods: My paper will follow the framework of an ethnography. First, I will look at the origins of Wikipedia and Conservapedia. Then, I will look at controversial parts of Conservapedia and the definition of a convservative. I will then look at how rhetoric and style impact ideology on Conservapedia pages. Finally, I will analyze the debates taking place in conservapedia talk pages.
Works Cited Conservapedia. (2008, March 23). Retrieved March 23, 2008, from Wikipedia: http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservapedia
Gee, J. P. (2005). An Introduction to Discourse Analysis: Theory and Method. New York: Routledge.
LeFevre, K. B. (1987). Invention as a Social Act. Studies in Writing & Rhetoric. 186.
Luttbeg, N., & Gant, M. (1985). The Failure of Liberal/Conservative Ideology as a Cognitive Structure. The Public Opinion Quarterly , 49 (1), 80-93.
McGee, M. C. (1980). The "Ideograph": A Link between Rhetoric and Ideology. Quarterly Journal of Speech , 66 (1), 1-16.
Souzis, A. (2005). Building a semantic wiki. Intelligent Systems, IEEE , 20 (5), 87- 91.

Project Draft

April 8 Process Log
I completed my first draft. I'm pretty happy with it but I have a lot of work left to do. I was able to tie everything together, but I think I may have been too ambitious. I want to scale back my idea without losing the entire vision I've set up but I'm not sure how to do it. I just need to close the paper!! :)

Blog

January 23 Process Log
I made my first blog post today, about a lecture I went to recently. I'm not quite sure what the theme of my blog will be - yet - or if I will even have one. I've had blogs in the past, and they were mostly personal and the posts vacillated with my interests. Most likely, this will be about politics and the primaries, but I'll probably include a number of other topics - from what I find interesting to what is in the news. I don't really want to make a choice as to what I include and what I don't include. I've decided to make this a joint blog - not strictly collaborative. Since it's a personal blog, my girlfriend and I will both add to it. I may make two blogs - one for professional things and one for personal postings, but as of right now, I'll just have one.

January 28 Post

February 17 Blog Post

March 11 Process Log
I have decided to review what I'm writing on my blog. So far, I'm happy with it; but it could use some improvement. I find that simply posting things on Facebook or on del.icio.us doesn't generate comment - but it doesn't generate comment on the blog, either. At the very least I can comment on it much easier than through the other sites. However, it waters down the content I do post. I also intermix professional or semi professional (at the very least, scholastic) posts with personal ones. The audiences probably don't mix very well. And just posting youtube videos is a cheap way to knock out posts and get hits.
I guess - either way - it's a moot point. Most of the people who read are friends or classmates. If there was an outside audience, or an audience looking for specific content, then I would have to make a change. For now, I'll let it be.

March 23 Blog Post

April 17 Process Log
It's business-as-usual in my blog. I've decided to respond to a Wall Street Journal editorial about taxation and Obama. It's blatantly wrong - but I want to editorialize against it and perhaps provide some evidence.
April 18 Post

April 18 Process Log
-- Providing evidence was more difficult than I thought. The blog format makes it difficult to actually write in sequence and in a coherent manner. Maybe it's the formatting, or the time I put in, or writing it in the tiny window, but I just couldn't pull this one together like I wanted to.
I was going to advertise this by posting it as a comment but I don't feel it is of very high quality.

Capstone Essay

As a writer, the majority of my experience has been in two camps: either purely academic, or purely online. I came from a generation, which espoused the always on, web 2.0 ethos. I think we knew about Web 2.0 before it existed – it was just the natural moving point for all technologies and social phenomenon on the Internet. Perhaps that is just hindsight, but I digress: we were there before and we are there now. This is the kind of writing that we value. I’ve read from internet sources for as long as I can remember, but I could never master what I felt was the informal-yet-intelligent style of writing. The one thing I think this course was able to give to my style is a critical eye. I’ve been able to look at the decisions I have made in my rhetoric and recognize that they are decisions – and in the future, analyze the decisions as they are made. My format and writing has thus become much more fluid. I’m no longer trying to fit some format or theme or style that I think ‘good’ writing looks like. Whether this has made my writing better or not, I’m not quite sure – but I think it opens the door for more improvement.
This semester I’ve worked on a number of projects. First, I worked on my blog. I was able to update more than once a week. I created quite a bit of content that I am very proud of. I was also able to create some interest among others and get some crosstalk going on a number of posts. My blog, probably the most interactive piece, developed a lot of feedback from other students and from other readers. With my blog, I frequently commented on other’s posts and generated cross-talk that way. For instance, I was able to generate discussion on a post about cults and religion. I found that crosstalk was limited, however. I spent much more time providing content than others did reading and consuming it. I do think that I could make changes that could make my blog writing better, and more fulfilling from a user standpoint, but perhaps not for me as a writer.
My open media project allowed for some communication, although most of it was between others who have written on this topic and myself. I posted on a number of blogs about the topic and read quite a bit of internet generated content on the subject. Most of the material I took in was created by others in similar formats. However, I did not get to a point where I could communicated downwards – to those who could receive my message.
This semester, I also worked on a research paper. We used Google Docs to trade comments back and forth. Unfortunately, we didn’t quite meet up; I got comments from some, but not from all. I feel like the technology could have been augmented with more traditional means. Perhaps a timed event – meeting online at a certain time and using chat – would’ve been more effective. I did receive some criticism which I greatly valued – and it went to good effect in my paper.
I think the spaces we were involved in have great potential now and in the future. The ability to receive instant criticism was great. However, the increased speed meant that quality declined. I felt like I spent more time posting things on a one-shot basis with little revision. It’s a quantity vs. quality issue.
I plan to, at the very least, continue my blog. I’ll probably contribute to other Web 2.0 spaces in the future as well. I may publish in other online spaces we have yet to see. I think my writing is especially oriented to these environments. I think this course taught me to be critical of the choices I make in writing – from planning, to outlining and diagramming, to writing and speaking. I hope that this critical perspective will serve me well when I approach projects of all sorts in the future.

Nicole's Portfolio

NicoleMarie — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:50:48 CDT

Research Paper (Including Paper Trail)
Proposal
1st Draft
2nd Draft
Final Draft
Sources (in del.icio.us)

Wikipedia Article

Blog Posts
My Second Post
First post with and embedded video
Post with the most comments

Open Media Project

Process Log
Feb. 6, 2008
When writing my first blog post I thought too much about how it would be perceived by my classmates. This made it difficult for my personality and writing style to show through. I also tried to write about something that I didn’t really know that much about because I thought it would look more intelligent. I now realize that I need to write about whatever I’m thinking because it will probably sound much more natural and interesting. I also need to worry less about whether or not anyone will comment. I thought I needed comments to validate my blog as interesting, but I don’t think I’m really writing for anybody else. While I do wish to continually improve it, my blog is more of a place for me to get my random thoughts out.

March 25, 2008
I have now written the first draft of my research paper. What I was really trying to do with this first half of my paper was give some background information on Facebook and describe the ways I use it in my daily life. I really think that it has an overall positive value for me, and I wanted to examine and describe what I gain from using it. I used first person when talking about Facebook in everyday because I want the paper to be a mix of personal reflection and other people’s research or information. I’m trying to make it an autoethnography, but I’m not completely sure I understand what that entails. For the other half of my paper I plan to include information on Facebook’s privacy settings, what I have done to make myself safer and more cautious on Facebook, and why I have done it. I would also like to include research on what others have identified as the problems with Facebook.

fMarch 30, 2008
For my open media project I am planning on creating a wiki. The basic idea is to create a space dedicated to apartment hunting where my friends and I could have access to the same information. Any of us would be able to update or edit information, and, since it would all be in one spot, it would be easy to get new information to everyone and make sure everyone is on the same page. What inspired this idea was the video we watched about “Wikis in Plain English”. He showed how a wiki could be used to organize a camping trip, and I thought it could be used to organized living arrangements as well. Trying to figure out who was living with who, what everyone wanted, and then sending apartment options to people turned out to be really disorganized and frustrating this year. I’m hoping that creating this wiki will make the process a little bit more efficient next year. I anticipate on of the main problems will be figuring out how to create a wiki. I’m not that skilled with computers, so it could be challenging to put the project together.

April 8, 2008
Using wikipedia wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, but it was definitely different from writing a normal report. I had to try to use short, declarative sentences instead of more expansive, flowery writing. The most difficult part was trying to follow the style guide. I also had a bit of a problem with another wikipedia user. He changed the title and redirected my article because he thought the proper name was “University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business”. I was confident that my original title, “Wisconsin School of Business”, was the correct name. Because I wasn’t familiar with the technical aspects of working with wikipedia, I didn’t know how to fix his changes.

Capsone Essay

For me, this class has been completely different from anything I've done in the past. I had no clue that there were so many different tools available to me through new media or that the word "writing" could encapsulate so many different forms and genres. I'll admit that when I read the first e-mail and the syllabus with the course description, I was absolutely terrified. I didn't know what a wiki was, had never read a blog, and had never used the term participitory culture. The types of writing that I was used to in the academic world were analytical essays or research papers, and I never considered the concept that all writing involves some level of collaboration.

After taking this class, I think that my eyes have really been opened to the different forms of new media that are out there. If someone would have told me at the beginning of the semester that I would create a wiki and a blog, I would have told them they were crazy. Now, after doing both, I've realized that just because I'm not the most technologically savy person, that doesn't mean that I can't learn new ways to use technology and benefit from it. I've also learned that writing outside the classically academic format can be just as significant and educational as writing within it.

Each project has taught me something new. Trying to keep a blog every week and reading and posting on other peoples' blogs introduced me to another way to get ideas to an audience and showed that, even in such an informal medium, there are still important guidelines to pay attention too. I had to be more conscious of who my intended audience was and if my posts would be something people would want to read. Blogging was very different from what I'm used to because I could write about anything I wanted in any style I wanted. My research paper was also a new experience for me. I've done research papers in the past, but I've never had as much freedom on the topic. It was also unique because I wrote my paper as an autoethnography. This style forced me to reflect on how my topic, Facebook, was relevant to my own life and analyse how and why I use it. Writing the wikipedia article forced me to follow a very specific style and format that I was unfamiliar with. This taught me to be able to adapt to different forms of writing and adjust accordingly. The open media project allowed me to explore a form of new media, the wiki, in a way that is relevent and useful to me.

The application that we used in class that I think will be the most useful in the future and that is most ilustrative of one of the potential uses of new media is google docs. One of the ways that new media can be used is to allow people to collaborate on projects and share their work. Google docs gives its users the capability to share a project or contribute to group writing. In the future I could see myself using this to help organize group projects. Since each member could have access to the document, it would be very easy to create a unified product and give everyone access to the most current information and drafts. Aside from google docs, I think I will also use my del.icio.us account and my open media project in the future. Both of these have practical uses and personal relevance. I don't forsee myself continuing to keep a blog or contribute to wikipedia. These two forms of writing were valuable experiences, but they aren't as relevant to me. I don't have a particular topic to my blog that I would be able to sustain in the future, and, although I like using it, I probably won't have the time or the inclination to add more to wikipedia.

Overall, learning about different forms of writing was beneficial for me. It forced me to broaden my horizons and experiment with styles and mediums that I hadn't used before. Having some understanding that writing can't be defined in narrow terms and that it can be used in a myriad of different ways makes me appreciate different forms of writing more. It also makes me more conscious of everything that goes into writing, like style, audience, or purpose, and allows me to use my writing more effectively.

Chris's Portfolio

Chrispy1387 — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:39:01 CDT

*Note: All of my documents (that aren't hyperlinked) are attached at the bottom of this page.

Open Media Project

SPICE - Students Participating in Chemical Education
Project Proposal
Process Log Excerpts:
- 3/14/08
  After discussing it with people in my group, I confirmed that I would be making the website for SPICE. Since I won’t have internet over break, I figured it would be a good idea to at least get the website set up before I go, and maybe it will encourage me to get it done early. It was pretty easy to do; I set it up so that only members I invite can edit, and it’s under the category of “education”. The only problem I had was with the banner – it was hard to make it just the right size, and for some reason, I had to try a couple times because the picture wouldn’t even upload.
- 3/30/08
  The proposal was pretty easy to do. I was able to write up everything I needed off of the top of my head, and all at once, so it wasn’t a big deal. I think I have everything pretty well thought out, which was probably why the proposal went so smoothly, but it will just be a matter of getting it done that will probably get me. I’m trying to get in contact with the guy in our group who has the videos, but so far, he hasn’t gotten back to me.
- 5/1/08
  My project is finally at a point where I can say it is done. I gave up trying to find any videos for my website; I can’t get in contact with the guy who has the videos, so I had to make-do with the pictures that I found archived in Learn@UW. They’re all kind of old, but it’s all I have, since no one but that one guy has taken any photos from recent events. I had quite a bit of difficulty just adding the pictures to the website. Sometimes they wouldn’t add, and other times it would load the wrong picture even though I was sure that I clicked on the right one. Formatting was sometimes a little difficult too, but overall Wetpaint was much easier to work with than Publisher, which is what I’ve used in the past. I’ve heard from a few people in my group, and they all said that they really liked what I’ve done, but none of them have actually edited the site themselves. I think they assumed I would do everything, which is perfectly fine with me, but I hope we can get people to work on stuff next year.

Wikipedia Article

Growth Cone
Article Proposal
First Draft
Process Log Excerpts:
- 2/8/08
  In class, I figured I would be doing an article in Wikipedia, since I don’t know of any other wikis, and I think it would be hard to find one. I looked up a few science articles related to the work I do in lab, but all of the topics I could think of already exist. I was thinking I could expand one article about growth cones that’s listed as a stub, or expand about the sub-topic of dynamic instability for microtubules. Rik said that he would let me expand the growth cone article, so I think I will do that, since I will know most of the info just from working in lab, and I can even add some of my own pictures.
- 4/2/08
  Since the article is due on Friday, I figured it would be a good idea to get that done right away. I spent a really long time working with a graduate student in my lab, who helped me hammer out everything that I needed to make the article complete. My boss gave me several articles and a textbook which really helped. They helped me organize everything that I already knew, and the previous writers’ outline of information that was already there was also useful in helping me expand the article. I’m just waiting on my boss’s comments, and I will make some figures for the article tomorrow.
- 4/3/08
  I spent a few hours at work trying to make some nice figures for my article. It took me a while to get used to Photoshop, but I got the hang of it after a while, and it really wasn’t that bad. I think I made some pretty good figures that have a striking resemblance to some figures that my boss has in one of his papers. I uploaded the text for my article as well, since my boss got back to me, and really didn’t have a whole lot to change, which made me really happy. It looks like I need to have a 4-day old account before I can put my figures up, so I will just have to do that on Monday or Tuesday. Overall, I think I did really well on this project.

Research Paper

Final Draft
Second Draft (with Comments)
First Draft (with Comments)
Proposal (with Comments)
Student Surveys
Professor Survey
Process Log Excerpts:
- 3/6/08
  I finished my proposal, and I think it is pretty well done. I spent a really long time on it, which is what usually happens when I try to write papers. I tried to be specific with my topic, which I think I accomplished, and I went into a lot of detail with each of the papers that I read, which I’m hoping will be really useful when I have to actually write up a draft for the paper itself. I did have a little trouble differentiating between the introduction and the discussion, but I met with Rik, and he helped me to figure out what ideas should go where. Also, I had a little trouble with the last section, since I really don’t have anything in terms of my surveys done yet, and I don’t even have a survey draft yet, so I just had to summarize what I expect to do in the future. It was easy to upload it to Google Docs and send it out to people.
- 3/24/08
  I got really lucky with my first draft. It turns out that we’re supposed to write our drafts using traditional paper format, not the scientific format that we used in the proposals. Since we didn’t have class today and the due date was moved to Wednesday, I used the extra time to completely re-do my first draft and make it look more cohesive and “paper-like.” Soon I have to really work on getting the survey outlines done.
- 4/5/08
  I sent out my surveys to people only a week ago, and I’m really surprised that I got several responses back already, including a couple responses from professors. I kept having problems with trying to meet one professor, so she was nice enough to just email a survey back to me. For the second draft of my paper, I incorporated all of the comments that I could, and I think it really helped to fill out the empty spots in my paper. With those comments in, I think I made some real improvement in my paper, and it flows pretty well now. My peer group’s comments were surprisingly useful, and also helped me clarify and organize my paper. I shouldn’t have a whole lot to do for the final draft; maybe just put in more comments from other people who finish my survey, and from another professor who I’m going to meet with next week.

Blog Posts

Microwave + Toothpicks = Fun
A Haiku Collection About Neuroscience...
Beautiful Brain Cells
Process Log Excerpts:
- 2/1/08 During class, I decided against the Madison Guide, and I think I’ll just talk about stuff that I do in the lab where I work, or in the chemistry group I’m in, SPICE. They’re both science related, so they go together well. I know them a lot better, so it will be easier for me to write. Jia suggested that I title it “Boltzmann’s Brain” for some article that she read. I’ll have to look it up, but that could probably be my first article.
- 2/10/08 For the next couple of weeks, I can define what I do in SPICE, and I can also define what I do in my lab, but beyond that I don’t know what I’m going to write about. I will probably just “wing it” and write about something moderately interesting that happened the week before that’s related to my lab or to SPICE.
- 4/13/08 Honestly, I’ve pretty much run out of ideas for my blog. There isn’t really much going on in either my lab or my group, so I haven’t had much to write about from there. I’ve kind of started on a streak of just posting funny science-related jokes and videos and things. After the class is over, I’ll probably just delete the blog. I don’t really have any use for it otherwise, since I really don’t care to write about what’s going on in my life, and I just don’t like writing in general if I don’t have to.

Entire Process Log

- Attached

Capstone Essay

This English 201 class has been a relatively new experience for me. I had always considered myself to be fairly proficient with computers and the software related to them, but this class has shown me that I have a great deal to learn. In addition, I will always continue to have a lot to learn, since the technologies are constantly changing, and the ways people use them are constantly changing as well.

I have never used a blog before this class, and I doubt I will continue to use one afterwards either. I do not have much personal use for a blog, and I typically don’t feel that I ever have much to say, and even less that I want millions of people on the Internet to see. By finding other blogs to add to by blogroll, I have gained an appreciation for the blogs that other people have made. They can talk about serious things, and the blog provides a public space where others can discuss those topics. Others have some really interesting and entertaining things to say, which provide a lot of entertainment to people like me.

One thing that I have found extremely useful from this class is the use of wikis. I never really understood what Wikipedia was prior to taking this class. After contributing to the site myself, I now understand the huge amount of effort and collaborative editing that is put into all of the articles that exist there. Before, I was always told that Wikipedia was unreliable, and I blindly believed that since I never really used Wikipedia before. After the class, I think I will use Wikipedia on a much more frequent basis, since I know firsthand how much work people put into the articles, and since there have been studies that show Wikipedia is just as accurate as other so-called “reputable” encyclopedias.

For my open media project, I constructed a wiki page using Wetpaint for an organization that I am in at UW Madison. Of anything we have done in the course, this has been the most relevant to my life. This will probably be the only thing that I will continue to use on a regular basis long after this class is over. Additionally, this project relates greatly to the concepts that we discussed in class. Using a common website, our organization will be able to have a space where we can use collaboration to discuss new ideas for our group as well as divide labor so that different people can work on different projects for the same website. Also, this website will allow our club to “join the 21st Century” and get on the Internet so that we can advertise our group to all the different schools around the state, and also hear about what they would like to see us do as an organization.

As for writing in general, my conception of this topic has not changed greatly. I have seen quite a few new ways that writing is being used and how it is being done (i.e. on a computer rather than on paper), but writing itself is really no different to me. As soon as this class is finished, I will go back to writing traditional papers for other classes just as I have always done. Especially since I am a science major, I will have to write using a very strict scientific format, which I doubt will change much. I haven’t really learned much else about myself as a writer, but I have learned about a myriad of new ways to use and present my writing outside of classroom essays.

Our Links

Jetboot3 — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:49:17 CDT

Adam: Blog - Hunger and Ridicule // Wiki Homepage // Conservapedia Edits // del.icio.us
Bree: Go Figure! //Wiki // Wikipedia // del.icio.us // YouTube
Chris (Chrispy1387): Inside Boltzmann's Brain // del.icio.us // Wikipedia Article: Growth Cone
Colby (Cheese88): Cheese Head Perspective // del.icio.us // Wikipedia Article // Virtual-Economy Blog
Damon (jacksonstack): Frontin' // del.icio.us
Dane (graingerworker): Atheism-discussion // del.icio.us // Wiki assignment
Gina (gina815):blog-- del.icio.us // The Traveler // Wikipedia-Ale Asylum
Jia (jia201): blog - CulinaryAdventures // Wiscipedia :: wiki assignment // del.icio.us
Nicole: Welcome // del.icio.us // wikipedia
Nikki: Mermaid Martini II // del.icio.us // wikipedia
Paige (Paige3): Hey You Guys//del.icio.us//Wikipedia NLCS
Rik: blog - CannedGoods // Rik's del.icio.us ; Wikipedia ;
Robin (robinlady):del.icio.us //se e you robin/; wikipedia
Rodney (Jetboot3): Stand Up for Stand Up Comics and T.V. Nostalgia; del.icio.us; Pre-pharmacy Wiki;Portfolio
Ryan (Ryan747): Presidential Election //del.icio.us //YouTube//Wikipedia Article: Green National Product
Steve (smartstudent): Good Morning! // del.icio.us//Wikipedia Article
Steph (BadgerBuddy): Inspirations // del.icio.us // YouTube // Wikipedia article: UW women's basketball
Tina (Tina524):Interior Insights // del.icio.us // Interior Design Wiki
Yi Han (GothLoli): Hocus Pocus; del.icio.us; YouTube || Wikipedia article: Julius Adler (Biochemist)
Zach (zippo512): // del.icio.us // blogs - Cats Win! // Wiki article - Green Wall

Jia's Portfolio

jia201 — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:16:11 CDT

Open Media Project

Process Log Excerpts
Process Log: 3/11
I am thinking of changing my open media project from putting more content on Wiscipedia to making a video describing how to post on Wiscipedia. The video will be short and like the common craft videos. After watching the common craft video in class and discussing with peers about how comfortable they are with using a wiki, I decided it was necessary to make a video that was 1/2 a promotion for Wiscipedia and 1/2 a guide for using it.
Process Log: 3/30
I have been filming this video this past Saturday and it is taking forever! Who knew pushing pieces of paper around would be such a hassle? Not to mention the camera needs to be adjusted correctly and everything needs to appear centered on the screen. This video is taking much longer than I thought it would originally.
Process Log: 4/24
It was great to have some time to work on the video. I have cropped most of it and will be using Audacity this weekend to record some voices. I am thinking of finding some non-copyrighted music to use since we discussed very messy copyright laws in class. I think I will ask my roommate who has a brother who likes to compose.

"Paper Trail"
Open Media Project Proposal
Character Sketches
Script for Wiscipedia video

Finished Product

Schedule

RikHunter — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:13:03 CDT

*Need to add PDF attachments
Overview:

Part I, Writing on the Web (2.0): Blogs, Wikis, Community, and Collective Intelligence
Part II, Other (New) Forms of Writing: New Media and Participatory Culture
Part III, Grassroots Creativity: Copyright & Building on the Past
Part IV, Democracy and New Media

=================

Part I, Writing on the Web (2.0): Blogs, Wikis, Community, and Collective Intelligence

*Optional Reading: Jenkins, Henry, et al. Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century. MacArthur Foundation white paper. White paper link/PDF here.

Week 1 – Jan 23, 25

Wednesday: Intro to Course (and website) // Introductions

In class, watch first part of Authors@Google: Henry Jenkins

Friday: Convergence Culture

Reading Assignment: Jenkins. Convergence Culture: “Introduction.” (PDF)
In class, watch second part of Authors@Google: Henry Jenkins

Week 2 -- Jan. 28 - Feb 1: Blogs & RSS Feeds

Monday:

In class, watch Blogs in Plain English; TEDTalks: Mena Trott;
Writing Assignment:
Reading Assignment: Carolyn Miller and Dawn Shepard, “Blogging as Social Action” (Into the Blogosphere).

Optional Reading: Blood, Rebecca. Weblogs: A History and Perspective.

Wednesday: MEET IN COMPUTER LAB

Finish Blogs Intro (about & assignment criteria & issues)
Writing Assignment: On the discussion board, write about a paragraph or more about your previous experience blogging (if you have); what you've heard about blogging in the past and how might what you've learned this week differ; what your plans are for you blog (what's your purpose? what kind of blogging community do you think you want to join? who is your target audience?)

Last day to drop without note on transcript!

Friday: MEET IN COMPUTER LAB

Assignment: Even if you choose to start a new blog after today's class, have a blog host, blog name, and template selected so you can follow along.
Discuss the Process Log
RSS in Plain English
Blog Set Up (hosts & Google Reader)

Last day to add without departmental approval!

Week 3 -- Feb. 4 - 8: Wikis & Collective Intelligence // Wikipedia Research Project // Research Paper Project

Monday: Discuss Wikis/Wikipedia & Collective Intelligence

In class, watch Wikis in Plain English & WetPaint wikis in Plain English
Writing Assignment: Your first blog post!!!
Reading Assignment: Collective Intelligence entry @ Wikipedia // "Commons-based peer production" entry @ Wikipedia // Jenkins. “Spoiling Suvivor: The Anatomy of a Knowledge Community,” Convergence Culture. //

Wednesday: Wikipedia Project Intro // Wiki markup language demo // Collaboration on Wikipedia

Reading Asignment: Benkler, Yochai. “Introduction.” The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. New Haven: Yale, 2006. (PDF) (rest of book, if you want to continue reading) // Check out the Wikipedia Help section (great resource)
Writing Assignment: Discussion Forum - wikis, collective intelligence, etc.

Friday: MEET IN COMPUTER LAB

Writing Assignment: Blog Responses & adding new blog to your blogroll and feed reader
Reading Assignment: Blog Responses & adding new blog to your blogroll and feed reader // The Hive: Can thousands of Wikipedians be wrong? How an attempt to build an online encyclopedia touched off history’s biggest experiment in collaborative knowledge. // The Wikipedia FAQK (humor)

Week 4 -- Feb. 11 - 15: Wiki Debates

Monday: Introduce Research paper project

Writing Assignment: (1) Blog Post & (2) Discussion Forum: Decide on a Wiki article topic and write about where it will be; why you've chosen it; how it fulfills a need or gap; what research you expect to do (or resources you expect to need) in the process; (feel free to add links)
Reading Asignment:Wikipedia Faces Growing Pains // Wikipedia Tightens the Reins // Assessing Wikipedia's Accuracy (NPR Audio) // Can Wikipedia Ever Make the Grade?

Wednesday:

Reading Assignment: What Would Jesus Wiki? // Wikipedia founder forks Wikipedia (humor?) // Why Wikipedia Must Jettison Its Anti-Elitism // Intellipedia // Links: Conservapedia &Citizendium & Scholarpedia

Friday: MEET IN COMPUTER LAB

Writing Assignment: Blog Responses & adding new blog to your blogroll and feed reader
Reading Assignment: Blog Responses & adding new blog to your blogroll and feed reader // Wikipedia: Five pillars // Wikipedia:Manual of Style // See Who's Editing Wikipedia - Diebold, the CIA, a Campaign //

Week 5 -- Feb 18 - 22: Conferences -- No Class -- Meet in my office

You will have 20-30 minutes of one-on-one, f2f time with me to discuss your research paper and Wiki Projects.

Writing Assignments: (1)Have proposals for topic(s) for meetings. AND (2) have a blog post for Monday with (3) responses for Friday.

If you can meet prior to or following our regular meeting time, please save the conference times from 10am to 11am for those unable to meet at the other times. If none of these times work for you please let me know asap.

Monday:

8:30-9:00: Rodney

9:00-9:30: Steph
9:30-10:00: Paige
10:00-10:30: Bree
10:30-11:00: Ryan
11:00-11:30:Gina
11:30-12:00: Tina
12:00-12:30 Robin

Wednesday:

9:00-9:30: Colby
9:30-10:00:Nikki
10:00-10:30: Chris
10:30-11:00: Yi Han
11:00-11:30: Steve

Friday:

8:30-9:00: Adam

9:00-9:30: Dane
9:30-10:00: Damon

10:00-10:30: Nicole
10:30-11:00: Jia
11:00-11:30:
11:30-12:00: Zach

Part II, Other (New) Forms of Writing: New Media and Participatory Culture

Week 6 -- Feb. 25 - 29: The Transmedia Experience & Writing with New Media

Monday: Discuss Transmedia Storytelling

Writing Assignment: Blog Post
Reading Assignment: Jenkins. “Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling

Wednesday: Writing with New Media

Reading Assignment: "New Media" (Wikipedia Article) // The Machine is Us/ing Us // Animator vs. Animation // Blue Surburbia

Friday: New Media & English Composition

Writing Assignment: Blog Responses & adding new blog to your blogroll and feed reader
Reading Assignment: McCloud, Scott. "Understanding Comics. (PDF) // Kathleen Blake Yancey, "Made Not Only in Words: Composition in a New Key" (PDF) //

Week 7 -- March 3 - 7: Participatory Culture -- Facebook; YouTube; Flickr; Fandom

Monday: MEET IN COMPUTER LAB
Participatory Culture -- Facebook // Set YouTube Account & Sharing Playlists/Videos

In class, watch Social Bookmarking in Plain English

Writing Assignment: Blog Post // Set up del.icio.us account & add tag cloud to blog (if your host is compatible) and link to it on the Our Links page.

Reading Assignment: Facebook -- Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship // Cleaning Up Their Online Acts // The Many Faces of Facebook // Thoughts on Facebook // The Death of E-Mail // A Wider World: Youth, Privacy, and Social Networking Technologies //

Wednesday: Participatory Culture -- Fandom

Writing Assignment: Discussion Forum
Reading Assignment:Jenkins, "Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars?: Digital Cinema, Media Convergence, and Participatory Culture" // Rebecca Black. Online Fanfiction: What Technology and Popular Culture Can Teach Us About Writing and Literacy Instruction

Friday: Participatory Culture -- Fandom

Writing Assignment: Blog Responses & adding new blog to your blogroll and feed reader // Research paper proposals due (Google Docs)

Reading Assignment: J.K. Rowling's Dark Mark: Why she should lose her copyright lawsuit against the Harry Potter Lexicon. // Check out Lostpedia; WoWWiki; Wikitravel // //

Week 8 -- March 10 - 14: TBD (In-class project discussions)

Monday: Reflection on Blog Writing

Writing Assignment: Blog Post //

Reading Assignment:

Wednesday: Discussion on Research Paper Proposal

Reading Assignment: Group member proposals (Written Feedback)

Thursday: Conferences (Written Feedback from Rik)

12:00 -- Steph

1:30 -- Gina
2:00 -- Jia

Friday -- No Class

Writing Assignment: Blog Responses

Week 9 -- March 17 - 21 -- NO CLASS -- SPRING BREAK

Begin reading Lessig!

Part III, Grassroots Creativity: Copyright & Building on the Past

Week 10 -- March 24 - 28: Copyright & Authorship, Part I: Grassroots Creativity & Impediments

Monday:

Wednesday: Making Culture // In class watch A Fair(y) Use Tale

Writing Assignment: Blog Post // Research paper draft due on Google Docs (Invite peer review group)
Reading Assignment: Free Culture -- Preface, Introduction // Jenkins. Convergence Culture: “Ch. 5 Why Heather Can Write.”

Friday: In-Class Peer Review (Print out copies of papers, read, and comment on paper)

Writing Assignment: Blog Responses & adding new blog to your blogroll and feed reader
Reading Assignment: Peer Review Drafts

Last day to drop with a "W"!

Week 11 -- March 31 - April 4: Copyright & Authorship, Part I, Continued: Grassroots Creativity & Impediments,

Monday: Remix Culture

Writing Assignment:Open Media Project Proposals Due

Reading Assignment: Free Culture -- Ch. 1, 2, 3 // Shaviro. “Deconstructing Beck.” (PDF) // Watch: Learn about DJ Culture

Wednesday and Friday: NO CLASS -- RIK @ CON: CCCC

Wednesday: Piracy

Online Reading Discussion on Wetpaint Forum for Monday and Wednesday Reading/Viewing
Reading Assignment: Free Culture --4, 5 // YouTube Guitar Lessons Pulled in Copyright Spat

Friday:

Writing Assignment: Wiki Articles posted // Blog Responses // Discussion Forum: Transforming Property

Reading Assignment: Free Culture -- Ch. 6, 7, 8, 9 // Westbrook, Steve. "Visual Rhetoric in a Culture of Fear: Impediments to Multimedia Production." College English. May 2006 68(5) 457, 2006. (PDF)

Week 12 -- April 7 - 11: Copyright & Authorship, Part II: Harms to Grassroots Creativity & Fair Use and Copy-left

Monday: Copyright Law & Plagiarism

Writing Assignment: Blog Post & Wiki article draft posted online // Research paper draft 2, due on Google Docs (Invite peer review group)
Reading Assignment: Free Culture -- Ch. 10-12 // UW plagiarism policy

Wednesday: Copy-Left

Writing Assignment:
Reading Assignment: Free Culture -- Ch. 13-14; Conclusion; Afterword; Them, Soon. (209-306) // "A Spectrum of Rights" (n.d.). Creative Commons Web site.

Watch (in-class) CC: Get Creative // Reticulum Rex

Friday:

Writing Assignment: Blog Responses & adding new blog to your blogroll and feed reader // Peer Review Feedback in Google Docs

Work in Peer Response Groups

Optional Readings:

Cone, Justin (2006). "Building on the Past." Creative Commons Web site.
The Creative Commons and Copyright Protection in the Digital Era: Uses of Creative Commons Licenses
Listen to: To the Best of Our Knowledge: Plagiarism

Part IV, Democracy and New Media

Week 13 -- April 14 - 18: Participatory Democracy and Civic Engagement

Monday:

Writing Assignment: Blog Post
Reading Assignment: Thralls. "Bakhtin, Collaborative Partners, and Published Discourse: A Collaborative View of Composing" (handout)

Wednesday: Plan for presentations & Week 14 activites

Friday:

Writing Assignment: Blog Responses & adding new blog to your blogroll and feed reader
Reading Assignment: Jenkins. Convergence Culture: “Chapter 6: Photoshop for Democracy.” & “Conclusion: Democratizing Television.” // "Toward a Civic Rhetoric . . .". Simmons & Grabill. (PDF)

Week 14 -- April 21 - 25:

Monday: MEET IN COLLEGE LIBRARY COMPUTER LAB CLASSROOM

Wednesday:MEET IN COLLEGE LIBRARY COMPUTER LAB CLASSROOM

Friday: MEET IN REGULAR HCW CLASSROOM

Week 15 -- April 28 - May 2: Presentations

Monday:

1. Jia
2. Rodney
3. Bree

Wednesday:
1. Steph
2. Zach
3. Dane

Friday:
1. Chris
2. Gina
3.Nikki
4.Robin

Week 16 -- May 5 - 9: Reflections / Presentations

Monday:
1. Adam
2. Ryan
3. Steve
4. Yi Han

Wednesday:
1. Tina
2. Paige
3.Nicole
4. Colby

Friday: Reflection & Course Eval