Nick is going to be in the computer lab all day on Tuesday, from around 9:30 in the morning to 6:30 in the afternoon. I will be there from about 11 to 4:40. Come see us or email if you have issues during that time. After that time, we won’t be answering technical support questions, so make sure you do anything that might require our help before then!
A few of you have asked about the afterlife of your blog. I will probably keep the Edublogs up until the fall; at that point, I’ll probably take them down. But I can’t guarantee that your Soundslides will stay up on the A/S server. Please keep a copy of those projects, and move them to another server if you’d like to use them as part of a portfolio. Here’s an example of an inexpensive web host that might be a good place to store Soundslides. Remember, you won’t be able to host Soundslides projects on any blogging platforms.
Good luck everyone – looking forward to your final projects! Don’t forget to fill out the online class evaluations.
Unrelated to the (hilarious) video above about the clash between new media and old media:
More advice from a journalism prof on how to make your Soundslides really shine. Well worth reading. Also, check out these examples if you’re going to create an online job portfolio.
I posted some guidelines to the site and Edublogs didn’t send out an email. So I’m embedding this Eaglecam in hopes that you will get a ping and then check the project guidelines below. Enjoy the Eaglecam.
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you are preparing your final package. Remember, the most important thing is to GET THINGS UP EARLY, to avoid minute technical disasters.
Does this package answer all of the essential questions a reader/viewer/listener might have about the story you’ve covered? Imagine an audience for this project. Have you met the needs of this audience?
Is the information presented in chunks that are “sticky” enough to keep the audience for this piece engaged? (Some questions to ask yourself: If there is video, will it hold the viewer’s attention? Does the audio clip draw the listener through the piece? Do maps or graphics present data in a visually compelling way? Does your timeline have enough data to be useful?)
Can the viewer navigate through your piece easily, given the limitations of your layout format?
Is the print story edited and proofread and ready for publication?
Do you have a combination of the following — Soundslides, maps, data graphics, video, audio, timelines — that provide a balanced enhancement to your print or audio piece? Make sure that stories with less photos or video are heavier on audio, data, maps, timelines.
Have you done significant work on your project so that what you are handing in is more than just a sum of the smaller assignments completed over the course of the semester? (Note: this does NOT mean that you can’t use those smaller assignments in your final project, as we’ve discussed. But I am expecting all of you to go one step farther and complete a coherent package that tells a story in a complete way. Don’t include work that somehow makes the package less focused just because it’s done.
If I have commented on your Soundslides, etc. and asked for revisions, have those revisions been accomplished? If not, you may want to append an explanation about this as a comment to your piece. If I’ve graded something and made comments, those comments need to be taken into account.
Have you incorporated ideas from other students presentations into your final project?
Finally, have you been completely transparent about what represents your work and what represents the work of others? Have you credited any photographers or editors? Do you have permission to reprint the images you have sourced from others? Do you have permission to use the photographs of persons that you’ve taken yourself?
If you want me to clarify anything, make a comment here, and I’ll address it on the blog and/or in class on Tuesday
For those who haven’t finished uploading their Soundslides or embedding their maps and timelines yet, remember the deadline is 5 pm tomorrow. I’ll be grading your Soundslides and your overall blogs (pre-project) over the weekend, so grades should be up by start of class Tuesday. I will send an email this evening with a list of student presentation dates: please let me know if you don’t get the email.
Remember, we’ll be working with preexisting data — but if you do have an Excel spreadsheet with some interesting numbers, feel free to bring it along. In addition to our discussion about data, we’ll be doing a quick refresher on Vuvox and talking about where to put all your digital assets for your final presentation. You’ll also have time to ask questions about your Soundslides – remember, they are due next week, not this week.
