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Syllabus
for JO518: Advanced Multimedia
Boston
University
Department of Journalism
Spring 2001
Course Content ©2001
Tom Johnson
Web Design ©2000 Pete Darling
Monday-Wednesday 5-6:30 p.m. COM 203
Instructor: J. T. Johnson
Contact: tom@jtjohnson.com or 617-353-5969(o) or 617-926-1313(h) or
415-305-9305(cell)
Research Assistant: Tama Miyake
(tmiyake@bu.edu) (716) 317-5042
Office Hours: Mon. & Wed. 2-5 p.m.; Tues. 11-1
The Digital Drop-in: Tues 6:30-7:30+ p.m. in 203E
And by appointment
Class websites: http://www.egroups.com/group/JO518
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“In a time of drastic change,
it is the
learners who inherit the future."
— Eric Hoffer
Longshoreman,
philosopher
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COURSE DESCRIPTION
Learning how to construct web pages is an important, fundamental
skill for today’s journalists.
But such skill is, as the physicists say, “necessary but not
sufficient” because the new, digital information environment (the
Infosphere) demands that we think about delivering the news in a
three-dimensional, often non-linear manner. This new environment is calling for journalists who can
not only tell the story, but also work with a team to plan and implement
strategy for delivering the news via all media forms.
This course is designed to give you some critical thinking skills
and tools so that you will be in a position to think and talk as a peer to
publishers, editors, computer scientists, marketing personnel, company
accountants and a new profession, the information architects.
During the first third to half of the semester we will be learning
about some relatively new tools that can be used to plan, implement and
evaluate all aspects of a web site: content, personnel, design, software
and hardware, financial realities.
During the second half, you will be concentrating on creating a
proposal to present to potential investors in your news/information centric
web operation.
Class time will be devoted to lectures, discussions and guest
speakers. But the bulk of the
learning will be up to you and done outside of class. Since this is a four-unit course,
you should anticipate spending no less than an additional eight hours on
class work every week.
You will need to have an active e-mail account. BU provides free
accounts to students, but just be sure to use the same e-mail address in
all aspects of this course.
NB: You may NOT
use AOL as your ISP or Hotmail for your e-mail in this class. AOL
does strange things when you're online, like throwing you off in the middle
of an upload. Hotmail, and
similar applications, cause problems and, frankly, applications like these
are for armatures and you’re professionals. Furthermore, because you’re professionals, I will
strongly encourage you to register your own domain. That way, you can have the same
e-mail address for life.)
While it is not necessary for you to have your own computer, it is
strongly recommended that you do. Computers and knowledge management skills
are no longer an option for journalists: just as a plumber needs a wrench,
journalists need the digital equivalent. (For a variety of reasons
that I can discuss in class, I suggest you use a Windows PC unless you're
devoted to film, broadcast or graphics.) I also encourage you to
sign-up for a high-speed ISP with DSL or a cable modem
connection. It will help you maintain your sanity in graduate school.
All of the course material -- readings, step-by-step instructions,
links to resources, listservs, chat lists and assessments -- will be posted
online for instruction and review at http://www.egroups.com/group/JO518.
Here’s what I hope you will achieve by the end of the semester:
LEARNING
OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES [Top]
- Understand and articulate all elements
required to design and maintain a complex, news-orientated web site
- Understand and be
able to use theories and tools of General Systems Theory and dynamic
simulation modeling to design and evaluate web site operations
- Be able to
organize and participate with a creative team
- Be able to create
and present a sophisticated business plan and proposal for an online
news entity.
TEXT BOOKS
REQUIRED:
The
New York Times (daily) Click here for BU-specific
instructions. Then call 1-800-698-4637.
The Boston Globe (daily) $2.99 a week for 26
weeks, but call 1-888-MYGLOBE and ask for any newcomer or back-to-school
specials.
Goldstein, Norm (editor). The
Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law. New York: The Associated Press
(Paperback - July 2000)
Nielsen, Jakob. Designing Web Usability (1st edition - 2000)
Indianapolis, IN: New Riders Publishing. Paperback.
RECOMMENDED:
Milestones Simplicity
is project management software that meets industry standards, but is
relatively affordable. I
strongly recommend that all of the team members download and become familiar
with the program (note that the demo version only allows 20 file saves),
and that at least one team member become quite expert in its use. Be sure to look at application
examples such as these: http://www.kidasa.com/5.0/products/examplesx/publishingthumb.html
The Elegant
Hack is a reliable website dealing with Information
Architecture. Click here to
see a suggested reading list, but also take time to look at the home page
and poke around there a bit. http://www.eleganthack.com/reading/
Standage, Tom The
Victorian Internet: The remarkable story of the telegraph and the
nineteenth century's on-line pioneers. Berkeley Books, New York,
1999.
Rosenfeld, Louis and Morville, Peter. Information Architecture
for the World Wide Web. (1st Edition February 1998
ISBN 1-56592-282-4) Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly & Associates.
ASSIGNMENTS [Top]
TASKS
There
will be perhaps as many as 10 tasks related to Web design, Information
Architecture, online journalism and e-commerce. Some will be done in class, others on your own
time. The important thing is to be sure to give yourself enough time
to do them and to do them all. While some of these are listed in the
calendar, others will be coming at various times, depending on the class
and individuals' skill level.
SEMESTER PROJECT [Top]
By the
end of the semester, you will orally present to the financial angels — and
deliver to me electronically — a proposal for your website. The web site will have these
objectives:
·
The site content will include all aspects of a
dynamic news site: Content, Commerce, Community, Continuity,
Customization.
·
The site’s design will use the latest technology
to allow users to search, find and retrieve all desired content
using whatever technology they wish.
(Computers, PDAs, telephones of all types, etc.)
·
The site shall provide for non-English speaking
users.
·
The site shall be accessible to persons with
various disabilities.
·
The site’s P/L shall be projected to break even
in 36 months
Your
team’s proposal will have the following components (we will be discussing
these aspects in class and in your readings):
·
A clear description of the site’s objectives,
development plan, marketing plan, key personnel (including their experience
and role in the planned enterprise); a 36-month timeline for the project
and a detailed budget.
·
A schematic and/or flowchart of your website’s
o
Content
o
Software
o
Hardware
·
A full description of your quantifiable
objectives and how you will measure those factors over time (i.e. the
“metrics”)
The proposal will include:
·
A 45-minute presentation to the angels and class
describing your web site, the necessary technology, personnel and time and
financial requirements
·
A written and suitably bound “leave behind”
document for investors and potential personnel
·
A PDF file of the above document. (I can supply the Adobe software if
you need it.)
·
Memo (500-1k) from each of you discussing
"What I've learned from this project" (your specific role
and contribution to the proposal team; what you’ve learning about yourself;
about journalism; what worked for you; what you will do differently with
similar assignments)
·
Bibliography of all sources, i.e.
interviews, archival and data sites. The idea here is that you, or
any colleague, will be able to replicate your research, reporting and
analysis.
Assignments and Grading [Top]
All assignments must be
submitted via e-mail as attached files and must be handed in on deadline. If an assignment
is not submitted by the deadline, it will be an automatic "F." If
any individual's name is misspelled, the assignment receives an automatic
"F."
The instructor may or
may not critique late assignments for you, depending on how much time he
has. The format for the submissions must follow these exact instructions: ·
- You must use the exact
assignment slug (i.e. assignment name or number) as given to you by the
instructor
- This slug should be the
name of your final file, the one you will send to me.
- You must submit the
assignment in the Rich Text Format (RTF). If you don't know how
to use Word to get that format, click here
to reach http://www.microsoft.com/education/curric/word97/ for the
tutorial.
- The assignment must be
delivered in two forms by the beginning of class. You will turn in a hard copy
of the assignment at the
beginning of class AND send a copy to me as an "attachment" to an e-mail
message.
- The
subject line for that e-mail message must be: ·
JO518#TK-??? (Your THREE initials replace the question
marks. "TK," in journalese means "To Come."
Yes, ask me to explain why.] Example:
JO517#05-jtj
If you use some other
subject line, the assignment will get lost in the 100-150 e-mail messages I
receive each day and you will not get a grade.
Your assignments should
clearly indicate the sources for all your work, either paragraph-by-paragraph
by using the endnote function or with the "comment" function. I
suggest learning how to use the footnote/endnote function of any word
processor.
Most of your written
assignments should be submitted using one of the “memo” templates included
in MS Word. Just be sure to
save your assignments with the proper file name, i.e. the “task slug.” (The exception to this, of course,
is your team’s final proposal.)
NB: Be sure to keep
multiple copies of your assignments, electronic and an I-o-P (ink-on-paper)
version. If the
assignment is lost, I'm not responsible. I'll ask you to send me another
copy and it's up to you to be able to do so.
The instructor will comment on and grade the assignments either
electronically or on hard copies. Those critiques will use MS Word's
"comment" feature, so learn how to use, and read and maybe print,
those comments.
In addition to the
grading standards attached, all assignments are evaluated for precision in
the following areas:
- Adequacy of research
- Accuracy
- Clear writing
- Overall organization
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- AP
style
- Punctuation
- Grammar
- Spelling
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Grading Policy
[Top]
As to the question,
"Should grades represent quality and a level of accomplishment? Or
effort? Or progress?"
"A. Grades are
assumed to reflect the instructor's judgment of the quality of the
student's performance. Grades should not merely be awarded for effort,
attendance, native ability, etc., notwithstanding the fact that all of
these may affect performance and become part of the evaluation.
"B. Students may not be
guaranteed 'at least a "C" or "B," etc. in advance or
by a contract related solely to the quantity of assignment completed, as
evaluation is a post-performance function rather than a pre-performance
contract."
Class attendance is
mandatory. Makeup work may be done only with permission of the instructor
and must be completed within one week after the student's return to class.
Copies of students' assignments may be distributed in class or posted to
the class web site for discussion, but grades usually will not be
identified.
The grades will be posted in the class site on eGroups site as a
spreadsheet.
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Sum of the various task assignments:
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40 percent
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Class and online participation:
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10 percent
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Final Project:
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50 percent [Top]
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