COM 472: Digital Storytelling
syllabus, Assignments, & Schedule
Spring 2015

Contact information
Dr. Steven Hammer
shammer@sju.edu
301 Bronstein Hall
to make an appointment, click HERE

Course Description and Objectives
In this capstone course, Communication and Digital Media students will complete a semester-long, web-based project that demonstrates the knowledge, design thinking and multimedia production skills learned in the courses comprising the student’s degree program.
	•	Effective Communication:: This course enables students to gain experience in creating a multimedia webtext, including the development of skills in writing, editing, photography, video, sound and design.
	•	Human Centered Design:: Students will give extensive attention to each stage of the design process as they build their multimedia projects. Students will learn how to successfully ideate, create content and execute creative design solutions.
	•	Critical Awareness:: Students will choose a found object as the focal point of this semester-long project. Students will learn how to investigate and tell the story (or stories) of that object through multiple lenses (historical, social, cultural, aesthetic, technological, etc.).

Required Materials
	•	16GB or higher SD memory card
	•	32GB or higher USB flash drive
	•	Digital Storytelling:  Capturing Lives, Creating Community (2013) ISBN: 978-0-415-62703-0
	•	Writing Tools: 50 Essential Strategies for Every Writer (2008) ISBN: 0316014990
	•	The Unforgettable Photograph: 228 Ideas, Tips, and Secrets for Taking the Best Pictures of Your Life (2013) ISBN: 0761169237
In the IT office in the basement of Merion Hall (directly below Merion 150) COM students have access to a variety of audio/visual equipment. Check-out is 48-hours. Equipment includes individual Flip cameras (HD), Mino cameras (HD), GoPro Hero cameras, Kodak Zi6 pocket video cameras (HD), and Canon Vixia cameras (HD). There are also Vixia video cameras (HD), Canon DSLRs, and Zoom audio recorders. Tripods are available upon request.

Required Digital Stories
Snow Fall 
Back of the Bus: Mass transit, race and inequality
Serial
Sound City
Night Walk
Freedom’s Ring 
Object Lessons 

Course Requirements
Participation & Attendance: 10%
Come to class. When you come to class, engage with the learning process and your classmates. You are allowed two “free” absences without penalty. Thereafter, you will lose this 10% of your final grade. If you miss 6 or more classes, you will not pass the course.

Object-lessons essay: 20%
You will write a 2000-word “Object Lessons” essay about your object. See the Object Lessons website for examples and submission guidelines. You will post your essay (or url which links to the assignment) on Blackboard. Late submissions are not accepted and receive 0%. If you choose to submit to the essay series (this is not required) and your essay is accepted for publication, you will automatically earn an A for the assignment. You will be evaluated based on your ability to a) write within the genre and for the audience of the essay series, b) incorporate relevant media into your essay, and c) articulate your choices. Submit your finished project with a 200+ word essay that describes your decisions, process, and influences.

Major project checkpoints: 30%
Throughout the semester, we will learn various ways to create and integrate media into a cohesive web-based story. For each media component (photos, primary documents, web platform, sound, video, and maps/infographics), you will bring your work to class and briefly present how you are applying these techniques to your major project. Each of these 6 checkpoints are worth 5% of your final grade. 0 credit for late work. You will be evaluated on completeness (i.e., did you come prepared?). Expectations for each checkpoint will be announced in class.
 Checkpoint 1--Photography: Prepare a 2-3 minute presentation, telling the story of how you found and selected your object, and prepare a 10-photo exposure page that employs 2 techniques from each chapter you read in The Unforgettable Photograph.
Checkpoint 2--Primary Documents: Researching your object, obtain and bring at least 5 primary documents related to your developing story. You might find technical documentation/user manuals, articles or other texts from relevant time periods/places, and so on. While you may start by accessing secondary documents (incl. wikipedia, etc.), you must trace information back to and obtain original sources.
Checkpoint 3--Platform: For this checkpoint, have your interface ready for content. This includes an appropriate URL, site structure and design, title, and a 500-word statement describing your choices and how users will benefit from your design.
Checkpoint 4--Sound
Checkpoint 5--Video
Checkpoint 6--Maps/Infographics

Major project presentation: 10%
You will present your major project to the class the week before final exams. In 3-4 minutes, you will show us your completed project website, addressing your decisions and process in terms of both content and design. You will be evaluated based on attention to time (3-4mins), and discussing each of the following: a) purpose of your project, b) how your project is designed for specific audiences, c) how your design, media, and informational content work to fulfill the purpose of your project, and d) plans for changes/revision.

Major project: 30%
Your major project in this course involves building a multimedia/multimodal digital story that centers on a found object. Early in the semester, you will search for and obtain an object from a thrift store and compose a nonfiction account that explores the object through multiple lenses (historical, social, spatial, cultural, aesthetic, technological, etc.). You will be evaluated on a) the quality of each of the modes/media we discuss throughout the semester (photography, audio, video, platform, infographics/maps, primary documents), b) the usability of your platform, and c) your ability to articulate your decisions. Submit your finished project with a 500+ word essay that describes your decisions, process, and influences.

Grading & Deadlines
Deadlines must be met in order to receive credit for your work.
A-: 90-100%
-exceeds basic assignment criteria in several ways.
B: 80-89%
-meets and exceeds basic assignment criteria
C: 70-79%
-meets basic assignment criteria
D: 60-69%
-fails to meet one or more basic assignment criteria.
F: 0-59%
-incomplete, not received, or fails to meet any basic assignment criteria.

Schedule
This is a tentative schedule. Changes will be announced in class.
Reading/watching/listening assignments must be completed prior to class each week.
UP = The Unforgettable Photograph
WT = Writing Tools
DS = Digital Storytelling

Wk1
1/12      
Introductions
READ: Syllabus, Website

Wk2
1/19 
Introductions
READ: Object Lessons Essay: Mechanical Pencils
READ: Syllabus, Website  

Wk3
1/26      
READ: UP , ch. 4, 5, 7, 10, 11
READ: DS, ch. 5
How to photograph object; putting yourself in the picture
Field trip: find object at a thrift shop and document the finding of object.
Browse Around Thrift Shop - Ardmore - Mon-Sat 10am-3pm
Pennywise - Ardmore - M-F 9:30am-4:30pm; Sat 9:30am-3pm

Wk4
2/2  
Show and tell; Checkpoint1: photos (2min)
Discuss research, primary documents in class (Serial, Back of the Bus)
    
Wk5
2/9  
Checkpoint2: primary documents
READ: WT, part one: 1-4
Writing about your object: Workshop

Wk6
2/16 
READ: WT, part two: 14, 16, 22, 23; part three: 25, 28, 31, 32, 34, 35, 39
Writing about your object: Workshop1, Workshop2

Wk7
2/23 
Discuss platforms (e.g. Wordpress, Wix, Scalar, SquareSpace, HTML)
Make platforms

Wk8
3/2
Checkpoint3: Platform
READ: Object Lessons: Keys, Remote Control
Assign & Discuss Object Lessons Essay Assignment

Wk9
3/9        Spring Break /// no classes
 
Wk10
3/16      CCCC /// no classes
Object Lessons Essay DUE Thursday 3/19, 11:59pm via email

Wk11
3/23
READ: DS, chapter 9
Sound: sampling, recording, interviews, voice-overs, editing, publishing, embedding

Wk12
3/30     
READ: DS, chapter 8
Video: filming, sampling, editing, publishing, embedding

Wk13
4/6  Easter break: No class Monday
Checkpoint4 (sound) & Checkpoint 5 (video)

Wk14
4/13     
Maps, Infographics

Wk15
4/20     
Checkpoint6 (maps & infographics)
Peer Review of Completed Project

Wk16
4/27
Presentations, critiques
Revision

Wk17
5/4       Final Exam Week.
Submit revised (final) projects Monday 5/4 by 11:59pm.

University Policies
Academic Honesty: Please familiarize yourself with the University’s Academic Honesty Policy.
Disability Support: In accordance with state and federal laws, the University will make reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities. For those who have or think that you may have a disability requiring an accommodation (learning, physical, psychological) should contact Services for Students with Disabilities, Room G10, Bellarmine, 610-660-1774 (voice) or 610-660-1620 (TTY) as early as possible in the semester for additional information and so that an accommodation, if appropriate, can be made in a timely manner. You will be required to provide current (within 3 years) documentation of the disability.
For a more detailed explanation of the University’s accommodation process, as well as the programs and services offered to students with disabilities, please see the Student Resources Page. If you have any difficulty accessing the information on-line, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities at the telephone numbers above.

If you have any questions or concerns about the syllabus, assignments, or content throughout the semester, please feel free to contact me.