iggyssyllabus

 

Class Schedule

Page history last edited by Joe Essid 3 days ago

All readings are from Writing Analytically (WA) or Hjortshoj's The Transition to College Writing, unless otherwise noted.

 

For a few readings, I note "skim" and it means just that--I want you to look it over to get a sense of the document's point by looking carefully at the introduction, topic headings, and conclusion while reading over quickly the rest (and stopping where it interests you).

 

There will be a few photocopied short readings handed out that are not on this schedule.

 

Note that the Koinup group can only be used for photos from virtual worlds. You may use another photo-sharing service when you need real-life photos to be uploaded to your blogs or wiki projects.

 

Week of   

Readings/Tasks

Topics in Class   

 Writing Due

8/24

Day 1: Introductions
Day 2: WA Ch. 1

What is "Analytical" Writing? Why A Wiki?

 Contract sheet, signed & dated

8/31

 Day 1: WA Ch. 2, Hjortshoj Ch. 4 (56-68), Ch. 6 (107-113) + set up Blogspot Site

Day 2: WA Ch. 4 (50-65), "Nine Signs of an Effective Blog Post",		 Bad Habits Workshops + Academic Interpretation (example of a paper that illustrates WA's Chapter 2 bad habits). Day 2: Blog post on college writing (& every week following or more often, as noted below).
9/7

Day 1: WA Ch. 5, videos linked below*, and skim Educational Uses of SL. Set up Koinup account.

 

Set up avatar for SL using New Media Consortium Portal (pick a gender-neutral name).

 

Day 2: Iggy O, "Academic Bloggers," The Rule of Thirds & CARP rules: carp.pdf, Ch. 5

Wiki & photo basics, SL Without Angst: Learning About It, Focusing a Claim for different audiences. Working with images in an effective way.

Day 1: Writing Diagnostic Exercise Due.

 

Monday-Friday: one-on-one meetings (click for schedule) to set up your avatars

 

Day 2:  moved to next week (b/c of Core trip for some to State Capitol).

 

*Watch the videos below before Day 1:

 

What is Second Life?  Well, let's see if its creator can explain why it's not merely an online game, but a place where users, not the company, create most of the content and any "story" that take place.  Keep in mind that the virtual world has changed a lot since 2006. Many corporations left, unable to come up with a business model. New ones more capable of understanding how SL works have come in and growth of the economy and virtual population has slowed but become more international.  Philip Rosedale himself, while still part of Linden Lab, also stepped down as CEO.

 

While anyone can create content, some of the creations are stunningly beautiful. Artist "Robbie Dingo" made a piece of video art, a 3D version of Van Gogh's "Starry Night." It pushes the boundaries of what is possible in SL as a builder. Dingo pulled this video from YouTube, but you can see a far higher quality version in the creator's blog. Try his "Higher Quality" version to see it at its best.

 

Now check this video about the educational potential of SL. Note that her picture of your generation as being raised on "video games and MTV" is a huge generalization (an "unsupported assertion" in Essid's Pet Peeves).

 

Still, her advice remains accurate for the educational uses of SL and gives a sense of how this class will use the virtual world. 

Week of 

Readings

Topics in Class   

Writing Due

9/14

Day 1: WA Ch. 7 & 8

 

Day 2: WA Ch. 16 (241-257) & Hjortshoj Ch. 7 (138-152)

 Deepening analysis & revision
 

Day 1: Blog post on avatar choice

 

Day 2: Blog Post on SL Scavenger Hunt and Short Wiki Project on SL & audience
9/21

All week: REQUIRED meetings out of class with our Writing Consultants; meet at Weinstein 402. Sign up for one time only. PLEASE DON'T DOUBLE-BOOK THE CONSULTANTS. A few of them will offer multiple times; I'll let you know who.  

 

Day 1: Writing Workshop

 

 

Day 2: WA Ch. 6 (pages 93-97),
"Virtual Ventures Pay Off,"
Wired's article about Janie Marlowe, 
Wagner James Au about Anshe Chung. Using Evidence (review before class):
Au, "Is Real-World Marketing Making a Comback in SL?" and  WA Ch. 9 (139-144)

 

in class: Statistics example & Analysis exercise.

 Rhetorical Analysis: Real Businesses, Fake World.

Day 1: Blog Post on writing with sources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 2: Short Wiki Project: Visual Analysis: Ansel Adams

 

9/28

Day 1: Use Thesis-Workshop Guidelines & read Hjortshoj Ch. 6 (114-118), WA Ch. 12; Ch. 17 (278-285)

What is an "A" paper? and my Pet Peeves in Writing.

 

Day 2: Writing Workshop: Hjortshoj, Ch. 5 (79-93), WA Ch. 11; Ch. 18 (298-304)

Editing, Pet Peeves, and How the Sky Can Fall on You.

Day 1: Blog post for this day should reflect  on a question you have about SL that--at this point, anyway--might lead you to a claim about the virtual world.

 

Day 2: 1st Major Project Due. Revisions to Wiki Projects should be complete, and all comp books & blogs should be up to date.
10/5

Day 1: WA Ch. 14, Howard Rheingold, "Look Who's Talking" and, in class, writing prompt on the article.

 

Day 2: Writing Workshop on sources with Dr. Marcia Whitehead.

 Gathering Data

Day 1: Blog Post is 2nd Scavenger-Hunt entry.

 

 

 
10/12

Day 1: Fall break

 

Day 2: WA Ch. 15, Dennis Baron, "From Pencils to Pixels" and, in class, writing prompt on this article.

 Organizing a Research Project

Day 2: Blog Post: SL Field Trip (1st post)

 
10/19

Day 1: Continue with Baron +  "The Skin You're In" and "The Skin You're In, Too"

 

Day 2: Writing Workshop. Create Heritage Key avatar.

 From Personal Experience to Academic Topic

Day 1: Blog Post: SL Field Trip (2nd post)

 

Day 2: Wiki Project: Analysis of an Academic Article
10/26

Day 1: Hjortshoj, Ch. 8 (169-179). Writing Workshop in class.

 

Day 2:  Writing Workshop

  

Day 1: Blog Post: Initial "tourist's report" on Heritage Key

 

Day 2: Wiki Project: Topic focus & annotated bibliography for "The Big One"
11/2

Day 1: Writing Workshop: 10-on-1 Reasoning

Day 2: Writing Workshop + "The Curious Case of Racism in Second Life"

  

Day 1: Blog Post: You choose the focus for this prompt: "The biggest problem SL faces as a communications technology is..."

 

Day 2: Wiki project: Saving Isis

 
11/9

Day 1: Poe, "The Fall of the House of Usher"

 

Day 2: Poe, "The Philosophy of Furniture" + TBA

 Making Literature Immersive.

All week: REQUIRED meetings out of class with Writing Consultants. Schedule is here.

 

Day 1: Blog Post: What would you most want to be able to alter in Poe's story if you could be a participant, not merely a reader?

 

Day 2: Wiki Project: Gender or Race Switch
11/16

Day 1: Last-minute panic writing workshop

 

Day 2: TBA

  

Day 1: midnight 2nd Major Project Due. Revisions to Wiki Projects should be complete, and all comp books & blogs should be up to date.

 

Day 2: Wiki Project: Revised introduction for Final Project

Blog Post: Envisioning Poe in a Virtual World
11/23

Day 1: Happy Thanksgiving

Day 2: Happy Thanksgiving

   no blog or comp book due!
11/30

Day 1: Final Project Workshop
Day 2: Final Project Workshop

 

Sample projects from Eng. 216 to help you with your finals:

 

"Time Travel in Second Life" (our author puts the claims right into her introduction)

 

"Fantasy or Alternative Reality?" (the "why" that answers the writer's short "no" appears at the start of his third paragraph)

 

"Second Life Science" (note the claim for this one is at the end--not good for a long project but it was fine for this short informal work).

  

All week: Meetings out of class with our Writing Consultants and me. Details TBA.

 

 

Monday Dec. 1, 5pm: The Big One: Research Project on SL. Drop off all comp books at my office no later than noon.

 

Th, Dec. 11, 5pm. Cut-off point for Usher Project and final reflections in blog. No additional comp books required.

 

Comments (0)

You don't have permission to comment on this page.

Printable version
 
Anonymous Create an account or Log in