ENGL 303: Multimedia Writing

This page: http://www.as.wvu.edu:8000/clc/Members/sbaldwin/courses/engl303s06
Professor Sandy Baldwin
charles.baldwin at mail.wvu.edu
293-3107x33490
Office Hours: T,R 1300-1420, STA 139 and by appointment.
Group Project pages are here
Class web pages are here.
Class del.icio.us feeds are here.
Class Flickr feeds are here.

Course Description

Study of communication and design issues in multimedia composition. Focuses on communication, creative expression, persuasion, interactivity, and rhetorical principles. Practice in composing multimedia documents such as online publications, interactive literary works and tutorials. ENGL 303 is part of the English Department's Technical Writing and Editing sequence.

Course Goals

ENGL 303 is not a web design course nor an intro to html. This is a writing course and does involve considerable writing. The course is organized around discussion and workshop. The reading combines technical information on multimedia writing, cultural and social theory, and case studies / examples.

The course focus is multimedia writing as social networking, using technologies that build on the existing content management capabilities of the web. Student work will develop wikis, taxonomies, digital images and video, and projects that move from cyberspace to real local spaces. Some implications: firstly, multimedia writing as focused on social space means understanding writing as a spatial practice - writers are always engaged with spatial tools and methods. Secondly, expanding authorship to consider networks, collaborations, linking, and webs. Finally, expanding the audience, performance, and reception of digital work into the non-digital realm, or rather into a newly conceived geo-spatial web.

Keywords: pervasive, participatory, collaborative, locative, ubiquitous, mobile, tagging, ambient, findability, folksonomy, urbanism, territoriality.

Course Texts

Required and Available at the WVU Bookstore:

• Peter Morville, Ambient Findability : What We Find Changes Who We Become (O'Reilly 2005)
• Georges Perec, Species of Space and Other Pieces (Penguin 1999)

Recommended but not required:

• Albert-Lszl Barabsi, Linked (Plume 2003)
• Jennifer Niederst, Web Design in a Nutshell (O'Reilly 2001)

Required Materials

• Access to a computer and the WWW

• Quicktime Pro
• Access to a digital camera or a cheap camera and a scanner

Requirements

• 10% Surfing activities. To be completed by Jan 19. 1) Create a home page on the CLC Plone. Add links, text, and other media as often as you wish. Follow these guidelines for formatting. 2) Add yourself to the Frappr class map by following the links on the map above. 3) Join del.icio.us and add a del.icio.us feed to your home page, using these instructions. 4) Join flickr. Then follow these instructions to add a Flickr badge to your home page. Continue to add del.icio.us links, flickr images, and home page text throughout the semester. Treat your home page as an evolving personal space. Class web pages are here.

• 20% 10 posts to your response wiki. Select the content tab in your home page and create a new wiki page called responses. Post your responses here. Responses are due by class time on the days indicated with a R. There are 11 dates total and you choose 10 to respond. For each response, write three provocative questions focused on some aspect of the reading for the class, then write at least 300 words in response to one of your questions. You may focus on a single text on days where there are more than one reading assigned. Responses will be read and graded pass/fail. Your first response (Jan 12) must be printed out and brought to class. Post all others to your wiki.
• 40% Create a "species of space" following Perecs model and class discussion. 1) Select the content tab in your home page and create a new wiki page called space. Create an itinerary or taxonomy of a familiar space, describing in detail its arrangement and classification, 500 words minimum, posted to the wiki by class Jan 26. (Examples: your room, your street, etc.) 2) Use your wiki to create a hyperlinked version / re-vision of your space, with at least 10 nodes/pages and at least two links per node. Posted to the wiki by class Feb 14. 3) Use your camera to supplement your space with images. Create an expanded spatial image-text narrative with at least 15 images from your camera. (Images sources: Image After, Corbis via WVU Library. Gimp Image Program.) Then, upload the images directly to the wiki and link them, using the syntax for images in the structured text cheat sheet. Posted to the wiki by class Mar 21. Also, clean up your page! 4) Use Quicktime Pro to create at least five short videos of at least 30 seconds each, based on additional images you take with your camera. Again, images and video are part of the "space" you are creating. Upload the videos to your space. A code snippet for embedding playable video is here. Revise the entire space - remember, you want to convey the mood, the psychogeography of your space. Posted to the wiki by class Apr 13. Final revisions to your space by May 2. We will practice in class throughout the semester using the technologies, such as the wiki and Quicktime.
• 30% The class will be broken into four groups, and each group will create a project drawn from one of two area: tactical media or psychogeography, as discussed in the readings and in class. Use the syllabus links to find model projects. 1) Create a proposal, including evidence of group brainstorming and references to outside inspirations / sources, at least 500 words. Posted to the group wiki by class April 18. 2) Present projects to the class and public during the Display Multimedia Project Showcase, open to the public April 25 through May 2.

Grade Descriptors

(Adapted from standard grade descriptors for writing courses.)

A Exemplary work that demonstrates originality and initiative. The content is mature, thorough, and well-suited for the audience; the style is clear, accurate, and forceful; the information is well-organized and formatted so that it is accessible and attractive; genre conventions are effectively used; mechanics and grammar are correct.

B Good work. The work generally succeed in meeting goals in terms of audience, purpose, and genre without the need for further major revisions. It may need some minor improvements in idea, content, presentation, or writing style/mechanics.

C Satisfactory. Work is adequate but requires some substantial revisions of idea, content, presentation, or writing style/mechanics; may require further work in more than one area.

D Work is unprofessional, requires extensive revisions of idea, content, presentation, writing style, and/or mechanics. The writer has encountered significant problems meeting goals of audience, purpose, and genre.

F Not enough information; inappropriate for the situation; and/or major and pervasive problems in terms of content, presentation, or writing style/mechanics that interfere with meaning. May be incomplete, or plagiarism may compromises the work on ethical grounds.

Attendance and Participation

A great deal happens during class and your presence contributes to the communal learning environment. Attendence will be taken in every class, starting Jan 17. You are allowed two unexcused absences. Additional absences will negatively affect your course grade. More than four unexcused absences will result in a failing grade.

You are expected to complete all assigned readings by the dates indicated.

Academic Integrity

West Virginia University expects that every member of its academic community shares the historic and traditional commitment to honesty, integrity, and the search for truth. Academic dishonesty includes plagiarism, cheating and dishonest practices; and forgery, misrepresentation, or fraud. Here is WVU's Academic Dishonesty/Plagiarism Policy.

Social Justice Statement

"West Virginia University is committed to social justice. I concur with that commitment and expect to maintain a positive learning environment based upon open communication, mutual respect, and nondiscrimination. Our University does not discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age, disability, veteran status, religion, sexual orientation, color or national origin. Any suggestions as to how to further such a positive and open environment in this class will be appreciated and given serious consideration. If you are a person with a disability and anticipate needing any type of accommodation in order to participate in this class. Please advise me and make appropriate arrangement with Disability Services (293-6700)."

Schedule

Jan 10

Introduction and Definitions

Jan 12

Read: Vilm Flusser, The Bag in ReadMe! p. 27-29; Georges Perec, "Notes Concerning the Objects that are On my Worktable," 144-147 Species of Space
R (printed and brought to class)

Jan 17

Read: Georges Perec, "Species of Space," 1-45 from Species of Space.
* Adding images to your page.
* Go to the class list and read the wiki response of the person after you on the list. Write a brief response to their response and post it. Then write your own response to one of their questions and post it. Once you finish this, move on to the next person in the list.
R

Jan 19

Read: "Species of Space," 46-96
Start surfing activities

Jan 24

Read: "Brief Notes on the Art and Manner of Arranging my Books," 148-155; "Reading: A Socio-Physiological Outline," 174-185; "Think/Classify," 188-205, from Species of Space; Taxonomy of a Room Roomology
Recommended Browsing: house_n
If you haven't already, select the content tab in your home page and create a new wiki page called space. Use the response box to freewrite: What space will you write about? What are its boundaries? What are its contents? What is your relation to this space, both as observer and as someone who inhabits the space?
R

Jan 26

Workshop. Read the spaces of at least four of your classmates, starting with the person two down the list from you (i.e. the person after the one you responded to before). Provide a general comment - what you like, what you don't - and then comment on the following specifics:
- detail (where would you like more? what detail is really striking?)
- organization (how can they make the organization of the space clearer? what is really striking about the organization?)
- observer/writer (where is the writer positioned in relation to this space? how do the writer's preferences/interests/memories get reflected in this space? how can this be added/expanded?)
- associations (what associations does the writing suggest to you? images? links? stories? etc.)
Linking from a wiki.
Writing Space 1 Due

Jan 31

Read: Vannevar Bush, As We May Think, Memex Picture
- In your groups, discuss section VI-VIII in detail (page 10-13). What is a memex? How would it work? What model of human memory does it assume? How is it like hypertext, as now implemented on the WWW? How does the memex differ from hypertext? What difference do these differences make, i.e. what is lost by not having memexs?
R

Feb 2

Read: The Curse of Xanadu, Interview with Ted Nelson, Ted Nelson One-liners, Wired article discussing Nelson
Recommended Browsing: Project Xanadu, The Xanadu Model
- Ted Nelson and Xanadu
- Color Code Reference
- W3 Font Spec

Feb 7

Read: The Desktop Environment The Anti-Mac Interface
-What are the main features of the Mac/WIMP interface? What are the limitations of these features, according to Gentner and Nielsen?
- Information architecture for your writing space
R

Feb 9

Read: Tim Berners-Lee, Original Proposal for the World Wide Web
Recommended browsing: W3 Little History of the World Wide Web, Cybergeography, TextArc, The Visual Thesaurus, History Flow, Wikipedia, WikiMedia, Internet Archive, Anemone

Feb 14

Writing Space 2 Due
Workshop Go down the class list respond to the next person down the list - but choose someone you haven't responded to before. If you reach to end of the list, loop back up to the top. Read through the person's space and write a comment. Then respond to the next person. Some guidelines:
- Remember our two guiding approaches to the "species of space": 1) Taxonomies. A comprehensive and detailed listing of what is in the space, including the boundaries of the space, the ordering of the space, the use of the space, and so on. 2) Self-reflection. An exploration of the authors (your) relation to the space, including your point of view, significant stories and memories about the space, how you use the space, and so on.
- Comment on the use of taxonomy and self-reflection in the expanded space.
- Comment on the links and nodes do they make sense? Each link and node should be an integral part of the reading experience. Are the connections made by the links and nodes clear to you? What other links and nodes could the author add?
- Comment on the writing overall. Where do you want to hear more? Where are you confused? Where do you especially like it?
- Finally, draw your own map or image of the authors space on a piece of paper. This can be a diagram or a picture just draw whatever this space is to you.
- Tables

Feb 16

Read: Mark Weiser, The Computer for the 21st Century, The World is not a Desktop, Calm Technologies
Recommended browsing: UFOs
Forms

Feb 21

Read: Lev Manovich, Poetics of Augmented Space
Recommended browsing: Vectorial Elevation
R

Feb 23

Read: Ambient Findability Chapters 1-2
Recommended browsing: Play Flickr, Design Approach for the Geo-Spatial Web, Google Base, Findability
Sign, Wayfinding list
"What we find changes who we become."
"Ambient findability describes a world in which we can find anyone or anything from anywhere at anytime." - Peter Morville

Feb 28

Read: Ambient Findability, Chapters 3-5
Recommended browsing: Email Traffic Patterns, Mapping Networks of Terrorist Cells
Mapping your space
R

Mar 2

Read: Ambient Findability, 6-7
Recommended browsing: WiFI-SM, Yahoo buzz log Google Zeitgeist, Buzztracker
-What defines the semantic ontology approach? Name and describe at least three features.
-What defines the social software folksonomy approach? Name and describe at least three features?
-What differentiates the two approaches? Name and describe at least three contrasts.
-How can an antelope be a document?

Mar 7

Read: The Web's War on Privacy (O'Reilly), NYC Surveillance Camera Project, IBM Surveillance for Universities, NYC Surveillance Camera Players, How to stage your own, How to Zap a Camera, CCTV Destruction, Big Brother
Upload some (3?) images to your space
Wiki Images, Midterm Feedback
R

Mar 9

Read: Hartmut Winkler, Search Engines: Metamedia on the Internet? Anatomy of Google Googlebombing, miserable failure (google) miserable failure (yahoo) Recommended browsing: Allmylifeforsale, Keith Obadike Keith Obadike's Blackness for Sale

Mar 14

Spring Break

Mar 16

Spring Break

Mar 21

Writing Space 3 Due Workshop. Read and respond to at least three other spaces, focusing on ones you haven't responded to before. Some Guidelines:

• Nodes and links are like sentences. Every piece of data is part of a sentence a noun, a verb, an adjective every piece adds something, every piece acts on other elements, and every piece performs within the entire space. Images, as well: theyre not simply illustrations but active parts of the space. As you read, try to respond to each node, and especially to the pictures. Try to describe what it adds or does to the whole if its helpful, try to identify if its a verb or adjective, etc. and describe how the author might improve the node to make it more effective as a part of the overall space.
• Secondly, end your comment with a list of key words or tags for what the writing or image is about or does. This is your list of tags for what you think is going on in the node.
• Then, when youre done reading the individual parts, write an overall comment on their top level page (either the entrance to their space or their comments page, if theyve made a separate one). In your overall comment, describe what experience the site conveys. Your focus is not the space itself (house or room or whatever), i.e. not the organizing structure, but rather the narrative or story being told in/through this space. You are describing the experience of moving through and reading this space. What is it about? Describe it as much as you can.
• Finally, dont forget to comment on what you like the most and what you think really needs work.

Mar 23

Read: David Garcia, Old and New Dreams for Tactical Media, Adbusters, The Yes Men, McSpotlight, They Work for You, Institute for Applied Autonomy Bureau of Inverse Technology Experimental Interaction Unit, Supersize Me
R

Mar 28

Read: Guy Debord, Introduction to the Critique of Urban Geography, Guy Debord, Theory of the Derive
R

Mar 30

Read: What is psychogeography?, DIY Urbanism.
Recommended Browsing: Psy-Geo-Conflux Generative Psychogeography. Recommended browsing: GlowLab, Husk
Ernie Movie

Apr 4

Read: Degree Confluence, Annotate Space, Realtime Amsterdam Project, 34 North 118 West Project Narrative Archeology, Glowlab's One Block Radius, City of Memory, Pocket Full of Memories, Flashmob, Murmur
R

Apr 6

Read: Blast Theory, Live Action Scotland Yard, Pac Manhattan, Julian Dibbell's Play Money (you may need to refresh the browser, then click on Play Money and read project description).
Recommended browsing: Second Life, Newsgaming, Antiwargame, Velvet Strike, Habbo Hotel

Apr 11

Recommended browsing for Final Projects: Blueplaque, Mappr, Talking Street, World Wide Media ExchangeTerirueb, Geocaching, GPster, Geocoder, Foundcity, Frappr, Platial, OpenguidesSocial Tapestries, MILK Project, Whereify Wireless, Googlesiteseeing, More Googlesiteseeing, Small World, Algorithmic Psychogeography, Equator Experiences, Thoreau on Walking, Mobile Phone Graffitti, Map Hub (Pittsburgh), Manual for Generative Psychogeography, NASA World Wind, Streetmemes, The Bubble Project, NY Songlines, Browser Archive, Geocaching, Internet Mapping Project, Google Earth, Google Maps, Space HiJackers, Feral Robots Public Authoring, VOPOS

Apr 13

Workshop.
Georges Perec: To live is to pass from one space to another. ... These objects (on my worktable) have been chosen, been prefered to others. ... Thus a certain history of my tastes (their permanence, their evolution, their phases) will come to be inscribed in this project.
Peter Morville: It's all about words. Words as labels. Words as links. Keyworks. ... Users don't read, they scan. ... the vital importance of empathy for the user.

• Findability. How can the author use keywords or other wayfinding marks (images?) to improve findability.
• Taxonomy. Is the organizing principle of the site clear? How can the author improve individual pages to make the organizing principle more effective?
• Experience. What is the overall experience of the site? How can the author improve organization and design to convey this experience?

Apr 18

Workshop.
Writing Space 4 Due
Project Proposal Due
Recommended browsing: Vanity Search

Apr 20

Workshop.

Apr 25

Class presentations.
An expanded version of your proposal, with a presentation of the research and results, up to this point. 10-15 minutes per group. All members present equally.

Apr 27

Review. Last Class.

May 2

All work due.
- All final revisions to personal space. At this point it should largely be tidying things up!
- All final revisions to group project. Be sure to review all the requirements.
- Email to Sandy. The email can be any length. Use it to reflect on the course in general, and specifically on the group experience. The emails will factor into the groups grade.

Maps of the Internet from the CNET Gallery

Jay David Bolter, on "Writing Space"

By "writing space" I mean first of all the physical and visual field defined by a particular technology of writing. All forms of writing are spatial, for we can only see and understand written signs as extended in a space of at least two dimensions. Each technology gives us a different space. For early ancient writing, the space was the inner surface of a continuous roll, which the writer divided into columns. For medieval handwriting, and modern printing, the space is the white surface of the page, particularly in a bound volume. For electronic writing, the space is the computers videoscreen where text is displayed as well as the electronic memory in which text is stored. The computers writing space is animated, visually complex, and to a surprising extent malleable in the hands of both writer and reader.

How the writer and the reader understand writing is conditioned by the physical and visual character of the books they use. Each physical writing space fosters a particular understanding both of the act of writing and of the product, the written text. In this late age of print, writers and readers still conceive of all texts, of texts itself, as located in the space of a printed book. The conceptual space of a printed book is one in which writing is stable, monumental, and controlled exclusively by the author. It is the space defined by perfect printed volumes that exist in thousands of identical copies. The conceptual space of electronic writing, on the other hand, is characterized by fluidity and an interactive relationship between writer and reader. These different conceptual spaces foster different styles and genres of writing and different theories of literature.

In the act of writing, the writer externalizes his or her thoughts. The writer enters into a reflective and reflexive relationship with the written page, a relationship in which thoughts are bodied forth. It becomes difficult to say where thinking ends and writing begins, where the mind ends and the writing space begins. With any technique of writing on stone or clay, papyrus or paper, and particularly on the computer screen the writer comes to regard the mind itself as a writing space. The writing space becomes a metaphor, in fact literate cultures root metaphor, for the human mind.