Reading Discussion #1

What is your opinion on these new artists who create art digitally? Do you consider it art, why or why not? If you do believe it is art, do you believe it has less value than art created without a computer?

Please respond in one or two small paragraphs in the comment section. Feel free to engage with other student's opinion but RESPECT must be given at all times. No bullying, cursing, or swearing is allowed.

Introduction and Syllabus

Welcome to ENG 394 online! I am very excited for this semester and to be teaching you all. There is a lot to do and explore in this class and I hope everyone will take advantage of all it has to offer. To start off, I would like to clarify that this blog is the class. There will be no hard copies turned in to me. We will not meet in Landrum or any physical place. If you need to see me in person to discuss the class, then you can refer to the office hours I have listed in the syllabus below.

ENG 394: Writing for the Digital Age

With the invention of the internet and other technology the world has never seen the likes of before, writing on paper with a pen is an option instead of a requirement. As a result, writing itself has changed. While still one of the main forms of communication, it has expanded and evolved. Writing comes in all shapes and sizes more than ever before; new mediums to write on and new types of writing have been created. Examples of this include blogs, Tumblr for mediums, and text messages and tweets for forms. As the world becomes more and more digital, it is vital to understand how to navigate the digital realms of writing and how to do the writing itself. This class will teach students how to write digitally and how to be successful; an online presence is important for students to have, since employers seek employees with digital skills, particularly those of digital communication.

We will explore new platforms used to present digital writing and utilize them. We will read articles from successful men and women who have made it in the digital world. We will have discussions via blog posts about things we have read.

Objectives

In this course, you will

• Become more familiar with a wide variety of writing in the digital age through experience and practice
• Create and maintain a web identity
• Practice writing in digital environments
• Read and discuss different perspectives on digital writing and how they affect how we see the world

Assessment

In this course, you will

• Maintain an individual blog with at least two entries per week
• Maintain a Twitter account where you tweet daily
• Complete a personal research assignment
• Write and publish a short story online in any platform

Grade Calculation

Your final grade will be determined on participation and completion of projects. The minimum requirement for each grade is as follows:

A  completion of all projects
B  completion of all blogs, tweets, short story, reading discussions, and research project
C  completion of  all blogs, tweets, and research project
D  completion of all blogs and tweets

Course Calendar

Week One:

• set up blog and Twitter account
• send link of Twitter account and blog to me via email and I will post them on Blackboard (for safety reasons)

Week Two:

• Read and blog about Chapter 1 of Beyond Literacy (link under Assignments)
• Read and Blog about Chapter 2 of BL (Beyond Literacy)

Week Three:

• Read and blog about Chapter 3 of Beyond Literacy.
• Read and blog about "The Creative Apocalypse that Wasn't"
• Post in reading discussion #1 in comments

Week Four:

• Read and blog about Chapter 4 of BL
• Locate a favorite blog of yours and write a blog on how it is different or similar to yours

Week Five:

• Read and blog about Chapter 4 of BL
• Live tweet a movie of your choice using the #nkueng394
• Blog about the live tweet experience

Week Six:

• Read and blog about Chapter 5 of BL
• Pick two of your classmate' blogs and comment on them--positive feedback and constructive criticism only!
• Post in reading discussion #2

Week Seven:

• Post a blog entry on ideas for individual research project
• Read and blog about Chapter 6 and 7 of BL

Week Eight:

• Find a major recent event and tweet about it using the #nkueng394
• Read and blog about Chapter 8 of Beyond Literacy
• Read and Blog about "Teaching and Learning with Social Media"
• Post in reading discussion #3

Week Nine:

• Watch and live tweet Citizen Four; use #nkueng394
• Blog about Citizen Four
• Read and blog about Chapter 9 of BL

Week Ten:

• Read and blog about Chapter 10 of BL
• Read and blog about "Writing in the 21st Century"
• Begin research project (Due Thursday of Week Thirteen)

Week Eleven:

• Read and blog about Chapter 11 of BL
• Create a blog post on how your online presence is going

Week Twelve:

• Comment on two of classmates' blogs
• Read and blog about "Why Heather Can Write"
• Post in reading discussion #4

Week Thirteen:

• Post research project as one or two blogs
• Read and blog about Chapter 12 of BL

Week Fourteen:

• Join in a popular hashtag and blog about the experience
• Read and blog about Chapter 13 of BL
• Start brainstorming for short story
• Post in reading discussion #5

Week Fifteen:

• Blog about what you learned and what you did not learn from this class
• Blog about Twitter experience

Week Sixteen:

• Publish short story on chosen format and link to it for me via email

Finals:

• No final exam!

Contact Info:

• alberti@nku.edu

Readings

Here are the links to the readings we will be doing (I will add more as we go along):

http://www.beyondliteracy.com/introduction/

"The Creative Apocalypse that Wasn't" http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/23/magazine/the-creative-apocalypse-that-wasnt.html?smid=pl-share&_r=0