DIGITALWRITING

WRT 302 | FALL 2015

Schedule of Events (subject to change)

Sept. 1

What is Digital Writing? Introductions, syllabus, de8initions, tech inventories.

Why do we care?
For next class:
Read Derakhshan, The Web We Have to Save
and Rheingold, Why You Need Digital Know-
How and post comments to course blog.

Sept. 3

Unit 1: Interrogating
the Interface

Sept. 8

Sept. 10

Using interfaces to
represent ourselves.
Interface and genre.
Interface and
circulation

Initial discussion of digital literacies and interfaces.

For next class:
Read Rettburg, Ch1 and 2 and post comments to
course blog.
Send me your app preferences via email by
midnight on Sunday, 9/6
Rhetorical aspects of interfaces.
For next class: Read Dewey, How a 13-year-olds one-line
blog post became a worldwide meme and Paulas, What
It Feels Like to Go Viral.
Virality and genre expectations
For next Class: Read Bolter & Grusin, Remediation, and
post comments to course blog.
Discussion of technological precedents
Basic platforms and principles for screencasting

Sept. 15

Screencasting

Sept. 17

Screencast Production Come to class with a 1-2 page outline, storyboard, and/or
proposal that details what youll be doing for the project.
Well be conducting peer review and starting production.

Sept. 22

Accessibility

Sept. 24

Peer Review

For next class: Read or watch McRitchie, YouTube

Ranking Factors and Blake, We Know Automatic
Subtitles Arent Good Enough.
Basic principles of accessibility in video
Come with a completed draft of your screencast that is
ready for viewing and review.
Submission Deadline for Interrogating the Interface
screencast: 9/25, midnight

Sept. 29

Oct. 1

Oct. 6

Oct. 8

Oct. 13

Oct. 15

Oct. 20

Unit 2: Planning and

Launching a Website
Platforms and Purpose

Come prepared to discuss your thoughts on platform

choices and ideas for publication.
Homework:
Finalize platform decisions.
Finalize topic selection.
Read Redish, Chapter 2. Post on course blog: your
topic, your purpose statement, and one persona.
Platform Setup and
Platform setup. Come prepared to peer-review your 8irst
Further Persona
persona. We will also discuss authorial ethos and
Development
scenario development.
Homework, all posted to course blog:
A well-considered paragraph describing your
authorial ethos and reasoning for it
Two additional personas
Read Redish, 37-44 for next session and post
comments.
Scenarios and Content Come prepared to develop scenarios and discuss
Strategy
potential aspects of integrated content strategy. We wont
be studying social media per se in this class, but it may be
part of your overall strategy.
Homework:
Post three scenarios to the course blog
Read Redish, 45-60 for next session and
Designing for People Who Do Not Read Easily.
Post comments.
Design: Getting Started Templates, add-ons, basic posting.
Draft your 8irst post; post between now and 2/23.
Read Redish, 73-88 for next session and post
comments.
Design: Branding
Site ethos: identi8ication/brand/tone.
Draft a basic description of your brand.
Draft your About page
Read Quinn, 13 Ways the W3Cs Accessibility
Guidelines Also Help SEO and Redish, 157-187
for next session and post comments.
SEO, Style and Voice
Considering writing style in light of brand, ethos,
audience, and search engine optimization.
Read Redish, 197-226. Post a consideration of
ways that youll need to revise or alter your style
in the future. What are your individual goals for
your writing over the rest of this semester
Organizing Content
Basic information architecture and strategy. Categories,
tagging.
Using WriteMaps, develop a basic architecture of
your site. Refer to the requirements we discussed
in class. Post a link to the map and a justi8ication
for your choices on the course blog.
Read Bound By Law for next session and post
comments.

Oct. 22

Working with Images

Oct. 27

Working with Images,

Part Deux

Oct. 29

Nov. 3

Locating images, image quality, licensing, hosting.

Reading TBA

Taking quality images, basic processing

Create two original images that youre proud of.
Process them appropriately and integrate them in
your blog in a way that you 8ind appropriate. One
of these images can be for your bio page, but the
other should be content or branding of some sort.
Read Redish, 271-289 for next session and post
comments.
Integrating Illustrations Other potential image types; integrating images as
content.
Make sure that each of your posts includes a well-
integrated image.
Draft a list of what information types your site
should include
Read Redish, 101-124 for next session and post
comments.
Developing ancillary
Building out additional pages, user paths.
pages
Fully draft two static pages for your site.

Nov. 5

Unit 3: Multimedia
Overview of Culminating Project
Production
Proposal Aspects
Final Project: Discovery Timelines and Milestones
Read for next session: Stockman, How to Shoot
Video that Doesnt Suck, 8-29 and post
comments.

Nov. 10

Video

Basic Considerations, Intent

Read for next session: Stockman, How to Shoot
Video that Doesnt Suck, 30-54 and post
comments.

Nov. 12

Video

Basic Video Planning

Read for next session: Stockman, How to Shoot
Video that Doesnt Suck, 195-227 and post
comments.
Project Proposal due by midnight 11/13
Basic Video Development

Nov. 17

Video

Nov. 19
Nov. 21-28

Individual Conferences Individual Conferences

Read for next session: Krug, Dont Make Me
Think! (excerpt, PDF).
Thanksgiving Break
Thanksgiving Break

Dec. 1

Usability Testing

Dec. 3

Live Usability Testing

Dec. 8
Dec. 10

Open Lab
Wrap-up

Developing quality testing procedures, elements of basic

usability reports
Fully prepare your usability testing materials.
Come prepared to conduct live usability testing of blog.
This means protocols are complete, testing materials are
ready, and your site is as complete as possible.
Open Lab
Final submissions due by midnight on Dec. 15.