This project asks you to build on the Formal Report by translating your work into a digital project: a website, a podcast/audio recording, or a video. If the Formal Report was imagined as professional document for a team, company, or organization interested in your topic, then the Digital Project looks outward toward a broader public audience. This is an opportunity to inform and recommend, to help people better understand your topic and have a sense for what sort of action they can take.
The scope of our projects can vary. There should be clear sense that the Digital Project goes beyond the Formal Report and builds on it in some way, that you are not simply recycling your writing and work from that assignment. There should also be a clear sense that you have taken advantage of the three weeks we have to work on the project, that your project is substantial enough to reflect the available time. Beyond that, our projects can vary in terms of length and features.
For example, if you are working on a website, your work could focus on any combination of learning how to use a given platform (such as WordPress, Google Sites, Wix, or Weebly), collecting relevant images, videos, and/or other relevant embedded content, writing new content, etc. Depending on the purpose of your site, you might have fewer pages or more, shorter pages or longer. If you are working on an audio (Audacity is a good free option) or video (VideoPad is a good free option) project, there is no set length requirement, and you should factor in both the recording and editing work. Along these lines, a shorter video could take longer to make if it involves more editing work; a longer audio recording could be completed fairly quickly if you are just recording a longer conversation. Again, the main note is that your work should reflect the time we have available to work on the project.
Regardless of which approach you take, you should complete the following.
Submitting Your Work
You will need to have some way of submitting your work so that I can access it. For websites, they will need to be published, at least while I am offering feedback (you are welcome to take your sites offline afterward if you prefer). For audio and video recordings, you can share them online (such as on Soundcloud, YouTube, or Vimeo), or you can share them directly with me, over email or through a file sharing site. If you have questions or concerns about submitting your work, let me know and we can figure it out together.
Accessibility
Every project should include some attention to accessibility. For websites, you should include alt text for all images posted to your site. For audio and video projects, you should produce a transcript (see an example here). Depending on the length of your project, the transcript could potentially be quite long, so you only need to produce one page of transcription, although you are welcome to produce more.
Project Reflection
In addition to the digital project you produce, you should also complete a reflection (minimum 500 words, submitted via email) that addresses the following prompts.
- What was the main purpose of your project? Where were you most successful in achieving this purpose? Least successful? Point to specific aspects of your work and explain how they add to your project.
- How did you spend your time on the project? What challenges did you encounter?
- Comment on your work for this project in relation to the question of fair use. Where did you incorporate the work of others into your project? How would you defend your use of these materials with reference to the principles of fair use?
Matt King 