Tag: assignment

Pitch

For your final project you will be creating an educational VR experience. The first step in this process is to pitch your idea to your potential investors (your classmates and Mosaic Learning). To accomplish this you must present:

  • A 350 word abstract in MLA format. Post this to the blog under tag “pitch.” Find examples here: http://www.umt.edu/ugresearch/umcur/sample_abstracts.php
  • A description of your intended audience and an explanation of how you will reach them.
  • A clear purpose and an explanation of why this is educational and how it can be assessed.
  • Citations and evidence of research.
  • A multimedia presentation with visual aides.

You will have 3 minutes to present, and I will time you. Think of this like a Shark Tank pitch. You want the presentation to be convincing, dynamic, and well researched. Be prepared to answer questions from the audience.

Post under category blog and tag pitch

Final Project

For your final project you will use all of the readings and discussions we have had throughout this semester to inspire your own creation: a virtual reality (VR) experience that evokes empathy inspired by Frankenstein. The goal is to teach your audience about the novel, and particularly to explain why the creature is an empathetic character. You should draw on your own personal experience, criticism of the novel, and other reliable, scholarly sources to write a pitch – and ultimately a formal proposal – for this short VR application.  Again, your VR experience must be both educational and intended to induce empathy in your audience. You will design this simulation as an entry to the competition being held by Mosaic Learning:

http://www.mosaiclearning.com/

To accomplish this task, the project will be broken down into steps:

  1. Individual pitches: each student will conceptualize and present their idea for a project in 3 minutes. The class will vote on the top 4 projects. You should use multimedia and evidence of research in this pitch.
  2. Group contracts: in small groups of 3-4, students will outline their plan for this project and assign roles and responsibilities for each student to accomplish. A timeline and due dates will be established. This will be submitted via Google Doc to Dr. L.
  3. Formal proposals: each group will compose a 3-5 page proposal for their project meeting the criteria of the competition. The proposal will include outside research, citations, and a bibliography.
  4. Prototype: each group will create a demo of the simulation by making script and either storyboard or short video using our Richo Theta cameras or StoryBoardTHAT.
  5. Final presentation: this is your presentation to Mosaic Learning. You will present all of your research and your prototype in a formal presentation including all of your group members. You have 15 minutes plus 3 minutes for questions. The final presentations are during the final exam period.

Each proposal should include the following elements:

  • Intro/Purpose – a thorough description of your application, your inspiration, and your intended audience. In this section describe how this application will evoke empathy, and why you think it will aide in the audience understanding the themes in the novel Frankenstein. 
  • Learning Outcomes – what will your audience learn and how can this learning be assessed?
  • User Experience/ User Interface – how will your audience use this application? Explain what device (Google Cardboard, HTC Vive, Oculus Go) you intend this to be for and why, describe the interactive elements of the application, and demonstrate the visual appeal of this experience. This is where your storyboard and script should appear in your final proposal.  
  • Implementation Strategy – who will you market this toward and how will you reach them? Consider what your logo, motto, and or/tagline might be. How will this be implemented by teachers into classrooms? How will educators measure the impact of this experience?
  • Long-term Vision – how can this be expanded into a series of applications? Can their be more chapters? New editions? New features? Can you expand this to new (secondary) audiences? How can you reach new markets with this application?

You will post your final proposals to our course blog using the category and tag “Final” the day before our final exam period.

Have fun! Be creative! Be inspired!

Midterm

We have the privilege of shaping our midterm essays to fit a real publication. Cyborgology, an academic, peer-edited blog, has agreed to work with our class to contextualize and format this assignment for submission to their publication. This publication takes issues presented in literature and contextualizes their overarching questions by relating the content to relevant political and cultural events. Therefore, you will take the themes we have discussed regarding Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and present them to an educated audience in terms of a current event you consider parallel in some significant way. The goal is to shed light on both the novel and our society by pairing them together.

Using the audience, format, genre, and style of a typical Cyborgology post (see list of examples here) as your model, you will craft a ~2,000-3,000 word blog post that answers the question “What Makes Us Human?” with a particular emphasis on the concept of empathy. In order to address this question you must frame it in terms of the texts we have read. Every paper must use Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep as the primary example, and use at least two of the articles we have read as secondary evidence. You are also welcome to include up to two additional sources from either our course readings or reliable outside sources that you consider essential to make your point. (In other words, you must have a minimum of 3 sources, and a maximum of 5 sources.) All sources must be integrated through summary, paraphrase, or quotation with proper MLA formatting (use OWL at Purdue for guidance).

Please see the Cyborgology submission guidelines for further information. You can and should include hyperlinks to your sources as indicated in this guide. You are also encouraged to use images, videos, or infographics that demonstrate your point (with captions and citations). Also, read this post on writing for a public audience by editor David Banks.

Sample outline: *From Cyborgology editor David Banks*

  1. Introduction to X
  2. Sentence telegraphing at the possibility that X is better understood with Y.
  3. Summary of coverage of X
  4. Why summary is wrong/incomplete/misunderstood by 3rd parties.
  5. Introduction of theory Y
  6. Application of theory Y
  7. Synthesis of X and Y
  8. Prescriptions and conclusions

Two printed copies of your draft in TNR, size 12, double spaced are due on 10/4 in class and a revised copy for our conference. Your final essay must be posted to our site under category “midterm” and tag “cyborgology” by 10/9.

Here is the rubric.

Provocation Assignment

Throughout the semester you will notice “provocation” assignments built into our syllabus. They are often broken into groups and correspond to longer readings. Provocations are meant to provide context and support for your student-led discussions in class. In order to complete these assignments you must:

  • Read the assigned text very closely and annotate it thoroughly
  • Choose one section of the text you found most interesting/problematic/controversial/stimulating and summarize it in 5-7 sentences
  • You must use at least one paraphrase or direct quote and it must have an MLA citation
  • Construct a complex question for your classmates to answer about that section of the text that will spark a lively debate

On the blog, you will post your provocations BEFORE class time as indicated on the syllabus. ONLY post when your group is listed on the syllabus. Use the category and tag provided by your professor for each post.

These posts will be graded on the following scale:

  • A = An engaging, thought-provoking post that shows attention to detail and comprehension of the text. Grammar and mechanics must be practically perfect (edit carefully!). Direct evidence from the text with a citation must be included.
  • B = An accurate summary and well-composed question that may contain a small, but not catastrophic, misreading or errors in grammar and mechanics.
  • C = A sloppy post that shows little effort and does not include the elements listed above.
  • D = A post that is a day late, or difficult to read, or phrased in a way that students would be unable to respond.
  • F = A post that is a week late, contains numerous errors, and does not contribute to the conversation. Or the post does not exist.

Please create these summaries and questions yourself: DO NOT STEAL OTHER PEOPLES WORK. If I find you have plagiarized these posts you will be reported. If you are struggling please come see me or email me with questions.