ENGL 41900, Multimedia Writing

CRN 18948
MWF 10:30AM – 11:20AM
Stanley Coulter Hall Room G046

Instructor: Karen Kaiser Lee

Office: Heavilon Hall Room 308D
Email: kkaiserl@purdue.edu
Office hours: Monday & Wednesday 11:30 - 12:30
and by appointment
Textbooks
Before & After: How to Design Cool Stuff by John McWade.
Peachpit Press, 2009. ISBN 0321580125. "Music", a Creative Commons
Other readings will be online – either linked to or posted as licensed image by Flickr user Ssosay.
PDFs on the course website.

The authors of the book Multimedia: From Wagner to Virtual Reality divide the key concepts of
multimedia into Integration, Interactivity, Immersion, Hypermedia, and Narrativity. We will start with
these concepts as we analyze examples of multimedia documents and work finding answers to the
following questions:
 What abilities or ideas do we tend to find in our examination of multimedia documents that we
can we add to the above list of five concepts?
 What IS multimedia? Why do we (or do we?) need to define it?
 What are some strategies for writing for multimedia? Must we develop new strategies for each
form of multimedia, or are there some basic principles that hold for all forms of multimedia?
 How is designing a website or making a video writing?
 How do the rhetorical concepts like ethos, logos, and pathos, and kairos function in multimedia
communication?
In addition to tackling the theory of multimedia, we will also get plenty of practice composing
multimedia texts. We will use a variety of design programs and technologies, including but not limited
to: digital cameras, photo editing software (Fireworks and/or Photoshop), digital video, digital video
editing software (Windows MovieMaker and Adobe Premiere), audio editing software (Garage Band,
Audacity), web design software (Dreamweaver) as well as working directly with html code, and
animation software (Flash). We will also use Microsoft Office programs.
Some of these programs may be familiar to you; if they aren’t, that is fine. This course does not assume
any prior knowledge of design software programs. There will be in-class tutorials, and we will consult
other resources (both local and electronic) to help you build technology skills. On the other hand, you
may be better using these programs than I am. If so, I hope you won’t mind helping fellow students (and
possibly me).

ENGL 41900 Multimedia Writing

Catalog Description
Multimedia writing for networked contexts. Emphasizes principles and practices of multimedia design,
implementation, and publishing. Typical genres include Web sites, interactive media, digital video,
visual presentations, visual argument, and user documentation. (3 credit course)

General Course Description

This course helps students practice and understand the principles of multimedia design and
implementation, with emphasis on writing in multimedia contexts. Students closely examine various
multimedia products, doing oral and/or written analyses of a number of such pieces. Course readings
focus on how different media communicate meaning, shape our reactions, and interact with one another.
Students propose, plan, and develop a a number of individual and/or group multimedia projects,
including those for the Web, using a variety of technologies that support and enhance the presentation of
content in multimedia forms.
Note: Professional Writing majors in the Writing and Publishing concentration may use ENGL 419 as a
suitable course in the category that presently asks them to take ENGL 420, Business Writing, or ENGL
421, Technical Writing. Students in other majors who presently take ENGL 420 or 421 may, with
approval of their academic advisor or area, use this course to satisfy a similar requirement.

Required Materials and Technology

 Access to the Internet, especially our course web site and Purdue’s Online Writing Lab
( http://owl.english.purdue.edu )
 Access to a digital camera, available at the DLC (http://www.dlc.purdue.edu/); if your cell phone
has a camera, that will be fine for most projects
 Access to your Purdue student account
 A USB flash drive, for back-up copies of your work and to enable you to bring assignment drafts
to class
 A Tumblr account (free, sign up at www.tumblr.com)

Course Goals

Responsibility
 Engage the culture and problems associated with multimedia writing
 Develop project standards through negotiation with clients

Project Management
 Use, adapt, and evaluate various writing techniques and technologies for specific rhetorical
purposes

ENGL 41900 Multimedia Writing

  Learn to evaluate and apply effective principles of document design in print and digital media.
 Develop multiple and flexible online work strategies to make a professional portfolio
 Plan and articulate design decisions throughout the production process
 Develop strategies for planning, researching, and producing documents that effectively respond
to specific professional situations, problems, or research issues

Teamwork
Learn and apply strategies for successful teamwork, such as:
 working online with colleagues
 determining roles and responsibilities
 managing team conflicts constructively
 responding constructively to peers’ work
 using peer feedback
 achieving team goals

Projects and Course Work

These are brief descriptions of our work for this semester. See the project page and course calendar for
detailed assignment descriptions.
Collaborative video project
In this project, you will work in teams to create a five to ten minute long video that documents a current
issue that affects students, campus, or or the greater Lafayette area. This project includes research, a
written proposal and storyboard, which will function as a rough draft. The videos will be shown in class
and posted to a video sharing site such as Youtube. (collaborative, 20% of grade)
Professional website and resume
We will start with a paper-based, formulaic genre – the resume – and create an updated version for the
Web. This project includes a digital resume formatted for the Internet and a basic, well-designed
website. (individual, 30% of grade)
Presentation: What is multimedia?
Pulling from our readings and discussions, you will design a multimedia presentation that reflects your
understanding of multimedia and what it means to write for – and with – multimedia. (individual, 30%
of grade)
Class participation and writing
1. class blog posts
Students will be asked to post at least one entry per week on the course blog. The course calendar will
indicate how many and what type of content is required for blog posts each week. Types of content may
include responses to readings, research notes, relevant websites, images, videos, and the like that
demonstrate the multimedia concepts we’re discussing. You could also post tutorials or other sites
helpful for learning how to use design software, or helpful sites . We will turn to our blog posts to start
class discussion, so be ready to talk about your blog entry in class. We will also use the blog function on
the course website to post drafts of work, peer review, and other in-class work.

ENGL 41900 Multimedia Writing

2. Workshops, in-class projects
We will have workshops and projects throughout the semester that explore design concepts or software.
These small assignments must be completed by the end of the class session.
3. Quizzes
We will have unannounced, periodic reading quizzes, but not the kind you may be used to; these quizzes
will be in the form of short exercises that require you to demonstrate your comprehension of readings.
(individual, 20% of grade)

Grading and Evaluation

Major course projects will be awarded letter grades which are weighted as follows: A (95); A- (90); B+
(87), B (84), B- (80), C+ (77), C (74), C- (70), D (67), F (59). Projects not submitted on time will be
given a 0.
Final grades will be calculated on the standard plus-minus letter grade scale: A=100-94, A-=93-90,
B+=89-87, B=86-84, B-=83-80, C+=79-77, C=76-74, C-=73-70, D+=69-67, D=66-64, D-=63-60, F=59
or below.
Students must complete all of the major projects and a majority of the in-class assignments and
Tumblr/weblog posting assignments in order to pass this class. Students with questions about final
grades should review university policies regarding grade appeals, which are outlined by the Dean of
Students here: http://www.purdue.edu/odos/osrr/gradeappeal.pdf. The University regulations are
here: http://www.purdue.edu/univregs/pages/stu_conduct/stu_regulations.html.
As a class we will collaborate and determine criteria for evaluating each project; a typical set of criteria
for a project might include effective use of multimedia components; the skill with which basic rhetorical
concepts such as ethos, logos, pathos are deployed in the project; audience awareness; overall design;
quality of the content; professionalism and/or creativity. Specific assignment descriptions will provide
any additional grading criteria.

Class participation, reading responses, peer reviews and other written work will be evaluated based on:
• How well you implement the guidelines and best practices for posting comments and creating
reading responses, as presented on our course site and discussed in the textbook.
• The degree to which your your peer reviews and responses offer insightful feedback and
suggestions on your classmates' drafts.
• The degree to which your reading responses and comment posts demonstrate learning of the
course content.
• The degree to which your reading responses and comment posts engage with and contribute to
the learning of others in the course.

Technology Responsibilities
Familiarity with certain technologies is crucial for participation and success in the course. If you need
any assistance now or at any point during the semester, please do not hesitate to ask.
During the semester, you'll need regular access to the Internet and email. Because the course home page
is the main locus of the class community, you are responsible for reading and keeping current with all
content posted there, including what has been submitted by both the instructor and your fellow students.

ENGL 41900 Multimedia Writing

You'll be responsible for configuring your system to access course materials, to read course email and
participate in online discussions, and to submit your work. Very early in the semester, you will be asked
to demonstrate that you can meet these responsibilities:
• Register for the course website and complete your profile information.
• Post a message about yourself and your interests
• Read the course description and calendar, then ask questions when you are uncertain about
requirements or activities.
• Set up your @purdue.edu email or an alternative that you can access regularly and reliably
• Become proficient sending and receiving email attachments, resolving file compatibility issues,
and following email decorum.
• Check the course calendar before each class meeting.
• Become proficient participating in the class Drupal space.
• Become more proficient with unfamiliar computer technologies and applications, including Web
editing software, document cycling systems, desktop publishing applications, and graphics
programs.
• Maintain back-up copies of all assignments via your home directory, disks, USB drives, or CDs.
If at any time you have problems accessing the Internet from home, you'll need to find a public lab or
connection point. Problems with computers will not excuse you for falling behind or failing to
complete required assignments. If your Internet service goes down, find another connection point. If
your computer breaks, use another one. In other words, find a way to complete the assignments on time.
Because computer problems are a fact of life, always work to complete your assignments early and
make frequent backups of your work.

Collaborative Work
Teamwork is a required component of the course. You and your project team members are responsible
for updating one another and me about assignment development and progress. In addition, you also are
responsible for negotiating together all aspects of your work, including planning, drafting, revising, file
managing, and scheduling of assignments.

Professionalism
Students should conduct themselves in a professional manner and avoid harassing, threatening, or
belittling language at all times. All electronic devices except the classroom computers should remain off
and out of sight during class time. Students are asked to create a professional environment in the
classroom by actively listening, paying attention, and positively contributing to class discussions.
Failure to follow these guidelines for professional behavior will result in the student being marked
absent and asked to leave for the day.

Late Work
Deadlines are an important part of design work and they must be met in the workplace; as this is a
professional writing course we will follow that model. Therefore I do not accept late work. I expect all
work to be completed and submitted by day and time on which it is due. No exceptions are made for this
due to computer problems (see the section on technology for more information). If a serious and
unavoidable problem arises, however, you should contact me in writing prior to the deadline to

ENGL 41900 Multimedia Writing

determine whether or not an extension for the work may or may not be granted. Since projects typically
have peer review sessions for rough drafts, you should at least have work on the current project in
progress to submit in the event of such an emergency.

Attendance
Attendance and active participation are required for the following reasons:

 Writing is a social act, so for this course to be a success, everyone’s participation is necessary.

 We will make the most of our class time by working on brief assignments and projects, small
assignments and quizzes (see #4 and #5 under “Class Participation and Writing” above), so for
this course to be meaningful to you, (and to get credit for this work) your presence is necessary.

 Almost none of our classwork (the above-noted quizzes, assignments, in-class projects) can be
made up at a later date, though please note that missing class does not relieve students from the
learning responsibilities of this course.

Attendance and active participation are required, and attendance will be taken before all classes and
conferences. For this course there is no such thing as an excused absence and I make no distinction
between an absence due to illness and an absence due to sleeping in, missing the bus, being unable to
find a parking spot, etc. It is highly recommended that you miss no more FOUR (4) classes during the
semester. As in-class work cannot be made up except for religions holidays, university-sponsored
events, or illnesses/family emergencies documented by a medical doctor / Dean of Students. The more
classes you miss, the more course work you will miss, which will cause your grade to suffer. Students
who miss more than a combined total of EIGHT classes will automatically fail the course.

Tardiness / early departure: If you arrive to class more than ten minutes late, I reserve the right to mark
you absent. If for some reason you must leave class early, please notify me before class begins. Habitual
tardiness will be penalized: three tardies = one class absence.

Excused absences may be granted for religious holidays or university-sponsored events, provided you
make a written request to me no less than two weeks in advance and that you complete any required
work before the due date.

Academic Integrity
Purdue students and their instructors are expected to adhere to guidelines set forth by the Dean of
Students in "Academic Integrity: A Guide for Students," which students are encouraged to read here:
http://www.purdue.edu/odos/osrr/academicintegritybrochure.php
The preamble of this guide states the following: "Purdue University values intellectual integrity and the
highest standards of academic conduct. To be prepared to meet societal needs as leaders and role
models, students must be educated in an ethical learning environment that promotes a high standard of
honor in scholastic work. Academic dishonesty undermines institutional integrity and threatens the
academic fabric of Purdue University. Dishonesty is not an acceptable avenue to success. It diminishes
the quality of a Purdue education, which is valued because of Purdue's high academic standards."
Academic dishonesty is defined as follows: Purdue prohibits "dishonesty in connection with any

ENGL 41900 Multimedia Writing

University activity. Cheating, plagiarism, or knowingly furnishing false information to the University
are examples of dishonesty." [University Regulations, Part V, Section III, B, 2, a] Furthermore, the
University Senate has stipulated that "the commitment of acts of cheating, lying, and deceit in any of
their diverse forms (such as the use of substitutes for taking examinations, the use of illegal cribs,
plagiarism, and copying during examinations) is dishonest and must not be tolerated. Moreover,
knowingly to aid and abet, directly or indirectly, other parties in committing dishonest acts is in itself
dishonest." [University Senate Document 72-18, December 15, 1972]"
If you have any questions about this policy, please ask.

Accommodations for Students with Special Needs

Students with disabilities must be registered with Adaptive Programs in the Office of the Dean of
Students before classroom accommodations can be provided. Students who need accommodations are
asked to arrange a meeting with the instructor during the first week of classes or as soon as possible if
accommodations are needed immediately.

In Case of a Campus Emergency

In the event of a major campus emergency, course requirements, deadlines and grading percentages are
subject to changes that may be necessitated by a revised semester calendar or other circumstances. You
can acquire updated information from the course website, by emailing me or by contacting me through
the English Department at 765-494-3740 or 765-494-3740.
Any changes to this document will be announced in class, via email, and posted to the course web site.

ENGL 41900 Multimedia Writing