Digital Technology and Culture
A blog for students and friends of Washington State University Vancouver's Digital Technology and Culture Program
Name: Dr. Dene Grigar
This blog is maintained by Dr. Dene Grigar, WSUVancouver. Contact me at grigar@vancouver.wsu.edu
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Some of you who attended last Friday night's fundraiser for SafeChoice asked to donate items the spokewoman mentioned in her welcome speech. If you are interested in doing this, bring your items to my office and I will take the items to the organization.
--Dene
get ready for the future of web development with LOLCODE
http://lolcode.com/home
Rachel Bridgewater, WSUV's Library Reference Librarian and DTC Extended Faculty member who teaches DTC 356 ("Electronic Research and the Rhetoric of Information), was named "Mover and Shaker" by the Library Journal. You can read more about this award at:
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/news/releases/pl/high-tech-university-librarian-gains-national-recognition/
Congratulations, Rachel!
Some of you have indicated that you are interested in taking DTC courses online through the university's DDP. At the present and I suspect the near future there are no plans to offer the DTC major online. To date only two courses are ever offered: 475 and 355.
From what I learned yesterday at the DTC-State Wide Committee Meeting is that 355 was the first course offered through the DDP and was intended to serve non-majors who needed a "C" course. It was never meant to be taken by majors. I will follow that dictate and not make it available for our campus.
This leaves only the online version of 475 available. I would rather Vancouver DTC students take Vancouver courses since Harrison, John, and I have developed a very specific program of training that includes goals and objectives intended to help students be successful in their careers and future plans. I do not see such an overarching plan with the DDP courses. I do understand, however, the necessity of taking online courses due to illness and such and respect that.
The final thing that comes to mind about taking online classes is that students need contact with faculty who can help them get jobs. That the faculty for the DDP is located in Pullman means that contact with them is limited to the interaction in the online class. Having taught online myself since 1995 I can honestly say that students in those classes would at some point show up at my office to talk, ask questions, or ask for recommendations for a job or grad school. It may be difficult to do this when the faculty member is six hours away by car.
I thought some of you would get a kick out of this map, posted on Jess's blog at De Montfort U in the UK:
http://www.hum.dmu.ac.uk/blogs/part/2007/05/map_of_the_new_world.html
Dene
Brian Rauscher from Student Services sent me this job posting. Graduates, take heed:
Job Title:WEB EDITOR
Employer:THE COLUMBIAN
Source:The Columbian
Location:VANCOUVER
Date:05-18-2007
Closes:06-18-2007
Description:
WEB EDITOR Ignite your career by working for one of the best mid size family owned daily newspapers in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. The Columbian, is seeking a dynamic Web Editor to bring The Columbian to the forefront on delivering news and information to our web site. This new position will be responsible for moving information from the newsroom to the web in a seamless fashion by providing leadership for online news. We are seeking an innovative person who will find new ways to produce content when and where the audience wants it. Candidate will collaborate with reporters to produce and promote news and features on-line as well as oversee daily coordination of breaking news and feature content onto the website. Other duties include developing, editing and maintaining video contributions from reporters, creating and maintaining newsroom blogs and web broadcasting. The position reports to the Editor and works closely with the Webmaster.
Successful candidate will possess demonstrated understanding of the latest trends in the interactive industry, passionate about Internet story telling with proven experience in a creative environment. Newsroom experience preferred. Experience with photoshop, video editing and web and multimedia production required. Must be an excellent communicator verbally, in writing,Bachelor's degree and HTML, Quicktime, Flash and Windows Media training preferred. If you seek professional development in a challenging yet highly rewarding environment and meet the characteristics listed above, please send your cover letter, resume and salary history to:
jobs@columbian.com or The Columbian
Attn: HR, Web Editor Position, PO Box 180, Vancouver, WA 98666.
Deadline to apply is June 18, 2007 Employment subject to pre-employment drug screen. EOE
Trip Gruver, Emmy and Clio award-winning video director and designer, gives the final presentation in the Spring 2007 Media Artists’ Talk. His talk entitled, "The New Independents . . . From Desktop to Broadcast," looks at the “”new video age where inexpensive three-chip cameras, desktop video, and website broadcasting make production and dissemination so open and accessible to the public.
The talk takes place at 7 pm on Thursday, May 24 at Northbank Gallery and is sponsored by Washington State University Vancouver’s College of Liberal Arts, Digital Technology and Culture program, and Northbank Gallery.
For more information, contact Dr. Dene Grigar, grigar@vancouver.wsu.edu or 360-546-9487.
Have your Artwork displayed on Campus
The Digital Technology and Culture club and the Information Technology departments are working together to create galleries for student artwork in the computer labs on campus. This is an opportunity for WSUV students to both expose the public with their own art and to improve the conditions of the school's labs.
Submission Details
• Submissions must be in a format that can hang on a wall.
• Framing and hanging services will be provided at no cost.
• Students retain ownership of the art they submit
How to Submit your Art
Submissions and questions can both directed at Brandon Thorstenson
at brandonthorstenson@hotmail.com
Students,
Here is the syllabus for the Senior Seminar course taught during Summer II. If you are interested in the course, there is a bit of room left.
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DTC 476 “Digital Literacies”
Dr. Dene Grigar
T, TH 11-14:20, VMMC 23
Office: MMC 102G, 546-9487
Email: Grigar@vancouver.wsu.edu
Web: www.nouspace.net/dene
Introduction to the Course Content and Focus
The focus of this Senior Seminar is to professionalize students planning to attend a graduate program in digital media or a related field. Thus, attention is given to providing students with a hands on experience with directing and participating in a large digital media project; teaching students how to engage in a critique of digital work; and helping students prepare requisite materials, such as a proposal, portfolio, resume, and writing sample, needed for their professional career. In brief, this course offers students a kind of literacy of digital media aimed at enhancing their success in the field.
For this reason, there is only one digital media project for the semester––but it is a very large one with numerous steps that must be undertaken to arrive at the final product, a portfolio. To be successful in the course, then, students must 1) stay up with all of the required assignments that lead to completion of the portfolio, 2) engage in the production of large digital media project, and 3) attend all classes, tutorials, and workshops.
The course is a “seminar.” This means that it is project-based, is limited to a small number of students and––when held in the classroom––entails open discussion held around a seminar table (hence, the name “seminar” style class). Because you are required to turn in a project, you will also meet with me individually for tutorials and spend class time working independently.
Since students draw upon knowledge derived from their coursework, we recommend students who take this course be in their last year of classes.
Course Schedule
(C) Meet in classroom, VMMC 23
(O) Meet in Professor’s Office, VMMC 102G
(I) Work independently on Project
Week One: Defining Course, Setting Up Projects
Tuesday, June 19 Introductions, statement of interest, planning projects (C)
Thursday, June 21 Tutorial with professor (O)
Week Two: Independent Research into Topic / Hamassing Resources and Tools
Tuesday, June 26 Formal presentation of project idea to the class (C)
Thursday, June 28 Resume workshop / Proposal workshop (C)
Week Three: Proposal Process / Undertaking Work
Tuesday, July 3 Proposal due; tutorial with professor (O)
Thursday, July 5 Work on projects (I)
Week Four: Undertaking Work
Tuesday, July 10 Work on projects (I)
Thursday, July 12 Work on projects (I)
Week Five: Undertaking Work / Feedback / Revising Work
Tuesday, July 17 Group Critique (C)
Thursday, July 19 Professor’s Critique (O)
Week Six: Exhibit-Present-Perform / Portfolios
Tuesday, July 24 Event (C)
Thursday, July 26 Portfolio workshop / Professionalizing Workshop (C)
Project Types
1. One of the 13 genres that make up digital media, or
2. A formal, seminar length academic paper (20+ pages, excluding Works Cited) on some aspect of digital media, with accompanying digital-based artifact
Assessment
Work will be assessed for its professional quality. Other factors include being turned in on time, uniqueness, and, of course, content. Components that will be assessed are:
Proposal 10%
Resume 10%
Critiques 10%
Self-Reflection Essay 10%
Large Media Project 30%
Portfolio 30%
Items turned in late will be penalized a letter grade per day (not class day but each day) late. Items not turned in cannot be made up by other work.
Absenteeism
Students need to be in class and tutorials on the days indicated in the Course Schedule. This amounts to six classes (C) and three 30-minute conferences (O) with the professor. The rest of the time students work independently on their projects (I). Keep in mind that one summer class = three classes in a regular semester.
Dr. Andy Opel, Assistant Professor in video production and critical media studies at Florida State University, joins the DTC this summer to teach Video Production. Those of you who have enrolled in the course, which begins on Tuesday, may want to know a bit about Andy.
He did his PhD at UNC-Chapel Hill in Mass Communication, with a certificate in Cultural Studies; his masters degree, at U of Oregon in Communication. Interestingly, his undergraduate degree was undertaken in Anthropology at Harvard. So, he brings to our program a wide range of talents and multidiscipinarity.
Here is his webpage:
http://mailer.fsu.edu/~aopel/vita.html
John and I will host a special welcome reception for Andy so that all of you can meet him. We are very excited that he is here. Welcome, Andy!
