final group project: editing USF’s wikipedia page

tomorrow, i’ll hand out the final group project to intro to media studies students.


Final Group Project: Editing USF’s Wikipedia Page
Intro to Media Studies
Professor Silver

Two weeks ago, we began reading and thinking about USF’s wikipedia page. In class, we talked about ways we would edit and add to the page. We brainstormed topics that could be researched and written, and discussed sources worthy of citing. Last week, with help from Phoebe Ayers, we learned how wikipedia works and how people like you and me can edit the pages. For your final project in Intro to Media Studies, you will work in groups to significantly add or edit the University of San Francisco and San Francisco Dons wikipedia pages.

Requirements:

1. You must join a group of two or more students.

2. You must create your own wikipedia account.

3. By the end of today, a member of your group must post a brief description of your topic to our USF WikiProject page.

4. Your group project assignment is to add significantly to the University of San Francisco and San Francisco Dons wikipedia pages. Your addition should abide by wikipedia’s three main rules: neutral point of view, verifiability, and no original research.

5. Your group contribution should also be interesting - to you, to your group, and to others.

6. Back up what you add and edit with at least five good references. If you are unsure about what makes a good reference, ask your group. If your group cannot decide, ask me.

7. At least three of your references must come directly from Gleeson Library. Please do not underestimate requirement seven. Group projects that do not adhere to this requirement will receive failing grades.

8. If you are lucky, other wikipedians will edit and interact with your work. This is a good thing. Work with not against them.

9. As a group, write a three page essay about your contribution, your references, and who did what. Group-edit your essay until it has zero errors.

10. Print out one copy of your paper and turn it in at the beginning of class on Tuesday, December 9th. Also, turn in your journals.

paper 2: 1984 in popular media

last week, i assigned my intro to media studies students their second paper.


Paper 2: 1984 in Popular Media
Intro to Media Studies
Professor Silver

For the last week and a half, we have been reading, discussing, and deciphering George Orwell’s 1984. We’ve discussed the Ministry of Truth, two-minute hate, telescreens, and surveillance society. We’ve analyzed the role of sex, the potential of the proles, and the purpose of war. And we’ve interpreted the symbolism of food, the othering of enemies, and the power of collective memory.

We’ve also been interpreting instances of 1984 in popular media, including Rage Against the Machine’s song and video “Testify” and Terry Gilliam’s film Brazil. Indeed, the wikipedia page “1984 in Popular Media” lists over a hundred uses of and references to Orwell’s 1984 in television, radio, film, music, books, comics, and video games.

For project two, I want you to select one element or scene from 1984 and one element or scene from another media text (book, film, music, poster, billboard, computer game) and say something original and interesting.

Things to consider:

o Select an element or scene from 1984 that interests you. Be sure to describe the scene with direct examples from the book.

o Select a media text that interests you. Your media text does not have to be from the “1984 in Popular Media” wikipedia page. When discussing your media text, assume your readers have little if any familiarity with it.

o In this paper, I am expecting three things from you: a) an excellent description and analysis of a particular scene from 1984; b) an excellent description and analysis of a particular scene from another media text; and c) most importantly something interesting about the two.

o Before you write your paper, think about your paper. Go to a park. Go to the ocean. Go to your favorite café. Think hard and creatively about the ideas you wish to discuss in your paper. Then write it.

o I expect zero grammar and editing mistakes. If I find more than three errors in your paper, I will stop grading it and require a second draft.

o Your paper must not be longer than three double-spaced pages (including a bibliography) and is due at the beginning of class on Thursday, November 6.

digital journalism begins to heat up

for the first few weeks, my digital journalism students and i read about and discussed online journalism and the various ethical issues and technical opportunities that surround it.

during the next few weeks, my students - including austin, brigid, emilia, jacob, laura, and miles - began blogging and flickring, recording various events and spaces across the USF campus.

today we began to map our progress.


if you click on the map above, you will be taken to the "real" map (hosted on laura's blog), where each pin can be clicked to find a blog post, flickr set, or other assorted material related to the geographic section of campus.

we're just beginning but already it's offered some excellent learning opportunities.

* by linking to our individual work through the collective blog, students can easily read each others' blog posts and look at each others' flickr sets and hopefully learn from one another. learning happens in many ways but my favorite is when students learn from students.

* it's nothing new for journalism students to think of campus as their "beat" but google maps' visualization of campus, where every building, every field of grass, every tree can be zoomed in and zoomed out, gives students a whole new perspective of the campus they think they know so well.

* the mapping software we are using, atlas, makes collaboration - between students, between classes - extremely easy. what's preventing the students enrolled in my class from working with other USF journalism classes taught by teresa moore and michael robertson?

* this project is totally scalable. today, near the end of class, the students and i were admiring our creation. then i clicked on the toolbar on the left side and began zooming out - first USF, then haight ashbury, then golden gate park, then san francisco, then the bay area. i let that sink in for a bit and then said something like "once we finish USF, let's make our beat golden gate park. and after that, let's make it the city."

i have high hopes for digital journalism in general and my digital journalism students in particular.