Course Syllabus: Spring 2012 Writing for Electronic Media: COMM 252 Hybrid Format

Instructor: Susan Magee, MFA Class Time: M/W; M online; W: FTF 9:30-10:45 My email is magees@chc.edu (I check my email frequently throughout the day). Cell: 215-370-2767 Office: #2 DeSales Center; exit back door of St. Joes, turn right, you will see garages on your leftoffice is above that.) Office Hours: Mon: 9:30-10:45 and 12:30-2; Tues: 9:30-10:30; Thurs 2-3, Fri by appt. Course Description: This course will teach you how to effectively write for electronic media, which includes: commercial Web sites, intranets, e-mail newsletters/promotions, press releases, Facebook posts, tweets, and ad copy. First you will learn why and how writing for an electronic medium is different from a traditional print medium. Then we will explore usability and credibility studies and how to write persuasively for various audiences on the Web. Students will build a portfolio of their electronic writing which will include copy for a facsimile Web site. Course Goals: This is not a course in web page design or computer programming, but neither is it a course for the computer-phobic. You will have to learn a bit about both web design and simple programming techniques. The main goal of the course is to help you develop your ability to communicate effectively in several different varieties of electronic text, and cultivate the ability to think critically about communication in cyberspace. The course is also intended to help you achieve the following outcomes:

demonstrate a thorough familiarity with the conventions of online text (as encountered both in formal/professional and informal/personal contexts) accurately assess and evaluate the credibility of electronic texts and web sites exhibit communications skills and research methods consistent with the academic standards promoted by CHC demonstrate your ability to successfully convey and promote your ideas/goals to appropriate audiences in various electronic environments, including a commercial web site, a not-for-profit web site, Facebook and Twitter, and a personal blog space create a professional online portfolio showcasing your electronic writing work

CHC Learning Outcomes: This course emphasizes key CHC learning outcomes, particularly written communication, information literacy, and intentional learning.

Communication: Students will demonstrate effective communication in a variety of modes, in and out of the classroom: the ability to read, write, speak, listen and use various media effectively. Students will be encouraged to use critical and creative forms of expression. Information Literacy: Students will demonstrate the ability to access, organize, interpret, evaluate and utilize information from a variety of sources. Intentional Learning: Students will be provided with opportunities to cultivate intellectual agility and creativity, purposeful learning, self-assessment, health awareness, self-confidence and the ability to manage change. Students will be encouraged to continue holistic development personally, professionally, aesthetically and physically based on self-reflection, feedback from others and new learning experiences. Course Delivery: Hybrid courses (also known as blended or mixed mode courses) are courses in which a significant portion (30% or more) of the learning activities have been moved online and time traditionally spent in the classroom is reduced but not eliminated. After the first week of class, our class will meet once a week, and the rest of the course will be conducted through online activities, assigned readings and independent writing practice. The goal of hybrid courses is to pair the best features of face-to-face teaching (me sharing my experience and knowledge) with the best options of online learning to promote active and independent learning. Many research studies have documented the benefits to students who take hybrid courses, including the fact that students can become more engaged in the course material and appreciate the flexibility. (And in this case, we only have to get up super early once a week!) Course Requirements/ Technical Skills: Successful participation in this course assumes that the student arrives with a basic set of computer-related technical skills, including the following: * Connecting to the Web via a high speed connection * Connecting to our classroom BlackBoard site, posting on Discussion Board and using Assignment links * File management (opening, unzipping, saving, sharing word processing files)

* Regular e-mail access and application (receiving, reading, printing, composing, sending, managing email messages and attachments) * Ability to view online videos through a media player. You can access links to free downloads Though we will be working with html coding to produce what will look like a real Web site, no previous knowledge or experience with html is necessary. You will be judged upon your writing skills and not your design or programming skills. However, anyone who has a serious interest in writing for electronic mediums should be able to work with code or around it as we will do in this course. Technical Issues/Problems: If youre having trouble with your Internet connection or your computer, I cant help you fix it. You will have to troubleshoot with your provider or with your computers help desk. You should the Colleges helpdesk at helpdesk@chc.edu. Though the help desk staff endeavors to be helpful, you cannot expect immediate results. If youre having a problem logging onto CHCs BlackBoard system (occasionally, it does go down) dont panic. Simply e-mail me. You can always e-mail me your DB postingwhich is why its a good idea to save them in Word files. (See more on that below.) You can always email me. If for any reason CHCs email is down (which could happen), you have my home e-mail (susan@it4.com) and my cell phone: 215-370-2767. Getting Blackboard Help: If youre having a technical issue with BB, you can email Dr. Jessica Kahn, our BB administrator directly at jkahn@chc.edu. You can also access BB help via the main course menu on the bottom. Tip: In general it is well established that BB functions better when you use it with Mozilla Firefox rather than Internet Explorer. Find a link to a free download in your General Resources folder.

Bottom line: You can always get your work done using a computer in one of the Colleges computer labs and get it to me by e-mail or keep me posted via cell phone. Attendance: This class meets only once a week, so attendance at every class is vital to your academic class success. Our FTF class time prepares you for your independent work.

Because this is a professional writing course, missing deadlines is simply not an option. All BB exercises and assignments must be completed on time. 50% online does not mean 50% easier. This is a demanding course, but it will be a fun and interesting one too. This course places much more responsibility on you than simply showing up in a classroom two days a week. You will be expected to participate regularly and thoughtfully in our online discussions. You will have readings and visit web sites in order to build your knowledge and skills. To keep up with the readings, discussions and assignments, you will need to be online regularly. You must have reliable access to a computer with a good Internet connection. If you dont, this is not the course for you. You should get used to checking your BB for Discussion Board threads and e-mail at least three times a week, if not daily. You should be checking, checking, checking. You must have the discipline and self-management skills to take this course as a hybrid or you should take it at another time. If you miss two Discussion Board postings or two deadlines, you will be on your way to failing the class. If you need an extension for an emergency, Im happy to give you one; however, do not ask on the day an assignment is due. NO LATE ASSIGNMENTS/PAPERS WILL BE ACCEPTED UNLESS YOU HAVE MADE PRIOR ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME 48 HOURS BEFORE THE ASSIGNMENT IS DUE OR THE END OF THE UNIT. Discussion Board Etiquette: Because of the hybrid format of this course, we will be using Discussion Board (DB) each week to stay connected during our non FTF class time. DB will be an essential component of your independent work. One aspect of DB postings that may be new for you is that you will be required to not only post your own work, but you are required to review and comment upon at least two of your classmates postings in order for your assignment to be considered complete. Because the DB is such an essential part of an online class, we need to make the most of it. Here are the guidelines: 1. Post on time. Your deadline for posting will always be clearly noted, but you need to try to post ASAP. Your comments, no matter how insightful and intellectually stimulating, simply are not going to be worth much to the rest of the class if you post them at the last possible second or after the deadline. 2. RESPECT. Its fine to disagree but its never okay to put anyone down or ridicule. Be careful with humor. The tricky thing is that sometimes we think were being funny but without all of the verbal cues, like tone of voice, and non-verbals, like facial expression, we can misfire.

3. Write professionally. This is a writing-intensive course. When youve been teaching for a while, certain things make you want to cry. For me, its when students post on DB with complete disregard for the rules of grammar or even just any semblance of normality. DB is not IM. Its not okay to write in code. Its not okay to write in fragments or not to capitalize your first sentences. (Same goes with e-maildont send me poorly written e-mails. Im a writing instructor, I notice.) 4. Participate with enthusiasm. I am looking for genuine engagement and interest in the discussion. (My father once told me the secret to getting a job is to be enthusiastic during the interview. I think he may have been right!) This means you should never post non-substantive comments such as "Me, too!" or I agree. Show me that you care and that youre learning something. I expect at least two to three chunky paragraphs per posting. 5. Know its being read. I may not comment on every individual posting, but I will read everything you post as long as you post on time. I will usually respond within 24 hours after the assignment due date. Discussion Participation counts for 15% of your grade. When I decide upon discussion grades, I ask myself this question: Was the online portion of this class better because [insert your name here] was in it? DB Hinkiness: Posting on DB is convenientthats the good news. The bad news is that sometimes you might hit the button to submit and your computer or BB or some horrible jinx will befall you and all your hard work will disappear. I call this the BB hinky and its the worst! Talk about wanting to mutilate your computer! So my advice is: Always begin in Word and then copy and paste it into the DB. Or, before you hit submit, copy what youve written. TIP: Do not use the SAVE feature on BB. It simply doesnt always work. Save your work in a text file. I also allow you to modify, so you can post what you have and then write a note: Still working on it. A glitch like this is not the equivalent of the dog ate my homeworkin other words, Ive warned you so I dont want to hear that this is why you couldnt post on time. More DB Hinkiness: The good news is that DB does have spell check. The bad news is its pretty limited. Soproofread please!! When I respond back to you on DB and Im editing, I will use a color coded system. Green is a grammar/style problem. Blue is something I would add or something Im suggesting. Red is cut. Email:

We depend upon e-mail in this course to communicate and you will use it to send me assignments/drafts. Heres the deal: If you e-mail me, you cannot consider anything delivered on time or in my possession UNTIL I e-mail you back and say: I got it. It opens. Youre brilliant, again. Wow! I check my e-mail about five times a day, until about 9 pm, so if you dont hear back from me pretty much within an hourunless you send it at 1:00 am (Im asleep!)assume I didnt get it and nudge me with an e-mail, i.e. Just wondering if you got my first draft Please name any file you send me via email or through the Assignment link, your first name and what it is and what draft number, i.e.Juliehomepage1 Thats Julies homepage copy, first draft. Whenever possible, please send me Word files or plain text files. Grading: DB and Assignments are graded as follows: 1 2 3 Not acceptable, you must redo. 4 5 6 Acceptable (You can revise, but its not mandatory) 7 8 9 Average Work 10 11 12 Above Average A+ 98 to100% A 94 to 97% A90 to 93% B+ 87 to 89% B 84 to 86% B80 to 83% C+ 77 to 79% C 74 to 76% C70-73% D 60% to 69% F Failure to complete required work

Required Assignment

Description Graded on 1-12

Value Percentage of Grade 15%

Discussion Board

Assignments Project 1 Happy Boy Web Copy Project 2 Web Project #2 Project 3 Marketing Copy (Email/Newsletter) Project 3 Blog Project

1-12 100 points

10% 20% 20%

100 points

20%

100 points

15%

I will post your grades on the Gradebook which is on your menu. If you have a question or concern about a grade, please let me know. All work must be your own. All outside sources used, referred to, or considered, must be properly cited or you will fail this course. IMPORTANT: Policy on Academic Integrity. The colleges policy is available in the catalog on the CHC website. In addition, we will talk about plagiarism throughout the semester. From day 1, though, you are expected to uphold CHCs code of academic integrity/honesty. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. First time mistakes will mean that you must rewrite the paper and might mean that you fail the assignment. Future lapses and overt first offenses will result in your name going to the Dean and most likely in you failing the class, regardless of your grade at that point. Special Accommodations / Disability Policy: Americans with Disabilities Act: Any student whose disability falls within ADA guidelines and has accommodations authorized by the Chestnut Hill College Disabilities Committee should inform me at the beginning of the semester of any special accommodations or equipment needs necessary to complete the requirements for this course. You would inform me by giving me a copy of your Accommodations Letter provided by the Chestnut Hill College Disabilities Committee. If a student does not have accommodations and believes that he/she is eligible to receive them, the student should meet with Leslie Wilson, Director, Office of Student Learning Services, Room 58 A, St. Josephs Hall, 3rd floor, E-mail: wilsonl4@chc.edu, Phone: 215-248-7013, Fax: 215-2487019. You can also visit the Disability Resource Center page on the Colleges website: http://www.chc.edu/sus_student_services.aspx?id=898 for more information.