Final Project Ideas

In addition to the Manifesto 2.0 post, let me know what you're thinking of doing for the final project.

We'll work on these in class next week.

Manifesto Revisted

For next week, I'd like you to revise or reconsider your Manifesto.

Have you changed your mind about anything? Reconfirmed your deepest suspicions?

Post Manifesto 2.0 to your blog or website by Monday.

Class Cancellation -- April 20th

I've been down all weekend with a cold or something, and I have to cancel tonight's class.

I have set up special office hours to discuss your final projects: Wednesday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. I will also be available during my regular office hours (Tues/Thursday 10:30-noon).

critique on group project/animation

I chose the project on animation; it has so many different things on the page. I feel that the structure was set up appropriately, because it goes in order from when the Egyptians used animation to the latest styles of computer animation today. I took the time to read about anime animation and it's history. I think it’s great that it has expanded to other types of genres and individuals instead of just focusing on an older age group and displaying a lot of violence. I loved the picture that is on the background of the anime history page. For some reason I see it unique how the boy is looking down and then the cat on top of his head is doing the same thing. I feel they put a lot of detail into this project by adding all sorts of different videos and captions that display animation. I’m also a fan of the traditional animation because almost everyone loves old cartoons.

One of things that I would have liked to incorporate in our group project is how they linked the actual pictures and text to the site, for example, animation was linked to Wikipedia. Since I’m not that familiar with computers I don’t have a clue how to do this and on our page we did a reference page, I think it would have been great if we could have set up ours like theirs.

List of Group Projects

Christina, Bridget, Elsa: Zodiac
Ryan S, Amanda, Ryan W: Copyright
Elizabeth, JD, Jabril: Interactive Cartoons
Justin, Shane: Facade
Angela, Natasha: Animation
George, Jonathan, Kate: Interactive Fiction
David, Brandon, Will: Twitter Fiction

OK, Critique Three

For the third critique, find an online literary journal and write a 3-4 paragraph review.

Is the journal an effective platform for creative work? Why or why not?
How does it take advantage of the digital format?
Would you want your work published there?

A place to start for online literary journals: http://www.newpages.com/litmags/.

Keep in mind, however, that not all of the journals listed on NewPages are really online. Some only place selected materials online, and others simply advertise the print journal.

Critique Three

There is no critique three

(not this week, anyway. )

We'll work on group projects tonight

Digital Scholarship

Three examples of open-access scholarship:

Public Library of Science
Bio-Med Central
Directory of Open-Access Journals

Why are so many of these journals in the Sciences? Why so few in the Humanities?

Groups and Group Projects

You should be thinking about the group projects at this point.

If you have a group, post it to your blog.

If your group has room for another member, make a note of that in your post.

If you have an idea, but no group yet, post a "Looking for Group" message to your blog.

Readings for Week 10

For next week, please read the following articles:

Clay Shirky: Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable
John Siracusea: The once and future e-book

Also, explore the MIT OpenCourseWare site

Critique #2

For next week, write a 2-3 paragraph critique of any one of the remix projects.  Explain what you liked about the project, what worked and what didn't. 

What would you change? Why?
What confused you?
What ideas or techniques do you want to appropriate/steal?

Remix Project

You should work on the Remix Project over break. When we return on March 16th, we will be showcasing your projects: you will present the project to the class and explain what you did (or tried to do).

Some guidelines:

1. You can use public domain material, CC-licensed (Remix or Derivative works license), or your own material.
2. The remix must include some text (this is, after all, an English class)
3. The remix should transform the existing work in some way, either by altering it (as in the photo manipulation exercise), or by mixing it with another work.
4. You must write a 3-4 paragraph explanation of your work.

I've posted some examples and resources on the assignment page. Here are some examples from last year's class:

• Owen Ito's movie subtitle remix
• Sonja Eberly's Alphabet of Clichés
• Kelly Kreis' Changes
• Tammy Najarian's Hero and Leander remix

As you can see, the remixes can be audio, visual, or text-based.

Photo manipulation

For the exercise this week, you might want to try these tools:

• The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP), a free, open-source graphics program
• Text-Image.com, a free online text to image converter
  

Know Your Rights exercise

http://mason.gmu.edu/~dtaciuch/2009/spring09/344/kyr.html

Make sure you bring a thumb drive or some other removeable media to save your work onto tonight.

Update: A new CC-licensed sketch site, with animations: Sketchory

Other Digital Texts

Deena Larsen: Firefly

Stuart Moulthrop: Hejirascope

Critique 1

For the critique, choose one of the works from the Electronic Literature Collection and write a 3-4 paragraph critique, published on your blog. What did you like/dislike about the piece? How does it differ from print literature?

An important issue to consider: How to critique this kind of work? What are the rules? That is, what makes a "good" work of electronic literature? Without some kind of guidance, it becomes completely subjective.

Wed editing software

To upload your files, you'll need a Secure FTP(sFTP)/SSH client. For Windows PCs, ou can download Secure Shell from the ITU downloads page. For Mac, you can use Fugu (or CyberDuck if you want something more full-featured).

To edit your web pages, ITU offers the free (but no longer updated) NVu. You can also try KompoZer (an updated version of the NVu project).

Be sure to bring a thumb drive or other removable storage to class on Monday.

Setting up your web page

Aside from the blog, you will eventually need a web site to host your projects. If you already have a site, you can use that. Simply make a link to it from your blog.

If you don't have a site, we will set up your Mason sites in class. If you want to get started on that, you can follow these directions: http://mason.gmu.edu/~dtaciuch/webdev/. These may be a bit out date, but the basics are there.

If you've taken IT 103, you have already set up your site. You may need to reset your password if you don't remember it. You can do that here.

Digital Textuality Manifesto draft

1. If I can print it and lose no functionality, you're doing it wrong. The technology should be integral to the work. An artwork in pencil on paper can do things a digital work cannot. A digital work should do things print cannot. I don't know what those things might be. That doesn't matter. Surprise me.
   
   


2. It should be multi-linear. For years, theories of digital textuality claimed interactivity as key. Interactivity is one of things a digital text can do, maybe one of the more important things, but not the only thing. Multi-linearity is just as, if not more, important.
   
   


3. It should have a sensory element. Not just eye candy, but an awareness that words are objects. Words are things. Words are not just markers of intended meaning. They have sound and shape. Print has a smell, and the sound of turning pages. Digital text has other sensory triggers.
   
   
   
4. It should be distributed. Digital files can be shared and copied effortlessly. Digital texts must take part in this openness. All attempts to restrict copying and sharing of digital files are doomed to fail. All of them. If you want to restrict your work, leave it in print: let it molder or watch it burn.