Below is the Final Project Proposal Guidelines and Worksheet that was passed out in class yesterday. Let one of the instructors know if you have questions.
Your final project for this course is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your understanding of narrative elements, digital technologies, its potential benefits and constraints, and your ability to construct a narrative.
As part of your final project, we are asking for a two page project proposal that outlines exactly what you plan to do for your final project. Your final project will be evaluated based on four criteria: understanding and use of narrative elements, appropriateness of platform for your narration, use of the technology, and quality of the overall project. The total point value available for the final project is 70 points. This proposal is worth an additional 20 points. It is due:
either by email (to guiliano@umd.edu) or by paper copy to Jen’s MITH desk by 4:00pm EST on November 29th.
To aid you in writing your proposal, here are potential questions that we expect you to answer in your written proposal:
Statement of Significance: explain–in terms comprehensible to a general audience- the significance of your proposed project. What will your project contribute to your understanding of persuasive storytelling? What type of audience might be interested in your project? How would you reach out to your potential audience?
Statement of Objectives: what specific objectives or deliverables will this project offer (e.g. an X page long story, X pages of html code, X visualizations, X graphics, etc. where X is the amount/length of material)? You must itemize your objectives. We are looking for an outline that accounts for the components of your project and gives a clear statement on what final product will be. It is not sufficient, for example, to say that you will write an e-lit story that is 10 html pages long. You should outline the elements of the story—character, motivations, climax, etc–and how your links will be integrated in that story.
Workplan: once you’ve outlined what you are going to do and what you want to deliver, we would like a timeline of how you are going to complete your project by NOON on December 14th. You might break down a to-do list into days or by how many hours it will take you. At minimum, you must set a week by week plan of what you will accomplish. Make sure to describe the specific tasks that will be accomplished, identify the computer technology to be employed and where specific areas where you might need help in accomplishing a to-do item (e.g. I need help building x tech feature). We will provide feedback on this workplan.
REMEMBER THAT THIS PROJECT SHOULD REPRESENT TWO WEEKS OF CLASS TIME PLUS THE TIME YOU WOULD HAVE SPENT PREPARING FOR A FINAL EXAM (PER PERSON INVOLVED IN THE PROJECT). In our estimation based on the mid-semester evaluations you completed, we are expecting your project to represent at least 14 hours of effort (2 weeks x 3 hours of class preparation per week + 5 hours of class time + 3 hours for your final exam).
Final Product Plans: How do you intend to disseminate your final project? Is this a website that you are hosting? Do you plan to turn in files? How will you point your classmates to your final project?
For projects where you have a classmate/partner working with you, you should also include a section outlining who is responsible for what and showing that this work adds up to twice the amount of a single-person project’s hours.
We will provide you with comments on the proposal. You will then be expected to do a short presentation for class on December 6th. That presentation is worth 10 points.
Your final project:
Instead of a final exam, your final project is due in by December 14, 2012 at noon EST.
Please do both of the following:
1. Email guiliano@umd.edu either the files constituting your project (if applicable) or a link to your final project (if published online).
2. Publish a blog post on this course site that links your classmates to your final project (if it’s online) or contains screenshots, an explanation, and/or downloadable files for your project (if it isn’t online).