BIS 333 WikiSpaces Project:

What Do Media and Communication Studies Teach us About ‘X’?”

THE ASSIGNMENT

This final assignment is a project that the entire class will be engaged with. Together we are going to build a collaboratively written Wiki that addresses key issues in Media and Communication Studies. The material covered reflects the course content since the midterm, but you are expected to draw on the concepts and terms (and materials!) from the first half of the course, as well as research you will do beyond what has been assigned on your topic.

With this group project, your group will be creating a page in WikiSpaces. The page will contribute to a class archive that addresses the question: What does Media and Communication teach us about X?

X=

  1. Journalism and the Internet
  2. Advertising and Consumer Culture
  3. Copyright and Fair Use
  4. Social Media and Youth
  5. (Changing) Media Framing (based on Canning and Reinsborough)

Using course readings and additional outside research that you will conduct, your group will explore the following questions:

  • How has your topic been taken up by Media and Communication Studies scholars?
  • What does Media and Communication Studies teach us about your topic?
  • What is the relationship between your topic and Representation, Media and Democracy, and Media Organization?

Your goal is to both creatively and rigorously reflect on your assigned area of the curriculum, aiming to enhance your readers’ grasp of the topic.

OVERALL REQUIREMENTS

This project is collaborative and it is up to you to decide how you would like to split up the tasks. However, you must include the following:

  • Collaboratively written introduction(see below) that introduces your readers to your topic and what they can expect to find in your archive. This is like a group mini-paper.
  • Three(or more)case studies (see below). These can be researched and written in teams.
  • A suggested readings list of outside scholarly readings that includes at least 8 sources cited, with 4 or more annotations (see below)
  • Direct engagement with three or more assigned readings
  • Clear relationships and transitions between subsections
  • Properly formatted footnotes
  • A consistent visual style across all entries (font, colors, etc) so that content appears connected

Components

INTRODUCTION

  • Must be collaboratively written. All group members should play a part in drafting and revising the introduction.
  • Must be a minimum of 3-4 solid paragraphs (400-500 words)
  • Must be carefully proofread.
  • The introduction should provide any background information and context your readers willneed in order to follow and understand the rest of your wiki page.
  • The introduction should also frame and articulate connections between your different casestudies.

CASE STUDIES

Each case study should address a recent or semi-recent event, story, or campaign related to your topic. Your group must produce four case studies from a Media and Communication Studies approach. A case study can be any of the following:

  1. a critical analysis of a particular campaign or initiative
  2. a critical analysis of a media discourse, cultural representation, etc.
  • Case studies should be approximately 600-800 words each.
  • The case studies should incorporate visuals or photos that are as closely connected to the study as possible (and cite them, of course!). This is a mock website, after all, and websites more often than not have some sort of visual that accompanies the text. But that said, don’t let the visuals do all of the work for you—be sure to explain why you chose the visual and what kind of work it does for your claims.
  • If they are independently written, they should be peer-reviewed by two other group members. If they are written in teams of two or three, they should be peer-reviewed by the remaining group members.
  • You are to draw on at least two assigned course readings as well as additional scholarly sources you’ve researched to analyze your objects of study through a Media and Communication Studies lens (taking into consideration REPRESENTATION, MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY, and MEDIA ORGANIZATION). In other words, apply the theoretical insights and concepts introduced in our course readings to your objects of study.
  • Avoid writing only a basic report of findings. The event/campaign (etc) should be analyzed in a specific way rather than act as a mirroring of your sources.

SUGGESTED READINGS SECTION (a.k.a. annotated scholarly sources)

  • Minimum number of annotated suggested readings is the number of group members (e.g., 3, 4, or 5). You should annotate the sources your group found to be the most useful, relevant, and interesting on your topic.
  • Annotations are mini book or article reviews, written for an audience of your peers in this class. They should do all of the following:
  • Summarize: What are the main arguments? What is the point of this book or article? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book is about, what would you say?
  • Contextualize: Who is the author? Who is the audience? Do you have a sense of whether this article or book has been particularly influential? When was it published?
  • Assess: Why do you recommend this book or article to your peers? Why do you find it useful? What does it help us understand about your research topic?

-Your annotation(s) should be peer-reviewed by at least one other group member.

STYLE, MEDIA, AND LAYOUT

Your wiki page can be one page, where your reader scrolls up and down to view all of your content. You can insert a table of contents so viewers can easily skip to different subsections. Or, you can have a home page that contains links to pages containing your case studies, suggested readings, etc. You have complete artistic freedom and creativity is highly encouraged! You are strongly encouraged to embed images, video, etc. This is one of the primary benefits of using Wikispaces technology for this group project. Be sure to provide identifying information for their sources in a caption beneath the media.

CITATION

- Use footnotes rather than in-text citations.

- You may use either MLA or Chicago citation styles - just as long as you’re consistent.

PRESENTATION(7 minutes)

The presentation should consist of a PowerPoint (or otherwise) that somewhat mirrors, but doesn’t repeat exactly what is written on each Wiki. A title page, intro, 1 page slide per study, conclusion, and question slide is advisable, but you are welcome to creatively deviate from this suggested outline if you can achieve the same coverage in the time allotted.

REFLECTION

In your final reflection paper for the course, you will reflect on the experience of collaboratively producing this wiki, and will conduct a self and peer evaluation.

SCHEDULE

You will be assigned your topic on 5/12, and, over the final weeks of class, be expected to work with your small group of four to complete the work. There will be some class time devoted to working on and peer-reviewing your pages (as noted on the syllabus), but you are also expected to be in touch with each other and work together outside of class time.

Week / Activities and Important Dates
Mon 5/12 / Form Groups, Brainstorm Key Search Terms, Review Research Process
By Wed 5/14 / Accept invitation to Wikispaces;
Establish communication with group members;
Perform some initial Web searches on your topic.
Between 5/15-5/28 / Each person is to post to your group’s wiki prior to class on 5/28--
‐Two scholarly sources with annotations
‐Twonon-scholarlysourceswithbrief explanationsofwhyyouselectedthem
toshare
Wed. 5/28 / In-class workshop of final projects; Submit Drafts by end-of-day for feedback
Mon. 6/2 / Peer-review of WikiSpaces projects (in class)
Wed. 6/4 / Final in-class presentations of Wikispaces projects;
Peer review evaluations due on Canvas

BEST PRACTICES

  • Right away, make agreements about how you will communicate (i.e. email, text, Canvas). Perhaps set up a Google docs pages and/or Google Hangout to streamline out-of-class communications.
  • Schedule at least one out of class meeting for sometime between 5/14-5/28. I will be giving you a handout on Canvas to guide your group discussion.
  • Make the most of the in-class meeting on 5/28 by bringing your preliminary research findings, and identifying goals for this work session.
  • Rotate facilitators, note-takers, etc. during work meetings
  • Send a delegate (or two!) to meet with me during office hours. Email me with any questions or concerns you have along the way.
  • View the quality of the group process as your personal responsibility
  • Makes sure that everyone in the group writes the first draft of some section of the Wiki page and that every section is edited by at least one other group member.

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