Instructor: Jeff Goodman
Office: EDH 112-D
Office Hours: Monday 11-1; Tuesday 10-11; 1-2; Thursday 10-11; or by appointment
Home Phone: 828.675.9061
E-mail Address: goodmanjm@appstate.edu

Peer Leader: Jenny Mixter
Phone: 828.719.9138
Email Address: jm70177@appstate.edu

Class web page: http://pm.appstate.edu/~goodmanj/fs/fsf07.html
First-Year Seminar Webpage: http://www.freshmanseminar.appstate.edu

Listserv.  There is a listserv set up for this class.  It will be used primarily to discuss logistics, but may be used to share ideas, things people have noticed, etc. Be aware, all messages sent to mediatechfs@listserv.appstate.edu will go to everyone who is on the listserv.

Goals and Objectives

Text

Schedule and Due Dates

Evaluation

Student Pages Fall 2007

Course Description:

The First-Year Seminar at ASU has been framed as a skills-based course in which students develop the academic and personal skills necessary for a successful college experience. In these classes, students learn about time-management, note-taking, community living, financial management, university history, university facilities and other topics relevant to the first-year experience. This special section of the ASU First-Year Seminar will deal with many of these topics, but we will be approaching them through the lens of the media and technology.

Traditionally, literacy has been defined as the ability to read and write, but the modern world is requiring us to have new kinds of visual literacy and media literacy. In this class, we will explore the impact of media and technology – film, television, the internet, music, photography, video games – on our lives and our culture. In this course, students will develop skills in both media analysis and media production. We will look at, listen to and discuss a wide range of media, debating issues such as media propaganda, virtual reality, racial and gender stereotyping, violence in the media, and the surveillance society. We will also learn to communicate in a variety of media forms, making websites, short films, audio pieces, and animations.

This course is open to all students; it is particularly suited to students who are interested in film studies, art, photography, communications, music, media studies, internet studies, sociology and education. All students in this section will be in the same section of English 1000; though we are not formally linked to that class, we will look for connections between our work with the media and the work you do in your English class.

Course Goals and Objectives:

Common First-Year Seminar Goals:

Students will:

• Learn skills to achieve academic and personal success, including developing critical thinking, questioning, reading, writing, viewing, and media production abilities; develop skills in library and electronic research; understand the codes of academic integrity and intellectual property rights; understand their own learning styles; and learn to manage time, money and relationships outside of the classroom.
• Connect to the Appalachian State University community by developing relationships with other students, faculty, staff and advisors; learn about campus cultural and support resources; and learn about University history and traditions.

Goals Specific to This Section:

Students will:

• Learn to design and produce compelling media in a variety of forms, including photography, web design, animation, audio, and video.
• Understand the relationship of text and visual media and to use writing in the context of media production.
• Learn to analyze and evaluate media messages in a variety of forms.
• Learn to use writing and speaking for the purpose of critically analyzing a range of media.
• Understand the impact new technologies are having on the culture and develop a framework for analyzing and evaluating new technologies as they are introduced.
• Understand and evaluate the relationship between technology and higher education and see how media and technology can be used in a cross-disciplinary approach to learning.

Texts:

New Connections: A Handbook for Freshman Seminar, fifth edition, by Rennie Brantz, Dan Friedman and Beth Marsh (ASU Bookstore purchase)

A Home on the Field, by Paul Cuadros (ASU Summer Reading book)

Other readings will be distributed in class, will be made available online, or will be accessible through the library's electronic reserve.

You will also be required to have a minimum 256MB USB flash drive for this class. Please make sure you have it for the second class meeting.

Course Outline:
Note:  If there is any bad weather, please check your email for possible class cancellation.  I will mail the listserv only if we won't be having class; so if nothing is there, assume class is on.

Date	Topic	Project Due	Other
8/21	Introductions Check for GIC and Open House conflicts.
8/23	Set-up blogs and web pages	Bring USB Travel Drives!	Do Library Tutorial by 8/30
8/28	Blogs and web pages (continued) Introduce Findings Project
8/30	Library tour/ work on Findings Project		Library Tutorial Due
9/4	A Home on the Field Interviews around campus about immigration	Note: Group Interaction Course, Tuesday 9/4 from 2:00-5:30. Meet at Student Activity Center.
9/6	Convocation: meet at 9:30 in class to walk over together
9/11	A Home on the Field (continued) Introduce GIC Photo Project	Findings Project due Note: Open House, Tuesday 9/11 at 5:10. Meet at the Counseling Center (1st floor Miles Annas Building).
9/13	Technology, Images and Society GIC Photo Project work time
9/18	Technology, Images and Society (continued)
9/20	Share GIC Photo Projects Music and Culture Introduce Audio Project	GIC Photo Project due
9/25	Music and Culture (continued) Audio work time	Bring script of Audio Project
9/27	Video Games and Virtual Worlds
10/2	Listen to Audio Project Introduce Staff Interview and Photo Project	Audio Project due
10/4	Social Networking	Bring Staff Interview contact information
10/9	Video Production and Editing Workshop
10/11	Fall Break
10/16	Meyers-Briggs Review Photo Drafts	Bring Staff Photo drafts
10/18	Review Meyers-Briggs Video Games Introduce Film Review Project	Read pages 67-70 in text. Bring Staff Interview draft
10/23	Writing about the Media Animation Techniques Introduce Animation Project	Watch GATTACA (library reserve), read 1 review, post reflection
10/25	The Surveillance Society
10/30	The Media and Sexuality	Staff Interview and Photo Due (counts as two grades)
11/1	The Media and Gender: Killing Me Softly Introduce Adbuster Project	Film Review Project Due
11/6	Analyzing the News
11/8	Propaganda, Race and the Media Introduce Documentary Project	Adbuster Script due
11/13	View Animation Projects	Animation Project due Note: We will attend The Waiting Room as a class at 8pm, on Tuesday, November 13. Meet outside IG Greer Studio Theater at 7:45.
11/15	Final projects work time
11/20	Documentary Techniques: asking good questions	Bring Documentary Treatment
11/22	No Class: Thanksgiving
11/27	Documentary Film and Social Change
11/29	View Adbuster Projects	Adbuster Project Due
12/4	Watch Documentary Projects	Documentary Project due

Evaluation:

Production/analysis projects. (50%) Approximately every third class period, you will be assigned a project that will give you an opportunity to explore in more depth the ideas we have covered in class and/or to practice hands-on production skills. These projects may be completed alone, or, when noted, in groups of up to three. The description of each project will be available as a link from the class syllabus online. The projects will generally be due on the third class following their introduction, and they will be graded on a three-point scale according to the following guidelines:

Late projects will be accepted, but will receive a reduced score. I will also give extra credit points (more than a score of 3) for projects that clearly go beyond the scope of the assignment or show extraordinary effort.

Your total points for all nine projects will determine your grade for this component of the course:

26-27 points = A+ or the equivalent of a 98
24-26 points = A or the equivalent of a 95
22-24 points = A- or the equivalent of a 92
20-22 points = B+ or the equivalent of a 88
18-20 points = B or the equivalent of a 85
16-18 points = B- or the equivalent of a 82
14-16 points = C+ or the equivalent of a 78
12-14 points = C or the equivalent of a 75
10-12 points = C- or the equivalent of a 72

<10 points = F or the equivalent of a 0. No matter what else you have done in class, you will not pass the class if you have not accumulated at least 10 points total for your projects.

• Come to class every class period and participate.
• Keep track of the workload and turn in work on time.
• Communicate with me or Jenny. Ask for feedback; run an idea by us; or discuss any difficulties you are having.
• A final note on grades: Education is not about grades but about learning. However, learning requires feedback, and an evaluation component in education is one way to give feedback. Still, I consider your grade only a part of this feedback; in many cases, you will learn more from the specific written or verbal evaluation of your work. If you are not happy with your grade on any project in this course, I encourage you to rework it and resubmit it. In addition, since it is my goal to help create the best learning environment possible, I strongly encourage you to give me feedback about the class as we go.