Students will undertake a timed multiple-choice quiz administered via iLearn. The content of the quiz will relate to readings, in-class activities, and discussions undertaken thus far in the unit. The quiz will be taken individually in the students' own time, and will require students to be up-to-date on unit material, especially the essential readings.

Students may only attempt the quiz once and their first attempt will be registered. Students may refer to materials whilst completing the quiz. Please note that once you start your attempt, you will have 25 minutes to complete it. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that they have access to a stable internet connection whilst completing the quizzes or complete quiz on campus. 

The quiz will open on Friday Week 2, 5 pm. This assignment should be completed in a timely fashion and the quiz will close automatically on Monday Week 3, at 5pm. Late attempts will only be allowed if accompanied by a medical certificate or other evidence of disruption to studies.

Pick a topic or subject area to research which relates explicitly to one of the areas we have covered so far in WMEC110 (e.g. the alphabet, printing press, telegraph/telephone, photography, recorded sound or broadcasting). Using the template provided on iLearn, provide the following:

Part 1: Academic Sources

State your topic/subject area.   

Find THREE academic sources related to this topic/subject area.

Explain why each of them is an academic source: (2 sentences each max).           

Explain why each source is useful for your topic: (2 sentences each max).

Provide a quote from each source that demonstrates its relevance to your topic. Use correct in-text referencing. (APA style) for each quote: (1 sentence each max).

Provide an end-of-text reference (APA style) for each source.

PART 2: Creative Commons referencing

In your own words, define Creative Commons: (2 sentences max).         

Provide a hyperlink/URL to THREE pieces of Creative Commons material that relate to your topic from Part 1

Correctly attribute your Creative Commons materials.

Notes

Do not choose one of the set WMEC110 readings as an academic source for this task.

For Creative Commons attribution practices, see: http://wiki.creativecommons.org/Best_practices_for_attribution

When we say the Creative Commons material must relate to the topic chosen in part 1, we mean it should explicitly connect to your chosen technology/focus. For example if your topic was photography, one of your Creative Commons resources could be a Creative Commons licensed image of a vintage camera.

Assessment Criteria

• Evidence of understanding of what constitutes an academic source
• Evidence of understanding of what constitutes Creative Commons
• Ability to relate chosen sources to unit themes
• Correct APA referencing and Creative Common attribution
• Clarity and writing style of response

This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:

• Demonstrate an understanding of how technology interacts with media practices and cultures
• Formulate arguments and creative works based on appropriate research and incorporating academic references
• Develop academic communications skills through use of online learning systems 

Students will undertake a timed short-answer quiz administered via iLearn. The content of this quiz will relate to readings, seminar content, and in-class discussions undertaken from Weeks 2–4. The quiz will be taken individually, in the students' own time, and will require students to be up-to-date on unit material, including both readings and in-class discussions.

Students may only attempt the quiz once and their first attempt will be registered. Students may refer to materials whilst completing the quiz. Please note that once you start your attempt, you will have 50 minutes to complete it. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that they have access to a stable internet connection whilst completing the quizzes or complete quiz on campus. 

The quiz will open on Friday Week 4 at 5 pm. This assignment should be completed in a timely fashion and the quiz will close automatically on Monday Week 5, 5 pm. Late attempts will only be allowed if accompanied by a medical certificate or other evidence of disruption to studies.

Assessment Criteria

• Relation of responses to theories and examples from discussions and readings

• Evidence of understanding key unit content

• Clarity and writing style of response

Students will undertake a creative research project relating an academic theory of their choice to a technology/case study of their choice.

They will critically analyse the selected technology/case study using the chosen theory. They will explore the cultural contexts and impacts of the technology. These projects should not just give a technological description, nor historical narrative of the case study. They must explore the social and political dimensions of the technology, and make a specific argument. This will be discussed further in lessons.

Students should pick a specific technology/case study, not a broad technological category or format (e.g. Do not analyse the printing press; look at Gutenberg’s movable type printing press. Do not choose the Internet; pick a specific Internet technology/platform such as the Twitter. Do not choose video games; pick a specific genre such as the modern First-Person Shooter).

Projects must demonstrate the student's ability to apply the chosen academic theory to the chosen technological case study. Supplementary academic theories can, and should, be used, but they must be presented in context of the primary theory, i.e. they should be used to strengthen, critique, or develop the primary theory. All projects should show an understanding of key concepts discussed in WMEC110, and build upon ideas from the required readings, as well as showing explicit evidence of self-directed academic research via in-text referencing and a reference list.

Students are to choose one of the following formats in which to submit, and adhere to these length requirements as a guide, +/- 20%:

1. Video (uploaded to YouTube): 3 minutes (e.g. photo essay, self-shot footage, animation)
2. Image/text: 750 words plus substantial images (e.g. webcomic, illustrated blogpost)
3. Text: 1000 words (e.g. blogpost with 4 or fewer images)
4. Hypertext/interactive: 500 words plus functionality
5. Spoken/music/podcast (uploaded to SoundCloud/YouTube): 3 minutes
6. Other platforms: seek permission from tutor and negotiate an appropriate length.

The creative work will additionally be accompanied by a 500-word written rationale, justifying the decisions made with the creative work. This rationale should include:

1. A hyperlink (URL) to the creative work. The creative work must be accessible, or a penalty will be incurred, potentially resulting in a mark of zero
2. A sentence stating your chosen case study and chosen academic theory
3. An academic justification of the relationship between the case study, the theory, and the chosen format, Explain why the format you chose to present in (video, audio, written word etc.) was a good way to present your argument. You must use appropriate academic sources to support this justification.
4. A justification of the structure and style of your creative work. Why did you present you information in the way you did? How did it help your argument? For example if you did a video, you might discuss what you chose to present visually and what you chose to describe through narration, and why? You must use appropriate academic sources to support this justification.
5. Was there anything that your choice of format made difficult to explore? For example written text might make looking at visual aesthetics difficult, whilst a video might make it harder to explore theory in depth. Explain the format specific challenges you had, why, and how you sought to overcome these issues. You must use appropriate academic sources to support this justification.
6. APA-style In-text and end-of-text references (these do not count in the word limit)

Notes

• You submit the rationale only to iLearn (you do not directly submit the creative work), your rationale has a link to the creative work (make sure this link is correct or we can't mark your creative work).
• The rationale is as, or more, important that the creative work as it will help you marker understand what you were trying to achieve with the creative work. Do not spend all your time on the creative work and rush the rationale.
• You may not use any audiovisual materials in your creative project to which you do not have the appropriate rights (e.g. embedding someone else's YouTube video in your YouTube video), as this breaches the policies of media services including YouTube, Vimeo, and SoundCloud. You should use self-created material, or (appropriately cited and licensed) Creative Commons material. If the service detects that you are using copyrighted material in your creative work, it may remove your work, thus preventing your tutor from marking it. Ensuring that your work does not breach copyright and these websites' terms and conditions is your own responsibility.
• Think carefully about the format you want to present in, and how it helps you construct your argument. Do not just choose your favourite format if it does not help you make a sophisticated argument.
• Do not submit a standard essay to iLearn. If you want to do a written task then you still need to publish it as a blog.
• Use appropriate theory in your rationale. If you did a written task (i.e. blog) for your creative work, draw on theorists of writing. If you did a video, draw on theorists of film, television, or other audio-visual media. The theory that you apply in your creative work (your primary academic theory) might be quite different from the theory you use in your rationale; the former underpins the argument of the creative work, the latter justifies the design decisions you made in that work.
• This major assignment should demonstrate sustained effort. All technical (i.e. all non-iLearn) aspects of the creative project are students’ own responsibility, and you should be confident that you are competent enough to submit.

Assessment Criteria:

• (Creative Work) Clarity of topic and research question
• (Creative Work) Use of chosen creative technology to convey argument
• (Academic Rationale) Evidence and application of research
• (Academic Rationale) Justification of creative form
• (Academic Rationale) Writing style and referencing

This Assessment Task relates to the following Learning Outcomes:

• Demonstrate an understanding of how technology interacts with media practices and cultures
• Analyse and critique various contemporary media with regard to media theory and key precedents
• Assess the historical and technological development of present-day media forms
• Formulate arguments and creative works based on appropriate research and incorporating academic references
• Develop academic communications skills through use of online learning systems 

The purpose of our classes is for students to discuss the weekly topics and readings to enrich their understanding. All students are required to participate in discussions. This means arriving at classes having completed set readings and being prepared to discuss issues arising. The classes are based around student-led discussions. Your responses to your peers will form the basis of your participation mark.

Attendance is not the same as participation. Students receive no marks for simply coming to class.

Missing more than two classes an approved Disruptions to Studies application will result in a 50% deduction of your participation mark (i.e. a possible Fail grade).

Assessment Criteria:

•    Evidence of engagement with the readings and unit material

•    Ability to relate key theoretical ideas to previous readings and/or independent research

•    Willingness to contribute to class discussion by asking relevant questions, answering other students' questions, treating other students with respect and behaving appropriately (e.g. not talking whilst tutor or other students talking)