INTE 5340 Learning with Digital Stories

Fall Semester 2016

Lori Elliott | Clinical Associate Professor

Language, Literacy, and Culturally Responsive Teaching

Email: lori.elliott@ucdenver.edu  |  Office: (303) 315-6304 | Twitter: @lorielliottphd 

Web: http://www.lorielliott.org | Hypothesis: lelliott

Office Location: Lawrence Street Center, 737

Office hours by appointment only

Syllabus Navigation

Because this syllabus is a dynamic document embedded online, because it is critical to carefully understand and consistently reference the syllabus throughout the course, and because this syllabus is open to change as we go through the semester, the following links are provided to help with document navigation.

An Introduction to Learning with Digital Stories
Learning Goals
Accomplishing our Goals: Practices for Learning with Digital Stories
Course Texts and Resources
Grading and Final Course Assignments
Course Schedule
Technical Requirements
Course Policies and Procedures

Course Catalogue Description

The official course description as provided in the CU Denver course catalogue reads:

This course reviews the uses of digital storytelling (DST) for learning. Develop and publish a short digital story that tells something important about you and your interests. Explore ways that creating or using digital stories can aid learning and personal growth.

An Introduction to Learning with Digital Stories

Carefully understanding the following four dispositions about course affinity with DS106, course location, social practice, and experimentation and expression will ensure your successful and robust participation in Learning with Digital Stories.

1. Course affinity with DS106: DS106 is a digital storytelling course and open online phenomena facilitated through the University of Mary Washington.  Read more about DS106 here and here.  INTE 5340 will join a notable list of prior courses, from multiple universities, and over the past few years, who have affiliated with DS106 through collaborative activity.  The future of digital storytelling - and more critically, the future of open learning and pedagogy - is being created by the broader DS106 community.  It’s an honor to join the movement.

2. Course location: Yes, this is an online course.  But what does that really mean about our teaching and learning?  Yes, we'll use Canvas; though Canvas isn't our "home," and this course intentionally disrupts the notion that online learning (especially in our formal, graduate school interpretation) occurs exclusively through a learning management system (or LMS).  This course does not have a single "location."  Rather, you will leverage a variety of social and collaborative platforms, including, but not limited to: Twitter, Hypothesis (a web annotation platform), a personal blog, various affinity spaces (like DS106), and Canvas. Consider your Twitter networks, your Hypothesis annotations, your blog roll, your interest-driven communities and other communities committed to digital storytelling, and our LMS all the dynamic elements of a constellation for learning.  Digital storytelling is a creative and dynamic transmedia practice (whether for journalists or children), and our multiple learning settings should, in equal measure, reflect that fact.  And yes, that means that if you're not already on Twitter, then you'll join Twitter. And yes, if you've never blogged before, best to find a platform and start writing (you are strongly encouraged to use Wordpress, it works most seamlessly with DS106).  Join Hypothesis, Flickr, Soundcloud, and Vimeo, too.  Like INTE 5665: Social Media and Digital Culture, "going to class" in our graduate program means more than only logging onto an LMS.  Indeed, for students who began blogging (and, more broadly, developing your ILT base camp) in 5665, you will be well-served to extend those resources and related practices into, and through, Learning with Digital Stories.

3. Social practice: This course does not study and reify digital storytelling as a "thing."  On the contrary, this class considers digital storytelling a social learning practice (which we will explore further in our readings by Lankshear and Knobel).  Hence, your participation in this course requires ongoing engagement with multiple communities of practice. We'll try our darnedest to create such a community among those enrolled within this course. However, you will also interact with such communities of practice as they already exist online. And you will foster such communities by establishing relevant networked connections with other people, organizations, and conversations.  Your success in this course will not be determined by showcasing a glittering final project. Rather, you are challenged to practice digital storytelling with others on a daily basis, and to demonstrate your understanding of why this matters for you and others.

4. Experimentation and expression: This course is heavily oriented toward experimental production and personal expression.  You will be blogging, annotating, creating and editing media, tinkering with new apps and platforms, and likely becoming quite frustrated as a you “fail and flail.”  That is both expected and entirely acceptable.  Please note that this course is not a tutorial on “how to blog,” or “how to edit a digital video,” or “how to create a GIF.”  And as your instructor I will not teach you technical skills.  And why not?  First, there are endless free resources available online to develop your “tech chops;” finding those that meet your interest-driven needs is a significant part of critically consuming and producing media on your terms.  Second, your peers within this course are likely agile designers, and there is much to be learned through peer-to-peer mentoring and networking (reach out to your peers and learn from them!).  Third, my role as instructor is to serve as a source of inspiration, a necessary critic, a connector of people and ideas, and a ‘questioner’ to help you think critically -- not an administrative or technical help desk.  And fourth, practices like blogging, developing a web presence, and demonstrating proficiency and creativity with social media are central to other ILT courses like INTE 5665: Social Media and Digital Culture, and there is good reason why students are encouraged to take that course before Learning with Digital Stories.  Ultimately, this course will challenge you to iteratively and rapidly (!) produce various forms of media for storytelling as an experimental social practice.  But more than that, you will also be producing truths.  Creating digital stories to share with others is an act of authentic relevance and self discovery, not an exercise in technical know how. Your primary goal is to stretch yourself and surprise yourself.

Learning Goals

Given the prior information about course affinity with DS106, course location, social practice, and experimentation and expression, by the end of this course you will be able to:

• Join, participate meaningfully with, and help to create both social learning practices and communities devoted to digital storytelling;
• Critically consume, examine, and critique the ways in which digital storytelling conveys meaning, draws upon experience, and shares various truths;
• Iteratively and rapidly produce multiple digital stories by leveraging a variety of tools, methods, design principles, and various (in)formal standards;
• Develop a critical stance toward social learning - and digital storytelling as a social learning practice - by considering the moral and ethical impacts of storytelling on individuals and communities;
• Embrace the learning objectives of DS106, too.

Course Texts and Resources

You are not required to purchase a textbook or other course materials.  The many required course readings we will explore include a wide range of types of writing and perspectives, including books, theoretical pieces, empirical studies, essays, and popular writing, as well as media such as videos, screencast lectures, podcasts, presentations, images, etc. All will be made available to you online and for free, and will be shared via Canvas. Lankshear & Knobel’s work will guide much of our thinking and is where we will begin:

1. Knobel, M. and Lankshear, C. (eds.) A New Literacies Sampler. (Peter Lang Publishing, 2007).
2. Lankshear, C. and Knobel, M. (2011). Chapter 7 on social learning from New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning. New York: Open University Press, 209-230.
3. Lankshear, C. and Knobel, M. (eds.) Digital Literacies: Concepts, Policies and Practices. (Peter Lang Publishing, 2008).

Additional course readings and resources - such as those related to digital storytelling research and various (in)formal standards - will be made available to you online, Twitter, and via blog posts.  Below are a few resources that are well established organizations focused on digital storytelling, and a good place for you to begin searching for pieces to review:

• StoryCorps
• PBS’ Blank on Blank
• Digital Storytelling at the University of Houston
• Story Center (and their blog and cookbook!)
• DS106’s History
• Samples from the National Writing Project, like this and this and this
• Cynthia Jabar on Transmedia Storytelling

Accomplishing our Goals: Practices for Learning with Digital Stories

The following assignments run in weekly cycles Monday through Sunday, and our social learning practices also include italicized pacing notes:

1. Production

Your practice of production will include:

• Developing a unique digital storytelling focal theme based upon professional and/or personal interest. At least seven assignments from the DS106 Assignment Bank will examine this theme (i.e. youth civic engagement, nursing, civil rights), with focal themes proposed and approved by the end of Week 1 (Sunday, 8/28/16). You can access the course Sign-Up Sheet here to add your name, theme, web link, and twitter handle by 8/28/16. Also join our private course Hypothes.is space here.
• Creating 8 Daily Create assignments from DS106 (Twitter feed here) posted (at the least) on your blog and via Twitter - see course schedule for which weeks to post. Daily Create due by Thursday, midnight on the assigned weeks.  Creating additional Daily Creates is very welcome.
• Producing 4 digital storytelling assignments from the DS106 Assignment Bank -- visual, audio, video, and your interest-driven choice. These will be posted (at the least) on your blog and via Twitter, and following DS106’s “How to Write Up Assignments Like a Blogging Champ” .  See course schedule for which weeks to post. Complete your assignment by Thursday midnight on the week due in order to ensure time for sharing and feedback.
• Designing, Creating, and Publishing 1 digital story of greater length (3 to 5 minutes) that layers your voiceover narration and images and/or music, text -  such as these examples from StoryCenter. It is your choice whether this longer piece is connected to your focal theme or not. You can use whatever platform you choose (iMovie, MovieMaker, etc.), and it is due the 14th week of class, in time for peer feedback before the end of the course. You will review the digital stories of at least 2 of your peers which will be assigned.

2. Critique

Your practice of critique will include social media posts and annotations. Specifically, you will:

• Critically examine and review 11 digital stories or media(ted) narrative, with at least 8 of them based upon your personal and/or professional focal interest. Your critique will include a blog post following DS106’s “How to Write Up Assignments Like a Blogging Champ.”  You will draw upon Jason Ohler's Assessment Traits  - a "list of possible digital story evaluation traits," that include story, project planning, writing, economy ... the list goes on.  As Jason notes, he has his students create a rubric from selected traits, typically consisting of between three to five traits.  In the case of your critiques, you will select three traits as a lens through which to critique your  selected story. In your weekly critiques please:

• Indicate what assessment/evaluation traits you selected and why (in other words, what's your rationale as a critic of these stories?)
• The extent to which these traits are successfully present and utilized in the given stories
• What these traits fail to capture about the selected story (that is, what other characteristics of the story are noteworthy, and why?)
• Based upon your trait evaluation, what modifications and changes to this digital story might improve aspects of narrative, production, media usage, and/or audience engagement?

 You should attempt to select a range of traits from one week to the next, so that you continuously develop experience engaging with a variety of possible evaluation lenses.

• Share your critique with story authors/producers, peers, and others, posted via Twitter, your blog, and other social networks - be sure to include the digital story that you review on your blog. Complete your critique by Thursday to ensure time for sharing and feedback.

3. Response & Reflection

Your practice of response will include social media posts posts that:

1. Synthesize literature and learning theory related to digital storytelling.  Each week you will read and reflect upon: a) required course texts (6 total); and b) self-selected scholarship about digital storytelling and your interests and focal theme (6 total; at least 2 of which must be from an academic journal) - See the Course Calendar for our reading schedule and specific types of scholarship due each week. Use the Scholarship Review Guidelines to guide your reflections. Complete your reading response by Thursday to ensure time for sharing and feedback via annotation.
2. Responses to other CU Denver blogs.  Reply to at least 2 peer reading responses and digital story critiques Thursday through Sunday.
3. Participate in ongoing Twitter conversations, such as #ILT5340, #ds106, #dailycreate, and #ds106radio.
4. Reflect upon your learning -  Use these guiding question for your reflective summary. Your reflective summary is due by Sunday, on designated weeks, and is based upon DS106’s “Weekly Summary Posts.”. By midnight Sunday of every other week, students will send an email through canvas to Lori reflecting on the following points listed below. Include in your reflective summary links to the specific work you completed for those two weeks. You are encouraged to post your reflection on your blog, but you are only required to submit it to Lori via Canvas email.

4. Mid-point Gallery Walk - For this assignment you will create a piece in which you highlight and reflect upon the work of at least 6 of your colleagues in our class. You will introduce your gallery walk by describing what you have learned so far in the course and what you plan to learn before the end of the course. You will then select pieces from at least 6 of your peers in the course and describe what you enjoyed and learned from their piece (their blog, a particular Daily Create or Assignment Bank, their writing style, their focus, etc) and how it inspired you, provoked your thinking.
5. Final Portfolio - Students will create a final portfolio of their own work highlighting media, critiques, conversations, and interactions related to digital storytelling.  An intentional selection of assignments, critiques and reading responses, annotations and peer commentary, social media contributions, and other artifacts will be curated and explained in relation to course themes.  Portfolio elements will include, but are not limited to:

1. Selection of digital storytelling assignments, particularly those four (at the minimum) that developed an examination of your focal theme.
2. Selection of digital storytelling critiques, particularly those that evidenced your  increasingly nuanced analysis of elements, narrative, and media, and/or were used as inspiration for examining your focal theme.
3. Selection of required and supplementary literature responses, including selected digital annotations, as indications of your developing a scholarly appreciation for learning theory, research, and application.  Analysis of literature related to your focal theme is preferred.
4. Selection of social media and networking interactions, and your analysis of these media in augmenting digital storytelling as a communicative process.

For ILT students, the final portfolios should be included in - and further develop - your personal base camp as a means of addressing the ILT program competencies.

6. Final Course Reflection-  Students will create a media reflection about experiences with digital storytelling and course participation.  This final reflection will synthesize across the prior weekly summary reflections, and consider implications for digital storytelling given your focal theme.  Final Course Reflections are complementary to your Final Portfolios.  Please post your media reflection in the designated Discussion area in Canvas.

Grading and Course Assignments

Grades in Learning with Digital Stories are based almost entirely upon sustained, meaningful, and creative engagement with our previously detailed weekly practices.  

To summarize your assignments:

* Weekly participation - 150 points (30% of total grade)

Producing -

• 8 Daily Create assignments from DS106 TDC - posted on Twitter and your blog by Thursday each week
• 11 Critiques of different digital stories focused on your focal theme and/or interests, using a variety of Jason Ohler’s Assessment Traits - posted on Twitter and your blog by Thursday each week
• 4 Digital Stories from the DS106 Assignment Bank - posted on Twitter and your blog by Thursday of the assigned week

        Reflecting - 150 points (30% of total grade)

• 12 Reflections on the course readings - this will cycle between course required readings and your self-selected scholarship - posted by Thursday each week
• 11 weekly Reflections - this will cycle between reflecting on your own learning and thoughtful responses to your peers’ work - posted by Sunday each week

* Assignments ocurring once during the semester - 

• 1 Gallery Walk, at the semester mid-point, highlighting your learning, commenting on the work of at least 6 peers in the course, & peer reviews - 25 points (5% of total grade)
• 1 longer digital story that layers multi-media elements & also peer review of 2 classmates - 75 points (15% of total grade)

* Final Course Reflections -

• A final course portfolio by the final week of the semester - 75 points (15% of total grade)
• A final course media reflection by exam week of the semester - 25 points (5% of total grade)

Weekly Participation (Producing & Reflecting)        300 Points (12 weeks x 25 points = 300)

Gallery Walk & Peer Feedback                          25  Points

Multi-media Digital Story & Peer Feedback          75  Points

Final Portfolio                                            75 Points

Final Course Reflection (Media)                          25 Points

                                                        500 total points

Grades are based on the following scale:

A         500-470 points

A-        469-450 points

B+        449-435 points

B        434-415 points

B-        414-400 points

C+        399-382 points

C        381-365 points

C-         364-350 points

Course Schedule

The following is a preliminary course schedule that will very likely be revised throughout the course. Please consult this schedule and the related Canvas assignment calendar regularly.

Technical Requirements

You are responsible for access to a computer with high-speed connectivity, capable of participating in all aspects of this course. The following software, online networks, and platforms are recommended as the foundation for successful participation:

• Twitter
• Hypothes.is
• A Wordpress blog (other popular platforms include Blogger, Tumblr, and Medium, with other lists here and here -- However, we will use Wordpress in this course)
• Join: Flickr, Soundcloud, and Vimeo.
• Word processing and presentation applications (whether desktop versions like Microsoft Word, or online versions like Google Docs and Slides)
• A media player such as Quicktime
• Video editing software (e.g. iMovie for Mac or Movie Maker for PC)
• Voice recording capabilities including a microphone (Audacity is a good cross-platform option for voice recording if needed. It's open source and free to use)

If for any reason you are having technical difficulties that are limiting or preventing your full participation in the class, please notify the instructor immediately!  We will work with you to ensure that your learning experience is not hampered by technical issues.

If you have any further questions, contact the CU support line. Tech Support Email: helpdesk@cuonline.edu .  Phone: 303-315-3700 or 1-877-UCDEN-44

Course Policies and Procedures

Late work. Assignments are to be turned in on or before their due dates. Late assignments are penalized 10% per day. Submit a parallel copy of late work to me via email (in addition to submission to the course shell) - this helps me keep track of late submissions.

Participation. You are expected to be fully engaged and participate actively in the course activities – especially interactions with other students.

Academic integrity. You should feel free to help one another and collaborate in the learning process. However, you are responsible for completing your own work. Any form of academic dishonesty or its facilitation will be subject to disciplinary action. Institutional policy specifics are published in the UCD Catalog – you are responsible for knowing them. A creative and enjoyable environment is a better learning environment. If, for some reason, you are not enjoying this class bring it to my attention. Use of others’ work without providing proper acknowledgment is not acceptable and will lead to failing the course.

Special needs. If you have a disability, including a learning disability, please contact your instructor via phone or email to discuss any necessary accommodations.

Technology use. Using UCD email and networks require adherence to usage policies – e.g., avoiding commercial profit-making enterprises or inappropriate personal or political uses. You are responsible for knowing the standards and rules governing computer use. For more info see the IT Services policies page.

Accommodations. The University of Colorado Denver is committed to providing reasonable accommodation and access to programs and services to persons with disabilities; see the University of Colorado Denver Accommodations website for specifics. Students with disabilities who want academic accommodations must register with Disability Resources and Services (DRS), North Classroom 2514, Campus Box 118, P.O. Box 173364, Denver, CO 80217-3364, 303-556-3450, TTY 303-556-4766, FAX 303-556-4771, email DisabilityResources@ucdenver.edu. I am happy to provide approved accommodations, once you provide me with a copy of DRS’s letter.

Incomplete Grade Policy. Incomplete grades (I) are not given to replace low grades. To be eligible for an incomplete grade, students must (1) successfully completed at least 75% of the course requirements, (2) have special circumstances (verification required) that preclude the student from attending classes and/or completing graded assignments, and (3) make arrangements to complete missing assignments with the original instructor before more than one year has elapsed since the end of the semester in which the course was taken.

Incomplete Grade Process

1. Students must be in close communication with the instructor PRIOR to the end of the semester regarding special circumstances precluding them from successfully completing the remainder of the course. Faculty may assign students an incomplete grade of “I” to signify that special circumstances beyond the student’s control prevented the student from completing a small portion of the course (no more than 25%) and that a final grade cannot yet be assigned.
2. IT IS THE STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO COLLABORATE WITH THE INSTRUCTOR TO COMPLETE AN INCOMPLETE AGREEMENT FORM (http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/SchoolOfEducation/CurrentStudents/Pages/CurrentStudentResources.aspx) prior to the end of the semester for which the incomplete is given. A copy of the form, signed by both the student and the instructor should be submitted to the SEHD Student Services Center (LSC 701). Both the student and instructor should also keep a copy. The instructor sets the conditions under which the course work can be completed and the time limit for completion. The student is expected to complete the requirements within the established deadline. If the missing assignments are not completed within the allotted time, the “I” converts to an F on the student’s transcript. Students making up an incomplete should not re-register for the course.
3. Upon completion of the missing course work, a Change of Record Form is completed by the original instructor to change the “I” to a letter grade. Faculty should work with the Faculty Services Center to complete the Change of Record Form.

Students with Disabilities. The University of Colorado at Denver is committed to providing reasonable accommodation and access to programs and services to students with disabilities. UCD strives to comply with the portions of the Americans for Disabilities Act (ADA) dealing with students. The Disability Resources and Services Office (DRSO) serve the needs of the diverse community of students with disabilities attending UCD. For information, please visit this site.

CU Denver Honor Code. As members of the CU Denver community, students are expected to uphold University standards, which include abiding by state, civil, and criminal laws and all University policies and standards of conduct. These standards assist in promoting a safe and welcoming community. The full UCD Student Code of Conduct can be found here.

SEHD Honor Code. The School’s honor code is currently under review by faculty in the Student Committee.

Ombuds Office. The CU-Denver Ombuds Office offers free, voluntary, and confidential consultation and information. It’s a safe place to discuss any conflicts, questions or concerns you may have about University expectations, policies or procedures. It’s located in the CU-Denver Building, Suite 100. For further information, call them at (303)-315-0046 or visit their website.

Support from the Writing Center. The UCD Writing Center offers individual and small group consultations for students seeking to strengthen their writing. Students meet with a consultant live for a 50-minute appointment, just like they would face-to-face. More information is available at their website. An informational video, appointment video, and pdf brochure are available at their website as well. See also their APA style guide.

What is Instructure Canvas?

Canvas is a suite of tools called a learning management system (LMS).  Some useful guides include:

• Canvas Guides
• Student Guide to Canvas
• Contact CU Online Help

What features does Canvas have?

Canvas has a lot of built-in tools and features to enable communication, including:

• Discussion Board with support for video/audio comments and attachments
• Conferences to facilitate live online sessions for presentations and conversations
• Collaboration with built-in support for EtherPad and Google Docs/Drive
• Conversations to easily message your instructor or classmates (access via "Inbox" link at top)
• Notification settings that you can customize for your email, phone, or social network accounts (available on your Settings page at the top)

What about Canvas post-term access?

Access to the Canvas shell is open during the teaching term and while you’re an active CU Denver student, but not indefinitely after that. Remember that you will present projects in your portfolio from different classes – always back up your data and collect all needed files from all courses as you complete the work. You will be responsible for having access to these files as you prepare your portfolio.

How do we get help using Canvas?
For specific support, you can click on "Help" in the top right of your screen. From there you can get access to Canvas guides and also report a problem to CU Online.

CU Online
CU Online's Help Desk is also available Monday-Friday from 7am - 7 pm at 303-315-3700 or via email at cuonlinehelp@ucdenver.edu.

Change Clause

This syllabus is subject to change, and it very likely will.