The draft completed version: bit.ly/dgst395

[a quote from someone amazing that inspires curiosity, encourages critical thinking, or connects in some other obscure way to anything else here]

A digital project is __________ [two sentences, between 25 and 45 words] __________. A digital project is not  __________ [a single sentence, between 10 and 15 words] __________.

You'll spend the whole semester working (by yourself or with a group) on a single digital project. This document will give you the tools you need to guide your work, but you should feel free to interpret these instructions loosely. We will be working together by offering feedback to each other through the various stages of this work.

Ultimately, a successful digital project is one that:

  • Creates _____ [a sentence fragment between 5 and 10 words] _____
  • Employs _____ [a sentence fragment between 5 and 10 words] _____
  • Addresses _____ [a sentence fragment between 5 and 10 words] _____

Collaboration

You may work on your own or collaborate with a group of up to __ [a number] __ people. If you work with a group of more than __ [a number] __, you should _____ [a sentence fragment between 5 and 15 words] _____. While you are welcome to work on your own, collaboration may help you to _____ [a sentence fragment between 5 and 15 words] _____.

Tools and Media

Your project can take any number of forms, such as __ [a word or phrase] __, __ [a word or phrase] __, or __ [a word or phrase a little wackier than the other two examples] __, but probably not __ [a word or phrase] __ or __ [a word or phrase] __. At a minimum, you should hand-code __ [a word or phrase] __, design __ [a word or phrase] __ yourself, or manually __ [a word or phrase] __. You are encouraged to use tools that _____ [a sentence fragment between 3 and 10 words] _____, such as (but not limited to) __ [a digital tool or platform] __ or __ [a digital tool or platform] __.

Creative Constraints

Sometimes arbitrary constraints can inspire creativity. Choose at least one of the following:

  1. use a digital tool for something other than its express purpose or function
  2. _____ [a sentence or fragment between 10 and 20 words] _____
  3. _____ [a sentence or fragment between 10 and 20 words, a bit more bizarre or obscure than the previous one] _____
  4. _____ [a sentence or fragment between 10 and 20 words, a bit more bizarre or obscure than the previous one] _____
  5. _____ [a sentence or fragment between 10 and 20 words, a bit more bizarre or obscure than the previous one] _____

Theme

Our collective theme (inspired by the image at the top of this post) is _____ [several evocative but vague sentences describing the theme] _____. All projects should connect in some way, however loosely, with this theme, or otherwise radically and __ [an adverb] __ diverge from the theme in a way that inspires awe, surprise, or __ [something else] __.

Working Ethically and Respectfully

All projects completed for this class should aim to _____ [a sentence fragment between 8 and 15 words] _____ and never _____ [a sentence fragment between 3 and 10 words] _____ or _____ [a sentence fragment between 3 and 10 words] _____.

Proposal or Prospectus

You will prepare a proposal or prospectus outlining your plans for the final project by __ [a date] __. It should contain these components:  _____ [a sentence fragment between 3 and 10 words] _____, _____ [a sentence fragment between 3 and 10 words] _____, and _____ [a sentence fragment between 3 and 10 words] _____. You will share it on Slack for feedback from your peers and will also have a chance to discuss and refine your ideas in class. This process will __________ [one or two sentences, between 10 and 30 words] __________.

Peer-review

On __ [a date] __, you will share a draft of your work [online OR in class]. A draft should include ______ [a phrase or list between 3 and 15 words] _____. You will offer __ [an adjective] __ feedback to your peers. And, of course, chat with Jesse if you want to confer or get additional feedback at any point.

Sharing Your Work

You will submit your work by publishing it to the Web, using Domain of One's Own (or some other platform), and sharing a link to it via Slack. But the audience for your work shouldn't just be Jesse or the members of our class, but rather _____ [a sentence fragment between 5 and 10 words] _____. On the last day of class, we will meet in person to _____ [a sentence fragment between 5 and 15 words] _____.

Documenting Your Process

In addition to (or as a component of) your digital project, you will also document your process in a letter, a series of images, a short video, __ [a word or phrase] __, or __ [a word or phrase] __. You will also have a chance to offer thoughts on your digital project in the final self-reflection you will complete for the course. Take risks, break stuff, and don't be afraid to fail, as long as you fail __ [an adverb] __.

Feel free to dramatically reinvent the expectations usually reserved for final projects in college classes. Make this one your own. But feel free to call on Jesse (or your peers) for help.

[a single GIF that connects back to the theme and leaves people excited or bewildered by the work to come]