Assignments
Here you will find information for each assignment, including examples and tutorials.
[Assignment #1] [Assignment #2] [Assignment #3] [Assignment #4]
| Assignment #1 - The Media & Me |
Overview
Part 1 - The Personal Statement
In the first part of this assignment you will write a personal statement about how the media influences you and your environment and how you yourself can use media to express yourself and influence others around you.
Some questions to consider when writing your statement:
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• Which forms of media are you exposed to most frequently?
• When did you first come in to contact with these?
• Why do you think these media in particular are effective?
• How can you use these media to communicate with others?
• How could you benefit from using these media in the future? |
Part 2 - Hyperlink References
In the second part of this assignment, you will expand on your personal statement by creating hyperlinks that reference the people, objects, or ideas you include in your writing. Clicking on any one of these hyperlink references should take the reader to a unique website that further illustrates your point.
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For example: My earliest memory of watching television is with my Mother
and Father during the NFL Super Bowl.
(here you could create a hyperlink for NFL linking to www.nfl.com)
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The way that you interpret these references is up to you, but be creative! The goal is to see how effectively you can communicate your message by using other information on the Internet. The more specific your reference, the better you will be able to communicate your idea.
You may want to consider this part of the assignment before writing your statement, as some ideas are much easier to reference than others. Whatever the case you are encouraged to find websites with information that most effectively references your ideas.
Your assignment will be graded on the number of references you are able to make within your statement (you must make at least 10) and how effective your references are in communicating a specific idea (be as thorough as possible).
Related Tutorials
[Downloading the Profile Template from Typepad]
[Customizing the Template]
[Online Researching Tips]
[Creating Hyperlinks]
[Uploading to Typepad]
Examples
[Trevor Parham - The Media & Me]
[Simon Robertson - The Media & Me]
Homework
Refine your personal statement and continue gathering hyperlink references. |
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| Assignment #2 - Photo Montage: What's In A Name? |
Overview
In this assignment you will create a photomontage depicting the various ways your first and/or last name can be interpreted. You can draw on your own past experiences or even common conceptions of what your name means to others. You should start by probing the Internet for imagery related to your name and its meanings, but feel free to consult other sources for imagery as well. The point is to analyze your own name and assess its meaning by creating a visual representation of your identity. Will the visual representation tell a different story than just your name alone? Will it create a new meaning?
Excerpt from Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet:
(Juliet)
'Tis but thy name that is my enemy;--
Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.
What's Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title:--Romeo, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself. |
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Do you remember Juliet's critical inquiry about the significance of Romeo's last name, Montague? She was criticizing the fact that people are judged by names that are assigned to them before they're even able to speak for themselves! In this sense names can be both telling and confining- and ultimately oppressive.
Have you ever been in a situation where someone has used your name to determine something about your heritage, your class, or even your personality?
What does your name mean to you? What are its various interpretations?
Part A — The Meaning of Your Name: Some Questions for Finding Related Imagery:
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• Where does your last name come from? What is it derived from?
• Is there an actual translation of your last name? What does that mean?
• Are there other notable people that share either of your names?
• Do you share your first name with another family member? |
Part B — Visualizing & Designing Your Own Identity
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• What new imagery would you like associated with your name?
• What doesn't your name tell us about you?
• How can your interests depict your identity?
• Do you have a nickname? What sorts of imagery does it suggest?
• What colors and/or textures represent you? |
If we were to take your name out of this montage would it still represent you?
Your assignment will be graded on how well you use found imagery to communicate the meaning(s) of your name and identity. You are encouraged to use images found on the web, though you should also feel free to incorporate any other images you may find elsewhere (e.g. - magazines, photos, family photos, etc.). You must use at least 7 Images total in your photomontage.
Related Tutorials
[The Photoshop Toolbar - The Basics]
[Basic Guidelines for Creating a Montage]
[Bringing Images Together For Montage]
[Techniques for Cutting Out Images]
[Everything You Need To Know About Using Photoshop]
Examples
[Simon's Name Montage-JPG] | [Photoshop Document - Right Click, Save Target As...]
[Photomontage Artists on The Internet]
[Digital Montages by Iuri Kothe]
Homework
- Continue working with your images and upload your in-progress montage and profile by 7/6.
- Upload your final montage to your profile for evaluation and critique by 7/11 |
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| Assignment #3 - Flash Presentation: What's In A Word? |
Overview
Exploring What Lies in Your Word
The purpose of this assignment is to explore the various interpretations of words. What are all of the general definitions (or literal meanings) of the word, and how do they become interpreted or weighted within our cultures and society.
You will make an interactive presentation on your word, its definitions and predefinitions. You will use text, image, audio, animation (or even video) to explore the various meanings and interpretations of your word.
When creating this presentation,
consider setting it up like a common lab report. Use the Scientific Method to explore your word.
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• Start with an Introduction (The purpose of this presentation is...)
• State a Hypothesis (most people assume this word only means...)
• Present Data and findings (my word actually has 7 definitions...)
• Analyze the data (among the 7 definitions, only two are ever used)
• Conclude with a summary of your findings (OveralI discovered...) |
Guidelines To Follow When Researching The Meaning of Your Word:
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• What is the etymology, origin, or history of your word?
• What is the literal definition of your word?
• What are some of the more common or slang uses of your word?
• How has the meaning of this word become limited?
• What is the contemporary significance of this word? |
The Defintion
We all know how to identify a word that we don't understand, and then look it up in the dictionary, the encyclopedia, or even the Internet. This is simply the process of defining a word based on its origin and literal meaning(s). However, some words, that may have a general definition, seem to take on distinct meanings within our society or culture based on a conventional understanding...
The Interpretations, Connotations, and Predefintions
We often use certain words to describe one particular idea, when in fact that word may have more than one meaning. And often times, it seems that we understand this limited usage of the word simply by the way that it's printed or spoken. The word may be neutral by definition, but its usage causes it to have certain connotations. This is what we call a weighted word - a single word or phrase that has a greater social or cultural significance. The fact that most people are able to interpret the weight of these words, implies that perhaps our culture or society has a way of assigning a primary definition to it, or rather, a predefinition.
The Conclusion
You will conclude your presentation by summarizing the main ideas or concepts you discovered while exploring your word.
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• What did you learn about your word?
• What should other people know about your word?
• Is your word typically thought of positively or negatively?
• Are there any definitions that are used more than others?
• What do all of the meanings have in common? |
Related Tutorials
[Arranging Frames and Layers in Flash]
[Creating Buttons in Flash]
[Flash Tutorials @ EchoEcho.com]
Related Resources
[Visual Thesaurus]
[Etymology Online]
[FreeSound Sample Search]
[Text to Speech]
Examples
[Simon's Word - 'Fair']
[Trevor's Word - 'Word']
[Genetic Fingerprints: How DNA Codes Our History]
[The Future of Evolution]
[The MRI @ Medline]
[Acne @ Medline]
[Carpal Tunnel Syndrome @ Medline]
[Preventing Back Pain @ Medline]
[Nasa's Deep Impact]
Homework: Due 7/13
- Setup AT LEAST 6 main frames as pages for your presentation
- Create a menu or button bar to click through to each frame
- Fill each of the main frames with titles and basic text |
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| Assignment #4 - "Multi-Poll" Choice - The Interactive Quiz |
Overview
Creating a Quiz That Profiles a Subject
The purpose of this assignment is to create a quiz that will provide some information about the quiz-taker. These types of quizzes are used all the time in magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. to profile the reader and provide some information about who they are, how much they know about a certain subject, or what type of personality they are. But are these determinations accurate?
Using Flash, you will design a quiz based on information you are trying to find out about other people on a certain topic. Your quiz will be multiple-choice, allowing the user to only choose a limited number of responses to each question. At the end of your quiz, the subject will be presented with a profile description based on how they answered the quiz. Be sure to make your quiz a topic of interest!
Two Types of Quizzes
Quantitative - Relating to quantity or degree - How much? How Great?
The quantitative quiz relies on a cumulative point system. As the subject works through the quiz they receive a number of points for each question answered. At the end of the quiz the total sum of these points determines how much they know about your topic. The point sum is compared against different point ranges to determine which profile they most closely match.
Qualitative - Relating to quality or kind - What type? What kind? What class?
The qualitative quiz also relies on a point system, but each point is distributed to different categories. These categories are based on the different qualities you've designated for your quiz. At the end of the quiz the subject's profile is determined by which category they have received the most points in.
Basic Guidelines for Designing Your Quiz:
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• Select a Topic - Something that will return interesting results.
• Determine the Quiz Type - Is it quantitative or qualitative?
• Write Your Questions - Pick AT LEAST 6 questions for your quiz.
• Write Your Subject Profiles - What does the result say about the subject?
• Stylize Your Quiz - Use graphics and media to set the tone of your quiz. |
Related Tutorials
[Flash Tutorials @ EchoEcho.com]
[Creating ActionScript Code for the Quiz]
Related Resources
[Variables, Operators, and Conditional Statements]
[Advice on Personality Tests]
[Quantitative Quiz Framework] - Right Click, Save Target As... Open in Flash
[Qualitative Quiz Framework] - Right Click, Save Target As... Open in Flash
Examples
[Simon's Quiz - What Type of Music Lover Are You?]
[Trevor's Quiz - How Much Do You Know About The Bay?]
[Quizilla]
Homework: Due 7/20
- Select a topic for your Quiz
- Determine which type of quiz you're create: quantitative? or qualitative?
- Develop AT LEAST 6 sample questions w/ answers for your quiz
Homework: Due 7/27
- Create AT LEAST 6 working questions for your quiz
- Assign point values to all of your answers
- Add media content (images, sounds, animations) to your quiz
- Finalize and Upload quiz for everyone to take in class |
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![[Simon's Name Montage-JPG]](srobertson/montage.jpg){kind=link}