Assignment 1: Create a basic web page (Two Parts - A & B)

A: Create an introductory page which presents the student as a learner in the context of this particular learning community/course

B: Create one link to a second page where the student assesses his/her learning within the context of the specific learning community.

Allocate at least two classes in a computer lab. to prepare students for this assignment and to let them work on the assignment in a collaborative (teacher-to-student, student-to-student, student-to-teacher) environment

A: Create an introductory page which presents the student as a learner in the context of this particular learning community/course

Part 1: (if students have not already created web pages in the first-year Units) Each student creates a web directory on the mason server (see NCC Writing Guide: Online Writing for instructions:http://classweb.gmu.edu/nccwg/webcreate.htm)

Part II: Each student creates an introductory page using Netscape Composer. (See NCC Writing Guide: Online Writing for instructions on using Netscape Composer (http://classweb.gmu.edu/nccwg/netscapecompose.htm) and for instructions on transferring files created in Netscape Composer to each student's web page: http://classweb.gmu.edu/nccwg/ftpexpl.html)

The introductory page should include, for example:

• Student's Name and E-mail Link
  
• Title of Learning Community and Link to faculty member's course web site (if available)
  
• One or two paragraphs (spell-checked and proof-read - faculty must enforce this) explaining why the student has joined the learning community and where it fits into his/her concentration (or potential concentration) and future academic/professional/community goals
  
• Link to Part B
  
• Link to NCC, student's copyright symbol & date page created/updated

B: Create one link to a second page where the student assesses his/her learning within the context of the specific learning community

Part 1: Analysis
Think of a descriptive way to describe your learning within this particular learning community. Think of a metaphor, simile, analogy, etc. which might illuminate your learning experiences (achievements, problems, skills, problem-solving strategies, aspirations for the future, etc.). Develop your analysis over two or three substantial paragraphs.

Part II: Graphical Component
After writing your description, create or find a graphic (free photo, clip art, scanned photo) which best represents your learning experience within this learning community. Insert this graphic at an appropriate place within your text and explain how the graphic relates to your description of this experience in your text.

Part III: Competencies
Pick at least two NCC competencies you have enhanced during this learning community. Write a brief analysis, addressing these issues:

• What were the most challenging aspects of this learning community? Which aspects of the learning community did you find easiest? Most difficult?
  
• Which aspects caused you to think in new ways and develop new learning/studying mechanisms?
  
• Think about what skills you enhanced during this learning community. (Include as many aspects as possible and provide supporting detail.)

Benefits to Faculty Member

1) Serves a common goal of NCC learning communities: the fostering of students' incisive self-reflection. The technology is not an end in itself: it is integrated into content and pedagogical approach
2) Allows the faculty member to emphasize the importance of reflective writing for students by shifting to a new, public medium.
3) Enhances the collaborative nature of the learning community/course by allowing students to share with each other, as well as with their faculty member(s), reflections on the learning community/course
4) Allows the faculty member to introduce students more meaningfully (in that they are writing for a public forum) to audience expectations and publishing conventions specific to the content areas of the learning community/course
5) Creates for the faculty member a published, easily accessible (to self and others) archive of student reflections on the learning community/course

Benefits to the Student

1) Learns to create in a new, prevalent and popular communication medium
2) Develops problem-solving and collaboration skills through the process of the creation of the basic web page
3) Sees computer technologies as tools rather than content by pursuing an academic goal within the context of a particular learning community/course via the technology
4) Gains expertise in publishing the results of academic work in a public arena, and thus in representing professionally one's self, one's work and one's achievements
5) Improves self-confidence in learning to learn and matching communication tool to prospective audience

Assignment 2: A Hypertext Essay/Report/Analysis (Four Parts - A, B, C & D)

This four-part assignment asks students to revision a text they have already created within the learning community as a hypertext of at least six, linked screens.

A: The assignment & preliminary notes for faculty
B: Create a series of storyboards through which each student maps out the content and layout of each screen of his/her hypertext and the linking architecture
C: Reproduce each storyboard on a screen and post the completed hypertext to the web, paying close attention to the integration of form and content and to the functioning of the linking architecture
D: Compare and contrast the two 'versions' of the same text in terms of writing quality, audience and audience role, success of the communication, etc.

Allocate at least three class periods (and homework time) for this assignment. Book a computer lab. for the day students transfer their storyboards to the screen so that they can peer-teach and collaborate while building the final hypertexts. Also book a computer lab. for the reflection class: you may want to showcase successful hypertexts or elements within individual hypertexts, and you may be able to give students additional time to 'tweak' their hypertexts

A: Preliminary notes for faculty

This assignment introduces students to the power, and the limitations, of web-based hypertext writing. Working with an existing text allows students to focus on how they must change their writing for the new medium and also to reflect on how the medium subsequently changes the reception of/for their texts. Therefore, faculty need to:-

• Choose a writing assignment all students have already completed (at least in draft format)
  
• Choose an assignment for which a radical revisioning genuinely contributes to students' learning (i.e. the transition from draft to final version, the revision of a piece of writing for inclusion in a final portfolio, a change in the target audience for the writing from, for example, professor and peers to the general public (or a special segment thereof)
  
• Choose a time in the semester when students have grown comfortable with the writing required by faculty and may need extra stimulation

Finally, in working through this assignment, faculty members should constantly emphasize how much they value the quality of content to fend off meaningless technological pyrotechnics. The 'hypertexting' of the text should add meaning to the original text.

B: Create a series of storyboards through which each student maps out the content and layout of each screen of his/her hypertext and the linking architecture for the hypertext as a whole

Part 1: Planning
Read your text carefully. Note down the main points that you made and clearly mark your introduction, your conclusion and your thesis statement or your hook to the reader. Number your main points in order of importance to your argument. On a separate sheet of paper:

identify any elements you might need to rethink in your text when you move it to the screen (what about in-text citations and a bibliography, for example, if you have them?)
brainstorm any elements you might include in your text-as-hypertext which would enhance the meaning of your text (photographs, drawings or illustrations, background images or colors, fonts or font colors, links to external sources or resources). You will probably need to undertake additional research at this point

Part 2: Storyboarding
Take five (or more if you plan on creating more screens) sheets of 8.5 x 11.5 paper, and turn them sideways (landscape orientation). Remember that the screen on which your text will appear is wider than it is tall and you need to design your hypertext with this in mind. With reference to your original planning notes, and any additional research you have completed, work out how best to communicate your ideas to your potential readers via a web-based hypertext.

Using each sheet of paper as the template for one screen of your hypertext, design the visual and textual elements of each screen and, most importantly, work out how your screens will connect with each other.

Consider the following questions as you develop your content and visual design:-

• will my first screen be my introduction to the paper, or do I need to create an initial screen which includes a title and author's information?
• will I simply link one screen of my hypertext to the next (like an electronic page turn) or will I offer my reader a new way of reading my work, perhaps by linking all my screens creatively from my introduction, or by offering multiple choices to my audience at different stages of the hypertext?
  
• will I need to rewrite, cut or edit sections of my text as I add non-textual elements which add to the meaning of my argument/discussion?
• will I need to reformat my text (i.e. create shorter paragraphs or sentences, create wider margins, use indentations, bullets, etc.) to help my audience read the text easily on the screen?
  
• will I move completely from the conventional sentence-by-sentence, paragraph-by-paragraph layout to arrange my text more creatively on the page?

Remember that each screen is a mini-essay: each requires a careful introductory and concluding sentence, and an internal structure that helps your reader to understand your work.

Once you have completed your information design for each screen, name each of your screens as a .html file. Write the appropriate file name on each sheet of paper in bold letters: you will need to refer quickly to your file names as you post your hypertext and check your links.

Remember that your file names should contain only lower-case letters (which means you don't have to remember whether you used capitals or lower case in your files names) and that you should have no spaces at all in your file names.

C: Reproduce each storyboard on a screen and post the completed hypertext to the web, paying close attention to the integration of form and content and to the functioning of the linking architecture

Part I: Create web-ready files from your information design
Carefully build each screen you have designed as a web-ready file, using either raw HTML or Netscape Composer, or any other web-authoring system your teacher suggests. As you create your links, double-check that you have entered your filenames accurately.

Part 2: Post the web-ready hypertext to your mason web page
Review the user-guidelines for FTP (http://classweb.gmu.edu/nccwg/ftpexpl.html) and transfer your files to your mason web space. All your web-ready files should reside in your public_html directory. Don't forget to send all your graphic files to your public_html directory, too.

Part 3: Troubleshoot and Tweak
Check that all your links work as you intended. Repair any dead links and make sure that you do not maroon your reader on a screen with no way out (i.e. with no functioning link(s)). Read your hypertext several times to make sure that it provides a coherent experience for your reader.

Part 4: Peer Review (homework)
Exchange hypertext URLs with a partner. Before your next class, read and analyze your partner's hypertext and write a one-page, detailed response to her/his work. In addition, write a one-page personal reflection on what you have learned during the process of creating your hypertext and analyze which were the two most important competencies for you during this process. Support all your comments with evidence.

D: Compare and contrast the two 'versions' of the same text in terms of writer's role, writing quality, audience and audience role, success of the communication, etc.

Part I: Written Reflection
Using your homework (including your peer-review experience) as a jumping off point, respond to the following questions (don't be afraid to include the obvious and the off-the-wall):

• What are the main differences between the original text and its hypertext incarnation?
  
• How did my role as a writer change?
  
• What new concepts did I acquire as a hypertext writer that I did not need as a print writer? · What did my work gain from its transformation into a web-based hypertext? What did it lose?
  
• How did the audience for my work change? How did my awareness of the changed audience influence my writing?
  
• How did my/the audience's role as readers change? How did I, as a writer/reader, create/control/respond to that changed audience role?
• What did you learn from your peer-review experience (and the viewing of other writers' hypertexts is class)?
  
• Which version of the text was more successful as a communication with an audience?
  
• In the future, how would you decide whether a printed text or a web-based hypertext were the most appropriate communication for your audience?
  
• What did you learn that will help you as a writer from this experience?

Part 2: Class Discussion
Follow your instructor's prompts

Part 3: Further Reading
Faculty issue short, relevant readings about hypertext (for example, Jay Bolter, "Writing the Mind" (Chapter 12, Writing Space))

Benefits to Faculty Member

1) Creates a new context for the teaching of revision to students too often jaded by the process
2) Shifts student revision to a medium that demands substantive rethinking and rewriting rather than the marginal 'tinkering' many students classify as revision
3) Allows the faculty member to work on fundamental writing skills (meaningful structure, clarity of expression, paragraphing, introductions and conclusions, etc.) in a fresh context
4) Enhances collaboration in the revision and rewriting process as students troubleshoot for each other, peer-teach and share each others' work
5) Opens up new routes to meaningful reflection on writing and thinking which accelerate students' consciousness of their own processes

Benefits to Students

1) Transforms traditional revision of writing into a dynamic rethinking and rewriting task
2) Restores a substantial element of play and experimentation to the task of writing and adds pleasure and creative challenge to the students' 'revisioning' of their own work
3) Facilitates collaboration and acculturates students to workplace expectations of adapting materials for multiple audiences and for delivery via multiple media
4) Enhances students visual/textual literacy and allows them to develop more sophisticated critical skills in both areas
5) Prepares students for the demands of the workplace, initially encountered via internships, in which they are expected to communicate via a variety of electronic media, including organizational web sites

Assignment 3: The Writing of Original Hypertext - Group Project

In this assignment, students collaborate to create an original hypertext suitable for publication on the web.

A: Preliminary notes for faculty
B: Storyboarding and planning
C: Creating and publishing the collaborative hypertext

A: Preliminary Notes for Faculty

This style of assignment allows students to practice collaborative planning and writing for a public audience and promotes effective peer teaching at the intellectual, social and technological levels of the project.

In preparing the students for the project, faculty may find it helpful to place all aspects of the project in context. For example:

• Integrate the project fully into the learning community, and prepare students as usual for the vicissitudes and pleasures of group collaboration
  
• Emphasize the value of all students' skills (for example, research, writing, proof-reading, visual design, organization): technological expertise should be only one of these skills
  
• Emphasize the primacy of high-quality content
  
• Value originality of concept (often achieved through inventive use of limited technical knowledge) rather than technological dazzle ·
• Brainstorm potential audiences for published projects to help students understand the potential power of web publishing (for example, is the purpose of the project to disseminate information, advocate a particular idea or course of action, reflect on a complex, multi-part learning experience?)
  
• Collaborate with students to define clear criteria for projects

This assignment is research-oriented. However, you could easily adapt it for a more personal project (creative writing, collaborative reflection on a shared set of experiences, etc.).

B: Storyboarding and Planning

Part 1: Planning
a) Once you have defined your topic, undertake some preliminary research to check that your topic is viable:

• will you find sufficient authoritative resources to support a major group project?
  
• will you be able to fulfill all your assignment criteria and audience criteria?

You should also research and analyze sites on the web that share similar themes to make sure that you are not reproducing work already completed. But you should also use your research on the web to identify effective presentation design and navigational structures.

b) Now divide up the work according to the skills and interests of the group members. Remember that the project should offer everyone the chance to learn something new, and be ready to peer-teach as necessary. You should also decide where you will put your final hypertext: will you publish it on each group member's web page, or will you publish it on one group member's web page and link to it?
c) The success or failure of the web-published hypertext depends not on the technological skills of the creators but on the quality of the content. This includes:

• the extensiveness of your research
  
• the readability of your text
  
• your attention to the specific needs and expectations of your target audience.
  
• coherence of the overall presentation (unified look, ease of navigation, consistent voice and tone)

Part 2: Storyboarding
Take five (or more if you plan on creating more screens) sheets of 8.5 x 11.5 paper, and turn them sideways (landscape orientation). Remember that the screen on which your text will appear is wider than it is tall and you need to design your hypertext with this in mind. With reference to your original planning notes, and any additional research you have completed, work out how best to communicate your ideas to your potential readers via a web-based hypertext.

Using each sheet of paper as the template for one screen of your hypertext, design the visual and textual elements of each screen and, most importantly, work out how your screens will connect with each other.

Consider the following questions as you develop your content and visual design:-

• will my first screen be my introduction to the paper, or do I need to create an initial screen which includes a title and author's information?
• will I simply link one screen of my hypertext to the next (like an electronic page turn) or will I offer my reader a new way of reading my work, perhaps by linking all my screens creatively from my introduction, or by offering multiple choices to my audience at different stages of the hypertext?
  
• will I need to rewrite, cut or edit sections of my text as I add non-textual elements which add to the meaning of my argument/discussion?
• will I need to reformat my text (i.e. create shorter paragraphs or sentences, create wider margins, use indentations, bullets, etc.) to help my audience read the text easily on the screen?
  
• will I move completely from the conventional sentence-by-sentence, paragraph-by-paragraph layout to arrange my text more creatively on the page?

Remember that each screen is a mini-essay: each requires a careful introductory and concluding sentence, and an internal structure that helps your reader to understand your work.

Once you have completed your information design for each screen, name each of your screens as a .html file. Write the appropriate file name on each sheet of paper in bold letters: you will need to refer quickly to your file names as you post your hypertext and check your links.

Remember that your file names should contain only lower-case letters (which means you don't have to remember whether you used capitals or lower case in your files names) and that you should have no spaces at all in your file names.

C: Reproduce each storyboard on a screen and post the completed hypertext to the web, paying close attention to the integration of form and content and to the functioning of the linking architecture

Part I: Create web-ready files from your information design
First of all, make sure that all members of the group co-ordinate their efforts. If each person is preparing a set of screens for the hypertext, create a template for the screen layout, and make sure each person uses the template. If one person is preparing the screens for the hypertext, make sure that each person delivers all the text, graphics, etc. promptly and in an agreed-upon format.

Carefully build each screen you have designed as a web-ready file, using either raw HTML or Netscape Composer, or any other web-authoring system your teacher suggests. As you create your links, double-check that you have entered your filenames accurately.

Part 2: Post the web-ready hypertext to your mason web page
Review the user-guidelines for FTP (http://classweb.gmu.edu/nccwg/ftpexpl.html) and transfer your files to your group's chosen mason web space. All the web-ready files should reside in the public_html directory. Don't forget to send all of the graphic files to the public_html directory, too.

Part 3: Troubleshoot and Tweak
Each person should check the published hypertext very carefully. Check for:-

• spelling and grammar
  
• dead links
  
• screens without links
  
• coherence
  
• accessibility to your audience
  
• honest citation of sources (if used) and graphics

Part 4: Peer-Review & Audience-Testing
Present your draft to the class for peer and teacher response. Prepare some questions about the design, the interface, the text, etc. and invite general comments on your hypertext. Comments from your peers and your own observations about their projects can help you refine your own group's work.

Part 5: Go Live
Revise, proof and publish!