course calendar

Below are:

A month-by-month calendar with important dates and deadlines
A class schedule with specific reading assignments, deadlines and topics to be covered.

Please note that this both these items are guides and not comprehensive lists. Additional assignments and readings will be distributed and added to this site throughout the semester.

If assignment dates/deadlines change, the changes will be announced in class and updated on this calendar.

Quick link to specific weeks:

Week of: Aug. 18 | Aug. 25 |

Week of: Oct. 6 | Oct. 13 | Oct. 20 | Oct. 27 |

Week of: Nov. 3 | Nov. 10 | Nov. 17 | Nov. 24

Week of: Dec. 1

Final exam period

• Week of: Aug. 18
Lecture/discussion/lab work:
Introduction to the course of study
Orientation to the multimedia lab
Server space sign-up
Setting goals
Complete student survey
Evaluating multimedia design

Exercise: Farm storyboard

• Week of: Aug. 25
To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
• Complete farm storyboard exercise
Read/view/listen online:
• Links to examine
and...
• Online Media Types
• Programming wherever, whenever
• The elements of digital storytelling by Nora Paul and Christina Fiebich
• DiSEL website

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
Vew farm storyboards
Who are we designing for?
What do multimedia bring to journalism?
Five key areas of multimedia design

Attend SND multimedia competition judging event for at least two hours.
Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Dates: Friday and Saturday, Aug. 29 and 30
Place: Carroll 60
*Be sure to sign in upon arrival in the lab.

• NO CLASS, Monday, Sept. 1 -- Labor Day

• Week of: Sept. 1
To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Read in textbook:
• Chapters 1-5
Read in online:
• What you need to know before animating
• Mastery, Mystery, and Misery: The Ideologies of Web Design
• Durability of Usability Guidelines

Lecture/discussion/lab work:

Evaluating multimedia design
In class group work: Links to Critique
Discussion: simplicity versus creativity and aesthetic design
Aesthetic design basics for multimedia

• Week of: Sept. 8
To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Read in textbook:
• Chapters 9-10
Read/view online:
• OJR's 'five guide' to do-it-yourself website usability testing
• Interview - Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D.
• Glossary of online news terms

Read SND Judges' Handbook (on J581 server space, "Files for Class" folder)

Lecture/discussion/lab work:

Monday: Critiquing a Web site (Guest instructor, Mike Schmidt)

Explore links to critique with small groups
Discuss SND judges' criteria
Small groups present their critiques to class

Wednesday: Conducting a usability test

What is usability testing?
Go over steps to creating test
Assign usability test groups/presentations
link to assignment sheet | links to assigned presentations

** Complete critique one. Due Wednesday, Sept.10. **

• Week of: Sept. 15
To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Create usability testing materials
Read/view online:
• Sample usability testing report
• Writing a usability report (PDF)
• Common industry format for a usability test report

Lecture/discussion/lab work:

Conducting a usability test, continued:

Administer tests
Begin to consolidate results by:
* Discussing report structure and viewing presentations
* Meeting as a group to begin completion of "usability_meetings" handout. (Word document)
Assign writing tasks

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
Usability research and report writing

• Week of: Sept. 22
To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
• Web design features by Robin Williams
• Counterspace (typography information)
• Acting with a Pencil: Storyboarding Your Movie
• Color, Contrast and Dimension in News Design

Review presentations to be presented on Wednesday:

Virtual Grocery Store
Budget Hero
JDLand
Politifact.com

** Complete usability test one report and presentation, due Wednesday, Sept. 24.**

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
• Presentation of usabilty tests
• Design aesthetics and multimedia

• Week of: Sept. 29
To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Read/view online:
• Color in Motion
• Meaning in Motion: Ken Burns and His 'Effect'
• Storyboarding basics book chapter (PDF)
• Web Design Basics (from Scratch) -- read main page and linked materials

For Wednesday: Complete "design without a word" exercise

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
• Aesthetic design and multimedia, continued
• Storyboarding
• Storyboard one distributed on Oct. 1

Week of: Oct. 6

To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Read/view online:
• Site Achitecture (read main page and linked items)
• F-Shaped Reading Pattern
• The Best of the SND.ies
• HTML vs. Flash report (PDF)
• Animated Infographics and Online Storytelling: Words from the Wise
• Multimedia Storytelling: When is it Worth it?
• Navigating Slide Shows: What to People Choose When Every Choice is Possible?

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
• Storyboard one distributed on Oct. 6
• Aesthetic design and multimedia, continued
• Storyboarding
• Design architecture

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Week of: Oct. 13

To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Work on storyboards

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
• Photoshop and design tips with Mike Schmidt (link to presentation notes)
• Lab time to work on storyboard one.

** Complete storyboard one, due Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 5 p.m.**

Week of: Oct. 20

To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Read/view online:
• Eyetrack III results on multimedia
• Forrester's Best Practices
• The Usabaility Group Eyetracking Study
• Poynter Eyetrack '07
• Evaluating the Usability of Search Forms Using Eyetracking
• Top Five Eye-tracking Labotory Test Results
• Hot Spots and Hyperlinks
• An eye-tracking study of information usage in Web search (PDF file)
• Eyetracking points the way to effective news article design

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
• Research in multimedia design

Week of: Oct. 27

To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Read/view online:
• Knight Batten Award winners
• Toxic Legacy
• The Mercury Menace
• Transparent Newsroom
• The Big Picture
• TenbyTen.org

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
• Innovation in multimedia design
• On Wednesday: Visit from Dan Barkin, newsobserver.com

Week of: Nov. 3

To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Review site: newsobserver.com

Lecture/discussion/lab work:

• Research in multimedia design -- final lecture
• In class time for usabilty test two work
• Distribute critique two -- due Nov. 17
• Distribute usability test two -- due Dec. 1

** Final project selection form due Wednesday, Nov. 5. (Distributed Monday, Nov. 3) **

Week of: Nov. 10

To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Read/view online:
• Storyboarding Master Worksheet

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
• Final storyboard overview
• In class time for usabilty test two work

Week of: Nov. 17

To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
Read/view online:
• Pocast: Slideshow Joe
• Photos, audio and the glorious struggle to comine them
• JoeWeiss.com Web site
• Soundslides Web site

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
• Guest speaker: Multimedia designer Joe Weiss
• In class time for usabilty test two work
• Overview of class success in storyboard and design work

** Complete critique two -- due Nov. 17 **

** Complete exercise innovate, due Wednesday, Nov. 19. **

Week of: Nov. 24

To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
• Work on usability test reports and presentations

** Usability Test Two presentations on (or after) Dec. 1**

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
• Usability test work/presentations

Week of: Dec. 1

To prepare for this week's classes (due BEFORE class begins):
• Work on final project storyboards

Lecture/discussion/lab work:
• Lecture: How to Pitch Your Idea
• Final project work day

• Final exam period: Tuesday, Dec. 9, Noon-3 p.m.
To prepare for this class (due BEFORE class begins):
Complete final project
Prepare final project "pitch"