Next Project: A Film Evaluation

In keeping with our general focus on technology this semester, the next writing assignment will be a film evaluation of 2001: A Space Odyssey. This 1968 science fiction film was directed by Stanley Kubrick and is considered among the top films of all time. The film is noted for its high production values and scientific and technological accuracy. It is also somewhat difficult to follow at times, so you might want to check out Kubrick 2001: The Space Odyssey Explained, which is an online flash presentation. Check out the official trailer for the film and try to watch the film on your own time. I'm going to try to show at least portions of it in class, but this is the kind of film that may go over your head the first time you watch it and is worth multiple viewings.

Chad, Joe, Justin, and Kyle Present: Credit Card Smarts

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOfr0a36XZE

This is a video on the results of poor credit card habits. It was a great project and very interesting to see the actual statistics.

Ariel, Audrey, Jess, and Kellee Present: Greeks vs. Carters

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbjXPIzPN7U

We chose this subject because as freshman we wanted to see which restaurant appealed to the upperclassmen around Ball State's campus and why they liked it!

Anna, Cassie, Jordan, and Megan Present: Going Green on a College Campus

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f05jJoZJ4gA

The theme of our video is simple ways to encourage college kids to go green. We directed it towards college students because there are so many students around the world and they can make a huge impact.

Caley, Jennifer, Jeremy, and Morgan Present: Mac or PC?

http://bsumacorpc.weebly.com/

Our group decided to do our project on a website that will help future Ball State students with choosing between Macs and PCs.

Devan, Landyn, Teddy, and Tori Present: Students Against Drinking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3SHe_0CvwQ

We chose to do this subject because most of us in this group have experienced irresponsible drinking of someone under the age of 21. We figure this is one way to alert teens of the dangers of drinking.

Amy, Angela, Jenelle, and Kaitlyn Present: Self Defense 101

The link to our website is www.selfdefense101.weebly.com The reason we chose to do our project on self defense is because, at the time, there were many attacks to girls on campus.

What is a Reflective Essay?

When you turn in your Individual Reflective Essay for the Collaborative Multimodal Project, you will do so electronically by sending to my email a two-page, MLA-formatted paper in Microsoft Word. Included in your paper must be a link to your web site or video.

Many of you have been asking about this essay. It is not simply a report of facts that occurred, and it is not simply a ranting of your joys and griefs with this project. This is an essay that looks back on what happened and indicates what you have learned from your experience, using facts to back up what you say. A brief online search on this topic led me to "What is a Reflective Essay Paper?"which provides a decent explanation and also links to more information.

Web site tips

Conferences are underway and I already have some reminders and suggestions:

• Create an "about us" page to explain who you are, when and why you created this site, and what your credentials are to speak on this topic.
• Create a "works cited" page to list all the sources you quoted or linked to--and to give credit to visuals you used.
• Make sure the type size and general look of the layout is consistent from page to page. Use type that is large enough to read comfortably.
• Keep your information and your sentences concise. Link to more detailed information (either on a hidden page or to your sources).
• Arrange the items on your page so that the most important items appear as soon as it loads--in other words, don't make your reader scroll down to figure it out. They won't.
• Publish your page to make sure it looks and functions properly. Then do a Google search to see if it's showing up. This is where having a relevant web site name is important.
• Write a one-sentence description of any videos you post to allow readers to decide if they want to click or not.