Schedule

Going Remote

The first two weeks of the semester will be conducted remotely - part of a larger sea change in both higher education and some areas of the private sector. I thought we could use this as an opportunity to discuss some of the larger implications of learning and working remotely and some of the concrete skills in how to do so effectively.

Tue., Jan. 18: Introductions

Thu., Jan. 20: Remote Learning

  • Join the class Slack workspace (see university email for invitation), customize your profile picture, and write a message introducing yourself in the #general channel that includes one image (GIF, meme, picture of your pet - whatever you want!)
  • Watch instructional video on Hypothesis: “Annotating in the LMS for Students”
  • Annotate in Hypothesis (access readings via Canvas):
    • Course Syllabus: questions or clarifications about policies, assignments, etc., reactions to different topics, things you’re dreading, things you’re excited about, etc.
    • Nora Caplan-Bricker, “Is Online Test-Monitoring Here to Stay?” The New Yorker (May 27, 2021).

In Class

  • Discussion of remote learning & online privacy, what you want to get out of the course, troubleshooting Slack and Hypothesis

Tue., Jan. 25: Remote Work

In Class

  • Practicing Zoom presentations

Thu., Jan. 27: Zoom Presentations

Revised Zoom presentation recording due Sun. 1/30

The Basics

Tue., Feb. 1: Computers and Files and Servers, Oh My!

  • Register for a personal account and domain name with Reclaim Hosting
    • This URL will be your own personal domain that you will use in this class for assignments, but you can also use it moving forward as a professional website or portfolio. Think carefully about the domain name you choose. I would highly recommend using your name in the URL (ex. https://cameronblevins.org) You then have two options for the rest of the domain:
      • If you select “Register a new domain” you will pay $15 to register a new domain of your choosing that looks like: https://cameronblevins.org (.com, .info, etc.).
      • If you select “Use a subdomain from Reclaim Hosting” your domain will look like: https://cameronblevins.reclaim.hosting. but does not cost any additional money.
    • Cost: $30 for the server space with Reclaim Hosting + either: $0 for reclaim.hosting subdomain or $15 for your choice of domain. This will be the only thing I will ask you to pay for during the semester (I hope).
  • Annotate in Hypothesis:

In Class

Thu., Feb. 3: A Domain of Your Own

In Class

Tue., Feb. 8: Digital History

  • Add a landing page / About page to your personal website with a short bio and interests (professional, academic, or otherwise).
  • Annotate in Hypothes.is:

In Class

  • Class visit from Anjelica Oswald, Digital Humanities Intern at the National Parks Service of Boston
  • Discussion of how technology has shaped the discipline of history
  • Wordpress Vocab & Themes

Thu., Feb. 10: Digital Communications

  • Follow the instructions to customize your wordpress site. Post the URL of your site to the #assignments channel in Slack.
  • Journalism designer and developer Yan Wu helped design and build the layout of the following article and will be joining our class to discuss it . Read the article and then post 2-3 comments or questions about it in the #readings Slack channel, focusing on any questions you might have for Ms. Wu (this can be on the article itself or general questions about her work and career):

In Class

  • Visit from Yan Wu, graphics designer and developer for the Washington Post.
  • Peer review of personal websites

Digital Hygiene and Reflection due February 13th

Tue., Feb. 15: Silicon Valley

In Class

  • Q&A with Alexis Baird, Director of Product Management at Thumbtack

Thu., Feb. 17: The Changing Digital Economy

In Class

  • Faith presentation

First Self-Assessment due February 20th

Data

Tue., Feb. 22: Making Data

In Class

Thu., Feb. 24: Processing Data

  • Watch the video “10 Common Excel Mistakes to Avoid” by Mynda Treacy and skim through the accompanying page for reference. On the #readings channel in Slack post a reaction to this advice: Have you seen these mistakes in the past or done these mistakes yourself? Do you find any of them confusing? Which did you find most helpful?

In Class

  • Spreadsheet functions

Tue., Mar. 1: Analyzing Data

In Class

  • Visit from from Colin Schoppert, Head of Dispatch and Supply & Product Lead at DoorDash
  • Working with spreadsheets, continued

Thu., Mar. 3: Visualizing Data: Charts

  • Annotate in Hypothesis:
    • “Ch. 5: Visualizing with Clarity” from Nathan Yau, Data Points: Visualization That Means Something, pp. 201-240.
  • Watch the first 13:20 of Neil Halloran, The Fallen of World War II (2015). Post a 2-3 sentence reaction to the #readings Slack channel focusing on any of the following: How does it employ different strategies detailed by Nathan Yau? Do you find it effective and why/why not? How could it be improved? What are some of the larger issues involved with trying to visualize this kind of subject matter?

In Class

  • Introduction to Tableau Public

Tue., Mar. 8: Visualizing Data: Maps

In Class

  • Class visit from Diane Fritz, Geospatial Data Scientist at Auraria Library
  • Making maps in Tableau Public

Thu., Mar. 10: Organizing Data

In Class

Tue., Mar. 15: Accessing Data

In Class

  • Natalie presentation
  • Omeka

Thu., Mar. 17: Open Class Period

  • Use this time to work on your data exploration assignment

Data Exploration due March 27th

Media

Tue., Mar. 29: Images

In Class

Thu., Mar. 31: Images II

In Class

Second Self-Assessment due April 3rd

Tue., Apr. 5: Video

In Class

Thu., Apr. 7: Video

  • Record a video in which you make a 30-second elevator pitch for a future CU Denver student to convince them to take this class next year. You do not need to plan this out and you can be as silly as you want (cat and/or other pet appearances highly encouraged) - just make sure it is under thirty seconds. Use Zoom to record the video and then upload it as yourfirstname-yourlastname.mp4 (cameron-blevins.mp4) to the #in-class Slack channel by 2:00PM. We will be using these during class to learn how to edit videos.
  • Annotate in Hypothesis:

In Class

Tue., Apr. 12: Audio

In Class

Thu., Apr. 14: Audio

  • Post a 2-3 sentence summary of the topic and media format you’re planning to do for your Media Project on the #assignments Slack channel .
  • Listen to episode Beyond the Consul: Monterey from the podcast Consolation Prize and post at least two questions you might want to ask its creator, Abby Mullen, to the #readings Slack channel.

In Class

  • Q&A with Abby Mullen, George Mason University, creator of podcast Consolation Prize.

Tue., Apr. 19: TBD - Class Choice Visual Storytelling

  • Reading topic & in-class skill building selected by class:
  • Read Steve Novak and Saed Hindash, “Blue to Red in 30 Miles: What 1 Pa. County Road Tells Us About the American Electorate” Lehigh Valley Live (October 25, 2020). Post your reaction and reflections on the Slack #readings channel, focusing on how the journalists are using different non-textual elements (video, images, maps, data) to tell their story. What are the aspects that you find most and least effective? How does it compare to other readings or examples we’ve looked at in this class?

In Class

Media Project due April 19th

Thu., Apr. 21: Music

  • Send a 2-3 sentence Slack DM to Professor Blevins with what you are planning to do for your final project.
  • Spencer Kornhaber, pop culture writer for The Atlantic, will be joining class to discuss how technology is shaping the music industry. Read the following article by Mr. Kornhaber and post 2-3 comments or questions about it (or broader questions about technology and music) on the #readings Slack channel.

In Class

Wrapping Up

Tue., Apr. 26: Final Project Workshop

Thu., Apr. 28: Final Project/Resume Workshop

In Class

  • Resume workshop

Tue., May. 3: Final Project Presentations

Thu., May 5: Final Project Presentations & Wrapping Up

Build a Tutorial (HIST 5260/COMM 6710 only) due May 11th

Final Project due May 11th

Final Self-Assessment due May 12th