Final Exam

General Review outline:

1) Photoshop Editing and Manipulations-Understanding the meaning of images and collage
2) Destop Publishing-Adobe Indesign
3) Macromedia Flash MX-building an interactive media prototype
4) HTML and Web development--Review the online Quiz

A) Communications Technology Terms:

Film Terms:

Continuity - The seamlessness of detail from one shot to another within a scene. Continuity refers particularly to the physical elements, rather than to the choices in Coverage that can result in a lack of seamlessness. Elements of continuity include any actions of the actor, the placement of props, the lighting, the costumes, and so on.

Cut
1. What the director says to end the filming of a shot.
2. The cutting apart of 2 shots at the frameline, or the point where the shots have been cut apart.
3. In the different stages, or at the completion of editing the edited film itself can be referred to as “the cut” or “the edit.”

Dissolve - A transition between two shots, where one shot fades away and simultaneously another shot fades in. Dissolves are done at the lab in the printing phase, but prepared by the negative cutter, who cuts in an overlap of the two shots into the A&B rolls. Labs will only do dissolves in fixed amounts, such as 24 frames, 48 frames, etcEdit - 1: The cutting and arranging of shots. 2.: In the different stages, or at the completion of editing the edited film itself can be referred to as “the cut” or “the edit.”

Fade - A transition from a shot to black where the image gradually becomes darker is a Fade Out; or from black where the image gradually becomes brighter is a Fade In. Fades are done at the lab in the printing phase, but prepared by the negative cutter, who cuts in an overlap of black into the A&B rolls. Labs will only do fades in fixed amounts, such as 24 frames, 48 frames, etc.Frame - A single image (of a series of them) on a piece of film. There are 24 frames per second.

Rough Cut - The edited film, between the stages of being an assembly and a fine cut.Scene - A scene is really just a single shot. But often scene is used to mean several shots, which is more to do with the word’s origin in theater. It is sometimes clearer to say “sequence” for several shots, so as not to confuse the filmic and theatrical meanings of the word.

“Safety” - An additional take, done after a successful one, as a backup.

Shot - A shot is the film exposed from the time the camera is started to the time it is stopped. Shot and Scene are interchangeable terms.

Sync - The degree to which sound and picture are lined up, in-sync being lined up exactly, and out-of-sync not so exactly. It can be applied to any specific sound and picture relationship, not just voices and not just sync-sound, but any type of specific effect too.

Tracking Shot - A tracking shot is one where the camera is placed on a dolly and is moved while filming. Also known as a dolly shot.

Animation terms

Animé: (prounced ah-ni-may) The Japanese word for animation. Used by Western fans to refer to animation produced in Japan.

Vector: In graphics and animation, a "vector" is a line or a movement defined by end-points or, essentially, the distance between point A and point B. Vectors can be used to calculate animated motion mathematically instead of through the use of manual key frames; vectors can also be used to define computer-animated shapes.

"Tween" is actually short for "in-between", and refers to the creation of successive frames of animation between key frames. In computer animation, the term is most commonly used for Flash's "shape tweening" and "motion tweening" processes, where the user can define two key frames and Flash will automatically create the in-between frames, either morphing one shape into another over a set period of time or else moving a shape or shapes from point A to point B over a set period of time. 3D animation programs also have their own method of "tweening".

ActionScript is the name of the programming language used to develop applications for Flash. When combined with Flash animation and graphic objects, it can be used to gather data and dynamically manipulate objects and events while a Flash movie is running.

ActionScript is similar in some ways to JavaScript, and in others to Visual Basic, but its basis relies on events, handlers, and classes that perform specific functions based on the movie's timeline and certain established conditions.

Animation is the process of creating the illusion of motion by viewing sequential images in rapid succession. This can be accomplished with hand-drawn images in a flip book, images drawn and painted onto cels, sequential photographs of objects moved one frame at a time, or images created in a solely digital environment, but the core principle is the same. Each image is part of a sequence that depicts the various stages of movement required to show the progress of an action, and the images are then displayed at a pace (frame rate) swift enough that the eye no longer sees individual drawings, and instead sees the illusion of a moving image.

Stop-motion animation is animation produced by arranging real objects, taking a picture of them, repositioning the objects minutely, then taking another picture of them to create a sequence of consecutive images that create the illusion of motion. One of the most common forms of stop-motion animation is claymation (think Gumby).

Documentary Film-- factual movie or TV program: a movie or TV program presenting facts and information, especially about a political, historical, or social issue

B) Micromedia Flash MX Terms:

Movie terms

A Flash animation is called a Movie. A movie contains all the scenes, objects, effects and actions that make up the final animation.A movie is a collection of Scenes. Just as in a TV show or real movie, each scene may have a different background or camera angle. The plot of the movie flows from one scene to another. A simple animation would have a single scene.A scene is a collection of Objects that animate over a number of Frames. When a scene is complete, all the objects are removed from the display and the movie automatically moves to the next scene. Typical objects are text objects and image objects, such as a picture of a car or person.

Stage termsFollowing the movie-making metaphor, the work area for your Flash animations is called the Stage.Objects--such as drawings, buttons or animations--are placed on the stage in Layers. This allows objects to be in front of other objects. It is also useful for breaking up effects into simple parts.The very first layer (and the furthest back) is the Background. This layer is usually visible through a whole scene.Motion termsThe Timeline is the part of the interface where you can see the flow of a movie.

A Frame is a single time-slice of the Flash movie. It is a similar concept to a frame of a motion picture. Frames are seen in the timeline.

Events and actions

An Event is when something happens at a given time in the movie or as a result of a user action. A frame event occurs when the movie reaches the specified frame. Mouse events occur when the mouse interacts with an object in a scene.The event will then trigger an Action, which can be used to control the flow of a movie or issue instructions to the browser. Typical actions include stop the movie at the current frame, go to the specified frame (and scene) in the movie, and tell the browser to load a Web address into the specified target HTML frame.

Effects

Effects are animations that change the appearance of an object over time.A Simple Effect is where all components of an object move in unison. An example is when all images slide into view at one time.Another simple effect is a Transformation of size, rotation and/or color.Complex Effects are when several objects in a movie or when components of an object move independently (typically letters of a text object). Complex effects are usually done in layers. Some Flash rapid application development tools--such as Swish--have complex text effects preprogrammed into one layer.

In conclusionThe basic terms used for Flash animation concepts are classified as movies, stages and motion.

Web terms

BLOG or WEB LOG
A blog (short for "web log") is a type of web page that serves as a publicly accessible personal journal (or log) for an individual. Typically updated daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the author. Blog software usually has an archive of old blog postings. Many blogs can be searched for terms in the archive. Blogs have become a vibrant, fast-growing medium for communication in professional, poltical, news, trendy, and other specialized web communities. Many blogs provide RSS feeds, to which one can subscribe and receive alerts to new postings in selected blogs.

BOOKMARK/FAVORITES
Way in browsers to store in your computer direct links to sites you wish to return to. Netscape, Mozilla, and Firefox use the term Bookmarks. The equivalent in Internet Explorer (IE) is called a "Favorite." To create a bookmark, click on BOOKMARKS or FAVORITES, then ADD. Or left-click on and drag the little bookmark icon to the place you want a new bookmark filed. To visit a bookmarked site, click on BOOKMARKS and select the site from the list.
You can download a bookmark file to diskette and install it on another computer. In most browsers now, you can do this with an Import... and Export... set of commands which can be found under FILE or in the Manage Bookmarks window's FILE.


BOOLEAN LOGIC
Way to combine terms using "operators" such as "AND," "OR," "AND NOT" and sometimes "NEAR." AND requires all terms appear in a record. OR retrieves records with either term. AND NOT excludes terms. Parentheses may be used to sequence operations and group words. Always enclose terms joined by OR with parentheses. Which search engines have this?
See -REJECT TERM and FUZZY AND. Want a more extensive explanation of Boolean logic, with illustrations?


BROWSE
To follow links in a page, to shop around in a page, exploring what's there, a bit like window shopping. The opposite of browsing a page is searching it. When you search a page, you find a search box, enter terms, and find all occurrences of the terms throughout the site. When you browse, you have to guess which words on the page pertain to your interests. Searching is usually more efficient, but sometimes you find things by browsing that you might not find because you might not think of the "right" term to search by.

BROWSERS
Browsers are software programs that enable you to view WWW documents. They "translate" HTML-encoded files into the text, images, sounds, and other features you see. Microsoft Internet Explorer (called simply IE), Mozilla, Firefox, Safari, and Opera are examples of "graphical" browsers that enable you to view text and images and many other WWW features.

CACHE
In browsers, "cache" is used to identify a space where web pages you have visited are stored in your computer. A copy of documents you retrieve is stored in cache. When you use GO, BACK, or any other means to revisit a document, the browser first checks to see if it is in cache and will retrieve it from there because it is much faster than retrieving it from the server.

CACHED LINK
In search results from Google, Yahoo! Search, and some other search engines, there is usually a Cached link which allows you to view the version of a page that the search engine has stored in its database. The live page on the web might differ from this cached copy, because the cached copy dates from whenever the search engine's spider last visited the page and detected modified content. Use the cached link to see when a page was last crawled and, in Google, where your terms are and why you got a page when all of your search terms are not in it.

CASE SENSITIVE
Capital letters (upper case) retrieve only upper case. Most search tools are not case sensitive or only respond to initial capitals, as in proper names. It is always safe to key all lower case (no capitals), because lower case will always retrieve upper case.

CGI
"Common Gateway Interface," the most common way Web programs interact dynamically with users. Many search boxes and other applications that result in a page with content tailored to the user's search terms rely on CGI to process the data once it's submitted, to pass it to a background program in JAVA, JAVASCRIPT, or another programming language, and then to integrate the response into a display using HTML.

COOKIE
A message from a WEB SERVER computer, sent to and stored by your browser on your computer. When your computer consults the originating server computer, the cookie is sent back to the server, allowing it to respond to you according to the cookie's contents. The main use for cookies is to provide customized Web pages according to a profile of your interests. When you log onto a "customize" type of invitation on a Web page and fill in your name and other information, this may result in a cookie on your computer which that Web page will access to appear to "know" you and provide what you want. If you fill out these forms, you may also receive e-mail and other solicitation independent of cookies.

DOWNLOAD
To copy something from a primary source to a more peripheral one, as in saving something found on the Web (currently located on its server) to diskette or to a file on your local hard drive.
EXTENSION or FILE EXTENSION
In Windows, DOS and some other operating systems, one or several letters at the end of a filename. Filename extensions usually follow a period (dot) and indicate the type of file. For example, this.txt denotes a plain text file, that.htm or that.html denotes an HTML file. Some common image extensions are picture.jpg or picture.jpeg or picture.bmp or picture.gif

FRAMES
A format for web documents that divides the screen into segments, each with a scroll bar as if it were as "window" within the window. Usually, selecting a category of documents in one frame shows the contents of the category in another frame. To go BACK in a frame, position the cursor in the frame an press the right mouse button, and select "Back in frame" (or Forward).
You can adjust frame dimensions by positioning the cursor over the border between frames and dragging the border up/down or right/left holding the mouse button down over the border.

FTP
File Transfer Protocol. Ability to transfer rapidly entire files from one computer to another, intact for viewing or other purposes.

HEAD or HEADER (of HTML document)
The top portion of the HTML source code behind Web pages, beginning with and ending with . It contains the Title, Description, Keywords fields and others that web page authors may use to describe the page. The title appears in the title bar of most browsers, but the other fields cannot be seen as part of the body of the page. To view the portion of web pages in your browser, click VIEW, Page Source. In Internet Explorer, click VIEW, Source. Some search engines will retrieve based on text in these fields.

HOST
Computer that provides web-documents to clients or users. See also server.

HTML
Hypertext Markup Language. A standardized language of computer code, imbedded in "source" documents behind all Web documents, containing the textual content, images, links to other documents (and possibly other applications such as sound or motion), and formatting instructions for display on the screen. When you view a Web page, you are looking at the product of this code working behind the scenes in conjunction with your browser. Browsers are programmed to interpret HTML for display.

HTML often imbeds within it other programming languages and applications such as SGML, XML, Javascript, CGI-script and more. It is possible to deliver or access and execute virtually any program via the WWW.
You can see HTML by selecting the View pop-down menu tab, then "Document Source."

HYPERTEXT
On the World Wide Web, the feature, built into HTML, that allows a text area, image, or other object to become a "link" (as if in a chain) that retrieves another computer file (another Web page, image, sound file, or other document) on the Internet. The range of possibilities is limited by the ability of the computer retrieving the outside file to view, play, or otherwise open the incoming file. It needs to have software that can interact with the imported file. Many software capabilities of this type are built into browsers or can be added as "plug-ins."

INTERNET (Upper case I)
The vast collection of interconnected networks that all use the TCP/IP protocols and that evolved from the ARPANET of the late 60’s and early 70’s. An "internet" (lower case i) is any computers connected to each other (a network), and are not part of the Internet unless the use TCP/IP protocols. An "intranet" is a private network inside a company or organization that uses the same kinds of software that you would find on the public Internet, but that is only for internal use. An intranet may be on the Internet or may simply be a network.

IP Address or IP Number
(Internet Protocol number or address). A unique number consisting of 4 parts separated by dots, e.g. 165.113.245.2
Every machine that is on the Internet has a unique IP address. If a machine does not have an IP number, it is not really on the Internet. Most machines also have one or more Domain Names that are easier for people to remember.

ISP or Internet Service Provider
A company that sells Internet connections via modem (examples: aol, Mindspring - thousands of ISPs to choose from; not easy to evaluate). Faster, more expensive Internet connectivity is available via cable or DSL.

JAVA
A network-oriented programming language invented by Sun Microsystems that is specifically designed for writing programs that can be safely downloaded to your computer through the Internet and immediately run without fear of viruses or other harm to our computer or files. Using small Java programs (called "Applets"), Web pages can include functions such as animations, calculators, and other fancy tricks. We can expect to see a huge variety of features added to the Web using Java, since you can write a Java program to do almost anything a regular computer program can do, and then include that Java program in a Web page. For more information search any of these jargon terms in the Webopedia.

JAVASCRIPT
A simple programming language developed by Netscape to enable greater interactivity in Web pages. It shares some characteristics with JAVA but is independent. It interacts with HTML, enabling dynamic content and motion.

LINK
The URL imbedded in another document, so that if you click on the highlighted text or button referring to the link, you retrieve the outside URL. If you search the field "link:", you retrieve on text in these imbedded URLs which you do not see in the documents.

LINK "ROT"
Term used to describe the frustrating and frequent problem caused by the constant changing in URLs. A Web page or search tool offers a link and when you click on it, you get an error message (e.g., "not available") or a page saying the site has moved to a new URL. Search engine spiders cannot keep up with the changes. URLs change frequently because the documents are moved to new computers, the file structure on the computer is reorganized, or sites are discontinued. If there is no referring link to the new URL, there is little you can do but try to search for the same or an equivalent site from scratch.

LISTSERVERS
A discussion group mechanism that permits you to subscribe and receive and participate in discussions via e-mail. Blogs and RSS feeds provide some of the communication functionality of listservers.

META-SEARCH ENGINE
Search engines that automatically submit your keyword search to several other search tools, and retrieve results from all their databases. Convenient time-savers for relatively simple keyword searches (one or two keywords or phrases in " "). See Meta-Search Engines page for complete descriptions and examples.

NESTING
A term used in Boolean searching to indicate the sequence in which operations are to be performed. Enclosing words in parentheses identifies a group or "nest." Groups can be within other groups. The operations will be performed from the innermost nest to the outmost, and then from left to right.

NEWSGROUP
A discussion group operated through the Internet. Not to be confused with LISTSERVERS which operate through e-mail.

PERSONAL PAGE
A web page created by an individual (as opposed to someone creating a page for an institution, business, organization, or other entity). Often personal pages contain valid and useful opinions, links to important resources, and significant facts. One of the greatest benefits of the Web is the freedom it as given almost anyone to put his or her ideas "out there." But frequently personal pages offer highly biased personal perspectives or ironical/satirical spoofs, which must be evaluated carefully. The presence in the page's URL of a personal name (such as "jbarker") and a ~ or % or the word "users" or "people" or "members" very frequently indicate a site offering personal pages.

PACKET, PACKET JAM
When you retrieve a document via the WWW, the document is sent in "packets" which fit in between other messages on the telecommunications lines, and then are reassembled when they arrive at your end. This occurs using TCP/IP protocol. The packets may be sent via different paths on the networks which carry the Internet. If any of these packets gets delayed, your document cannot be reassembled and displayed. This is called a "packet jam." You can often resolve packet jams by pressing STOP then RELOAD. RELOAD requests a fresh copy of the document, and it is likely to be sent without jamming.

PDF or .pdf or pdf file
Abbreviation for Portable Document Format, a file format developed by Adobe Systems, that is used to capture almost any kind of document with the formatting in the original. Viewing a PDF file requires Acrobat Reader, which is built into most browsers and can be downloaded free from Adobe.

PHRASE
More than one KEYWORD, searched exactly as keyed (all terms required to be in documents, in the order keyed). Enclosing keywords in quotations " " forms a phrase in AltaVista, , and some other search tools. Some times a phrase is called a "character string."

PLUG-IN
An application built into a browser or added to a browser to enable it to interact with a special file type (such as a movie, sound file, Word document, etc.)

SCRIPT
A script is a type of programming language that can be used to fetch and display Web pages. There are may kinds and uses of scripts on the Web. They can be used to create all or part of a page, and communicate with searchable databases. Forms (boxes) and many interactive links, which respond differently depending on what you enter, all require some kind of script language. When you find a question marke (?) in the URL of a page, some kind of script command was used in generating and/or delivering that page. Most search engine spiders are instructed not to crawl pages from scripts, although it is usually technically possible for them to do so (see Invisible Web for more information).

SERVER, WEB SERVER
A computer running that software, assigned an IP address, and connected to the Internet so that it can provide documents via the World Wide Web. Also called HOST computer. Web servers are the closest equivalent to what in the print world is called the "publisher" of a print document. An important difference is that most print publishers carefully edit the content and quality of their publications in an effort to market them and future publications. This convention is not required in the Web world, where anyone can be a publisher; careful evaluation of Web pages is therefore mandatory. Also called a "Host."

SERVER-SIDE
Something that operates on the "server" computer (providing the Web page), as opposed to the "client" computer (which is you or someone else viewing the Web page). Usually it is a program or command or procedure or other application causes dynamic pages or animation or other interaction.

SITE or WEB-SITE
This term is often used to mean "web page," but there is supposed to be a difference. A web page is a single entity, one URL, one file that you might find on the Web. A "site," properly speaking, is an location or gathering or center for a bunch of related pages linked to from that site. For example, the site for the present tutorial is the top-level page "Internet Resources." All of the pages associated with it branch out from there -- the web searching tutorial and all its pages, and more. Together they make up a "site." When we estimate there are 5 billion web pages on the Web, we do not mean "sites." There would be far fewer sites.


TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) -- This is the suite of protocols that defines the Internet. Originally designed for the UNIX operating system, TCP/IP software is now available for every major kind of computer operating system. To be truly on the Internet, your computer must have TCP/IP software. See also IP Address.
TELNET
Internet service allowing one computer to log onto another, connecting as if not remote.

URL
Uniform Resource Locator. The unique address of any Web document. May be keyed in a browser's OPEN or LOCATION / GO TO box to retrieve a document. There is a logic the layout of a URL:
Anatomy of a URL:
Type of file (could say ftp:// or telnet://)
Domain name (computer file is on and its location on the Internet)
Path or directory on the computer to this file
Name of file, and its file extension (usually ending in .html or .htm)
http://
www.lib.berkeley.edu/
TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/
FindInfo.html

USENET
Bulletinboard-like network featuring thousands of "newsgroups." Google incorporates the historic file of Usenet Newsgroups (bzck to 1981) into its Google Groups. Yahoo Groups offers a similar service, but does not include the old "Usenet Newsgroups." Blogs are replacing some of the need for this type of community sharing and information exchange.

WIKI
A term meaning "quick" in Hawaiian, that is used for technology that gathers in one place a number of web pages focused on a theme, project, or collaboration. Wikis are generally used when users or group members are invited to develop, contribute, and update the content of the wiki. Wikis can be passworded in various ways to control or allow contributions. The most famous wiki is the Wikipedia.


WYSIWYG
(pronounced /ˈwɪziwɪg/[1] or /ˈwɪzɪwɪg/[2]), is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, used in computing to describe a system in which content during editing appears very similar to the final product.[3] It is commonly used for word processors, but has other applications, such as Web (HTML) authoring. The phrase was originally popularized by comedian Flip Wilson, whose character "Geraldine" would often say this to excuse her quirky behavior. The expression was later applied to computer applications as the technology became practical. Sometimes it is spelled phonetically, as "Wizywig" or "Wizzywig".

Today's activity: Create a HTML Webpage

Using the HTML resource from previous blog create a Personal webpage. Be Creative!!

Welcome back and Happy New Year

Today's class activity plan:

First activity: Writing and reflecting--15 to 20 minutes students will write a one page Past and Future Reflection. Reflections must be completed by the end of class.They are to reflect on accomplishments and set new years resolutions for 2008. Students will also set 3 predictions for 2008. All entries will be blogged.

Second activity: HTML lesson and exercise Please read the following resource.

Independent Study Unit ISU Project

Purpose for Developing a Project Overview
A project overview is intended to inform the instructor about specific activities, projects, and innovative ideas that you are interested in pursuing. I realize your idea may not yet be clearly defined. However, the more information I have about your potential project, the more likely it is that I will be able to assist you in further development of your project. The Project Overview should not exceed two pages.

Outline for a Project Overview
Project Introduction: Describe what you plan to do, how long it will take, and the collaborating department or people, that will be involved in this project. Suggested length for this portion of the summary is two to three paragraphs.

Assessment of Need: Describe and define the problem that you wish to solve. Suggested length: one to two paragraphs.

Goals and Objectives for the Project: Provide a broad statement followed by a listing of expected outcomes that collectively lead to attainment of the goal Suggested length: one paragraphs.

Capacity: Write a statement that convinces the reader you and your colleagues have the background to complete this project. If facilities are important, describe what you have available to you. Suggested length: one paragraph.

Conclusion: Include a final paragraph to summarize the benefits and deliverables for the project.

Contact Information: Designate a chief spokesperson, or at most two persons, for this project. The person(s) name and student number , school name and email address should be included in this section.
Estimated Cost: The accuracy of this estimate is not important. It is important to know if you think the project will cost you anything. Suggested length: one line.

All Proposals are to be single-space in 12-point font with no more than 2 pages of narrative.Deadlines for Submission of Proposals Thursaday Dec 20thOrdinarily there will be one Call for Proposals issued in Dec 17 . The specific deadline dates will be: Final ISU Project will be due between January 21-29th 2008

Policy Concerning Evaluation of Proposals The instructor will function in accordance with the following guidelines when evaluating proposals:1. All proposal will be considered on an individual basis2. Specific research purposes and goals should be clearly evident in the proposal3. The instructor will approve after the proposal has been reviewed and an interviewed is conducted.

HTML Project

http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp

Yearbook Project

Yearbook Project is to create pages for the Yearbook using Adobe Creative Suite(Photoshop, Indesign, Illustrator). The design projects include the following items to be completed by the student:

A) 1 page layout of Basketball Team
B) Double page spread of the Basketball Team
C) Divider pages for each grades
D) Yearbook cover.

The final due dates for your designs is Friday Dec 14th.

Resources are available at the following links:
http://www.jostens.com/yearbook/
http://www.techtutorials.info/drindesx.html
http://www.artstreetdesign.com/index.html
http://www.myocad.com/index2.php
http://www.stepinsidedesign.com
http://www.printmag.com

Team Project and Presentation

Objectives:
To get you working with basic design software used in journalism courses

To learn how to manage yourself and team members on a class project

To demonstrate a basic understanding of writing, editing and design skills introduced

To plan and execute a formal professional presentation during a given time limit

Due Dates: Envelope with project elements submitted: TBA. Presentation on: TBA

The Assignment:
Most news products are not produced in one-person operations. Rather, journalists have to work in teams to accomplish the goal of getting their product to readers. In this vein, you can expect to do many team projects and presentations as a journalism major. Team projects are generally HARDER to do because you have to coordinate schedules and depend on every members input and cooperation. Such is the case here.

Final projects include the following elements:
One news story written from material provided (each student writes his or her own story - this is not a group effort)

One frontpage layout (will be built using Adobe InDesign)
One penciled layout on a dummy sheet
One two-page explainer (double-spaced) of your decision-making in choosing the five stories and three photos for the front page (each student writes his or her own paper discussing the relative newsworthiness of the stories).
A group member evaluation sheet

The news story:
The instructor will divide students into groups of three. Each student in group is given a packet of information that includes "reporter's notes," a press release, a fact sheet and a link to an informational Web site. You can print out your packet from WebCT. Students are to write a short news story from these materials. Students are also to check facts, AP style, syntax and grammar, and should write a headline of six-to-eight words. These story assignments are to be done individually.

Each group is given 16 stories from which the group must select four or five for the front page of The Tuscaloosa News. The stories written by students are also possibilities for the front. Each group will also receive a number of news photos from which to choose three to four for the page. These stories and photos are available on WebCT.

Paper on news decision-making:
Each student turns in a written paper (two pages, double-spaced) explaining:
* The story choices -- specifically, why group members thought the community or individuals in the community would benefit from these stories, and why they were newsworthy. If there was disagreement with the group's final selection, individuals should discuss why they disagreed, or simply provide their own thoughts about the relative worth of the stories.
* The photo choices -- why were these the best photos to use, and what important information did they convey? Again, individuals should discuss their own thinking about the photos.
Frontpage layout and presentation:

Each group will design a newspaper front page in Adobe InDesign that includes the selected five stories and selected photos. Assume you are editors for The Tuscaloosa News. The instructor will provide students with several page "templates" that are partly built in Adobe InDesign. These page templates will be available on WebCT. Students may look over the selection of page templates, then dummy their layout using pencil and paper. Students may produce their own designs from scratch if they wish, but this is only recommended if students feel strongly confident in your Adobe InDesign abilities because lab access will be minimal. Students should write headlines for these pages, put cutlines on the photos, and each student must turn in a page dummy, a printed InDesign page and an electronic version of the InDesign page uploaded to FINAL PROJECT assignment module in by FridayTBA

Before the presentation days, the instructor will produce PDF copies of all InDesign pages in a folder on the instructor's computer in Room 327 (the regular classroom) ,and each group will present their page and their story and photo decisions. These decisions should be explained in light of class concepts, particularly from the beginning of the semester. It is up to the group to decide how to divide the presentation -- you may have one speaker, or four. If you have four, each person must make their parts very brief. I will "yank" your group at the end of 10 minutes in order to make time for class discussion.
Four projects will be presented each day.

Group member evaluation:

Each student will receive individual grades for the news story and the news selection essay. Each student will receive a group grade for the page layout and the class presentation. These grades will be averaged for your final grade on the team project. The instructor will give each group a form for evaluation of group members and will take these evaluations into consideration in the grading of the group component of the projects.