Assignment Overview

This course has been dedicated to the gaining a more thorough understanding of the concepts and processes of digital literacy. Over the last 12 weeks we’ve read dozens of essays, discussed multiple theories, created an ecology of new communication spaces, remixed a bunch of vintage magazines, and embodied our favorite memes:

We’ve blogged, tweeted, pocketed, storified, and created recipes. Now it’s time to figure out what to do with all the knowledge we’ve gained and skills we’ve put into practice.

Assignment Specifics (updated 11/16)

For this assignment, each student will compose a Pecha Kucha wherein you use the theories and concepts we have learned in class to discuss your own work as evidence of what it means to be digitally literate and why being digitally literate is important for current and future communicators. Please cite from at least 5 theorists we read this semester (this includes videos by Wesch and Ferguson).

A Pecha Kucha is comprised of two parts:

1. a narrative, which is read aloud
2. PowerPoint or Keynote slides, which advance while the narrative is read

Your narrative should 6 minutes and 40 seconds when read aloud and be informed by:

• the readings and videos we have discussed in class
• the work you have completed using the many apps we have used in class

Your Pecha Kucha should be 20 slides long with images that highlight the work you have completed during the Digital Literacy assignment. The project should adhere to the 1/1/0 rule — 1 image per slide / each image can be used only once / zero words per slide (other than words in your screen shot). You should have screen shots of the communication spaces you have used showcasing your own work, but you can also add original images/photos, as well, such as in the Sketchbook of Life Pecha Kucha). (I encourage you to explore the Pecha Kucha web site to see what people have been doing with them.)

You will use free screencast software, such as Screencast-o-Matic, to complete the project and then will upload rough and final drafts a class YouTube channel.

Um, what’s a Pecha Kucha?

Several years ago, Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham invented the Pecha Kucha presentation format (pronunciation) in response to two significant problems in presentations: people tend to talk too long and people tend to use PowerPoint slides in mind-numbingly horrible ways. I’m sure you all know what I mean. Klein and Dytham’s solution: add constraints to the presentation format:

• 20 slides
• 20 seconds per slide
• total of 6 minutes and 40 seconds per presentation.

They held a conference. It was a success. And the Pecha Kucha format spread around the globe, landing, now in #ctpf15 at SJU.

Since the first conferences others have added additional constraints to the format, notably limiting the number of images on a slide, limiting how often an image can be used, and how many words may appear on each slide. These are often written in rules that look like this:

• 1/1/0 — 1 image per slide / each image can be used only once / zero words per slide

Because of the limited time, Pecha Kuchas are wonderfully devoid of fluff and filler. Presenters using such a format get to the point and explicate their points. The presentations are idea-and narrative-driven. That is, they take a single idea or issue (for example, why it’s important to be a digitally literate communicator) and over the course of the presentation explicate that idea, the implications of that idea, and offer unique (not cliched) takes on what we are to do with this idea or issue. The presentations, when done well, are fascinating and gripping. They are funny when they need to be. And the leave the audience wanting to know and understand more. That is what you are going to try to do in your project.

Here is an example of a (not so thrilling) Pecha Kucha by Dan Pink of Wired Magazine in which he explains and provides an example of the format (and mispronounces the name):

And here’s a sample Pecha Kucha by a former student:

Steps to Complete the Project

1. Complete the narrative. The narrative is the most important part of the project and must be completed first. Revise and revise and revise the narrative until it is 6 minutes and 40 seconds long (that’s about 5 pages of double space text). Do not create twenty twenty-second mini-narratives. That will make for an awkward discussion. Your narrative should not read like a list. Imagine it as one short essay and when you write it forget about the fact that it will be read over images.
   • first rough draft due date: Tuesday, 11/17 in Dropbox folder by 12:00 noon
     
   • name file: yourlastname-ctpf15-section#-rd1.doc or .docx
2. Create screen shots (and/or original images) and add to a PowerPoint or Keynote (see below for how to set up the presentation). The screen shots should complement what you are saying in the narrative.
   • due date:Monday, 11/23 — have screen shots/images with you in class
   • due date: Monday, 11/30 — have screen shots/images in PowerPoint or Keynote
     
3. Record your narrative over the slides (set to play advance every 20 seconds) using the screencast software.
   • first rough draft due date: Wednesday, 12/2 by class-time on the course YouTube channel
   • second rough draft due date: Monday, 12/7 by class-time on the course YouTube channel
4. Upload the final draft to the course YouTube channel (see below for details)
   • due date: 12/8 by 11:00pm
5. Upload the Final Reflection and your Final Transcript to the ctpf15 Dropbox final-reflections and final narratives folder (see below for details).
   • due date:  12/8 by 11:00pm
   • Reflection file name: yourlastname-ctpf15-section#-reflection.doc or .docx (replace the # with your section number)
     
   • Transcript file name: yourlastname-ctpf15-section#-transcript.doc or .docx (replace the # with your section number)

The Reflection

I would like you to compose TWO reflections in ONE .doc, .docx, or .pages document in response to the following prompts:

• First, under the bold-printed heading, A Walk Through A Slide, walk me through the decisions you made in one of the slides in your Pecha Kucha. Why did you choose the image you chose? How do you see it complimenting your narrative. Why did you choose to cite the text(s) you cited in that part of the narrative (be sure to chose a slide that had a textual citation)? How do you see this slide as part of the whole of your presentation? How is it furthering and building on ideas? Thinking about it now, what might you have done differently in this slide if you had a chance to revise it? Length: 350 – 400 words.
• Second, under the heading, Putting it all Together, I’d like you to discuss what it was like creating this final project. What were your greatest successes and what were you greatest struggles? What did you do to get past those struggles? If you had more time to complete the project, what would you add, remove, or do differently and why? Length: 350 – 400 words.

Your reflections should be written in Times New Rowan font size 12 and be presented double-spaced. Be sure to put your name at the top of your document.

Setting up PowerPoint and Keynote for a Pecha Kucha

Students must set up PowerPoint or Keynote to advance automatically from slide to slide every 20 seconds. This takes a few easy steps.

Setting Up PowerPoint (on a Mac; PC may look different)
These steps can be taken before you start adding slides or after all the slides are completed.
1. Go to Slide Show –> Transitions

2. Click on Options.

3. Uncheck “On Mouse Click”; check “Automatically after” and add 20 “seconds”

Setting up Keynote (Mac only)
These steps should be taken after all the slides are completed (or during the process if you want to test things out)

1. Click on one of the slide thumbnails. Highlight all the slides by going to Edit –> Select All. You should notice all the slide thumbnails highlighted in yellow.

2.  Go to the “Inspector” window and select Slide Inspector icon (second from the left). In the Effect pulldown menu, select None. In the Slide Transition pull-down menu, select Automatically and change the time to 20.0 s.