HOME: CULTURAL PUSH BACK
You will be creating a website based on the assigned readings (essays, articles, videos, etc.) you have done in the Cultural Push Back unit, as well as readings you have studied on your own. Each page of your website should be well thought out and designed in both a functional and an eye-catching manner. This means making decisions about colour, style, layout (columns, sections, margins, etc.), images, titles, etc. and all the other issues covered in Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 (below) of the website assignment.
PAGE 1: THE HOME PAGE
The home page should be visually arresting, and should include:
- A TITLE for your website
- Active LINKS to each of your other pages
- Images, menus, icons, logos, etc.
- A 200-word Personal Response to the following question: To what extent is art an effective catalyst for social change? Explain your response using references to the texts studied in class.
PAGES 2 & 3: READING RESPONSES
Page 2: You will choose ONE of the readings studied in this unit (Swift, Marx, Walker, Douglass, Wollstonecraft, Ahmed, Sedaris, Gay, McMillan), and you will choose an option from the list below (A - D). Your response should be a separate page on your website, and should include images and active links to each of your other pages.
Page 3: You will respond to the work of an individual not studied in class whom you feel is making, or has made, a compelling case for social change. Please choose someone who is, or has been, active in his/her work from 1960 to 2020. You will choose an option from the list below (A - D), but you must not repeat the option done on Page 2 of your website. This response should be a separate page on your website, and should include images and active links to each of your other pages.
A) TED Talk Connection
Find a TED lecture (www.ted.com) and explain its connection to your article/reading in approx. 300 words. Possible options include:
- You could explain how the lecture offers insights into ideas found in the reading
- Compare how the two texts back up or contradict one another
- Explain how the authors approach the subject differently as a result of the time between the publishing of the two
- Develop your own personal philosophy referencing ideas in both the lecture and reading, etc.
It is up to you to come up with what the connection is, but the more insightful and interesting the better!
* Be sure to include a link to the TED Talk on the page! *
B) Illustrated Quotations
Choose four significant quotes from your reading. Illustrate each one with a graphic (make sure to cite where you got each image from on the works cited page) and explain in four - five sentences what the connection is and why the quote is significant to the article. Choose quotes from various parts of the reading.
C) Contemporary Media Analysis
Find three visual or audio/visual pieces of media created or released in the last 18 months (June 2018 at the earliest) that demonstrate/reinforce the culture your chosen text is writing against (a racist ad, or a sexist campaign speech, for example). For each media piece: 1) Connect an idea from your text to the piece and explain how it demonstrates and reinforces the cultural understandings your text is fighting against, 2) Explain how those cultural understandings have evolved since the time of the writing of your selected text.
D) Original Response
Develop your own way of responding to one of the readings. You must get your teacher's approval of the idea before you proceed.
PAGE 4: WORKS CITED
- For your MLA-formatted Works Cited page, include any and all sources of INFORMATION (quotations used, information about the authors of the readings, etc.), as well as any sources for the PICTURES or IMAGES you have used to create your website. (E.g. I would cite Jeremy Dickstein, a former Department Head, as he is the one who created this assignment.)
SUBMISSIONS & EVALUATIONS
When you have completed your assignment, post the complete http:// link to your website on our Google classroom for everyone to take a look at. Make sure the website is public (no password is needed to access it) and that your link is active.
See the Rubric link on the Google Classroom.
What is the web? How can you be a part of it? Start by viewing the video THE MACHINE IS US and then answer the following questions. When you have finished, post your answers to the Lesson 1: Web 2.0 Google classroom drop box.
1. Using examples from the video, describe how the Internet has changed, and how it has changed the way we in which we interact with information / data.
2. What does Web 2.0 mean?
3. How can Web 2.0 empower us as individuals and as a society?
4. What dangers are inherent in this 'new' form of the web?
5. You're probably already contributing to Web 2.0. What Web 2.0 websites do you think you're already using?
Now it's time to make your own contribution to Web 2.0!
Choose one of the following sites and follow the steps below.
6. Create an account on 3 of the DIFFERENT sites above and spend about 10 minutes testing them out as a website builder. If you're new to website building, completing the introductory tutorials many of them have would be a good place to start.
7. Rank the sites based on the 6 CRITERIA - Rank the websites based on how easily you can...
i. Create several DIFFERENT web pages (the individual pages that make up a website)
ii. Format the font, colour, and size of headings and text
iii. Create links to other pages
iv. Create numbered and bulleted lists
v. Insert images
vi. Position images and text where you want them
8. Choose one of these sites to make your own individual assignment web page. If you want to use a site not listed above, please check with your teacher first. If you know how to use HTML, you should also feel free to do so, but it's not a requirement. Be sure that you use a site that will not disappear after a certain time, or that requires you to spend any money.
LESSON 2: WEB DESIGN
Many of the web page creation sites you will use provide a basic layout for the elements on your pages; however, YOU should also think about how you want to organize images, text, lists, links, etc., within that basic layout. Have a look at the following websites to get some ideas about effective and trendy ways of organizing the content on your pages, answer the question below each, and then post your answers to the Google Classroom assignment marked Lesson 2: Web Design.
NOTE: Don't worry if you get a redirect notification (that's just your web browser settings making sure you want to open the link to a new page)
Take a look at what's designers think are the big website trends at the moment.
1.What are the two most important trends you see happening right now?
2.How might you apply those trends to your site?
3.What do you think "Don't Make Users Think" means? Does it mean every idea you present on the web page should be obviously true, or does it mean something else?
Scroll down the page and look at the sections on Precedence, Spacing, Navigation, Design to Build, Typography, Usability, Alignment, Clarity, Consistency, and other Related Concepts.
4.Which two principals do you think your website should focus on the most?
The general principles of web design weren't always what they are now. One of the best ways to figure out what works is to have a look at what doesn't. Use The Way Back Machine and look at how a website you choose has changed over time. Enter the addresses of a few of your favourite websites (http://www.yahoo.com, for example), and see how their design has evolved.
5.Which of their changing designs are effective? Which aren't? Why have some designs lost their effectiveness?
Watch this tutorial on web design, with examples from the web (and a delightful Australian narrator/host named Jazza). No questions to answer on this one, watching the tutorial will just make you better at building your own.
When you have finished, post your answers to the Lesson 2: Web Design Google Classroom drop box. Then, start thinking about which pages your website is going to include, as well as how you might lay them out.
RUBRIC
The evaluation Rubric is posted on the Google Classroom in the Website Assignment section.