Final Week Monday, Apr 20 2009 

Class Notes jmsc0007 3:36 pm

In our last session of the semester each participant will present his or her final project to the class. You will be graded on your presentation which should take no more than five minutes. So you would be wise to prepare in advance.

We want to know what you have learned from the project. We are NOT looking for a presentation of the content – instead it should focus on the journalism involved. What you would do differently, what you would do the same? What was the most difficult aspect? Was there an angle you wished you had covered? And so on.

I also want to hear constructive feedback from the rest of the class.

You will then be asked to fill in a feedback form.

 

Tuesday, Apr 14 2009 

Announcements and Class Notes jmsc0007 7:19 pm

Dear all, First of all I apologise for getting the day wrong for your first uploads to Joomla – it should have been Monday, April 13 but as I wrote the 14th, you get an extra day.

That said, 10 people failed to make the deadline. Of those who did make it, can I suggest you all review the requirements here at http://jmsc0007.wordpress.com/final-project/ – and re-read the previous post on this blog.

Please check specifically: the maximum word count and maximum page count.

Also check that your article is comprehensible to a non-Chinese speaker not familiar with Hong Kong.

Remember, this is NOT a wikipedia project it is a news feature.

Choose a snappy headline. Look for your news angle and get right in there. Avoid flabby leads and remember, as a journalist your job is to answer questions, not ask them!

Make sure you resize your photos before you upload them to Joomla – you cannot edit in Joomla. Keep them at 72 dpi so they load quickly.

 

Weeks 11-12 Class Notes – April 7 – 21 Wednesday, Apr 8 2009 

Class Notes jmsc0007 11:45 pm

NOTE: The deadline for your final project is noon, Monday, April 20. Late submissions will not be accepted.

There will be no formal session on April 14. We will use the session for housekeeping; viz:

  • Soundslides completion (some teams had to make changes – these must be done before class on April 14)
  • Ensuring published Soundslides are linked to the Google map
  • Reviewing progress of your final project.

Well done those of you who posted your first drafts to your blogs by the deadline on  April 6. Some students had yet to finalise their projects by the deadline which is a matter of concern. Remember the final deadline is noon on April 20 for EVERTHING to be finalised and posted to the Joomla site.

Can you now proceed to start uploading what you have to the Joomla site.

BY NOON ON MONDAY, TUESSDAY APRIL 14 YOU MUST HAVE POSTED THE BARE BONES OF YOUR FINAL PROJECT TO JOOMLA.

Those who have done their first drafts will have no problem with this.

I need to see at the very least:

  • A working headline
  • The intro
  • Where the various elements fit in

Your Joomla categories are stated here on the class wiki

Reminder: Joomla tutorials are available here

In the final class of the semester on April 21 you will present your project to the class. You will need to describe what worked, what didn’t and what you would do differently in future. Once it has been approved and gone “live” on the Hongkong Stories website, you will need to link it to the site’s Google map. The project will not be considered complete until that Google map stage has been completed.

Please double-check the final project requirements. Purely FYI, I will be grading this according to the following broad-brush criteria: (more…)

 

Week 10 Class Notes – March 31 Tuesday, Mar 31 2009 

Class Notes jmsc0007 10:36 am

We will discuss your final projects to ensure that everyone is on track.

Then we will continue with Dreamweaver. We will:

Link pages together to make a small site
Make roll-overs
Look at adding RSS feeds
Practice with i-frame
Look at drop down menus and javascripts

Tutorials:

Graphics:

Free backgrounds – http://www.free-backgrounds.com/

Free icons – http://www.iconbazaar.com/

Iframe generators:

http://www.htmlbasix.com/iframe.shtml
http://7thspace.com/webmaster_tools/iframe_generator.html

Javascript – day and date

Javascript – simple drop-down menu

 

Week 9 Class Notes – March 24 Monday, Mar 23 2009 

Class Notes jmsc0007 6:19 pm

We’re back (or should be) in the DML.  So you will re-export your Soundslides via the paid-for version on the DML PCs.

You’ll then upload them to JOOMLA viz:

1. Upload the SS files ( contained in ” publish_to_web " file ) to one group member's hkstories.net file via ftp

2. One member should then create a page in Joomla – put a headline on, bylines and an intro: then use the following code to iframe to your soundslides (note the use of curly rather than angular brackets):

{iframe height="550" border="1" frameborder="1"}http://www.hkstories.net/yourfilename/publish_to_web{/iframe}

3. When inserting pix into Joomla (for your SS AND FOR your final project) you will need to use the {mosiman} command (to be demonstrated in class)

Joomla tutorials can be found here

Some SS projects need some tweaking before they can go live. We’ll discuss them in class and work out a sked.

Finally, we’ll address the joys of Dreamweaver.

 

Final Assignment – Individual Project Tuesday, Mar 17 2009 

Assignments jmsc0007 10:34 am

Outline due: noon, Monday, March 30
First draft due: noon, Monday, April 6
Final deadline: noon, Monday, April 20

At the end of the semester you will complete an individual online report using multiple media related to this semester’s topic, Hong Kong’s heritage. It will be published on the Hong Kong Stories website.

Your work will combine text, links, pictures and/or graphics and audio, as appropriate. The written text is not supposed to be too long, the point is to show that you know how to tell a story in an innovative way by combining visuals, text, and audio. Weeks 9-12 will focus on learning and practising the skills you’ll need to complete this project and publish it on the content management system used for the class website. (more…)

 

Week 8 Class Notes – March 17 Monday, Mar 16 2009 

Class Notes jmsc0007 1:12 pm

In class we will:

Review your Soundslides. Every team completed its project on time.

We will view all the Soundslides, one after another. Class members should take notes about the strengths and weaknesses of each project. They should view them with a critical eye (addressing positives as well as negatives) and be prepared to discuss the pros and cons of each one.

Each team will then present its project to the class and we will dissect each one in detail. Team members will describe what worked and what didn’t. They will consider what they would do differently, what they would do the same and what they found most difficult/simple.

Some teams may be required to change/improve on their project before it can go live. The grade, however, is based on the original submission. (more…)

 

Class notes – Week 7 – March 10 Thursday, Mar 5 2009 

Class Notes jmsc0007 9:17 pm

REMEMBER: One member of each Soundslides group needs to post the completed SS to his/her hkstories.net ftp account. All members of the group need to link  it on their blog.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSsssssssssssSoundSSSSSSSSsssssssSlides.

PLEASE NOTE THIS CLASS WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE FOUNDATION CHAMBER USING MAC PRO LAPTOPS.

Due to the DML being under renovation for three weeks, this entire class is given over to working on your Soundslides project.

Kevin and I will be present from 2 – 5 pm.

 

Class Notes – Week 6 – Feb 24 Monday, Feb 23 2009 

Class Notes jmsc0007 8:12 pm

With one week to go before reading week – and little more than two weeks to go before your Soundslides project is due at NOON on WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2009 – we will address and review: (more…)

 

Assignment 6 Monday, Feb 23 2009 

Assignments jmsc0007 7:35 pm

Get cracking on your Soundslides assignment.

DEADLINE: 12 NOON, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11

 

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