CMNS 421 (Being Online) – Analysis of issue
Grade weight:
20%
The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate your mastery of the course material through application, synthesis and evaluation. You will focus on one applied issue about life on the Internet, explore the issue online and create a commented electronic portfolio (e-Portfolio) that includes various forms of media products found online.
For this assignment, you will:
- choose one applied issue about life on the Internet and develop a thesis statement about this subject (thesis statement = subject + assertion). The Questions for Reflection included throughout the Study Guide could help to guide your essay as appropriate. Write an introduction to your portfolio that explains your thesis statement and provides an overview of the content you have included in your electronic portfolio.
- build an electronic portfolio that clearly supports the thesis statement; provide specific examples of the Internet concepts that you are focusing on. For example, if you choose to focus on the concept of online identities (subject) and the creation of multiple selves for different purposes (assertion), you will include concrete and specific examples or evidence of what you have found online to support your assertion. These may be samples taken from blogs or websites, YouTube videos, audio files, advertisements, etc.
- comment on the evidence that you have included within your e-Portfolio. Include comments of roughly one complete paragraph in length for each piece of evidence included within your portfolio. The commentary included should explain how this evidence supports the thesis statement, relate to the course concepts and also how these relate to your own experiences online.
A recommended methodology is presented below as well as a marking rubric that will be used to evaluate your work. Your finished e-Portfolio should contain 8 – 10 commented pieces of evidence. Note that APA or MLA formatting should be used consistently throughout your commentary to acknowledge the source of the material included; please advise your tutor if you require guidance or resources for citation. Note that the Purdue University On-Line Writing Lab (OWL) offers current information on both styles of academic formatting, which could be of great use to you. Athabasca University’s WriteSite also presents useful tools and information on academic writing and formatting.
It is essential to include textual proof within your essay; quotes and citations taken directly from the course material should appear within your content whenever possible, properly cited, to support the arguments presented.
Methodology:
- In order to focus your portfolio, choose one applied issue about life on the Internet; the chosen issue should come from units 2 - 8. Concepts should focus on a specific issue about life on the Internet such as the perpetuation of sexism on the Internet. You will then compile evidence taken from the Internet that supports your thesis statement.
After reviewing the Mahara e-Portfolio tutorial, create an e-Portfolio that will enable you to collect and upload examples taken from the Internet that support the thesis statement developed, whether these are photographs, images, links to YouTube videos, etc.; the items you upload into your e-Portfolio are called “blocks.” You will then comment on the blocks included, explaining how these relate to the course material/concepts and your own experiences. As stated, your e-Portfolio should consist of 8 - 10 different pieces of evidence that clearly support your thesis statement. - Write a conclusion of 1 – 2 paragraphs that both revisits the thesis statement and reflects upon the process of acquiring the evidence – how did the acquisition affect your thinking about the topic? Did your ideas change as you acquired the artefacts? Did your perception of the issue change as you researched on the Internet for this specific purpose? Did the process inspire new questions about the topic for you?
- Note that instead of writing your introduction, commentary and conclusion, you could record the information (audio or audio-visual) and provide your tutor with a list of Works Cited/References by e-mail. If you are interested in such an option, kindly contact your tutor in this respect.
Evaluation:
The following rubric will be used to evaluate your submission. Please read the criteria before beginning the assignment and refer back to it as you work on your paper to make sure that assignment expectations are being met.
|
Criterion |
A Range |
B Range 70 – 79% |
C Range 60 – 69% |
D Range 50 – 59% |
|
Content |
Relevance - demonstrates thorough understanding of course concepts by synthesizing the most appropriate information from the materials chosen - demonstrates thorough understanding of the artefacts chosen by focusing on the most appropriate aspects of these media forms |
- demonstrates a considerable degree of understanding of course concepts by synthesizing highly appropriate information from the materials chosen - demonstrates a considerable degree of understanding of the artefacts chosen by focusing on highly appropriate aspects of these media forms |
- demonstrates understanding of course concepts by synthesizing some appropriate information from the materials chosen - demonstrates understanding of the artefacts chosen by focusing on some appropriate aspects of these media forms
|
- demonstrates little understanding of course concepts by synthesizing little to no appropriate information from the materials chosen - demonstrates limited understanding of the artefacts chosen by focusing on few appropriate aspects of these media forms
|
|
Reasoning |
Definition and precision of terms - shows thorough understanding of the relationship between the assignment requirements and content (artefacts and theory)
Use of evidence - offers pertinent arguments to justify response, draws from a variety of course materials; demonstrates a subtle understanding of relationships between ideas |
- shows definite understanding of the relationship between the assignment requirements and content (artefacts and theory)
- offers pertinent arguments to justify response, draws from course materials |
- shows some understanding of the relationship between the assignment requirements and content (artefacts and theory)
- offers some arguments to justify response, draws from a limited selection of course materials |
- shows limited understanding of the relationship between the assignment requirements and content (artefacts and theory)
- offers few arguments to justify response |
|
Organization |
Logical consistency - follows all recommended writing guidelines as set forth in the Student Manual, follows an appropriate academic style rigorously (APA or MLA) |
- follows most recommended writing guidelines as set forth in the Student Manual, follows an appropriate academic style consistently (APA or MLA) |
- follows some of the recommended writing guidelines as set forth in the Student Manual, follows an appropriate academic style (APA or MLA) |
- follows few of the recommended writing guidelines as set forth in the Student Manual, and fails to use an appropriate academic style (APA or MLA) |
|
Research Skills |
Accuracy and variety of information - demonstrates a high degree of research ability: applies a wide variety of course concepts; consistently and accurately references sources - includes a wide variety of artefacts from different media within portfolio (ex.: youtube video, still image, website, etc.) |
- demonstrates research abilities: applies a variety of course concepts; consistently and accurately references sources
- includes a variety of artefacts from different media within portfolio |
- demonstrates some degree of research ability: applies some course concepts; references sources
- includes some variety of artefacts from different media within portfolio |
- demonstrates little research ability: applies few course concepts; references sources
- includes little variety of artefacts from different media within portfolio |
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