Self and society in virtual contexts/Storify

Assignment 1: Create Storify Account & Profile
For Assignment 1 in the Storify Story Project, you will create an account and profile on Storify.comLinks to an external site.. The URL link to your profile is to be submitted to this Canvas Assignment by WEDNESDAY, 11/1, 11pm (see submission instructions at the bottom of the page).

This assignment will be graded on a Complete/Incomplete basis.

Assignment Requirements
First, view this Storify tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luZcU2E5cgI (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

Then, create your Storify account. The following chart may be of assistance, now and as you create your Storify Story. Follow the step-by-step instructions below. Additional Storify resources follow.

Assignment 2: Storify Story Pre-Draft
In Assignment 2 in the Storify Story Project, you will create a pre-draft for your Storify Story using StorifyLinks to an external site.. The URL link to your Storify Story Pre-draft is to be submitted to this Canvas Assignment by WEDNESDAY, 11/8, 11pm (see submission instructions at the bottom of the page).

This assignment will be graded on a complete/incomplete basis.

Assignment Requirements
Create a pre-draft for your Storify Story. Give it a headline, place some descriptive information in the heading (your name, brief overview of the project, perhaps a brief statement about you), and write the first text box, which should include your thesis. You will have to hit “Publish” in Storify for your instructor to see the link – feel free to state “DRAFT” in the first text box, if you like (just remember to remove it later).

Any of this can be changed later – the point is just to get the project started. You may add content to your Storify beyond that required for this assignment, if you like.

Here, again, are the step-by-step instructions for beginning to create your Storify Story.

Assignment 3: Final Storify Story
In Assignment 3 in the Storify Story Project, you will complete your Storify Story consisting of the required elements described here, using Storify.com (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. The URL link to your Storify Story is to be submitted to this Canvas Assignment by WEDNESDAY, 12/6, 11pm (see submission instructions at the bottom of the page).

This assignment is worth 20% of the overall course grade and will be graded based on the Storify Story Project RubricPreview the documentView in a new window so please familiarize yourself with this rubric so you will understand how you will be graded.

Assignment Requirements
For this Storify Story, you will explore how social media hashtags help to create a space for and sense of community among their users, using our course Instagram hashtag as an example.


 * You will use the social media platform Storify to gather sources, create a multi-section story, and share the story with classmates and others in a Canvas Discussion.
 * You will create a Storify story (on storify.com) that explains how social media hashtags can contribute to a sense of community among their users, using our course hashtag on Instagram as an example.
 * You will write a short, multimedia Storify story about how and why community can be created as a group or people regularly use and contribute to a group hashtag on social media.
 * You will develop a strong, clear thesis to guide your storytelling, with at least three specific supporting points that explain or defend your thesis.
 * Your Storify story will include some broader insights about the impact of digital technology and social media on society as a whole and on the individual’s self and You can consider such questions as: What are the benefits and hazards of creating relationships and communities online? How are the spaces in which these online communities developed, shaped and given meaning? How are our work and leisure practices changing? How should concerns about privacy and surveillance be handled in these digital public spaces? What is the role of hashtags and apps in helping the group to develop and take shape (you can think specifically and/or more generally)? How are relationships formed and maintained in these spaces? What is the impact of these communities on society as a whole and on the identities of modern individuals?
 * You will use our course hashtag and posts as examples, to illustrate some of your ideas. Include at least eight Instagram posts from our course hashtag, “dragged into” your Storify (be sure to link your Instagram account to your Storify account), using the Storify webtool on the right hand side of the workspace in “edit” mode. Integrate these posts into the story you are telling in your own words in the text boxes.
 * Your Storify story will also include six other relevant, reputable sources (but they need not be “scholarly” sources -- videos, tweets, blog posts, web stories, etc. are all acceptable), found using the Storify webtool on the right hand side of the edit space, and integrated into your story, “dragging them into” your Storify using the Storify webtool on the right hand side of the workspace in “edit” mode. Again, integrate these sources into the story you are telling in your own words in the text boxes.

Story Length (800 words)
The Storify story should include approximately 800 words of your own text in the text boxes, which will be “wrapped around” the sources. You can get an approximate idea of how many words is in each text box by cutting and pasting the text in one of them into MSWord and counting the words, and then approximate your word count from there.

Each Storify Story will also include:


 * A strong, catchy title
 * A short descriptive heading underneath the title – this can include your name and some info about you
 * An Introduction that makes it clear to the reader what the overall Storify Story will be about and states your thesis. (Do not title this section the “introduction.” Just start the story.)
 * Sub-sections with sub-titles to keep the story organized
 * A Conclusion to the story that restates what the overall Storify Story was about, restates the overall thesis statement, and leaves the reader with a something specific, concise, and interesting to think about. (You may title this section the “Conclusion,” or you may give it a more substantive title.)

Be sure to hit "Publish' in Storify to publish your story. The final draft of the Storify Story will be graded using the Storify Story Project RubricPreview the documentView in a new window.

Assignment 4: Peer Review Storify Stories in LMS / E-Discussion
For Assignment 4, you will post the URL link to your Final Storify Story to this Canvas Discussion, and then you will peer-review three of your classmates' Storify Stories.

Due Date: Initial post due by, WEDNESDAY 12/6 by 11 pm; 3+ replies to students' postings due by FRIDAY / 12/8 by 11 pm.

This assignment will be worth 5% of your overall grade and will be graded with the Online Discussion RubricPreview the documentView in a new window. Please review the rubric so you know how your assignment will be evaluated.

Assignment Requirements
In your initial posting, post the URL link to your Final Storify Story. Give it a descriptive title! You can include some additional comments if you like.

In your replies to three other students' Final Storify Stories, you will respond to the four questions below as you "peer-review" their work.

Respond to each of the following questions in detail in each reply post, using constructive and positive feedback. Number your responses. Tip: Copy-and-paste these questions in EACH of your three peer-reviews and respond to each question in detail.


 * Did the Storify Story include an overall thesis statement? Do you think the story proved (supported) the stated thesis?
 * Did the story provide an interesting and informative overview of the topic?
 * Did the story provide relevant and reputable multimedia sources to support the analysis and meet the requirements?
 * Did you learn anything new about self and society in virtual contexts? If so, name and explain at least one specific thing.

Assignment Submission Instructions
To post your initial response to the discussion topic, click the Reply bar below the topic, respond to the questions, and then click the Post Reply button at the bottom right to save it. To reply to a student's posting, click the "Reply" link at the bottom left of the comment you are responding to and then click the Post Reply button at the bottom right to save it. Use the toolbar to check for spelling (highly recommended), format your text, or add a link. Students must make their initial posting before they will be able to view other students' postings.