Artifacts or Major Projects

What are Artifacts?

Major Artifacts are used for assessment and evaluation purposes and each is meant to, in its components and final product, meet each of the course learning goals, outcomes, and meet all aspects of WOVEN communication. 

All Final Artifacts must be turned in to pass the course, including Artifact 0, Artifact 1, Artifact 2, and Artifact 3 and the Final ePortfolio.

All Artifacts articulate their relevance in terms of course goals and learning outcomes, usually listing the 'top three' I see this project speaking to and aspects of the WOVEN curriculum. I organize this using the specified structure of the required reflection sections for each artifact's page in the final portfolio (i.e. Goals, Argument/Purpose, Audience, and Defining Features).

Common Components

Class Participation 

Within each Artifact, I grade according to class participation and engagement, based around Computer Usage, Tardiness, and Phone and Headphone Usage policies. Additionally, some in-class activities like journals, reflections, group work, workshops, etc. may be incorporated into this assessment. Note that attendance is not the same as participation. 

Participation requires attentiveness and active engagement with content and material. That can take the form of asking questions or offering thoughts in classroom discussions, active note taking, contacting me via email or in drop-in hours about class materials or discussions, contributing positively to group work activities like scribing, research, presenting findings to class, facilitating conversation, or keeping the group on track. 

Journal Assignments

Throughout each Artifact's 'Unit'--the time from when the Artifact is formally 'assigned' and its due date, out-of-class Journal Assignments will be required of you. These journals--listed in Canvas as types of "Responses" or "Reflections"-- are meant to encourage critical contact with assigned texts, class topics, or the artifact itself. They are mostly graded based on completion, but, if I find them lacking in form and content, then I will penalize the grade as appropriate. 

You are allowed to 'make up' journals that you have missed, overlooked, or failed to complete. However, this is limited to three total journals. These make-up journals entitle you to the full grade back. These make-up journals must be completed by the final day of class. 

Process Documents

In the final portfolio, they request process documentation. This is rather open-ended, but basically, I ask that you just save drafts at multiple stages of progress. Save your brainstorm. Save your groups' 'meeting minutes.' Save your scripts, save pages of research, save abandoned poster ideas, save abandoned icons and logos for your podcast, save poorly printed pages of your memoir. It could all be useful. 

I recommend that you go ahead and create a Google Drive and a Google Docs Account. Once those have been created, I would make within each, folders titled "ENGL 1102." Within each ENGL 1102 folder in Google Drive and Google Docs, create folders for Artifact 0, Artifact 1, Artifact 2, Artifact 3, and Portfolio. That way, you can embed these documents, pictures, scans, images, logos, etc. in the Portfolio at the end of the semester.