Tuesday, March 23, 2010

google maps assignment

google maps assignment for digital media production

1. learn google maps.

2. create a google map with at least three pins. the content attached to those pins is entirely up to you. experiment heavily with the design and layout of the pins.

3. when your map is ready, tweet about it.

4. in class on thursday, be ready to demo your map.

5. finally, find a USF student who currently has an internship or service project in san francisco. be ready to discuss the internship/project in class on thursday.


keep in mind:

a. the main thing i am testing is your ability to learn google maps with zero instruction from me.

b. i am also testing your ability to design and deliver digital content in strategic and creative ways. don't settle on your first or second idea.

c. if you have no new content to demo on thursday, do not come to class.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

food person research project assignment

food person research project for green media

1. select a person - local or global; living or non-living - who makes media about making food. your food person can be a celebrity or not.

2. research your food person's history. use at least 3 different sources.

3. analyze your food person's techniques. analyze her/his approach, content, methods, tone, style, experience, and preferred mode/s of media. analyze at least 3 pieces of media made by your food person.

4. consider your food person in relation to your own experience with making media about making food. are there elements of your food person's technique that you wish to emulate? avoid? go beyond?

5. your research can be presented in any media necessary - paper, blog post, video, you name it.

6. edit compulsively. make your project technically and technologically flawless.

7. at least 2 of your sources must be from gleeson library - either from the collection or via link plus. put another way, at least 2 of your sources need to be texts you can hold in your hands that you physically gathered from gleeson library.

8. your project must have a works cited section. you can use any bibliographic style you wish but you must use one.

notes:

a. if this were a traditional paper, double-spaced in word, it would be around 8-10 pages.

b. your research project should interest you and people who are not you.

c. if you are taking green media as a senior seminar, you must do 2 food person research projects. your second project must be turned in no later than the last day of class (may 7). plan wisely.

due: friday, april 2, by sunset.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

novella carpenter visits USF

last friday, urban homesteader and author novella carpenter visited USF. she met with green media and garden project students who are two-thirds finished reading novella's book, farm city: the education of an urban farmer.

novella began the day with my green media class. she asked my students question and they gave answers, and then my students asked novella questions and she gave answers. we talked about farm city, about urban homesteading, about raising, killing, and eating rabbits, about pop up farming, about interacting with the media, and about the role of the internet in today's urban ag.


around noon, we walked out of the education building, across the parking lot, and into USF's organic garden. while green media students showed novella the veggie plot we planted last week, i rounded up a few garden project students to give novella a tour of our campus garden.

after the tour, we surrounded a table full of food that students cooked, baked, and prepared for lunch - two loaves of homemade bread, a delicious soup, a garden quiche, a fresh garden salad, and a tasty rhubarb pie baked with rhubarb from the garden. it was a delicious feast.



with loaded bowls and plates, we took a seat in a circle, ate our food, and talked about farm city, about making homemade cheese and salami, about raising ducks, and about today and tomorrow's directions in urban ag. as novella writes on her own blog, "it made my heart sing to see these good citizens fired up about growing food." indeed.




as a teacher, the best part of the day was when garden project students took novella and green media students on a tour of the garden (captured so well by kate greenspan). it was cool to watch the mostly freshmen garden project students teach novella about our garden, but it was even cooler to watch them teach the mostly seniors in green media. students teaching students.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

bake yer own bread - 9 delicious bread recipes from the students in green media

last week in green media, the students and professor baked bread. although the assignment included some readings on bread-making, it included no hands-on instructions. "bake bread," i told my students, "and if you don't know how, learn."

in class on friday, we broke bread. we sampled each other's creations and shared tips and suggestions.



(2nd pic: erin venables)

as usual, students were required to make and share their recipes. together, the students created an online cookbook. enjoy.

Marco Abellera's Making Bread: Focaccia
Daniele Dominguez's How to Make Sourdough Bread
Kate Greenspan & Sophia Lorenzi's Soph's Loaf of Chocolate Banana Bread
Christina Hammill's No-Knead Bread
Samuel Hernandez & Peter Thoene's rosemary rock salt focaccia
Michael Kao's Bread Noobie
Kelli McCloskey & Joseph Montana's Bread Making
Erin Venables' Rosemary Garlic Bread
Joel Weston's Mama D's Italian Bread