Course Duration: Spring Semester, 1-25-10 to 5-22-10
Online Section #59087
Face to face class #54080

The class will work on Moodle.
You can access Moodle by first logging into Pipeline, then clicking on the "Class" tab, then following the link to Moodle.

Class Description: Introduction to multimedia, including production processes, tools, techniques, trends and opportunities. Includes industry overview, societal issues, cultural implications, visual literacy and career opportunities.
(TR: CSU/UC)
*SKILLS ADVISORY: Eligibility for English 100, 103.

Please note that this is transferable class. A good reading level is expected.
To take this class you should be able to read articles and essays, understand them and be able to construct your own thoughts around them.
Instead of writing papers, we will develop basic multimedia pieces that use images and phrases to present ideas.

This is not a software class; it is a Therory class at core in which we might use diverse software (of your choice, since we are not specifically teaching software here).

Upon Successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. Define multimedia and be able to use multimedia terminology.

2. Identify occupations/career paths in multimedia.

3. Identify hardware and software technologies used to create multimedia products.

4. Identify and describe steps involved in designing and producing a multimedia project,
---from story-boarding to formative evaluation.

5. Articulate the aesthetics principles of multimedia, related to its functionality.

6. Use a functional file-management system in your projects.

We will work around the readings to assimilate fundamental concepts in multimedia.
Discussion groups and Quizzes will help you reflect on the text's content and give you points towards your final grade.

You will also put together several assignments throughout the course. These will prepare you with the necessary skills to put together your 2 research/presentation projects: the mid-term and the Final project.

Your research projects will be delivered as multimedia presentations, combining images and text.
You can use PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, or html format as a way of arranging your content.
A multimedia presentation is very different from a paper with pictures.

Your text in the presentation should be clear, short and specific; something that you can quickly read on a screen.
As for the images, you can create your own images in PhotoShop, or appropriate images from the internet if you don't know how to process or compress digital images.
Your images should never be larger than 800x600 pixels. They should always be compressed as .jpg or .gif so your file size doesn't get out of hand.

You can see examples of successful previous research projects in the help website.
http://soma.sbcc.edu/users/ajarabo/intro_Multimedia/introMultimedia_links.htm

Make sure that you compress your project before uploading it to WebCT. Zipping the file is the easiest way to go.

Make sure that you keep a copy of all your work in your local computer. If you are using the school's computers in the DAC lab, you will need a USB-thumb drive (256 Mb, 500 Mb or 1 GB) to store your files and be able to work efficiently with them wherever you can connect to a computer.

You can keep a copy of your digital work for the class in the server-space assigned to you in Xythos. Xythos is the school server.
Make sure that you upload your work inside the folder called Web in your Xythos account. Your name and password are the same as you use for Pipeline.

You need to keep track of your work, organizing files within folders of similar media types, inside project folders.
You need to use clear, short names. Always begin your assignment-file name with your name (ex. alejandra_picture1.jpg, alendra_picture2.jpg).
File Management will be graded and it is a requisite to pass this class.