DIGM3353:VisualCommunicationsTechnology
Fall 2016 SYLLABUS
Lecture Section 206018, Lab Section 206019 (Green Class)
This section Lecture on-line Lab Thur. 1:00-4:00 p.m. T102A
Lecture Section 206028, Lab Section 206029 (Orange Class)
This section is all on-line using Blackboard Learn
Important: These two courses are an experiment, they will compare a totally on-line c l a s s w i t h a
“Blended” class that has an on-line lecture and a face-to-face Lab. This Syllabus
combines both classes. If there are any special instructions for the Blended class
they will be highlighted in GREEN. If there are special instructions that apply only
to the on-line class, they will be highlighted in ORANGE.
Course:
3 credits. Use of technological systems in visual communications including design
principles, typography, use of color, photography, pixel and vector-based graphics,
print and electronic delivery, and ethical considerations. This class is for non-Digital
Media Majors. There is separate version of the class, DIGM 2353, for Digital Media
Majors. If you are a DIGM major please transfer to that class.
Instructor:
Lloyd Schuh: leschuh@central.uh.edu Office Phone: 713-743-6438. I do not check
my phone messages regularly, and I do not have an office. If you need to contact me
immediately, please use my email address. Use B l a c k b o a r d ’ s “Student Cafe”
option for general questions and comments, a n d use instructor’s email for private
questions.
Office Hours:
Meet at Sugar Land, Central Campus or on Face-time on-line by appointment.
Prerequisites:
ENGL 1303/1304 or equivalent and working knowledge of Microsoft Office.
C l a s s G o a l s : B o t h c l a s s e s provide students with an understanding of the technological systems
that extend the range of human communications, with an emphasis on the visual
communication processes. The course is an overview, which only begins to scrape the
surface of the field of graphic communication/digital media. You will walk away from
this course knowing a little bit about a lot of things, but you will not master any one
area. If any topics are of particular interest to you, your instructor will be happy to offer
you opportunities for additional study.
Students completing the course will describe, demonstrate, compare, analyze,
integrate, and critique Digital Media technologies related to principles of design;
• Fundamentals of graphic design and typography;
• Creating Presentations and following exact directions/requirements.
• Basic concepts of photography and theory and use of color;
• Processes used to reproduce graphic images for using various printing
methods;
• Vector and pixel-based illustration;
• Processes involved in designing for various print media;
• Applications to business objectives.
Textbook:
The required text for this class is:
Graham, Lisa; Basics of Design, Second Edition, copyright 2004, Delmar/Cengage Learning;
ISBN 13:978-1-4018-7952-5 or 10:1-4018-7952-7
This book should be easily available as a used book.
It is available as both an e-textbook and hard copy.
Some possible sources are coursesmart.com,
barnesandnoble.com, bigwords.com, amazon.com
and, of course the University Book Store. This
textbook contains the readings that will be
included on your Quiz for each Unit so you will
need it no later than the second week of class.
An Optional text for this class is:
Williams, Robin: The Non-Designer’s Design Book, Fourth Edition, Copyright 2015, Peachpit Press;
ISBN 13: 978-0-13-396615-2 or ISBN 10: 0-13-396615-1 This book is
a newer book, but does not have as much of the information that we
study as the Graham book, however it does go into more depth about
design and typography. It is also available as both an e-textbook and
hard copy from the same sources. While no information will be
included on your quizzes, the readings will also be included in your
weekly lessons, and it is a very informative book for design reference
during the course and afterwards.
Important Information that You MUST know about this course in order to pass!
As explained previously, this class is offered both as a totally on-line course (DIGM 3353 Sections
206028/206029 ORANGE) and as a blended class with Lecture Section 206018 and
face to face Lab Section 206819 GREEN) The purpose of the colors is to easily
distinguish between the two classes. It is very important that you mark any
correspondence with the color of your class. For example if you send an email, you
must include your class color in the subject line. There is more detail in the section of
this syllabus on Communications.
Because this is a research study, every effort will be made to equalize the differences between the two
classes. Therefore, there are several rules which will be followed closely for both
sections:
1. The web site will be for both Lecture Sections and will have the Lab Projects posted for
both sections as well. The on-line section will do their projects and quizzes on-line and turn
them in on-line at any time during the week the Unit is scheduled. The Blended class will
be expected to do their lecture readings prior to the class meeting, and will do their
projects and quizzes in face to face class.
2. All assignments and discussions. unless stated differently by the instructor, will be
available at 12:00 a.m. on Monday morning and due by 11:59 p.m. on the following
Sunday. Weekly Quizzes will be opened at 12:00 a.m. on the week following the unit
presentation, and will be due on the following Sunday by 11:59 p.m. No allowances will be
made for errors in submission or computer problems. You are urged to complete these
assignments early in the week, so if you have any problems or questions you will be able
to communicate with the instructor and correct them prior to the deadline.
Created LES on 8/22/16 10:03 AM
Page 2 of 8
3. Because the information in the digital world is constantly changing, I frequently revised the
information in the units prior to their introduction to the class, I cannot allow anyone to go any
further than the current scheduled unit. The new unit will be available every Monday at 12:00
a.m. Some of you are working ahead. That's great! However, you should remember that the Lab
Project and the Discussion Board are not available until the week the project is scheduled, and
the Quiz is not available until the following week.
4. Please note that, although the Academic Calendar shows the last day of class as
Saturday, December 3, Class is not over. There is a “Make-up” day schedule for Monday,
December 5 and the Final Exam Period is scheduled for December 6 and 7. This means
that both sections will have their final on-line during this two-day period. I will accept no
work or extra credit other than the final after Saturday, December 3, so that I may prepare
your grades for submission.
5. I will not respond to emails concerning submission problems that occur within 24 hours of the
due date. When you wait till the last minute something always goes wrong. I do not accept any
late assignments. The blackboard clock considers 11:59 as your deadline and their time may not
be the same as yours. If you wait till Sunday to do your lesson and you have a problem or a
question, then you 're on your own.
6. I have randomly selected students to do their Ad Critiques throughout the semester,
beginning with the third week of the semester. The GREEN class will do their
presentations in class and the class will have an opportunity to comment after the
presentation. The ORANGE class will submit them on-line and the class will have an
opportunity to comment on-line. See the Ad Critique section in this Syllabus for more
information.
7. As explained in this Syllabus under Extra Credit, these projects are very important to your
grade. They could make as much as an entire letter grade difference. Once the date of the
extra credit has passed, there is no way to make it up.
8. At the beginning of the semester or prior to it if you have your correct email registered with
the University, you will be asked to fill out a student information form. This includes an
email address that you check at least weekly. This, and the Blackboard Home Page are
my primary methods of communication. Unless I have a valid email address, you will miss
out on some important class information.
9. In addition to the Student Information form, each class will be asked to complete some
demographic information and a few questions about your digital graphic skills. This is a
part of the research project to compare an on-line class with a blended class. All
information submitted will be kept completely confidential and no names or identification
will appear in the final study. You do have the opportunity to “opt out” of this study by
providing your instructor with a written notice, although I hope that you will consider your
participation a contribution toward helping future students have the best educational
methods possible available to them.
10. The Blackboard Web Site will open on Saturday, August 20 for a sneak preview of the
class and the first Study Unit will be available for you to begin on Monday, August 22 at
12:00 a.m.
11. For those in the Blended (GREEN) class, you will be expected to read the lesson and the
text readings PRIOR to coming to class at 1:00, Thursday, you will do the weekly project in
class that day and it will be due no later than 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. If you wish, you may
work ahead, since the material will be up on Blackboard at 12:00 a.m. on Mon., Aug. 22.
Created LES on 8/22/16 10:03 AM
Page 3 of 8
Materials:
Class:
Grading:
To use the instructional materials, you will need access to a computer that has Acrobat
Reader and Flash Player installed. You can download Acrobat Reader and Flash Player
free from http://w w w .get.adobe.com You will also need a program to convert your
work to a PDF file. Adobe Acrobat is available at a special student price at the Cougar
Bytes store in the Student Center, or you can use a third party software. Many of them
are free. Search on-line to see what is available.
You will also need a method for backing up and archiving your files-ALWAYS SAVE.
Online lectures/presentations will be posted on Blackboard on Monday a t 1 2 : 0 0 a m for
t h e n e x t w e e k ’ s lesson. Simply log on to Blackboard, choose the appropriate Unit and
follow the week's instructions. Most lectures include interactive presentations, textbook
readings, website links, lab assignments, and quizzes. Lab Assignments are due at 11:59
pm on the following Sunday, (unless the instructions have a different deadline.) Unit
quizzes are usually due the week following the unit and can be found at the bottom of the
Home Page.
After the deadline no assignments will be accepted unless prior arrangements have
been made with the instructor or you have a University authorized excuse.
Ad Critiques 15%; Exams 20%; Quizzes 20%; Social Networking ( D i s c u s s i o n
B o a r d ) 10%; Lab Assignments 25% and Group Participation 10%.
Letter Grades are based on the College of Technology Grade Scale as follows:
A 94-100; A- 90-93; B+ 87-89; B 84-86; B- 80-83; C+ 77-79; C 74-76; C- 70-73;
D+ 67-69; D 64-66; D- 60-63. Below 60 is Failing.
Ad Critique: Beginning the Third Week, the Instructor will select students at random to critique a fullpage magazine or newspaper ad. This must be a genuine ad, not a cover or a
feature article. A list of when you will be requested to submit will be available on
Blackboard as a part of the Unit Schedule. You will need to cover all of the criteria
for good design based on the Design Unit in our text. You will complete a form to be
used as a guide for your presentation. The form is available on Blackboard and
explains what should be included. If you do not submit your critique on schedule, you will
receive a 10% penalty for each week the critique is overdue. You will need to turn in the Ad
Critique Form the presentation and the scan to the Blackboard Drop box for this project for
your presentation. The ORANGE class will also make their presentation in class. It may be
in the form of a Powerpoint or other type of presentation. This will count as 15% of your
final grade. After the critiques are posted, each member of the class will have an
opportunity to comment. The ORANGE group will do this on lab class after the presentation.
The GREEN class will do their critique of the presentation on-line under OTHER
PROJECTS>Ad Critique Class Discussion Board in the left column of your Blackboard
Menu. For both classes this will be included as a part of your Group Participation grade.
Quizzes:
Each Unit will have a quiz over assigned book chapters, interactive presentations, and
assigned Web links. They will be taken on Blackboard. Quizzes will be due on Sunday
M id n ig h t o f th e w e e k fo llo w in g th e u n it. After the deadline no quiz will be
accepted unless prior arrangements have been made with the instructor, or you have
a University authorized excuse. These Quizzes are worth 20% of your total grade.
Created LES on 8/22/16 10:03 AM
Page 4 of 8
Exams:
There will be two exams, A mid-semester and an end of the semester Final Project.
These questions are drawn from the assigned readings and links for each unit and the
most-often-missed quiz items. In addition, they may include a hands-on and/or essay part.
Only in the case of a medical or family emergency may an exam (not quizzes) be allowed to
be made up. Application must be made in writing with supporting documentation within the
week following the scheduled exam. You will then be scheduled to take the exam at a U of H
proctored location. These t w o Exams are worth 20% of your final grade.
In order to be allowed to make up an exam, Excused Absences are defined as follows:
• Illness with a doctor’s note.
• Participation in a university function with a note from the advisor.
• Death or severe crisis in the family with appropriate documentation.
Social
Networking: Social Networking has become an integral part of Digital Media. Proper use of Social
Networking is extremely important in developing your own personal “brand” as well as
achieving success in your career. Some Social Networking sites are primarily
“personal” in nature and you should be extremely careful about what you post on these
sites. You also need a “professional” brand on a “professional” Social Networking site.
On such a site, you strive to paint an extremely proficient portrait of yourself. Spelling,
grammar, photographic content and quality and substance of your posts and responses
all count. These all make an indelible impression on the outside world.
In this class, we will use the discussion board on Blackboard as our class networking
site. You will also design a LinkedIn site as a part of your Social Networking Unit. On the
class discussion site, I will post weekly discussion topics to which you will be expected
to respond. The quality of your English usage (including proper spelling and
punctuation) will be a factor in your grade. These discussion topics will be posted in your
weekly assignments and will be due at Midnight Sunday when the Lab assignment is due.
This is worth 10% of your final grade.
Lab Assignments: There will be a lab assignment with each W e e k s Units. These assignments are
designed to familiarize students with the concepts discussed in the Lecture sessions.
Assignments are due at 11:59 pm, on the Sunday of the week they are posted, unless
otherwise specified. They must be submitted on Blackboard in the PDF format unless
required differently in the instructions. If they are not submitted correctly, they will not be
graded and will receive an automatic “0”. Correctly includes naming your files as specified
in the assignment. They are worth 25% of your final grade. This is a very important portion
of the class and your grade.
Rubrics: I have created grading rubrics for every project. They are available for you to see
in the project unit. With these rubrics you are able to see how you will be graded. I suggest
you read them and follow them for a higher grade. Note, however, that most of the minimum
requirement stated in the project are for an AVERAGE grade (C). To get a higher grade you
must do MORE than the MINIMUM requirement that is listed in the instructions.
IMPORTANT: These projects are expected to be original work. Students who are found to
be copying other student’s work or using a template, will receive an “F” for the project, and
may face expulsion from class under the University’s Student Conduct Code.
Created LES on 8/22/16 10:03 AM
Page 5 of 8
Group
Participation: The Blended (GREEN) class will be graded on their attendance and participation in the lab
portion of their class.
The on-line class (ORANGE) will also be graded on group participation. This will primarily
include (1) your responses to the ad critique’s posted by your fellow students
and (2) Your participation in the class on-line discussions. Your posts will only count if they
are more than 25 words.
This participation is worth 10% of your grade.
EXTRA CREDIT: You will have several opportunities for extra credit. All extra credit
projects must be submitted at least two weeks before the end of the semester. For Fall
2016 that would be November 19. (Max of six extra points on top of your final grade).
Some Extra Credit examples are:
1. Visit the Museum of Printing History and write minimum a 500-word report. In the
report include things you have seen. Also include what you have learned. In addition,
mention your own reactions and summarize your experience. For More info about the
Museum see: http://www.printingmuseum.org Due to storm damage this tour may not
be available this semester.
2. Join and Participate in a professional organization applicable to your major. (Max grade
one extra point for joining and one point for each meeting attended up to a maximum of
five points.) You are responsible for providing the instructor with documentation
of membership and attendance prior to the deadline of November 19.
3. There will be additional Extra Credit opportunities offered by your instructor during the
semester.
Extra Credit Points are important! They are not added to your grade until after your final
grade is calculated. Then they are figured on top of your final score. For example, if your final
score calculates to 87 out of 100 possible points and you have joined a professional
organization, and toured the Print Museum you have earned a total of 7 points. These would
be added to your final grade (86+7=94) So instead of a final letter grade of 87 = “B+” you
would have 94 = ”A”
Lab Use
Students in the classes that have both face-to-face labs, and on-line students, have the Digital
Media Labs, both at Sugar Land and Central Campus available to you to complete your
assignments. The use of the Digital Media Laboratory is a privilege afforded to you. You pay
Incidental Fees to maintain the lab so respect it and its contents. Please adhere to the
following rules:
§ Do not use the printer for anything other than class work.
§ No food or drinks will be allowed in the lab.
§ Before leaving lab, you are responsible for logging off and shutting down.
§ Downloading of any software will be considered theft, which is a violation of the University’s
Academic-Honesty policy. The Department Chair will be informed of all occurrences of
software piracy. Any affected student will be suspended from class until a Departmental
Hearing is called.
§ Students who require lab time in order to complete their work can attend any open lab.
Open lab times will be posted in the Lab and online.
Add/Drop:
Please refer to the University’s Undergraduate Catalog and the Schedule of Classes for the
appropriate add/drop dates and procedures.
Created LES on 8/22/16 10:03 AM
Page 6 of 8
Incompletes: An “incomplete” grade will only be issued if the student is maintaining an acceptable level of
achievement and cannot, due to some factor beyond his/her control, complete one or more
major assignments. If a student wishes an “incomplete”, he/she must explain the situation to
the instructor in writing in advance and make specific arrangements to complete the missing
work no later than two full semesters from the date the grade is given.
DisAbilities: Any student who may be in need of additional help under the ADA guidelines should contact
the instructor directly by the first class meeting and present a letter from the DisAbilities Office.
No special accommodations can be made without this letter from a U of H DisAbilities
Counselor.
Problems with your computer or the Internet: I occasionally get emails from students who have
been unable to complete a quiz or download an assignment on Blackboard. The technical
support staff is very concerned that Blackboard work properly for you. Although I am willing to
help, I am not your Technical Support person! If you wait until the last day to do your
assignment you are on your own! I do not regularly monitor the emails on nights and/or
weekends. Therefore, I will not accept any email or phone questions for problems within
24 Hours of the Due Date. At that point you are on your own.
Support has found that many of the problems that are blamed on Blackboard are actually
caused by operator error or problems in the student’s computer. In order to correct these
problems, I will not reset the Quiz or give credit unless the following criteria are met:
1. Immediately take a screen shot of the message on your screen if applicable. Call the
Blackboard support team at 713-743-1411 and report the problem or file a trouble report.
2. Email your instructor with details of the problem within 24 hours. Attach a confirmation of
your trouble report.
Most problems are caused by:
1. Exiting a quiz and then trying to come back in to finish it after the time expires. When you
exit, Blackboard thinks you are through. Hitting submit (or return) thinking that you are
going to the next question will result in submission.
2. Browser or Internet Provider problems.
3. Waiting until the very last minute to submit, and the servers are so swamped that you can’t
get through. Remember that the server time and your watch or computer clock may not
always be exactly the same, so allow for several minutes time difference.
4. It is very important that your instructor be able to contact you via email. When you enroll in
the University of Houston, you are assigned a student email address. This address is your
formal email address and the University and your instructor will use that address for any
contact. You may make that address an “alias” that will refer your mail to another email
address. To do this you should go into your PeopleSoft record and add another address.
Then, all college emails will be forwarded to that address. You will be responsible for all
emails sent to your UH email. It is also extremely important that you keep this email
address current. If you change your email address, you must go to PeopleSoft and change
the alias. Your instructor will use this address for reminders and to send you current
information regarding the class.
Created LES on 8/22/16 10:03 AM
Page 7 of 8
Communication: When you email your instructor, you must include the word GREEN or ORANGE (without
the color) in the subject. This will help your instructor to quickly find your records. If you do not
include this information, it may delay an answer.
Please do not reply using an email message from your instructor unless you change the
subject. All emails are archived and it is almost impossible to find emails that do not reflect the
subject of your mailing. An example of a good email subject line is: ORANGE (Your last
name) Will the class be meeting next week?
The Class Homepage on Blackboard is also an important way that your instructor
communicates with you. Always enter the Blackboard class through this Home Page and read
the announcements regularly. The information posted on this page will be the final word on any
changes in assignments, schedule, or exams. You will be held responsible for any changes
posted at this location. Because this class has both a Lab and a Lecture component, the
information in the U of H schedule may not always apply, so be certain that you check the
Homepage regularly and keep your email address current.
IMPORTANT: your instructor needs to know about you. Please complete the front and back of the
Student Information Form and email a Microsoft Word copy back to your instructor no later than the
first week of class, Sunday, August 28. This information will be used to communicate with you during
the semester, and to help the instructor personalize the class to fit your needs. Those Early Bird
Students who return the student info form to me by Midnight, Sunday, August 28, will receive an extra
point on their grade total.
Created LES on 8/22/16 10:03 AM
Page 8 of 8