Proposal

Propose a webumentary which deals with some issue related to education in the Detroit-Metro area.
Basic components of a proposal:
  • Introduction - introduces idea, why is it important, background information, sets the stage for the proposal
  • Body - the proposal itself - what you intend to do and how
  • Results - what you believe your project will accomplish, add to, compliment, etc.
  • Annotated Bibliography - list of works (newspaper articles, magazine articles, books, TV shows, films, etc.) you will consult as you create your webumentary. Annotated means you include 2-3 sentences for each entry describing the reference.

    • Webumentary

    Create a webumentary based on your proposal.
    A webumentary is a documentary written for the Web. The basic principles of composing a documentary exist, but the webumentary includes other elements specific to how one presents information on the Web: links, images, scripts, etc.

    Basic elements of a documentary:

  • A recorded study of an education-related issue in the Detroit-Metro area. Break down into a specific issue.
  • Question or issue to be examined in this study (focus of proposal)
    What kind of issue?
    Some ideas (but not the only ideas):
    Public policy
    A specific school (problem/current issue/status)
    Board of Education related issue
    Equality issue
    Funding issue
    Student-centered issue
    Specific educator(s)
    SAT/ACT/Standardized Testing
    Technology and education
  • Fieldwork: Study of people, events, places, etc. related to your subject matter.
  • Collection of data (information, interviews,material items)
  • Interviews (so important it is listed twice)
  • Context - putting your study into context with relevant research or temporal matters
  • Observations based on one's study - synthesis of data, research, and interviews which form the core of the documentary
  • Told as narrative
  • Persuasive - constructing an argument
  • Usually includes "I" (the person making the documentary is in the narrative)

    Types of Documentary (borrowed from Bill Nichols Introduction to Documentary):
    Base your work on one type.

  • Poetic - In place of narrative continuity, uses associations and juxtapositions to tell a story.
  • Expository - Addresses viewer directly,has strong narrative voice (often a voice over), attempts to be objective (or acts as if objective) and strongly argumentative.
  • Observational - Attempts to observe a situation with minimal interference from writer. Acts as if this is a "as it happens" document.
  • Participatory - Writer is actively a part of the documentary. A strong sense of the writer is present; the writer may be self-reflexive about the documentary's content. Strong interaction between writer and subject matter.
  • Reflexive - Reflexive not only about the relationship between writer and content, but also self-reflexive about the process of making a documentary (problems, success, ethical issues, etc.) Often self-reflexive about the documentary form itself (is it real? is it staged?)
  • Performative - Often has strong autobiographical elements. Very subjective and sees the construction of meaning as a subjective experience.The writer's responses to the subject matter are meant to engage us as well.

    Basic web elements:

  • Website which presents one's documentary
  • Menu for navigation purposes
  • Usage of hyperlinks to connect sections of webumentary
  • Fragmented pages which reflect the different reading experience associated with the Web
  • Usage of images found on the Web or elsewhere AND which you take with your own camera
  • Usage of sound (if possible)

    Class requirements for webumentary:

  • At least 3000 words
  • The webumentary is proofread completely and free of grammatical, spelling, punctuation, language problems
  • The webumentary is organized
  • The webumentary asks and works with a specific question regarding a specific education issue
  • The webumentary meets the criteria of a webumentary noted above

    Other options:
    For students who already know how to use other multimedia authoring tools like Flash or Photoshop, you are welcome to do so. These are not required, however, but may be used if you already know how.