Inquiry Project Research Update
(20 *Quiz* Points)
I don’t care how you take notes and track your work, but I need to see proof that you’ve seriously begun your research. What I’ll suggest is that you try out Evernote, Diigo, and/or Zotero as methods for keeping track of your notes and work this semester. Because I’m going to ask you to use ScreenPal (or something like it) to present your research update, you also might want to learn about taking screenshots, which you can use to take a snapshot of what you’re doing onscreen at any time. These programs (and associated skills) may be terrific assets as you tackle your research and writing this semester, and some (or all) of you may find that one (or more) of these tools is useful for the long term.
Your research proof could be a lot of different things, though I’ll urge you to think in terms of things I can review onscreen: images and documents, including maybe photos or scans of physical stuff. Maybe you’ll turn in a set of carefully typed notes about articles you’re reading. Maybe it will be your list of articles and reference works to thoroughly investigate, with some notes about the reasons these works are on your list. Maybe it’s a very rough draft of your “author snapshot” that makes clear reference to the things you’ve been finding and reading. Maybe it’s a professionally produced graphic novel following the course of your research. The main guideline here is that you give me substantial proof that you’ve not only begun thinking about the project, you’ve begun some serious research.
You’ll create a 5-minute video. At the start, quickly (in > a minute) summarize your sense (so far) of the author’s life, work, reputation, and themes, and then, for the bulk of your time, explain your proof and how it shows me what you’re up to. The tool to use is Screencast-o-matic, which is a straightforward online “screencasting” tool. I’ve posted several samples at the course wiki to explain further. (If you have other kinds of voodoo you do to make screencasts, you should feel free to use those alternatives. No matter what, keep it to five minutes or less.) Often, a screencast video will be thorough enough to be ALL of your proof. Sometimes, it will pay to send some kind of further documentation of your work.
Note that a lot of people “draft” this video update once or twice in practice runs and then re-record, once they have a good sense of what they want to say. That may or may not suit you, but it’s worth considering. (It’s also worth thinking about how this can be a sort of planned “live” composition…)
On Scoring for the Research Update
- 20: Highest scores on the research update will go to those who demonstrate that they’ve made real, substantial progress in exploring the scholarship and understanding the author, who demonstrate enthusiasm and insight as they present their material, who can show a variety of sources, and who clearly not only have glanced at the material but also have begun to take serious notes and organize their thoughts about the material. These student are likely beginning to explain what’s important in the ongoing critical conversation about their authors. Great use of the video format may help push up a score a bit, though I’m looking for depth of thought and resources, not production values, of course. Highest scores are likely to go to students who either show in the video or separately submit serious proof of their reading, markup, and/or digestion of the reading they’re doing.
- 19: Close to all the above, at the level of a good, solid A, rather than a superlative (and rare) A+.
- 18: Clearly making real progress with a variety of sources and beginning to understand major themes and trends in critical thought about the writer. This score is a nod of approval for your work, with a sense that you might be doing a little more in the way of digesting the material or getting deep into what’s out there.
- 17: Close to the above, at the level of a good, solid B, rather than a B+ or A-. Going in the right direction, but you probably need to pick up the pace.
- 16: I’d like to be seeing a little more range to your sources, with more sense that you’ve pushed yourself already to get deep into the material. Don’t panic if you get a 16, but do step up your efforts, and come talk with me if you’re having trouble making progress.
- 15 or less: You are falling behind and need to seriously step up the pace and increase the energy of your research. Please do come talk with me if you’re having trouble knowing how to do that.