Proposal A Information

Midterm Proposal | Version A

DUE DATE: March 31st

WORD COUNT: 2,000 words or more

SCREENSHOT REQUIREMENT: 15 screenshots or more

 

Your midterm proposal is to be constructed and submitted in HTML or Markdown format.

I will not accept anything written in a word processor (i.e. Microsoft Word, OpenOffice, etc)

Here is the original proposal description from the syllabus:

You will create an html document composed of six blog posts, with minimal styling and images.
In 3 of these posts you will describe your use of one piece of software demoed in class that you are most interested in utilizing in your final.  You are expected to write these in clear English and use citations when necessary.  If you have difficulty with written English, you can exceed technical expectations.

In the other 3 posts you will speak directly to goals you have for your final project.  What are you worried about,
what you are excited about, and how you plan to challenge yourself.

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Here is an example of what one of your first three blog posts might look like

1.

POST 1: Downloading Atom

sample

Figure 1: Atom screenshot | Markdown document being created.

The first piece of software I started working with in this course was Atom.  Atom is an open source text editor distributed through Github.  I was surprised to find out it was written in Coffeescript (Wikipedia), because I was under the impression that this language could not create a tool as powerful as Atom has proved to be.  I have used it to write html documents, markdown documents, and even some very rudimentary CSS stylesheets.

I had never used Atom before this class, and was confused why the professor insisted we not use word processors like Microsoft Word.  I was confused at first, but after doing some light research and listening to our class lectures, I began to understand the difference between “text editors” and “word processors”.  Some writers claim that word processors are “stupid and inefficient” (Cottrell, http://ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottrell/wp.html).  While I wouldn’t go that far, I am finding myself using Atom more than Microsoft Word these days.  Using this tool has been a great experience….

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Here is an example of what one of your last three blog posts might look like

POST 5: Infusing CSS

Screen Shot 2015-03-12 at 5.00.12 PM

Figure 11: CSS Backend | Atom Editor

As I said in my last post, I will be attempting to build a personal blog with CSS styling.  I’ve never attempted to use CSS before, but thanks to a really great video tutorial I found on YouTube (Tucker, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5mBCNeRwcw), I was able to make initial steps toward some basic competency.  I’m still having trouble telling the difference between “div ids” and “div classes”, but I’m sure I’ll be able to figure it out…

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You’ll notice that I don’t expect some kind of lengthy bibliography, or extended citations… but I would like you to engage with discussions you find in the library or around the web that relate to what you are discussing in your posts.  You should also notice that the first post is talking about initial experiments with software we’ve used in class, while the second post is talking more about the process of preparing the final project.  If you feel that you need to, use the first post as a guide for your first three blog posts, and use the second example as a guide for your next three blog posts.

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Other things to consider:

I will grade your writing very seriously.  If you are worried your grasp of written English is not top notch, let me make two recommendations:

1. — Take advantage of Baruch’s Writing Center.  They have a great staff, and are there to help you!  http://writingcenter.baruch.cuny.edu/

2. — If you are still worried your writing is not up to snuff, you can impress me by going above and beyond the technical expectations (Submit your proposal with several animated Gifs, CSS styling, a video embed, etc).  Prove to me you’ve worked hard to improve your familiarity with tools we’ve explored in class, and I’ll reward you with a higher grade.

 

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