TWC 451/551
Intellectual Property and Copyright
Technical Communication Program
Fall 2009 Assignments
All assignments are due by 11:59pm (Arizona time) on the due date unless otherwise noted.
Confirmation Email (5 pts, due Thursday, August 27th)
Send to me an email with the following information:- Confirm that you have read all of the course documents and that you understand course policies, guidelines, assignments, and expectations
- Questions, concerns, comments you may have about the course or its requirements
- Your selection of a week to lead the Discussion Board. You should submit 3 weeks, ranked in order of preference. Weeks will be assigned first come, first serve.
Quizzes (12 @ 5 pts each)
Outcomes met by successful completion: R1, CRW2, CRW3, KC1, KC3
Beginning week two, there will be a short quiz on the content of the readings each week. Quizzes will be posted in Blackboard by 9:00am Monday morning (Arizona time) and must be completed by 11:59pm Wednesday afternoon (Arizona time).
Grading: Each quiz will be worth a total of 5 pts.
Discussion Board/Class Participation
Outcomes met by successful completion: R1, CRW1, CRW4
This semester each of you will lead one weekly discussion, for 10 pts. All other weeks, you are expected to contribute to and to fully engage in the discussion (20 pts).
Discussion Board Leader (10 pts):
During week 1, you will sign up to lead one discussion week during the course, beginning week 3. Review the course schedule (calendar posted in Blackboard and list of readings) so that you can choose a topic that is of interest to you. Due to the size of the class, most weeks will have more than one discussion leader. You may either work together as partners to develop the week’s discussion(s) or you may submit them independently. As the leader for the week, you will:
- Submit a draft of your questions one week (by noon on Monday) prior to the discussion. For example, if you lead week 3 you will submit to me a draft of your questions during week 2. The purpose of submitting a draft is so that I can work with you as you develop your questions. I will return your draft to you within 24 hours so that you can revise, if necessary.
- Post your questions by noon on Monday of the week you are responsible for discussion lead
- Follow the discussion so that you can respond to any questions from the class and post follow-up if needed
Using the readings, you will post questions and follow-up responses so that the class engages in discussion and debate of the week’s topic. Your posts should challenge and engage the rest of the class to learn and understand the topic for the week. There are several approaches you may want to pursue:
- The primary textbook was published in 2007. You may wish to focus on updating the information in the reading.
- You may pose a scenario that will require the class to apply what they’ve read for the week.
- You may find additional readings or cases to supplement the required reading as a basis to discuss the topic.
- You may wish to ask questions about material that was confusing or contradictory in the reading so that the class works together to understand the topic and how to apply it.
- Other?
Your goal when leading the discussion is to take us beyond definitions or simple yes/no type questions. You should pose questions or scenarios or cases that help us to understand the topic and extend our understanding of how it applies in the real world in a variety of contexts.
Criteria for grading:
- Submission of a draft on-time and that has been carefully thought out and prepared to address the week’s topic
- Posts that raise challenging questions or issues to engage the class to understand the week’s topic and how to apply it
- Posts that are clear, well-written, free of mechanical errors
- Actively engage in the discussion to follow-up participants' questions or responses and to keep the discussion moving
Discussion Board Participation (20 pts):
Each week, you are responsible for responding to posts by the Discussion Board leader. You should have completed readings and your posts should be thorough, thoughtful, and useful. What makes a good contribution (and that will earn credit):
- Responses that are thorough, well-thought out and show critical thought and understanding
- Responses that stay on topic and relevant to the week's topic
- Responses that clearly incorporate or cite readings
- Responses that support claims with evidence. Unsubstantiated claims or opinions do not contribute to discussion or debate in a meaningful way.
- Responses that expand on the conversation and discussion rather than merely repeats or rephrases what someone else has already posted.
When writing your posts, remember that you are taking part in a classroom discussion. Discussion boards will begin on Mondays with the posting of topics and end at 11:59pm on Sundays. Your posts should be proofread for mechanics and spelling. You should be respectful of others’ perspectives and civil at all times. I will remove posts which include flaming, demonstrate lack of civility, or are potentially libelous. Obviously such posts will seriously jeopardize your participation grade.
I will assign class participation grades twice during the semester: at midterm (up to 10 pts) and at the end of the semester (up to 10 pts). Although you will not receive a grade each week, you are expected to contribute each week. Failure to contribute will result in lower scores at midterm and at the end of the semester. Obviously, just like in a classroom, the more you participate and the higher the quality of your participation, the higher your grade will be.
Assignment 1: Instructional Design (due Sunday, October 25th; 15 pts)
Outcomes met by this assignment: R1, CRW1, CRW3, CRW4, KC1, KC2, KC3
Congratulations! You have been hired by Hillview High School as an instructional designer for its new virtual classroom initiative. To better serve its students, Hillview will offer several courses either in hybrid format (combination of classroom and online) or in online only format. Courses will be delivered using Blackboard and will consist of text, podcasts, videos, and educational games. Content will consist of both originally written and produced materials and materials available via the Internet (such as instructional material from the National Archives, Library of Congress, or from podcasting and video hosting sites such as YouTube). Not all material from the Internet will be from "free" sites, however. In addition, for the originally developed texts, videos, and games you will of course want to make them as visually appealing and engaging as possible and so you will need to consider incorporating visuals and other items. As instructional designer, you work with a team to develop the courses. The team includes teachers who are disciplinary content experts and a librarian.
As the team starts to work you all realize that you will need to ensure that you are complying with intellectual property laws and principles. The school has been in the process of searching for a lawyer for several months but, unfortunately, has not yet hired one. Knowing that you took an intellectual property class as part of your degree program, the principal has asked you to write a short report on the issues the team will need to be aware of and steps that should be taken so that the team will not violate IP rights.
Although the immediate audience for the report is the principal, keep in mind that eventually the newly hired lawyer will be reviewing the document. While no one expects you to be a legal expert, you want to be careful to be as thorough as you can and reference good quality sources.
Grading:
- Thoroughness of your description, analysis, and application of IP concepts learned to-date
- Formatting, style and tone
- Appropriately cited sources
- Mechanics
Assignment 2: Cease and Desist (due Sunday, November 8th; 15 pts)
Outcomes met by this assignment: R1, CRW1, CRW3, CRW4, KC1, KC2, KC3
One of the more controversial provisions of the DMCA has been the “notice and take down” provision. The provision has made it possible for copyright holders to request that infringing material be removed from ISPs or search engine databases. These requests are known as “take down notices” or “cease and desist" notices.
Let’s take a look at what take down notices look like. Go to: http://chillingeffects.org/search.cgi. Change the “topic area” to DMCA Safe Harbor Provisions and click submit. You can enter keywords to search for a topic area or you can click on “Browse the C&D Database in DMCA Safe Harbor Provisions.”
Read one of the take down notices (be sure to choose one that has some substance to it).
First, summarize the notice: who was it sent to, by whom, what is being claimed as infringement? Why is it asked to be taken down?
Next, analyze the notice: Based on your reading of the notice and any additional information you can find about the case, is there copyright infringement? Don’t simply take the claim made in the take down notice as proof that there is. Use your understanding of copyright pre- and post-DMCA and any other information you can find about the case to make a decision.
Grading:
- Thoroughness of analysis and application of copyright and its application, particularly the DMCA
- Formatting, style and tone
- Appropriately cited sources
- Mechanics
Assignment 3: Relevant for Me? (due Sunday, November 29th; 20 pts)
Outcomes met by this assignment: R1, CRW1, CRW3, CRW4, KC1, KC2, KC3
As a technical communicator (or content creator of any kind) you will create many intellectual products over time. You may be faced with deciding how you want to treat your rights for the work you develop and you will need to be aware of the circumstances under which you will be able to retain the rights to your work as well as when you have no power to decide.
Write an analytical memo addressed to me in which you describe the types of work you currently create individually or jointly (both as a student and as a professional) and use what you have learned about IP this semester to determine what type of IP protection would be most appropriate for each (and why). Analyze the ramifications and consequences of each type of protection for you and your employer (current or potential). Explain how, where, and in what kind of schedule and business arrangement you would like to work and why (in the context of IP only). Be thorough. In this assignment, your goal is to demonstrate that you have understood the different types of IP, how it is protected, and how/why it is relevant and applies to you both as a student and as a professional.
Your analysis should be supported by sources cited and referenced appropriately in APA style.
Grading:
- Thoroughness of analysis and application of IP concepts
- Formatting, style and tone
- Appropriately cited sources
- Mechanics
Graduate Assignment (60 points; TWC551 students only)
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Page last modified: 19 August 2009