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Sound Criteria and Stretch Goals

Work to have done:

  • Work on your soundscapes, and push a soundscape preview to GitHub: .aup file, data folder, screenshot, and text description, plus updated list of assets and an mp3 export.

Plan for the Day:

  1. Reflective writing (5 min)
  2. Refresher on soundscapes we’ve liked (5 min)
  3. Gathering criteria (30-45 min)
  4. Studio and microconferences (30 min)
  5. HW Preview (5 min)

1. Reflective writing (5 min)

In your own space – you won't have to share this unless you want to – do a little writing about your soundscape narrative in progress. What's exciting about it? What's challenging about it? What are you unsure of?

2. Refresher on soundscapes we’ve liked (5 min)

Shift now in your writing to think about the blog posts on listening to soundscapes – or, if you haven’t read through them in a while, look at them quickly now with an eye toward what people are praising in the sound pieces: what seems to make a soundscape narrative work well? Jot down some notes.

3. Gathering criteria (45 min)

Primed now by that thinking and writing, I’m going to ask you to get in groups and brainstorm in pursuit of baseline and aspirational criteria for this unit. But first, let’s run through the process, and hopefully clear up some general questions:

  1. Introduce the existing set
  2. Define terms
  3. Review, comment, and suggest
  4. Respond to each other
  5. Synthesis and studio

3a. Introduce the existing set

I’ve posted criteria from previous semesters in our shared google doc as a starting point.

I want to have these on screen as we talk about what it means to say something is “baseline” or “aspirational” for a particular unit.

3b. Define terms

  • Baseline criteria are things every project must do for minimum B credit. These are about familiarity with the essentials of composing in this medium, and about meeting core learning outcomes for the course.

  • Aspirational items aren’t really criteria; they’re inspirations toward excellence, nudges toward knowledge; they’re things worth trying, in other words.

    • You can do none of these and still get a B, or even a B+ if you do the baseline stuff really well.
    • You don’t have to do all of them for an A; in fact, they’re allowed to be mutually exclusive. Treat the list as a heuristic for invention, not a pre-flight checklist.
    • You can try things and sometimes they’ll muddy the waters, make a piece worse. But it’s still a learning experience, and I want to reward that. Maybe it doesn’t get all the way to A, but maybe A-minus.
NB: All these grades I'm talking about are provisional: you can keep learning, reflecting, and/or revising through the final portfolio (and hopefully beyond). It's the whole semester's worth of learning I'm most interested in.

3c. Review, comment, and suggest

Given the goals of the unit, what should we set as our minimum criteria for full credit? What are some ways we might push beyond that minimum – not just in terms of quantity, but in terms of quality?

Working in breakout groups, take 10 minutes to talk amongst yourselves about what's working, what's missing, and what you'd like to move or modify. As you reach consensus, add comments or use the "suggestions" feature (click the pencil icon in the top right) to propose modifications or additions. Or ask questions, if you have them!

EXT: If you finish early, move on to the next section.

3d. Respond to each other

Read through the other groups’ notes, adding collegial replies to their comments in the margins to upvote, ask questions, or propose modifications.

Make sure to loop back to your own comments to see if you’ve picked up anything to respond to.

ALT: If you're joining us asynchronously, please also leave comments, especially with questions or suggestions. You will be held to these criteria, too, so make your voice heard! We won't finalize them until after workshop next week.

EXT: If you finish early, move on to the next section.

4. Studio While I Synthesize (25 min)

I’ll work solo to write up a clean list that reflects your consensus in the comments, while you all work solo (with groupmates on-hand for questions or other feedback) on your projects and any needed tutorials.

Like last time, please set yourself some studio goals in the doc; set a timer for 20 minutes; and then write a brief exit note on what you were able to achieve / what your next steps are.

Don’t forget to save and commit as you go!

NB: If you're joining us asynchronously, please do add your goals and reflections to the doc whenever you're able to "do" today's lesson.

5. Confirming criteria (8-10 min)

Please head back up to the criteria in the doc. Before we head into the weekend, I’d like to confirm that we’re on the same page. (At least pending any new input from async participants.)

For next time:

  • Work to bring in a full draft: a solid attempt at a complete soundscape narrative, ideally at the target length. Rough edges are still welcome.
    • Remember that you don’t need to change the project filename from draft to draft! Why duplicate or triplicate your file storage needs? Just say what’s changing in your commit messages, and keep track of which draft is which that way.
  • Continue taking periodic screenshots and posting meaningful commit messages in git / GitHub Desktop.
    • Not sure when to commit? One option is to do so whenever you’re about to stop working, with a note for what you’ll come back and do next time. (e.g. Did you save and commit just now? Do you want to?) Add more commits whenever you’re happy with the (potentially interim) state of some new feature.
  • By Tuesday morning, push a full draft, including your .aup, _data folder, screenshots of Audacity, and an exported .mp3, plus an updated file with citations for the sources you’ve actually used (with direct links where possible) and permissions/license to use them.
    • You may want to update your README, but that’s optional for now.
    • We’ll be workshopping next time, so it’s really important that your piece be accessible on GitHub! If you’re still having trouble, or not sure it’s working, please do check with me. I have office hours tomorrow from 1:30-2:30, or email to work out something else.
  • Bring headphones.