Chris Jennings | Lectures | Digital Media Publishing

Digital Media Publishing

for MA Digital Publishing and MA Publishing

This is a semester 2 module for the MA Digital Publishing or MA Publishing at Oxford Brookes University and runs from February 3 2010 to May 5 2010

The computer is considered both as a publishing medium and a tool, in the context of other media. Great emphasis is placed on audience, the realities of the market, and the practicalities of production.

This module is an examination of forms of web publishing with particular reference to standards of mark-up and accessibility. It provides an opportunity for the practical investigation of the strategies to publish digital media. Emphasis is placed on keeping content separate from presentation through semantic markup and the use of XHTML and various web server technologies.

Assignments

There will be 4 parts to this assignment:

Blog Posts: Post entries (at least twice weekly) to your 'blog' (online journal). You should have at least 20 entries by the end of this course. | 15%
Marks will be given for: frequency of posts, evidence of research, relevance to topic, use of expanded text. There will be an opportunity for online comments by everyone.
Blog Design: Through changes to the CSS and the HTML templates, you will redesign the blog to your own preference | 15%
Marks will be given for: amount of change from the original layout, fitness for purpose (ie. readablity, usability), code validation.
Convert a public domain text or collection of texts to an ‘Interactive eBook’. The document must be well structured and delivered as an ‘eBook’ on your web site. The ‘eBook’ must also include a commentary on how you created the work on a ‘colophon’ page. The ebook will be delivered as an interactive PDF and distributed on the web. | 50%
The eBook must also be provided in ePUB format. This will involve some editing of the file when exported from InDesign. The ePUB book must be readable within Adobe Digital Editions. Please note that not all interactive features will be available in your ePUB version of the ebook. | 20%

Software used on this course will include:

Photoshop
Dreamweaver
InDesign
Acrobat
ExpressionEngine (web server content management)

Method of delivery:

Although there are several eBook formats currently in use, and we will discuss these during the early lectures, your eBook should be delivered using Adobe Acrobat Reader format (PDF) and in ePUB format :

The eBook must be made available from your web site in both formats
A CD-ROM must be created to include:
- A 'readme' file, that explains the contents of the CD-ROM
- The eBook PDF (or collection of PDFs)
- The InDesign Files (Packaged)
- The original text in revisable form (XML)
- The ePUB format book

Your Electronic Book should be submitted and fully tested prior to the submission date. The files should be submitted as a link on your Publishing web site.

The 'eBook' must include a colophon page which explains how the work was created and the source of the text. A colophon is an inscription placed usually at the end of a book, giving facts about its publication.

Criteria for Assessment:

The 'eBook' should provide evidence that you are competent in the use of electronic text technologies introduced in the course. Credit will be given for:

A well designed electronic book
- attention should be paid to consistent layout
- readability on the system for which intended
- visually compelling
- the use of hypertext
Accurate preparation of electronic text, including care in proof-reading
Structure and layout of the Electronic Book
Technical performance of the Electronic Book
Creative and imaginative approach to illustrate the potential of an Interactive Media eBook

Course Programme and Calendar

This course takes place on Wednesday afternoons 1.30pm to 4.30pm weeks 1 to 12 Please note Easter Break - 2 to 16 April. The lectures and workshops will take place in the IT Suite for Publishing in the Tonge Building. We will be joined by Mark Rogerson for some surgery sessions.