In this course, you will be working on a group research project using ADOBE Spark and Premiere Rush to SAVE THE PLANET!
By completing this course, you can ADD "DIGITALLY SAVVY" to your resume!
Your task: using all of your assignments leading up to your Final Group Research Project, you will work toward a pro/con research question with multiple positions and eventually develop a proposed solution to help save the planet, while inserting your opinion into the discussion.
In relation to our planet, sustainability means the ability to maintain life AS WE KNOW IT at a certain level. It's an avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to keep an ecological balance.
In this class, each assignment you complete WILL BE USED in your Final GROUP SUSTAINABILITY PROJECT SHOWCASE...For your research project, you are expected to engage in a variety of steps to produce your own multimodal presentation that explores the many complexities of a topic related to sustainability and climate solutions. Mine your social media feeds, pay attention to the news, or watch a documentary film for ideas.
Assignments: 1) Read Thunberg, Seibt, and ALL WE CAN SAVE 2) Write a diagnostic essay in reaction to Thunberg and Seibt 3) Analyze a MEME 4) Find and PRESENT A POEM related to your initial topic using Adobe Spark 5) Create a PROPOSAL with a research question and a 5-source annotated bibliography 6) SUBMIT A WRITTEN DRAFT and 7) CREATE A FINAL RESEARCH PRESENTATION and RECORD IT that ties all of your research together and highlights it in Adobe Spark or Adobe Premiere Rush
STARTING WITH YOUR DIAGNOSTIC ESSAY, think about your topic...watch a film about sustainability, pick a MEME, pick a poem, narrow down your topic and ADD IT ALL UP!
LET'S LOOK AT SOME EXAMPLES of what you are working toward all semester...
EX: deforestation is HUGE for a topic, but it's a start!
MEME
Possible Question: Is deforestation helping or hurting the longevity of the planet? This is a good start, but it's still HUGE. Think about all the aspects of deforestation. NARROW IT TO A REGION, A PLACE, A REASON THE DEFORESTATION IS HAPPING...look at what some of the people who specialize in deforestation are doing. Why are they clear-cutting? Who does this benefit? Who does this harm> Keep asking questions?
Examples: Cattle Ranching in the Amazon, Clear-cutting in Yellowstone as a forest-fire protection plan, Palm oil plantations in Borneo, Does eco-tourism affect deforestation?
Let's take a look at Palm oil plantations in Borneo AS AN EXAMPLE. By giving it a location and a type of forest, we are narrowing it down...are there multiple positions? People involved in conservation see this act of deforestation as harmful on so many levels...it destroys habitat for orangutans and other native species, it reduces available land for everyone, it kills the lungs of the planet...however, for the oil companies, for big corporations that harvest and sell palm oil, it provides jobs and money, it allows big business to thrive, it reallocates land use...in thinking about this, we can come up with a question:
RESEARCH QUESTION: Borneo, Palm Oil and the Rainforest: a complex issue: can ecotourism save the Borneo Rainforest?
You can see in the above question that there are clear pros/cons to the topic, suggesting it is debatable and arguable. Therefore, you could develop a logical research question to proceed.
BACKGROUND SECTION
Questions that can shape inquiry include:
Question # 3 seems to be the one that works best because a reasonable person can see multiple sides to this question.
What are the pros and cons of ecotourism, anyways?
After you have spent the first few weeks in the class watching a film, writing a diagnostic essay, meeting with groups, finding a meme, and a poem, and narrowing my topic, you are now ready explore this topic through research.
Where is Borneo, anyway?
THIS CONTEXT should go at the beginning, right? As I work with my group, I am looking for an order of ideas as I go...
Is ecotourism in Borneo a valid plan to save orangutans?
People travel to Borneo to see orangutans. Is this tourism good or bad? Can we save them by raising money and awareness, or does it habituate the orangutan and make them more susceptible to capturing them?
As I explore, I might have a conclusion in mind...
Call to action
Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can help save rainforests.
Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down.
Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment.
Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife.
If we take away their habitat, how will they survive? I want to know more about this, so this is a great start for my research!
Cutting down the forest in Borneo
Clear-cutting for mining in East Kalimantan
EXAMPLE #2: The Benefits of Trophy Hunting??
Watch the Documentary Film, TROPHY: HUNTING ANIMALS
Grown men cry in "Trophy," a documentary about the wildlife hunting industry. ... It's an emotional thing, killing an animal," the producer, Willem, says. "Hunters, that emotion, and the accompanying rush of adrenaline, becomes an addiction that can only be satisfied by shooting more animals." However, the film reflects multiple positions. (pros and cons)
CONSIDER the multiple perspectives BELOW
US TROPHY HUNTER: with God on his side
Rhino Conservationist: wanting to sell horns to make money
Game Rancher: breeding animals to be shot
Anti-Poacher: protecting animals but receiving money from the trophy-hunting industry
LOCAL HUNTER: Rhino horns are highly prized, estimated to fetch up to $60,000 per kilo on the black market - more than the price of gold or cocaine.
CALL TO ACTION: protect ecosystems and not individuals, find ways to get local communities involved in conservation so they benefit from living with animals in a functioning ecosystem
Student examples
Oil Transport
How does any of this relate to your research skills or your writing skills? How will any of this make you more marketable? How will any of this give you a voice? Well...
FOR YOUR FUTURE SUCCESS: after taking this class, you will be able to add "digitally savvy" to your resume. You will also be able to draft an argument and support it with your own ideas.
Training to be "Digital Ready" will help you prepare for your future, and mine. With the required knowledge, practical experience and exposure to tools and processes, you have the power to make a difference.
What is collaborative power?
Companies are looking for candidates who can understand their business and can help them in meeting their business objectives through the digital channels.