Course Syllabus

rgMOOC Headquarters Contact Information

Co-Creators and Co-Facilitators:  Sherry Jones @TheDecipher1 and Kate Guthrie Caruso @rgTheScientist

Gameplay Specialist:  Stephen Getter @TheGameMole

Contact Information: Please leave your questions in the Directive Co-op discussion forums, as we hope that all rgMOOC 2 participants would help answer each other’s questions and provide each other writing feedback. However, if you have a pressing concern, click on the top right “Inbox” button to send us private emails; please be aware that it is unlikely that we can respond to you right away given the large number of participants joining us.

Course Description

rgMOOC 2, “Rhetoric and Composition:  The Persuasive Power of Video Games as Paratexts,” is a 10-weeks Advanced English Composition course that runs between September 2, 2013 - November 10, 2013. The course is organized based on connectivism and game-based learning principles, meaning that social media tools and games will be assigned on a weekly basis. The focus of the course is to apply appropriate rhetorical and compositional strategies to the interpretation and analysis of digital games. Videos and readings, primarily Open Educational Resources (OER), will be provided to help participants understand how to approach digital games as “texts for analysis.” Video tutorials will also be offered for using social media tools and playing digital games. Choice is a main feature of this course; each week, participants will have the choice of completing certain readings (none of which are absolutely required) for the purpose of completing writing exercises. Essentially, the experience of rgMOOC 2 lies with the participants, who can achieve mastery of course content based on the amount of time and effort they put into each week’s tasks.

Course Topics

• Week 1 - Games as Art + Game Genres as Lenses
• Week 2 - Paratextuality of Games
• Week 3 - Game Situations + Game Mechanics
• Week 4 - Procedural Rhetoric of Game Rules
• Week 5 - Game Claims, Assumptions, and Politics
• Week 6 - Game Purpose, Situation, Claims, Audience
• Week 7 - Game Evaluation via Aristotelian Triangle
• Week 8 - Game Refutation + Research
• Week 9 - Proposals + Make a Game!
• Week 10 - Gaming Platforms + Game Competition!

Course Expectations

rgMOOC 2 is a 10 weeks course that offers new topics, readings and assignments each week, so do anticipate that you will be participating in rgMOOC 2 on a weekly basis. However, your participation level in rgMOOC 2 can range from the status of “lurker” (browse through the course content without completing exercises) to the status of “legend” (complete all weekly assignments and participate in all live discussions); this course will offer synchronous and asynchronous participation opportunities, and we want to emphasize that it is your choice on how you want to experience this course. You should possess a proficient understanding of the English language in order to participate in weekly writing exercises. You also will be required to use social media tools and participate in various gaming sessions (please note that we will offer video tutorials to help you understand how to use the tools and play certain games). If you do desire to earn an rgMOOC 2 Completion Badge for the recognition of your work, we offer 2 options for obtaining the badge. Please see the section - Requirements for Obtaining rgMOOC 2 Completion Badge (No Course Credit) to learn about the 2 options.

Course Policies

• Proper Netiquette - Given that we are a massive open online course, please be aware that we expect many international participants from various cultural backgrounds to join us. Therefore, please be considerate of others when commenting and responding to questions and topics in the rgMOOC 2 Directive Co-op discussion forums. We encourage lively discussions and debates that follow the rules of proper netiquette. We want all rgMOOC 2 participants to enjoy this course experience, and all of us would need to be respectful to each other in our discussions and interactions to ensure that the course experience is indeed enjoyable.
• Types of Games Assigned - In order to provide you, the rgMOOC 2 participant, with the most access to digital games (while minimizing game costs to you), the majority of digital games we will assign are free Web games and free PC/Mac Download games, while a few assigned are for-pay digital game titles (such as PS3 games). We highly recommend that you try some of the for-pay digital game titles as they represent some of the best games in their game genres (and they are wonderfully complex, thought provoking, and excellent for game studies). Again, we want to emphasize that it is your choice whether or not you would like to purchase some of the for-pay digital game titles. We will be offering “Let’s Play” gameplay videos particularly for those for-pay digital games.    

Recommended Books, Games, and GameMaker Software

You are not required to purchase books, games, and GameMaker software for passing this course. Most of the readings we assign will be Open Educational Resources (OER). However, we highly recommend that you purchase some of the following to achieve the best learning experience in rgMOOC 2:

1. Bogost, Ian. Persuasive Games:  The Expressive Power of Video Games. August 13, 2010.
2. Jones, Steven E. The Meaning of Video Games:  Gaming and Textual Strategies. February 1, 2008.
3. Minecraft (PC or Mac Download)
4. Bioshock (PC or Mac Download)  or  Fallout 3 (PC Download)
   
5. The Longest Journey (PC Download)  or  Syberia (PC or XBox Download)
6. Journey (PS3 Download) (for those who own a Playstation 3 console only)
7. GameStar Mechanic (Gamemaker Software) - A special rate of $2 for unlocking premium features is offered only to rgMOOC participants (a freeware version with limited features is available as well)

Course Objectives

• Understand how to apply various compositional forms to writing
• Analyze the paratextuality of, for, about, and from digital games
• Recognize the claims and assumptions in digital games
• Identify rhetorical elements in digital games
• Write using appropriate rhetorical devices for the web audience
• Write, revise and edit in collaborative writing environments
• Evaluate gameplay through rhetorical appeals
• Conduct web research to support arguments and rebuttals
• Propose solutions to problems posed by digital game content
• Create a persuasive digital game that demonstrates mastery of procedural rhetoric

Requirements for Obtaining rgMOOC 2 Completion Badge (No Course Credit)

Currently, rgMOOC 2 does not offer course credit upon the completion of this course (only participants registered at Arapahoe Community College as students will be able to obtain course credit). Our main goal is to offer a completely free and open education to all. However, you can earn a rgMOOC 2 Completion Badge that recognizes all of your hard work and accomplishments at the end of the course by completing the following assignments (Choose 1 of 2 completion options):

Option 1

• Post at least 6 Directive Co-ops in 6 separate weeks, as well as respond/provide feedback to fellow participants' posts.
• Participate in at least 6 Live Discussions in 6 separate weeks.
• Participate in at least 2 Collaborative Writing Co-ops in 2 separate weeks.
• Create a persuasive game using Gamestar Mechanic (no coding experience required) that demonstrates the persuasive rhetorical skills we have been studying this semester (average 5 hours of commitment) (Premium Access to Gamestar Mechanic will be provided for you in Week 9)
• Create a Storify page that curates all of the following:

1. All of your Directive Co-Op comments and responses
2. All of your posts at 2 Live Discussions
3. Links to your 2 Collaborative Writing Co-ops
4. Link to your Gamestar Mechanic game (Premium Access to Gamestar Mechanic will be provided for you in Week 9)

Option 2

• Post at least 8 Directive Co-ops in 8 separate weeks, as well as respond/provide feedback to fellow participants' posts.
• Participate in at least 2 Collaborative Writing Co-ops in 2 separate weeks.
• Create a persuasive game using Gamestar Mechanic (no coding experience needed) that demonstrates the persuasive rhetorical skills we have been studying this semester (average 5 hours of commitment) (Premium Access to Gamestar Mechanic will be available for you in Week 9)
• Create a Storify page that curates all of the following:

1. All of your Directive Co-Op comments and responses
2. Link to your 2 Collaborative Writing Co-ops
3. Link to your Gamestar Mechanic game (Premium Access to Gamestar Mechanic will be provided for you in Week 9)

rgMOOC Storify Tutorial

After rgMOOC Week 10 finishes on November 10, 2013, please help us by storing all of your work in Storify, and submit your page to rgmooc@gmail.com.  See the video below to learn how the free tool works:

rgMOOC STORIFY TUTORIAL

**Note: Toward the end of the 10 weeks course, we will provide information on how and where we will offer the rgMOOC 2 Completion Badge. Stay tuned.

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*rgMOOC 1 & 2 UX Design, Gifs, Research, and Curation by Sherry Jones.