CAR: Explaining the Partial Project 1

It seems the instructions for the project were not clear enough for some students. I'm going to try to explain them again, as clearly as I can.

I gave you a packet with pictures of places in Centro Histórico and in Santa María la Ribera. Each packet contained six pages: One with the instructions, and five pages with pictures of one place each. Yes, there is more than one picture in each page. Yes, all the pictures in each page are of only one place. That is five places total per team.

You are supposed to figure out which places they are, go there, and do two things:

1. Take pictures of each team member in each place, either together or separately. For a team of three people, that's a maximum of 15 pictures (if everyone takes a separate picture in each place) or a minimum of 5 pictures (if the entire team takes only one picture per place). I don't care how you do it, but just show me the whole team went to the five places at some point.

2. Record a video in each place where you show every person in the team went to every place in the route, show the architecture of the visited places, and answer the only question in the project that will be graded for CAR: What does the visited building or monument tell us about the time when it was built?

Once you have done these two things, you should go to your computer and follow these steps:

1. Edit the video so it answers the above question regarding each place in a maximum of 1 minute per place. Yes, you have to answer the question for each place you visited. Whether if you make a 5-minute video with the five places or five 1-minute videos is up to you. Since that is not mentioned in the rubric, it won't affect your grade. Since our class is in English, the video will be in English. Since I won't be grading the written portion, it's not relevant for me whether if you write it in English or Spanish.

2. Make a map where you show the five places you visited and the route you followed. You may do this on Google Maps and take a screenshot. Yes, you need to include it. Yes, it's part of the rubric.

3. Make a Sway presentation that includes 4 (four) elements: A written portion that will be graded for Habilidades del pensamiento, the photographs mentioned above, the edited video or videos where you answered the questions, and the map. Sway is a dynamic substitute for PowerPoint, so the layout is similar. Whether if you make one slide where you include the five written portions, all the pictures, and a single 5-minute video, or one separate slide for each place is up to you. Yes, you have to mention the five places, and show the five places in the video and the photographs. Yes, I need proof that you were all present in the places you visited, whether together or separately. Since the quality of the presentation or the videos is not mentioned in the rubric, it is entirely up to you. I find Sway to be quite intuitive, especially because it's similar to PowerPoint, but if you still have problems with Sway, I recommend following this very clear tutorial. Since Sway is mentioned in the rubric, yes, you have to use it, and yes, I will take away points if you use another application. Yes, if you refuse to be in the video or in the pictures, I will take away points. Photographic and video evidence is part of the rubric. 

4. E-mail me a link to your Sway presentation on February 3, 2017, before midnight. I was going to allow extensions upon request, but not anymore. Since I allowed to you make your own teams, there is no individual portion in the grade for this project. If I get the e-mail after 12:00 (even at 12:01), your entire team will have a zero.

That is literally it. I won't be grading the written portion, and I did not explain anything here that was not already mentioned in the rubric and the instructions, which you got in printed form and have been able to access since a week ago in this same blog. The objective of this project is for you to do touristy things and reflect on the topics we discussed in the past two weeks: Porfiriato and Mexican Revolution. I don't understand why there was so much confusion, but I hope it's clearer now. See you on Monday, when Oscar might join us and we will review these instructions carefully. If you have any questions, you may send me a polite e-mail or ask me politely.