CSE 100/INFO 100 Fluency with Information Technology: Project 1: A Website of Misinformation

CSE 100/INFO 100 Fluency with Information Technology
Project 1: A Website of Misinformation
"You can fool too many of the people too much of the time" -- James Thurber

Preparation:

You are required to have completed Lab 3 and Lab 4 before starting this assignment.
You are also required to have read the following before starting this assignment.

Project Overview:

For this project your challenge is to create a website of "misinformation" that appears as authentic as possible to the user. While the content of your website will be questionable, everything else about your website should convey the opposite. Basically you will be creating a website that has false claims, yet contains information that appears as authentic as possible to a user.

You may choose any content area for your website as long as it is in good taste and permits comfortable viewing by everyone in the course. If you're unsure about the "tastefulness" of a particular content, it is probably a good idea to talk with your TA or professor first, or choose something else.

Do not violate any rules/policies as stated in the University Computing Policies:

http://www.cs.washington.edu/education/courses/cse100/CurrentQtr/conduct100.html

Overall Project Objectives:

Overall Project Steps:

The project consists of two parts with separate turn-in dates. In part 1a, you will plan the website, assemble the raw materials, and describe your plan. In part 1b, you will write your web pages, produce modified images, and test the effectiveness of your website.

Detailed Project Steps:

a) Descriptive page title (i.e. the text in the title in the head of the web page) and main heading (i.e. enclosed in an h1, h2, etc. tag). (2 points)

b) One paragraph describing what the topic of your misinformation website will be. (4 points)

c) 1-5 pictures (.jpeg, .jpg, .bmp, .gif, various formats etc.). These include:

d) One paragraph citing the source of the original image(s) and your permission or legal rights to use the image(s). There are three cases, each with different requirements. If you are using images from several sources, you may have to use different procedures to get the legal right to use each image.

Case 1) You are using a photo you took yourself. In this case, you must establish copyright for your photo. This requires:

i. Include a copyright notice on or with your image. This consists of the copyright symbol, © or (c), the year, and your name. For this part of the project, you can just include text near your image with the copyright notice. (2 points)
ii. Get concrete evidence that the image existed before you posted it (so others can't claim they had the image earlier). There are several methods, including: printing and mailing a copy to yourself (don't open the envelope after you get it back!), saving the image file on a CD or diskette or other medium where there will be a permanent dated copy. Describe what you did. (2 points)

These web sites provide more info on protecting your work:

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#hsc
http://www.iusmentis.com/copyright/crashcourse/requirements/#formalities

Note that you do not have to register your photo to claim copyright!

Case 2) You are using an image from a web site that permits free use of its images. (Several of these have been pointed out in the labs.) In this case:

i. Almost without exception, sites that provide free images require you to include their copyright notice and a link to the site. Find the site's information on what they require, quote it in your web page, and include a link to it. (2 points)
ii. Do what the site asks, i.e. actually add, near the image, whatever text or links or icons the site asks you to include. Even if the site does not specifically require it, include a link to the site, and to the image itself. (2 points)

Case 3) You want to use an image from a web site that does not state that free use of images is permitted. In this case, you will need to contact the copyright owner to ask for permission, and actually receive permission.

i. Professional sites that supply content have a contact e-mail address or web request form for asking permission. Find this and include a link to it. If it's not a professional site, include a mailto link to the site owner. In either case, include the text of the message you sent requesting permission. (2 points)
ii. Copy the text of the e-mail you got back, granting permission to use the image, into your project1a.html web page. Include a link to the site from which you got the image, and to the image itself. (2 points)

e) One paragraph describing how you plan to manipulate the image(s), and what you plan to use it(them) for. (4 points)

f) Your site must be valid according to the HTML 4.01 Transitional Rules. The W3C MarkUp Validation Service website can be found here: http://validator.w3.org (4 points)

a) Descriptive page title and main heading. (2 points)

b) Your modified images. (4 points)

c) Two paragraphs supporting your story of misinformation. The text should reinforce the authenticity of your image(s). (4 points)

d) At least 3 working links to other websites that "support" the misinformation on your page. For instance, if you are doing a webpage on the discovery of alien life forms on Mars, you may want to include a site such as http://www.nasa.gov. Be creative here, and try to find links that really make your webpage look authentic and credible. (4 points)

e) Working link to your disclaimer page (which will be described later). (2 points)

a) Descriptive title and main heading. (2 points)

b) Additional information CLEARLY stating that the misinformation page contains false information. (2 points)

c) A working link back to your misinformation page. (2 points)

d) Images that demonstrate and acknowledge the deception:

e) One paragraph citing the source of the original image(s) and permission / legal rights to use them, along with any required text or links that must be included with the images. See the requirements for getting permission to use images given in part 1a (section d) -- include the same information and links here. (4 points -- point breakdown is same as in part 1a section d)

f) One paragraph explaining how you manipulated the images in Photoshop or other photo manipulation program. (4 points)

g) Test your site on 2 individuals (preferably who do not know you are working on this project.) and ask them to rate you on the "Characteristics of Legitimate Sites" (In Chapter 5, page 139).

h) Two paragraphs discussing misinformation on the web, the ethical issues involved with misinformation on the web, and the problems that can arise due to the presence of misinformation. Things to think about or discuss: Who is capable of doing this? Who is responsible for the information? What should information seekers be aware of (or beware of)? Etc. (4 points)

Important:

Turn-in procedure

You will be submitting your project 1 files through a Catalyst turn-in (linked from the course web site). Upon submission, you will get an online receipt verifying the files you have turned in. Please SAVE this receipt -- just in case something does go wrong, you'll have proof you submitted the assignment.

We will be grading the exact files you will be submitting online so if you do not submit any files, we will have nothing to grade!

See the "Coursework, Workload, Late/Missed Exam Policy" listed on the course website concerning late assignments.

Always turn in what you have completed, partial or otherwise: some credit is better than no credit!