Capstone Project Frequently Asked Questions

fifthwave-antigravity.gif

 

 

As a Digital Media major, your project typically emphasizes at least one of these areas:

  • Web design
  • User experience/user interface design (UX/UI)
  • Video production
  • Instructional design
  • Web programming
  • Application programming

You do not need to cover all of these areas. Consider going deeply into one of these areas to demonstrate your mastery.

Consider that your capstone project is as big as several regular size assignments. Building a 5 page web portfolio site is not enough work, for example. However, such a deliverable could be combined with other deliverables to create a more suitable project.

Do I have to be on campus to participate in the capstone?

For this fall section of capstone, this is offered to online students from anywhere in the world.

For students in North America, you are expected to travel to campus at the end of capstone to present your work. This will be the weekend of December 12-13. This date has been confirmed as of 5/26/15.

***There are exceptions to the in-class requirement. If you are not in North America, you may be able to participate remotely. Other exceptions are possible. If you have questions, please contact Jen (jen@jenkramer.org) about your specific situation. 

May I have a client?

Yes, it's possible that you're creating deliverables for a real-world client. However, keep in mind that your graduation must come first with this project. It's possible that what you need to create and deliver for school will differ from what the client requires. You will need to consider how to balance these demands carefully.

May I work on a project for work?

It's possible to work on something work-related for your capstone. However, there are three criteria that must be met in a work-related project.

  1. The project is the student's alone.  You cannot have contributions to the project from co-workers.
  2. The can be no prohibition of the student publishing the result. We will not sign any non-disclosure agreements for your work. Other students must be able to see what you're doing. 
  3. The project cannot be on a manager's schedule.  That is, we get to say when it is done, and we get to give extensions; the manager cannot. Keep in mind that sometimes school requirements and work requirements can conflict. We are stating that the school requirements win in this situation. You may need to rework the project for work considerations after the capstone is over.

Where else might I find a project?

Think about problems that can be solved by technology (often a website) or video. 

Videos should be an original film, directed by the student, that is approximately 15-30 minutes long. The student may have others work on it, but the student must direct the film. A fully realized version of the proprosed project is expected.

Websites typically have some level of "programming" attached to them. This could be achieved through:

  • customization of a content management system (CMS)
  • a hand-coded web application, often based in PHP/MySQL and/or JavaScript

If your project focuses on heavier programming (a hand-coded web application), less emphasis is typically put on the design and user experience. If more off-the-shelf technologies are used (as with a CMS), more customization with the HTML/CSS and UI/UX aspects of the site are expected.

What are some examples of past projects?

This information will be included at the conclusion of the spring Capstone course.

How "big" is big enough?

Since the capstone is as long as one course, you should expect that your project should be an entire semester's worth of deliverables. Consider how much time you spend doing homework and assignments for a typical Extension course -- that's how much time you need to spend on your capstone.