Digital Communication Instruction Certificate
Digital Communication Capstone
Your capstone is a digital assignment or instructional module you will use in your own course. Submit it with a rationale for your design choices, your assessment approach, and the way the module puts digital rhetoric and the AI literacy framework to work. Complete the three core modules and one elective before you submit. Plan on 4 to 6 hours.
Part A. Course and context
The course, its level, and where the assignment or module falls in the semester. Describe the digital communication students do in this course now and where they struggle.
Part B. The assignment or module
The full assignment prompt or module materials as students will see them. Your Module 1 analysis assignment, Module 2 project design, or Module 3 operative decision document makes a strong starting point.
Part C. Assessment and accessibility
How you will evaluate the work, including criteria or a rubric, and how the design meets the accessibility practices from the certificate.
Part D. Design rationale
One to two pages on the reasoning behind the design. Which frameworks shaped it, what you decided about AI tools in this assignment and why, and what you expect to be hardest to put into practice.
How CWSP reviews the capstone
CWSP first checks the materials in Part B against WCAG 2.2 AA. A capstone with access barriers in those materials comes back for revision before review begins. A reviewer then rates each part against the description below. A part earns its full weight when it meets the description, half its weight when one element is missing or underdeveloped, and none when it does not yet address the description. CWSP approves a capstone with a weighted total of 80 percent or more. A capstone below 80 percent comes back with comments on the parts to revise, and you resubmit those parts.
| Part | Weight | Full weight when it | Half weight when it |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Course and context | 20% | Names the course, its level, and where the assignment falls, and describes the digital communication students do now and where they struggle. | Names the course but does not describe the digital communication students do now or where they struggle. |
| B. The assignment or module | 30% | Presents the full prompt or module materials as students will see them, with the audience, purpose, format, and an AI use policy stated for students. | Presents the prompt but leaves out one of audience, purpose, format, or the AI use policy. |
| C. Assessment and accessibility | 25% | Gives criteria or a rubric tied to the assignment’s purpose, and states the accessibility requirements students meet and how the materials themselves meet WCAG 2.2 AA. | Gives criteria but leaves out the accessibility requirements or the WCAG 2.2 AA check of the materials. |
| D. Design rationale | 25% | Explains, in your own voice, which frameworks shaped the design, what you decided about AI tools and why, and names one part you expect to be hard to put into practice and your plan for it. | Explains which frameworks shaped the design but leaves the AI decision unexplained, or names no hard part with a plan for it. |
Length: 5 to 8 pages, not counting appendices. Share a Google Doc link or paste each part below. A capstone template (Word, opens in Google Docs) sets out Parts A to D with this rubric as an appendix. To send a file instead, email kkcole2@ncsu.edu with the subject "C²TC Capstone Submission." If you share a Google Doc, set its sharing to “Anyone at NC State University with the link can comment,” or add kkcole2@ncsu.edu as a commenter. A Doc left on Restricted stalls the review.
Submit your capstone
CWSP reviews each capstone before issuing the certificate. Once your capstone is approved, your PDF certificate is emailed to your NC State address.