ASSETT http://assett.colorado.edu University of Colorado Mon, 20 May 2013 17:48:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Collaborative Reading of Academic Articles http://assett.colorado.edu/collaborative-reading-of-academic-articles/ http://assett.colorado.edu/collaborative-reading-of-academic-articles/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:17:51 +0000 admin http://assett.colorado.edu/?p=1068 Reading and understanding academic articles are critical parts of social science education. Academic articles help students’ learning in following ways. First, they complement instructors’ lectures, sometimes by providing some redundancy and at other times by providing supplementary materials. Second, they promote critical thinking by tracing through scientific investigative processes, which students can evaluate. Third, they promote reading skills by helping students learn to read efficiently and productively.

Despite these benefits, students do not engage with their reading assignments effectively. Most students read at a level too cursory to reap the benefits I outline above, and their absorption of the material is minimal at best. However, instructors teaching classes larger than small seminars cannot devote significant time to reading and dissecting reading assignments in class, as such an endeavor would be both highly time consuming and have uncertain payoffs for students. While I do not have data to support my intuition, I suspect that students’ engagement with reading assignments has fallen over the years. (There is certainly data that students spend less time on coursework than they used to.) One possible factor is instructors’ increasing reliance on digital forms of academic articles as opposed to printed and bound readers. The former makes it difficult for students to grab a pen, mark up readings and actively engage with the reading. Students are more likely to passively skim the readings on their computer, simply clicking or scrolling to turn the pages. Technological tools have emerged and are emerging to address these deficiencies. Touch-screen-based tablet computers and e-readers, in conjunction with good software, can closely emulate the experience of reading printed articles with a pen and a highlighter. The affordability of these tools, however, is likely to be still too low for most students. A contrasting approach is taken by tools that transform reading into a more social experience. For example, NB (nb.mit.edu) allows users in a group to collaboratively mark up any PDFs uploaded. Students can mark up a reading by highlighting passages, posting questions or remarks linked to the mark-ups and respond to one another’s mark-ups, questions and remarks. The tool turns reading away from being a solitary endeavor to a collaborative one. With the onslaught of information that students confront everyday, their attention span is likely getting shorter increasingly. Yet, the benefits that they would reap from actively engaging with academic articles remain high. This presents a compelling reason for instructors both to increase the attractiveness of reading academic articles and to facilitate students’ attempts to critically engage them.]]> http://assett.colorado.edu/collaborative-reading-of-academic-articles/feed/ 0 Implementing Collaborative Reading http://assett.colorado.edu/implementing-collaborative-reading/ http://assett.colorado.edu/implementing-collaborative-reading/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:17:34 +0000 admin http://assett.colorado.edu/?p=1066 In the initial post, I explored the need for using collaborative reading as a way to facilitate students’ absorption of academic articles. In the follow-up post, I examined the learning outcomes that collaborative reading could produce and how any improvements in the outcomes could be linked to the use of the technology. In this post, I outline a plan for implementing collaborative reading via NB—an online tool enabling students to collaboratively mark up and annote PDF-based readings—in my two courses next semester (Spring 2013).

One course I will be teaching is Political Science 4193-705 “International Political Economy.” A particular challenge for this course is that it is a Global Residential Academic Program (GRAP) course, to be facilitated in a residence hall for 18 mostly freshman students. Although the freshman students will be in their second semester of college education, they will have had significantly less exposure to reading academic articles than upper-division students. This challenge, however, will also provide an opportunity to teach students how to read academic articles not simply to read collaboratively. Despite the unconventional setting, composition and size of the course, the overarching aim of the course remains the same as other versions of the same course I teach—for students to understand and become knowledgeable about the political and economic causes and consequences of how the international economy functions. To achieve this goal, I will incorporate collaborative reading (through NB or other comparable technological solution) as one of pedagogical tools. Starting in the third week of the semester, I will assign one article a week for students to read collaboratively. Actively utilizing the collaborative reading system will be mandatory, and students will be required to make at least one comment and pose one question per assigned reading. Successfully completing this requirement will constitute 10% of their course grade. Instead of immediately jumping into complex academic articles, however, I will slowly ratchet up the difficulty of the reading. During weeks three, four and five, students will collaboratively read relatively short journalistic accounts about some international economic phenomena. This will get them used to using the tool and to exploiting the social and collaborative aspects of the technology. Then, during weeks six through ten, students will collaboratively read popular academic writings—for example, those contained in the journal _Foreign Affairs_. I will encourage students to identify authors’ central argument and evidence that they advance to support their argument. Lastly, during weeks eleven through fourteen, I will assign articles from top academic journals. By this point, students should be accustomed to collaborative reading and to looking for argument and evidence and thus ready to take on a more difficult task. The other course I will be teaching is Political Science 7073, a graduate seminar on “Global Political Economy.” Although I have been piloting collaborative reading and developing plans for using it in the context of undergraduate courses, the technology can be usefully implemented in a graduate seminar. Running an effective graduate seminar poses a challenge in that faculty members usually do not know how much of the assigned readings students absorbed and what overlapping concerns, comments or questions students have about the readings and the topics for the week. Collaborative reading will facilitate everyone coming to class in agreement about what the agenda for discussion should be. A possible resistance for implementing the collaborative reading system at the graduate level might be that students have developed their own preferred way of reading, from which they are unwilling to deviate. To acclimate and persuade students of the utility of collaborative reading, I will start with minimal requirements during the early weeks—one comment and one question per reading—and slowly ratchet up the requirements throughout the semester.]]> http://assett.colorado.edu/implementing-collaborative-reading/feed/ 0 Improving Learning Outcomes through Collaborative Reading http://assett.colorado.edu/improving-learning-outcomes-through-collaborative-reading/ http://assett.colorado.edu/improving-learning-outcomes-through-collaborative-reading/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:17:14 +0000 admin http://assett.colorado.edu/?p=1064 In my previous post I explored the need and value for exploring new models of facilitating students’ reading of academic articles. In this post, I examine some specific learning outcomes that we can pursue through collaborative reading.

The broad outcomes I strive for in incorporating collaborative reading into my class are greater breadth and the depth of students’ reading. I would like to see a higher number of students meaningfully engage the assigned academic readings and students engage the readings beyond the shallow level at which they typically do the assigned readings. If collaborative reading in fact promotes these outcomes, I expect to see more students coming to class having done the reading and students coming to class prepared to engage in discussions and debates beyond the superficial main points of the reading assignments. I expect parallel outcomes in online venues as well. On both the NB collaborative reading system and course discussion forums on D2L course website, students who do not typically participate in class should be more likely to comment on and raise questions about the readings. Moreover, I expect the quality of students’ posted comments and questions to be higher than what they raise in the classroom. More formally, I anticipate that students will be better able to incorporate readings into their exam answers, because they will be more likely to have done the readings and to have understood them better. An ideal research design would involved a randomized experiment. Students would be randomly divided into two different sections. In one of the two sections (the treatment section), students would utilize the collaborative reading system. In the other (the control section), students would do the assigned readings in the traditional manner—individually. Then I can compare the breadth of student participation in class discussions and compare the mean exam scores between the two sections. In lieu of this ideal design, I can employ a research design that exploits over-time variation in each of my two sections. Prior to the midterm, students did not use the collaborative reading system because of the technical barriers of incorporating the system into their workflow. After the midterm, I provided an extra incentive to help students overcome the barrier and to begin using the collaborative reading systems. Although the nature of the material covered is substantially different between the two periods, I can attempt to crudely compare students’ engagement and performance. The formal assessment tools are numerous: - Count of students actively participating in discussion in each class session - Count of students who do not participate in class but posting comments/questions on the collaborative reading system - Extensiveness of classroom and online discussions, where extensiveness is measured by back-and-forth exchanges among students on a topic - Quality of student responses on exam questions—students’ summary of readings should be more accurate and students should be able to refer to parts of the readings beyond the main point.]]> http://assett.colorado.edu/improving-learning-outcomes-through-collaborative-reading/feed/ 0 THINK SMALL DREAM BIG http://assett.colorado.edu/think-small-dream-big/ http://assett.colorado.edu/think-small-dream-big/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:16:51 +0000 admin http://assett.colorado.edu/?p=1062 “Don’t think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It’s self-conscious, and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can’t try to do things. You simply must do things.”

                                                                –Ray Radbury (novelist science fiction writer)– Description of the problem, idea or opportunity SUPER-OBJECTIVE: [inspired by Andy] To change someone else’s life PREVIOUS OBJECTIVE for TWT: A)  To learn how to teach with technology for creative, embodied, human-centered subjects (e.g. Performance and Theatre Directing) that normally do not use technology in the classroom.  B) To devise a syllabus for an Interdisciplinary Creativity course. CURRENT OBJECTIVE for TWT: [inspired by Jeffrey] To empower students IDEA:  incorporate technology in creative-type classes by allowing the students to use whatever means they choose to contribute to the same collective end, i.e. the assignment/project.   This way the learner/teacher become indistinguishable in our roles. The intent is to continue foster their creativity, with the enhancement of tech tools. PROBLEMS:
  • Technology Overload – how to make the right choice and the right decision, i.e. what works for Faculty “A” in Department x does not necessarily work for Faculty “B” in Department Y, or what works for Faculty “C” in Course 1 does not necessarily apply to Course 2
  • Limitation of School Prescribed Tool/Software – lack of vision and user adaptability for all  .e. what works for Faculty “A” in Department x does not necessarily work for Faculty “B” in Department Y, or what works for Faculty “C” in Course 1 does not necessarily apply to Course 2
  • Resistance to Change/Inability to Mastery – some of us [me especially] are slow learners, and too set in our own ways – I was a PC user for over 10 years before I changed over to Mac and now I have an imac, Macbook Pro, ipad and iphone but I still have my pink old dusty Dell under the desk.
  • Constant Change – d2L?  CULearn?  DDNS?  CULink?  Exchange?  Outlook?  WordPress?  Googleweb?  infoEd?  UpSes?  VDI?  MetamorphoSIS?
Description of how it has changed over time
  • Technology in Education appears to have transformed from a “student centric “ to a “business induced” industry – Once upon a time, start-ups were touted as geniuses of innovation, motivated by creativity and growth but recently it seems to have become a money driven outfit. It is reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education,
 “In recent years, venture capitalists have poured millions into education-technology start-ups, trying to cash in on a market they see as ripe for a digital makeover. And lately, those wagers have been getting bigger. Investments in education-technology companies nationwide tripled in the last decade, shooting up to $429-million in 2011 from $146-million in 2002, according to the Na­tional Venture Capital Association. The boom really took off in 2009, when venture capitalists pushed $150-million more into education-technology firms than they did in the previous year, even as the economy sank into recession. -http://chronicle.com/article/A-Boom-Time-for-Education/131229/ Description of factors that make it compelling now When is not the issue The question to ask is, why not now? Implications for not solving or addressing it ?  Not sure what this means.]]> http://assett.colorado.edu/think-small-dream-big/feed/ 0 MEASURE in CREATIVITY http://assett.colorado.edu/measure-in-creativity/ http://assett.colorado.edu/measure-in-creativity/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:16:23 +0000 admin http://assett.colorado.edu/?p=1060                               Five hundred twenty-five thousand

Six hundred minutes,

Five hundred twenty-five thousand

Moments so dear.

Five hundred twenty-five thousand

Six hundred minutes

How do you measure, measure a year? 

In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights

In cups of coffee

In inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.

                                                                                           - “Seasons of Love” from the Musical Rent - How about creativity? Measuring effectiveness and growth in performance requires a different approach than the standardized achievement tests.  While the skills level and the absorption and interpretation of techniques can be evaluated, there is always the ‘it’ factor that cannot be measured.   In general, a student of theatre fails and succeeds in the public eyes, so everyone in class can witness and will acknowledge the growth of a singular student.  Now if and when the whole class grows leaps and bounds, that’s how I know the changes I make worked and that’s how I usually measure growth in my own teaching. Except when it comes to teaching with technology in creative/performative classes such as Acting and Directing.  I came to the TWT seminar with the intent to meet and steal from other tech-savvy like-minded colleagues, also also to push myself to go beyond merely grafting existing forms of pedagogy onto new media.  My identified objective is to stimulate/inspire creativity by encouraging the students to use whatever technological means to the collective end.  This is modeled after how innovative technology serves as a handmaiden in theatrical productions—that every play has its unique demands and the same technology might not and cannot work for all the shows. So far, I’ve experimented teaching with technology twice—in Acting 2 and in Advanced Directing.  In all of my classes, I generally adopt an assessment methodology that is both formative and summative: a self-evaluation followed by a group evaluation after the presentation of every assignment.  Sometimes, I may ask the students to submit a written learning assessment as well.  All these help the students to reflect critically on ideas, actions and outcomes. But I think in the future I might add the following means: a)    videotape the performances to assess the effectiveness of the use of technology b)    conduct a short survey to continue questioning and challenging the students’ c)     demonstrate some examples to show the spectrum of technological tools available so they can envisage what might be a potential outcome and how to improve on it d)    take a poll and let the students vote on the best project to make connections between the popular and critical reception Although there is no evidence that the student’s acting ability has improved with the use of technology, there is a marked increased of creativity in how students approach assignments with technology–especially among those students who took both classes with me.  One student wrote, “I want to keep using technology in other performances. The main reason for this is because of the options that it gives to open up scenes and put a different point of view into a scene. Also, I want to put technology to better use in my performances because it is so prevalent in today’s society and will keep becoming more and more advanced.” I welcome any other suggestions that can help unleash creativity through the use of the technology in the classroom.]]> http://assett.colorado.edu/measure-in-creativity/feed/ 0 BRING ‘EM ON http://assett.colorado.edu/bring-em-on/ http://assett.colorado.edu/bring-em-on/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:15:54 +0000 admin http://assett.colorado.edu/?p=1058 Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”                                                                                                                -Scott Adams- (cartoonist)–

I came to TWT with a two-fold objective: a) to learn how to teach with technology for creative, embodied, human-centered subjects such as Performance and Directing and b) to devise a syllabus for an Interdisciplinary Creativity course.    In Fall of 2012, I experimented incorporating technological assignments in two of my classes:

THTR5172 Advanced Directing (Fall 2012).  Graduate Level, 12 students.  Classroom:  Loft Theatre.  Time: T/R 12:30-3:15 Technology Assignments: A)     Digital story-telling  – I adopted the idea from my PWR colleagues at TWT and devised a new assignment for the Directing class that requires use of technology. Using any photography and editing tool of their choice, they will “create a visually and emotionally compelling story through images, with only 1 table 2 chairs 1 actor.” The results went beyond my expectation—the tools they used ranged from Powerpoint, imovie, Final Cut pro, Itunes, Premiere, to Photoshop but the most interesting projects were those that combined live action with the digital story. B)    Directing Pedagogy – Teamed up in pairs, the students are asked to give a presentation on the pedagogy of an inspiring theatre director.  The assignment includes an oral presentation with multi-media tools and a hands-on exercise.  Again, the technology they chose were simple and direct such as Powerpoint, Google Doc, Youtube, C)    Students are also encouraged to incorporate technology in their midterm and final scene projects.  Some created a backdrop of images; others made an entire video.  The technology they use include IMovie, Final Cut Pro, Powerpoint, Keynote. THTR4193 Studio 5: Creating An Ensemble (Fall 2012).  Undergraduate BFA-Performance majors only, 7 students.  Classroom:  Loft Theatre.  Time:  T/R 12:30 to 3:15 A)     This class is the equivalent of a BFA-Performance Senior Showcase where the 7 students adapted 7 short stories for the stage and created an ensemble piece. But since the classroom work is devoted strictly torehearsals, so all the communication, research and homework had to be done outside class.  I created a wiki page for us to share the collaborative research.  http://studio5f2012.pbworks.com/ B)    The students themselves created a website for the class using WordPress. This inspires me to adopt it as a team project for my pilot course on Creativity next semester.  http://custudio5.com In Spring of 2013, I intend to continue experimenting teaching with technology in two other classes. THTR3023 Studio 2: Creating A Role (Spring 2013), Undergraduate BFA-Performance majors only.   16 students.  Classroom: Loft Theatre.   Time: T/R 1-4 pm Technology Assignment: Acting Pedagogy – While this is an assignment that I have used previously for this class, I intend to adopt a new approach by using educational technology for the research component; and embodied hands-on practice for the second part.  I will create a more elaborate wiki page, probably through PBWorks again, and ask the students to supplement their research work with multimedia images. I will also require the class to comment on these research pages.   This is an adaptation of the flipped classroom model where the instruction will take place at home. Norlin3000: Seminar on Creativity (Spring 2013).  Undergraduate-interdisciplinary.  16 students.  Classroom: Norlin Library.  T/R 5-6 pm Technology assignments: A)     Digital story – Technology tools:  Powerpoint, Keynote, Imovie, Premiere, Final Cut B)    Interview Podcast – my colleague at TWT strongly suggested I experimented with an audio assignment and after playing with Audacity for awhile, I devised this idea to creatie a short podcast. C)    Class webpage – As it is has been my dream to create an on-line creativity course, so I want to document the process and showcase the product of the students.  Technology tools:  WordPress or Google web or any free website. D)     Creative Swap Stew Personal Creative Project: examples might include typography animation, music video, poster? E)     Mini TED talk – we will video and post all the talks on the class homepage. In addition, I am very interested in the collaborative reading tool suggested by my TWT colleague Dr. Kim so I might try using http:nb.mit.edu for a couple of the reading assignments.   Furthermore, I am interested in cultivating the Flipped Classroom model—although majority of our theatre classes are flipped already since our classroom/studio work generally involve activity such as exercises, rehearsals and scene work.  I would like to cultivate the other aspect: instruction of knowledge via online technology tools.  I am also fascinated by the Coach’s Eye app and am curious if I can try that on actors.]]> http://assett.colorado.edu/bring-em-on/feed/ 0 Poster Design and Written Analysis http://assett.colorado.edu/poster-design-and-written-analysis/ http://assett.colorado.edu/poster-design-and-written-analysis/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:15:23 +0000 admin http://assett.colorado.edu/?p=1056 Poster Design and Written Analysis in First-Year Writing & Rhetoric

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT:  Since the University of Colorado’s WRTG 1150, “First-Year Writing & Rhetoric” classes are intimate learning spaces in which CU students gain their introduction to university writing, it is essential to introduce innovative and effective technological pedagogies at this level.  That Writing & Rhetoric courses invite the creative interplay of written, visual, and sound communications, further emphasizes the need for powerful multimedia pedagogies—not as add-ons or filler—but as a fundamental aspect of course content.   The small class size of 18-20 students will allow us to achieve these goals with hands-on experiential learning that encourages a fearless attitude towards exploring new technologies in relation to persuasive writing and the extent to which they can help meet the overarching goals of WRTG 1150. PURPOSE:  To help students in WRTG 1150 develop the ability to see persuasive communication as the interrelationship between LOGOS and PATHOS across a range of interacting contemporary media: written, aural and visual.  We hope to foster the perception that written persuasion must work to establish a creative interplay with visual images, video, sound, web 2.0 technologies, and social media, all of which have such a pervasive influence in contemporary social persuasion. TECHNOLOGY & METHOD:  I have designed a short 3.5-week unit of Poster Persuasion and Written Reflection to meet these complex rhetorical objectives.  For this Unit Two assignment, students will design two different 17” X 11” poster treatments of a specific and original organizational “call to action,” as well as a powerfully argued 3-page Analysis/Reflection of their poster goals and rhetorical strategies.  Outcomes will be determined by asking students to submit all drafts of their posters, and more importantly, by emphasizing that students will be graded 50% on their ability to reflect and analyze their overarching persuasive concept in written form, rather than exclusively on the profession quality of their final text/image design. SPECIFIC TECHNOLOGIES:  Working in the design medium of their choice—Powerpoint, Gimp, Photoshop, In Design, etc—students will gain an understanding of “persuasive composition” as the skillful manipulation of text slogans (or “call to actions”) in relation to their 11” X 17” poster images.  The holistic nature of human sight demands that these two seeming distinct forms of persuasion—TEXT SLOGAN and IMAGE—must be merged if the students’ chosen audience is to be persuaded in poster form.  During this 3.5 week project, we will consult numerous real-world poster models; hold in-class seminars in image/text poster design; create small group feedback teams; and discuss our developing work—both the written analysis and the two 11” x 17” poster treatments—in large group workshops.  Atlas labs are available if students need them, as will the mentorship of graphic designer Dave Underwood in OIT.]]> http://assett.colorado.edu/poster-design-and-written-analysis/feed/ 0 Project Solution Statement http://assett.colorado.edu/project-solution-statement/ http://assett.colorado.edu/project-solution-statement/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:15:00 +0000 admin http://assett.colorado.edu/?p=1054 Indicators of Successful Pedagogy How will you know if your students have achieved the intended outcome? Since my pedagogical outcome is, “to help my students develop the paradoxical ability to write clear, creative, logical reasoning and evidence SIMULTANEOUSLY with powerful emotional writing, while recognizing the persuasive interplay of visual images, video, sound, and social media in contemporary society,” I am designing a short 3-week unit of Poster Persuasion and Written Reflection/analysis.  For this Unit two assignment, students will design two different 17” X 11” treatments of their original organizational call to action, and craft a powerfully argued 3-page analysis and reflection of their poster.  Outcomes will be determined by asking students to submit all drafts of their posters, and more importantly emphasizing that students will be graded on their ability to reflect and analyze their persuasive concept, not the profession quality of their visual design. How will you know if the changes you made in your teaching made a difference? I hope to gather written evidence in their 3 page reflections of how the assignment meets course goals by determining how well students are able to argue for the overall concept of their work according to several explicit categories: 1) Storytelling, 2) Irony, 3) Thematic contrast, 4) Humor, 5) Shock or Fear, 6) Rhythm, 7) Tribalism, 8) Rhetorical content 9) Audience and 10) Call to action. The creation of short poster slogans also constitutes and important aspect of evaluation, as students are asked to discuss their slogan-designing process in detail, especially as pertains to how word and image conjoin to create their call to action.  The quality of the writing in this short assignment, in its power of voice and narrative skill, will also offer insight into whether of not the assignment has given them a greater ability to generate powerful writing that merges logos and pathos and to make persuasion choices, “recognizing the persuasive interplay of visual images and texts.” How will you identify/measure growth in your students or in your teaching? I’m not sure how this is different from above, as I have tried to specify in Q #2 that “know[ing]” whether or not the pedagogical changes worked, can only be assessed or measured subjectively through an evaluation of the student analysis/reflection.  Although the quality of the poster design will give some imput as to the ‘real world” success of the assignment, it will really be judged bases on their written ability to discuss the rhetorical strategy of persuasion in a lucid and powerful way.   It does strike me, however, that growth could also be measured in an interactive presentation in the public sphere.  If the most successful 17” x 11” posters were displayed on campus, either solo or in a large group, each with a brief, typed passage of high quality, engaging student reflection, it would be fascinating to gage public (or administrative) reaction as a further example of measuring growth.]]> http://assett.colorado.edu/project-solution-statement/feed/ 0 Project Problem Statement http://assett.colorado.edu/project-problem-statement/ http://assett.colorado.edu/project-problem-statement/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:14:33 +0000 admin http://assett.colorado.edu/?p=1052 Identify Challenge

I would like to help my students develop the paradoxical ability to write clear, creative, logical reasoning and evidence SIMULTANEOUSLY with powerful emotional writing, while recognizing the interplay of visual images, video, sound, and social media—as these multimodal media influence the persuasive performance of BOTH logical and emotional writing.  Obviously there are many options here for 1st year 1150 classes: the two I am considering for this TWT project are 17” X 11” poster design or Digital Storytelling Multimodal persuasion. Change Over Time In the last decade, the field of Rhetoric and Composition has responded to the explosion of cell phones, digital social media, and mobile internet access with a deep concern for what it ultimately means for the teaching of college writing—especially with that generation of students to whom these modes of persuasion are as quotidian as pencil and paper.  This presents myriad challenges to writing instruction specialists who seek to remain current with best-practices that ensure the relevance of Writing and Rhetoric instruction in the Digital age.  There is a whole world of expertise that foundates great writing instruction, and yet it must grow and open itself to multimodal writing instruction IF IT IS TO MAKE THE CASE FOR ITS OWN RELEVANCE IN THE MOST PERSUASIVE MEDIA OF OUR ERA. Description of Factors that Make it Compelling Now If the cell phone is the contemporary tool of PERSUASION par excellence, then college Writing & Rhetoric classes must respond by allowing students to investigate the merging of image, video, audio, and text in assignments that build a deeper understanding of multimodal composition without losing sight of the importance of text communication in academia and beyond.  Alongside other “pure text” assignments, I would like to explore this goal in a 1st year assignment that unites text and image in a 17” X 11” standard poster design using photoshop, gimp, or powerpoint.  This will have the dual benefit of allowing us to consider the compression of “academic language” into slogans and sound bites, etc, while embodying the merging of pathos and logos, visual image and alphabetic text.  A powerful 2-page written evaluation of rhetorical strategies will ensure compliance with alphabetic text curricular goals and strive for the highest level of audience relevance. Implications for not Changing Since Writing Programs are not huge grant earners (as are some of our counterparts are in the physical sciences) it is incumbent upon us to stay relevant to a changing society and its changing norms of persuasion.   Irrelevance is not an impossible outcome—if we remain unable to merge greater skill in digital composition with academic textual instruction.  Since this obsolescence can be avoided with real growth for writing instructors, we should set fear and doubt in approaching the ever-changing rush of new media and gain greater comfort as genuine explorers in an astoundingly vital and creative time of communication and new-media persuasion.]]> http://assett.colorado.edu/project-problem-statement/feed/ 0 Summary http://assett.colorado.edu/summary-3/ http://assett.colorado.edu/summary-3/#comments Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:14:08 +0000 admin http://assett.colorado.edu/?p=1050 http://assett.colorado.edu/summary-3/feed/ 0