DWRL Lesson Plans - Social Media

Using Twitter for Class Reading and Participation

Roberts — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 23:10:56 +0000

Author:

Image Credit:

Brief Assignment Overview:

Instead of required blog posts or reading quizzes, I require my students to interact with each week's reading and each other by "live-tweeting" their reading process. This VERY informal method of participation takes lots of the pressure off of their responses and encourages them to engage more with the class texts.

Type of Assignment:

Homework Assignment

Semester-long Project

Assignment Length:

Semester-long Project

Pedagogical Goals - Literature:

Close Reading

Textual Analysis

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Collaboration

Multimedia

Social Media

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

Class participation, class interaction, promoting discussion.

Media Requirements:

Adaptable For Use Without Classroom Technology

Required Materials:

The participation assignment requires each student to either create a twitter account or to use an exisiting one; to show them how to do this there should be some available computer (ideally with an overhead projector). After the first day, though, most of the technological interaction will take place outside of class.

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Useful Anytime

First Day/Week

Early in the Semester

Full Assignment Description:

On the first day/week of class, I introduced the concept of reading participation, a way to show that every student is reading the course texts and thinking about them. I went through previous attempts to gague the student engagement, including pop quizzes (cue groans). I then announced that this semester I was going to try something different, and require students to live-tweet their reading process. This amounts to each student creating or using a twitter account to post responses to and questions about each week's reading. I explained that although I will read the tweets, my interaction will be minimal; twitter is to be a space for the students to feel free to express whatever, and to interact with each other. I emphasized that it is fine, even encouraged, to express superficial, banal, or even "stupid" reactions to the reading, as long as there are occasional thought-out and perceptive observations. I let them know that I expect around 3 substantial tweets a week (see instructions below), but that they should feel free to do many more. I also emphasized that, if they choose to use a personal account, I have no interest in invading their privacy or reading their personal tweets. To allow for some privacy, I do not follow students, but will instead check the class #hashtag every week. We came up with our class hashtag (ours was #disgustE314), and I told them to make sure to tag every post with it so I could see them all in one feed. Since we were in a compter classroom, I then gave the class a few minutes to log in or set up twitter accounts, encouraging the twitter-experienced students to help out the newbies. I had everyone send their first tweet with the hashtag, and that was that. Since then I have opened class by addressing one or two questions or comments from twitter, to show that I have been reading, and we have occasionally used a twitter question as a discussion starter.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

First, be familiar with twitter and create an instructor account for this class/other professional uses.

Instructions For Students:

Twitter: For participation and preparation for this class you will be expected to use twitteroutside the classroom. To do this you can use your personal twitter or create a new account; to respect your privacy I will not follow anyone. For me to see your tweets, be sure to mention me and/or use the class hashtag. I will expect a general output of around 3 tweets a week for this class; in general one of those tweets should be an interpretive question about the reading, and one should respond to another classmate. I will occasionally use student tweets to begin discussion on the week's reading, so be sure to have something before class begins. I understand that the semester can get very busy, and will allow you to miss a week or so, but expect consistent and engaged participation with the texts and class outside of class. If you choose to "livetweet" your reading process, all the better.

Evaluation Suggestions:

My evaluation thus far has been very general, even abstract. I read the twitter feed at least once a week, and make a few notes of students who are making particularly insightful comments, and also noting anyone who isn't posting. Like most "participation" grades, I expect my process at the end to be very impressionistic and generous to those students who contribute. I also try to give individual students answers or feedback in class to reward more active participation.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

So far I would say that twitter participation has been high and relatively engaged. Since I require students to tweet at each other, I hope to create more of a personal class community in the classroom. This is my first semester using this assignment, though, so it won't be for a while that I see long-term results. I may very well write a blog post about this later in the semester.

Course Type:

Literary Studies Course

Course Description:

In this course we will examine books that have been banned in England and America for "graphic" or "explicit" content. What has offended in these texts is (supposedly) not distasteful political or religious sensibilities, but instead a depiction of that which "should not be shown": usually sex, violence, or depravity. This sort of literature raises interesting questions about the role of disgust (or horror) in literature. Are there acts, events, or cultures that should not be shown? Is disgust purely a negative reaction, or might it yield positive results? Is explicit material worth defending for its own sake (see, for example, the recent controversy over The Human Centipede 2 in Britain), or must it be serving some other artistic, political, or religious purpose? Does what an era finds disgusting reveal something about the culture's changing sensibilities?

Charting violent, sexual, and gory literature from the sixteenth century to today, we will examine both the thematic uses of explicit literature as well as reactions to it. In doing so, we will discuss the disgusting, the horrific, and the graphic as both a literary motif and a point of tension within a culture.

This course will combine close reading of primary sources with the study of secondary critical essays in order to understand how the historical and cultural contexts surrounding these works (and the controversies they sparked) relate to their formal characteristics as literary artifacts. In the process, students will also learn how to use library databases including such as the online Oxford English Dictionary as well as other resources essential to literary study.

Tags:

Participation

Twitter

Social Media

Reading comprehension

Student Digital Activism as Rhetorical Advocacy/Analysis

Hoag — Sun, 04 Aug 2013 21:05:39 +0000

Author:

Trevor L. Hoag

Image Credit:

Graphic posted on xomariee.wordpress.com

Brief Assignment Overview:

This assignment challenges students to become digital activists/advocates for a cause of their choosing, and aids them in developing a portfolio of work in the service of that cause.

Type of Assignment:

Semester-long Project

Assignment Length:

Semester-long Project

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Pedagogical Goals - Literature:

Close Reading

Textual Analysis

Word Choice

Pedagogical Goals - Writing:

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Media Requirements:

Technology-Based Classroom (computers for each student)

Timeline for Optimal Use:

First Day/Week

Full Assignment Description:

This ambitious assignment challenges students to become digital activists/advocates for a cause of their choosing, and aids them in developing a portfolio in the service of that cause. Students begin the class by researching a cause to advocate for such as vegetarianism, marriage equality, or gun rights. Students then produce a series of compelling “media artifacts” for that cause such as social media websites, blog sites or websites, an image or infographic/meme, an “anti-artifact” in the form of information deletion/lockdown, a digital map or timeline, and finally, a collaborative project. Instructors can also ask students to “justify” their artifacts by theoretically analyzing them and by comparing them to other analogous artifacts.

Note: Many other options for artifacts exist such as games, videos, and more.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

Not for the faint of heart, instructors who wish to employ this assignment arc must familiarize themselves with a number of different technologies including, for example: Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress, tumblr., Wix, easel.ly, Wordle, quickmeme, Storify, and many other applications. However, instructors should not fear discovering and learning new technologies alongside their students as it encourages a more “horizontal” classroom structure. An instructor who attempts such an assignment will learn much!

Instructions For Students:

In this course on digital writing/humanities, you will become a digital activist in the service of a cause. You will develop a portfolio of work in the service of this cause that you will present at the end of the semester. You are also responsible for theoretically analyzing the “media artifacts” that you create by applying course readings as well as comparing the rhetorical strategies you have employed with other similar (or different) media artifacts.

Step #1: Research a cause to advocate for across the arc of the semester. You have a lot of options, so make sure you care deeply about the cause for which you are advocating. Students in past courses have become digital activists regarding, for instance: body image, disability, cheating in sports, net neutrality, vegetarianism, cyber-bullying, women’s health services, marriage equality, and much more!

Step #2: Once you have an exciting/fulfilling cause to advocate for, you will now begin producing and analyzing “media artifacts” in the service of that cause. In this particular course, you will produce six different types of digital media/humanities writing: a social media website (or sites), a blog site or website, an image or infographic (which can include a series of memes), an “anti-artifact” in which you will delete or lock down information online, a digital map or timeline, and finally, a collaborative project with others in the class. You do not have to have any prior knowledge of the technologies that you employ to develop your artifacts—a big part the assignment is just exploring! So take a look at the following examples, create accounts on whatever sites you think will work best, and go to town!

P.S., It’s a big help to find others in the class who are using similar sites/technologies or advocating for similar causes at any given time. Start collaborating as soon as you can, and you’ll find it eases your classroom tasks immensely!

REMINDER: Every artifact is accompanied by a 1-page theoretical analysis. For example, one might discuss one’s Twitter feed in reference to, say, Denis Campbell’s Egypt Unshackled: Using Social Media to @#:) the System. Likewise, all deletions should engage Viktor Mayer-Schonberger’s Delete: The Virtues of Forgetting in a Digital Age. Analyses are also encouraged to include comparisons/contrastings of rhetorical strategies with other similar artifacts, whether those of student colleagues or “outsiders.”

Artifact A (Social Media—Facebook, Pintrest, Twitter, etc.)

https://www.facebook.com/veggiedc?ref=hl

https://www.facebook.com/NoSpecialTreatmentofReligiousOrganization?ref=hl

http://pinterest.com/pin2891/rhe312/

http://pinterest.com/gendernorms/genders-created-by-society/

https://twitter.com/kidsaresponges

https://twitter.com/ChurchesTax

Artifact B (Blog or Website—tumblr., Wordpress, Blogspot, Jux, Wix, etc.)

http://loverealyou.tumblr.com/

http://lgbtmarriagenow.tumblr.com/

http://fucknoqueerfetishization.wordpress.com/

http://healthstartfoundation.wordpress.com/

https://aforactivism.jux.com/

http://copywritecopy.wix.com/copyrightorwrong

http://getyourkidsoffline.blogspot.com/

Artifact C (Image—easel.ly, quickmeme, Photoshop, Paint, etc.)

http://i.imgur.com/1vX9GVx.jpg

https://s3.amazonaws.com/easel.ly/all_easels/92675/Drugusage/image.jpg

https://s3.amazonaws.com/easel.ly/all_easels/94299/Queerfetishization/image.jpg

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3t8ws8/

http://www.wordle.net/

http://www-958.ibm.com/software/analytics/manyeyes/

Artifact D (Deletion)

Note: The deletion is in some ways the hardest artifact to produce. Essentially, your goal is to “become-imperceptible” by removing yourself from the Web, or by blocking access to content that’s related to you and/or your cause. You can also find a website or application to analyze that “deletes” something for you. Be creative and try your best! (See also: http://lessonplans.dwrl.utexas.edu/content/becoming-imperceptible-or-how-disappear-completely)

https://duckduckgo.com/

http://suicidemachine.org/

Artifact E (Map or Timeline—Google Maps, Text2MindMap, Storify, Zeega, Tiki-toki, ManyEyes, Wordle, etc.)

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210792301150685076515.0004d98cf1fb8dcdd07a1&msa=0

http://www.text2mindmap.com/vBL47F

http://storify.com/Dopeandsports/drug-enhancement-in-professional-sports

http://storify.com/ryleegonzalez/queer-fetishization-and-gay-marriage

http://storify.com/dawn1/women-s-sports-uniforms-across-time

http://zeega.com/103969

http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/115265/Idiot-Nerd-Girl-Meme/#vars!date=2012-01-04_21:28:09!

http://www-958.ibm.com/software/analytics/manyeyes/

Artifact F (Collaboration)

Note: The collaborative artifact can be approached in a couple different ways. One is to use a familiar technology but in tandem with others. Another is to find a wholly new technology and try it out. It’s up to your group—what matters is that you’re writing and advocating/analyzing with others!

http://i.imgur.com/kCTt3xF.jpg

https://twitter.com/kidsaresponges

Other (Video, Reddit, etc.)

http://vimeo.com/63134670

http://www.reddit.com/r/occupyaustin/

Step #3: Now that you have produced a series of sophisticated media artifacts (that is, various forms of digital media/humanities writing), it’s time to show off your work to your classmates in the form of a presentation. Keep in mind that this presentation isn’t merely show-and-tell, but yet another opportunity to rhetorically advocate for your cause. Aim to persuade!

Note: Your instructor will be extra impressed if you use a presentation platform other than Powerpoint!

Presentation Examples:

http://prezi.com/2w58dqz1nlm0/untitled-prezi/

http://prezi.com/wwjfvklxd8wx/untitled-prezi/

http://prezi.com/uz0fbnnbqb_l/genders-game/

Evaluation Suggestions:

There are many ways to approach evaluating the above assignment(s). The simplest is via “completion” grades, but what “completing” the assignment means may vary widely from instructor to instructor. I would recommend developing a rubric for evaluating each artifact. For instance, one might have a ten-point scale where the following criteria are considered (I use the following rubric myself):

Does the artifact make a clear argument (or series of arguments)?

Does the artifact provide evidence for any claims it makes (e.g., by citing any and all sources)?

Does the artifact respectfully engage an opposition and an audience?

Is any written text on/in the artifact clearly and carefully composed?

Is the artifact accompanied by a theoretical analysis/comparison that is sophisticated (that is, considers/cites either the readings for the course or similar artifacts)?

How well does any analysis grasp the theoretical texts it employs?

Does the artifact employ good design (for instance, color, arrangement, etc.)?

How persuasive is the artifact in terms of rhetorical appeals? Does it contain any fallacies?

Has an “appropriate” amount of effort been exemplified by the student (e.g., number of posts on a social media site, number of pages on a website, and so on)?

Has the artifact been peer-reviewed twice?

Have peer and instructor comments been integrated following peer review?

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

This assignment arc has been employed to great success at the University of Texas in a “Writing in Digital Environments” course. The students seemed to really enjoy the work, though were sometimes frustrated by how surprisingly hard it is to get outsiders interested in what they are/were producing. However, whether a particular student project is getting feedback from outsiders is often an opportune moment to discuss kairos. If I would recommend anything, it would be: get students to really think about and research their topics, make sure to show students lots of examples, don’t be afraid to let a student use a technology no one is familiar with, encourage theoretical analysis of artifacts, assign whatever media types you like and don’t be confined by what I’ve listed above, stick closely to a rubric and encourage students to pay close attention to whatever rubric is provided. This will better the life of all involved!

Course Type:

Advanced Writing Course

Intermediate Writing Course

Course Description:

Writing in Digital Environments/Writing for the Digital Humanities

Tags:

Researching a Controversy using Twitter

gerdes — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:14:58 +0000

Author:

Kendall Gerdes

Image Credit:

Class Twitter account, @rhetoric306, with Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students (5th ed.) as background

Brief Assignment Overview:

By creating their own Twitter accounts and finding accounts to follow that are related to their research topic, students learn the difference between library resources and online resources like daily news, blogs, and opinion.

Type of Assignment:

In-class Exercise

Homework Assignment

Assignment Length:

Single Class Period

Multiple Class Periods

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Pedagogical Goals - Writing:

Invention

Pre-Writing

Research

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Collaboration

Open Access Software

Social Media

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

Research, digital literacy

Media Requirements:

Adaptable For Use Without Classroom Technology

Media Console/Projector

Technology-Based Classroom (computers for each student)

Required Materials:

Students need a computer (or conceivably, smartphone) with internet access to sign up for a free Twitter account. When I taught this lesson in a computer mediated classroom, I had a projector screen to introduce students to Twitter.

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Early in the Semester

Full Assignment Description:

Students created their own Twitter accounts in class, and I asked them to follow our class Twitter account right away. I use the class account to retweet my students and make short announcements. Then, I asked students to find an active Twitter account (with recent tweets) that is relevant to their research topic. I asked students to follow the account, then tweet the handle of thtat account to our class account. I also asked students to come up with a class hash tag.

I also gave students some research guidelines (see Instructions for Students, below) to help them think about the relationship between library resources, with their slower editorial gatekeeping process, and online resources, and the different research strategies required to use both.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

Creating a class Twitter account can help keep students organized around a central account. I also recommend reading about what other instructors are doing to come up with a mix of ideas that suits your class. Some recommended reading is included in the additional resources, below.

Instructions For Students:

These are the instructions I gave my students:

Your first Twitter assignment is as follows:

Create your own professional Twitter account (or if you're not shy, you can use a Twitter account you already have).
Follow our class Twitter account, @rhetoric306, and tweet us to introduce yourself online (your name and the issue you're researching would be helpful!).
By Friday at 2 pm, you need to find an active Twitter account (with recent tweets) that is relevant to your issue. Follow them, then tweet their handle and how you found them to our class account. I'll use the class account to follow your recommendations!
We're going to need a class hash tag to keep track of our class tweets across our different accounts. When you tweet the account you followed, you should also propose a hash tag by tweeting @rhetoric306. The goals here are short, unique, and informative.
If you have ideas for how you want to use Twitter in our class, tweet them @rhetoric306.

Some Twitter guidelines:

You can only tweet 140 characters at once.
You create a link to other Twitter accounts when you put their handle, like @rhetoric306, in your tweet.
Hash tags help categorize your tweets for searches. #likethis
Although Twitter created a way to re-post someone else's entire Tweet (called retweeting), many people often still edit or comment on the tweet and post it again using the marker "RT" to credit the original poster.
If you can't figure out how to do something, try to Google it.
NB: Using Twitter puts us in contact with people outside of class. Obviously, we have no control over what these people say or share. If you find yourself uncomfortable with any Twitter content for any reason, you may unfollow or block any user, and disregard any comments, conversations, or links. Please come to me if you have any questions or concerns about this.

Some Twitter/Research guidelines:

Don't just go with the first thing you find. The goal is to find high-quality sources. Even just one quality Twitter account will give you much better returns than a dozen mediocre ones. Look through lots of Tweets (30-50) from each account, and look through lots of accounts before you decide who to follow.
Think about your search terms. You can search for words that appear in tweets, but you can also search for hash tags and usernames. And there are more ways to search Twitter than just the interface they provide you. Get creative.
Try to find experts and advocates. Journalists may be excellent news, but you also need opinion, and sometimes organizations or even scholars will have useful tweets.
Follow the links. Read what they are reading, check out who they are re-tweeting, surf their hash tags. Twitter doesn't use MLA, citing sources in such a way that your readers can recognize and locate the originals is still important.
Experiment. Whether it's on Twitter or on the Library site, effective research requires some creativity and experimentation. You have to try things out, and don't be disappointed if you don't what you want on the first try--use your failed and frustrated searches to figure out how to do it better.

Evaluation Suggestions:

I evaluate my class using the Learning Record, and I have students complete brief reflective writing exercises on what they learned each class.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

I admit, I was surprised at how many of my students were not already using Twitter. I wished I had left more time and given them more detailed instructions on the first day I introduced it. But, I also think Twitter is relatively easy to learn. A technological challenge can also foster student collaboration, since they pose questions and help each other figure out how to solve the problems that inevitably arise.

Additional Resources:

My post on Twitter at Blogging Pedagogy: http://bloggingpedagogy.dwrl.utexas.edu/content/researching-public-issues-twitter
Grad Hacker on Teaching with Twitter: http://www.gradhacker.org/2012/11/26/teaching-with-twitter/
Matt King's RHE 312 Twitter Assignment: http://rhe312.pbworks.com/w/page/21055220/Twitter%20Assignment
The Learning Record: http://www.learningrecord.org/

Course Type:

Introductory Writing Course

Course Description:

I used this lesson in my introductory writing course, RHE 306 Rhetoric and Writing.

Tags:

Twitter in the Classroom: Observations and Analysis

King — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:10:45 +0000

Author:

Matt King

Image Credit:

Twitter icon

Brief Assignment Overview:

My class used Twitter for a few general purposes and then for two specific assignments. For our general goals, we used Twitter to share resources among one another and to familiarize ourselves with various conversations that are important to people in the digital humanities. By following one another, we were able to tweet helpful links, questions about class, reminders and advice about assignments, etc. By following people participating in the sorts of conversations we were interested in (conversations about digital technologies, rhetoric, and writing), we found out how these conversations develop on Twitter and the internet generally.

For the two assignments, we practiced rhetorical analysis by analyzing various Twitter feeds and then used our own Twitter streams as a space for sharing Learning Record observations.

Type of Assignment:

Homework Assignment

Assignment Length:

Single Class Period

Course Unit

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Audience

Invention

Rhetorical Analysis

Pedagogical Goals - Writing:

Pre-Writing

Research

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Collaboration

Open Access Software

Social Media

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

Research, rhetorical analysis, invention, delivery, reflection, Learning Record observations

Media Requirements:

Adaptable For Use Without Classroom Technology

Media Console/Projector

Technology-Based Classroom (computers for each student)

Required Materials:

Internet access on any connected device, inside or outside the classroom. Various Twitter clients could be helpful and are available for free (see, for example, Tweetdeck and Yorufukurou).

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Useful Anytime

Full Assignment Description:

My general overview for using Twitter can be found on my wiki. The rhetorical analysis assignment is available below (in the instructions for students section). You are welcome to use and modify these assignments as you see fit, although I would recommend creating your own handouts or webpages and adapting the descriptions to your own needs.

For the Learning Record observations, no specific assignment description was offered students. The Learning Record is a portfolio-based assessment model, and this system asks students to make observations about their development over the course of the semester. We used Twitter as a platform for sharing and keeping track of these observations so that students could learn from and be inspired by one another. You can find out more about the Learning Record on the LR website.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

I spent 30-45 minutes in one class period introducing students to Twitter, helping them create accounts and follow one another, and having them begin tweeting, searching, and exploring. I offered this overview of Twitter for them to consult during and after this introduction (you are welcome to borrow this material, but it might need to be updated as time goes on). It would help to have your own Twitter account set up before class and to be familiar with how it works generally. If you would like students to follow particular people and conversations on Twitter, it could take a few weeks or months of your own personal Twitter use to find the people you find most relevant for your class interests and goals. This assignment assumes that rhetorical analysis has already been introduced to the students. If this is the first rhetorical analysis assignment, it would help to spend at least half a class period explaining the expectations and terms for analysis.

Instructions For Students:

Rhetorical analysis is a practice that helps us think through how a particular text is persuasive and who it would persuade. A successful rhetorical analysis takes into consideration at least three things: the main argument/goal of the text, the rhetorical strategies that the author employs to make the text persuasive, and the audience for the text. In addition to identifying the main argument/goal and the rhetorical strategies, we also want to analyze whether or not they would be effective for particular audiences.

This weekend, your assignment is to write a rhetorical analysis of tweets from a particular tweeter. You should write and submit this assignment as a new page on our course wiki. You should name this page "Twitter Rhetorical Analysis - [last name]", and you should file this page in our "Rhetorical Analyses" folder. Your final product should be 350-500 words long, and it should be completed before class on Tuesday, February 9.

To start, pick one of the people you follow on Twitter (for the sake of objectivity and everyone's comfort, do not choose someone from our class). This person can be someone you were asked to follow for this class or someone else (a friend, a celebrity, etc.). We want to look at several tweets from this person, so it should be someone who tweets fairly regularly. As you look at this person's tweets and write your rhetorical analysis, you should go through the following steps.

1. Invention - Remember, for rhetoricians, invention is about finding what is out there rather than making something up. After you have picked someone from Twitter to analyze, you will need to read through their tweets to find out what they talk about on Twitter. You should look through at least 50 tweets, and you can do so by going to their Twitter page. For example, if you were focusing on Steven Johnson (whose article about Twitter we read), you would go to http://twitter.com/stevenbjohnson. You can get to a tweeter's page by going to your list of people you are following and then clicking on their name.

As you look through this person's tweets (again, at least 50 of them), take notes on what they tweet. Does this person use their tweets to share personal information such as where they are or what they are doing? To make jokes? To participate in conversations? To share links? Anything else? Once you have a general sense for what the person tweets, identify these uses more specifically. If the person shares personal information, what sort of information do they share about themselves? If they have conversations with other people on Twitter, who are those conversations with and what are they about? If they post links, what are these articles/websites/blogposts/etc. about?

Once you have a clear sense for what this person does on Twitter, think about how they are presenting this information. In other words, we want to identify what rhetorical strategies the person uses to help accomplish their goals. Rhetorical strategies can refer to any number of things, including the way an author structures their argument, the way they establish themselves as authorities, the values and emotions to which an author appeals, and the specific language they use to present their argument. Of course, most people on Twitter are not making arguments; instead, their main goal is likely to share information about themselves with friends, to share interesting links with other people, to make jokes, to have a short conversation with someone about something, etc. Nonetheless, we can still talk about a tweeter's rhetorical strategies. That is, we can still talk about the ways that they use language, the way that they appeal to particular values or emotions in their audience, the ways that they establish themselves as trustworthy or authoritative, etc. Try to answer the following questions regarding the tweets that you read: What is the author's tone in these tweets? Does the author use different tones in different situations? How so? Does the author appeal to any particular values or emotions in their tweets? For example, does the author use their tweets in political ways? If so, how? Does the author use their tweets to try to make their readers laugh/cry/get excited about something/think about something/take action in a particular situation/etc.? If so, how? Does the author do anything else that appeals to specific values or encourages specific emotions in the audience? There are many other questions we could ask, but this should give us a decent start. Feel free to take note of anything else that helps us identify how this tweeter is trying to achieve their goals on Twitter.

2. Analysis - At this point, you should have a good sense for what this particular tweeter says and does on Twitter, what their goals are for using it, and how they go about achieving those goals. Now we want to analyze this information to get a sense for who would likely find these particular tweets interesting, useful, funny, or meaningful in any other way. Don't worry about identifying specific audience members. Instead, focus on the type of person who might be interested in these tweets. It might be helpful to think of the community to which various audience members might belong. Try to be as specific as possible as you identify possible audiences and communities. It is not incredibly helpful to say that a particular tweeter appeals to a "general" audience. It would be much more specific to say that a particular tweeter appeals to educators and friends. It would be even more specific to say that a particular tweeter appeals to people who teach college writing. Part of the challenge here is to figure out the range of audiences that would likely be interested in these tweets. Some people will appeal to a broad range of audiences; some people will appeal to a smaller audience. The goal of your analysis is to demonstrate the range of audiences that would likely follow this person based on what they tweet and how they do it.

Let's consider a few hypothetical situations. Imagine Celebrity X, an actor who mainly uses twitter to post personal stories about other celebrities. These tweets would likely appeal to people interested in Hollywood gossip, but they might not appeal to a fan of Celebrity X who wanted to know more about her daily activities. Imagine Celebrity Y, a comedian who uses twitter to post obscene jokes and random thoughts but also to help promote their favorite charity. Some people might follow this person because they enjoyed the jokes; some people might follow this person not because they enjoy the random thoughts but because these random thoughts are eccentric and allow you to make fun of Celebrity Y; some people might follow this person because they are interested in the charity; some people might not follow this person even though they want to support the charity because they find the jokes offensive. Finally, imagine important Academic W, a significant figure in new media studies who only uses Twitter to post links to her blog posts. Some people might follow this person to keep up with new blog posts; some academics interested in new media studies might not follow this person because she only blogs about video games and they are interested in something else. In other words, just because someone is famous does not mean that all of their fans would follow them on Twitter. Just because someone is an academic in a particular field does not mean that everyone in that field would follow them on Twitter. The audience for a particular tweeter depends on how that tweeter uses Twitter.

So, the goal of this analysis is to think about the ways that certain uses of Twitter will appeal to different people. Again, we want to be as specific as possible, and we want to be able to demonstrate what sorts of audiences would be interested in what a particular tweeter posts and why these audiences would be interested.

3. Arrangement - At this point, you should have a clear sense for what you want to include in your rhetorical analysis. All of this information might be in your head, or you might have notes that you have written as you gathered information and analyzed it. The next step is to think about how you want to organize this information into a coherent and well-structured analysis paper. There are multiple ways to do this, so you will have to decide which organizing principle you will use. Do you want to organize your paragraph around different audiences? Around different ways that your person uses Twitter? Some other way? Regardless, you should organize your analysis so that it is easy for your reader to get a sense for the main conclusions of your analysis and how the different parts of your analysis fit together.

4. Style - You will also need to consider how you translate all of these ideas into a particular style in your paper. Like in our research summaries, we want our analyses to be objective. We are not taking sides here; we are not making claims about whether or not someone is interesting or whether we like them. Instead, we are analyzing - as objectively as possible - what they tweet in order to describe who would likely follow them. Another important consideration here is quotes. As you perform your analysis, it will be important to provide specific examples from the tweets you are examining. When you quote a tweet, include the date and time it was posted in parentheses. On Twitter, if you click on the date and time underneath a particular tweet, you will be directed to a page that is specific to this tweet. It would help to offer a link to this Tweet in your parenthetical citation. Here's an example: earlier this week, I posted a tweet that asked everyone, regarding the Rhetorical Peaks handout, to "please bring a hard copy with you to class" (Feb. 3, 2010; 3:02 pm).

Once you have finished your rhetorical analysis, save your page. Let me know if you have any questions about the assignment. We will discuss this assignment in class next Tuesday, and I will also offer you feedback that you can use to help you revise your paper.

Evaluation Suggestions:

Since I was using the Learning Record in this course, no specific grades were given on any aspect of our Twitter use. For the rhetorical analysis assignment, it would be easy to grade it as you would any short analysis assignment.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

Students responded well to the rhetorical analysis assignment. It was helpful to consider how a rhetorical orientation could be embodied in 140 character chunks, in links, and in a network of followers. The assignment gave students a different perspective on cultural figures and academics.

As for the Learning Record observations, students were somewhat hesitant to engage and share their observations (but not more so than other classes that have used the Learning Record but didn't share their observations on Twitter). The main challenge here is helping students be more comfortable with the observation process generally and then making them comfortable with sharing these with one another. To work toward these ends, I would want to spend more time in class discussing observations and allowing students to post on Twitter at that time.

Additional Resources:

ProfHacker has a number of posts on using Twitter in the classroom.

Course Type:

Advanced Writing Course

Intermediate Writing Course

Introductory Writing Course

Literary Studies Course

Course Description:

While digital technologies make available a range of tools that shape our physical interactions with the world in new ways, they also offer us new metaphors, new ways of talking about these interactions, and new ways of organizing ideas. To use a favorite term of twentieth-century rhetorician Kenneth Burke, these technologies make available new possibilities for identification. In the 2.0 world, we not only find new ways to identify and form communities with others; we also experience a shift in the process of self-identification and in the ways we define ourselves.

This class will explore a range of digital technologies and writing environments as well as the discourses surrounding them to give students a more thorough understanding of the ways that they have already begun to establish virtual identities and of new possibilities for digital identity formation. By exploring and participating in these technologies and discourses, we will hope to achieve the following course goals:

- Continue to develop rhetoric skills related to summary, analysis, and argumentation;

- Gain fluency in digital technologies and examine the ways that these tools shift our understandings of rhetoric and writing;

- Identify and participate in conversations surrounding writing in digital environments.

Tags:

Introducing Analysis with "Texts From Last Night"

Cate Blouke — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:17:55 +0000

Image Credit:

Screen shot of Texts From Last Night website

Brief Assignment Overview:

Using samples pulled from the popular website, Texts From Last Night, this exercise introduces students to textual analysis in a fun and (most likely) funny way. Students are asked how much and what kinds of information they can glean from a very small piece of text.

Type of Assignment:

Class Discussion

Assignment Length:

Partial Class Period

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Social Media

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

To introduce students to textual analysis - either close reading or rhetorical analysis - using a very small piece of text.

Media Requirements:

No Classroom Technology Required

Adaptable For Use Without Classroom Technology

Media Console/Projector

Required Materials:

No hardware required - could be completed with handouts.

Ideally, lesson would take place using a media console.

Timeline for Optimal Use:

First Day/Week

Full Assignment Description:

Using samples pulled from the popular website, Texts From Last Night, this exercise introduces students to textual analysis in a fun and (most likely) funny way. Students are asked how much and what kinds of information they can glean from a very small piece of text.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

If you aren't familiar with the website, Texts From Last Night, it's a blog dedicated to public submissions of funny, lewd, or ridiculous text messages received "last night." The site has both a twitter presence and a facebook following, so many students will already be familiar with it. Those that are familiar with it will probably be a bit surprised to see it turn up in a classroom, as most of the messages tend to include either drinking references or discussions of sexual escapades. So, the material is often a bit scandalous - which is why the instructor should be certain to pre-select material for analysis. It's probably a very bad idea to actually pull the website up in class. Set aside about 20 minutes to half an hour the night before class to troll the site for material. You can take screen shots of the texts you'd like to look at and then post them to your class blog, wiki, site, etc. or simply copy them onto a handout.

Instructions For Students:

One of the goals of this course is to teach you the practice of close reading, or a very detailed analysis of language. You might be surprised just how much information can be gleaned from a very small piece of text - but you'll also need to practice separating your assumptions from evidence-based analysis.

As a class, we'll take a look at some sample texts pulled from the website, Texts From Last Night. These sample text messages are very short (originating from real text messages), but they can contain a wealth of information - about the sender, their relationship to the recipient, the reason for sending the text, the sender's current or previous location... any number of important clues for deciphering the meaning of the text. (i.e. the relationships in the rhetorical triangle).

First, what can you tell about either the sender or the recipient of the text? What is their relationship? How do you know?

What is the text message saying? What is the content of the message/the reason for sendign it? Is it just to be funny? Does the sender want to persuade the recipient of something? Is the sender making a request?

Where is the sender now? Is the recipient somewhere else (as in far away)?

What does the message indicate in terms of time or chronology? What is the kairotic moment in which the text was sent?

Evaluation Suggestions:

This was an in-class discussion assignment, so no evaluation was necessary.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

I used this exercise on the very first day of class, and my students loved it. They were both surprised and delighted by the use of a seemingly trivial pop culture phenomena, and (of course) a bit titilated by the content. Since I try to cultivate an open and fun environment in my classroom, this set the tone well for my semi-informal ethos.

It was also a great way to start reigning in their conjectures. While many students wanted to make broad or sweeping claims about the messages and their senders, this was a great way to point out the difference between assumptions and evidence-based analysis. I asked them to stick very closely to the text itself and show me where they were getting their ideas.

Additional Resources:

Here are some sample texts that I used to introduce rhetorical concepts.

ETHOS: