DWRL Lesson Plans - Scott Nelson

Technology-Based Classroom (computers for each student)

Assignment Length:

Partial Class Period

Single Class Period

Pedagogical Goals - Writing:

Pre-Writing

Research

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Collaboration

Media Requirements:

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Early in the Semester

Full Assignment Description:

Ideally, this lesson should ground students in specific search practices as well as give them a sense for research "in the wild." The instructor should first walk the student through sound public web research practices. For this aim, instrutors could walk students through Google's Advanced Search features, paying particular attention to "this exact word or phrase" search area. At this point, it would also be helpful to have a brief discussion on phrases that may be used in police shooting reports. Allow students to generate these terms as a class, and demonstrate their efficacy.

Once students get a handle on this search of all webpages, the instrrructor can then move onto Google's Advanced News Archive Search. Before moving into the search, though, instructors should present students with the parameters ithey'll be searching within. The following websites provide crowdsourced spreadsheets of shootings by police:

Kyle Wagner via Deadspin: Wagner also provides context for this database along with some ground rules for research.
Fatal Encounters, compiled by D. Brian Burghart. A Gawker article provides the context for this database. Note that the website has a specific procedure for contributing. Researchers must first use the database to find those names that have yet to be researched. Next, they need to use the people search to ensure someone else hasn't already researched this shooting. Finally, the researcher must submit a request via the submissions page. (This process became necessary when someone fudged some of the original shared document.)

This discussion could take a number of routes. Given that the US has no national database (and most local police departments do not keep public records of this data), students could discuss the importance of such crowdsourced data. What are the benefits of such a database? How could it be used to improve public safety? Could it be misused? Is such a database even necessary? Questions of this sort get students thinking about the public role of research and citizenship.

Ultimately, though, students will choose a shooting to research and apply the search skills outlined above.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

Instructors may want to familiarize themselves with Google's Search Tips, as they provide instruction in more directed web searches. Additionally, instructors may want to peruse the various crowdsourced research projects to determine

Instructions For Students:

1. Choose a website from the above two.

2. Choose one of the shootings to research.

Note the name, location, and date, if available.

3. Using the advanced search features, fill in the missing information on the incident.

Evaluation Suggestions:

I would suggest not evaluating this exercise. It's intended to get students thinking about search strategies and the role of citizen research in a democracy.

Course Type:

Disputing YouTube Content ID Takedowns

Scott Nelson — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:27:15 +0000

Author:

Image Credit:

Fair Use Logo by Odinn 2007 CC-BY-SA

Brief Assignment Overview:

As part fo the Digital Millenium Copyright Act of 1998, content service providers (such as YouTube) are given safe harbor from prosecution if they take certain steps to prevent copyright infringement. Unfortunately, this has led to a "shoot first and ask questions later" approach on YouTube's part. If you do any sort of video assignments that require students to post to YouTube, you will most likely have to dispute a Content ID automatic takedown. Content ID is YouTube's automated system for flagging copyrighted content. It searches over 20 hours of video footage a minute to look for cpyrighted media "footprints." While it is a marvel of modern technology, the system is imperfect and tends to skew toward the side of major media companies, rather than individual consumers or producers.

Type of Assignment:

Technology-Based Classroom (computers for each student)

Assignment Length:

Single Class Period

One-Two Class Periods

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

This lesson plan helps students and instructors understand the four Fair Use factors articulated in the Copyright Act of 1976. Ideally, students and instructors should leave this lesson with increased confidence in disputing a false copyright claim. A YouTube Content ID notice can be frightening for anyone, and especially frightening for someone who doesn't understand Fair Use. The notices themselves can have chilling effects on free speech, so it's important to exercise Fair Use principles.

Media Requirements:

Media Console/Projector

Required Materials:

For this assignment, you'll need a YouTube account and a video that has been flagged by YouTube's Content ID system. Jenny Howell has an excellent lesson plan on introducing students to iMovie production. Most mashup videos will be flagged by Content ID, especially if the video clips used are from major motion pictures.

For the assignment, students will need to bring in the original video they created as well, as they'll be assessing Fair Use and the video is not available via YouTube (for now).

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Useful Anytime

Full Assignment Description:

A few caveats:

1. It's important to note that Fair Use is ony an affirmative defense; that is, it can only be invoked if a copyright holder has accused you of copyright infringement. In the context of YouTube's Content ID system, what you're essentially doing is telling a human somewhere that the automated system has made a correct match, but it was ok for you to use the media in the first place.

2. It's also important to note that this is a legal matter. If you dispute the claim, the copyright holder can sue you. However, the cpyright holder can sue you even without your dispute, as the Content ID system is only a way to identify possible infringers. This threat of litigation is scary, and it is most often what frightens students and instructors away from exercising their free speech rigths. While you should not interpret this lesson plan as legal advice, it's important to teach students the value of flexing their free speech muscles. If you don't practice these rights, they quietly go away.

3. This step in the process is only to ensure that a human reviews the reasons the video was flagged and taken down. After review by a human, the copyright holder may still issue a DMCA takedown notice, at which point you may dispute even that. This takedown notice counts as a strike against your YouTube account. Three strikes, and YouTube freezes your account and deletes all your videos.

As outlined in the Copyrighjt Act of 1976, Fair Use consists of four factors:

1. The purpose and character of your use. If you have somehow transformed the nature of the original by using it, your use is more likely fair. Commentary, parody, reporting, and education are some uses that tend to fall on the Fair Use side. Most likely, your video has some educational aims, as it was created for a course.

2. The nature of the copyrighted work. Fair Use protects factual works more than fictional ones. If the original work was a clip from a major romantic comedy, then your use is less likely fair. This doesn't mean that you cannot use clips from fictional works. It only means that this factor may not be in your favor.

3. The amount used from the copyrighted work. Shorter is better, but this is a qualitative assessment. Use only the portion ofthe work needed to get your point across. Rarely is use of an entire song or video considered Fair Use.

4. The impact of your video on the market. Does your use of the copyrighted work affect its value? If you are making money off of your creation, your use is less likely Fair Use. In the case of YouTube, an example that isn't Fair Use would be using an entire song to drive traffic to your channel where you have monetized the account (provided advertising). Because your video was created for a class, though, chances are you are not making money off of it.

For this lesson, you may want students to read about Fair Use from the US Copyright Office or Stanford's summary of Fair Use cases.

When students write papers for an audience of one, the teacher, there isn't much risk in running up against copyright law. However, in an increasingly connected world, student expressions collide with media companies' interests. Discussing Fair Use in the abstract is good, but actual practice of free speech in the "real world" beyond academia can have consequences. If we are going to prepare our students to communicate in the 21st century, we must not only have conversations about these risks and rewards, but we need to practice this communication as well.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

This assignment can only be done if there has actually been a Content ID match. Surprisingly, these are pretty common. I've also done a rhetorical analysis of YouTube's content ID system for viz. that you may want to check out ahead of time. In the past, some collegaues I know have assigned students to post to YouTube, only to have those videos removed by Content ID the day before students were to present them. With a little planning, such an incident can be a teaching moment rather than a freak-out moment for students. It's ideal to have students upload their videos a couple of days before you'd like to give this lesson. Conversely, you could create a video mashup of your own, being sure to follow Fair Use guidelines, and upload it to YouTube yourself.

Instructions For Students:

Students should work in pairs or small groups. After reviewing the Fair Use guidelines at the US Copyright Office's website, students should view each video and discuss Fair Use for each copyrighted audiovisual element used. Use these questions to help guide you:

What is the overall purpose of the student's video? What evidence from the video can you point to that supports this purpose?
For each audiovisual element used, give a one-sentence statement about what it does for the overall video. How is this media being used? To what ends?
What is the nature of the original work? Is it more factual or more creative?
How much of the copyrighted work is used? Give a time for each element.
Would the student's video take any money away from the copyright holder? How so or why not? (Keep in mind, this is potential money. The copyright holder doesn't have to currently be earning money in this way.)
Could the copyrighted media used be replaced by any other media without changing the meaning or impact?

Once all students' videos have been reviewed, a few should be presented to the class to model the dicsussion. Following this, students should decide whether they think their own video has used outside media under Fair Use guidelines.

Now comes the dispute part. If you truly believe your video was falsely flagged, then you'll want to file a dispute. Log in to your YouTube Account. In the Video Manager, click on "Copyright Notices" on the left menu. If your video has been flagged, you will see something like the picture below:

SNP_2876298_en_v0.png

Image Credit: YouTube

Clicking on any of those links will take you to a page where you can dispute the Content ID block. To do so, click on the "I believe this copyright claim is not valid" link. Here, you can choose one of three reasons why your video should not be removed:

The Content ID system falsely flagged your material; there is no copyrighted media used in your video.
Your use of others media is Fair Use.
You have permission from the copyright holder to use the material.

Most likely, your answer will be #2. Be sure to indicate in the box provided why you think your use is Fair Use.

Evaluation Suggestions:

This lesson is not evaluated.

Course Type:

Advanced Writing Course

Intermediate Writing Course

Literary Studies Course

Course Description:

This lesson plan can be used with any course, provided that course uses YouTube.

Tags:

YouTube

Setting Up a Studio Environment for Multimedia Projects

Scott Nelson — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 02:27:16 +0000

Author:

No Classroom Technology Required

Image Credit:

Matt Jones CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

Brief Assignment Overview:

Whenever I teach, I always assign some form of multimedia project, and these practices have helped to set up a studio environment where collaborative multimedia projects can thrive. Rather than post an explicit lesson plan to our site, I thought I’d run through a set of practices that have been successful for me over a few courses.

Type of Assignment:

Major Course Project

Semester-long Project

Assignment Length:

Multiple Class Periods

Course Unit

Semester-long Project

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

The pedagogical goals for this assignment are to have students think about what multimedia production skills they already possess and what skills they'd like to develop. Further, these practices foster a collaborative environment where studetns learn to work together toward common goals.

Media Requirements:

Adaptable For Use Without Classroom Technology

Required Materials:

Since these are a set of practices rather than a specific use of a technology, what follows can be adapted to any classroom. Because most of the classes I teach are in rooms with computers for the students, I'll assume such a setup. Mainly, the students need some way to communicate with each other outside of class. I use PBWorks wikis for this aim, but a class blog or even email can be used to coordinate student skills.

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Mid-Semester

Late in the Semester

Full Assignment Description:

While each course's specific assignment may vary, I've sucessfully implemented these practices in many student projects. These projects have ranged from creating infographics to video games to ebooks. What I hope to achieve from these practices is a form of student autonomy that places responsibility for their work squarely with students.

For this aim, it's important that the assignment's product have some form of value outside of the classroom. Digital media needs a real audience, one beyond just the teacher in a particular course. With this in mind, I require that any multimedia project that students create have some venue in which it is showcased. This can be something as simple as posting it to Facebook, or something more complex such as publishing an ebook in Apple's iBookstore. Hopefully, by having an audience beyond the classroom, students will attribute more value to the rhetorical work they do. These projects aren't just for a grade in a self-contained course, but instead rhetorical practices that work upon the networks they inhabit.

Secondly, I set up a type of Craigslist for student skills. Early in the semester, I have students post a brief biography detailing their current skills in multimedia production and skills they'd like to develop. I normally create a new wiki page for students to populate, but this can be done via a course blog or a mass email. This particular stage in setting up the studio environment requires that students think about their relationships to multimedia and the ways they can create in these modes. Undoubtedly, I have students who begin this stage thinking they have no skills in multimedia whatsoever, but a brief class discussion usually gets students thinking about the digital discourse communities they already belong to. Some may be avid social media prosumers, while others may keep Twitter or Instagram accounts.

A further advantage to these Craiglist-style bios is that students can self-select collaborative groups. If, for example, one student has a great idea for a video game, but no skills with Photoshop, the bios are a first step to making those need-based connections. Plus, because students are shopping for skills among their classmates, they tend to create more organic groups with a common goal. This practice seems to reduce the occurances of group members who refuse to contribute to a project and let others "take up their slack." Common interests drive group formation, so individual students are less likely to be bored with the project.

As a final bonus from this practice, because groups are formed based upon skills, sudents tend to create affinity groups that share knowledge. Students teach each other their skills, and thus all participate in the production of the project. While there is the risk that students will only practice what they are already good at, experience has shown me that this isn't the case. Students are genuinely interested in the common goal they've set, and hence, they all work to create a quality product.

The final practice I do in the classroom is to give students time to play. Multimedia takes some time to create, and scheduling in-class time to experiment is extremely important. Digital technologies ask that we manipulate them, to try out hypotheses regarding their rhetorics and grammars. Groups need time to teach each other skills, and studio work days are important for this task.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

As I've indicated above, this is more a set of classroom principles rather than a specific lesson plan. However, they've worked well for my students, especially when they are working with multimedia. A familiarity with programs like Photoshop, GIMP, Illustrator, Inkscape, inDesign, iMovie, Audacity, or GarageBand can help, but I've found the single most important skill to have is flexibility. No instructor can possibly know all there is to know about these multimedia creation applications, so a willingness to learn from students is paramount.

Instructions For Students:

Since this is a set of practices rather than a specific lesson, there aren't any explicit instructions to students beyond what I've outlined above. However, the following may be helpful when attempting to set up a Craigslist-style skill listing:

In a brief paragraph, outline your interests in the upcoming project, listing any type of multimedia you would be willing to work in or learn. The aim here is not necessarily to give only those programs you're already confident in, but instead your interests in creating multimedia using some applcations.

Evaluation Suggestions:

Because I use the Learning Record Online for all of my courses, the practices outlined above aren't assessed in the traditional sense. I circle the room on studio days, talking with students about what problems they may have run into and to get a general sense of the project's progression. The Learning Record allows for these documented processes to be used as evidence for learning, so the multimedia product is much less important than the processes students go through to create their project.

A successful project is one where students learn new ways of communicating in multimedia, and learn to collaborate with likeminded individuals toward a common goal.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

As I've indicated above, these pracitces have been sucessful in a variety of group projects. I've used this with an infographic assignment, a video game prototype assignment, an actual working video game assignment, an interactive image assignment, and an ebook assignment.

Course Type:

Advanced Writing Course

Intermediate Writing Course

Literary Studies Course

Course Description:

I have successfully used this studio environment in RHE 306, RHE 309K, RHE 312, and ENGL 314J. I'll give each course description below.

RHE 306:

This course is designed to prepare you for the academic writing you do at the University of Texas and writing you will do in your careers and personal lives beyond UT. It is a course designed to teach you not what to think, but how to think on your own. Ultimately, you should learn to be a better thinker, who is able to think critically about topics, other people, and yourself; a better rhetor, who is able to analyze a specific situation and adjust your writing to fit accordingly; and a better communicator, who is able to express ideas effectively.

It will include three units with each unit culminating in a composition and including writing instruction that supports the drafting of that composition. Composition is a broad term including symbolic efforts in a variety of media (including video, audio, and web-design, to name just a few). Many lower-division RHE courses (such as RHE 315 and 312) encourage or even require composition outside of the traditionally imagined prose essay. Nevertheless, the written component of every lower-division RHE class must meet the writing flag requirements as stipulated by the college. These written assignments may include a variety of genres, including narrative, argument, analysis, or critical reflection. (“Creative” writing assignments—plays, fiction, poetry—are not suitable genres for formal writing assignments.) As required by the college, each major writing assignment includes a peer review process. You will also complete informal writing exercises that prepare you to do the writing necessary in your formal assignments.

RHE 309K: The Rhetoric of Video Games

This course seeks to explore video games as a modern discursive medium. Far from being mere “mindless entertainment,” many video games make explicit or implicit arguments about gender and sexuality, economic systems, corporate practices, geopolitics, and both real and imagined societies. What arguments do these simulations and simulacra mount about how the world is? What arguments do they mount about how the world should be?

Much of the past and current study of digital rhetoric seems to look at the content of computers through applying older means of rhetorical analysis, looking at the text and images contained on computers rather than the processes through which this content is represented. What we seek to explore is a relatively new field—procedural rhetoric—and the ways this new field can inform video game criticism. How do the procedures inherent in video games make arguments about the world?

The course will include three major units with each unit culminating in a composition and including writing instruction that supports the drafting of that composition. Composition is a broad term including symbolic efforts in a variety of media (including video, audio, and web-design, to name just a few). Many lower-division RHE courses encourage or even require composition outside of the traditionally imagined prose essay. Nevertheless, the written component of every lower-division RHE class must meet the writing flag requirements as stipulated by the college. These written assignments may include a variety of genres, including narrative, argument, analysis, or critical reflection. (“Creative” writing assignments—plays, fiction, poetry—are not suitable genres for formal writing assignments.) As required by the college, each major writing assignment includes a peer review process. You will also complete informal writing exercises that prepare you to do the writing necessary in your formal assignments.

RHE 312: Writing in Digital Environments

This course explores rhetoric across a variety of modes: verbal, visual, aural, procedural, haptic, and kinesthetic. “Writing,” in this sense, refers to a variety of inscription technologies. For example, it can be communicating through text on a screen, through the rules of a game, or through the layout and colors in an image. In this course, we will create a variety of digital communications, most with a purpose of persuasion. In doing so, you will learn about digital discourse communities and will eventually present an argument to a chosen digital community.

Each form of media brings with it a set of affordances and constraints. Much of digital media relies upon the logics and metaphors of earlier forms of media, but does present new avenues of distribution and production to a wider range of people. In this course, you will analyze various forms and communities of digital communication and reflect upon these affordances and constraints. Hopefully, you will leave the course with a greater awareness of not only the communicative power of digital media, but also some of the limitations it imposes upon its users and producers.

The course will three major units, with each culminating in digital composition and textual reflection. Throughout the process, you will participate in peer review of your compositions and maintain evidence for use in your Learning Record.

ENGL 314J: Literature & Video Games

In the popular press, literature and video games are frequently positioned as enemies fighting over time. In a recent Slate article, for example, journalist Michael Thompson states that in the time it takes to play one modern video game, “You could read War and Peace, for instance, then follow it up with Thus Spoke Zarathustra and a few starter courses in a new language” (par. 1). Further, the often-cited 2004 National Endowment for the Arts’ Reading at Risk report places video games among other forms of electronic media as “competing” with literature. But both of these sources (and countless others) fail to examine the more complex connections video games have had with literature over the past sixty years. What at first began as a parasitic relationship of video games borrowing, adapting, or extending literary themes, characters, and plots has now become more symbiotic, with both media now remixing each other.

Rather than view video games and print literature as contenders for precious time, this course seeks to explore the ways literature and video games impact one another. That is, this course looks at literature as a practice and not merely a collection of artifacts. Using video games as a frame through which to study literature, we will work our way through a variety of genres, including fables, fantasy, epic poetry, historical fiction, science fiction, mystery, and gothic fiction. This course helps students prepare for upper-division English classes (as well as a wide range of upper-division courses in other UT programs and departments) by focusing on close reading and critical writing, and by introducing formal, historical, and cultural approaches to literary texts. Students will learn how to use the online Oxford English Dictionary as well as other resources essential to literary study.

Tags:

Diagnosing Digital Literacy via Student-generated Avatars

Scott Nelson — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 21:04:56 +0000

Author:

Image Credit:

Scott Nelson

Brief Assignment Overview:

This assignment is purposefully simple because its serves as a diagnostic for students' levels of functional digital literacy in programs like Photoshop and Jing. It also serves to familiarize some students with these programs, and with the processes necessary for maintaining their class blogs.

Type of Assignment:

Technology-Based Classroom (computers for each student)

Assignment Length:

Partial Class Period

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Ethos

Visual Rhetoric

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

The pedagogical goals of this assignment are to determine students' proficiency levels with screencapturing and photo editing programs. I use this diagnostic to determine the depth of later technology lessons.

Media Requirements:

Required Materials:

Computers for all the students; Jing or some other screencapturing program; Photoshop; a class/student blog or website.

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Useful Anytime

First Day/Week

Early in the Semester

Full Assignment Description:

I begin the lesson by directing students to a South Park avatar creator such as the ones at South Park Studios or SP Studios (two different sites that yeild similar results). I then give students abour 20 minutes to create their own South Park avatars using the applications on those sites. The only restriction I give them is that their avatars are created on a solid background, for easier cropping later.

Once everyone has created an avatar, I direct the students to Jing, a screencapturing program from TechSmith. Jing is free, but does require an email for registration. There are other ways to capture what's on the computer screen, but I like to introduce Jing as a possible avenue. Alternately, you could have students just use Command+Shift+4 on a Mac keyboard to define an area of the screen to be captured.

Now that everyone has an avatar created and saved in a file, we take them into Photoshop. The immediate goal here is to cut the avatar from its background. For this, I walk students through the Quick Selection, Magic Wand, and Magnetic Lasso tools. (There are numerous tutorials on YouTube on how to use these.) Using my own avatar, I show them the limtations of each selection technique and show them how to adjust the tolerance for the Magic Wand. After everyone has cut their avtars from their backgrounds, I have them save the files as a .gif or .png so the background remains transparent.Everyone emails me their avatar, and I make a composite image to serve as the banner to our class blog

For a final step, I have students upload thier avatar to the class blog in their introductory posts.I walk students through the process of creating a post on a Wordpress blog I've previously created, and show them how to put images into a post.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

To prepare for this lesson plan, instructors should familiarize themselves with basic Photoshop techniques, particularly selection tools. For an introduction to the different types of selection tools and what each is good for, I recommend this brief tutorial. For other Photoshop techniques I always recommend You Suck at Photoshop, as it's entertaining and instructive.

Techsmith provides a series of videos on how to operate Jing.

I use Wordpress for my class blog. For instructions on how to insert an image into posts, you can visit the Wordpress Support Site.

Instructions For Students:

For the pedagogial aims of this assignment, it's best to do this as an in-class activity, but you can provide them with these instructions should they wish to continue outside of class.

For this assignment, you'll be creating an avatar for our class blog. You'll need to create the avatar, save it as an image file, edit that image file to remove the background, and post the final image within your introductory blog post.

1. Go to either South Park Studio or South Park Avatar Creator. Using the applicaiton on that page, create an avatar by clicking on various options for body type, eyes, clothes, and the like. You don't have to create an avatar that correspnds to your real visage, but you can if you like. To make later steps easier, htough, you should only have a background of a solid color, and preferably a color that contrasts with the outlines of your avatar.

2. Once you have an avatar, open Jing. Use this program to capture an image of your avatar from your screen.

3. Open the image in Photoshop, and use one of the selection tools to select only the background, and delete this background. You should now have a gray-and-white checkered background (meaning it's transparent). Save this image file as either a .gif or .png.

4. Go to the class blog, and create a new post. Somewhere in your introductory post, you should insert your avatar image.

Feedback:

Students are generally positive about this lesson. It's fairly easy, and it's fun for most to play around with these technologies. I probably won't change this assignment in the future, as its simplicity is its strength (see below).

Some students are ay beyond the skills taught in this lesson, but the assignment gives enough flexibility for them to adjust it to their level of expertise.

Evaluation Suggestions:

This assignment isn't evaluated. In fact, this lack of evaluation is necessary for the assignment's pedagogical aims; it's a low-stakes assignment for a variety of reasons. My aims in having students do this exercise early are to get them playing with Photoshop and Jing, and to have them appraoch the technologies with an open mind. A grade for the assignment would add undue pressure to achieve, and run counter to the attitude toward technology I'm trying to cultivate. Later assignments in my class require students to alter images for rhetorical effect, so this assignment serves as an introduction to some useful programs.

During the in-class work, though, I pay close attention to students' skills in navigating the programs. I feel we often assume students come into the class with stellar computer skills, an assumption that overlooks the digital divide. By paying attention to how students move easily through the programs or struggle with their navigation, I can use this early assignment as a diagnostic for some students' functional digital literacy skills.

I take note of the students who either struggle or seem to fly through the assignment. Using this as a diagnostic, I can later pair those types of students together to harness the collective intelligence of the class. I match these students up so that peer teaching can occur.

If I see a student who is struggling with basic functional literacy skills sucha s using a mouse, I'm sure to reiterate to the class that getting better at these programs increases their skills at other programs they'll later encounter, and that I'm available to sit down with them one-on-one to walk them through the process.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

Some students are ay beyond the skills taught in this lesson, but the assignment gives enough flexibility for them to adjust it to their level of expertise.

Course Type:

Course Description:

The Rhetoric of Video Games

Tags:

Visualization Software

Wordle as a Tool for Research and Invention

Scott Nelson — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:57:22 +0000

Author:

Image Credit:

Scott Nelson

Brief Assignment Overview:

This is a short assignment using the free text visualization software, Wordle, to help students find keywords for researching their chosen topics.

Type of Assignment:

Technology-Based Classroom (computers for each student)

Assignment Length:

Partial Class Period

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Commonplaces

Invention

Visual Rhetoric

Pedagogical Goals - Writing:

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Open Access Software

Visualization

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

The goals for this assignment are to use a data visualization technique to focus students' attention on common terms in a controversy.

Media Requirements:

Required Materials:

The necessary materials are computer and Internet access for all students. The application being used is free online.

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Early in the Semester

Full Assignment Description:

This assignment asks students to freewrite and use a online data visualizaiton to find common words in a controversy. This list can then later be used to narrow their searches in online public and provate databases.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

There isn't much instructor preparation for this assignment, aside from familiarizing him- or herself with the Wordle interface.

Instructions For Students:

1. To prepare for this activity, I had students freewrite for fifteen to twenty minutes on the topic they chose. Students were to type anything that came to mind about the particular topic, ignoring grammatical mistakes. I stressed that the form didn't matter (lists, bullets, phrases, complete sentences) as long as they got their thoughts down.

2. After the time limit, I gave students another five minutes or so to clean up any spelling mistakes. Grammar didn't matter.

3. We then went to the Wordle website and plugged their text into the box provided under the "Create" tab.

4. Each student was encouraged to randomize the results until they found a visually appealing layout. (This step isn't necessary, but students enjoy it.)

5. We then discussed the wordle results as a class, using students' examples. Using one example, we looked at all of the largest words (the most frequent), and used those to generate synonyms to include in an "or" column on the whiteboard. Different words from the wordle were used to populate other columns.

6. The end result is a map of possible word combinations they could use to research their topic. Combining words in the same column would mean the student would need an "or" operator in the search box; combining words across rows meant the student would use an "and" operator in the search box.

7. Students could print the map to pdf and email it to themselves for later reference.

Evaluation Suggestions:

This was an ungraded assignment, as it was designed to be a fun way to begin research.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

Students seemed to like the exercise. While they could conceivably use just the freewrites without the wordles, the introduction of the visual element kept may of them attentive to the assignment. Plus, since they emailed the final pdf to themselves, they could use it for reference later.

When I do this exercise next time, I will probably make the freewriting time longer, or possibly give the freewrite as a homework assignment. This will produce more text and search options.

Course Type:

Course Description:

Tags:

Wordle

Visualization Software

Prototyping Procedural Rhetoric

Scott Nelson — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:37:04 +0000

Author:

Technology-Based Classroom (computers for each student)

Image Credit:

Scott Nelson

Brief Assignment Overview:

Using procedural, verbal, visual and aural rhetoric, students work in teams on a multimedia presentation that outlines a video game prototype and the ways it makes arguments. While this lesson plan was designed for a course centered on video games and the arguments they make, it can be adapted to any 309K topic if the instructor is willing to discuss procedural rhetoric with students. Additionally, the lesson plan outlined here is the "Cadillac" version, in that it uses multimedia to present the procedural arguments students devise. A simpler version with pen and paper can be used instead, where students storyboard a video game and its procedures.

Type of Assignment:

Major Course Project

Assignment Length:

Course Unit

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Pedagogical Goals - Writing:

Organization

Technical Writing

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

The goals for this lesson is to have students think about multiple modes of communication and the affordances and constraints of each mode when arguing. By the end of the lesson, students should leverage verbal, visual, aural, and procedural rhetoric to argue their case for making their video game.

Media Requirements:

Media Console/Projector

Required Materials:

computers, various multimedia authoring software (e.g., Photoshop, Audactiy, Camtasia, Illustrator, Flash, Game Salad, etc.)

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Late in the Semester

Full Assignment Description:

Unit 3 will work toward a concept of a single video game produced by you in groups. You will work in groups to design a game that puts forth an argument about the world. Topics will vary with your interests, but research will be necessary to discover the background of the issue and to be able to mount your own procedural arguments. In addition to why your argument is important and the right course of action to take, you'll need to outline the basic plot of the game (if there is one), the characters (if there are any), and most importantly, how the procedures enacted in the game make the argument you say they do.

This project will proceed through two stages:

Stage 1:

Your group will research and write a classical argument on a topic of your group's choosing (within reason). In writing this paper, you should go beyond public web research and pay attention to classical appeals. This paper should have a real target audience and the argument should be tailored to them. You are encouraged to use supplementary digital media, but it is not required at this stage. Use all available means to you: books in UT's libraries, articles in the private databases, government documents, UT's video game archive, interviews, etc. Your group should keep a working annotated bibliography of the sources you research, and this bibliography can be used as a Learning Record work sample.

Stage 2:

Your group will craft a proposal and presentation for a socially conscious video game development company. Working from your Stage 1 deliverable, you will proceduralize the reasons from your argument into actions taken within a video game. Your group will then present a digital media "pitch" to a development company about why this argument is important and what the game would be like.

Deliverables:

Stage 1:

Your initial argument should be between 1500 to 2200 words. Include any necessary digital media you believe adds to the focus of your paper. Be sure to indicate at the top of your paper who your audience is. All of your citations within the paper should be done in MLA format, and you should include a Works Cited. If you feel some other format beyond a Word document would be better to present this deliverable, run it by me first, and we can work something out.

Stage 2 (group):

1. A digital media presentation given by your group to a philanthropically-minded video game development company. That is, you don't have to sell them on the idea that games can persuade, but you do have to convince them that your argument is important and it can be argued procedurally. The presentation should last approximately 20 minutes (Also, be prepared for about 10 minutes of questions afterward.), and should incorporate some form of digital media. For example, you could create a short film, a machinima using an existing game platform, an animation or animatic using Flash, static image promotional materials using Photoshop, remixed sounds & music, or even a working prototype using Game Salad. Remember that the digital media must be rhetorically constructed. If your group is having trouble coming up with your presentation format, schedule a meeting time with me and I can give you some ideas. I'm not looking for prowess with a particular program. You're encouraged to step outside your comfort zone with regard to digital media production programs, and as such, I'm looking for professionalism, not a professional-quality product.

2. A proposal that explains your game and its argument (with digital media supplements as necessary). We will cover the parts of a proposal in class, and you should use your Stage 1 deliverable as your Background section (with some tweaking). Think of this proposal as a document for board members who couldn't attend your presentation; it ties together all of your digital media artifacts in your presentation for those who couldn't be there. This document is also important for submitting your project to the Journal for Undergraduate Media Projects (see below), as it will contextualize your digital media artifacts.

3. A brief (one paragraph per group member) email to me evaluating your group members' performance throughout the project.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

Since this lesson plan is fairly involved and takes up one paper unit, some preparation is necessary. Students will need to be familiar with procedural rhetoric beforehand, and for maximum effect, it would help to go over basic principles of visual and aural rhetoric as well. Matt King has outlined an excellent lesson plan for analyzing the procedural rhetorics of Serious Games, and I implemented a similar lesson plan in a prior unit to accustom students to the procedural rhetoric used by others. It is important that students understand the concept of procedural enthymemes, outlined in Ian Bogost's Persuasive Game: The Expressive Value of Video Games. The first chapter of the book can be found on the MIT press website.

For basic training in multimedia authoring, the Web has a variety of free tutorials to instruct you and your students. I hold three multimedia authoring workshops, each designed as a elementary overview to Photoshop, Audacity, and Camtasia. For Photoshop, I show students You Suck at Photoshop, a tongue-in-cheek tutorial series covering basic layers, masks, cropping, cutting and photomontaging. Audacity's website has a list of tutorials for getting started with the program, and TechSmith provides excellent tutorials for Camtasia, most of which can be accessed through the program's interface on demand.

My aim in having students create multimedia is to get them used to some of these programs' graphical user interfaces, the metaphors of which get repeated across different programs. If you feel this step is too involved, the lesson plan can be implemented using pen and paper is less time (about 1-2 class periods). Creating multimedia artifacts seems to get the students more invested in the project, but the major aims of the lesson plan can be achieved through just having students think about procedural rhetoric and how to create procedural arguments.

Prior to this lesson plan, students wrote a standard classical argument to an audience of their choice. Since I'm having students create multimedia (which is a time-intensive endeavor), each group turned in one paper that was researched and written collaboratively. If you choose to not have them create multimedia, then a possible alternative would be to have students read each others' final arguments in small groups, and then each group chooses one argument to proceduralize.

Instructions For Students:

Unit 3 will work toward a concept of a single video game produced by you in groups.

A philanthropic organization has agreed to meet with you about funding your Serious Game. You are tasked with creating a multimedia presentation for this organization that argues why your game is important for the audience you chose, and how you plan to proceduralize this argument into a video game.

The presentation should last approximately 15-20 minutes, and should incorporate some form of digital media. For example, you could create a short film, a machinima using an existing game platform, static image promotional materials using Photoshop, remixed sounds & music, or even a working prototype. If your group is having trouble coming up with your presentation format, schedule a meeting time with me and I can give you some ideas. Outstanding presentations will be submitted to the Journal for Undergraduate Multimedia Projects, a peer-reviewed online journal.

Pay close attention to the rhetorical choices you make in creating your multimedia artifacts. How does the use of jump cuts in your video juxtapose two ideas? How does the addition of music to a scene argue for a particular interpretation? How do the visual elements of your game cover work together to argue your point?

The most important part of this assignment, however, is the procedures you use to enact your argument. To proceduralize your argument, you'll need to think of both the reasons you have for your thesis being the way to think or what to do, and the assumptions your audience already holds about the topic. Think of the "gap" in a procedural enthymeme, the logical step you have players enact. What will your video game ask the player to do? How can these actions argue either implicitly or explicitly for your thesis?

Note: if you choose the non-multimedia route, I would suggest revising the multimedia paragraphs to outline a deliverable of storyboard sketches and text.

Evaluation Suggestions:

Since I use the Learning Record Online for evaluation, this assignment was not graded. However, the processes students used in participating in this project can be used in their Learning Record assessment. In addition to the various documentation of their process, I require each student to submit an evaluation of their group's work. Both the documentation and their group's assessment can be used in the Learning Record.

Were I to use this in a "traditional" assessment course, I would most likely assign a completion grade. If students focus too much on the product, I believe it could stunt some of their personal growth. For example, if the assignment had an evaluation at the end, some students may be more inclined to stick with what they know and not branch out into using other programs for multimedia authorship. The quality of the final product is not what's important here (as this isn't a course in how to use Photoshop professionally), but instead the processes they used to collaborate and proceduralize arguments.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

So far, there has been an overwhelmingly positive response to this project. Students have pushed the boundaries of the assignment, opting for multimedia authoring tools not covered in the class and investing themselves in creating fascinating games. One group decided to use the game Little Big Planet, not as a platform for their game, but instead as a presentation platform (something I might look into in further lesson plans), while another is using the program Game Salad to prototype their game. The goals of getting students immersed in a project and thinking creatively about multimedia authoring seem to have been met.

I approached the multimedia component as studio work, where students learn basic principles from the workshops, but are free to develop other skills and teach them to the rest of the class (myself included). I believe this freedom led to much of the innovative work on the students' part.

Were I to change anything in the lesson plan, it would probably be the amount of time needed to complete it. I, personally, am interested in multimodal scholarship, but would also like to see how the "pared down" version of this lesson plan would pan out. Is it the multimedia that is engrossing students, or the prototyping of the game?

Course Type:

Intermediate Writing Course