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Technology-Based Classroom (computers for each student)

Twitter in the Classroom: Observations and Analysis

My class used Twitter for a few general purposes & for two specific assigments

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.

Teaching Orwell's Six Points of Style with CritiqueIt

Students demonstrate their understanding of Orwell's chief style points

Students read Orwell's "Politics and the English Language," discuss it in class, and then demonstrate their understanding of Orwell's chief style points through an activity using CritiqueIt, a tool for collaborative composition and peer review. 

Procedural Rhetoric: Analyzing Video Games

Screen shot of September 12 Video Game Instructions

This activity asks students to practice rhetorical analysis with reference to Ian Bogost's understanding of "procedural rhetoric." This mode of rhetoric focuses on the ways that procedures, processes, logics, and rules can be expressive and persuasive.

Using Inform7 to Make Procedural Arguments

Interactive fiction project using Inform7 focusing on environmental issues.

My students had been studying communities of their choice all semester. For the last unit, I asked them to contribute their perspective on their communities in two ways: first, in a more traditional editorial-length argument, and then through an interactive, procedural text using Inform7.

How to Advocate a Course of Action via Excel

Spreadsheets can be a useful tool

Students will use a combination of rhetorical analysis and Microsoft Excel formatting to brainstorm and write a two-page policy proposal that advocates a particular course of action.

Exploring 18th-19th Century Crime Broadsides Online

students explore the rhetoric of 18th-19th century crime broadsides

As a conclusion to an online research workshop, students explore the rhetoric of 18th-19th century crime broadsides from the Harvard Law School Library's online collection of crime broadsides.

Jump-Start Your Rhetoric Class with Text Visualization Software

A word-cloud on education

This user-friendly activity has students do some informal free-writing in response to an educational film, then reflect on their writing using "word cloud" freeware.

Essay Revision with Automated Textual Analysis

This assignment uses Voyeur to analyze of word frequencies and word distribution

This assignment uses Voyeur to analyze word frequencies and word distribution in student writing to help students see the paper’s thesis and how the argument progresses without reading the paper.

Introductory Rhetoric Course - Final Multimedia Presentation

Cartoon image by Ben Sargent titled "Academic Assembly"

A five-minute multimedia presentation showcasing skills developed over the entire semester: summary, analysis, and refutation/rebuttal of a position in a student's chosen controversy.

Composing Tutorials for Navigating Databases

Students write short manuals outlining how to use databases

RHE 306 group work: Students write short manuals outlining how to use databases (LexisNexis, Infotrac Newsstand, Academic One File, Opposing Viewpoints, Google/Wikipedia).

In-Class Writing / Digital Midterm

Against Health: How Health Became the New Morality, book cover

Give an essay exam as a midterm — using classroom computers — so students can synthesize course content, advocate a position, and revise as they write.

Procedural Enthymeme with Inform7

Screenshot of Inform7 Interface

Even though we use enthymemes in our everyday speech, teaching the concept presents difficulties. By making enthymemes in the interactive fiction design system Inform7, students develop a deep understanding of implied reasoning.

Designing an Online Commenting System

A cluster of red, green, and purple grapes, with pictures of celebrities on them

In this group project, students design a commenting system or other forum/method for conversation within a website, matching the system to the particular rhetorical goals of the site.  Groups present their systems in a presentation and are required to turn in two documents: a visual representation of the conversatio

Visualizing Word Choice with Lexipedia

Screen Shot of Lexipedia software

This assignment focuses on using a visual thesaurus to illustrate the nuanced relationships among words that the list form of the traditional thesaurus glosses over.

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