Composition: History & Theory: 2000 - 2009
Kairos, Volume 8, No. 2: 2003
Description
CONTENTS
A Review of Digital Video Production in Post-Secondary English Classrooms at Three Universities (Melissa Meeks and Alex Ilyasova): In the Review section of Kairos 8.2 (Fall 2003), Meeks and Ilyasova interviewed nine post-secondary English teachers in 2003 that used video projects in their classrooms. This research came at a time when iMovie and other programs had been out of the bag long enough to reach a fairly wide university audience, but new enough to have the attention of students (and it arguably still does). Furthermore, this was a time period near the emphasis on social and feminist rhetorics through the nineties and is perhaps why several of the teachers refer to social benefits from using video assignments in the composition classroom such as preparing students for problem solving and planning in groups. The article begins by asking what is so fun, attractive, and liberating about digital video work and then details all the various triumphs and frustrations that go into the planning and execution of a video project. While we must be cautious about bringing video into our classrooms, making sure it is utilized in an academic way, we must admit that “alphabetic literacy is not enough anymore—for our students or for us as teachers” as I&M argue. Iowa State, Michigan Technological University, UNC: The nine compelling teacher interviews provided a diverse background on the topic through varied approaches. Most were thorough in describing the video assignments execution while others were mostly theoretical, but provided useful ideas and justifications for video compositions in English. Each respondent found his/her students learned about the importance of writing process through the recursive model of video editing software, increased their “sophistication with the implementation and recognition of rhetorical strategies, or discovered unique access to film and literary theory”. Most classrooms stepped up into the multi-modal technology by starting with print, then audio, then images/audio/video, but one actually worked the opposite way and it proved to be difficult in teaching the technology aspect right out the gate. This article gives the impression that gradually stepping up the modal mixture will benefit the students the most in both learning the technology and making connections with their print text writing process. In every case, students felt empowered and proud of their accomplishments, especially in the class of Scott Halbritter where his typically marginalized students (remedial) get to see their five minute videos on “honor and ethics in the university” shown center stage at the undergraduate symposium at UNC. Which are more social, academic essays or video? Careful now…But using video in the classroom is not all fun and games. Many teachers caution that it requires lots of patience to implement this type of composition into your assignments and that’s not the only concern. You also have the technology to coordinate and learn about along with teaching your students how to use it. But to Cynthia Selfe it is worth the toil. She explains that it’s her job to educate students for a world outside the classroom by working in each mode of composing while keeping a base in the notion that alphabetic literacy is the primary mode of communication in our culture and takes precedence. While this is true, there is much to be said about Daniel Anderson’s claim that the composing process of video takes twice as long and requires a far greater amount of writing within storyboards and scripts than is realized in the alpha essay. Finally, Selfe doubts “she will ever again teach a class that requires communication activities without using multimodal alternatives.
ADDITIONAL ARTICLES: A Review of College Writing Online (Matt Barton): Matt Barton’s review of College Writing Online by Joe Moxley first explains it was a difficult task as far as the size. CWO contains “2700 files, 10,000 links to resources, 500 links to readings, and ‘talkback features’”. There was much more than Barton could possibly review in fact. A composition textbook that can be used and cross referenced online comes off as a practical approach to teaching, but it is met with opposition because of print texts having the traditional credibility. Some teachers wish to dispense with the print textbook altogether. Moxley’s book is a bridge between the two. Digital Media Revisited: Theoretical and Conceptual Innovationin Digital Domains (Tiffany Portewig): Digital Media Revisited discusses how digital media are not simply objects of analysis, but instruments to create new perspectives on media and culture. The book looks at DM through lenses of education, interdisciplinary, design, aesthetics, rhetoric, social theory, and ethics. Writers contribute from fields such as media, English, film, history, technology, etc. The reviewer found that the book was primarily for research and educators and that it was better used as a reference tool or lesson planning than a complete read. It was noted how it took a long time to develop because of the historical connections and developments it took time to explain.
CONNECTIONS AND REFLECTIONS (Russell C.)
On Kairos, which means “the right or opportune moment,” I found the article “A Review of Digital Video Production in Post-Secondary English Classrooms at Three Universities” by searching “video”. While I wish I found this article sooner, I suppose it was the right moment to come across it. I believe this will be a major source for my master’s thesis, and it will help me form/propose my special topics course next year. Even if you don’t aspire to incorporate video assignments into your classroom, this is still a useful resource for generating lesson plans and finding different ways process and social epistemic pedagogy are delivered.
Date of Upload
3/15/09