As a scholar interested in various modalities, game theory, and play, digital work has become an important focus in my work and scholarship. This section demonstrates a sampling of the types of digital work I explore.
This digital narrative was created in Computer Mediated Writing and demonstrates a rhetorical composition that can be produced using Creative Commons material and simple techniques in the free trial version Final Cut Pro X and Audacity. Audio captured using the ZoomH4N.
Under the teaching philosophy, some may choose to offer a digital philosophy as a subcategory. The following digital philosophy was created using Emaze, another free tool we can use to teach students about multimodal and procedural rhetoric. In turn, they also come away with knowledge about various presentation tools other than just PowerPoint or Prezi.
Digital LibGuides
The Hillbilly Elegy LibGuide offers a vast array of interactive materials for both teachers and students to add to projects. It is also a great launchpad to discuss family, culture and diversity.
This common read centered around innovation and idealization, prompting an interactive guide to start conversations and get students moving towards developing good ideas and even better questions.
This LibGuide draws upon the common theme to explore the often curious and difficult connections between cultures, customs, and social justice.
Eda’s LibGuide centers around the many ways identity emerges, operates, and in some cases, becomes challenged. This guide centers around its namesake film and encourages productive discourse on identity issues.
WRITING GAME DESIGN AND PROCEDURAL RHETORIC
The Writing Portal game operates as a designed course module for First-Year writing students. Using RPG Maker MV, I created and customized this module (beta version-draft) to address some common concerns students may have. In the module, student can have the quirky, digital version of me (replete as the mad scientist) direct them to various writing issues. Certainly, there are many direct answers, but they may also “play” a bit to uncover more information. The idea is that experience and procedure here may aid with retention. Additionally, I can use the program to help students create their own rhetorical stories and games-a process where they learn by also teaching. Created using RPG Maker MV and Adobe Photoshop.
SONIC FIELDS AND RHETORIC
Among the five sectors of multimodal composing, the aural often becomes relegated as simple voice-overs, narration, or music. Certainly, these serve important roles, but we can go much further with this modality. As scholars such as Hawk, Hocks, and Comstock note, sonic fields offer much promise in terms of rhetoric and composing for us and our students. In this short piece, the clip demonstrates the common ambient chatter of students that could be on any given university; however, two tracks contain sonic data collected at the same space and at the same time, revealing there is much more to the story than the eyes can see or the natural human ear can pick up. What creates such fields? How do they work to influence the space and its occupants? Why can some hear the tones more succinctly than others? wIn uncovering these answers, hat rhetorical situations unfold in the aural mode when we use our ears and sonic tools rather than just our voices? Created using Audacity, ZoomH4N, Rode Shotgun Mic, and Elektrosluch.