Rhetoric, Technology, Culture Spring 2011

Summary:

We have stressed enactment in our explorations of rhetoric, technology, and culture—which is to say our rhetorical explorations of technology have taken place largely through particular technologies. To heighten this sense of enactment, the Technology Tutorial Project asks students to collaborate (in teams of 3-4) in preparing and executing a tutorial on a particular new media technology relevant to the other two major course projects. The tutorial will consist of two parts: a composed handout and a 30-minute interactive presentation. Teams will choose from the following list of technologies:

• Blogs
• Dreamweaver
• Facebook
• Google Docs
• Google Sites
• podcasting
• RSS feeds
• Twitter
• YouTube

Each technology will be paired with one of the two other major course projects. For example, new media technologies such as Twitter and Facebook could by employed in the Distance Enhancement Project to accomplish a tangible change through online means. Similarly, students recasting their conference paper as an online journal article as part of the New Media Research Project might benefit from instruction in the use of Dreamweaver or Google Sites. Groups will sign up for a particular topic and then the instructors will assign presentation dates based on the needs of the course.

Deliverables:

Composed Handout
The composed handout should include a brief overview of the technology (producer, cost, platform, competitors/market share, etc.) and a discussion of its potential benefits in the context of one of the other two major course projects.

30-Minute Interactive Presentation
The 30-minute interactive presentation should demonstrate the technology in use, highlighting particular features and providing instruction in how they might be used to advance the Distance Enhancement or New Media Research projects. All presentations should offer an in-class exercise to supplement the tutorial. This means that the tutorials should function as workshops, not lectures.

Time Table:

The class as a whole will do six tutorials throughout the semester (starting in week five and concluding in week ten). Specific tutorial presentation dates will be assigned by the instructors. Tutorial presentations will take place at the beginning of the class period.