Reflection Prompts
To help me get a sense of your larger thoughts about a given topic we’ve covered, and to help guide deeper thinking we may not be able to address through our Zoom meetings and online activities, you will have a total of 10 written reflections throughout the semester, all of which will be submitted to me via Slack. You may submit these as a link to a Google Doc, as a Word Document or .pdf file, or by pasting them into the private messaging chat. My recommendation is to make a single Google Doc that you update each week, and send me the link via Slack.
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Each prompt will populate here by noon on Mondays.
Reflection 1: My Digital Cultures
As Yancey explains in "21st Century Writing," digital spaces provide a myriad of new ways to communicate. In addition, these spaces each take on their own specific forms and interfaces, all of which come with both written and unwritten rules for participating. This take on digital spaces considers the groups of people included in such a space as a culture, in the sense that they have expectations and beliefs about behavior and content within the digital space; that is, if you join a particular digital culture and don't know its "rules," this can cause tension or inhibit one's ability to partake in this space.
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With this in mind, for your first reflection, please address the following in roughly 200-300 words:
1. What ​digital cultures are you already a part of? This could be something broad and mainstream, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc, or something more specific, like a particular Facebook Group, a Discord server, or something similar. Aim to give me about 2-3 examples.
2. For one of your listed cultures, tell me roughly 3-5 "rules" or expectations for communicating within that culture. Are posts mostly memes and likes, for example, or do individuals write long paragraphs to one another? These may be firm or soft, written or unwritten, but should give me a general idea of how someone might "fit in" if they adhered to your advice.
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3. For at least 2 of your rules, hypothesize WHY this particular culture values this kind of communication. What is it about the content, behaviors, interface, etc, that reinforces these expectations? What might that say about the digital culture itself and/or its values?
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Due Sunday 9/13 by 11:59 PM via Slack Direct Message
Reflection 2: Rhetorical Analysis
This week, we reviewed rhetorical analysis and began practicing rhetorical analysis of a particular digital culture. That said, we have yet to address how and why we might want to do this in order to effectively write and contribute to such cultures. With this in mind, please address the following:
1. What are some reasons someone might want to rhetorically analyze a particular digital culture? That is, what could we get out of this experience, aside from flexing our analysis skills?
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2. How do people construct their ethos, or credibility, online? That is, what means specifically do you think can be used, and why? (For example, if someone wanted to appear friendly and approachable, but could only do so using Moodle's interface, what might they do?)
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3. According to Caroll, we automatically make judgments based on what we see and experience, and rhetorical analysis is simply explaining our reasoning based on that evidence. Going back to whatever digital culture you chose for the activity, what judgments do you make about that particular culture/group? Be sure to explain your reasoning with evidence.
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Due Sunday 9/20 by 11:59 PM via Slack Direct Message
Reflection 3: Multimodal Analysis
This week, we read about how digital writing has changed or influenced what we are able to communicate, and how. The means digital writing usually uses for this, is something referred to as "Mutlimodal Composition," or, the use of multiple modes (textual, visual, auditory) in writing. What this really means is that writing can now use not only text, but various fonts, colors, pictures, gifs, videos, or audio to augment or otherwise affect the message. With this in mind, please consider the following in your reflection:
1. To what extent does digital writing/multimodal composition change how we think about texts, or even what can be considered a text? That is, can things not traditionally considered texts (movies, games, music, etc) be considered forms of digital or multimodal writing? Why or why not?
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2. To what extent does the ability to include various forms of multimedia (multiple modes of communication) change the meaning of a written text? Does it add to or take away from your message if you include a reaction gif, for example? Or, how do things like emojis and other images influence meaning when texting or sending emails?
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3. How much experience do you have, if any, with multimodal writing? As noted in this week's reading, this is not limited to writing you've done for school, but also includes texting, emails, and contributing to digital cultures online.
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Due Sunday 9/27 by 11:59 PM via Slack Direct Message
Reflection 4: Ethics & Digital Writing
This week, we're beginning to unpack how composing for digital publication influences the ethics of how, and what, we write. With this in mind, please address the following for this week's reflection:
1. What kinds of ethical dilemmas, if any, arise specifically because of the turn to digital writing? That is, what kinds of things are digital authors worried about, or what should they be worried about, both for themselves or others when contributing to different digital cultures?
2. Has anything you've ever posted publicly been stolen or "borrowed" without your permission online? If yes, did this experience bother you? Why or why not? If no, do you think it would bother you if you found something you had posted (even if it was just a Facebook status) and you were left uncredited? Explain your answer.
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3. What are some ways we can protect our work in digital spaces? Or, how can we try to mitigate others' ability to re-post our work without our permission, especially if such posts are informally published (like a Tweet, or an Instagram picture)?
Due Sunday 10/4 by 11:59 PM via Slack Direct Message
Reflection 5: Remediation
This week, we started talking about and practicing some small forms of remediation as a type of multimodal composing. In addition, Jody Shipka mentions in her introductory chapter that this kind of work sometimes receives push back, especially when done in scholarly or academic settings. With this in mind, please address the following:
1. What is your take on multimodal composition, at least as far as its role in academic settings? In other words, do you think students should be asked to do remediation style assignments or other types of multimodal composition? Why or why not?
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2. To what extent can/do multimodal compositions compare with traditional assignments as far as academic vigor and formality? Do you think multimodal compositions provide students an "easy way out" in comparison to traditional composition-based assessment methods? Why or why not?
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3. How does the process of remediation fit in with our larger discussions about digital cultures? Explain your answer.
Due Sunday 10/25 by 11:59 PM via Slack Direct Message
Reflection 6: Rhetorical Templates
This week, we're talking about templates, how and when to use them, and how certain templates can even influence the kind of message you're trying to convey. With all this in mind, please address the following:
1. Do you agree with Gallagher's stance on the rhetorical prowess of templates? Why or why not?
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2. Think back to Massanari's reading about Toxicity and Reddit. To what extent do Gallagher's points and Massanari's overlap? Explain your answer.
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3. Assuming that Gallagher is right, and templates do in some ways influence our message, how do we account for this when writing for digital cultures?
Due Sunday 11/1 by 11:59 PM via Slack Direct Message
Reflection 7: Navigating Constraints
This week, you completed a practice remediation, most likely using one of the various template software available on the web. Once you've completed this week's reading and activity, return here and answer the following questions for your reflection:
1. What limitations and/or constraints did you encounter when completing your practice remediation project? Were these constraints rhetorical, technological, or methodological? In what ways did you overcome them? Which could you not overcome?
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2. In what ways, if any, did these limitations and/or constraints change the overall meaning or message of your remediation? Explain your answer fully here.
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3. What, if anything, did this activity and reflection let you know to keep in mind as you move towards your larger remediation project?
Due Sunday 11/8 by 11:59 PM via Slack Direct Message
Reflection 8: Commercial Constraints
As you start thinking about your advocacy project, we're unpacking some of the work that can be done in a more public-facing way through various digital cultures. What this means, though, is that the 3 constraints introduced by Shipka (Rhetorical, Methodological, & Technological) we also have to take into account commercial constraints, or, what we can and can't do based on various copyrights, trade marks, or in some cases (as noted in the introduction of Noble's book), the unwritten or sometimes even implicitly programmed rules of a particular stakeholder or company. With that in mind, please address the following:
1. After reading Noble's introductory chapter, what are your thoughts about how various structural systems and/or programs might produce constraints for various people or groups? That is, do you buy into Noble's initial claim? Why or why not?
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2. When working through your own advocacy project and uncovering a stakeholder for your topic, what kinds of commercial constraints might you have to keep in mind, and why? If you ignore these constraints, what do you risk as far as how convincing you can be?
Due Sunday 11/22 by 11:59 PM via Slack Direct Message
Reflection 9: Algorithms
After reading the introduction and first chapter of Noble's Algorithms of Oppression, please submit your initial thoughts about her particular project. I've provided a few questions here to get you started, but this reflection is really just an honest reaction to Noble's work, and how it fits in with our conversations about writing in digital cultures. :
1. What do you think Noble's purpose is in writing this book? Do you agree or disagree that it needed to be written, and why? Who is it most relevant to, and does Noble's book reach that audience well? Explain your answer.
2. How does this text fit into the larger discussions we've been having about writing in digital cultures, and its real-world effects?
Due Sunday 11/29 by 11:59 PM via Slack Direct Message
Reflection 10: Revision/Redirection
Congratulations, you've made it to the final reflection of the semester! As our discussion this week covers our final reading from Shipka, this reflection gives you the opportunity to respond to the feedback provided on your research rationale before moving towards your final advocacy production project. With that in mind, please do not attempt to address this reflection until after you've received said feedback. Once you've reviewed any notes, please address the following:
1. From the feedback provided, what major revisions, if any, do you plan to make to your project, and why? If you do not intend to make major revisions (either because your feedback did not indicate you needed to, or because you disagree with the feedback) explain your reasoning, and how you still intend to use this feedback while putting together the final project.
2. What, if any, new or different directions does your project in particular offer about your topic, that others who also advocate for this issue might not? What led you to make these decisions, and how do you think they make your piece more effective overall?
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3. If you have any lingering questions about the final piece, feel free to ask them now.