Teaching Concerns
This post may be a no-brainer for some people in this class, but I think one of the main fears I have about teaching thoroughly new genres in new mediums is that I'm not sure if I can assess them fairly and competently. I'm not as concerned about the "teaching new media what-not will take away from writing time," as Chapman discusses, because I think that any syllabus should be aware of this potential. As I find myself incorporating more new media writing into my courses, I constantly check to make sure I'm providing a level of direct writing instruction and practice in the classroom. The issue that I'm more concerned about is whether or not I can justify a grade for a website with the same confidence that I can justify a grade for a traditional essay.
On some levels, I'm just as confident. I know that writing for a website includes a number of structured writing tasks (thoughtful analysis, use of sources, coherent structure, etc.), but I come across two main concerns with the other main parts of these types of projects. First, I feel compelled to give students credit for working in a format that takes a higher level of negotiation than Word. They're putting more effort into the project and part of me wants to reward them for this effort--pretty simple. Secondly, when it comes to an attribute like "navigation" or "color palette," I don't feel competent to make a judgment call for assessment that I can rationalize with serious authority. If I wrote, "your color scheme on this website was distracting and not harmonious," I would feel like an ass. I can't imagine students failing an assignment where they complete the work (even with poor color choice, questionable layout, or poor linking strategies). I guess my main concern is that I can focus on writing with a Word document and not really grade on font or spacing, but those elements are so very necessary in a more dynamic project. Can I write "your editing was quite badly situated in your short film, B-"?
And I know the articles are 9 years old now, but the Rea and White and the Mauriello et al. don't really help . I can see where they make good points, especially the Rea and White article, when they end by stating we need more help understanding how to evaluate these types of writing/composing situations. I'm also guessing that I'll get more confident in time with making these types of assessments. I mean, I would have to look at web design (or digital film editing, or color palettes) more clearly and be able to present this information to students in a easy-to-understand and coherent way. I'm just not there yet.
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Yep, this concern will be
Yep, this concern will be with all of us we assign less traditional assignments. Good to see that evaluation too is not a new concern, and it's good to read current authors like Diana George or Ann Wysocki who are currently addressing the issue. Here's what I do: I remind myself that I teach "composition" and not "writing." This is not word quibbling to me, it makes one hell of a difference. The other thing I do is something you're already onto. I would have no problem mentioning a website color problem or editing issue in a film (two assignment that I do actually assign) because we do discuss these issues as a class- not as a matter of aesthetics, but as integral parts of the rhetorical situation for those particular media. If I've discussed it with the students, and if I've framed it in a way that makes the subject clear that we're getting at rhetorical composition, then there's no reason not to have those expectations.
It also helps that I feel the grading system is bullshit and make the students fully aware that I feel that way on day one.
In short, go ahead and write "your editing was quite poorly situated in your short film." If you're giving the assignment in the first place, then I reckon they should know why editing can be everything in the rhetorical production of a vid.
With Time
Mark, I really do get a lot of the main reasons for using new media composition/writing in the classroom, and I completely get your points about how to think of the process, but, for me, it's still going to take a little time. I came from a WAC program where my focus was helping students "write." Creative new media composition and rhetoric were undervalued areas. My goal is to start including more new media composition in my 106 courses first, perhaps each semester adding a significant component and integrating it more intensely into my teaching and student work. I'm completely open to moving in this direction, but I want to be confident in what I know I can teach before I expect students to work on the same things.
Yes, I totally get wanting
Yes, I totally get wanting to be confident first. That's a completely admirable way to approach the situation, methinks.