Video #1 is a short, helpful explanation on the overall concept of multiliteracies. It summarizes and simplifies ideas that come directly from the report by the New London Group. One particularly helpful explanation provided is that of synaesthesia, which is when a communicator represents information in all six modes of communication. These modes are oral, visual, audio, gestural, tactile, and spatial. Furthermore, the video gives advice on how to apply multiliteracies to pedagogy.
Video #2 is another discussion of the London Group’s conclusions on multiliteracies. It addresses the basic concerns that lead to why multiliteracies are important to consider (different modes of meaning/communication, varying cultures and identities, etc.). The narrator uses her own form of media, the video itself, to describe how she’s applying the modes of meaning. Like the first video, she gives suggestions on how teachers might incorporate this in their pedagogy, but she does so in a much shorter, simpler way.
While I disliked the animation of this third video, it provides useful information that the other two videos lack. It features the setting of a classroom, which strengthens the message of how multiliteracies are intended to be applied in education. It presents multiliteracies in a basic, easy-to-understand manner that uses visually appealing bullet points. The video also provides a real-life example of an Australian curriculum that incorporates the pedagogy of teaching multiliteracies.
The concept of multiliteracies is a relatively new one, but it looks at the important paradox of how one language, English, is branching off into different forms of itself. It also acknowledges how today’s world of multimedia requires language-learners to learn English through different forms of media. There is no longer one standard set of skills that covers all literacies, indicating there can no longer be one pedagogy when teaching it (Cope & Kalantzis 6).
When dissecting the idea of multiliteracies, it is important to know certain terms. One is multimodal literacy. This literacy consists of deciphering meaning from multiple medias that can range from video to desktop publishing, just to name a couple (5-6). Multimodal literacy is important to multiliteracies because, thanks to the addition of new medias, it is one of the leading factors in expanding how English must be taught.
A second useful term is a pair of terms, lingua mundi and lingua franca. Lingua mundi defines English as a developing world language, and lingua franca defines it as a primary language used in commerce, politics, and media (6). Understanding these roles of the language aids in understanding how English is perhaps one of the most complex ones, for it is differentiating into different versions of itself with dialects, accents, and other unique markers.
A third important term is pedagogy. According to these authors, literacy pedagogy consists of four parts or stages. A learner must first become a meaning maker, by deriving meaning from the symbols and sounds of language. Then the learner develops their own metalanguage, or Design, going onto the third step, which is interpreting the social context and purpose of language. Finally, a learner uses their metalanguage to create. The four parts of pedagogy can be summed up into these titles: Situated Practice, Overt Instruction, Critical Framing, and Transformed Practice (7).
Digital rhetoric is a part of rhetorical tradition in that it still heavily relies on the written word. Writing is at its core, and without that persuasive writing, there is no rhetoric. However, digital rhetoric departs from historically traditional definitions of the art due to the second part of its name: digital.
According to Eyman, it is the “application of rhetorical theory to digital texts and performances” (44). Its related fields consist of digital literacy, visual rhetoric, new media, human-computer interaction, and critical code studies. All of these related fields contribute to the overarching concept of digital rhetoric.
Digital Literacy. It’s writing but with a whole new code system, and thanks to this code system, we can consider the multiliteracies of computer literacy, technological literacy, etc.
Visual rhetoric considers the meaning of design and image, looking at the aesthetics that make digital rhetoric rank on scales of appeal.
New media could otherwise be defined as multimedia. Without these modes of media, and understanding older and newer forms of them, rhetoric would be ineffective in the digital world.
Human-computer interaction studies people, technologies, and the interaction between the two. Understanding these interactions allows digital writers to present rhetoric in a more persuasive manner.
Finally, critical code studies examine the software behind the digital presentation. How does the numerical system of code manifest into writing and design? What are those systems and how do certain topics translate through this language of code? Experts in digital rhetoric must also be aware of this coding system, its basic functions, and to be even more effective, well-versed in the coding language.
The first video* explains how author websites should be formatted for success. Specifically, it gives tips on how to construct author bios, divide published works into separate pages, include content that readers look out for, include links to social medias, and understand the usefulness of a blog and newsletter. It stresses the importance of sharing this knowledge and why it is worth presenting.
*gives tips on working with digital rhetoric, when creating an author website, without actually acknowledging the meta-concept of digital rhetoric
This second video looks at rhetoric in general, particularly outlining the ideas Aristotle developed. It discusses the types of rhetoric that he determined: forensics, epideictic, and symbouleutikon. The latter, otherwise known as deliberative rhetoric, is perhaps the most persuasive, for it projects an appealing ideal that urges audiences to take action. Here, we learn how to best apply deliberate rhetoric by utilizing ethos, pathos, and logos.
Video #3 presents visual rhetoric in a easy-to-understand, comprehensive manner. It stresses the importance of recognizing how visuals affect meaning. It does this by walking us through examples of analysis on an advertisement, note of complaint, and academic works.
Digital rhetoric is a complex, abstract concept that, at its essence, is the “application of rhetorical theory to digital texts and preferences” (Eyman 13). The concept is constructed of three parts: rhetoric, digital qualities, and text. Rhetoric is meaningful, persuasive writing that communicates knowledge and ideas. The term digital defines any type of encoded information that bridges “textual production and rhetoric” (20). Text is any collection of symbols that can be read and interpreted into meaning.
There are numerous terms that students of rhetoric should be aware of, but one of them is ethos. Ethos involves ownership of information, primarily questioning whether said information is credible and true. As discussed by Eyman on pages 31 to 32, approaches to determining the ethos of information has evolved. Readers now look at the author’s education and expertise, the visual rhetoric (aka images) surrounding the information, the information’s content, and the writing style’s suitability to the information presented. Any digital writer should be aware of this approach and how to create content that meets the approval of readers.
A second important idea is that of procedural rhetoric and recognizing its role in the rhetoric that takes place in digital medias. Quoted by Eyman on page 36, Bogost uses the term to describe “the practice of using processes persuasively.” More specifically, it is the practice of using processes such as coding, graphic design, etc. to present persuasive writing. Digital writers should be aware of these processes and how closely related they are with the rhetoric itself.
It is also crucial to know visual rhetoric and its integration into digital rhetoric. Visual rhetoric is the persuasive use of shapes, color, images, and sometimes text–graphic design. “Because digital rhetoric incorporates the visual,” writers on digital spaces should be aware of the impact and influence of visuals on audiences (18). Understanding visual rhetoric increases understanding of digital rhetoric overall, as suggested by Eyman on pages 17 to 18.
I entered this class with a vague idea of what it would be teaching. Now that I’ve listened to introductions on its topics, I’m fairly confident this class will equip me with invaluable skills for today’s world. When I think of digital rhetoric, I think of the Internet’s writing. I think of websites, social media posts, articles, PDFs, and videos. I think of how the creators of this content take special care to visually present their message with the right fonts, formats, colors, and images. Then I think of how eager I am to apply these tools of digital rhetoric to my own media platforms.
Since the early summer of 2019, I’ve been investing my time and energy into building an author website and Instagram page. I primarily post on Instagram, but when I do post on the blog, I promote it on Instagram and include the link in my bio. I’ve worked hard to achieve a visually pleasing aesthetic while remaining true to my style and my goals with the platforms. Yet I hope to learn how to develop the best methods of communicating digitally so I might reach my target audience and accumulate followers and readers.
Above is home page for my author website and blog. Before even knowing what digital rhetoric really was, I tried to make my writing more accessible and noticeable by including links on the home page to two of the most recent posts. While I have yet to traditionally publish any short stories or novels, I have the heading Upcoming Projects under which I share what WIPs I’m working on. With this class, I will apply the tricks of digital rhetoric to boost this page’s appeal and design.
Above is the blog page, or landing page, of my website. There, all my posts are listed with tiny blurbs to strike interest and images that correspond with the pictures used in the post themselves. I took smart, digital writing tips from other websites and bloggers’ advice when creating this organized filing system for the posts. I also took tips from successful authors and included widgets in the right column of the page. There, readers see a couple of recent posts from my Instagram and can click on those images, which takes them straight to my Instagram profile. While I am pleased with the blog page’s design and format, I want to learn how to better write for the medium.
As for the Instagram page, I have recently applied many of the digital rhetoric tools and tips I’ve learned from observation and reading articles on social media success. It wasn’t until a month ago that I began establishing a color palette and aesthetic to my posts. With this change, I created a pattern for my feed, where there’s a quote on a color block for every other post to break up the images. While I like the design so far, and I feel it is clean and visually appealing, learning more of digital rhetoric will allow me to draw on whatever skills I have honed to make them even better. Like with the website, it will educate me on how to write, post, photograph, and tag better for my audience’s tastes.
I am happy with what I’ve accomplished. But I believe digital rhetoric can help me do more.
With this digital rhetoric class, I intend to apply its tools and methods in order to improve these media platforms. I hope to further understand the value of hashtags and to use them in the right places at the right times. I want to understand my audience in a deeper way and learn how to connect with them. I am certain digital rhetoric and its lectures on how to write successfully on digital canvasses will help me achieve this.
In this class, I hope to learn how to better promote myself, my work, and whatever future companies I work for through digital media. I intend to utilize writing and images to my advantage in order to become more successful. I believe this will be very useful in my future as a novelist, editor, and technical writer.
ENG 333 Blog 