Students in our program take a course steeped in digital rhetorical theory and pedagogy. One of our assignments is to observe and record a colleague’s class and to edit a video of that session, with an eye towards the use of technology in the classroom. In Fall 2013, I was fortunate enough to have two colleagues visit my classroom. I am luckier still that those colleagues and my students granted me permission to share those videos here. (To see the video I made in response to this assignment, please visit my Digital Projects page.)

“Quiet Tech” by Nicholas Novosel

In this video, I am introducing a new unit and accompanying essay assignment to my students in an “Introduction to Academic Writing” course. The essay asked students to analyze a visual to deduce its narrative or argument and submit an essay that explained how they arrived at that interpretation. I began the class by handing out paper copies of the assignment sheet, though it was also readily available on Canvas (our university’s preferred course management system). After briefly reviewing the parameters of the assignment, I set the students to their task: in groups, they were to find an image and together come to a conclusion regarding the image’s argument, understanding that they would have to present their analysis to the class. At that point, I would listen to their presentations, ask questions, offer additional insights, and promise further instruction in the classes to come.

“Video Observation” by Jeffrey S. Moore

Here, I am again teaching a section of an “Introduction to Academic Writing” course, where I have adapted a lesson I originally conceived for reviewing citation practices for an advanced writing course at another institution: instead, we are using a Jeopardy-style game to learn how to practice MLA documentation. The students work in groups and use the computers in the lab; their laptops, tablets, and cellphones; their textbooks; the resources on our course’s hub on Canvas; essentially all the means available to them in order to find the right answers. Points are not deducted for incorrect answers so as not to discourage participation, and the Final Jeopardy category, “Method to the Madness,” asks the students to find out why writers practice citation at all.