Find an online lecture that interests you—a TED Talk, a lecture from a course on Coursera, a lecture from Georgia Tech, or a lecture from some other source. As you watch the lecture, consider the way the speaker is using the resources of WOVEN communication—written, oral, visual, electronic, and nonverbal.
Capture a still image from the lecture and include it at the top of your blog post (or, if your lecture is embeddable, embed it in the post). Make sure you link to the original lecture. Briefly summarize the content of the lecture, then choose a 10-20-second sequence from the lecture to analyze. Include the time in your video where the 10-20 second window is so readers can find it.
In the remainder of your post, analyze the way the speaker uses multimodal synergy—the harmonious interaction of written, oral, verbal, electronic, and nonverbal communication—to express himself or herself. Be as detailed and specific as possible in your analysis. You might note, for example, the facial expressions and gestures a speaker is using, the way an image on a slide relates to what the speaker is saying, the way a speaker’s intonation amplifies her points, or the specific word choices a speaker makes in a sentence. You may include more images/screen captures from the video if they help you make your observations. In addition to noting details, though, make sure you pay attention to how those details interact. How do the speaker’s specific rhetorical choices contribute to her meaning and the effectiveness of her presentation?
Group A, Week of 10/5
The effects of the Edward Snowden leak are ongoing, and your reading-response post this week should point the class to the variety of resources and opinions circulating about this topic.
Find a Snowden, Greenwald, or NSA-related resource—an editorial, a video, a film, a profile, a blog post, an interesting news item, etc. Post a link to the resource and an image of it. Offer a capsule summary of the resource and describe its relevance to the Snowden/NSA leaks. Then, make an argument about the extent to which your resource paints a different picture of Edward Snowden and his associated leak than the picture painted by Greenwald.
Group B, Week of 10/12
Find a source of evidence used in the argument at hand as close to the original source of information as possible. That is, follow citations in the argument to get a clear sense of where the information at hand is actually coming from.
Once you think you have found the original source of information now used as evidence in this reading, report on the process of doing so. Include links to any resources that were steps along the way. How difficult was it to find the original source of information? Was the purpose of the original source of information different than the purpose of the reading at hand? Assess the reliability of the evidence at hand, and make an argument about the extent to which the reading at hand reinterprets the evidence from the original data source.