College Writing IUnit 1: Digital Literacy NarrativeJan.28 – Feb. 18

Assignment Sheet

Essay 1: Digital Literacy Narrative

Description: Do you remember your first encounter with Facebook? Do you tweet? What do you love about Twitter? Whose tweets do you follow? Whose blogs? Do you have your own blog? Have you ever composed a podcast or designed your own website? When and how did you first learn to text? Did u always no IM abbreviations? Does it shock you to find that question articulated in that manner (“u,” “no”) on an assignment for a College Writing class? Why? Using these questions as a starting point, identify a particular learning moment in your life that was centered on digital literacy, and then reflect on and share your experiences acquiring that particular digital literacy. Write a narrative essay which illustrates your learning.

Essays should be 2-3 pages, formatted according to the guidelines outlined on the syllabus—unless you decide to utilize the digital technology you’re writing about: if, for instance, you are writing about a blogging experience, feel free to write your narrative as a blog entry, and follow those conventions for document design. I would like to see more than 140 characters of your writing, so while you cannot write a single tweet about your learning about Twitter, you could incorporate some tweets into the essay. And you are writing this for an academic audience, so a text message, or an entire message written in text/IM language, is not appropriate; but, again, you may incorporate some sample messages. In short, feel free to demonstrate/practice whatever type of digital literacy you choose to discuss. As you determine what to write about, please keep in mind that you do have to share your work with classmates.

Learning Objectives: The goals for this essay are for you to practice expository writing utilizing a variety of rhetorical strategies in response to a variety of audiences; and to develop an awareness of the proper structure, genre, and conventions for different rhetorical situations.

Assessment Criteria: A successful literacy narrative will utilize the narrative techniques modeled in the sample literacy narratives we have read, such as a focus on a particular event, description, dialogue, and concrete detail. It will also use these techniques to demonstrate the significance of your digital learning experience for your audience and to achieve your purpose in writing. (You can think of your classmates and me as your audience, and of adding your unique experience to our examination of language, technology and writing issues as your purpose.) Finally, a successful essay will also focus on your personal experiences; it will avoid generalizations, vague descriptions, and unnecessary explanations.

Note: essay grades will also reflect your participation in the peer response workshop, as well as your revision plan. This essay counts for 15% of your course grade.

Schedule: (Please remember that all times listed are Eastern Standard Time):

  • Early drafts of essays must be posted to your group wiki for peer response no later than 8:00pm on Thursday, Feb. 7. By that time, you should also email me a copy of your draft (using Blackboard email, attach essay as word doc or PDF file).
  • Peer response must be completed by 12:00pm on Sunday, Feb. 10.
  • Revision Plans must be emailed to me by 10:00pm on Wednesday, Feb. 13. (Remember: optional chat on Wednesdays, 8:00—9:00pm.)
  • Revised drafts should be posted in the Literacy Narrative Assignment folder no later than 12:00pm on Sunday, Feb. 17.

Unit Agenda

For the next three weeks, we will work on writing Digital Literacy Narrative essays. Here is a breakdown of what you will need to do to successfully complete this unit:

Week 1: Jan. 28—Feb.3

  • Read the assignment sheet and post any questions about it in the discussion board.
  • Complete readings (see next page).
  • Optional chat: Wednesday from 8:00 – 9:00 pm.
  • Complete reading check (see page 8)and discussion prompt (see page 6) by 10:00pm on Thursday, Jan. 31.
  • Respond to at least 2 classmates’ posts on the discussion prompt by 12:00pm on Sunday, Feb. 3.

Week 2: Feb. 4—10

  • Complete the discussion prompt on drafting by 10:00pm on Tuesday, Feb. 5.
  • Optional chat: Wednesday from 8:00 – 9:00 pm.
  • Post draft to your group wiki for peer response by 10:00pm on Thursday, Feb. 7.
  • Email me a word doc or PDF attachment of your draft by 10:00pm on Thursday, Feb. 7.
  • Respond to peer essays in group wiki by 10:00pm on Saturday, Feb. 9 (see page 11 for peer response guidelines).

Week 3: Feb. 11—17

  • Read responses to your draft from peers and me (wiki and email); post questions as needed.
  • Optional chat: Wednesday from 8:00 – 9:00 pm.
  • Develop and email your revision plan by 10:00pm on Wednesday, Feb. 13.
  • Work on revision.
  • Post revised essay by 10:00pm on Saturday, Feb. 16.

Readings

“Thanks” by Marilyn Senter:

“Proficiency” by Shannon Nichols:

Choose any three narratives on technology at the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives. (on the home page, enter “digital literacy” or “technological” in the search menu).

Advice on Learning Objectives

This unit focuses on the following course learning objectives:

  • students will practice expository writing utilizing a variety of rhetorical strategies in response to a variety of audiences
  • students will develop an awareness of the proper structure, genre, and conventions for different rhetorical situations

As you work on the various reading and writing assignments in the unit, it will be helpful for you to keep those objectives in mind. Here are some notes to help you meet these objectives.

The Rhetorical Situation[1]

Every writing situation or task involves a rhetorical situation: you are writing with a particular purpose and for a particular audience, and you will take a particular stance when you write. Other elements of the rhetorical situation are genre and media/design. You should keep all of these elements in mind throughout your writing process, and ask yourself what moves you can make as a writer to best meet your writing task.

Purpose refers to your goal in writing: what are you trying to do or accomplish by writing this text? Do you aim to educate others, entertain others, or just express yourself? Or do you intend to argue, persuade, demonstrate, instruct, inform, etc.?

Audience refers to the people who will read (or, in other cases, listen to or view) your writing. Thinking of your audience will help you make the appropriate choices in terms of language, detail, and design.

Stance refers to the attitude you convey towards your subject, primarily through your tone and language choices. You might come across as critical, nostalgic, serious, detached, self-deprecating, silly, etc. Think carefully about your purpose and audience, and how they are affected by your attitude, as you think about the attitude you decide to convey.

Media/Design refers to the visual arrangement of a text, and includes font, layout, color, and white space. As part of academic discourse, your Literacy Narratives will look like traditional printed academic essays, formatted in Times New Roman, 12-point font, double-spaced, with black ink, and 1-inch margins, etc., but you should also think about whether or not your essay would benefit from headings or illustrations (please note: these are not required, and do not count for space in the length requirements, but if they effectively supplement your work, and serve your purpose or audience well, you should consider using them.) Also, some of the other work in this unit will be designed differently. Your revision plans and draft discussion lists, for example, should be designed according to how you think they will work best for you and your readers.

Genrerefers to the kind of text you are writing. It is defined by key features and conventions that must be included and followed. A Literacy Narrative is a genre of writing that shares the writer’s experiences with learning to read or write. Its key features include:

Telling a story well:think about the content of your story and the way you will organize it. Set up your narrative so that the events you describe feel like a good story to readers—include the conflict or struggle, and its resolution. Remember that you are sharing a unique, personal story, not making general claims about literacy, technology, education, or society.

Using vivid detail: help readers picture the people, places and events you include in your narrative by using sensory images of the world of your narrative. Bring people to life by using dialogue, letting them speak for themselves instead of summarizing what they said.

Indicating the significance of the story: your narrative should do more than report on the events of your experience acquiring some aspect of digital literacy. It should also communicate to readers why the event/experience is significant. You can do this in several ways—by providing details that show the significance, as Nichols does when she says she no longer loves to read or write; by discussing some compelling background information that illustrates the significance; or by including suggestions/hints of the significance throughout the essay so that readers naturally come to that conclusion. What you should not do is announce the significance of the narrative at the very end of the essay, turning the conclusion into a moment of “and the take-home message is…,” or “so the moral of my story is….” Guide readers to the significance, but do not force it on them.

Discussion Prompts (Reading)

Part I.

Write a brief summary of and response to the three narratives you examined in the DALN. Indicate the format they used (text, video, audio), and compare their content and style to the two print literacy narratives assigned, “Thanks,” and “Proficiency.” In what ways do the DALN readings help you think about your own digital literacy? Inwhat ways do all five readings help you think about drafting your own essay?

For each narrative you read/viewed from DALN, your summary and response should be about 125-150 words; the entire post should be no more than 500 words.

Posts are due by 10:00pm on Thursday, Jan. 31.

Please provide the URL for each of your 3 choices.

Part II.

Respond to the ideas of at least 2 classmates. If you read the same narratives, do you agree with their reactions? If you read different narratives (and there are plenty, so you may very well have), focus your response on what your classmates say about how the narratives can help with thinking and writing about digital literacy.

Responses should be at least a few sentences, no more than a paragraph.

Posts are due by 12:00pm on Sunday, Feb. 3.

I will participate in the discussion as well, with comments and answers as needed.

Reminders about Participation

Successful completion of this course requires participation in all aspects of the course, not just the formal essay assignments. Throughout the semester, we will use the following Blackboard communication tools: Discussion, Wiki, and Chat (chat participation is optional). Please note that since this is a writing course, all of your online communication should adhere to the conventions of standard English grammar and usage. While your wiki, discussion and chat posts will not be assessed in the same way as the essays, you should use all posts as an opportunity to practice the techniques of effective communication that we will be learning in this course. Remember that you are writing for an academic audience; language and tone should reflect that.

Discussion Board:15% of your course grade

When evaluating your discussion participation, I will look for you to effectively address the particulars of the prompt, thoroughly develop your ideas, and respectfully and clearly articulate your views.

*Responses posted after the deadline will receive no credit.*

Wikis:15% of your course grade

Before you submit final essays for a grade, we will have peer response workshops to help you draft and revise. You will be required to post your essay to your group’s wiki. Each group member will then read and comment on all group members’ drafts. (I will provide guidelines and specific questions to address in your comments for each writer. These will vary with each essay.) After the workshop, you will then have time to revise your work based on peer comments (as well as mine).

Full participation in these workshops is required: you must post your draft on time, and you must respond to all of the essays in your group. Failure to participate in the peer response workshop will result in a grade reduction for that essay. Groups typically have four students, so you can plan on responding to three other drafts per essay assignment. As with discussions, I will look for responses that are focused, thorough, detailed, timely, respectful and constructive.

Chat: Participation is optional.

Each week, from 8:00—9:00 on Wednesday nights, we will have an informal chat discussion set up. You can use the chat to speak with each other, and me, about possible paper topics, draft progress, revision ideas, or anything else related to the course. While the discussion here will be less formal, you should still keep in mind the academic nature of the course, and communicate accordingly. Tone and language may be more relaxed, but you should still avoid profanity, and always be respectful. I will begin the chats, and then follow and respond as needed. If you have a specific question for me or a particular classmate, be sure to begin your post by addressing the person by name.

Reading Quiz/Check

Post your responses to the two questions below by 10:00pm on Thursday, Jan. 31.

  1. How does the background information given on Shannon Nichols affect your reading of “Proficiency”?
  2. Identify one significant difference between “Proficiency” and “Thanks.”

Your answers should be 2-3 complete sentences each, with specific details.

Advice on Drafting

This assignment asks you to you reflect on and share a particular experience acquiring digital literacy. Here are some tips to keep in mind as you work on this essay:

You should zoom in on a particular experience you have had with digital literacy, and relate the events surrounding that experience. Do not try to argue or prove a claim about the effects of technology on learning and communicating. Share your story; use the specific details of it to show readers something significant about your experiences, not everyone else’s.

This is a personal narrative, but for a public, academic audience. Please think carefully about what you are comfortable sharing, and what is appropriate to share. You may take a light-hearted stance if it is appropriate to your purpose and story, and you may certainly entertain readers; but do keep in mind the overall academic nature of our discourse.

The above reminder does not mean you cannot use first person point-of-view. You most likely should! It fits here.

In addition to the considerations of the rhetorical situation mentioned in the advice on Learning Objectives, particularly with regard to audience, you should think carefully about what your audience will need to know and what you can safely assume they know. If you’re describing an experience with Facebook, you can assume a certain amount of audience familiarity with that social media. If you are someone who is very “techie” and are writing about a sophisticated piece of software or a cutting edge social media, it is safe to assume you will need to provide some background information for most readers. Just be careful to blend that with the narration of your personal experience. Do not slip into report or instruction mode.

If you are struggling with what to write about, choose a few of the items form your Discussion on drafting post, and brainstorm or free write to determine which feels like a better subject for your narrative. Which interests you most? Which do you have the most to say about? You might decide based on what experiences you remember most clearly, since you want to include clear, specific details.

If you are having trouble figuring out your subject, please email me immediately. Do not wait until a post or draft is due.

After you receive both peer and instructor response, consider the feedback carefully. It is all intended to help you shape a stronger essay. If you have questions about a comment, email the person who wrote it.

Discussion Prompts (Drafting)

Take Stock:

This invention/brainstorming exercise is intended to help you recognize possible moments or events in your acquisition of digital literacy that you might write about for this assignment.

Make a list of all the writing you have done in the past week. Include everything: you may have written: text messages, personal email, Facebook updates, to-do list, note-taking for class or a meeting at work, memos and emails for work, your grocery list, a post-it note, a check, an online form—anything you have written, whether it involved pen, paper, pencil, crayon, smart phone, tablet, laptop, desktop, etc. Likewise, list everything you have read in the last week: newspaper, status updates, menu, movie review, instruction manual, a dog-eared classic novel, the latest best-seller you’ve downloaded to your Kindle, football scores on your iPhone, Yahoo! headlines on your homepage—anything. Post this list to the discussion page, and reflect on all the ways you use (or don’t use) digital technology in your reading and writing. Try to remember how you learned, accepted, rejected, or mastered any of the digital reading and writing tasks on your lists. Compare your memories to those in the five readings you completed last week. There may be something meaningful in your memories that you could write about for your essay.