Rebecca Wilson Lundin

Lecture and Discussion

Remediation
As current composition theory shows, new media is increasingly important to composition. Given this direction, I assign a visual composition assignment in my introductory composition class. In order to introduce the concept of changing media (from verbal to visual), I devote a day in class to a multimedia lecture.

This lesson begins with my laptop. Using Apple's text to speech software, I have the laptop "read" the beginning of a lecture defining media and remediation. (Click here for an MP3 version of this lecture.) Following this introduction, the class discusses how changing the medium of lecture from my voice to my computer's voice changes its meaning.

I then repeat the exercise with different media, leading discussion using only writing on the chalkboard, then typing in Word, then images in a PowerPoint. Overall, this lesson forms an excellent introduction to remediation, raising students' awareness of the non-neutrality of communication media.

PowerPoint
I occasionally use PowerPoint presentations in class, either to present prearranged verbal information (definitions, writing examples, etc.) or to present texts for discussion. The following slides are drawn from a PowerPoint presentation introducing the concept of argument along with some associated terms:

Presenting these concepts via PowerPoint minimizes the time I spend writing on the board and encourages students to take notes, which is important given our use of these definitions throughout the term.

I also use PowerPoint presentations when discussing rhetorical analysis and visual analysis--two techniques which are much easier to discuss when everyone can see the object of analysis. The following slides are from presentations designed to facilitate that discussion:

Benetton ad depicting black and white hands handcuffed together

comic strip history of black-white relations

Although PowerPoint can be remarkably helpful, I find that over-using the program can stifle class discussion. Because of this, I build questions and interactive moments into the presentations, using the shared texts of the presentation to guide, but not script, our class discussion.

YouTube
I've also used videos from YouTube. The brief video clips can provide talking points to complement readings (such as one lesson, in which we watched a series of campaign ads to complement discussion of advertising rhetoric) or to discuss the writing process. An example of the second type of clip is the following video, which is a remixed trailer for The Shining:

When I show this clip, I ask students what about the rearrangement of parts of the movie changed the mood and appeal of the trailer (this change is particularly striking when seen in comparison to the original trailer). We discuss how similar drastic changes can be made in papers by rearrangement and shifting tone.