RIP Showcase
Working Towards the RIP Project
In addition to becoming an effective writer, the other objective of this course is to become an effective communicator in all genres. Thus, in addition to becoming effective writers, we must also strive to become effective speakers and critical thinkers in all mediums of text, including live presentations and media platforms. Throughout the six weeks of the course so far, we have been working towards this very objective as we all have participated in group discussions, presentations, and projects. On top of this, we have been honing our digital skills by creating our own ePortfolios, which helps us understand and learn about the types of thinking, organization, and computer skills that such a creator must have. All of this work has been in an effort to prepare for our other major project: the Rhetoric in Practice Project. For this particular assignment, we must efficiently work with two or three of our fellow peers to create a multimedia project (a video, podcast, or multimedia essay) that adds to the conversation on immigration and the American Dream, and with our practice in class so far, we are getting closer and closer to the officially beginning this project.
The RIP Process (Weeks 1-6)
Below, you will be able to find five artifacts that represent my progress in becoming an effective communicator in digital and media platforms and understanding multimedia text.
Artifact 1: "Carlos's Secret"
Breaking Down a Podcast
This artifact is an excerpt from a metacognitive reading of the podcast “Carlos’s Secret;” in this assignment, we were asked to take notes on the podcast, answer questions regarding certain moments in the podcast, and create a paragraph response to the text that talks about its rhetorical situation and our opinions about the news that was presented. Listening to a text, rather than reading a printed text as we usually do, was a very different spin on metacognitive reading for me, and because of this task, I began to gain a new perspective about the elements that create a work. While listening to this podcast, I was not only paying attention to the story the hosts were presenting, but I was also paying very close attention to the music that was paired with each piece of information they were discussing. By noticing such things, I was then allowing myself to ponder about how these specific elements added to the podcast itself, why the rhetor specifically decided to add this element, or how the element affected me as a listener. For instance, when the host was talking about how Carlos was deported, I noticed that the music suddenly changed from a lighthearted tone to a very somber one, and that, upon hearing this music, I as a listener was more persuaded to feel sympathy for Carlos. By actively engaging with the podcast in this way, I understood Barbaro's message about immigration and the American Dream more clearly-- that is, I understood that he was conveying the notion that the labels we place on immigrants and our treatment towards them in today's society is evidently causing the oppression of whole group of people. Never have I ever truly paid attention to the background elements of a work, for I tend to be more attentive to what the rhetor is saying, but because of this particular assignment, I was able to practice picking apart a text and analyze the effects of each individual element that creates it. Because I conducted such analysis, I was able to write the paragraph response for this assignment more easily, for I understood the text more deeply. Thus, I was working towards one of the course objectives of the class: learning to read a text critically, rhetorically, and analytically to be able to converse or write about it, and I was developing one of my habits of mind: engagement, for I was actively invested in the podcast because the decisions of the rhetor intrigued me. With this practice, I can now apply this skill to any text that I may come cross, and in effect, am able to think more analytically and rhetorically about any work. Consequently, by honing this mode of thinking, I can effectively analyze different elements of any text that talks about immigration and the American Dream to accurately pinpoint its message and perspective on the topic, just as I did with Barbaro's podcast.
This image is an excerpt of my notes from my "Carlos's Secret" metacognitive reading assignment. The red boxes highlight moments where I note the type of music that is playing in the podcast, and evidently, these moments represent the times in which I notice the background elements of a text and their effects.
Artifact 2: Creating My ePortfolio
Becoming a Multimedia Author
This artifact portrays my progress in becoming an effective communicator in the online realm. One of the main projects in this course is to create an ePortfolio that represents our connection with immigration and the American Dream, as well as serve as a curation of all of our work in the class. Throughout the process of creating this ePortfolio, I have found that there is a lot more to creating a website than one might assume: one has to think about organization, consistency, easy access and understanding for the reader or viewer, etc. Thus, there are many things that we as creators of a multimedia text must decide upon, and this made me realize that this is the exact process that any creator of a multimedia text must go through. I realized that each rhetor makes specific choices for their text because each decision affects the audience's understanding of their work in a particular way, and this parallels how I have to make certain decisions for my website with my viewers in mind. Upon these realizations, I applied this mode of thinking to the multimedia course texts we encountered in class. For example, with Hasan Minhaj’s comedy act, I realized that his choices in visuals, sequencing of jokes, and even facial expressions are not arbitrary, rather, he decided on those specific elements to create certain experiences for his audience, which allows them to uncover his message more readily. Thus, my experience with creating my website opened my eyes to the perspective of other multimedia creators, for I now understand that the choices they make reflect a certain message they try to convey. Regarding the conversation on immigration and the American Dream, I realized that multimedia rhetors who speak on these topics choose specific elements for their work to illustrate their personal perspectives, and now learning from my experience as a multimedia rhetor, I can appreciate and understand the value and effects behind their choices. In addition, creating this ePortfolio has allowed me to work towards one of the vital course objectives: improving my digital literacy across several genres.
The images below are "before" and "after" screenshots of specific parts of my homepage. Notice how the "before" shots (left) tend to be more bland, and the "after" shots (right) are more visually appealing and consistent in theme. To keep up with the consistency of the new theme, I edited my homepage, and the rest of my website, to follow a specific color pallet consisting of neutral colors, and practiced customizing pre-designed elements of the website (e.g. strips, gallery settings, etc.) to my liking to add an aesthetic appeal to my ePortfolio.
Artifact 3: Best Finds Group Project
Learning From Collaboration
My third artifact is from our “Best Finds” group project in which we worked with three of our fellow peers to create a presentation about two outside sources that connected to the main ideas of our course readings. For this project, my group worked collaboratively to complete the presentation, for we all communicated with each other through text and even gathered in person to discuss and work on the project. My specific duties were to create the second and third slides of our presentation in which I introduce the source I had found, describe the context the surrounded the source, and connect it to our course readings. My experience with this group was particularly different from other groups I have worked with in the class because we were more verbal and direct in our communication, for there was a mutual understanding that being honest with each other would allow us to work more efficiently to create the project. Even with this in mind, I feel as if I can still improve on my communication skills, for with this group, I was afraid I may have been “too bossy,” "pushy," or "annoying," since I often texted in the group chat, updating them on any changes I made to the presentation, asking for constructive criticism if they had any to give, and facilitated communication overall. I was very aware of the way in which I spoke with my teammates, and I never wanted to portray myself as too authoritative; thus, I often asked for feedback to ensure that they felt as if their opinions and thoughts were heard too. But, I realized I never directly asked my group members if they felt as if I was “too bossy,” and this is something I feel I can work on for any future collaborative projects, for I understand how vital group chemistry is. Nevertheless, with the chemistry we already had with each other, we created a great presentation that conveyed all the messages we wanted it to, and from working with this particular group, I realized that there are so many different perspectives pertaining to immigration and the American Dream, for when we were discussing which sources to add to our project, each group member contributed a source that talked about a different topic (e.g. the separation of families, the DREAM Act, and labeling). Thus, my understanding about immigration and the American Dream expanded, for now I was able to understand varying perspectives my fellow peers had, and overall, this assignment helped me develop one of the habits of mind: openness, since I had to be open-minded about my peers’ opinions and their own interpretations on this topic, valuing each individual’s personal thoughts and contributions.
These images are excerpts from our "Best Finds" group project. These two slides are the slides I was responsible for.
Artifact 4: Me in Six Words
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Understanding the Effects of My Choices
My fourth artifact comes from our very first assignment: the Me in Six Words multimedia project. For this assignment, we were asked to create a google slide presentation that composed of solely 6 words and pictures that describe us as individuals. This particular task was profoundly difficult, for something as simple as coming up with six words was more abstract than one might think. There are an infinite amount of things that make each of us unique, so to ask us to narrow down all the parts that create us and summarize those parts in six words is to ask us to carefully choose the words we want to present, for each word we choose actually conveys a certain message to the audience. For instance, one of the words I chose to present was “laughter,” for this act is something that holds much importance to my daily life, and my choice in specifically choosing the noun form of the word, rather than choosing its verb form (“laughing”), may convey to those watching my presentation that my train of thought tends to be in terms of nouns (physical states of being) rather than verbs (physical actions). This exercise opened my eyes to what other multimedia text creators also have to go through, for they, too, have to carefully choose the words that create their text. I realized that the specific choices rhetors make in words hold certain value to their text and reflects the rhetor’s own mode of thinking. Thus, I learned to apply this realization to the multimedia texts we covered in class, including Barbaro’s podcast “Carlos’s Secret.” For instance, in that podcast, Barbaro tends to use words the evoke sympathy for Carlos, such as when his deportation is described as leaving a hole in the community (14:53-14:59). Therefore, because I am able to put myself into the shoes of the rhetors, I am able to appreciate their decisions more holistically in regards to their work, and overall, this assignment allows me to develop another habit of mind: responsibility, for I am able to fully understand the choices behind my actions and its effect on others.
The images above are excerpts from my "Me in Six Words" presentation.
Artifact 5: Metacognitively "Reading" Hasan Minhaj's Show
Looking at Comedy Acts a Different Way
This artifact comes from an activity we did during the very first day in class: watching Hasan Minhaj’s comedy show “Homecoming King” while focusing on the messages he conveys about immigration and the American Dream. Because of this assignment, I learned to look at multimedia texts, like comedy shows, in a whole new light. For instance, in the case of Minhaj’s show, I was no longer just watching for laughs or listening to one joke just to hear the next, rather, I had to focus on what he was saying with the jokes and how he was able to connect with the young audience, considering the age difference between him and the college students. I noticed that the funny anecdotes he chose to tell regarding the bigotry and violence his family had to endure were not told just to get a reaction out of the audience, but instead, his telling of his experience with bigotry and violence was a means of signaling a red flag for his viewers, telling them that this culture of hate and ignorance towards immigrants is very real in white America, and his sudden change in tone—from a lighthearted one to a serious one—when telling these stories highlights the genuineness in this message. Before metacognitively watching Minhaj’s show, I would have never acknowledged these details, taking in all of these elements only at face value; but now, because I understand the choices that Minhaj makes—the choices that a rhetor of a multimedia text makes—I now think of these modes of text in a new perspective: no longer do I just see them as mediums of entertainment, rather, I see them as persuasive platforms that serve to convey a heavy message just as any academic text would, and this insight has caused me to move forward in the class with this novel mode of thinking. With every new multimedia text that we encounter, I now watch and listen to them with an open mind, concentrating on what the rhetor says, why they say it, and how they say it. Consequently, this allows me to focus more on the elements of rhetoric each text uses and understand its message about immigration and the American Dream more clearly. In addition, gaining this new perspective has allowed me to work towards enhancing a habit of mind: openness, for now I approach multimedia texts in a whole new way.
This image is a scene from Minhaj's comedy show. This is one moment in which I noticed the serious facial expressions he accompanies with his anecdote. In addition, I noticed that his mentioning of being born in America and growing up with the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was a way to relate to his college-age audience, for most of them are first generation children with immigrant parents.
Summarizing My Understanding of Multimedia Text in Regards to Immigration and the American Dream
My experience with multimedia text has overall enhanced my understanding of the conversation on immigration and the American Dream because, now that I have personally experienced what is like to make certain decisions when creating a multimedia text, I am now able to understand that rhetors who add to this conversation choose specific words, visuals, sounds, etc. that enhance their particular message. I now understand that, because of their choices, their work creates a specific experience for the reader and persuades the reader to see immigration and the American Dream from their lense. For instance, Barbaro speaks about the current deportation policies in America, choosing specifically to talk about the deportation of a loved individual from a local community, and provides a negative perspective towards our stance on immigration as a nation. Similarly, Minhaj creates a stand-up comedy act that sheds light on the bigotry and ignorance that immigrants have to face in America. However, he takes a positive spin on the topic of immigration and the American Dream: by pointing out the immigrants willingly choose to endure these injustices, he emphasizes that this very choice is the reason why the American Dream is achievable for them in the first place. Both of these texts demonstrate the specific choices in content that each rhetor makes to convey their message, and more importantly, these texts persuade readers to realize that the U.S.’s current stance on immigration is not the only issue; the real issue lies in society itself, for all of this bigotry, labeling, and negative perspectives on immigrants arise from the social constructs society itself has made to categorize immigrants with. In other words, society has created a lense for itself to see immigrants in, and this lense is what causes society to react so negatively towards immigrants. Therefore, these texts do not just emphasize the mere problems of bigotry and ignorance, but they emphasize an issue that is rooted in society, calling for everyone to dispose of this lense in an effort to create a new, inclusive one. Thus, they call for a change in our way of thinking, persuading readers to realize that they are a part of making this change happen, and all of these messages are created solely on the basis of one thing: the rhetorical decisions of the rhetor, for their choices are what create the path for the reader to follow, the path that allows the readers to come upon these very messages.
The RIP Process Continued (Weeks 7-10)
In this section, you will be able to witness my progress in the RIP Project and in understanding the responsibilities of a multimedia text author.
Artifact 1: Group Collaboration
Understanding My Part in Group Efforts
This first artifact comes from excerpts of my RIP group’s groupchat, representing the type of communication we had to conduct to efficiently work together. Through our collaboration, I learned that the way in which we kept in touch with each other was vital because each of us were busy individuals, with agendas that were packed nearly every day. Thus, any miscommunication or uncertainty about meeting times would greatly affect our schedules, which in turn, would hinder us from working on the project as efficiently as we could. I learned to respect others’ times, but simultaneously be assertive about the time in which we all had to allocate to work on the podcast. To ensure there was clear communication, I would ask questions and double check any uncertainty I had with them through our groupchat; this way, I was helping establish that everyone understood or agreed on all aspects of the project. Working with this group, I also learned how to be more vocal about my insecurities: in the last group project, the Best Finds assignment, I was always worried whether I was being “too bossy” or authoritative with my group, but I never outwardly spoke to them about it. Thus, reflecting on that experience, I decided to be more expressive, or in other words, I would plainly ask and communicate with my group members about my worries. Luckily, when I voiced my concerns, their response was very lighthearted and endearing, for they assured me that I was not “bossy” or took too much control as I had thought. Consequently, I was ensuring that we were all comfortable with the way in which we were working with each other, and I realized that our clear communication was what facilitated the wonderful chemistry we had with one another. In addition, I was achieving one of the most vital course objectives: participating in collaboration and learning my role in group efforts, and because of my experience with Joselyn and Cynthia, I now know that communication is key—that every member plays an important role in promoting such communication.
These images are excerpts from conversations I had with my group-mates. On the right is a moment where I plainly ask Joselyn if I am taking too much control over our shared job of editing; on the left is a snapshot of our groupchat where I ask Cynthia and Joselyn about our meeting time, for I was confused on whether we had scheduled one with each other. Both of these moments indicate my learning of becoming a more conscious group member.
Artifact 2: Making Descriptions for Our Podcast's Website
Understanding the How to Target an Audience
My second artifact comes from an excerpt from our podcast’s website: in these sections, I had written the descriptions for our homepage. When writing, I noticed that I was consciously aware of who our target audience was—college students—and because I was keeping them in mind, I had to shape my writing style to fit their interests. I knew that if I sounded too scholarly, I would instantly lose their attention, for our podcast and website are what they must willingly choose to spend their free time on. Thus, to keep them attracted, I resorted to the one thing I knew connects people most: humor. Consequently, I created the “Welcome!” section to be as humorous, yet genuine, as possible because I knew that this was the first thing viewers would see, and if I could gain their interest here, then I would be able to persuade them into taking their time to look into other parts of our site, which would eventually lead them to listen to our podcast. From this experience, I learned how to effectively target an audience, how to adapt my manner of writing to best fit my readers-- since with the RA essay, I had to follow the conventions of academic text, writing as formerly as possible to address fellow scholars, but with the RIP Project, I had to transform my tone to be informal and entertaining to capture the attention of college-age students. Evidently, I was becoming a stronger writer, since I was honing my ability to adapt to different rhetorical situations, to add credibility to my work and strengthen my ethos no matter the type of audience. In addition, I was improving my literacy across many genres-- one of the objectives of the class--from essays to digital platforms.
These images are excerpts from our podcast's website. The left picture is a screenshot of the description I made for the "Welcome!" section of our homepage, and on the right is a snapshot of what I had written to describe our organization. Here, one can see the type of language I had to utilize to target our college audience.
Artifact 3: Revising the Transcript
Learning to Avoid Grammar Errors
This third artifact comes from an excerpt of our podcast’s transcript: from this activity, I learned to step deeper into the world of a multimedia author, for I was in control of not only an audio file, but physical text, tailoring both these items to the needs and expectations of our audience. Most of this portion of the project was actually done with the help of one of my group members: Cynthia! She kindly created the starting draft of the transcript for us, and after this, I took part in revising it while carefully listening to our podcast simultaneously, trying to catch and write down all the words that were said in the recording. Upon editing the transcript, I noticed that there was a need for further punctuation, since without them, the text was hard to understand alone. Even though the podcast was made to be listened to, rather than being read, I had to open my perspective to possible audience members who either may not be able to listen to it or would rather prefer to read the episode instead. Thus, I had to ensure that the transcript was created with our utmost ability because their understanding of our project depended on it: I closely listened to the podcast and carefully transcribed whatever I heard, inserting commas, periods, quotations, and footnotes as needed. As a result, the transcript became more understandable, and doing this allowed us to better meet one of the objectives of the RIP Rubric: avoiding substantial grammar errors in our script such that it is able to be read and understood without having to “decode,” which is in the area of “Language and Grammar.” In addition, utilizing the correct punctuation in the transcript demonstrates to our audience that we are capable writers, which adds credibility to our academic ethos and allows our work to be taken more seriously. Consequently, we are able to contribute our podcast effectively to not only our college-age audience, but to the academic discourse community as well, because the coherency of our project enables us to provide these communities with our perspectives on the current-day conversation of the immigration and the American Dream. Because of this teamwork, we are also working towards one of the course objectives of the class: understanding the importance of collaboration, for working together allowed us to create the transcript in the first place.
The top image is an excerpt of the first draft of our transcript; the bottom image is an excerpt of the same section the final draft. Notice the difference in punctuation between the two: because of this revision, we were able to more effectively show when we were quoting a source and when we were casually speaking or analyzing the text.
Artifact 4: Refining the Audio of Our Podcast
Understanding the Importance of Quality
This last artifact is actually snippets of our podcast, demonstrating our revision and complete re-recording of our project such that we better meet the objectives of the RIP Rubric. Upon our first recordings for the RIP Draft, we discovered that all of our audio files had been corrupt; instead of sounding clear as it initially did, somehow, the files had become muffled. Consequently, we had to edit the our plethora of recordings such that each matched in sound; in totality, this took about 15 hours of editing, but even then, the audio was muffled and sounded as if—like Professor Delany-Ullman described—“we were in a cave.” Presenting this draft to the class, surprisingly not too many individuals were overwhelmingly bothered by the quality of the audio, for our voices were still recognizable. However, after some contemplation, we decided to rerecord our whole project: we agreed that doing so would be a lot of work, but we understood that by rerecording, we would not only provide clear audio for our audience, but our editing efforts afterwards would be less demanding than if we were to keep the previous audios and add more recordings onto it. Thus, by essentially recreating our project from scratch, we demonstrated our understanding of one of the requirements of the rubric: providing quality sound such that we are able to effectively communicate everything our conversation about immigration and the American Dream has to offer. In addition, starting from scratch allowed us to revise our project as needed, adding context and directionality, such that our discussion clearly delineated our intended message. Consequently, we were not only enhancing the sound quality, but the content of our podcast. By doing this, we were able to effectively contribute our perspectives on the topic to the academic discourse community and our fellow peers. In addition, the better audio quality essentially added to our credibility as multimedia authors, for it demonstrates our understanding of tailoring our project to our audience, since distorted audio would gravely disinterest listeners. By fixing our podcast, we were also meeting one of the course objectives: strengthening our digital literacy with the creation of this project.
Here are some short clips of our podcast! The left link represents the first draft of our recording, and the right link illustrates the sound in the final version of our podcast. Notice the difference in audio quality!
Reflecting on Our RIP Project
From creating this podcast, I learned valuable lessons about both the topic of immigration and the American Dream and collaborative groupwork. As our podcast demonstrates, the conversation on this topic is still ongoing and ever-so-prominent, especially with the fact that America is continually becoming globalized. In our project, we discuss the supposed purpose of English Learning Development programs and compare it to the real-life implications on past students, like our very own Joselyn and Cynthia, and on American society itself: from this comparison, it is evident that foreign accents, like Hispanic, are perceived negatively, and the implied objective of the programs is to rid of accented speakers, starting this process on young children. We then connect this mentality to a study that demonstrates this very notion, for the study shows how accented speakers are perceived to be less skilled than non-accented English speakers. Overall, by providing this information to our listeners, we hope to persuade them into thinking about the way they label accents, as well as influencing them to treat accented speakers with the same respect as anyone else.
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Looking back on this project, I now see collaborative group-work in a whole new light. Before, I knew that effective communication was key to any group effort, but with this group, we utilized this aspect more intensively. To be frank, I am not sure if our group chemistry alone facilitated the great communication we had with one another, or if our past experiences with group work—especially in this course—caused us to reflect on our past mistakes and improve efforts this time around. But nevertheless, I learned that being assertive, yet respectful, when talking about group efforts is one of the ultimate keys to creating a collaborative atmosphere. And I learned that there is much more to being a multimedia rhetor than I thought. Together, we accomplished creating a multimedia text—along with a transcript and a private website for the podcast itself—despite the challenges that we had to overcome. Throughout these past few weeks, we had to face extensive time constraints, for this project was assigned during the anxiety-inducing time of midterms and finals, and combined with personal matters, our schedule were packed beyond belief. But because of our determination and our ability to work together, we completed this project to our utmost ability. Overall, the podcast demonstrates an understanding of the ongoing conversation of immigration and the American Dream in current-day society, and it incorporates relevant events and sources that connect to the topic and our very own course readings. Even though it meets these objectives, one part that I feel may be lacking most is our transcript, for we had to delicately balance between transcribing every word that was said and utilizing our grammar skills to avoid extensive language and grammatical errors. Because we are not professional hosts, and because our target audience was people around our age, our conversation was not formal in the podcast, and there were moments when we stuttered, paused, and said grammatically incorrect things. Thus, even though we tried our best to account for these circumstances, I am still afraid that our transcript may not meet the expectations of the rubric. But even with this in mind, overall, I believe we as a group made something to be proud of.