The Assignment

  • Author By Heather Lang
  • Publication date March 12, 2019
  • Categories: --

But first…

Throughout the process of completing the digital literacy narrative and podcast, students read or view: 

Digital Literacy Narrative & Podcast Assignment Sheet

Literacy Narrative Requirements

  • 4-6 pages

  • Must integrate 2-4 sources from class.

  • Must draw on and engage with key words and terms from class.

  • Must use MLA formatting.

Podcast narrative Requirements

  • 3-5-minute audio file with appropriate narration, sound effects, and music.

Dates

  • Literacy Narrative Workshop: 2/12

  • Podcast Tutorial: 2/21

  • Podcast Workshop: 2/26

  • Final Project Due to Professor: 2/28 @ 11:59 p.m.

Description and Goals

For this assignment, you will explore your digital literacies and the ways they changed how you valued reading, writing, composing, creating, information, and communication. In order to do so, you’ll need to investigate your history with technology, media, platforms, and other tools. Then, you’ll reflect on those experiences to demonstrate the ways you changed your habits, behaviors, writing, and communication as a result. Finally, the paper should demonstrate the values you place on media, literacy, and writing.  When you’re finished, you’ll create a 3-5 minute podcast that captures the essence of your narrative.

In completing this assignment, students will:

  1. Gather and evaluate information from sources and/or texts.

  2. Develop, strengthen, and marshal an argument.

  3. Employ rhetorical and organizational strategies appropriate to the audience and subject matter.

  4. Quote, paraphrase, and summarize appropriately, using proper documentation for sources.

  5. Experiment composing in multimedia, including, but not limited to, audio, visual, text, and hypertext.

  6. Explore topics in media studies and critically examine digital literacy and its implications.

  7. Reflect on writing and its processes to cultivate an effective personal writing style and process.

Getting Started

There is no set structure or format for this paper. Instead, this paper invites you to investigate your own experiences with digital reading and writing. Because of this, there are lots of ways into this paper. Consider the following options for getting started:

  • Think about a medium, such as books, journals, magazines, blogs, or social media platforms, that has been especially impactful on your development as a reader and writer. How has that medium changed or been influenced by digital media and digital literacy? How have you changed as a result? How have your interactions with people, places, or information changed as a result? What have you learned about reading, writing, identity, other people, or the world?

  • Think about some experiences you’ve had with technology that have been profound or influential. What was your first experience with a computer? What was it like? How did it change your attitude toward information or the ways in which people encounter information, writing, or reading? How are your experiences different (or similar) to these early experiences? What was true about digital literacy then? What is true now?

  • Provide an historical overview of your experiences with digital literacy and some reflections on how it has changed you, your writing and reading habits, and your outlook on the world.

How ever you decide to get started, the goal of this assignment is to critically engage your experiences with digital media and technology. That is, tell us the stories that seem most important to you, and then reflect on those experiences to demonstrate how they changed your perspectives.

Sources and Keywords

For this assignment, you are required to draw on at least two readings we’ve done together in class. You may find additional readings if you so choose, but you are not required to. All sources should be cited in-text and in a Works Cited page using MLA format (or something that resembles it). You will not be penalized for incorrect citation, but you will be penalized for missing citations.

As you’re drafting, make sure you’re using keywords from out class discussion and readings to make meaning of your experiences. Consider the words “screen” and “page,” for example, and the different kinds of experiences and information each one promises. It’s important that you use the readings and your experiences effectively to demonstrate something new or interesting about digital literacy.

But there’s not a lot about podcasts here?

Podcast

In addition to the print essay for this assignment, you’ll create a podcast that would share your literacy narrative with a larger audience. You are not required to use sources for this portion of the assignment, but you are expected to create a polished and interesting podcast – this could mean adding music, sound effects, or other bells and whistles.

I’ll provide some basic introductions to Audacity to get you started, but mostly, you’ll do this on your own.

Most of the podcasting instruction and development happens in class, so we’re actually composing and revising together in real time.

In class, we listen to a variety of example podcasts including: 

examples I provide that showcase a variety of audio storytelling techniques. My go-tos are: 

examples that students provide based on their own interests and listening habbits. Some frequent contributions include:

In class, I provide an Audacity tutorial, and we allocate two and a half classes to actually working on the podcasts together in a studio-like setup. 

Students frequently panic when introduced to this assignment, but then… 

they make some awesome podcasts.