The above NPR soundbite is about how it is important to not use the r-word. I think that hearing stories such as these where listeners can hear the emotional impact the use of the word has on not only those with cognitive disabilities, but those who are affected as a secondary source. I think that by showing, and listening to these stories, there would be a bigger change in how this word is viewed/used in everyday conversations.
Sound is a great way to make a rhetorical argument. Sound can be used to evoke emotions, to created a feeling from the audience. It can be used to make an argument logical. When there is a lack of sound, an argument can be made even greater. It goes against our expectations and makes certain that the audience pays attention to whats important. This video made to showcase David Bowie and Mick Jagger’s music video, Dancing In the Street without sound. This particular video argues the importance of sound to provide entertainment.
Here are some of the sites I have been looking at:
A lot of these sites discuss what you can do to help spread the word to end the world. They also hold advertising graphics which I find very interesting. I have also included a link to the Open Letter to Ann Coulter which inspired me to have this be my focal topic, as well as Ann’s reaction to the backlash for her calling the President the r-word. Next, I included a link to the Spread the Word campaign’s YouTube channel, where they create a digital narrative using celebrities and real people to announce why you should spread the word to end the word. All of these sites have used some sort of digital literacy to try and get the message spread to end the word. I am extremely interested in how they are able to tell their story through just a poster or YouTube video.
When analyzing the amount of visual and designed texts I encountered for two hours, it amazes me how much I come across each and everyday. We live in a world dominated by digital, visual and structured text. In the two hours between the time I was home from the Library and started making my dinner, I found that not only did I use the Internet, alternating between several tabs, but I also used Netflix on our Apple TV. All together I was using at least 6 different digital and designed texts with out even really realizing it. Media seems to direct our lives with out us even knowing it. I was truly surprised with the amount of different digital texts I used with in a two-hour time frame.
When challenged to think about a social issue that resonates with me, the first thing that comes to mind is the use of the word “retard.” A few years ago it was all the rage. It was huge part of our everyday slang, standing in place for the word stupid. This has always been a word that irritated me, but since it was just a part of everyday slang I never truly showed my anger towards the word. However it was when renowned political commentator and observer, Anne Coulter, used the word in a speech she gave. It was then that I realized just how bad the usage of the “r-word” had gotten. When I was in high school I made a point to sit with kids from the special education program everyday for lunch. Sitting with these kids made me realize that this word was something more than just slang, it was offensive. Today I realized that these words, although not used as much, are still used and still offensive. I want to do a media project on why this should stop, why it is offensive and what can be done about it.
Digital Literacy Narrative
I was born into a generation where life is ruled by technology. There isn’t a moment in my life that I can think of where a computer was not present in one way or another. From kindergarten to now, as a junior in college, a majority of my educational experience has involved some type of computer usage or another. Despite growing up in the age of digital dominance I have never thought of myself as digitally “literate.” Many experiences I have had since the time I was able to direct a mouse on my own I have been developing my digital literacy with out even knowing it.
Digital literacy is something we all deal with in different levels. Different generations have different experiences within the digital realm. However with in a generation’s digital experience there can be another set of levels. Because we each have grown up in a different environment and have been able to access the digital worlds in different ways, how people interact when it comes to digital literacy is always different.
Looking back I can always think of a time where technology has been in my life in one way or another. When I was in Kindergarten some of my earliest learning experiences was on a computer. Although at the time, I thought I was just playing games, I was developing my digital literacy skills. I was learning not only how to use a computer, but how to take information and process it in a certain manor. I have been conditioned through the years to know how to work with technology, as well as take digital information and skills and be able to process it and apply it to society and critical thinking. We are becoming digitally literate at any point in our lives. Any type of digital game we play as a child, academic or otherwise, is forming our literacy. Any type of online newspaper, social media or news source does the same for those of us whose literacy is developing at a later stage.
When challenged with the task to think of how digital literacy is used in my own day-to-day life I immediately thought of Facebook. Facebook is a social media site that allows its members to think share and discuss their lives and opinions. Facebook is a platform where digital literacy is used almost every day, with out many people thinking about it. For example, if someone wants to offer their opinions on a topic in a way to sway their readers or friends then they will either knowingly or unknowingly apply the classic rhetoric tools of ethos, pathos and logos.
For example, I often see on Facebook people telling stories. Sometimes it’s something as simple as writing, “extremely disappointed, text me” or varies to a sharing of an article or post that sparks a debate or argument. This is often a way for the Facebook poster to use pathos with their various readers. By writing statuses such as these we are aiming to strike up some sort of emotions with in our followers, whether it’s concern, pity, anger or annoyance. It creates an exigence in which emotion can be seen.
Another way that Facebook users use themes such as ethos, pathos and logos in various statuses and updates is when they want to tell about something going on in their own life. When we are giving updates we are employing ethos. We are telling a story about ourselves that can seem to be nothing but true because the person telling the story is credible.
Without knowing it, many of us who use social media are often using digital rhetoric. As an avid Facebook user I am employing digital rhetoric in my day-to-day life. Because my first social media site was in fact Facebook, I see these different usages of classical rhetoric practices everyday. The site was part of my foundations of building my digital literacy outside of the classroom. Here I was able to both experience and portray my own thoughts and feelings on various topics and events. I would use the classical forms of rhetoric to try and get my followers to understand what I was saying, or to at least relate to me. Looking back on former posts on Facebook the first thing I can say is wow; I was an annoying 14 year old. Without knowing it I was using digital skills that I had both already developed and was still developing to create my own voice on any given topic. I thought that by “liking” a page with an edgy name I could get a message across to whoever I wanted to read it with out saying anything. I let my “like” act as my pathos. I was one who used certain tricks to get people to agree (in my mind) with what I had to say both socially and politically.
My six years on social media has served as my building blocks for digital literacy. It has helped me better grow and understand how to think and act critically in a societal manor. Now, I tend to share articles and information without providing insight into my own opinions on the subject as I have before. Through building up my digital literacy skills I have learned that sometimes the Kairos is just not there for a topic. Timing is always important with what you have to say, and the method in which you deliver that information can affect what you are trying reveal to the audience. Instead I would rather leave it up to the reader; provide the information and allow my friends and followers to critically think about what I had just shared with them. Who knows maybe we will come out with different outcomes?
Digital Literacy is not just something we learn once and are finished with it. Becoming and staying digitally literate, is a lifelong process where we are constantly learning.
When I took the Digital Jedi Buzzfeed quiz, I received the result I expected to get. I am a “young padawan.” Even though I believe myself to be experienced in a lot of social media, I still have a lot to learn about media and digital design. Although I have had some experience with certain software such as Photoshop I am still not in any type of place to be considered “experienced.” Taking this quiz was interesting because I was not so sure how to answer some of the questions. I was in between a lot of answers, but the result I received was not surprising. However, what was surprising was receiving the digital padawan title for rhetorical persuasion. Over the past few years I have had several courses in the art of digital persuasion. However, I will agree that there is always room to learn more. After taking this quiz, I realize that I need to take better interest in seeing digital and persuasive rhetoric in my day-to-day life. I could better see why certain advertisements and websites use the arguments employed each and every day.