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Hi. I'm Sid Dobrin. In this video I'll be talking about the Digital Project that asks
students to make a video about the interactions between information-age technologies and American
culture. This assignment asks students to use a familiar
contemporary medium to convey information about the information age.
I designed this assignment to encourage students to use a less-academic medium, but a medium
that has become prominent in contemporary culture, as a means of writing to inform.
When I ask my students to respond to this assignment, I clarify that their general purpose
is to make an in- formative video. I also encourage them, as the assignment says, to
circulate their videos to larger, public audiences. Part of the intent of the assignment is grounded
in the need for students to conduct research. Thus, the assignment asks students to learn
more about the history and use of the terms "in- formation age" and "digital age." Given
that most undergraduate college students enrolled today were born with the information age in
full swing, I assume that many do not have a historical perspective about the development
of the information age. Thus, the research aspect of this assignment requires that they
learn more about why we call this the information age and how that attribution has interacted
with contemporary U.S. cultures. As students conduct their research, I ask
them to consider the ethics of what they will convey in their videos: will they address
only the positives of the evolution of the digital age or will they ac- count for inequalities,
abuses, and other negative facets of the information age. Part of what I want students to understand
with this assignment is that writing to inform about historical events or historical moments
does not mean that the historical information is inherently objective, but that there will
always be the need to be alert to the ethics of what information is conveyed.
To that end, as well, I emphasize with students the need for clarity in their delivery of
their information. I talk about how unclear writing can obscure or obfuscate information,
and I talk about how the video medium can provide visual dimensions to their writing
that may enhance their clarity, or it may contribute to its confusion.
I can also, then, use the composing in electronic environments portion of the assessment rubric
for this chapter to emphasize the difference between writing an informative essay and writing
an informative video. This is also to say, that I find it useful—and
ethical—to talk with students about how I will assess their videos, particularly since
for many this may be the first time they have written and edited a video toward a specific
objective. This allows me to address the importance of developing a thesis, of being alert to
the processes through which they write and produce the video, and the under- standing
of the conventions they will need to adhere to when completing this project.
One last comment about this assignment: I have found that asking students to first write
a de- tailed script for their videos and then to share those scripts either in peer revision
groups, with the entire class, or with me individually, helps students more efficiently
think through how they intend to convey the information they wish to convey. Likewise,
this assignment is also effective as a collaborative assignment with two or three students working
together to make a video. So those are some of the ways that I address
the digital assignment in this chapter. Thanks for using Writing Situations and thanks for
watching.