Overview
“Students will create a multimodal product or tool
based on the needs of their community partner, organization, or a topic they
are exploring. This can be an individual or group assignment to be completed
with classmates focused on a similar topic. The goal of this project is to
synthesize the research and writing students have done and present it to their
classmates and/or chosen community…(Rosenberg et al., 2023-2024, p. 229).”
“In module 5, you will consider how well your chosen
organization reaches its audience by examining its forms of communication. Is
there a group of people that the organization is missing? Are the
communications from your organizations persuasive enough? Is there a form of
communication that your organization doesn’t use but
you think would reach more people? Or, is your organization doing a great job?
Whatever your answer, in module 5, you will craft a product or tool that
supports your organization’s efforts to reach its targeted audiences. Since
organizations typically have more than one audience (those who need support
from the organization and those who support the organization’s efforts to
help), you have a number of choices concerning how you craft your product or tool”
(Rosenberg et al., 2023-2024, p. 229).
Objectives
• Create multimodal product or
tool
• Synthesize research
• Connect and transform
writing to reflect multimodal products or tool
• Present findings to
classmates
Requirements and Format
• Format: This assignment offers lots of formatting flexibility, as it
invites you to select a genre that you believe would be helpful in persuasively
communicating a message to an audience of your choosing on behalf of an
organization, or with respect to a topic you’ve been exploring.
• Citation requirements: Because of this assignment’s flexible genre options,
the citation requirements are as follows:
▪ If you are creating a text-based multimodal product (such as a website or
brochure), include quotation marks around any language directly drawn from a
source, and include APA or MLA in-text citations for any quotes or paraphrases
drawn from sources. Include reference-page citations (APA) or works-cited references
(MLA) for any textual sources, and a simple list of the sources for any videos
or images used in the multimodal genre you’ve created.
▪ If space constraints don’t
allow you to include your reference page/works cited page within your textual
genre, feel free to include it in a comment when submitting your work on this
assignment.
▪ If you are creating a video, include a list of all source material at the
conclusion of the video. On this list, include reference-page citations (APA)
or works-cited citations (MLA) for any textual sources, and a simple list of
the sources for any videos or images used in your video.
• Audience: Indicate the person or group/s whom you would like to reach
with your multimodal project/tool. Feel free to specify your audience in a
comment when submitting your work on this assignment.
• Language: Since our focus is on the Spanish community, I encourage you
to include some information in the Spanish language as well. Strongly
Suggested!
Genre Options
Consider whether one of the following genre options
would work well for your purposes. Feel free to modify one of the three
flexible options below, or to create a different type of multimodal project
that suits your audience and purpose better than the options listed here. Let
me know if you would like to create a different type of multimodal project.
If you choose to work with a partner, please take that
into account by working together to create a more substantial project that
reflects your collaborative effort. For example, rather than individually
creating a 3+ minute video, you might collaborate on a 5-minute+ joint effort;
alternatively, collaborating with a partner might not lead to a larger
multimodal project, but rather to a more refined or elaborate approach to your
genre of choice. If you are working with a partner, you may even choose to synthesize
two genres, such as by creating a video that you incorporate into a
corresponding website.
1.
Video
• Genre Notes: Consider whether the visual and aural possibilities of
creating a video would make this genre an effective means for reaching the
audience you’ve chosen for this assignment. You could create a video that
spreads awareness about an organization that works on an issue of interest to
you, or you could create a video that conveys a message of advocacy more
generally.
• Requirements: This is an especially diverse genre, so the length
requirement can vary based on the demands of the approach you’re taking, and of
the program you’re using. However,
consider 3-5 minutes as a flexible time range that may work well in many cases.
• Program Options: If you choose to create a video, there are various
options at your disposal, including iMovie. You may find it helpful to use one
of the following simple video programs: Adobe Spark Video and Yuja.
▪ Adobe Spark Video: https://spark.adobe.com/make/video-maker/; See the
Assignment Resources folder
for a document titled “Using Adobe Spark
Video,” which provides detailed guidance for using
Figure 1: Click on “Start for free” to get started. this program.
▪ YuJa: This program records
you and your screen, which you can use to display a presentation program of
your choosing (such as PowerPoint or Microsoft Sway—see pp. 4-5 of this
document for more details about this program).
▪ Each weekly module moving
forward will include an item titled “YuJa Media Library.” Click on this title
to access YuJa and create a video. This item’s description includes a link to
the “Quick Start Guide for YuJa,” which includes step-by-step instructions for
using YuJa on pp. 4-5 under
“Record Yourself and/or your Screen!” The following
video tutorial is taken from p. 2 of the Quick Start Guide:
https://utep.yuja.com/V/Video?v=776725&node=3231671&a=1
787874404&autoplay=1 (see 3:30 – 5:15 of this 15-min video for a concise visual
guide to the process of creating your own video; note that YuJa will generate a
video link and send it to your UTEP email inbox).
2. Multimodal Text: Website /
Poster / Brochure
• Genre Notes: Consider whether the visual and textual possibilities of
creating a multimodal document would make this genre category an
effective
means for Figure
above, then click “Create Recording” to create a video!2: From the
weekly modules, click on “YuJa Media Library” to access the page reaching the audience
you’ve chosen for this assignment. As with the video option, you could
create a multimodal text that spreads awareness about an organization that
works on an issue of interest to you, or you could create a text that conveys a
message of advocacy more generally.
▪
Your multimodal
text can take the form of a website,
poster, or brochure, or it can take a different form based on the
rhetorical situation you’ve constructed for your project.
• Requirements: This is another especially diverse set of genre options, so
the length requirement can vary based on the demands of the approach you’re
taking, and of the program you’re using. However, consider 6+ sections/parts with images and corresponding text as a
flexible starting point that may work well in many cases.
• Program Options: There are various options available, including the
following:
▪ Canva: This free design
program offers a wide range of templates across various multimodal genres,
including posters and brochures:
https://www.canva.com/
▪ Website: There are various free website builders, including Wix.com.
▪ Microsoft Sway: This is a visually engaging, user-friendly
presentation program that can work well as an alternative to creating a
website.
▪ Quick Start Guide: See the “Quick Start Guide to Sway” in the Assignment
Resources folder, or the following 8-minute video tutorial: https://utep.yuja.com/V/Video?v=841469&node=3520461&a=893685
442&autoplay=1
▪ Tips for Using
Sway: Access Sway quickly by
going to your UTEP dashboard, opening OneDrive, clicking on the Apps Menu (top
left
side), and Figure 3:
While I recommend accessing Sway through the UTEP Dashboard–>OneDrive, you
can also go to sway.office.com. selecting Sway.
▪ Two versatile Sway templates to consider: “Student Report” and
“Presentation.”
Online peer
review, May 3rd: I have created groups on Blackboard for this
purpose. Please ensure you contact your group members promptly to conduct peer
reviews. Additionally, I have provided prompts for the peer review process, and
I encourage you to use them.
Fair Use Statement
•
If you choose
to make your Multimodal Community Product available online, please include a
fair use statement (see below for a template):
The content created and/or utilized in this multimodal text by (your name
here) is for noncommercial, educational purposes only. Any opinions expressed
therein are those of [your name here] alone.
All text, data, art, graphics, code or hyperlinks in this multimodal text
are either original, directly linked to original sources, used in good faith
under academic “fair use,” or, to the best of my knowledge, are non-copyright.
In case of questions about copyright or intellectual property rights, please
contact [your name here], and if need be, they will be removed.
Any commercial or advertising graphics and text reproduced or displayed
in any way are for educational purposes only and do not imply endorsement by
The University of Texas at El Paso, the Department of English, the FYC program,
or the multimodal text’s creator. No payment or compensation of any kind has
been received or solicited for the display of any link, graphic, text, or other
specific content in this multimodal text.
All original content is the intellectual property of [your name here] and
permission and acknowledgment are required for any reproduction or
modification.
