Cross-Cultural Blog

Today we have our last video-conference of the Fall between Orebro University in Sweden and Stanford University in California. We tried to listen to student feedback and revise the lesson plan so there were fewer tasks to complete this time. Instead, students can spend more time working with each other and discussing the doxa or cultural values conveyed by their texts.

This time, on the Stanford side, the texts are student generated Visual Arguments - sharp, creative visual depictions of the Stanford Research-Based Arguments. On the Swedish side, the texts are cultural blog posts.

The students are examining visual argument strategies, what messages they convey, how they work rhetorically, and what might need to be revised in making a successful visual argument.

Participants - can you please post a comment and give us your feedback on this session? YOUR WORDS WILL SHAPE FUTURE SESSIONS

• What did you learn about VISUAL rhetoric today and how you can convey an ARGUMENT visually
• What was most memorable moment or element of the video-conference exchange? What surprised you the most?
• Explain your CCR Image - how did you create it? What does it mean?
• What new insights do you have about diverse cultures or ways of working together that you can use for your future?

Thank you!
Be sure to include your name and institution.

Continue reading "Sweden and Stanford discuss Student Produced Visual Arguments" »

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)

There is no good word in English for “Fika”. The closest we can think of is “have some coffee”. In Sweden we “fikar” everyday, at least once a day but usually several times. If you go shopping, meet friends, just hang out or when you’re at work, in school, on your first date and especially when you visit someone you always fika, otherwise you haven’t really seen each other. Fika is a very important part of the Swedish culture. We would like to describe fika as a simple way to hang out, see each other and to keep up. Usually you drink coffee or tea together with something to nibble on. In Sweden we love sweet things like all kind of buns, chocolate cake, cheese cake, cookies etcetera… MMmmmm-MMmmm!!! But you can also fika with ice-cream as well as a sandwich or a smaller lunch, or anything you like.

Continue reading "In Sweden we like to "fika"!" »

Posted by Rhetoric Class, Orebro University at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

Today, students are connecting three ways across three continents. From the American University in Cairo, Egypt to Orebro University in Sweden, all the way to Stanford University in California, students are video-conferencing in real time to discuss cultural blog entries and differences in living accommodations, education, and cultural values (doxa).

According to the Lesson Plan, students will first introduce themselves and then discuss their blog posts that show aspects of their culture.

After sharing their differences, they will be creating a brochure TOGETHER as a team --> and composing a visual argument to launch their imaginary new company.

Students, please take a moment to write a comment on this blog entry with your response to your experiences connecting today. Be sure to include your name and institution.

• What did you learn about rhetoric and cross-cultural communication today?
• How did you resolve any technical difficulties (we know you had some!) What was your solution?
• What was most memorable moment or element of the video-conference exchange? What surprised you the most?
• Explain your GROUP BROCHURE - how did you create it? What does it mean?
• What new insights do you have about diverse cultures or ways of working together that you can use for your future?

Thank you!

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 09:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (45)

Today we are holding the first of three video-conferences between Stanford and Orebro Sweden. Our focus today is getting to know each other and conducting a rhetorical analysis of website and cultural artifacts (objects and clothing).

We started off in a large auditorium room with all groups connecting, then the students met in small groups working on a lesson plan , and they created team names to share with the whole class again back in the virtual auditorium.

Students, please take a moment to write a comment on this blog entry with your response to your experiences connecting today. Be sure to include your name and institution.

• What did you learn about rhetoric and cross-cultural communication today?
• What was your GROUP TEAM NAME and rationale for your name?
• What was most memorable moment or element of the video-conference exchange? What surprised you the most?
• What new insights do you have that you can use for your rhetorical analysis work, your research project, or future intercultural communications?

Thank you!

Continue reading "Orebro-Stanford: first of three connections!" »

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (17) | TrackBacks (0)

It was an unforgettable day, the day I saw dead animals along the canals of Cairo. My dad was driving the car when I shouted at him to stop so I can take a closer look. It was the first time I had ever seen such a horrible image in reality. There were dead horses and cows floating in the water. What was really shocking was that people passing by did not care. It seemed to me that they thought this was normal, an image that they see everyday. But this was a first to me. I was shocked and devastated that somebody would do that.

Continue reading "What Are We Drinking ?" »

Posted by American University in Cairo at 03:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

Egypt is a very beautiful country. My family is mostly Egyptian and we have lived in the great city of Cairo for about eleven years now and although the a lot of the time all we can see is pollution, at times, when it has all cleared up, the breathtaking view of the sun setting behind the pyramids of Giza never ceases to amaze me!

I remember when we first moved here my parents would take my brother and me to all the touristic areas so that we could really appreciate our country. We went to Sharm El Sheikh, the Giza and Step Pyramids, felucca rides on the River Nile and all the other typical touristic attractions. I will never forget when we went to Sharm, we went on a snorkeling trip to the beautiful coral reefs of Ras Mohamed. It was better than anything I had ever seen on marine life on the Discovery Chanel! Last Spring break my friend from America came to visit me and so I, of course, planed all the regular touristic sites and this time around, since I am now older and more understanding, I learnt much more about my country and culture and seeing my friend’s reaction to all the wonderful things I introduced her to made me proud to call Egypt my country, my home.

Continue reading "Find Your Harmony With Nature" »

Posted by American University in Cairo at 02:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

One of the major environmental problems happening in Egypt is the garbage that people are carelessly throwing in the streets. It has been a way of living for a very long time, and since it has been this way for so long I don’t think the citizens of Egypt really find it as a problem. It is only normal for most Egyptians to finish what they are eating and throw the trash in the street. I think one of the major reasons for why that happens is because there aren’t many garbage cans around so people just take the easy way and stick their garbage in any corner. That corner eventually builds up and moves on into the streets.

Continue reading "Streets of Egypt" »

Posted by American University in Cairo at 02:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

According to your Blog, you guys stated what you had felt about the waste and pollution that caused the death of Salmon fish, the huge mountain of garbage and the disturbed ocean. In response to their blog, I believe the blog’s message was an inescapable kind of message that needs to be read by all people who encourage and increase waste and pollution. Moreover, the images that you posted were not only some images that conveyed “something that depicted the problem of consumption and waste” (Amaya), but also showed your “ethical, spiritual, and moral beliefs” (Bill), which was very effectual in showing your message to the audience. Furthermore, I think that providing your thoughts about a certain image that tackled a specific pollution issue did show your seriousness for showing people the different forms of pollution and also verified your personal beliefs. Moreover, your detailed descriptions of the four different images made them even more touching by clarifying what has happened in them at that time, such as describing what has happened to the Salmon, the huge pile of garbage and the polluted ocean. Indeed, your images acted as a kind of emotional appeal to the readers. Consequently, I was very touched and sympathized with these images, which caused me to actually feel your blog’s message. Also, I think that you, as a group, were successful in posting a very decisive and essential blog, which was been posted especially to show “nature as the victim that must be protected, no longer the wild beast to be conquered, like once erroneously thought of” (Carpenter).

Posted by American University in Cairo at 01:00 PM | Permalink

Hello students in Eva's and Helle's classes,
Now that you've experienced speaking to fellow students across the Atlantic, please take a moment to reflect on the experience in a comment of about 50 words to this blog entry. In your comment, consider:

- what you learned about cultural identities (your own and others') and cultural rhetoric

- how the technology worked in terms of facilitating or inhibiting cross-cultural rhetoric and understanding

- what you found memorable about the experience and what was not working too well

Posted by Helle Rytkonen at 01:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (16) | TrackBacks (0)

Tomorrow, Monday, October 6, we'll kick off the first of 14 videoconferences at Stanford with partners in Sweden, Australia, and Russia - with many more connections to come!

Two classes will connect to discuss Beauty Standards, Body Image, and Gender Norms Across the Globe (the lesson plan will be linked here). Teams will have a chance to watch several videos, comment on the issues, bring up points from assigned articles and readings, and then together, as a globally-distributed team, develop a concept for a NEW TOY, DOLL, or VIDEO AD that would promote a different kind of beauty standard, body image, or gender norm.

Teams examined John Riviello's Barbie Doll Flash Animation http://www.johnriviello.com/bodyimage/barbie.html as well as a trailer for the NewBoy Muslim Barbie, Fulla: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WqmCAzxUxI and then compared two videos on Altered Bodies:
Dover's Evolution http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U and Korea's 200 Pound Beauty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4ZGKanyJ4 Students also discussed assigned readings (see extended entry).

Students who participated in this video conference, please take a moment to reflect on the experience in a comment of about 50-100 words in response to this blog entry. In your comment, consider:

- what you learned about visual rhetoric across cultures
- how the technology worked in terms of facilitating or inhibiting cross-cultural rhetoric and understanding
- what you found memorable about the experience and what you learned the most!

Also, please share with blog readers what your group focused on and what you learned from it. If you had time to develop a NEW toy, doll, video ad idea, or op-ad concept, please describe that here or post any links / material from your group work!

Continue reading "Stanford-Sweden First Video Conference" »

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 10:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

This post was written in response to a blogging assignment between a class at American University in Cairo and a Stanford University class on the Rhetoric of Criminality. For more details about this activity, visit the Stanford professor's introductory blog post about the assignment.

“News from a Personal War” exposes the violence in the favela of Rio de Janeiro through candid interviews of the police, the favela dwellers, and the dealers. The film primarily relies on pathos to convey the full impact of the conflict within the favela but also employs, to a lesser extent, ethos and logos.

Ethos: The voiceover in the introductory scene immediately carries a strong local accent, helping the viewers identify with the setting and the subjects of the interviews that follow. That the interviews are self-incriminating for both police and dealers convinces the audience to accept the authenticity of their messages. Additionally, the vivid on-scene footage adds to the impact of these candid responses.

Pathos: Images of squalor are paired with the dealers’ economic justification. In addition, the director uses cuts between several contrasting scenes, most notably the cut scenes employed between both the police and dealer funerals towards the end of the movie. In doing so, the director leads the viewers to see the strong similarities in each group’s perception of the futility of their conflict, thus showing that violence is infinitely self-perpetuating.

Logos: Other than the statistics presented at the beginning of the film and the mention of the correlation between the rise of drug-dealing and the homicide rate, the filmmakers rely exclusively on the careful selection of images of violence and poverty as well as the words of the police and drug dealers to depict the hopelessness of the endless “personal war.”

By: Kiana Abram, Jeff Lu, and Michael White (Stanford University)

Posted by at 05:06 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Here at Stanford, we're excited to start off the Fall with new connections and new classes under the umbrella of the CCR program. Thanks to the untiring efforts and adventurous travels of our Stanford CCR guru, Alyssa O'Brien, we're looking at connections between more than 8 different PWR classes and our growing cohort of international partners, including our good friends in Sweden, Egypt, and Australia, and new friends in Russia. We are also quite pleased to welcome 4 new PWR instructors to our project -- while they all have been teaching here at Stanford for a while, they are new to CCR, and already Alyssa and I are excited by the insights and fresh ideas they are bringing to their collaborations. It promises to be a great fall: there will be video conferencing, there will be blogging (keep an eye on the blog for some amazing posts coming soon!), there may even be text chatting ... it's very exciting!

In addition, the CCR program here at Stanford is working on developing partnerships with different organizations and departments on our campus so that our resources and ever-increasing expertise in this area (not to mention our passion for cross-cultural communication) can serve as an asset to larger Stanford community.

We have big plans for the year, but it starts off small, with a few blog posts. In the next couple weeks, we're going to have posts here on the blog on Environmental Rhetoric, on Stanford culture, and on criminal rhetoric. It should make for some interesting conversations.

Posted by Christine Alfano at 09:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday, we capped off a great year of Cross-Cultural Rhetoric with our 2nd annual CCR Symposium. It was a great event, with participants from over 9 countries and 26 academic institutions joining us via Marratech to discuss pedagogical and theoretical applications of Cross-Cultural Rhetoric. (To see the Symposium program and participant list, visit http://ccr.stanford.edu/symposium.htm)

Here at Stanford, we took over Wallenberg Hall for the event, using the same format that we use for our undergrad classes: we started in a large virtual auditorium, then moved to the fourth floor for smaller group discussions on Pedagogy, Theory, Technology, and Interculture. As instructors, it was especially significant to enact the same video conference experience as our students; it brought our own conversations into sharper focus.

We also used the Symposium to inaugurate our two new video conference stations -- designed specifically to make future class-to-class interactions even more stable and productive.

Personally, one of the aspects of the conference I most enjoy happened in the first few minutes when we created a sign-up sheet on the white board, asking the participants to add themselves to a discussion group as they waited for the Symposium to begin. Watching people connect up, then take control of the whiteboard, put their name in one place, then erase, then put it in another, all the while chatting with each other through both microphones and text chat was an amazing moment of true connection, where we all came together from the first as an international cohort, despite our vast geographic separation. (You can see that moment, captured in a screenshot, in the image above)

I look forward to next year's Symposium, where perhaps we might even integrate some student panels or participation into our international conversation.

Posted by Christine Alfano at 09:27 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmueller/2401596484/

We noticed that the picture is very grim. The man is depressed and forlornly holding a disco ball in one hand and a pair of sneakers in the other. The colors are bland. The title, "Disco is Dead," seems fitting. The man is wearing an Afro and 70s style clothing, and is out of place in the modern world. The picture argues that the culture we live in today does not have a place for disco, and that the disco era is over. The photo is specific to the United States, where disco was once popular. The other texts demonstrate how bright and happy disco once was, and make the image we are studying seem bleak and dull.

-Group B (Amanda, Jonny, Arsani, Peter, Fredrik, Anna-Lena)

Posted by at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Dear Objects and Objectification Class, Documentary Class and Speech Class at Stanford and Örebro,

Now that you have had some time to digest and reflect upon your recent CCR marratech workshop experience please take a few minutes to comment . You could take the following questions as a starting point:

• What have you learned about cultural identity and cross-cultural rhetoric from this activity?
• In what way did technology inhibit or work best for cross-cultural communication?
• What was the best and worst part of your collaboration in this project?
• Do you consider this film a good choice for a CCR workshop? Why? / Why not?

Thank you for your participation!

Kristi, Sangeeta and Eva

Posted by Eva Magnusson at 05:13 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

I choose to do my analysis on Gibson’s Wallace freedom speech because it’s very famous and powerful.
1) William Wallace seems extremely self confident, motivated to fight and determined. We feel an impresion of strengh and pride. IT also seem to be an intense moment. His facial expression tells us a lot about his persona.
2) The intended audience for the speech is all the warriors, the ‘Sons of Scotland’ who are here to fight for freedom. Maybe we can imagine that the second audience might be the english, to show them that theyre ready and motivated to fight.
3) Wallace is trying to motivate a whole army to fight, to engage them in battle. So he must be very convincing and manage to motivate everybody through the use of the freedom argument, which is very important for Scottish people . He must convince the audience to fight, that’s the big exigence for the speech. The speaker must make a very effective speech.
4) I don’t think there are any rethorical problem in this speech except that he needs to be very effective and really prepared to motivate the troops using the argumant of freedom.

Continue reading "Speech analysis on Gibson's Wallace freedom speech" »

Posted by at 05:03 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Cross-cultural communication is a field of study that looks at how people from differing cultural backgrounds endeavour to communicate. Outwardly, there should be no major problem with interaction between people whatsoever, since we all inherit same general patterns of human behaviour but, in fact, we create or acquire individual and social behaviours that differ us, our families and cultures.

Continue reading "Reflections on cross-cultural communication" »

Posted by at 01:17 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

One of my favourite quotes reads as follows: “Variety is the spice of life.” Imagine how completely dull the world would be if there were no such thing as culture.

Continue reading "Reflections" »

Posted by at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

First of all I want to tell you about one special thing from the course that had (quite a great) impact on me..

Continue reading "My discovery and personal advantage of cross-cultural communiction..!" »

Posted by at 07:41 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Ahead of every foreign exchange program the participants have own expectations, dreams, fears of the upcoming trip, etc.. And I, too, had several assumptions and expectations about my semester in Örebro, Sweden. Being used to the urban environment of Berlin, Germany I thought about the differences in a town that is almost 30 times smaller, about living on campus, about cold weather and long dark nights in winter. Not only the environment meant a new orientation. Also the different culture of Sweden evoked expectations in me. The Swedes were supposed to be rather shy and introverted towards others, the food is very often fish (and I do not like fish at all), a new language that had to be learned, the past of the Vikings is still visible in statues, names and art, etc. All in all there were stereotypes that one heard of and now it was time to verify or falsify them.

Continue reading "Swedish Experiences by a German" »

Posted by at 11:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Today, we had our first video conference between students from Stanford, Örebro, and Uppsala Universities. It was exciting -- not only because it was the first opportunity for all of us this quarter to connect across national borders, but also because for the first time we welcomed students from three universities (rather than just two universities) into our small groups.

We decided to center today's activity on having students present their cultural identity through an artifact or cultural saying, and it was fun to watch everyone share representative parts of themselves -- whether it be clothing brands, photos from their wallets, or even local slang (Stanford students had fun trying to explain the meaning of "hella" and "sketchy" to their team mates).

During the final portion, we asked all the students to come up with a group name as a first step in creating a cross-cultural group identity. The names are definitely unique ;) Here are the names that everyone came up with:

Group A: 3G's
Group B: LUMO
Group C: Facebook Friends Forever
Group D: Cultural Explorers
Group E: Team Bad Weather
Group F: Riding through Hella Neige on a Sketchy Vélo (Velo for short?)
Group G: NationClub
Group H: Fruit Salad
Group I: Celebration of Wine

Each group afterwards posted up a brief rationale of their group name on the blog -- I hope that the different members of the groups will take some time to visit their own group posts and leave some comments reflecting on their experience in this first international video conference!

Our next video conference is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 26, and we're going to do a very interesting activity centering around cross-cultural ads. Until that time, I'll leave you with a few of my Pic of the Pix for 11-12 (you can view all the 11-12 pics online by searching ccrNov122007 in Flickr -- you can even leave comments on Flickr about the photos if you'd like :)).

Posted by Christine Alfano at 07:56 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

This should be an auspicious week for the Cross-Cultural Rhetoric Project Blog. We've seen a lot of activity this fall, with numerous posts and comments, but things are about to get even more interesting. We've been collaborating with a Writing and Critical Thinking class at the National University of Singapore, and we're about to kick off a blogging exchange between students at NUS, Stanford, and, ultimately Orebro.

The goals for this collaborative blogging assignment are to have students engage in a collaborative exchange on both sides of the screen that will benefit the source-based writing that they are each doing in their home institutions. Here at Stanford, students are deeply immersed in their academic research projects, while at NUS, students are starting their third paper, one that uses approximately 3 sources to generate an 8-10 page argument. Each group clearly could use peer feedback to guide their writing and research; this collaborative blogging assignments puts a ready-made international peer group at their disposal.

Continue reading "Sharing with Singapore" »

Posted by Christine Alfano at 06:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBacks (0)

One of my favorite post-video conference rituals involves sitting down and scrolling through all the pictures that we take of the students hard at work in their distributed groups. Here's my vote for Christine's Favorite Pic for the October 8 video conference:

I think I like it because of the way it peeks into the room. Since I'm so often a spectator for so much of the student work that goes on during these video conferences, it's a vantage that is really representative of my experience of these intense collaborative moments.

Also, the students here are from my class, so perhaps I'm a bit biased ;)

In any event, all our pictures are posted on Flickr, for public viewing. Simply search ccroct82007 - and vote for your own favorite moments!

-- thanks to tech guru Bob Smith for helping me tweak the lighting in the photo! --

Posted by Christine Alfano at 12:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBacks (0)

[This student group posting reflects the work done in the first Stanford video conference of Fall quarter, discussed here]

This website targets a variety of audiences, including doctors, the media/press, as well as normal citizens.

The “Working with MSF” (“Medicins sans Frontieres”) section of the “Doctors without Borders” website, provides specific information for doctors who wish to contribute their skills to the global campaign. The “press releases” or newsfeed section of the website informs the public about events in the world and aims to both inspire readers into action as well as simply educate them about the issues. The donation page is also designed for normal citizens, people without the medical knowledge to volunteer at the locations in need. Even regular citizens can aid in the efforts of “Doctors without Borders” by giving their money and time in other ways listed in this section of the website.

The rhetor assumes that the audience is unfamiliar with the plight of the children and adults affected by the events in the central pictures displayed. Also, most viewers of this website would have a sense of compassion toward children in need, as opposed to apathy. Visitors to the site would also be literate enough to appreciate information containing statistics and stories about news events in great detail--they would be receptive to the large amounts of logical appeal (logos) as well as emotional appeal (pathos) provided by the pictures and prominent (red and black) headlines present on this site.

Overall, this website was persuasive in convincing our group to be activists for this cause, because it not only made us aware of the suffering endured by people around the world, but it provided ease of access to tangible opportunities for even normal civilians like us to aid in the efforts of "Doctors without Borders." The proactive and professional tone with which the website was designed added ethos to its argument - to take action instead of just learning about the plight of others without being able to do anything about it.

PWR 1 members of Group C: Sophie, Stephanie, Ming, Elliot

PWR 2 members of Group C: Evan, Nick, Eethar, and Kavi

Posted by at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBacks (0)

[This student group posting reflects the work done in the first Stanford video conference of Fall quarter, discussed here]

Save Darfur is an organization composed of 180 faith-based groups that seek to raise awareness, fundraise, and provide opportunities to get involved against the Darfur genocide. Save Darfur's website uses emotional appeals through the use of persuasive images and language. The focus on images of sad-eyed children and the vibrant nature of the links encourages the audience to donate and actively participate. The Save Darfur Coalition catered the site to English speaking countries. The site aims to get its audience involved in bringing an end to the atrocities occuring in Darfur through awareness and financial support.
While the organization sends a message through their use of pathos, we feel that the site would be more effective if they included more statistics and information about how donations have helped the suffering people of Darfur.

Co-Authored by Ashley, Dan, Katie, J.J., Pedro, Tara, & Yu Xian, Students from PWR1 & 2 classes.

Posted by at 10:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) | TrackBacks (0)

[This student group posting reflects the work done in the first Stanford video conference of Fall quarter, discussed here]

www.greenpeace.org

The authors of the greenpeace website seem to be environmentally active protestors who are concerned with empowering themselves through their volunteer work. Also, the authors do not seem to be experts in the field ecause there is not a lot of factual argument behind what they write, they mainly rely on sensationalist rhetoric. The website has a universal appeal to the audience by featuring issues in places across the world, such as Mexico, Indonesia, the US, the UK, Brazil and many more. The website appeals to audiences of all education levels because it uses primarily visual appeals rather than text. The text that is on the site is concise and
exaggerated which suggests that they are appealing to emotions such as fear. In addition, the layout of this
site is odd because it features a game on the homepage which suggests that the issues are secondary to the entertainment value. This speaks to the goal of the group which seems to be more about shock value than actual activism. This website fails to persuade us to join the cause and become active for several reasons. Primarily, it lacks any logical arguments for why we should be concerned with the issue. While the website does appeal to ethos, its lack of factual information makes it difficult to contextualize the scope of the issue.

Introducing Group A:
Steve Scheele (Seattle, WA)
Jeri Canlas (San Jose, CA)
Jannah Thomas (LA, California)
Lillian To(San Jose, CA)
Harry Zeitlin (Phoenix, AZ)
Yasmeen Abdul-Karim (Newark, NJ)

Posted by at 10:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (30) | TrackBacks (0)

This morning, we held our first Cross-Cultural Rhetoric Workshop for Fall 2007. Chris and I asked our two classes to connect via Marratech video conference in Wallenberg Hall. It was an exciting opportunity to try out a few things. First, we hoped that we might introduce the students to the Marratech technology interface, to speaking with and through the webcams and looking for their audiences in the little boxes on the screens. From last year, we learned that students have a hard time learning to interface through this technology, and we hope to develop some best practices in this area. Eva's students in Sweden had special training on how to speak for a camera. We haven't had time in our curriculum or schedule for that, so perhaps learning it on the fly will help. Here's an image from the Marratech session this morning. What I was most impressed by was that students adapted to the technology. I saw students resizing image windows, moving the laptop closer to type then pushing it back to allow all the students to be viewed by the webcam, and going to walkie-talkie mode.

Second, we hoped to pilot a workshop lesson plan focused on activist websites. I'm grateful to Chris for sharing her expertise in the opening illustrative frame, a new techniques which we developed last year in which the speaker models the rhetorical analysis for the students. She did a fabulous job with the Care Website, taking us through how the organization targeted different countries. In my debriefing with my class, I found out that students learned a great deal about how rhetoric works from their collaborative analysis of activist Websites. They found an over-reliance on pathos (crying children, scary words), very little ethos, and appeals to money dominating the argument of the Websites. They also noticed a bias towards English speaking audiences, even in versions of the Website aimed at international audiences.

Third, we hoped to see what happens when two groups of diverse Stanford students come together using our project methodology and ICT implementation practices! I was surprised that the groups didn't actually try to go and locate each other -- although they were all in Wallenberg Hall! But they said in the debriefing that they very much appreciated this opportunity to share opinions, perspectives, and arguments. I'm so grateful to everyone for participating!

Alyssa

Posted by Alyssa O'Brien at 09:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) | TrackBacks (0)