refereed webtext: Kairos
citation
Ball, Cheryl E. (2006). Reading the text: A rhetoric of wow. Kairos: Rhetoric, Technology, Pedagogy, 10(2). http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/10.2/.
abstract
This webtext [scholarly, interactive article] looks at two pieces of theory, one from aesthetics and one from composition studies, to show how the two theories merge into a useful teaching and reading strategy of new media texts. As part of the webtext, I provide a reading of a student-produced new media text and describe the class setting in which the text was produced.
contribution
- 50 manuscript pages
- 20 minutes of Quicktime video
- 44 original images
- 50% coding of shared interface with co-article, Remediating the Text: The Rhetoric of Schmooze.
co-article author
Dr. Rich Rice is Assistant Professor of English at Texas Tech University.
publisher
- Kairos: Rhetoric, Technology, Pedagogy, the most longstanding online journal in the field of digital writing studies, is an open-access (no subscriptions) journal.
- Readership = 44,500 unique site visitors a month
- Acceptance rate = 25%
accompanying materials
- webtext
- editorial review (A, B)
- email from editorial board reviewer comparing this webtext to a major debate/publication in the field refereed article, research | Comment (0)
refereed article: Computers & Composition
citation
Ball, Cheryl E. (2004). Show, not tell: The value of new media scholarship. Computers & Composition, 21(4). 403–425.
abstract
In this article, I consider the changing nature of publications in relation to technology and tenure, presenting a taxonomy of scholarly publications: online scholarship, scholarship about new media, and new media scholarship. I offer a focused definition of new media texts as ones that juxtapose semiotic modes in new and aesthetically pleasing ways and, in doing so, break away from print traditions so that written text is not the primary rhetorical means. By applying this definition to scholarly online publications, readers can be better prepared to recognize and interpret the meaning-making potential of aesthetic modes used in new media scholarly texts. I conclude by offering an analysis of a scholarly new media text, “Digital Multiliteracies.”
publisher
- Computers & Composition, published by Elsevier, is the premier print journal in the field of computers and writing.
- Acceptance rate = 30%.
accompanying materials
article [PDF]
textbook CD: ix tech comm
citation
Ball, Cheryl E. & Arola, Kristin L. (2005). ix tech comm: visual exercises for technical communication. Boston: Bedford–St. Martin’s Press.
abstract [from CD cover]
ix tech comm offers a new way to visualize technical communication—because there are things you just can’t do in a book. Each of the 9 exercises moves through the following three steps: (1) Illustrated definitions help students visualize key concepts: text, purpose, element, context, audeince, color, contrast, emphasis, framing, alignment, proximity, organization, and sequence. (2) Guided analyses of real world texts—such as an X-men plane schematic, a bicycling safety PowerPoint presentation, and an illustrated recipe—model for students how to put theory into practice. (3) Interactive assignments invite students to make their own rhetorical choices—changing colors, determining alignment and typeface, and rearranging the elements of a web site’s navigation—and to write about the impact those choices have.
co-author
Kristin L. Arola is Assistant Professor of English at Washington State University.
contribution
- 90% content authoring based on 50% conceptualization of key terms used
- provided feedback on original Flash design concept
- CD contains nine sections; each section has approximately 20 unique screens of content. Total screen count is approximately 200. (Screen size is 800×600px)
accompanying materials
book, research | Comment (0)textbook CD: ix visual exercises
citation
Ball, Cheryl E. & Arola, Kristin L. (2004). ix: visual exercises. Boston: Bedford–St. Martin’s Press.
purpose
This CD-ROM introduces visual rhetoric theories to students and teachers using rhetorical terms with which they are already familiar. It was produced to accompany all of Bedford-St. Martin’s composition textbooks. It includes visual readings and assignments that students in cultural-studies-focused writing classes are likely to encounter (e.g., advertisements, photographs, comics, illustrations, interactive web movies, etc.).
co-author
Kristin L. Arola is Assistant Professor of English at Washington State University.
contribution
- 50% conceptualization of key terms
- 50% authoring of content
- CD contains nine sections; each section has approximately 20 unique screens of content. Total screen count is approximately 200. (Screen size is 800×600px)
accompanying materials
- link to CD-ROM website
- review of CD from “next/text: what happens when textbooks go digital”, a subdivision of the Institute for the Future of the Book
- review of CD in Computers and Composition
- email from teacher using ix
textbook materials: Picturing Texts instructor’s guide
citation
Ball, Cheryl E. (2004). Picturing Texts instructor’s guide. New York: W.W. Norton.
abstract
The Instructor’s Guide, which accompanies the Picturing Texts composition textbook, suggests starting points for working with the discussion questions, advice to give students about the writing prompts, syllabi for several ways of using the book, and other ideas for working with Picturing Texts.
contribution/page count
114 pages
accompanying materials
- the longest work I’ve done to date and I can’t include it online…lol. If that doesn’t prove the limits of print, I don’t know what does.
- a review in C&C Online, which addresses the instructor’s guide
- a review in Kairos, which addresses the instructor’s guide
- Google search of “Picturing Texts” and “syllabus” reveals impact of textbook (and by extension, possibly, the instructor’s manual)