A pedagogy workshop facilitated by Harley Ferris & Ryan Trauman @ the University of Louisville, 11 April 2013. In this workshop, we present an example assignment tailored specifically for First Year writing classes while discussing issues related to: the efficacy of audio assignments in first-year writing classrooms; how those assignments might be tailored to address specific course outcomes; how those assignments can be framed as highly rhetorical exercises; strategies for making the necessary resources available to students; possibilities for sharing/circulating/publishing audio assignments; and potential pitfalls for audio assignments in the writing classroom. And of course, we also spent some time at the end for Q&A.

1. An Apology for Audio Assignments
in First-Year Writing Classrooms
Harley Ferris & Ryan Trauman
University of Louisville
11 April 2013

2. Have you, yourself, ever
produced an audio text?
Why? Why not? How’d that go?

3. Have you ever assigned an audio
text in your class?
Why? Why not? How’d that go?

4. Why an audio assignment?
Distribution.
Necessary.
Consumption.

5. Assignment Design
Considerations
Context, Outcomes, Resources

6. Context
How does the assignment fit into the
rest of your course?

7. Outcomes
How does the assignment fit into the
rest of your course?

8. Resources
How does the assignment fit into the
rest of your course?

9. Example Audio Assignment

10. Example Audio Assignment
• Three Stages:
– Preparation
– Production
– Distribution

11. Example Audio Assignment
• Production
– Stock elements
– Scripts
– Recording
– Editing

12. Example Audio Assignment
• Preparation
– Topic drawn from other
class work.
– Genre awareness gleaned
from examples.
– Discussions of audio
affordances.

13. Example Audio Assignment
• Distribution
– Soundcloud
– Facebook
– Twitter
– Email

14. Resources
www.newmediascholar.net

15. Questions?

16. Thanks.