Message for People in my Tuesday/Thursday or Thursday sessions

Hello Everyone,

Sorry about the short notice. I had an emergency to attend to and I could not be there at school today (Thursday, September 4, 2008). Please check your e-mail so that you know the adjustments I made to your respective classes.

If you are in my Thursday, 5:15 to 8pm class, we will be meeting in the online chatroom (on Blackboard, go to Communication < Collaboration < Virtual Classroom) for our class so I can go over a few things.

If you know of anyone in the respective classes above, please inform them about any changes they might not be aware of due to e-mail mixup or problems with their e-mail or just access.

Thank you for your patience.

- Gary Ancheta Click Here to Read More..

Post Your URL Here...

Post your URL for your blog here, along with your e-mail address. Click Here to Read More..

Video Game Listing:

The video game list is in the first post below. If you want to add to this list, just post underneath here. Click Here to Read More..

Project 1: How Do Arguments Work? (Rhetorically Analyzing Video Games)

Length/Format/Design: 1,500 word academic paper with an abstract, MLA Works Cited page

Overview: Writers often use more than text to persuade an audience. Writers convey opinions by combining visual and auditory information to reach their audience. For instance, when a candidate appears in a political advertisement, he or she must also consider the background, clothes, music, and setting rather than simply the published words on a page. By using an array of rhetorical techniques, such as visual imagery, sound, costume, and voice inflection, writers can tailor their arguments towards a specific audience with greater precision, more dramatically affect their audience’s perceptions, and move those audiences towards action more readily.

In the twenty first century, video games have especially increased a writer’s ability to present text in new ways, and a critical audience should be able to analyze the strategies video game creators use when interlacing movement, sound, and gaming for a purpose.

Research and locate two video games that interest you from the list below. These video games should be similar in tone or subject manner. Analyze these games in order to make an evaluative argument regarding
1) what is the message the video game is trying to portray
2) how effective are the video game creators in portraying their message.

more in comments...



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Advertising, Education, and Persuading: Games for Analysis

Schedule for Today's Class:

1. Quiz
2. Summary of Readings and the Class, Introduction of Schedule
3. Define Persuasive Games, Advergames, and Educational Games (with examples of "Successful" versions of these types of games)
4. Set up blogs (link to the main blog and two of your classmates)
5. Homework:
- BLOG: about two video games from the list. Talk about how they fit into the genre of games we talked about in class and how they fit into your own ideas about advertising, education, and politics.
- READ: Chapter 2 in the book
- FIND: two different video games and bring the urls to class on Thursday that fall within the genress of Advergames, Persuasive Games, or Educational Games. Click Here to Read More..

Rhetoric, Communications, and Why Videogames?

Schedule for Today:

QUIZ: Look over the syllabus and the Plagiarism sheet. Sign and turn in.

1. Look over Full Syllabus and Overall Direction of the Class

2. History of Rhetoric and Communication
- Technology - Technos (art/skill) -ology (discourse/expression/one who deals with...)
- 3 stages of communication (orality, writing secondary orality)
- Rhetorical Triangle: http://www.exec-comms.com/Pictures/Blog/ethos_logos_pathos.bmp

3. Break into Groups and look over the Zombie Survival Guide Passage-
- What is Effective? What makes it sound official?
- What isn't Effective? What makes it sound unofficial?

Homework:- Create an e-mail with your name and your class color- Read over the syllabus and plagiarism worksheet and sign for class- Read First Chapter of Dynamic Arguments and be prepared for Quiz on Tuesday. Click Here to Read More..

Syllabus for ENC 1102

Course Description:

ENC 1102 emphasizes argument, research, and style. Through its emphasis on thinking rhetorically, providing evidence for assertions, creative thinking, and writing as a process, ENC 1102 will prepare you for argument and research-based writing in academic settings. Students will compose multiple drafts, respond to peers' drafts, sharpen their research skills, and improve their revising and editing skills. Students will complete numerous style exercises to sharpen their editorial skills and offer oral presentations on stylistic issues. In terms of thematic issues, this course engages students in writing as social action then invites students to think rhetorically about some of the "perspectives" of USF's General Education Plan.

The overall theme for this course will be how video games inform and reflect our identity. Students will examine computer games from a cultural and sociological perspective as it relate to their own world-view. Students do not need to have experience playing video games to take this course. As long as students contribute to class discussion, keep up with the readings, and conduct research, a student should do fine with this class.

Students will write three major (1500 to 2000 words) projects that each require an annotated bibliography. Students receive feedback on each of these projects three times by their instructor and at least once by their peers. Along with the three major projects, Students write two in-class essays and a variety of homework assignments (reading quizzes, research exercises, grammar exercises, etc.). Students write informally via a public blog or a classroom forum on a weekly basis and then three times during the semester they publish a public blog or essay. At the end of the semester, a final reflective letter that summarizes what they have learned about argument, persuasion, and rhetorical principles.

Students enhance their editorial and collaborative skills in small-groups by conducting peer reviews. In addition to receiving helpful feedback from peers, students will receive feedback on each major project at least three times by their instructor: the first version may total 5% of the grade (if your instructor chooses to grade the initial version); the second version will total 10-15%, and the third version will be included in the final portfolio. By the end of the semester, students will complete a portfolio that includes a reflective letter, major revisions to one of the major projects, and editorial revisions of the other two projects (see Portfolio Guidelines)

(More in comments...)

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Welcome ENC 1102 ~ Blue and Green Class

This is the blog for ENC 1102. We will use blogs for this ENC 1102 class to post replies to in class conversation, homework/classwork, our papers, peer review comments, and news about our class. We will use our blackboard pages for class grades only, so please refer to this blog for class information.You are required to create a gmail account and a blogger account for this class. Use your name for this account along with your class color (assigned during class). Make sure you note your class color, because some posts will be directed to your class color. These posts will be noted on the blog Title.

Our class today will be composed of the following:
1. Introduction to the Class and One-Page Syllabus
2. Talking about the Theme of the Class (and What to do in case of a Zombie Attack)
- Group Work Based on Theme
3. What are the Rules and what is the Game and why is it writing? ~ Chris Crawford defines a game as "what the player does"
- Magic Circle
- Rules
- Components
- Interactive

4. Look over Full Syllabus and Overall Direction of the Class
5. Talk about Rhetorical Triangle
http://www.exec-comms.com/Pictures/Blog/ethos_logos_pathos.bmp

6. Break into Groups and look over the Zombie Survival Guide Passage
- What is Effective? What makes it sound official?
- What isn't Effective? What makes it sound unofficial?

Homework:
- Create an e-mail with your name and your class color
- Read over the syllabus and plagiarism worksheet and sign for class
- Read First Chapter of Dynamic Arguments and be prepared for Quiz on Tuesday. Click Here to Read More..

Welcome to ENC 1102 - Red , Yellow, and Orange Classes

This is the blog for ENC 1102. We will use blogs for this ENC 1102 class to post replies to in class conversation, homework/classwork, our papers, peer review comments, and news about our class. We will use our blackboard pages for class grades only, so please refer to this blog for class information.

You are required to create a gmail account and a blogger account for this class. Use your name for this account along with your class color (assigned during class). Make sure you note your class color, because some posts will be directed to your class color. These posts will be noted on the blog Title.

Our class today will be composed of the following:

1. Introduction to the Class and One-Page Syllabus
2. Talking about the Theme of the Class (and What to do in case of a Zombie Attack)

Video One: A day in the Life:



Video Two: Kill the Queen



3. What are the Rules and what is the Game and why is it writing? ~ Chris Crawford defines a game as "what the player does"

- Magic Circle
- Rules
- Components
- Interactive

4. Homework
- Create an e-mail with your name and your class color
- Read the Zombie Survival Guide Passage for Tomorrow's Class (underneath this post)
- Read over the complete online syllabus Click Here to Read More..