NIXEDMEDIA™

For my final portfolio, “Portfolio 03: Perform,” I was tasked with creating a series of multimodal works that all work together to create change I want to see in the world. For this portfolio, I decided to focus my efforts on accessibility. I chose this topic because I have become increasingly aware, during my academic career, that not all people have their needs accommodated. From talks I have had with friends and things I have seen and read, I have learned that, while there are efforts, not enough is being done to ensure that even something like education is commensurable. As a result, I created a teaching kit that includes various forms of instructions to maximize its accessibility. I felt like this was a fitting project for such an important topic because I believe that teaching institutions are one of the main spaces were people are not given an equal opportunity to succeed. Because of disabilities or just learning styles that differ from an instructor’s teaching methods, students may fall behind in a class, leading to numerous other issues that can extend beyond the classroom setting. Throughout the process of creating this kit, I learned that there is a lot of work that goes into preparing lessons, even ones as simple as drawing a picture. I also learned some of the difficulties of trying to be as accommodating as possible. Despite the challenge, it is still vital to make that effort. Having this insight has not only made me respect educators even more but also given me a better understanding of how to make my work more accessible moving forward.

 

“Theorizing Transmedia Storytelling: Because the Internet” is my response to Camden Ostrander’s article, “Roscoe’s Wetsuit: Metamodern Identity and Existentialism.” In the article Ostrander breaks down Donald Glover’s “Because the Internet” project, which was released under his stage name Childish Gambino. The breakdown provides a detailed analysis into the multimodal web Glover created as he made himself vulnerable to the world and encouraged others not to fear doing the same. This article played a crucial role in helping me understand the goal of this last portfolio by explaining how every aspect of Glover’s project tied back to one central theme. When I wrote this response, I tried to mention as much of Ostrander’s analysis as possible because it was so in-depth, and I did not want to leave out any major information he included. Ultimately, I had to narrow down the points that I thought were most interesting to make sure I was actually analyzing his article and not just writing a summary. This article was one of the most fascinating because it made me truly realize what it means to “write across media” as I learned how Glover used his platform to convey his message through every mode. View Theorizing Transmedia Storytelling.

 

“Theorizing Multimodality & Access: Shifting the View on Disability” is my response to Yergeau et al’s “Multimodality in Motion” and Lennard Davis’s chapter “Introduction: Disability, Normality, and Power.” Both of these texts address the topic of disabilities but from a counter-perspective that comments on those that see having a disability as a problem in society. Reading these works was so eye-opening as the authors made points that I had never considered before. Although I have never sided with their target audience, I also never realized how behind our society is regarding the treatment of those with disabilities. After reading, I started to pay more attention to my surroundings to see what was actually accessible and what only provided the illusion of being accessible. Moreover, these texts became the inspiration for my teaching kit as I knew after reading them that accessibility was the topic I wanted to focus on for my final project. The way this panned out was interesting because I was already considering making some form of teaching materials but, until this point, I had no clue how I wanted to approach making them. View Theorizing Mulitmodality & Access.

 

“Teaching Kit Rationale” is my rationale for the teaching kit I made for portfolio three. I decided to make this a separate piece in the portfolio because it explains my motivations, process, and the choices that I made throughout the making of the kit. As such, it made sense to provide this contextualizing information prior to the actual components of the kit. Although the various forms of instructions serve as individual parts of the kit, I talked about them altogether when I wrote this because of how interconnected the creation process was. Throughout the making of the kit, I had to consider every piece that was going into, especially in the case of the combined teaching methods. View Teaching Kit Ratonale.

 

“How to Draw Gir: Teaching Method Drafts” is my in-progress work from when I created the kit. It comprises the first drafts of my written instructions for drawing Gir and the original audio clip of me reading the instructions aloud. I made changes to both of these artifacts for the final version of the teaching kit because of a lack of detail in the written instructions and mistakes I made while recording the audio instructions. While not included in the final product, these are important pieces from the kit because they, the written instructions especially, helped me decide how much information to include and how to make them as easy to follow as possible. View How to Draw Gir: Teaching Method Drafts.

 

“How to Draw Gir Based on Teaching Methods (Trial Run)” is another in-progress work from when I created the kit. In the latter half of the creation process, I recorded videos of myself following along with the various forms of instructions that I made. Before fully delving into the videos, I recorded a trial run video to make sure that my computer screen, my movements, and my gestures were all visible in the shot. This was an important step because I was able to make any necessary adjustments to ensure that anyone examining the kit could watch the demonstration videos and see how the instructions can be interacted with. View How to Draw Gir Based on Teaching Methods (Trial Run).

 

“How to Draw Gir: Teaching Kit Overview” is the first piece that would actually be included in the kit, as well as the first thing users would interact with. The PDF provides a brief description of who the character Gir is, why they were chosen as the subject of the instructions, along with information on what is included in the kit, and its overall purpose. The audio file is a recording of the same information being read aloud to allow individuals with vision impairments or disabilities to have access to the same breakdown. This artifact precedes the other parts of the kit because it prevents any potential misunderstandings of what the kit is and how it is meant to be used. View How to Draw Gir: Teaching Kit Overview.

 

“How to Draw Gir: Text & Audio” consists of the written and audio instructions for drawing the character Gir. The PDF has all eleven steps written out in full detail to guide users through the process. While working on the written instructions, I realized that it was important to provide details on what shapes to draw but also where to draw them to make sure that the image turned out like the reference. Similar to the teaching kit overview materials, the audio file is a recording of the written steps being read aloud. I grouped these two artifacts together because they both deal with the linguistic mode of communication. They are also grouped together because, unlike the diagrams and videos, they do not have any variations. View How to Draw Gir: Text & Audio.

 

“How to Draw Gir: Diagrams” consists of two diagrams that provide visual steps for drawing the character Gir. The first diagram shows the 11-step process using only images while the second makes use of images and the text from the written instructions. When I was creating the original diagram, I was originally going to make every shape have its own step. After I saw that it would take around thirty steps to complete the drawing, I realized that that would not be very practical and revised them to have a nice balance between conciseness and simplicity. View How to Draw Gir: Diagrams.

 

“How to Draw Gir: Videos” consists of all of the simulations of the character Gir being drawn. The first video is of the simulation by itself, the next is the video with just audio, then with just text, and finally with audio and text. When I originally made the first video, I felt as though the simulation was far too quick to follow. After receiving feedback from my classmates, this was confirmed and I adjusted the speed accordingly. These artifacts probably taught me the most about my chosen topic because I had to make numerous revisions and even start over a couple of times as I tried to make the videos accessible in the sense of being able to access the instructions but also follow along with them. View How to Draw Gir: Videos.

 

“How to Draw Gir Based on Teaching Methods” consists of the videos I recorded of me drawing the character Gir while following along with the instructions I made. The first video is of me following the text instructions, next is the audio, then the diagram, and finally the video. While making these drawings reaffirmed the fact that I am definitely more of a visual learner as the drawing that turned out the best was when I was following the diagram. Following diagrams is part of how I got better at drawing when I was younger, so it makes sense that this teaching method would be the best for me personally. Conversely, despite knowing what Gir looks like, I had the most difficulty with the audio instructions because I could not create a clear image from the words I was hearing. These experiences made me very interested in learning more about learning styles and how an individual’s preference caters to their way of processing information. This is definitely a good thing as the point of this teaching kit was to encourage people to be more considerate of others’ learning styles and disabilities. View How to Draw Gir Based on Teaching Methods.