Who is Inventing Whom?

David Bedsole and Bruce BowlesFlorida State University

Templates,

Prescripts,

and Agency

WordPress

Dave’s Blog Bruce’s Blog

Could not size photoas desired

Unable to wrap text around

videoCould not

change background or

font colors

Blogger

Dave’s Blog Bruce’s Blog

Image replaces

title

Image hijacks entire page Title

inexplicably rides to the left

margin

Metaphor Explanation Anxiety

Collaboration Virtual “collaboration” with the template author

Copyright concerns; is the student doing enough, or allowing the template designer to do the hard work

Platform A base, something to build upon

Technological knowhow—is the student actually able to build

Mould A form into which a user “pours” content

Enacts a form/function split (Arola); narrows range of designs available to future audience

Framing Something that “supports” the design, while itself invisible

The frame is too much on the “outside of the house,” drawing attention away from rhetorical function

Exercise: Comparing Template Prescripts for Agency 

PurposeThis exercise will help students to critically analyze possible templates in an effort to decide how much agency a given template will afford them. They will learn to apply the concepts of prescripts (genre, interface, and design), agency, affordances, and constraints. This will work best when scaffolding a larger multimodal assignment, probably in the early stages of invention/drafting.  

Description

The class works on groups, each group testing and evaluating an assigned template. The templates arrive on a range of platforms: Wordpress, Blogger, Tumblr, Google Sites, Weebly, and Wix. Groups are asked to author a page containing prescribed content in a prescribed time period, and then asked to reflect on the process, using the language of prescripts and agency. Finally, the entire class discusses the findings of the groups, and compares the affordances and constraints of each template.

For more details, visit www.whoisinventingwhom.wordpress.com