Blog 3- Digital Writing

According to the article: Understanding Visual Rhetoric in Digital Writing Environments by Mary Hocks she writes, " "Visual rhetoric, or visual strategies uses for meaning and persuasion, is hardly new, but its importance has been amplified by the visual and interactive nature of hypertext and multimedia writing". (629. I do agree that this is hardly a new way of writing, I mean when you think about it visual writing has been used for many years, there probably was just no one word or platform to explain it or compare it until all of the various forms of new media really made it a subject.
For years there has been print which is possibly the first form of visual writing, but when we think and hear the word visual, most might argue that visual has to be defined in the traditional sense of the word and can only be pictures or film. Rhetoric is a persuasive way of writing and speech and is a very effective way to grab the attention of the reader, the audience is key here because the influence means everything in this form of writing.Teachers are now moving into and accepting the principals and values of this form for their students. Hocks writes, "We sometimes borrow elements of visual rhetoric from moving image studies to design field as well as draw more upon the fully visual culture within our students work, live and learn". (630). I agree with her article for a few reasons, for one media and the way we live is constantly changing around us and it is up to us as students and teachers to adapt this new principals writing and media, second it teaches all us a new way of critical thinking that perhaps was never present before. The parallels are there, it's just a different but familiar platform on how we communicate. Hocks refers to a system of creating, reaction and the meaning of rhetorical theory as three terms, audience stance, Transparency and hybridity. The first is a way to the author encourages and invites the audience to participate the second is a way of connecting online documents and finding how they relate to the traditional print and film etc.. The third is how the audience can recognizes visual and verbal designs. This is form of writing is not just to be persuasive but to also engage how we teach and how students learn the new convention. This is not just about academics but how our neighborhoods and lives are being shaped, this is participation at it's best. English teachers especially now have a new tool that helps them to teach students on a multiliteracy platform but not totally abandon the pen and paper tools, we have students that have only known media in various forms all their lives so this just provides a way to use it for learning. It is a very acceptable way of teaching from what I have read and seems to work for almost every way of teaching. I am more than certain that in five years it will be much more advanced and part of a core teaching method.
From what I understand, this form of visual and rhetoric writing is just one more layer in multiliteracy and helping students become engaged and interact by guiding to develop different projects that help them complete their assignments and understand exactly what they are doing and why it is an essential part of life. I am beginning to just barley touch the surface on the various forms of new media and multiliteracies that are changing the world and many of the careers that we choose. It's very intimidating to me and a lot of people I know are trying to adapt as much as they can which is why articles like this are very helpful in understanding why this is of importance and not just related to certain fields any longer.
George's chapter seems to focus on the classroom ad composition primarily concerning visual literacy." Literacy means more than words, and visual literacy means more than play". (215). Making the connection is interesting because I think that many people, including myself have often thought of the visual literacy aspect of composition as not as important than what we know to be conventional literacies. The goal is to include and encourage the new forms of multiliteracy especially within media and bridging the gap and progressing forward. Visual media is no longer just power-point presentations, it is now much more advanced and will most likely going to contiune to improve and wow us as well also change how we teach and how students adapt. I think the point is to not only examine and show how media has and is changing but also how it applies to the student, it doesn't end once we leave the classroom, it still evolves and almost becomes a new universal language.