#9 (Storyboard)

Response to #8

1. Kayli Smith
Like: Because you are passionate about photography and the visual mode, you will be able to translat this into the project. Good idea!
Suggestions: Be careful with the music; make sure you pick music that reflects how you feel about photography, whether it be playful or classical or something happy

2. Spencer Scott
Like:
Suggestions:

3. Erin Reams
1Like:
Suggestions:

#8 (Literacy Narrative Outline)

Topic
My narrative will be about my parents' contribution to my love of reading, which translated into my love of writing. (Linguistic mode)
My mom was the reader. Many nights were spent in my room listening as she reads stories (everything ranging from "Goodnight Moon" to "Where the Red Fern Grows").
My dad was the storyteller. His "Daddy Stories" were a bedtime favorite.
Both helped expand my imagination and show me the power words can have.


Outline
I will Skype-interview my parents and ask them to recount these bedtime story moments. I will ask them to share their feelings and how I accepted/loved these times.
To mix up the narrative, I will included audio bits of me (or my parents, if I can get them to do it) sharing excerpts of "daddy stories" and reading pieces of stories. Their voices would really add to the audio.

I also want background music, but this will have to be chosen carefully. Because I was a kid when I first started loving words, I should use music that feels kiddish or at least alludes to childhood.

I will have a brief intro, either of me talking, or jump right into my parents' audio, with an explanation afterwords. I could also do some other intro, like a stop-motion of me reading, or do a video of me reading with an audio overlay describing my love of reading.

#7 (Reviews of Project 2 Drafts)

I did not get any feedback on my webtext (we ran out of time), but I learned much from editing the other sites in my group.
I had/have much to edit on my draft. Today, I fixed all the links and the general setup of both projects 1 and 2. Now, all I really have left is the content for project 2.
This will include the comparisons/contrasts (containing the vocab) and the screen shots of my sources. I also have to add the content of the home pages, and all the other pages. One thing I want to avoid with the content is wordiness and too much length. I can achieve this by not being redundant and spacing out the text with images so the viewer doesn't get bored.
Today, I enlarged the font size throughout the entire site, increasing visibility.
I am happy with the general layout of my webtext because it is simple without being boring. However, I will try to add a few more images to really make it interesting.

Post #6 (Sources)

Assets List

1.web address: http://www.nooni502.com/wordpress/ ("No" Site #1)

• author: ambiguous, organization called "NO on I 502"; site title: "Vote No, I 502"; publication venue: blog on Wordpress.com
•  This web source is a blog without a specific author that I could find. It has everything from FAQ to "In the Media" to informational pages about marijuana. Except for the little information about the author/organization, the ethos seems to be established. The archives links shows that posts date all the way back to January 2011-- that's a lot of information and time to gather resources for this subject! The blog's theme is about how I-502 is the wrong way to change laws regarding marijuana use (especially while driving) because the level that would be illegal is not scientifically proven to necessarily cause impairment. It disclaims that it is not opposed to changing the law, just how I-502 would go about it. The blog posts range from public event notices to voter advice to news updates.
• this source is extremely relevant to my issue, as it is one of 2 sides I am inspecting; I will have to sort through different articles, sampling only a few (because there are so many); mostly, I will just look at ones that strike me as effective according to the principles of design. I can compare this to the other "vote no" site

2.web address: http://www.choicewellnesswa.com/resources/vote-no-on-prop-502 ("No" Site #2)

• author: Dr. William Wahl, Kathleen Naughton, and Ryan Bird; site title: "Choice Wellness Center"; publication venue: website
• This site is mostly devoted to "helping people live better, stronger, more fulfilling lives through informed choices and natural products" a.k.a. marijuana. It appears to be informational, with an emphasis on the well-being of those who visit the site; these would be medical marijuana users. It has everything you need to know about marijuana, including state laws. The site clearly advises its viewers to vote no on Prop 502, and a whole page listing the reasons is given.
• I can use this site to compare to the one above it because it takes a different approach to the topic. Its interests are not solely political, but based on supposed care for those dependent on medical marijuana.

3.web address: http://www.newapproachwa.org/ ("Yes" Site #3)

• author: New Approach Washington (a coalition of Washington citizens); site title:"Yes on I-502"; publication venue: website
• "New Approach" is a bunch of average people (doctors, lawyers, treatment and prevention experts, business people, and parents, to be exact) who believe that Washington should stop wasting law enforcement resources on adults who use marijuana. Treating marijuana use as a crime, according to this site, has failed. Voting yes is supposed to address these problems.  The site has many pages (About, Sponsor, Funding are a few to note) but has a News feed linked to articles instead of blog posts. The FAQ and Learn More buttons could be useful for anyone exploring this topic.
• I can compare/contrast this site with the site below, exploring which one is more likely me to vote "yes."

4.web address: http://norml.org/ ("Yes" Site #4)

• author: the National Organization for Reforming Marijuana Laws (NORML); site title: "Working to Reform Marijuana Laws"; publication venue: website.
• The mission of this organization is to "move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the repeal of marijuana prohibition so that the responsible use of cannabis by adults is no longer subject to penalty." This site is the most complex out of all of them, with 10 separate pages, and interestingly, language options at the top of the page. This organization clearly means business!
• As stated above, I will compare these sites, although I can already infer which one has won this battle

Rights

All of my sources fall under Fair Use rights because they are public sites and can be easily accessed via any search engine. Most importantly, I am only using these sources for a non-profit and educational analysis. 

References

For all my resources I will put links to the webpages at the bottom of the pages they are on, as well as making a "Source" page where viewers can jump right to each website.

Post #5 (9/27/12)

1. The Dove Campaign
LIKES:

• The cute, non-traditional blue background is feminine but not cliche (ex. pink would have made it so); it caters towards a specific audience, specifically younger women.
• The layout is simple, easy to access and easy to navigate without being boring
• The font is big enough for younger (and older) eyes and is easy to read (and I imagine, basic enough to show up on most browsers)
• Navigating through the pictures is easy thanks to the links

DISLIKES:

• The only thing is that if I didn't know what the assignment for this webtext was, I would be confused if I clicked on the picture links at the top of the page before reading the text. Just putting the picture links at the bottom may have cleared up any confusion.

2. Life-based  Web Comics
LIKES:

• The main-page scroll bar is a neat idea for navigation
• The cartoon characters are an inventive way to keep the audience's attention while presenting information; they also provide the minimal structure of the scroll bar's content
• The simplistic design is refreshing and lets the cartoons stand out

DISLIKES:

• The scroll bar is a good idea for the content, but I wish it could have been placed on a separate page, and no the home page. "About" should have come first, with links to the scroll bar.
• The content should have been more clearly labelled; it seems to ramble a bit. The topics were hard to follow, although they changed from slide to slide; the visuals helped in this.

Organizing My Own Webtext
NAVIGATION
Based on what I've seen and feel works the best, I'm going to have the Home page describe the project and what I plan to do. I will have links to another page that will, in turn, be broken down into the 2 categories "Editorials" and "Websites". Each of these pages will compare/contrast their respective resources.
CONTENT
I want to be upbeat and slightly witty with my content to make it more interesting for the audience and get them truly interested. I also want to keep the text as short as possible so it does not drag on.
STYLE
For my style, because my topic is on marijuana, I will incorporate lots of green. Also, I plan to use a couple graphics to spice up my homepage, as well as link to the other information. My font will be pretty basic; most likely I will use sans-serif headings and sub-headings, and a basic serif for the body content.
I want my rhetorical analysis to be clear, easy to navigate, and visually appealing too! I will cater the layout towards a younger audience to make the site more fun.

Post #4: Pitch for Project 2

For Project 2, I will be looking at Initiative 502. 502 would require the legislature to change current law related to the possession, sale and use of marijuana. If passed, the initiative would license and regulate marijuana production, distribution, and possession for people over twenty-one; remove state-law criminal and civil penalties for activities that it [the initiative] authorizes; tax marijuana sales; and reserve marijuana-related revenues. 

What intrigued me most about this topic when I researched it was the surplus of medial support for one side. There is a lack of media attempting to persuade the public against voting for 502. That being said, I did find 2 websites devoted to 502 opposition.These can be found at http://www.choicewellnesswa.com/resources/vote-no-on-prop-502 and http://www.nooni502.com/wordpress/. I also will examine an editorial from the Seattle Times,http://seattletimes.com/html/editorials/2019226547_edit502thelawxml.html.  The first webpage has links to other pages that might help one decide against this initiative; the second is an informative blog that, upon first glance, appears to make valid (backed by research) arguments against 502. The editorial contains opinion, and hopefully some research.

The supportive media was easier to find. Included in this category are a Seattle Times Editorial, http://seattletimes.com/html/editorials/2019087007_edit07marijuanalegalization502xml.html; an official-looking website,http://www.newapproachwa.org/; and an article from the Daily Evergreen, http://dailyevergreen.wsu.edu/read/If-Initiative-502-on-marijuana-passes,-legal-battle-in-Washington-state-will-ensue. I chose these resources because they seem to present their views in a clear fashion, with both opinion and research. I also particularly included the Evergreen editorial because it expresses a fellow students' view on the issue.

My project will be a webpage, or a series of pages, that will rhetorically analyze the opposing sides of the issue and the effectiveness of each resource. I will group the three newspaper articles close together and compare/contrast them. Next I will compare/contrast the 2 pro-502 sites with the against-502 website. Perhaps examining these texts will show that Washington is getting close to legalizing Marijuana, which could possibly explain the imbalance of support versus opposition.