New Resources

Long time no talk my fellow travelling advocates! I have been busy working on my labor of love project- a digital catalog. I found many environmental advocates who had interesting, important information but did not know how to organize and present it to the world. So, I wanted to create a resource where environmental advocates, scientists, researchers, and educators alike could benefit from. To properly organize and display information we need to pick the best genre, or as I like to call it, skeleton. Genres are different modes and categories for composition. Genres work to elevate authors' information/writing and make it easier to process and understand. The catalog I created showcases three distinct genres- infogrpahic, scientific essay, and informational video. I chose the Yellowstone Reintroduction of the gray wolf to showcase how the same data and logistics can be absorbed in differing ways based on the constraints and affordances of different genres.

After tweaking and perfecting my catalog, I started to reflect on the composing process. Composition, for me, means forming and constructing a work with original and/or collaborative information. I compiled three different genres and examples (artifacts) to synthesize my catalog (exhibit). This includes both pre-existing works and my own thoughts and connections. My catalog pages have colorful shapes with bullets listing the main pillars of each genre as well as the key facts to remember for each one when deciding which will work best for your intended goal. I then included more in depth analysis under the shapes adjacent to my examples. I wanted my audience to be able to choose how much information they cared to know about each genre so I did not overwhelm nor bore anyone. Lastly, I realized that composing is a group effort because every facet is connected to the other. Genres are created with the audience in mind because environmental education can be simplified or very complicated. So, knowing who you are speaking to will enforce proper word choice for clarity. A genre's design dictates how the information is arranged and addressed first. Circulation also needs to be considered when choosing a genre because it decides who and how many people read your work. For example, to raise awareness of a nearby oil spill, one would create a brochure or PSA video that could be handed around or shared electronically quickly and on a large scale. To inform fellow colleauges of nitrogen levels found in a case study in Puebla, New Mexico can be included in a briefing or essay because the circulation demand stays within a small group.

Click on the word cloud to check out my e-Catalog!

(best viewed via computer)