Multimodality in the Technical Communication Classroom: Viewing Classical Rhetoric Through a 21st Century Lens

Abstract

The authors provide a robust framework for using rhetorical foundations to teach multimodality in technical communication, describing a pedagogical approach wherein students consider the rhetorical canons—invention, arrangement, style, delivery, and memory—when developing texts beyond print. Students learn to assess their own work, reflecting on how each canon contributed to the rhetorical effectiveness of their multimodal projects. The authors argue for using the canons as a rhetorical foundation for helping students understand technical communication in the digital age.

Keywords:

• digital rhetoric
• multimedia
• multimodal pedagogy
• rhetorical canons
• technical communication

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Andrew Bourelle

Andrew Bourelle is an assistant professor of English at the University of New Mexico. Bourelle teaches courses in first-year composition, rhetoric, and technical and professional writing. His research interests include multimodal pedagogy, online writing instruction, and classical rhetoric. His work has been published in Computers and Composition Online; Journal of Teaching Writing; Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy; and other scholarly journals and anthologies.

Tiffany Bourelle

Tiffany Bourelle is an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico where she teaches technical communication and first-year writing in face-to-face and online formats. Her research interests include training graduate students to develop multimodal instructional curricula for an online environment. Her work has been published in Computers and Composition Online; Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy; and Technical Communication Quarterly.

Natasha Jones

Natasha Jones is an assistant professor of English at the University of New Mexico, where she teaches courses in technical communication. Her research interests include activism, social justice, rhetoric in technical communication, and technical communication pedagogy. Her work has been published in Technical Communication Quarterly and the Journal of Technical Writing and Communication.