JONATHAN BEER
Jonathan Beer, with the help of animator Lauren Ellis, created the YouTube video “Writing Process Animation” while a graduate student in the School of Computer Science at the University of Guelph in Canada. The video was made available to students who were enrolled in his online Computers and Society course. After watching the video, students were asked to self-report on their progress by filling in checklists before and after they had watched the video and completed a blog-writing project. The checklists were then used to determine whether or not the videos were helpful in terms of improving students’ writing processes. Beer used this research in his thesis, “Using Online Video Scribed Animation to Teach Writing Self-Regulation,” which he published in 2012. His research determined that students were able to improve their writing process, especially in terms of goal setting and self-regulation (monitoring progress), after watching his video.
What common misconception about writing does Beer hope to dispel? How does he want his audience to think about writing? Why does he feel this way?
What general and specific advice does Beer give about choosing a topic?
Beer keeps a timeline of his writing process. For instance, he writes down what time he starts and stops brainstorming, and he lists any distractions that occurred within that time. Why does he do this?
Beer explains to his audience that he was a programmer, “not a job usually associated with writing—and I was constantly writing—design plans, test plans, bug reports, professional e-mails.” What was his purpose in including this list? Who is his audience?
Beer talks a bit about the importance of organization. How is this video organized? Would you be able to outline his ideas? Is his organization effective? Why or why not?
After discussing goal setting, Beer asks his audience to “take a minute, pause the video, and set your own goals.” Did you follow his instructions? Do you think others would? Why might Beer have chosen to include this directive?
In this piece, two elements are working together to create a message: images and sound. How do these elements work individually and together to enhance Beer’s argument? Would one have worked without the other? How would a different type of video or audio have changed the message? Explain your answers.
Throughout the video, Beer uses the phrase “research shows” to support his argument, without explaining which research he is referring to. Is this plagiarism? Something else? How might the medium (video) have affected the way he shares information? How would it be different if he had written a paper?