Descriptive Transcript for "Writing a Professional Life of Facebook" by Timothy J. Briggs

00:00  Title Screen: "Writing a Professional Life on Facebook"

00:06  Photograph: A head and shoulders shot of Timothy Briggs wearing sunglasses.  Music: Slow tempo, eerie instrumental consisting of an electric guitar with echo effect." This music continues throughout this section of the video.  Voiceover: "In the summer of 2008 I received an invitation from my department chair to join . . ."  

00:12  Image: Facebook logo.  Voiceover: ". . . Facebook. I didn’t know much about the social network, but I decided to sign up because I envisioned interesting conversations taking place online with my colleagues."

00:23  Photograph: Timothy in the classroom pointing to an assignment sheet for the Academic Argument projected onto a screen.  Voiceover: "At the time, I was a Special Lecturer in the Department of Writing and Rhetoric at Oakland University."

00:30  Photograph: A panning out shot of Timothy holding the Excellence in Teaching Award while standing next to Oakland University President Gary Russi.  Voiceover: "The year before I had won the Excellence in Teaching Award. I felt great about my teaching, but I didn’t feel a strong connection to my department . . ."

00:39  Image: The Conference on College Composition and Communication sun logo.  Voiceover: ". . . or the community of teachers, scholars, and researchers who make up the discipline of Rhetoric and Composition."

00:47  Image: Screenshot of two of Timothy's Facebook status updates.  Voiceover: "Unfortunately, my first attempts to use Facebook to get connected were unsuccessful. On September 26, 2008 I wrote that I was about to head to class to launch a semiotic analysis unit. No one responded, and I didn’t write another status update until February 17, 2009."  Fade to black. Fade music out.

01:13  Subtitle Screen: "DMAC"

01:16  Image: Web banner for the Digital Media and Composition Institute at The Ohio State University.  Music: Fast tempo rock instrumental consisting of electric guitar, bass, and drums. This music continues throughout this section of the video.  Voiceover: "In the summer of 2009 I participated in the Digital Media and Composition Institute—also known as DMAC—at The Ohio State University. This experience was the first time I had met colleagues from around the country, and our conversations sparked a desire in me to connect with others in the discipline. Not surprisingly, my DMAC experience also influenced my writing for . . ."  

01:41  Image: Facebook logo.  Voiceover: ". . . Facebook, starting with how I communicated to my colleagues back at Oakland University."

01:47  Image: First screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to DMAC.  Voiceover: "The day before I left for DMAC my colleague Cornelia Pokrzywa and department chair Marshall Kitchens let me know they expected updates about my experience."

01:59  Image: Second screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to DMAC.  Voiceover: "By the second day of DMAC, my colleague Lori Ostergaard told me she wanted me to write updates on Facebook."

02:06  Image: Third screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to DMAC.  Voiceover: "At this point I realized I had an audience who was interested in hearing about the equipment we were using and the projects we were composing."

02:14  Image: Fourth screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to DMAC.  Voiceover: "So I wrote status updates on a daily basis despite the institute’s busy schedule." 

02:20  Photography: Headshot of Timothy taken with Apple's Photo Booth application using the comic book effect.  Voiceover: "When DMAC was over, I came home with new skills and knowledge about digital media, new friends from around the country, and a new outlook on the potential value of Facebook."  Fade to black. Fade music out.

02:35  Subtitle Screen: "Teaching, Videos, and Other Professional Stuff"

02:39  Image: First screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to teaching.  Music: Upbeat moderate tempo blues instrumental consisting of electric guitar, bass, and drums. This music continues throughout this section of the video.  Voiceover: "Since participating in DMAC, I spend a lot of time writing status updates about my professional life, particularly new ideas for teaching using digital media."  

02:51  Image: Second screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to teaching.  Voiceover: "I also share specific teaching resources and how I use them in the classroom."

02:56  Image: Third screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to teaching. Voiceover: "In addition, I often share bits of my teaching philosophy, particularly my commitment to writing with my students."

03:04  Image: YouTube logo.  Voiceover: "Video projects have become an important part of my first-year writing courses. As a result, I like to share examples of student videos on Facebook."

03:14  Image: First screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to videos.  Voiceover: "This screenshot shows a video argument entitled "A Need For Religious Tolerance.""

03:20  Image: Second screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to videos.  Voiceover: "And this screenshot depicts a career video on becoming a professional dancer."

03:25  Image:  Third screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to videos.  Voiceover: "In addition to posting student videos, I share my own video projects, like my career video that profiles my wife Cheryl as a kindergarten teacher."

03:34  Image: Fourth screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to videos.  Voiceover: "Or my video argument entitled "Genetically Modified Foods: Potentially Dangerous.”"

03:41  Image: Screenshot of the top of Timothy's Facebook profile page.  Voiceover: "Then there are the status updates that fall into the category of other professional stuff. I like to keep my Facebook friends in the loop of what’s going on in my professional life . . ." 

03:50  Image: First screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to other professional stuff.  Voiceover: ". . . whether it’s recording literacy narratives for the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives . . ."

03:56  Image: Second screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to other professional stuff.  Voiceover: " . . . or receiving the Kairos Teaching Award at the 2011 Computers and Writing conference . . ."

04:02  Image: Third screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to other professional stuff.  Voice: ". . . or getting my panel on video projects in first-year writing accepted for the 2012 CCCC."  Fade to black. Fade music out.

04:13  Subtitle Screen: "People Are Paying Attention"

04:17  Image: Screenshot of the top of Timothy's Facebook profile page.  Music: Moderate tempo rock instrumental consisting of electric guitar, bass, and drums. This music continues throughout this section of the video.  Voiceover: "All of these screen shots show that many of my Facebook friends are paying attention to the things I write in my status updates. But I’d like to focus on three friends in order to show what they have to say."

04:29  Photography: Dana Driscoll leaning on a rock sculpture in the forest.  Voiceover: "Dana Driscoll is a friend and colleague at Oakland University. Here’s what she told me:"

04:35  Text Screen: Dana's thoughts about Timothy.  Voiceover: “Through your posting of student videos, assignments, ideas, and your own video work, I have been inspired to more fully integrate video arguments into my own FYW courses.”

04:49  Photography: Bump Halbritter holding a coffee mug that reads "Old Guys Rule."  Voiceover: "Bump Halbritter is a friend and colleague from Michigan State University. In the summer of 2010 I learned that he was paying attention to my status updates. After attending his workshop entitled “Audio-Visual Rhetoric for Writing Teachers,” Bump told me:"

05:07  Text Screen: Bump's thoughts about Timothy.  Voiceover: “I’m interested in seeing how the stuff you learned today plays out in your teaching and students’ work.”

05:13  Photograph: Cheryl Ball outside dressed in hat and coat during her trip to Oslo, Norway.  Voiceover: "Cheryl Ball is a friend and colleague from Illinois State University. When I ran into her at the 2011 CCCC, here’s what she told me:"

05:23  Text Screen: Cheryl's thoughts about Timothy.  Voiceover: “The stuff you’re posting to Facebook about what you’re doing with your students is blowing me away.” Fade to black. Fade music out.

05:33  Subtitle Screen: "Social Capital"

05:36  Image: Cover of An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology by Pierre Bourdieu and Loic J. D. Wacquant.  Music: Moderate tempo rock instrumental consisting of electric guitar, bass, and drums. This music continues throughout this section of the video.  Voiceover: "In An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, Bourdieu and Wacquant present the following definition of social capital:"

05:45  Text Screen: Quote from Bourdieu and Wacquant.  Voiceover: ". . . the sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition.”

06:01  Image: Screenshot of ten of Timothy's Facebook friends.  Voiceover: "In other words, individuals or groups gain benefits because they belong to a social network. These benefits are known as social capital and can include information, new perspectives, and opportunities. Researchers are just beginning to investigate how this sociological concept plays out in online social networks."

06:24  Image: Screenshot of the top half of the first page of "The Benefits of Facebook "Friends:" Social Capital and College Students' Use of Online Social Networking Sites" by Nicole B. Ellison, Charles Steinfield, and Cliff Lampe.  Voiceover: "One notable study was reported in the scholarly article “The Benefits of Facebook Friends: Social Capital and College Students’ Use of Online Social Network Sites.” Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe analyzed the survey results of 286 undergraduate students at Michigan State University and presented the following conclusion:"

06:47  Text Screen: Quote from Ellison, Steinfield, and Lampe.  Voiceover: “. . . we can definitely state that there is a positive relationship between certain kinds of Facebook use and the maintenance and creation of social capital.”

06:58  Images: Quick succession of five screenshots of Timothy's status updates previously shown followed by the Facebook logo.  Voiceover: "The screenshots I’ve presented throughout this video support this conclusion. But I’d like to dig a bit deeper and present three examples of social capital I’ve gained through using Facebook."

07:08  Image: First screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to social capital.  Voiceover: "The first example is represented by this screenshot where I simply posed a question: Apple’s Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro? A number of my friends responded offering me information."

07:22  Image: Second screenshot of Timothy's Facebook status update related to social capital.  Voiceover:  "The second example is where I wrote about having trouble converting video files from a DVD. Bump replied, “What’s the problem, Timothy?” After I explained the situation, he offered me a software solution."

07:35  Image: Web banner for the WIDE Research Center.  Voiceover: "The third example is more complex. On September 7, 2010 the WIDE Research Center at Michigan State University released a white paper for a study entitled  . . ."

07:47  Image: Screenshot of the top part of the white paper for "Revisualizing Composition."  Voiceover: ". . . “Revisualizing Composition: Mapping the Writing Lives of First-Year College Students.”" 

07:54  Image: Screenshot of the white paper for "Revisualizing Composition" showing research findings on most valued genres.  Voiceover: "Since I was visiting WIDE on September 13, I read through the paper to familiarize myself with the study."

08:00  Image: Screenshot of the white paper for "Revisualizing Composition" showing research findings on writing value vs. frequency.  Voiceover: "I was intrigued by the findings and eager to discuss them in person."

08:03  Image: Screenshot of Bill Hart-Davidson's Facebook status update.  Voiceover: "On September 10, Bill Hart-Davidson posted to his status update: An overlooked data point (so far) of the WIDE report: students value academic writing quite a lot.” 

08:15  Image: Conversation between Bill and Timothy on Bill's Facebook wall using scrolling effect.  Voiceover: "I decided to respond to his update, and an interesting conversation between us unfolded on his wall."

08:23  Image: A panning in shot of Olds Hall at Michigan State University.  Voiceover: "Three days later I found myself sitting in the basement of Olds Hall on MSU’s campus taking part in a WIDE staff meeting. When the “Revisualizing Composition” study came up in the meeting’s agenda . . ."

08:36  Image: Bill Hart-Davidson.  Voiceover: ". . . Bill asked me to share my thoughts about the study that I had posted to his wall. Fifteen minutes later Bill and . . ."

08:42  Image: Jeff Grabill.  Voiceover: ". . . Jeff Grabill invited me to join researchers around the country to discuss and implement Phase 2 of the study."

08:49  Image: Oakland University sail logo.  Voiceover: "Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to run Phase 2 of the study at Oakland University due to funding issues. However, I learned a lot from participating in conference calls and visiting . . ."

09:00  Image: Web banner for the WIDE Research Center.  Voiceover: ". . . WIDE a second time to discuss the research methodology used for the study."

09:05  Image: Facebook logo.  Voiceover: "While I might have received this opportunity regardless of my interaction on Facebook, I can’t help thinking that my conversation on Bill’s wall—as well as other conversations leading up to it—helped me to create and maintain social capital that opened the doors to this valuable professional experience." Fade to black. Fade music out.

09:27  Text Screen: "Special Thanks to My Facebook Friends"  Music: Moderate tempo rock instrumental consisting of electric guitar, bass, and drums. This music continues to the end of the video.

09:32  Text Screen: "Written and Produced by Timothy J. Briggs"

09:36  Text Screen: "Music Loops by Timothy J. Briggs"

09:40  Scrolling Text Screen: "References" and "Music (In Order)"

09:53  Image: Creative Commons Attribution-Attribution-Share-Alike License. Fade to black. Fade music out.