#tomwallisch

Please note and account for (record your responses) to the following: Who do you think the audience is and their motivation for accessing this text? Based on what tells you this?

Ø  The text that I chose is a skiing trick tip video.  It is hosted on youtube by Momentum Ski Camp, which is linked to from a media tab on the Momentum Ski Camp website.  The audience of this video is up and coming terrain park skiers who are looking to learn new tricks.  Their motivation for accessing the text is that they want to try new tricks and do not want to injure themselves.  Given the extreme nature of freestyle skiing, it is important to learn new tricks from people who have already mastered them. 

Are you able to “read” it (read being abstract because you might have to look differently or watch or listen)? 

Ø  Yes, I am able to read the text.  The video is easy to understand, however it may be too simplified for many viewers.  Nevertheless, for the audience that would actually go out and try these tricks, they understand exactly what the skiers are saying. 

What meaning or content do you take away from it? How do the features of the text impact your reading either by guiding or obstructing?

Ø  The meaning I take away from this text is how to approach performing a flatspin 540 on skis.  The features of the text help me by guiding me visually. If this was simply a written guide of how to perform a flatspin 540, I doubt it would be nearly as effective.  Actually watching a skier perform a flatspin 540 helps the audience visualize and guide what they will soon be trying.

Using the best practices for creating accessible digital texts, assess the text on (all that are applicable):

 Layout and design

Ø  The use of youtube allows viewers to easily navigate throughout the text.  They can pause, play, or rewind the video to a specific point they would like to watch again.

Interactivity

  Ø   In addition to the ability to navigate throughout the text through youtube’s controls, the viewer can also submit comments and feedback to the publisher of the video through private messages.

Audio

Ø  There is closed captioning available, however the words do not all match what the skier in the video is explaining.  For example, the skier says tricks and the closed captioning says tracks.  Nevertheless, closed captioning is available and, for someone who knows skiing, is not hard to interpret correctly.

Video