The podcasts were a nice way to approach hoaxes in a way that we have yet to experience. We were either able to interpret a hoax in a more conversational way, as opposed to the typical essay format. However, there were also a few of us who attempted to create their own hoaxes, and I must say that they all did an excellent job! It was very interesting to see what tactics everyone has picked up on throughout the semester with regards to what makes both hoaxes and rhetorical analyses more effective.
Personally, I would love to get the opportunity to work some more with podcasts and am thoroughly considering going back to workshop mine for the project later on in the semester. After hearing everyone else’s podcasts, there are some definitely some changes I would have made. For example, I just can’t get over the importance of sound effects and using them at the correct times. During class, it helped to keep me more engaged and it also made the podcast appear as more “legit” in a way. In order to do this I would have to reconstruct my podcast and choose a few things to take out, although I definitely believe it would be worth it.
This was overall a very fun project and I think that can be seen in everyone’s podcasts. For mine specifically, it was nice to get actual interviews and to be able to learn about the effects of a hoax first-hand, as opposed to the usual second-hand sources we have encountered thus far. It really brings a new aspect with it, being able to hear about personal experiences instead of just reading about them in articles or essays. It was also nice to see all of the different creative approaches that were used. There really weren’t any two podcasts that were alike, and we all brought our own brand to the table.
I hope to revisit my podcast again in the future to workshop it, although I very much enjoyed the time spent working with it and also being able to experience all of the great ideas that my classmates had with their podcasts! It was a terrific assignment and very different than anything I’ve done in an English course before.