College Websites: To be Effective or Not to be Effective

When looking for colleges, certain items make the difference between an application being filled out and a close window being clicked. Does it not only have links, but pictures and do the pictures represent the experience that can be found at the college in question? Also, the college has to take in to consideration past students are just as important as future ones, so there has to be something that shows that the colleges still values them, alumni news.  In taking these considerations into account, the comic in Figure 2.5 is an extremely accurate depiction of what the content of a college website contains, minus the presentation of such information.

            One university in particular, which reflects the list in Figure 2.5, is the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida. It includes a mission statement, alumni information, pictures, etc. along with a giant slide show.  It follows the same formula as the list because as mentioned before, those are the items that people go to the college website to find. If it only had pictures, some links, and nothing that connected the reader to the school, the reader would close the window and the school would kiss goodbye multiple donors, future students, etc.  So it may seem redundant and annoying to navigate, especially if you are a current student, but in looking at what the audience wants, the items aforementioned, the information and websites are highly effective.

Multimodal versus Multimedia/ Different facets of Multimodal Communication Modes

Firstly, the definition of multimodal may not be an exact word for word replica of the definition for multimedia, but the ways in which the information is conveyed to the audience through both are very similar. For example both focus on linguistics (word choice), visual (the look), aural (the sound), gestural (the gestures), and the spatial (the set-up) and how they combine to create the intended message of the writer, thus the main difference between multimodal and multimedia is the spelling.
The Linguistic Mode
In examining the above speech, a sense of strength, friendship, and sympathy can be felt by the word choice of the writer. By stating "Our thoughts and our prayers remain with the people of Japan" the public has the reassurance that compassion and support will be offered to those who are suffering in Japan. In addition, the phrases "Japanese Friends" and "America will stand with Japan" create a feeling of unity and a recognition that America needs to helps its "friends" in their time of need.
The Visual Mode
Figure 1.3  has more of a contrasting layout, green and white, compared to Figure 1.4, blue and white, which makes Figure 1.3  more bold, thus attracting more attention and giving more importance to the words in the area with the green background. In recognizing Figure 1.3 is bolder, the person who created the Twitter profile is likely to be just as bold in their everyday life. On the other hand, Figure 1.4 is probably a more reserved person due to the color choice, as well as the profile picture. In following that assumption, Figure 1.4 was created to be a more professional application, while Figure 1.3 appears more casual and is probably used as a personal medium instead.
The Aural Mode
I can hear the bells in the background while the female speaker delivers her message when I listen to the short video. It seems more educational and informative because of the tune of the bells along with the conversational tone of the speaker. If it were a country tune in the background instead, the video would be more casual and less informative when coupled with the same speaker because there is no cue that it is meant to be more than the appearance of words said in a conversation.

The Spatial Mode
When visiting the Washington State University (WSU) homepage, my eye is drawn to the three slide show blocks with links to information relevant to the college. These blocks are placed in the middle while the links create more of a border around the web page, which in turn causes the reader's eye to find the slide shows first and the links afterwards. In setting it up this way, the reader can view the surrounding links to be supportive, much like back-up singers, to the main slide shows. If this set-up was switched, the slide shows would seem pointless and distracting, while the links could become confusing and difficult to navigate.
The Gestural Mode
In having his hands crossed, Obama promotes the idea of togetherness and unity, especially when discussing the joint task forces comprised of multiple nations. He also tries to maintain eye contact with the audience, thus attempting to connect with the audience and in turn have them become more connected to the topic his is delivering the speech on (Libya). In incorporating these gestural actions, Obama successfully conveys the emotions he wants the audience to feel in his speech.