Delivery in Roman times was done orally. People had to deliver to audiences in an effective manner through being intentional with “the quality of voice, the position and carriage of the body (including discussion of hands, neck, eyes, head, and, interestingly, dress), as both relate to the emotional force of the oration.” They wanted an emotional reaction from audiences, and even the smallest things, like how their togas looked, affected their message. It was “lost” with the rise of the printing press. Ideas were able to spread through written communication, rather than oral, so they didn’t have to be concerned with their emotional delivery through body and voice.
Interaction/interactivity during Roman times probably looked like audience participation and engagement with the speaker. I imagine that the speaker could’ve gotten to know the audience, then adapted their speech to appeal to their interests and needs. In that way, the audience would have been critically engaged and/or co-creators. Porter argues that there is a spectrum to how much digital resources can be interactive. On one end is access and usability, which is when “people can access the information, read it and understand it, and perform tasks successfully.” Readers are told how to interact and must react accordingly, like when getting money out of an ATM. On the other end of the spectrum, the audience members can be co-creators. For example, “social networking sites, video games, wikis, and simulated worlds” allow the world to create their own content. Between those two spectrums is Critical Engagement, which can be encouraged in ways like group discussion or in the comment sections of articles.
I’ve had to consider interaction/interactivity when creating my Twine game. I wanted to make the readers feel like they were co-creators, but actually I was the one controlling the game. To encourage engagement, I had to think critically about how people would enjoy interacting with a story and what different choices they may be intrigued by. Also, I had to make sure it had usable in relation to how the story progressed so no one was confused about where they needed to click when completing the game.
In what ways do you think teachers should encourage students to think about delivery in their own writing and designs?
Intro to Digital Texts and Media 