Connecting places: writing about and with Portal

Victoria L. Avery
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:51:20 PDT

Shannon Carter's pedagogy of rhetorical dexterity involves students using a familiar literacy at a meta-level to make sense out of an unfamiliar one. I used her pedagogy, as well as insights from James Paul Gee and John Dewey, in designing a 213x course on writing technologies. The writing prompt for the second unit asked students to write about their inquiry into the game space and reflect on how their experiences met up with research about video games in American society in general. The unit was sequenced with the intention that students would look at their own familiar literacies, understand them on a meta-level, before inquiry into "Portal." To understand one thing in terms of another is a metaphorical, conceptual understanding. Therefore, I use George Lakoff and Mark Johnson's theories on metaphorical language to analyze student writing. The second unit project involved students navigating multiple digital contexts: Google Drive, WordPress, class discussions, and the video game "Portal." My research investigates: How did students understand "Portal"? What role did "Portal" play in identity construction in my class?