About the Event and Guidelines

General Guidelines

ABOUT THE EVENT

NovaRhet is a research symposium whose primary purpose is to give a platform for students from ENGL 1302 students to showcase the brilliant work they are doing in their classrooms. Just as the name implies (Nova = New; Rhet = Rhetoric), our goal is to showcase these voices that are relatively new to the university so that all may have a chance to contribute meaningfully to the conversations that are taking place in academia; voices that are needing to be heard in a world that calls for the innovation and creativity that only these students can bring to it.

To that end, NovaRhet will be a live & virtual symposium that will take place on April 17th and 18th on both the Edinburg and Brownsville campuses and online; and will consist of displaying a variety of projects that will be hosted and created by ENGL 1302 students. All projects as well as the schedule of the live events will be hosted here on this website.

 

TYPES OF PRESENTATIONS/PROJECTS

The following is a detailed list of presentations and events that students can choose to participate in:​

In-Person Sessions Type

Classic Presentation

This session includes three 15 min or four 10 min. individual presentations + 10 minutes of Q & A.  Each presenters should plan 1 activity embedded throughout their lecture so that participants can better retain the wealth of knowledge presenters have to share.

Gallery-Style Poster/Creative Works Presentation

In this session ten to fifteen presenters will prepare individual poster presentations or creative works. Posters and creative works will be arranged around the room. Visitors will walk around the room engaging in conversations with presenters.

Workshop

In this type of session, presenters (a group of 3-5 students, a faculty member and their students, only-faculty, librarians) will share composing/reading/information literacy strategies that they use in their learning that helps solve a common academic struggle. Presenters will share their strategies in a hands-on workshop format. Participants will leave with an artifact they can implement in their learning. Please plan for:

  • 40 minutes of hands-on material + 15 minutes of Q&A

  • Any technology or materials used within the workshop should be free, cross-platform, and easily obtainable.

Spark Plática

In this type of session, four-five presenters (students, faculty & students, librarians) will share an idea or thought process they have found to impact their writing and learning process inside and outside academic environments. Each presenter needs to prepare a visual speech (8-10 minutes each). Please plan for:

  • Four or five consecutive visual speeches (8-10 minutes each) + a panel Q&A

Video for Film Festival

This submission will include videos created by students and/or classes that will then be edited together to show as a playlist of videos as part of our NovaRhet film festival.

Asynchronous Sessions Type

Classic Presentation, Digital Poster or Creative Works Presentation

To participate, students will have to submit a video presentation of their individual presentation or creative works not to exceed 10 minutes.

DATA AND PHOTO USE

By registering for NovaRhet Undergraduate Research Symposium, you provide consent that the information provided in submission forms will be stored with NovaRhet and shared with processing systems for the purpose of doing business with NovaRhet. You will provide consent to receiving announcements from NovaRhet and you may opt-out at any time by contacting NovaRhet committee members (contact information below) anytime.

By registering for NovaRhet Undergraduate Research Symposium, you will also consent to NovaRhet sharing your project files on the NovaRhet website as well as any corresponding online platforms. You may opt-out at any time by contacting NovaRhet committee members (contact information below) anytime. 

If you are accepted to present at NovaRhet Undergraduate Research Symposium, your abstract and corresponding author information will be automatically added to a conference proceedings document to be published on the NovaRhet website and other various associated platforms.

By registering for NovaRhet Undergraduate Research Symposium, you give consent to have asynchronous projects available for viewing for a limited period during the event. NovaRhet also reserves the right to use screen grabs and/or photos captured by conference organizers in event marketing materials.

 

NOVARHET CODE OF CONDUCT

All participants, including, but not limited to, student presenters, student attendees, mentors and advisors, administrators, program directors, speakers, exhibitors, program committee members, and volunteers are expected to abide by the NovaRhet Undergraduate Research Symposium Code of Conduct. Expectations for participants are to:

  • show courtesy and civility to all symposium attendees; 

  • conduct oneself in a manner both professional and ethical; 

  • avoid engaging in any inappropriate behavior such as discrimination or harassment. 

Every interaction you have should be appropriate and considerate of the audience that comprises NovaRhet attendees. Further, as students, faculty, organizations, and institutions involved in undergraduate research, scholarship, and creative inquiry, we have the professional and ethical responsibility to maintain the highest professional conduct standards and embody the high moral and ethical standards of UTRGV in our words, actions, and deeds.

Examples of behavior that is encouraged at NovaRhet:

  • Use of language that is welcoming to all, including phrasing of questions/comments thoughtfully so as not to bring down anyone

  • Understanding and being respectful of different viewpoints and opinions

  • Committing oneself to the overall enjoyment of the event by all

  • Showing compassion and empathy to other participants

Behavior that is unacceptable at NovaRhet:

  • Harassment or discrimination of any person at any time

  • Verbally abusing or attacking any conference attendee online in any way. Verbal/online abuse includes but is not limited to comments about any person’s gender, physical appearance, sexual orientation, disability, race, religion, national origin, inappropriate use of photos, or graphics that are sexual in nature, making threats to another participant.

  • All submitted pieces and ideas must be original and created by the participant. Plagiarism is unacceptable and could be subject to reprimand by the university

  • Presentations, postings, and messages should not contain promotional materials, special offers, job offers, product announcements, or solicitation for services. NovaRhet reserves the right to remove such messages and potentially ban sources of those solicitations.

 

PROJECT GUIDELINES

The following guidelines are suggestions for various project types that will be displayed on the NovaRhet website (live events will be subject to their own guidelines which will be outlined to those who choose that format). They are not all encompassing, therefore if you have recommendations on how to host your project, please include these suggestions along with your submission. Our goal is to create and maintain an accessible experience for all NovaRhet audiences, and we welcome thoughts and suggestions on how to best present your projects or classes. 

Visual Arts Projects

  • Examples of visual art projects include digital art creations (virtual magazines, digital photography, digital collages, computer animated art, etc) and/or pictures of physical art creations (paintings, sculptures, clothing, etc.)

  • A blurb to accompany visual art submissions should be included that explains the goals/overall purpose of the project.

  • Supported file types: JPG, PNG, GIF, JPEG, JPE, JFIF, BMP, HEIC, HEIF, TIFF, TIF and WEBP (animated WEBP files not supported)

AUDIO PROJECTS

  • Examples of audio projects include podcasts, recorded audio-only interviews, etc.

  • An image should be submitted to accompany the audio file so that the file can be uploaded to YouTube and embedded onto the website (image need not be elaborate but creativity is encouraged).

  • A blurb to accompany audio project submissions should be included that gives a brief overview of what the audio file is about.

  • Supported file types: MP3, WAV, FLAC, M4A, WMA, AAC, AIF and AIFF

VIDEO PROJECTS

  • Examples of video projects include interviews, Zoom class recordings, music videos, mini-movies, etc.

  • A blurb to accompany video project submissions should be included that explains the goal/overall purpose of the project.

  • Supported file types: 3GPP, AVI, FLV, MOV, MPEG4, MPEGPS, WebM and WMV


 

NOVARHET GENERAL CONTACT INFORMATION

 

NovaRhet Committee Members