What I liked best about the course was the blogging, the presentations, and the personal narrative writing prompt. I was nervous to do the blogging, because I was sure it was something I would never figure out to do. However, I realized how simple it really is to have your thoughts published on the web. The presentations were enjoyable, too. I loved researching my Flashmobs presentation, because it really opened me up to something I never would have heard of otherwise. The electronic literature presentation was another favorite of mine. I still go on the site sometimes to look at different additions, because I didn't have time to go through it while in class.
Frontpage was an annoyance, simply because of the blocks at school. It took forever to learn how to use frontpage, but i am pretty proud of how everything turned out. Just to have working links and graphics is an accomplishment! But I probably wouldn't want to ever do something like that again.
If I were to take this class again, I would rather not do all the reading we did in the beginning, particularly the reading like produsage and remediation. It was so hard to get through and wasn't enjoyable at all. I would do more blogging, more ventures into different areas of cyberspace as we did with the presentations, as well as more reflective writing.
I feel prepared when it comes to blogging as well as wikipedia. However, I don't feel prepared with frontpage at all. I will probably forget everything i have already learned.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Reflective Essay - Final Draft
Topic – How does technology change personal connections through writing?
Readings : I ♥ novels, Friend Game, Wikipedia article, Flashmobs, Electronic Literature, “Deep and Hyper Attention” and “Sampling “the New” in New Literacies”
In a recent conversation with a friend, we discussed how my parents fell in love through the old fashioned handwritten letter, sent from the US to Portugal, where my dad was still living in. It reminded me of how something as simple as a letter can change a personal connection and in turn can change the course of someone’s life. This is why I chose to change my topic to delve into how technology changes personal connections through writing. Does it have the same impact as traditional print writing? Are these impacts negative or positive? Are we better off with traditional writing?
Collin’s “Friend Game” speaks of the ugly side of writing through the use of technology. For many of us, as seen through our narratives, we use the internet for social networking. Whether to meet new people or to keep in touch with old friends, we rely on the internet to communicate and form personal connections and bonds. However, “Friend Game” pointed out that writing through technology is not always pleasant. Cyber bullying is an extreme form of the nasty side of writing through technology. In the real world, it is much easier to avoid a person you have issues with, but in the cyber world of writing, doing so is not as easy. The safety of the internet is virtually non existent, and unfortunately it can have a negative impact on the person that is on the receiving end.
Similarly, the Wikipedia article can fall under the not a pleasant experience. As a class, we all had our unpleasant experiences with this user-created website. For instance, another student and I had not a single response to our first foray into posting on Wikipedia. Others had their posts taken down within minutes, and others had Wikipedia ‘experts’ say they were blatantly advertising. In the latter experiences, it is very easy to feel bullied on Wikipedia. Also, the issue of trolls came up. These people hack into Wikipedia and destroy someone’s post that they probably worked on for a long time. However, we are also brought together through Wikipedia. Just look at how it was first created. The Wikipedia article stated that “it was constructed, in less than eight years, by strangers who disagreed about all kinds of things but who were drawn to a shared, not-for-profit purpose”
However, not all writing through technology brings out the worst in people. In fact, some writing that is done through technology brings them together. For instance, the I ♥ novels presentation showed us that teenagers in Japan formed their own virtual world via standard messaging services on their cell phones. Instead of having to go to a library or bookstore to read a novel, they can download it onto their phone and immerse themselves in the story, creating their own space. They can easily share the novels with others, as well.
The “Flashmobs” presentation also talks about the positives in writing through technology. People are brought together through text messaging, where they become one to achieve a certain goal. Whether it be something funny or something as serious as a political stance, these individuals are notified via technology to meet in a specific place, get instructions, and hold a pose or do an action together to make a point. Although I was one of the presenters of this article, I am still amazed when I do youtube searches for flashmobs and find out that so many people are involved. And to think it was writing through technology that brought them together is amazing.
Instead of just traditional print writing, we also have artistic ways of writing when it comes to technology. I still find myself looking into the Electronic Literature website. This goes far beyond the black print and drawings of print writing. Now we have graphics and interactive reading that showcases just how creative individuals can become. There is a space where authors can come together and share their artistic views of writing, instead of having just standard books.
If the internet is full of these creative writings and social networking, how do we as individuals find the time to explore the different areas that interest us? How do we juggle work and play? This is clearly explained through Hayles “Hyper and Deep Attention”. We use hyper attention to multitask. We are able to not only do our work (whether it be writing essays or searching the web for sources or even doing job related activities), we are able to listen to music, talk to friends, surf the web for hobby related interests, etc.
In my opinion, writing through technology is a positive experience. The internet is much like real life. There will always be the bad aspects which in this essay are cyberbullying, learning to blog or post and the issues that go along with that, but in return we as readers are rewarded with a vast amount of creativity. We are given the chance to show readers that they can reap the same kind of enjoyment via writing through technology the same way a standard print book can give us. Just look at the Electronic Literature website and you are able to see a small part of the author’s creativity. Lankshear and Noble state literacies call us to generate and communicate meanings and to invite others to make meaning from our texts in turn.” These types of literature in technology do just that. We communicate meanings through what we write via technology, and we are brought together by shared interests.
Readings : I ♥ novels, Friend Game, Wikipedia article, Flashmobs, Electronic Literature, “Deep and Hyper Attention” and “Sampling “the New” in New Literacies”
In a recent conversation with a friend, we discussed how my parents fell in love through the old fashioned handwritten letter, sent from the US to Portugal, where my dad was still living in. It reminded me of how something as simple as a letter can change a personal connection and in turn can change the course of someone’s life. This is why I chose to change my topic to delve into how technology changes personal connections through writing. Does it have the same impact as traditional print writing? Are these impacts negative or positive? Are we better off with traditional writing?
Collin’s “Friend Game” speaks of the ugly side of writing through the use of technology. For many of us, as seen through our narratives, we use the internet for social networking. Whether to meet new people or to keep in touch with old friends, we rely on the internet to communicate and form personal connections and bonds. However, “Friend Game” pointed out that writing through technology is not always pleasant. Cyber bullying is an extreme form of the nasty side of writing through technology. In the real world, it is much easier to avoid a person you have issues with, but in the cyber world of writing, doing so is not as easy. The safety of the internet is virtually non existent, and unfortunately it can have a negative impact on the person that is on the receiving end.
Similarly, the Wikipedia article can fall under the not a pleasant experience. As a class, we all had our unpleasant experiences with this user-created website. For instance, another student and I had not a single response to our first foray into posting on Wikipedia. Others had their posts taken down within minutes, and others had Wikipedia ‘experts’ say they were blatantly advertising. In the latter experiences, it is very easy to feel bullied on Wikipedia. Also, the issue of trolls came up. These people hack into Wikipedia and destroy someone’s post that they probably worked on for a long time. However, we are also brought together through Wikipedia. Just look at how it was first created. The Wikipedia article stated that “it was constructed, in less than eight years, by strangers who disagreed about all kinds of things but who were drawn to a shared, not-for-profit purpose”
However, not all writing through technology brings out the worst in people. In fact, some writing that is done through technology brings them together. For instance, the I ♥ novels presentation showed us that teenagers in Japan formed their own virtual world via standard messaging services on their cell phones. Instead of having to go to a library or bookstore to read a novel, they can download it onto their phone and immerse themselves in the story, creating their own space. They can easily share the novels with others, as well.
The “Flashmobs” presentation also talks about the positives in writing through technology. People are brought together through text messaging, where they become one to achieve a certain goal. Whether it be something funny or something as serious as a political stance, these individuals are notified via technology to meet in a specific place, get instructions, and hold a pose or do an action together to make a point. Although I was one of the presenters of this article, I am still amazed when I do youtube searches for flashmobs and find out that so many people are involved. And to think it was writing through technology that brought them together is amazing.
Instead of just traditional print writing, we also have artistic ways of writing when it comes to technology. I still find myself looking into the Electronic Literature website. This goes far beyond the black print and drawings of print writing. Now we have graphics and interactive reading that showcases just how creative individuals can become. There is a space where authors can come together and share their artistic views of writing, instead of having just standard books.
If the internet is full of these creative writings and social networking, how do we as individuals find the time to explore the different areas that interest us? How do we juggle work and play? This is clearly explained through Hayles “Hyper and Deep Attention”. We use hyper attention to multitask. We are able to not only do our work (whether it be writing essays or searching the web for sources or even doing job related activities), we are able to listen to music, talk to friends, surf the web for hobby related interests, etc.
In my opinion, writing through technology is a positive experience. The internet is much like real life. There will always be the bad aspects which in this essay are cyberbullying, learning to blog or post and the issues that go along with that, but in return we as readers are rewarded with a vast amount of creativity. We are given the chance to show readers that they can reap the same kind of enjoyment via writing through technology the same way a standard print book can give us. Just look at the Electronic Literature website and you are able to see a small part of the author’s creativity. Lankshear and Noble state literacies call us to generate and communicate meanings and to invite others to make meaning from our texts in turn.” These types of literature in technology do just that. We communicate meanings through what we write via technology, and we are brought together by shared interests.
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