Arcade Project

I haven't posted in a while because this arcade project has almost thrown me into a depression. I thought this one was easier because I completed the visual essay. Well, I was half wrong. It started out great!!! I was posting pictures and everything until Professor Rhodes said make it into a webpage and that's what messed me up. I had my pages set up, but they were boring. I looked at one of the other ones and saw all this stuff on their pages. I decided to force my creative juices to flow so I could make it look a little more interesting. I didn't think I could make it look very interesting because my subject is so serious and it can be little depressing. Then I thought about the message I was trying to convey. I wanted it to be serious and for my viewers to see the seriousness of it. I think I got my point across.

A New Respect

I now have a new respect for the computer. I also found that the frustration is inevitable. I made it through, but once I looked at everyone elses I felt like I could have done more. I don't think I was creative enough. Some people had layers and layers of stuff. I had just 1 or 2 layers and that was it. I did think mine was pretty creative and I love pictures so I used a lot of pictures of my family. I tried to say away from too many pictures of my kids because I can overdue that. I was proud that I actually finished it because at one point I didn't think I was gonna make it.
When I sat down to work on it I was sucked in by an obsessive monster and tooned everything and everyone out, including the clock. I would be up until 1am and had to go to work in the morning. I would be exhausted at work and constantly thinking about what I can do to finish the project and it not look like a 5th grader did it.
I made it!!!!

My Quest for the Visual Essay

In my quest for the proper visual essay I am learning how computer illiterate I really am. I am used to just typing a paper and dabbling on the internet and that's it. This essay has definitely proved to be a challenge to me. I am getting there with it, but things are moving into places that I have no control over! I was thinking about my children and the changing times with their homework assignments. They won't have these problems because they are already being assigned homework on the computer in the 4th grade. It's amazing that they don't need my help to make a word search for their spelling words. It's blowing me away that by the time they are in the 6th or 7th grade they will be able to do powerpoint presentations and old as dirt and ready to toss my computer out of the window.
Well, I'm definitely learning something, but it's really hard.

midterm project

The midterm project is pretty interesting. It is making me stretch beyond my emailing capabilites. I really want to build my own website, but I just don't have patience. I know it has to have a slight theme, but it should incorporate what comes to mind. I like so many songs and poems I want them all on there,but I think I'm gonna have to choose some phrases to put in there. It's teaching me a lot about the new microsoft 2007.

the scrapbook/box logic

Last class we talked about what our midterm would look like. I don't think I will be doing it on the computer because I could see me strategically putting the pieces I want on and hitting the wrong button and everything disappearing. So I will be doing a scrapbook since I know I can do that!

Students Who Teach Us

This chapter was really eye opening. I know throughout my studies I have read instances where people in some black communities have a disadvantage when it comes to computers and literacy. After reading the story about David I was able to connect the problem. I often think about how can we help people like him. How can we make it so that he can survive in college. He seemed to be very gifted when it came to computers, but when the academia part of english hit he was at a lost. It's unfortunate he had to get kicked out because of that. It seems like there should have been someone to step in and help him in the language he was comfortable with. It's the same with black english. Many students in lower income black communities lack english skills in the academic world. How do we bridge the gap? How can these students learn to cross over and be successful outside of their world. It's very frustrating for me to read and hear about. I know people like this and they think they aren't smart enough to go to college when I know they are.

The Podcast

The podcast conversation in class today was something that I kept thinking about after class. The cyber world and the fact that there really is no privacy. As we continued to breakdown what this computerized world is all about I know everything we do on the computer can be looked at. I think that's the whole point. Big brother is really watching. While we were discussing the fact that companies can look into your email, I thought about a Law and Order episode I saw when the detective was able to pull up the text messages from a phone. Also another episode when they were able to pull up the emails in Dateline. I don't think anything is private. If need be everything that is typed into a computer can be retreived by the government. Nothing is sacred!

a serene photo

WNM - Openings & Justifications

This book seems much easier to read than the Handa book. I like how Wysocki is challenging the reader to go beyond the tools that are used for writing and reading as of now. Since times are changing we shouldn't remain stagnant in the world of writing. We should expand our horizons and use new materials. These materials can enhance our writing and reading. Since times are constantly changing and the computer world is moving into so many different arenas we need to try to incorporate these into our everyday lives.
The activities she included at the end of the chapter were really neat. My favorite was "colorful handwriting". I thought about how difficult it could be to write an entire 2 page paper in crayon. I'm a little anal and I like sharp points so I would have to write in many different colors and keep sharpening my crayons. I also liked "The Attentions of a Visual World" that one reminded me of the stupid games I end up playing at baby showers and bridal showers. The bride or mother-to-be has to leave the room and we have to remember the details of what they were wearing. Now that game can pay off for me I can use it in the classroom.

Multimedia Literacy

The importance of how things are linked is very interesting in this article. The way Lemke shows literacies and technology is all linked together. The simple fact that writing, typing, bookbinding and all things are related to that ever present technology. He says things have to evolve and change in order for us to progress.
This particular reading is extremely complex. I "think" he's trying to say the new technology will allow and does allow us to communicate all across the world. It seems like he is saying that although we have dealt with books and different types of print, those things are not totally going away. They are coming in a different form. He also says the skills of multimedia are closely related to one another we just have to understand how they are being presented.

Visualizing English

This whole concept of print transitioning to internet is really interesting. I didn't realize how I was transitioning over to the computer age. It's automatic, it seems. I love books. I love to read, but I also love the computer. The internet has such a wealth of information. I get sucked into clicking from page to page to page.
When I read what Elbow says about cooking and the whole process that writing takes it seems like he feels like the art of writing and reading is being lost. I would just say it's just being used in another form. All of his comments on writing in this chapter remind me of people that are totally against change. The type of people that will just use a typewriter until they die and never touch the keys of a computer. They won't even use one when that's all there is to use.
I think that the computer only opens up many more avenues for people to experience writing.