It was a difficult task to analyze the data from Palladio as I struggled to understand the nodes and lines on the graph. I started to gain a little more understanding after watching some tutorials from Youtube. The grey nodes represent the students in the class and the black nodes represent the tracks. The bigger the nodes, the higher the degree of connectivity (more students choosing the same track). From this graph, it seems that the track, “Flowing Streams” is the most popular and “The Wedding Song” and “The Well Tempered Clavier” are the least popular. The graph does not offer hints on why this is the case. I expected Palladio to offer more in-depth functions where users can filter criteria like gender, time of day, ethnicity and location. These criterias affect why one would choose certain tracks and not others. I wonder how gender, choice of music and ethnicity would affect these results. These criterias would also enable a more in depth analysis of the data in our class. We all have our own biases when choosing the top 10 songs. One of my biases was that I wanted to promote Earth’s cultural diversity to life beyond Earth. I also assumed that the music would elicit the same emotions on the aliens as it would on me. Since we know little about life beyond Earth, we do not know how they would interpret a piece of music or if they even know about the existence of Earth and humans. 

This assignment has given me a more in-depth understanding of the algorithms in web structure. The search engine already has endless information stored on almost everything we want to know about the world. When we search for the term “The Golden Record”, the algorithm searches for sites that match the keywords and sequence of the words and how many other sites are linked to a site. In other words, the algorithm is always evolving and improving in order to provide users with better results (Code.org, 2017). I am reminded how our connections with each other and our communities (ie. interests, preference, behaviors) affect the algorithms. This in turn affects the kinds of results that we get from the web. 

Reference

Code.org. (2017, June 13). The Internet: How Search Works . Retrieved from https://youtu.be/LVV_93mBfSU

My Top 10

Track 4: Pygmy Girls’ Initiation Song

Track 12: Tchakrulo

Track 16: Rite of Spring (Sacrificial Dance)

Track 20: Night Chant

Track 24: Flowing Streams

Track 25: Jaat Kahan Ho

Track 27: String Quartet No. 13 in B flat

Track 10: Gavotte en rondeaux

Track 3: Percussion (Senegal)

Track 2: Kinds of Flowers

As I was listening to the tracks, it was difficult to pick my top 10. I was looking for tracks that would capture the diversity of humanity to extraterrestrials. Most of these tracks capture the culture and music of minority groups (ie. track 4, 20, 24, 25). The combination of string and brass instruments and percussion provokes a sense of celebration, struggles, suspense, hesitation, curiosity and adventure which accurately embody the history of humanity. 

I think the Golden Record is a meaningful gift to life beyond earth. The best part is that it is in digital form. Smith (1999) stated “Digital texts are neither final nor finite, and are fixed neither in essence nor in form…they can be changed easily and without trace of erasures or emendations (Smith, 1999)”. I think one of the aspects that I enjoy the most about digital form is that “it is easy to summon up quickly any number of variations of value, hue, shape, and placement…create an endless number of identical copies from a digital file (Smith, 1999)”.

Despite the many benefits of digital texts, Smith (1999) suggested that digitalization is not preservation. One of the reasons is that it is difficult to ascertain the authenticity and integrity of digital texts. How can we be sure that the content has not been tampered with (ie. sound mixing)? As well, the digital nature enables the texts to be copied many times and it would be difficult to locate the original copy.  In this case, however, I wonder if extraterrestrials would question the authenticity of The Golden Record. I have a feeling that they would simply enjoy the music for what it is. On the other hand, in our perspective, one can argue that The Golden Record does not capture the many cultures, voices and stories of humanity. Perhaps the Record only represents a fraction of human civilizations in a specific time. 

Reference

Smith Rumsey, A. (1999). Why Digitize? Retrieved June 15, 2019, from Council on Library and Information Resources website: https://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub80-smith/pub80-2/

Originally I wanted to create a video using Vimeo. I inserted all the photos, created the captions for each page and was ready to record when I realized that I was not able to download the video. I did not know that only members could download videos created from Vimeo. So I used Canva instead. After getting the video ready, I used Loom to finish recording the video. In the process of re-creating, I decided to add labels, captions and photos to represent the meaning behind the texts. I think that I require more practice in order to add more elements in my video in the future. Ideally, I would add sound effects (ie. traffic sounds, bird chirps) to elicit a new experience for the reader. I would also use different colors and font size to capture certain words to re-represent meaning. Cope & Kalantzis (2009) framed multiliteracies in the following way.

“It is to design learning experiences through which learners develop strategies for reading the new and unfamiliar, in whatever form these may manifest themselves. Instead of simply telling learners of authoritative designs, it asks the question of design, or the relation of meaning form to meaning function. In addressing this question, learners may be able draw upon various metalanguages describing the forms of contemporary meaning (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009, p.176-177)”. 

In other words, multiliteracies encourage learners to ask questions about the meaning makers’ choice of design. What is the significance behind the design? Perhaps deconstructing designs is a new concept because traditionally literacy teaching is only confined to the form of written language. Written and oral language are fundamentally different modes. In today’s multiliteracies society, we combine different modes (written, oral, audio, tactile, gestural, spatial) to express similar ideas (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009). I see design and re-design of texts most prominently in advertisements in the form of commercials, billboards and magazines. I realize that there are different modes of meaning across different modalities. Cope & Kalantzis phrased the idea in the following way. 

“Written language is open to a wide range of possible visualizations. The words have to be filled in with visual meaning. Visuals, however, require that the viewer creates order (time, causation, purpose, effect) by arranging elements that are already visually complete (Cope & Kalantzis, 2009, p.180)”.

In other words, every modality requires a different imagination to re-represent the meaning to the reader. This reminds me that learning to read and write are two different modes. Some students excel in phonics but they struggle to write a short story or retell on paper the events over a weekend. Writing requires a different set of skills and often connects to the learner’s social class and community background. I think this activity introduced me to another perspective on different modalities and becoming aware how meaning can be shaped and reshaped by the meaning makers and learners. 

Reference

Cope, B. & Kalantzis, M. (2009). Multiliteracies: New literacies, new learning. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 4:3, 164-195, DOI: 10.1080/15544800903076044

This is a show that I recently watched. I was drawn to the story because it is told in a first person point of view. The main characters narrate their thoughts and “rationale” for their actions. It is an intriguing story from an entertainment perspective but it is disturbing on a psychological level. I am curious to find out how many seasons the story can have with a repeating story pattern every season. 

I started with the title as it was the easiest starting point. I chose this show mainly because it is one of the most anticipated shows. The process of expressing my ideas using emoji was much slower than using words as I had to scroll through all the tabs to see which emoji would best represent each word. Just like words, emojis have different meanings for everyone. It is interesting to note that as I was choosing the emojis to express my ideas, I was thinking in sequence- one word after another. Similar to what Kress (2005) stated about time and sequence. 

 “One sound happens after another, in language one word after another, one clause after another. Time and sequence in time provide the organizing principle for making meaning (Kress, 2005, p. 12)”.

Kress went on to argue that “Being first may mean being first in the speaker’s attention or being first in power or being cause of an action, and no doubt many other possibilities (Kress, 2005, p. 12)”. I chose to put a man emoji first instead of “a couple” emoji because the man was the protagonist of the show from the very beginning and his internal thoughts were the first lines the audience heard. The logic of space works differently for emojis and drawings. In drawings, “all elements are simultaneously present (Kress, 2005, p. 13)”. In emojis, however, the sequence of expression is still understood to be from left to right (at least in the English language). In other words, the use of emojis gives power to the author on the sequence of expression. 

When I communicate with my social circle, sometimes I find it easier to communicate in words than emojis. Other times if I want to convey an emotion, I will choose emoji(s) to replace words. In a multimodal world, Kress called the new meaning of reading as “reading as design (Kress, 2005)”. Medium of the screen is now more dominant than paper-based media as readers strive to use the fewest words possible to convey an idea clearly. Users are more engaged by the designs on the screen where the reader makes connections and meaning with the image and texts on the page and eventually becomes the author of the text. Today users choose the mode that seems “most apt for the purpose of representation and communication (Kress, 2005, p. 19)”. In other words, the readership and authorship change on every occasion.  

Reference

Kress (2005), Gains and losses: New forms of texts, knowledge, and learning. Computers and Composition, Vol. 2(1), 5-22.

Friends (1)

This is the first time I have heard and used Twine as a writing tool. I am not a fan of choose-your-own-adventure type of texts. I would rather have the author make the choice for the reader. I ended up creating several scenarios in my story as I could not figure out how to loop a choice back to a previous choice. I am not used to this type of writing as I am creating two or more storylines moving at the same time. This type of writing is similar to the Xanalogical structure mentioned by Nelson (1999). He stated that “The writing process, and especially sophisticated rewriting, consists of repeatedly reorganizing evolving drafts” (Nelson, 1999). Choose-your-own-adventure type of texts enables the writer to “re-write” every decision that the reader makes for the character. This enables new possibilities and new endings for the story. This is how Nelson (1999) describes the Project Xanadu. 

          It has always been much more ambitious, proposing an entire form of literature where links do not            break as versions change; where documents may be closely compared side by side and closely                      annotated; where it is possible to see the origins of every quotation; and in which there is a valid                copyright system (Nelson, 1999).

In a way, xanalogical structure of writing is a modern way to organize and annotate ideas. It presents a visual image for writers and readers alike to see how everything is connected and the effects and consequences of each choice. 

In today’s writing technology, instead of reading and writing in traditional written forms, we create and read texts using hybrid books such as notebooks and iBooks. We even read magazines, journals, and printed books digitally. These forms of texts are lightweight, easy to carry and even gives reader the opportunities to choose the outcome of a text (ie. stories on Twine). According to Bolter (2001), One important feature of eBook is the ability to turn any text into a hypertext. In other words, readers are able to search for the occurrence of words and phrases within the text. Another feature of an eBook is that it is connected to a “growing world of materials available online” (Bolter, 2001). eBooks like stories from the Twine give readers access to endless possibilities with a click of a button. As Bolter put it, “Unlike a printed book, which can only contain one fixed text, the eBook is designed to be reloaded. 

I really enjoyed the creative process of making stories from Twine and I hope to learn more about it. 

References

Bolter, J.D. (2001). Writing Space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 77-98.

Nelson, Theodore. (1999). Xanalogical structure, needed now more than ever: Parallel documents, deep links to content, deep versioning and deep re-use. Online

I had trouble finding proper paper to do this exercise. I felt that I had to use line paper to write a diary entry. It just made the experience more proper. I cannot remember the last time I used line paper. As you can tell, I almost never write by hand. In my mind, it is more formal to write on paper than it is on the computer. As I was writing, I felt I was able to write more freely as thoughts and ideas kept pouring out. For some reason, the process of writing by hand allows for more privacy than writing on the computer. When I made a mistake, I simply crossed the word off and continued. I was less critical about making grammar mistakes as my goal was to put my thoughts down as they came out. I felt that my writing hand was busy catching the words that kept pouring out of my mind. I had to record the words on paper before I forget them. I notice that my handwriting is neater in the beginning than it is in the end. My hand was getting tired towards the end and I was writing faster and faster. This reminds me of what Bolter (2001) said about memory and reason when we write. 

“The memory becomes a writing space, and the writer a homunculus who looks out at the world through our eyes and records what he sees. The homunculus translates perceptions into words and images and records them; he also puts down his inner thoughts and conclusions. To think is to write in the language of thought and to remember is to search the space of our memory until we find what is written there (Bolter, 2001, Chapter 9)”.

As I wrote my reflection, I did not have trouble searching the memory of my experience in Hong Kong. However I had trouble translating my perceptions into words and recording them by hand. I felt that the memories kept coming out but my hand was not fast enough to record them all. In the process of writing by hand, it was as if the mind is connected to the hand. When my hand started to feel weary, my mind also began to lose creativity and concentration. 

As I am typing this reflection, I can see the contrast of the creative process in different forms of writing. When I type out my thoughts, I am less concerned about spelling (due to autocorrect) and more concerned about organizing my thoughts and arguments. In contrast, when I write with my hand, I put more energy on legibility and recording of ideas and less on grammar and organization of thoughts. 

This is what Bolter (2001) had to say about how each technology of writing binds us to human practices and cultural choices. 

“The technology of ancient writing is not only the papyrus, the ink, and the techniques of making book rolls; it is also the styles and genres of ancient writing and the social and political practices of ancient rhetoric. The technology of modern writing includes not only the techniques of printing, but also the practices of modern science and bureaucracy and the economic and social consequences of print literacy (Bolter, 2001, Chapter 2)”.

In my experience, I find writing on the computer easier because I have been influenced by the cultural practice of receiving and creating texts that are convenient, accessible and quick. In today’s culture, we are not only concerned about accessing and creating texts on the screen but also on recreating the relationship between the author and the reader and closing the distance between two.  

Bolter, Jay David. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print [2nd edition]. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

What is your daily need for the items in your bag? 

Keys- access to my home

Earphones- listening to music

Wallet- for purchases

Bus pass- get around the city

Shopping bag- for use when I make purchases

Phone- for communication, taking photos and looking up information

How might these items be considered “texts” and what do they say about you, the places you inhabit, the cultures with which you engage, and/or the activities you take up?

When I go outside, I have a habit of only bringing the essentials. I like the idea of being able to move freely and quickly without being weighed down by my bag. Previously I was living in Asia and was used to navigating quickly in a fast-paced city. Now I am making the effort to slowing down my pace and enjoying the scenery on the way. 

Keys– The keys exist within the context of my lifestyle. It is a symbol that connects me to another symbol (ie. home) on a map.

Earphones– It shows that we live in a modern world where we enjoy texts in an audio form.

Wallet– It is an item that contains symbols that tie us to the city/country in which we live in. It shows our membership in a city/country. 

Bus pass– A bus pass is a sign that can be connected to other signs (ie. Skytrain station, bus map, fare booth).  

Shopping bag– As Scholes (1992) suggested, text is a creation. Therefore a shopping bag is a form of technology that has been created to carry other “signs”. 

Phone– I think it is one of the most important texts created for use in modern society. It changes the way we store information, communicate and interpret texts. I use it mostly for communication and looking up information. 

Thinking about the title of the course, what are the “text technologies” in your bag, if any? What do these items say about how you engage with language and communication?

When I think of the word “texts”, I immediately think of reading a text.I have not considered a text as a creation or an art/craft. On reflection, I am used to only seeing texts in written and oral forms. I would not normally consider a set of keys or a bag a form of text technology. In actuality, a text “is a set of cluster of signs that can be connected to other signs (Scholes, 1992, p. 155)”. 

According to Scholes (1992), he argued that “human interaction with the world is understood as always mediated by signs that can be interpreted only by connecting them to other signs (Scholes, 1992, p. 153). In other words, we can only make sense of things when we establish our connections within the texts. 

I find it interesting how texts and work are defined in the reading. This is something that I have not considered previously. Scholes (1992) quoted the following about texts and work. 

The work can be seen (ie. in bookshops) and the text is a process of demonstration. The work can be held in the hand, the text is held in language…the text is only experienced in an activity of production. It follows that the text cannot stop (Scholes, 1992, p. 154). 

In other words, a text is experienced through an activity of production. Society asserts authority to the texts because of the author (ie. government, companies) behind the text. At the same time, the text can also be reinterpreted and reproduced by its readers as it grows in its network.

What do the items in your bag say about the literacies you have?

The items in my bag show that I am engaging daily in written and oral literacies. I am used to listening to texts through the use of earphones. I engage in written texts through my phone as a way to communicate with others. 

How does the narrative of the (private) contents of your bag compare with the narrative produced by image you have of yourself or the image you outwardly project?

The private contents in my bag remind me that I live in a multiliterate and global economy that allows me to move freely in the city/country without restriction. I am also reminded that I would not be able to participate in the economy without reading and connecting with the prints, signs and technologies. 

What would this same bag have looked like, say, 15 or 25 years ago?

I believe that I would also only carry the essentials except for the phone. The phone would probably be bigger or not required when going out. I might carry a cassette player, a map and a bag of coins for daily travels. 

How do you imagine an archeologist aiming to understand this temporal period might view the contents of your bag many years in the future?

They might understand that the people, information and economy were closely connected by technology. The user lived in a society that was driven by convenience, consumption and information. 

Reference

Scholes, R. (1992). Canonicity and Textuality. In J. Gibaldi (Ed.), Introduction to Scholarship in Modern Languages and Literature, 2nd Edition (pp. 139-158). New York: Modern Languages Association of America.