Link 1: Emoji Story
https://blogs.ubc.ca/chowey/2021/10/13/an-emoji-story/ – Chris Howey
Connections:
As I looked for ideas for emoji stories and plots, Chris was brave enough to be one of the first to post their completed tasks. This assignment was insightful and helped solidify my choice for my own completion of this task. This exemplar is well done. The plot and title were well represented with the correct emojis. Chris made it explicitly clear that they did not want to use emojis as syllables, like the game of charades.
Why did I choose this one?
I found this interesting the author notes that if they were to use emojis for syllables, it would detract from their direct mode of communication. This reference was a point of reflection for me. It had never crossed my mind that emojis could be used as syllables. I had only ever considered emojis as an extension of my feelings or points of expression. Therefore, when reviewing others and this post, this task made it hard for me to decipher the titles and plot. I appreciated the author’s comment that they only use emojis to communicate with close friends and online communication. I would agree, as this was the same for most of my friends and me.
As with texts, more specifically, emojis can be misinterpreted and confusing if a person is not familiar with the multifaceted context in which each emoji can be used; this can lead to misinterpretation. Such an example can be the “praying hands” hands that can be interpreted as “thank you” but so can two different smiling emojis, each with rosy cheeks. It would be interesting to see if this assignment can be duplicated with the generation of kids who grew up mainly using emojis to express their feelings and words.
Link 2: Manual Text
https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec54064aguevara/2021/09/30/task-4-manual-text/ – Clarissa Guevara
Difference:
Clarissa chose to write manually, in contrast to me. In this post, the author indicates that her daily quick notes or day plan will be more frequently scribbled down on a piece of paper versus typed. I found this a very different perspective from myself, as I am a slow writer, no matter the length of words, and my writing can be more so on the side of a chicken scratch than as nicely as the author has done. Therefore, I find almost all my daily writing tasks are done either on the computer or my phone. Consequently, I decided to complete the potato printing as playing with manipulatives is different from putting pen to paper.
Connection:
Although we had different forms to express our text of choice, I appreciated Clarissa’s comments about a sore hand and “pressing hard” to write. It was for reasons she stated was one of the reasons I did not want to complete the manual write. I have never been a fast writer nor am I a proficient speller. I do not know if this is because of the era in which I grew up, where words were taught as a whole and not phonetically or if I was in a bilingual school for the formative years of spelling.
Clarissa summed up why I, too, am not inclined to write all the time. Her comment between the generations was insightful. I do wonder about the generational divide between manual writing versus typing. In my family, I have noticed the older generation, who used word processors for daily work tasks, are more inclined to type than write versus those that had only had to use computers to complete non-daily functions for their work. However, in the recent activity I concluded with my younger students, I have noticed that in a class of 27 students, it was challenging to read their printing, as it appeared not to have been practiced for years. This one activity alone made me reflect on how the loss of manual writing will impact future generations and their output. As I combed through old hand-written documents dating back to the 19 century, I began to wonder if the younger generation can decipher such text as cursive appears to be an art form that is not easily translated to all ages.
Link 3: Voice to Text
https://blogs.ubc.ca/meetec540/files/2021/09/Etec-Task-3-transcription.pdf – Marlis Enders
Difference:
Marlis was very proficient in using voice to text. This was demonstrated through the outcome of the author’s assignment which had minimal syntax mistakes relating to the spelling and very few added insertions of alternate words. This outcome was very different from my assignment, where syntax mistakes were common.
The author understood that English, in its written format, is very prescriptive compared to the dictation of words into a dictation service. I found this an interesting perspective, as the author makes the connection that oral storytelling can “add vocal inflections and gestures which can add a lot to the ambiance and spirit of the story, engaging and involving the audience much more actively.” I found that I do not necessarily agree that oral storytelling is more engaging. Imagine Ben Stein, from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and his monotone droning while recounting even the most basic ghost story around a campfire. It would be hard to engage even the most eager listener.
Therefore, I would disagree that one manner, oral, is more engaging and less prescriptive than a written format, as each version requires its prescriptions (style) but in just different forms.
Connection:
The author and I had a similar mindset in scripting our text into the dictation service. We both agreed that having a script afforded the dictation service the ability to add proper grammar and punctuation where it would have been written in a script. Although the author did note this may have lacked a conversational element, I would argue that the “script” could have been written conversationally and may not have lost that element as much.
Link 4: Golden Record curation
https://blogs.ubc.ca/litt540/2021/10/27/golden-record-curation/ (Braden Litt)
As I searched for a post to connect with, I was surprised by the varying degree that many people curated the list. It led me to think about the quiz and how different our responses were and yet how connected some of our song choices were in the data collection graph.
The author here was very methodical at determining how to narrow down their curated list. In the post, the author has taken a different approach to curate my list, which involved emotions and memories. The author narrowed their choices based on a mathematical equation with little ‘outside’ influence. However, I did not necessarily look at curating my playlist this way. Instead, I relied more on feelings and emotions. I can understand that Braden’s approach would have been beneficial likely leading to generating a Palladio with more closely linked bubbles and connections. It This approach could have afforded the program/tool a better chance to analyze the data and pull out the information necessary to understand the relationships.
I found the opening sentence in this post compelling, providing insight into the author’s thought process where they appeared to be using some mathematical calculations. I concur with the author’s nod to Apple that “knowledge that is considered legitimate by those in power becomes the taught curriculum.” However, one must consider when calculating numbers and equations, regardless of intentions, the curator has deemed what is explicitly the power of the “taught curriculum” to them, and their legitimizing of this specific ‘taught curriculum.’ It looks as though the only connection between this author’s curation and mine is that we both wanted to ensure that the list represented many geographical locations in the world.
Link 5: Attention to Economy
https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540michaelorlandi/tasks/task-10/ – Mike Orlandi
Difference:
The apparent difference between the author’s post and mine was that I could complete the task and they were unable to. Although, I concur with the author that I easily spent as much time on the first screen as he did, he noted in his post that his attention was drawn away from the task with the “clock is ticking” dialogue box and that it was not necessarily causing him any increased levels of stress, whereas this was the opposite for me. I think where I am unable to connect with the author is the strain on mental capacity as it relates to this attention diversion, as I do not understand how attention diversion impacts mental health.
Connection:
What I appreciated about this author’s post was the note that the “clock is ticking” and the connection that it drew the author’s attention away from the task. This drew a comparison to me with my students who sit in front of me daily, as a classroom teacher. It is so easy for students to become distracted from the task at hand with any one tool pulling their attention away. The author’s comment and insight into their classroom environment regarding their students’ diminishing mental health capacities is a real-life problem that many classroom teachers face daily. However, I would argue that changing how the data is collected may not necessarily change how it will affect students’ mental health. For instance, I have many students who spend excessive time online gaming and do not spend copious hours scrolling social media. Therefore, how does the data collecting narrative fit into the lives of these individuals and their mental health? How can the greater society, not a private/profit-driven company, have current and productive dialogue that can help move students away from the very present and increase screen time to become adults with better mental health?
Link 6: Mode-Bending
https://blogs.ubc.ca/communitynetworkveraxiong/2021/10/24/task-7-mode-bending/ – Vera Xiong
The mode-bending activity demonstrated that the author wanted to ensure that it was in a different format from the original post of “What’s in my bag.” The author chose a famous child’s book and the characters. Their experience differed as they decided to represent their mode-bending through still photos and a voice-over, with added voice changes. Their connection to mode-bending incorporated the visual, linguistic, and audio portions of the multimodalities. I can appreciate that the author has used these modes of communication. I found it interesting that they noted that it is not always easy to work within multimodalities, as it can be cumbersome for the integrator (teacher or such) to become proficient in such tools before presenting them to their learners. And yet, it can also be overwhelming for learners to understand how to pick and develop such skills to use the technology. I learned from the author’s post that the options of many modes might not necessarily lead to a proper engagement with any specific mode to ensure any learning takes place. Instead, it can lead both the teacher and learner to a place where both will leave the activity without fully satisfying one of their multimodalities.
“The process of identifying available design, designing, and redesigning enables teaching always to be new and upfront. Mabrito & Medley (2008) wisely suggested that the pedagogy design has to speak in learning’s language, not in instructors language. In other words, Millennials and Generation Z need to be taught in their metalanguage. However, the reality is not every school or instructor is ready to make that transition.”
I think this is a critical paragraph in the author’s post. It was an ‘aha’ moment when I thought about a specific time in my teaching career.
I had not realized why this one course ‘flopped’ so badly and I now reflect and realize I was teaching in my language, not the metalanguage of my students. My goodness, thank you, Vera, for presenting this paragraph to enable me to do better, should I be fortunate to teach that specific course again.