Links: My post for Task 4; Jill’s post for Task 4
I chose to link to Jill’s post because we share similar thoughts regarding typing on keyboards and writing by hand. However, we have different opinions about the difficulty of this writing-by-hand task. So, I thought it would be interesting to dive deeper into Jill’s post to find the similarities and differences between our experiences.
Tools used
We are both using WordPress on UBC Blogs, so the content-authoring capabilities for our sites should be similar. However, we use different themes, resulting in differences in the end-user interface. For example, Jill added an “About Me” side window on her site (right above “recent posts”) so readers can see her self-introduction when reading the task posts without needing to go to the home page. Her theme’s background and text color are white and black, respectively, while mine is reversed. Also, the text size for my theme is larger than Jill’s, which means her post would appear shorter, while my post might be easier to read on devices with smaller screens.
For this task, we both primarily used text to represent our commentary on the manual script. In addition, Jill added a “Writing vs Typing” table using Canvas below her text to outline why she prefers typing.
Jill scanned her writing and inserted the images on her site. In contrast, I used Genially to create an interactive image with a zoom-in function and typed text of my written reflection in case site visitors cannot read my handwriting.
Content
Themes we both discussed
1. The inequality in sports.
In our reflections, we all talked about inequality in sports. Jill mentioned that many coaches only want to win and pick favorites; they do not follow the “equal play time” rule. For example, taller volleyball players can stay on the court even after making mistakes, while short kids get subbed out immediately (Schmidt, 2023). In my reflection, I talked about the inequality in e-sports, in which males dominate. Women face risks from game playing and the whole game industry.
2. We type way more than write by hand.
Jill said she normally types and has very limited situations where she writes by hand. Even though I used to be a handwriting person, I do not normally write by hand these days.
3. The ways to correct written mistakes.
We both cross out mistakes and rewrite them correctly. Jill also erased mistakes (since she used a pencil) and directly squished some forgotten words in sentences.
4. Our choice of media influences how we edit.
Jill claimed that “The media [she] used definitely impacted the lack of editing in [her] work” (Schmidt, 2023), while I mentioned that “paper and pen made editing more troublesome” (Wang, 2023). The advantage of using a pencil is that Jill could erase the small mistakes. However, when making a structure mistake, crossing out is the most common way for handwriting, just like Jill did by crossing out a whole paragraph.
5. Differences between writing by hand and typing; we prefer typing.
She created a comparison table to lay out the differences, such as time, accuracy, editing, and memory. I also explained why I prefer typing: it is less physically demanding, faster, more efficient, and more accurate. In conclusion, we both prefer typing.
Differences between our post (Jill vs. Iris)
1. Reflection topic: Youth sports vs. E-sport hegemony
I believe our identity differences influenced our choices of reflection topics. Jill is a mother of three who enjoys sports, while I’m a single woman who likes to play video games.
2. Difficulty of the task: difficult vs. not difficult
Jill mentions that planning the script is time-consuming and that wishing to produce error-free work made her think much harder before writing. In contrast, my muscle memory, experience of practicing handwriting, and motivation to write made this task not too difficult for me.
3. Biggest difference between typing and handwriting: time vs. editing
I believe our past experience differences led to our different opinions on this question. Jill took time and thought to plan before writing because she “had to determine how many lines 500 handwritten words would take” (Schmidt, 2023). I knew it was about 200 words a page, and my handwriting was fast due to writing practice. Therefore, time is not the biggest problem for me.
New ideas
Jill: Written words can be considered an extension of the human brain (Lamb & McCormick, 2020); she remembers more when handwriting.
Jill: Double-spaced writing can make editing easier.
Iris: Digital information management is more efficient.
Iris: Multimedia features are another advantage of typing.
Iris: Writing and editing a draft can be a choice for creating an error-free text.
References
Lamb, R., & McCormick, J. (Hosts). (2020, May 26). From the vault: Invention of the book, part 1Links to an external site. [Audio podcast episode]. In Stuff to blow your mind. iHeart Radio.
Schmidt, J. (2023, October 1). Task 4- Manual Script | Jill’s ETEC 540. https://blogs.ubc.ca/jillmet/2023/10/01/task-4-manual-script/
Wang, B. (2023, September 21). Task 4: Manual Scripts – Bingying (Iris) Wang-ETEC540. https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540bingyingwang/2023/09/21/task-4-manual-scripts/