Files
blogs.ubc.ca appears to have html and zip file upload turned off so I’ve uploaded to Google Drive and shared below. My reflection will contain spoilers for my incredibly fascinating work so you might want to view the Twine first 🙂
HTML instructions to view the Twine:
- download the file
- navigate to it in your file explorer
- open it in a browser
HTML file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Ei8NpRQCou0r7hgPwAGPYJx-b6mQv-mN/view?usp=drive_link
ZIP instructions to view the Twine:
- download the file
- navigate to it in your file explorer
- open/unpack the zip
- open the .html file in a browser
ZIP file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11XtY5mDXwlu_33QjB0cAANsdCWqMvtSw/view?usp=drive_link
Reflection
I truly have an enthusiasm for Twine as it turns out. Initially I was struggling to find an approach that resonated with me and bridged the gap between this week’s readings and my expectations of Twine. Ultimately I went with what I know best and started with a dark, stormy night and a mysterious lighthouse.
I bounced around a few ideas for mapping this activity out before starting – in the end I was torn between Coggle and handwriting a map and the fact that I’ve been struggling with headaches this week settled the deal – anything for a little less screen time.
Going into the readings this week I was mostly considering ideas of information hierarchy in the context of my experiences as a web developer. Broken links were (and are!) a nightmare of lost SEO and frustrated users. Thinking about Engelbart’s conceptual framework (1963) helped me to broaden the horizons of my thinking beyond digital information structures to include the physical structures and training that people rely on when creating work. As I read Bush (1945) I was shocked at the prescience of his writing. Lots to consider around different types of input, data, and flexibility of information – and it’s in step with conversations I’m having today around multi-modal language models like OpenAI’s 4o.
I hope I was able to effectively bring the readings and ideas together with what I think is a story in step with the fine traditions of choose-your-own-adventure.
References
- Bolter, J.D. (2001a). The electronic book. In Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print (pp.69-85). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Bolter, J.D. (2001b). Hypertext and the remediation of print. In Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print (pp.29-45). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Bush, V. (1945). As we may think. The Atlantic Monthly, 176(1). 101-108.
- Engelbart, D. (1963). A conceptual framework for the augmentation of the man’s intellect. In P. W. Hawerton & D. C. Weeks (Eds.), Vistas in information handling, Volume I: The augmentation of man’s intellect by machine. Spartan Books.
- Nelson, T. (1999). Xanalogical structure, needed now more than ever: Parallel documents, deep links to content, deep versioning and deep re-use. ACM Computing Surveys, 31(4).
Hi Brie,
Thanks for the fun Twine. My first time through I managed to make most of the “moving forward” decisions rather than the decisions that needed to loop back, but my second time around I decided to check out the other options. I think my experiences with your Twine shows a potential limitation of hypertext (and choose Your Own Adventure stories), that with so many potential paths, not everyone will explore every path.
This reflects a current conflict in pedagogy. One the one hand, as a teacher I want to provide opportunities for students to explore whatever paths they are interested in to further develop this skills and knowledge, and I think mediums that use hypertext is perfect for this. On the other hand, I’m limited by time and curricular constraints, so if I want my students to learn how to balance chemical reactions, rather than a non-linear medium such as hypertext where students can “wander off the path,” I prefer paper/linear texts that provide scaffolding for students to gradually develop skills and competencies.
Would you also say that there are some things that non-linear mediums are better for, but for other things linear text is the way to go? Or, is that an anachronistic way of thinking and that we should just fully embrace non-linear text?
Hi Brie,
What a brilliant way to incorporate our readings into this task! This was so enjoyable and witty and fun to read, I just had to write a quick response!
I must agree that this task also made me a fan of Twine. I was a little intimidated to start, but once I started playing around with it, I saw how easy it was to use and the hardest part became the story, not use of the tool.
It seems we had a similar approach to tackling this task. Like you, I found the concepts of hierarchy from our readings and creating a concept map incredibly helpful in planning the navigation for this project.
I found your statement about broken links interesting — “Broken links were (and are!) a nightmare of lost SEO and frustrated users.” It’s something I hadn’t really considered regarding hyperlinks before. While I haven’t personally experienced this issue much, I can understand how it would frustrate users and disrupt the idea of associative links.
Anyway, that’s a bit of a tangent. I just wanted to say your Twine project was wonderful. Great job!
Steph
Hi Brie,
I really appreciated your twine for it’s humour and how you integrated the weekly readings into your work.
I notice in your reflection that you used a pen and paper to draft out your thinking and brainstorming which gives a great visual of the non-linear context of hypertexts. I was curious if you thought about using a digital format for mapping your ideas out, or if you automatically went to pen and paper.
What really resonated with me was your point, “Would the affordances of deep linking and parallel documents change how you collect, consume, and create information (Nelson, 1999)? Or is this concept an idealistic one that would crumble in the face of the chaos of emerging content of the scale of the internet in 2024?
It made me think of the proverbial ‘going down the rabbit hole’ of the internet, which could have two different outcomes: to getting deep into something, or ending up somewhere strange (or some strange combination of the two). Which is what I think Matt was getting at in his response to your your post; “This reflects a current conflict in pedagogy. One the one hand, as a teacher I want to provide opportunities for students to explore whatever paths they are interested in to further develop this skills and knowledge… On the other hand, I’m limited by time and curricular constraints, so if I want my students to learn how to balance chemical reactions, rather than a non-linear medium such as hypertext where students can “wander off the path.”
Matt asks, “Would you also say that there are some things that non-linear mediums are better for, but for other things linear text is the way to go? Or, is that an anachronistic way of thinking and that we should just fully embrace non-linear text?”
I believe the choice between linear and non-linear mediums should be guided by the context and the specific goals of the task at hand. I think embracing non-linear text doesn’t mean abandoning linear text; instead, I see it as recognizing when each medium is most effective and leveraging their unique advantages accordingly. In my view, this balanced approach can mitigate the potential chaos of the vast and emerging content on the internet, allowing us to harness the strengths of both mediums for optimal learning and information consumption.
Hi Brie,
I really enjoyed your Twine project, and like Matt, I found it both fun and engaging. The way you crafted the narrative paths made me curious to explore all the different options, and I appreciate how you integrated the readings into your work.
Matt’s reflections on the strengths and limitations of hypertext, particularly the idea that not everyone will explore every path, really got me thinking. When I was working on my own Twine project, I faced a similar challenge. I wanted to create a narrative that felt meaningful no matter which path the player took, but it’s always a bit of a balancing act to ensure that all the potential choices and outcomes feel equally satisfying. I think Matt’s point about the conflict in pedagogy—between allowing students to explore freely and guiding them toward specific learning outcomes—also applies to how we approach storytelling in Twine. For my project, I ended up blending some linear elements with the non-linear structure to guide the player while still allowing for exploration, and it sounds like that’s something you were mindful of as well.
As for whether we should fully embrace non-linear text or continue using linear formats, I agree with Carol that it really depends on the context and the goals of the task at hand. I believe it’s about finding the right balance—using non-linear mediums to foster creativity and engagement, while also recognizing the need for structured, linear content when it comes to building certain skills.
Thanks for sharing your Twine and sparking such a thoughtful discussion!