Monthly Archives: February 2023

The assignment “What’s in your bag?” enabled us to discover aspects of ourselves indirectly without resorting to the overused question, “tell us a little about yourself?” Although the task focused on the contents of our bags, we revealed more about ourselves through the items we chose to include. Many of us used language and visuals, such as pictures and written words, to convey our identities in the original task (See Task 1). The primary mode of my new creation was through sound. Various elements like music and sound effects were incorporated to enrich the experience. Following the New London Group’s (1996) belief that all meaning-making involves multiple modes, I aimed to represent my identity in a multimodal way and determine if my bag could convey even more about me.

Transforming a visual representation into an audio format was a challenging task, and it took me some time to devise a strategy that would allow me to deliver the content in an engaging and informative manner without simply reciting a list of items in my bag. In the redesign process, I shifted my perspective from myself to the objects in my bag, and my final work incorporated linguistic and audio design elements, as per The New London Group’s (1996) belief that all meaning-making involves multiple modes. This process was similar to the Voice to Text assignment, where I observed that speaking instead of writing could influence the message’s delivery.

References

New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60-92.

Task 5 – Twine Game

Hello Jessie,

I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your Twine game and was impressed by the creativity and interactivity you incorporated into the story. Your use of choices throughout the story created a more engaging experience for the reader. Your ability to incorporate external sources such as Spotify, Amazon, Scholastic Kids, and YouTube demonstrates your skill in navigating and utilizing digital media. However, I did notice that the Spotify link you mentioned was not working correctly, not sure if it was from my end.

I was particularly impressed by how you managed to learn all the tricks and even incorporated Gifs into your work. This added an extra layer of visual engagement to the story and made it even more enjoyable! In contrast, I stuck with using Bitmoji of myself and did not venture out to try all the new things like you did.

Furthermore, your reflection on your creative process was insightful, particularly your decision to search for sources that worked best for you. Your connections to Bolter’s (2001) ideas about hypertext and the limitless nature of stories across the internet demonstrate a deep understanding of the creative possibilities of digital media.

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I utilized the emoji search function on my mobile device to help communicate my idea through pictorial symbols. However, I discovered that it was challenging to find suitable emojis that could replace words exactly. In some cases, I had to use several emojis to convey my intended message. This necessitated me to consider my readers’ perspective and contemplate whether the emojis I chose could be interpreted differently.

Upon reviewing my work, I realized that unless my readers were familiar with the movie, they would only have a rudimentary comprehension of my composition. Names and specific ideas were condensed into their most elementary form, for instance, the name “Maverick” being represented by a male emoji. Fortunately, many of the characters in the film possessed nicknames, making them more readily translatable into emoji. For example, I used  for Hangman and   for Phoenix.

The growing usage of emojis on social media highlights the shift towards visual communication as a necessary component of language. Historically, various forms of writing have incorporated visual elements such as puns, symbols, and images, demonstrating the significance of imagery in language. These ideas resonate with Bolter’s (2001) observation that visual elements, including emojis, are increasingly being used to augment the communication of written language. Specifically, the popularity of emojis used in our daily conversations (Instagram, text, Messenger) illustrates how they can convey emotions, replace words, and enhance the strength of messages through visual elements.

Kress (2005) raises doubts about the potential impact of emerging textual forms on a reader’s imaginative interpretations. In my opinion, I think using emoticons in writing takes away the uniqueness and personality of the writing. I frequently answer others’ text with the thumbs-up emoji to save time and sometimes even with work emails to let others know that I read the email. Here’s an example of an email from my principal, asking if I can TOC for another teacher at my school.

References

Bolter, J. D. (2001). Writing space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Kress (2005), Gains and losses: New forms of texts, knowledge, and learningLinks to an external site.. Computers and Composition, Vol. 2(1), 5-22.

Twine:

Elaine Lee_Twine Story (This should take you to a page where you need to click on the .zip file to download).

Overview of Elaine’s Twine Task

I have seen others use Twine in my other MET courses, yet I have never played with it.

I decided to write about a day in the life of a kindergarten teacher…and I went for it without a draft. After creating the story paths, I was determined to add images to this Twine as the example, The Temple of No provided in our task. I looked up YouTube tutorials and found one by John Fry (2017). I created a Bitmoji avatar, downloaded images to my laptop, and uploaded them to postimages.com to get a direct link for each of the photos. I felt tech-savvy typing <img src=(insert direct link here)> onto Twine and felt a sense of accomplishment as the images pop up in the dark background.

During the process of creating Twine, I was so worried to lose my creation. Even after downloading, I kept the browser open and didn’t turn my laptop off for three days! Once I have completed the story component, I proofread my work, organized the paths, and ran it 10 more times. I enjoyed this first attempt with Twine and can see the benefits of using Twine in a Language Arts classroom. It allows viewers to actively participate and engage in choosing their own adventure and feel a sense of authority as their decisions follow with direct outcomes. This related back to Bolter’s (2001) reading this week, “In following hypertextual links, the reader becomes conscious of the form or medium itself ” (p.43).

Interestingly, the most challenging part of this assignment was uploading it!? To be honest, I panicked a little when I see that the final project is downloaded as an HTML file. And, I was right – I searched on Google and watched numerous YouTube videos, and all attempts led to this…

Then I came to realize that there were a few options for story formats – next, I tried using Github to ‘package’ Twine and attempted posting it directly to WordPress. Nope…

Eventually, I decided to reach out to Ernesto and take a break to freshen up. I was ready to go through this again later in the evening. New progress, it was showing up as a . Zip file on WordPress! However, when I clicked on it, nothing happened. I figured I will play around with all the options under the attachment details and VOILA! Two learning curves in one week!

References

Bolter, Jay David. (2001). Writing space: computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. New York, NY: Routledge.

Frank, A. (2016, June 20). Crows Crows Crows’ new game is the most fun 10 minutes you’ll have today Links to an external site.. Polygon.

Fry, J. (2017, March 27). Twine – Adding Pictures [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRETz9wnOkk

Task 4: Manual scripts and potato printing

Jamie provides a thoughtful reflection on the historical and cultural context of potato stamps, which originated in the early 1900s when North America was experiencing an influx of white European settlers. Indigenous peoples began to decorate their woven baskets using vegetable stamps made from potatoes and squash, as well as herbal dyes on ash splint baskets. These decorative techniques caught the attention of passing tourists, and thus, began the use of potato stamps as a form of communication and artistic expression.

It is worth noting that the use of potato stamps in Indigenous cultures was deeply rooted in the importance of oral storytelling. The practice of weaving and designing baskets emphasized the telling of stories, traditions, and cultural practices, which were often passed down through generations. Therefore, the use of potato stamps can be viewed as an extension of this tradition, as they allowed Indigenous peoples to communicate their stories and cultural practices to a wider audience.

In her reflection, Jamie describes the process of creating potato stamps and the challenges she encountered while making them. She notes that the curves of certain letters were particularly difficult and that she had ultra-light markings to guide her cuts. While she found the process to be fun and almost meditative, she acknowledges that her stamps did not turn out as well as she had hoped.

Despite the limitations of potato stamps as a printing technology, it is important to recognize their historical significance as a low-cost and accessible means of communication. In the absence of more advanced printing methods, potato stamps offered an efficient and practical way to produce repeated patterns or messages. However, as technology advanced, printing methods evolved to include more sophisticated forms of communication, such as the letterpress technology that Jamie mentions.

In conclusion, Jamie’s reflection on potato stamps highlights the historical and cultural significance of this printing method. While it may not be as efficient or sophisticated as modern printing technologies, it remains an important part of the history of communication and printing. Furthermore, Jamie’s experience of creating potato stamps provides insight into the practical challenges of using this technique and the importance of creativity, motor skills, and artistic expression in learning and education.

Reflection

What a fun task! I was glad I had a choice between printing potatoes and writing manually. I have always preferred typing over writing manually as I can quickly ‘fix’ and edit mistakes or add ideas and make changes as I proofread my work. I am literate in print media. Back in university, I took several courses on printmaking and during my CFE (Community Field Experience) at UBC, my peers and I hosted outdoor learning for a Day Care and one of the activities was potato printing (see below). This activity should be straight-forward – carve, paint, and stamp.

The first thing I did was to list out a few five-letter words. Once I decided to carve the word ‘relax,’ I wrote it in a mirrored fashion on the sticky note (luckily, the letters E, A, and X are replicated). The most challenging aspect of this process was drawing the outline on the flesh of the potatoes and keeping the letters the same size. I did not follow my tracing completely as the marker tracing was quite thin so I purposely left more space around my outline. Once I had my stamps, I packed them in a paper bag for them to dry and waited to continue the stamping process the next day during my prep (I had left the acrylic paint at school). Stamping was tricky, after my first attempt: RE – for ‘REDO’. I needed to apply more paint to get all the corners before applying pressure consistently from left to right.

Time and Mechanization of Writing

The entire process took about 30 minutes. The letters E, L, and X were much easier than R and A. Letters with curved lines and counters were more labor-intensive than ones with straight lines. It generally takes me hours to produce text on paper – perfecting my penmanship. Writing, to me, is very personal. Below is an example of my notes from a Chemistry course. I tend to highlight to organize my writing and include visuals to help with comprehension.

After this activity, I certainly appreciate the convenience of mechanized writing. If it took me 30 minutes to carve 5 letters, it would take approximately 156 minutes (2.6 hours) just to cut 26 letters of the alphabet.