Final Project: Describing Communication Technologies

Link 1: Shannon Wong

Shannon’s final project was a tutorial on Microsoft Excel. She explained the history of spreadsheets, followed by an introduction to Excel and applications using a set of data created by our class. She chose to create her project as a video, which allowed both audio and visual to explain her content. As someone relatively unfamiliar with Microsoft Excel, I found the video and Shannon’s method of communication quite helpful. She circled or made arrows point to a specific cell she was talking about, and shared the screen recording of how she navigated the program. Her narration helped me to understand how she handled the data, and why she chose to create a new table and reorganize the cells.

Microsoft Excel was not something that immediately came to mind for me when I thought of communication technology. Mostly because it is not a tool that is used regularly in my practice. However, after hearing Shannon during our class Zoom meeting about her background in accounting – it makes total sense as charts and spreadsheets are the main methods of communication for people who work with numbers. It helped me to broaden my definition of communication technology.

 

Final Project – Podcast

Link 2: Steve Acree

Steve’s final project was on e-books and e-readers. His podcast explains the emergence of digital text, the resulting transformation of the literary world and its impact on authorship and sales. He provides personal examples such as how going digital has lightened his suitcase for the vacation but he has not yet determined how he feels about watching his son use his phone for reading rather than paperback. He also briefly mentions accessibility, which connects to my project on text-to-speech software. Using podcasts as a platform for this project was a good choice as it felt like I was listening to an episode of an audiobook.

I am in a similar boat as Steve (if not behind in keeping up with the trend). I still haven’t jumped on the e-book/e-reader yet. While I see the benefit of an e-reader and the compactness of it all, I still prefer paperback copies and the feeling of turning a page when I’m reading. On the other hand, I prefer e-books on mobile devices when it comes to school and textbooks. Mostly because I prefer not carrying around heavy textbooks but also because I can highlight, search and quickly skip to content with a simple click of a button. For me, it comes down to the intention of reading – whether it is for searching and gathering information or leisurely reading for fun.

 

Final Assignment: Automatic Writing Assessors

Link 3: Matt Huang

Matt’s final project was on Automatic Writing Assessors (AWAs). In his essay, Matt discusses the history of AWAs, how machine learning technique is used to train AWAs and concerns that arise from this technological development. The essay format that Matt chose for the project effectively references and conveys the various research and information he gathered. Towards the end of his project, Matt mentions concern about how such a tool using an algorithm can perpetuate preexisting biases, as it could perpetuate the biases of the original examiners and suggests possible risk reduction through a mindful approach and transparency.

His paper reminded me of Acawriter, a writing analytics tool that provides automated feedback on academic writing. It is advertised to work by looking for hallmarks of good academic writing and giving feedback to improve drafts. It does not grade the writing or check for grammar but assesses the entire piece of writing. While it does seem harmless, I wonder what these “hallmarks of good academic writing” are and whose standards are implemented in providing the automated feedback. It also makes me wonder whether the creativity and personality of writers are dulled when we implement such tools.

 

Early Literacy & iPads

Link 4: April Huang

April created an infographic poster on the use of iPads in early literacy. The visual media contained quotes and charts from various studies. I like her use of different icons and colours to emphasize a point and to divide the sections. In her project, April discusses the roots of literacy and the strengths and challenges of iPad use. Under ‘Why iPads?’, she lists 4 reasons supporting iPad use. However, given the limited space in this visual representation, the readers are not given any further information or background knowledge that supports these 4 points. There is a YouTube video at the bottom, which I think is a brilliant use of hyperlinks and technology beyond text. Unfortunately, the link isn’t working for me and I’m unable to utilize the feature.

I grew up with limited technology as a child simply because they were not invented yet. As a result, the introduction of the iPad in early literacy is unfamiliar to me. I think April brings up an interesting point, as I have never thought of the roots of literacy being digital. We often think of technology as being ‘good’ or ‘bad’ when the technology itself does not have such inherent quality. Her project helped me to reflect on how I choose to utilize technology and the personal responsibility that it comes with.

 

Final Project

Link 5: Tina Wei

Tina’s final project was on the transformation of translation tools. She created a video outlining the history of translation tools and their implications in education. She brings up the idea of disruptive innovation and provides an example of the resistance against the use of calculators that emerged when it was first introduced. Similarly, translation tools pose a potential threat in the world of language learning. I agree that the ultimate goal of learning isn’t just to know the rules of how language is structured but to be able to use it for communication. But there must be a balance in how much students rely on technology. For example, students should be able to tell when the translation is done inaccurately rather than blindly following it. I also found it fascinating that the translation services started using linguistic data from search engines rather than adhering to a set of rules. Similar to my project on text-to-speech software, I think the introduction of artificial intelligence can significantly improve the quality of the technology.

I remember going to my elementary school with the paper dictionary as Tina mentioned. In grade 6, I remember feeling tech savvy after getting an electronic dictionary and carrying it everywhere in my pocket. Translation services have come a long way since then.

 

Describing Technologies: The Physician Chart Note. Can the author become the editor?

Link 6: Robyn Bernsen

Robyn’s final project was on electronic chart notes and electronic health records. She interviewed a family physician/assistant chief medical information officer for the latter half of the video. The podcast format allowed both Robyn and the interviewee to present the content in a question-and-answer format. The audio recording afforded features such as tones, nuances, and the natural flow of oral culture.

This was relevant and fascinating as it relates to my current field of practice. I used to work in a primary care team and remember the pressure of completing my SOAP notes during the clinical encounter while also maintaining a connection with the patient. One of the physicians on the team used to dictate all his notes. Another doctor had the help of an international graduate who would document on the computer while he assessed the patient and read out his findings. While I greatly appreciate the legibility of chart notes and prescriptions, I also wonder about the privacy of information that is being recorded and whether or not it affects what the physician chooses to document especially if done in front of the patient. Moreover, when these “data” are mined from chart notes, I wonder how the privacy of patients is protected and ensured to not perpetuate the potential bias that already exists.
 

 

Susie went to the store and she bought ketchup mustard relish and also a bag of chips she went to the pharmacy afterwards and picked up her medication that she was prescribed for infection the pharmacist told her that her eye infection was contagious and that she should not be rubbing her eyes she was also told to not use any eye makeup or contact lenses until the infection is cleared after the grocery run she came back home and put her groceries away it was a Saturday morning and Susie had some time before she went to the barbeque so she decided to go swimming at the floating pool there were a lot of people Susie was a beginner swimmer so she went to the shallow end of the pool with a kickboard and started kicking around as she was swimming a group of teenagers jumped in their lane Susie was surprised but thankfully not injured the lifeguard came over and kicked the teenagers out of the lane Susie resumed swimming after swimming in the lane she also went to the diving board and jumped off the board into the deep end she was scared but she was able to get to the edge of the pool with the help of a life jacket After that she went to the hot tub before showering and heading home in the evening she went to the barbeque she packed the ketchup mustard and relish she bought this morning along with a variety of pop and beverages for the group tonight’s barbeque’s for her cousin Ralphs birthday her uncle set up a tarp and everybody gathered around to enjoy the barbecue and celebrate ralph’s birthday Susie AST Ralph what do you want for birthday this year Ralph answered I want a badminton rocket since he did not know that Ralph started playing badminton and wrote a note on her phone for next year birthday gift since she already got him a hat then afterwards everybody went home Susie stayed behind to help with the cleanup she packed her bags and headed home in her car on the way home there was no traffic an the moon was shining it was a beautiful view Susie went to bed

I used Microsoft Word’s dictate feature to convert voice to text for this assignment. It was my first time dictating and I was surprised by the accuracy of words it picked up and how fast it turned into text. Compared to conventions of written English, there is no punctuation. The entire story is a long run-on sentence that just keeps going. Without punctuation, it is hard to separate events and ideas. For example, “she was also told to not use any eye makeup or contact lenses until the infection is cleared after the grocery run” – missing a period between the words “cleared” and “after”, misinforms the reader that infection is to be cleared after the grocery run rather than what Susie did after the grocery run. The dictation capitalized Susie’s name but not Ralph’s name. There are a few words that were turned into a different word than what was spoken. For example, “an” instead of “and”, and “AST” instead of “asked”. I consider these mistakes because they alter the storyline and differ in what was spoken to what was transcribed. If I had scripted the story, then the story would’ve had more carefully chosen words and sentence structure. It would’ve also been more logically laid out so that in case of mistakes in voice-to-text, the reader (hopefully) would still be able to follow along. In written storytelling, the use of punctuation, sentence structure and layout support in communicating the story to readers. I can also use brackets to insert an idea (just like this) or create a blank space between two paragraphs to signal the start of a new idea. Similarly, in oral storytelling, the emphasis through the use of tone, voice and pace would be used to support communication. However, when voice is turned into text via speech-to-text technology, such nuances and features are lost into a big blob of run-on sentences. Moreover, if the storyteller had a heavy accent or mumbles that was not recognizable by the technology, that would also impact communication.

[17:55] “it may be that language is giving them a clue, but it may be also lots of other cultural practices and artifacts that create those difference we observe”

I think this is important because language is part of what makes up a culture. As Dr. Boroditsky said earlier in the video, languages select to focus on specific elements. And I think that selection reflects what is important or emphasized in that particular culture. For example, in Korean (and many Asian cultures), there are specific words to describe extended family members. There is a word that differentiates uncle from the paternal or maternal side, and it reflects the family order to your parent (e.g. younger or older than my father). There is also a word called “Hyodo” in Korean that translates to filial duty or piety. It is one of the principles that is emphasized in the culture. In English, there is no equivalent word except to string together a series of words to describe what it is. As someone who was born in South Korea but grew up in Canada, I notice the difference in language and in turn, the difference in what society selects to focus on. My value system is significantly different from my parents and I used to think of language as just a communication barrier. But now I think that language affects how thoughts are shaped and what we choose to focus on based on what words are available and how the sentences are constructed.

[18:27] “when you teach people to talk a new way, you are teaching them to think a new way as well”

I think this is important because it reminded me of the power of language to process one’s experience in the field of psychology and mental health. Sometimes, a difficult experience or grief does not get acknowledged or properly expressed. It could be due to many factors including unreceptive or unsafe environment, or the person’s unwillingness to face the situation. It could also be because no one taught this person to share their emotions or gave them vocabulary around what they are going through. I think it is powerful how new vocabulary or language can retrain the brain to think in a new way.

 

[25:35] “about 78% of time, you can predict gender in the personification from the gender in the artist’s native language”

This was something new to me. I remember struggling to learn French in high school with all the gender pronouns and not understanding what they were about. In both languages I speak, there is no distinction in gender for words. It was surprising to learn that it can affect the brain on a deeper level and shape how we view an object as shown through portrayal or artistic interpretation.

 

[32:30] “so there is trade off. There’s only so much stuff we can pay attention to.. speakers of different languages witness exactly same event but come away remembering different things about that event”

This reminds me of the story of blind men and an elephant. They are all touching the same elephant, but each blind man feels a different part of the animal, leading to a unique conclusion about what the elephant looks like. Similarly, language and what it focuses on can lead to people remembering different things about the same event. I think this is important because it reminds us that there are different perspectives not only based on personal experience and culture but also through language as well.

[33:45] “the kind of language that swims around you, the grammatical forms that swim around in your environment, change what you attend to even when you are looking at new events, unrelated to what you’ve just been hearing about”

I think this is important because it is almost as if language creates a lens through how you view and interpret the world. If you are seeing the world through a lens that zooms in on a specific element but is less clear on the other, then your experience or interpretation would differ significantly from another person who has a different lens. While that appears self-explanatory, I don’t think we realize how much our thoughts are affected by language every day.

[43:38] “take bilinguals and test them in one language or another and show that they think differently depending on what language they are being tested in and what linguistic environment they are in at the moment”

This resonates with my experience of growing up as a bilingual and shifting back and forth between speaking Korean at home and English in school. My parents spoke Korean as a primary language, whereas my brother and I mainly spoke English. I would reason differently when I am writing an essay in English compared to when I am expressing my opinion at home based on the language and the environment I was in. Both languages differ in how sentences are structured and what is expressed or emphasized through vocabulary.

 

 

Reference

SAR School for Advanced Research. (2017, June 7). Lera Boroditsky, how the languages we speak shape the way we think [Video]. YouTube.

Final Project: Screen readers and text-to-speech technology

 

 

References

Freedom Scientific. (n.d.). JAWS screen reader. Freedom Scientific. https://www.freedomscientific.com/products/software/jaws/

Government of Canada. (2022). Summary of the Accessible Canada Act. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/accessible-canada/act-summary.html

Hernandez, J., Mahajan, S., & Victor, S. (2005). The first wave of accessibility: A history of web accessibility. Stanford University. https://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/courses/soco/projects/2005-06/accessibility/firstwave.html

Key Lime Interactive. (n.d.). Voice as assistive technology. Key Lime Interactive. https://info.keylimeinteractive.com/voice-as-assistive-technology

Taylor, P. (2009). Text-to-Speech Synthesis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/texttospeech-synthesis/D2C567CEF939C7D15B2F1232992C7836

Sherwin, K. (2015). Screen readers on touchscreen devices. Nielsen Norman Group. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/touchscreen-screen-readers/

What is the Voder. (n.d.). What is the Voder? https://www.whatisthevoder.com/

 

Prompt:

Describe or narrate a scenario about a bottle found a decade into a future in which “progress” has continued. Your description should address issues related to climate and elicit feelings of dread.

Scenario:

It is only the first week of March, but it feels like the summer has peaked already. I wake up to yet another emergency text from the Government of Canada warning the public of the ongoing heat dome. “Isn’t it supposed to be temporary?” I mumble under my breath. I’ve been running the AC inside the house for the past month trying to stay cool but to little or no avail. The temperature has been in the high 40’s since the morning and who knows how high it will be today. Every day seems to be breaking records. Children have been ordered to stay home and schooling has been moved online. I haven’t been able to walk my dog except in the middle of the night because the heat on the concrete sidewalk burns his paws. Non-essential travel has been discouraged to prevent heat stroke. People are starting to talk about whether or not we should adjust our clock to reverse day and night to avoid the heat. I turned on the TV just in time to see today’s heat-related illnesses and death count for the country. It feels like a deja vu from the COVID period a decade ago. Our society has progressed a lot since then. We have made significant advances in the medical field (we finally cured diabetes!) and transportation including automated airplanes and space travels where accommodations are being built in outer space for those who can afford to escape the heat. As a result, we are consuming more energy than ever and as many have predicted, our planet is paying for it with climate change and extreme weather events. The push for conversion to electronic cars and other devices that require batteries stripped the Earth of its natural composition including lithium. Data centres have been quadrupled to meet the demands skyrocketing with AI use in almost everything. We seem to have traded in the health of our planet for other “progresses” deemed more important by society.

I head to the fridge to grab a bottle of “Sun Cloak” and pour myself a cup. It is the next-level sun protection that you take by mouth and it forms a bubblewrap-like layer on the skin for up to an hour to protect against the scorching sun. The label says to drink it 10 minutes before heading out in the sun and repeat the dose after 1 hour, to a maximum of twice per day. It creates a layer on the skin where cold air is trapped and circulates, eventually turning into a cool condensation at the end of the hour. It reminds me of the magical elixir that wizards would be drinking in Harry Potter and I am not quite sure if they have studied the long-term effect of this product but it is what we need right now. I am careful not to waste a drop because this costs me $450 per bottle. I would’ve laughed if I said I would be paying more than $30 for a bottle of sun protection a decade ago. But it is the only temporary solution to protect my skin and manage my temperature to get outside to take my dog to the vet. “Hang in there buddy,” I say to my dog as I put him in the air-conditioned kennel inside the already AC-blasting car. They haven’t come up with a pet version yet.

 

References

Image created using Microsoft Designer

The main takeaway for me from this week’s readings and assignment was how “AI-informed” decisions are not as objective, fair and mathematically sound as they seem, and how dangerous it can be to rely on it to make important decisions such as in policing, paroles, approval for a loan, hiring, admission, etc. without realizing how these machines were trained in the first place. Not only are these mathematical models usually hidden and inaccessible, they are programmed in a way that most people cannot understand. As Dr. O’Neil mentioned in her Google Talk, there is bias in the data you train your algorithm on and your definition of success imposes its agenda into the algorithm. Such algorithm training, under the guise of mathematics and technology, regurgitates the inherent bias that it was trained on, leading to further inequity and widening of the societal gap. This task reminded me of this game called ‘Survival of the Best Fit’ (https://www.survivalofthebestfit.com) which addresses machine bias in hiring practice. You would think that a machine would be less discriminatory compared to a human interviewer who comes with their own bias and preference based on their experience. Aren’t these automated decision-making supposed to make decisions objectively based on facts only, without discriminating against race, gender, age, etc.? Wrong. As predictive policing has shown, the data it gets fed and the consequent feedback loop comes with bias that has been passed on. But now under the guise of technology and mathematics that makes it even harder to detect and address. In the Detain/Release task, I couldn’t help but be heavily influenced by the predictive risk rating. Every time I saw a red colour, especially under violence, I clicked Detain. Halfway through, I thought I would change my strategy and detain/release based on the crime they have committed without looking at the predictive information. But it is hard to flat-out ignore these “AI-informed” suggestions and I can see how decisions may be swayed based on what “data” suggests.

Wow. That was not a pleasant experience.

I almost gave up at the first screen when I got locked out and couldn’t close the “Hurry up. Time is ticking!” screen. Everything in this game seems to be against my intuition and the opposite of user-friendly. The buttons are not what I expect it to be. The wordings are twisted so it requires me to read it a second time. The placeholder in fill-in-the-form requires manual deletion. The scroll bar for the age is impossible to calibrate. The instructions for the picture selection are vague and the bottom row does not have checkboxes for me to click. And so many more frustrating features. This design seems almost malicious in a way that I would’ve gotten angry and left the site if it wasn’t for this assignment.

Despite its poor design, it is effective at keeping me on the website longer than it would’ve if it wasn’t all twisted. In the current attention economy where our phones, computers, smart watches, TV, etc. are all competing for my attention – the stakes are higher and people who design these technologies/features/apps know how our brain works. For example, the language learning app or fitness app on the phone rewards if you keep up streaks. It “punishes” by resetting to zero if you miss or skip a day. Instagram automatically inserts suggested content into my feed based on my search history and interaction. I remember watching The Social Dilemma years ago and being creeped out at how much detail and information is being tracked by social media. The number of seconds I stare at content or how fast I respond to someone all gets put into the computer configuring who I am and what will trigger me to check the app. If such demographic data is put into the wrong hands, it can be used for dangerous activities such as targeted political agendas or election campaigns where a specific stream of information is shown to the user. Compared to posters or propaganda people would post on the streets back in the day, we carry our advertisement screen with us all day and answer every time it beeps or dings, which makes it even more dangerous. I don’t know if there is any data yet but the way we interact with technology will have an impact on our brain and our attention span.

The data collected from Task 8 is visualized as above using the Palladio app. The tracks are highlighted as darker nodes and its size indicates its popularity. For example, tracks 3, 5, 7 and 14 are represented with bigger nodes – meaning it was selected by many students. The link/edges show the relation between the tracks and students. I tried isolating one node but whenever I move it, the whole structure moves in response. The same goes for the students’ nodes. Like a web, the students are linked through their common selection or shared interests, even though they may not know each other or realize they are connected. This reminded me of algorithms on YouTube or Instagram. When we view a post or watch a video, the system keeps track of my choices/preferences and uses it to make future recommendations. However, it does not know why I chose to watch that video specifically – my reasoning or motivation. Why I chose these tracks are most likely to be different from other students. However, the network paradigm is unable to differentiate. It makes predictions based on patterns shown by previous users, which brings up significant issues. Firstly, is the content accurate? Is it biased? The algorithm is unable to carefully sort out the quality of content to ensure accuracy, and a well-thought-out and balanced view. “Within network, how connected an individual node is becomes a key metric of its significance within the network” (Systems Innovation, 2015). In other words, how much the node/content is clicked, viewed, retweeted, or mentioned may influence its significance regardless of what the actual content is. Usually, controversial content receives the spotlight on social media. This can be problematic in the spread of false news or misused in political campaigns – as in the Cambridge Analytica scandal a few years ago. It also reminded me of how Google intentionally focused on official sources such as government websites and public health officials at the top of the search along with its credentials during COVID-19, because almost everyone was searching at home trying to gather information and the accuracy of information was ever crucial. Moreover, such data visualization does not capture the whole picture. It is making assumptions such as that the user favours each of the tracks equally or has no order of importance for going on the Golden Record. Is the track chosen as the last of the 10 less favoured than the first choice? Or was it chosen as the user went through each track as systematically laid out on the YouTube channel? 

 

 

Reference

Systems Innovation. (2015, April 19). Network connections. [Video]. Youtube.

 

I chose the following 10 tracks:

• “Melancholy Blues,” performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven. 3:05
• Holborne, Paueans, Galliards, Almains and Other Short Aeirs, “The Fairie Round,” performed by David Munrow and the Early Music Consort of London. 1:17
• China, ch’in, “Flowing Streams,” performed by Kuan P’ing-hu. 7:37
• Bach, “Gavotte en rondeaux” from the Partita No. 3 in E major for Violin, performed by Arthur Grumiaux. 2:55
• Senegal, percussion, recorded by Charles Duvelle. 2:08
• Beethoven, Fifth Symphony, First Movement, the Philharmonia Orchestra, Otto Klemperer, conductor. 7:20
• Japan, shakuhachi, “Tsuru No Sugomori” (“Crane’s Nest,”) performed by Goro Yamaguchi. 4:51
• Peru, wedding song, recorded by John Cohen. 0:38
• Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 2, Prelude and Fugue in C, No.1. Glenn Gould, piano. 4:48
• “Johnny B. Goode,” written and performed by Chuck Berry. 2:38

These 10 tracks were chosen based on what I think represents the diversity and complexity of human culture and civilization the most. I tried to ensure sounds from various cultures were included to illustrate the multicultural world that we live in on planet Earth. Also, various styles (e.g. classic, jazz, vocal) were selected to showcase the sophistication and complexity that humans are capable of.

 

 

Reflection

In redesigning task 1: what’s in my bag, I wanted to embrace ‘multiliteracies’ as introduced by the New London Group (1996) which accounts for the cultural and linguistic diversity of globalization and broad forms of representation via multimedia technologies. In comparison to the original task which consisted of a picture and text, I incorporated the interactive elements into the image as well as hyperlinks that take the viewer/reader to another medium. For example, the video button on the book redirects to a YouTube video of the book review. Although the video is in Korean, it comes with a subtitle option in many languages and the comment section allows for further discussion if the reader chooses to engage. The contact button beside the book takes the viewer to an Instagram page of the book’s illustrator called Worry Lines if they are interested in learning more about the illustrator’s work. The audio button on the AirPods provides a recording of a part of the text from the original task. It could have also been used to record podcasts (verbal/oral discourse) or hyperlink to Spotify playlists.

As I am reflecting on the redesigned product, my first thought was that it may not be intuitive to use for those who are not familiar with digital interactive mediums. There are no clear “written” instructions up front that direct the reader/viewer. The interactive buttons are in a picture/emoji format, which as we have learned in previous weeks, may not mean the same thing for those from other cultures, generations and with different experiences. It may also not be as user-friendly/compatible for those with disability (e.g. might not be compatible with a screenreader), which could further widen the digital divide and the inequity gap. On the other hand, this newly redesigned product is more open for the viewer/reader as they are not restricted to following the strict order created by the author and can make connections freely. It also allows access to more information beyond the traditional text, as afforded by the hyperlinks.