Dani the Dino – Final Draft

Dani the Dino Adventures was a game designed as the final project for ETEC 565 by myself, Sara Cameron and Stephanie Carr. The intent behind the narrative based format game was to introduce Indigenous knowledge and teachings of values guided by the Seven Grandfather Teachings in Twine for a younger audience. Using an iterative design process, we brainstormed ideas to generate a mental prototype and used the game design template to layout the events, script and mechanics of the game. We input our ideas into Twine to program our mini adventure game. Over many late nights, our team adopted the game design strategy of ‘interrupt/modify/stop’ that produced many changes to our original idea in order to generate an outcome that far exceeded our expectations!

In terms of Twine, the hypertextual structure was attractive for our non-programming background and coincided with our storytelling strengths as primary teachers. As Bolter (2001) explains about hypertext in relation to Twine, the individual passages contributed to the entire plot of the story and eventually became a ‘network of interconnected writings’. The structure of the text was designed such that there was both hierarchical and associative thinking that existed through links to individual storylines. Dani the Dino takes different paths to meet animals and learns about the seven teachings; they then return back to the puzzle wheel until they gather all the puzzle pieces (Bolter, 2001). One of the greatest challenges in the creation of the project was finding a method to input the voiceover of the main character. The voice was recorded by Stephanie and coded into Twine to correspond to the words on the page so that readers at all levels would be able to access the game through both audio and visuals. 

References: 

Chapter 3 of Bolter, Jay David. (2001). Writing space: computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. New York, NY: Routledge.

There has been an abundance of research on the positive benefits of writing in a journal to improve mental health (Ackerman, 2018). For this task, I wanted to try journaling by hand writing a page about gratitude. Personally, I prefer putting pen to paper as it was calming for my senses:  the crinkle of paper, the smoothness of the ink and the controlled movement of the strokes. Writing involves more of an investment in the process. When my mind was full of thoughts, I had to deliberately slow down to put all those ideas onto the page. Studies have shown the advantages of handwriting over typing such that “areas of the brain correlated with working memory and encoding new information were more active during handwriting.” and impacts the way we learn. (Jones, 2020). If there was a mistake on the page, I would simply cross it out and move on, leaving a mark of imperfection behind. Since it was a personal journal entry, it was not necessary to edit, rather to continue on with my reflection as my feelings became clearer. If it were in a mechanized form, I would keep reassessing my work and lose the authenticity of my initial emotions. The obvious drawback is the time consuming nature of writing over mechanized forms. 

References:

Ackerman, C.E. (2018, May 14) 83 Benefits for Journaling for Depression, Anxiety and Stress. Positivepsychology.com. Retrieved from: https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-journaling/

Gratitude Journal. Retrieved on June 5, 2022. Greater Good in Action. Retrieved from: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/gratitude_journal

Jones, A.M. (2020, October 4) New study suggests handwriting engages the brain more than typing. CTV News Health. Retrieved from: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/new-study-suggests-handwriting-engages-the-brain-more-than-typing-1.5132542

Recorded using dictation (voice-to-text) in Notes on the iPhone: A Birth Story for my Daughter

Oh my dear this is a story about the day that you were born and it wasn’t too long ago when you came into this big beautiful world and now you’re almost 2 months from the day was April 5, 2022 and mom going with the day that I was going to go into the hospital to be induced the morning of I called the hospital at 6 AM to see when I can come in to get started they said I could come in right away but I wasn’t ready yet because I had to get big sister Madeline already to go to daycare and make sure that she was settled with her grandparents so we went into the hospital around 8 AM me and your dad they were all packed and ready to stay for a few days because we weren’t sure what to expect but sure enough you were or you came in a timely manner to get started mommy got hooked up with lots of tubes and IVs to make sure that you came out safely and to get the contraction started it took a bit of waiting and I got really hungry in between but I wasn’t allowed to eat any solid food so all I ate was bone broth fast forward two hours later and the contraction started to come contractions are sharp pains in the belly area that tell me that you’re getting ready to come the doctors checked to see if I was ready to push and I wasn’t quite there yet I was only 2 cm and I need to go eight more centimetres before I could start pushing so we waited some more in the meantime dad and I walked around the room and watch the movies and we talk to one another around four hours later the contractions started to come closer and more painful that’s when Dad suggested that mom gets an epidural so that it wouldn’t hurt so much and that was it The best decision he made the anaesthesiologist came in and put a giant needle in my knees back it was a little painful and it felt like a bee sting but the after effect was wonderful that meant I couldn’t feel the pain as much as a contraction started to come closer together at this point it was mid afternoon around 2 PM and I told daddy to go home to see Madeline for a little bit because I was only still 3 cm dilated and your aunt Caroline was there to take over just as dad left the pain started to really come even though I had an epidural and guess what I was 9 cm and dad wasn’t there I was almost ready to push so we need you to call dad and he had to turn the car aroundAnd come right back he made it just in time for the delivery and you were amazing and three pushes you were out and you were absolutely perfect they gave you to mommy and we looked at each other for the first time you with your tiny cry and I knew right then and there that you were exactly who and where you needed to be

How does the text deviate from conventions of written English? What is “wrong” in the text? What is “right”?

Efficient, but inaccurate. Accessible, yet incoherent. This is my initial feedback while reading the unedited written version of my oral story. Writing has become a skill that requires the utilization of proper conventions to create a clear, concise piece of work. Other than correct spelling and application of some grammatical rules, the text was missing basic conventions including punctuation and capitalization which had a large impact on how the genre was perceived. These grammatically correct statements are derived from rules of natural language foremost and translated to text (Ong, 2002). The structure and arrangement of words were directly dictated into typed writing on my iPhone in Notes to generate one massive run-on sentence, which was morphologically intact but fell apart with the construction of sentences (syntax). As a result of the lack of structural constraints, it was challenging to make sense of what was read and difficult to follow along with the organization of thought. There were instances that my spoken words were misinterpreted, for example, it read the phrase ‘all ready’ as the adverb  ‘already’. As I read through, I also noticed errors as a result of pauses during speech which lead to an increased number of the word ‘and’ to try to connect thoughts together. 

What are the most common “mistakes” in the text and why do you consider them “mistakes”?

Since writing is considered itself to be a technology (Haas, 2013), it follows a set of technical rules in the English writing system. Gnanadesikan (2011) states that “writing is a transformation of language, a technology applied to language, not language itself.” This voice-to-text task did just that, by transforming my spoken story into a text version with aspects of my ideas that were lost in translation. More specifically, the absence of any punctuation and paragraphing disregarded the meaning of words and emphasis on certain elements of the story. Take for example, quotations in the text that assimilated with the body of the text that lost its purpose. The reader is unable to identify who is speaking in reference to the narrative. These mistakes enable the words to lose their value. Simply because the words are translated onto a  page does not mean that it inherently makes sense. In Gnanadesikan (2011) chapter “The First IT Revolution”, he speaks about writing systems and differentiates between language and speech. He further explains that writing is able to capture language but fails to include information about intonation and emotional content that is found in speech (p9). This is similar to the dichotomy of speech and writing presented by Plato in Haas (2013, p7) and holds true to the application of the voice-to-text software. 

What if you had “scripted” the story? What difference might that have made?

In Schmandt-Besserat (2009), “Origins and Forms of Writing”,  David Olsen makes the argument that our ability to reflect on ourselves is derived from writing, not speech. Having a scripted story would support this argument by  producing a more coherent and organized text with precision in the messaging (Gnanadesikan, 2011). A script would allow for a more thoughtful construction of words to communicate using language more effectively with succinct vocabulary. In my oral story example, it was easy to recall the main details of the day my daughter was born, however, when the task was complete there were many moments that I wanted to go back to add to. On the other hand, a scripted story may limit creativity and imagination rather than allowing the thought process to flow naturally in an unscripted, conversational manner. 

In what ways does oral storytelling differ from written storytelling? 

A translation of time into space. Gnanadesikan (2011) eloquently describes the process of writing and how the act itself has shaped our language. Written storytelling has the ability to transcend time and remain unchanged throughout history in its physical nature or ‘material’ form (Haas, 2013). A text, and all of its ideas, that was written hundreds of years ago is the same work that exists today. I believe there is also a sense of formality when comparing oral and written storytelling. To have your ideas written provides permanence whereas orally speaking is more transient, once the words are heard it can easily be forgotten. This connects to Gnanadesikan’s (2011) statement that “…writing is worth more than speech.” There is an art to storytelling, both oral and written, which uses languages to evoke emotions in various contexts and for different purposes. Ong (2002) elaborates on the origins of the word ‘rhetoric’ as speech art and how writing enhances oral speaking. Furthermore, Ong (2002) argues that “Writing can never dispense with orality” (p4). I think this is profoundly noticeable with respect to the integral role that oral storytelling has in Indigenous cultures to transmit information and their histories throughout generations. In an effort to keep their language alive, there must be a concerted effort amongst generations to share and teach one another through the spoken language and storytelling. In the CBC article (Hadley, 2019), this is applied to 21st century learners through an app to “carry Indigenous languages into the future”. Furthermore, oral storytelling is subject to the interpretation on the receiving end and requires a commitment to continue its legacy.

References:

Gnanadesikan, A. E. (2011).“The First IT Revolution.” In The writing revolution: Cuneiform to the internet. (Vol. 25). John Wiley & Sons (pp. 1-10).

Hadley, A. (2019, January 11) New Indigenous language app targets ’21st century’ learners. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/indigenous-language-app-1.4970376

Haas, C. (2013). “The Technology Question.” In Writing technology: Studies on the materiality of literacy. Routledge. (pp. 3-23).

Ong, W. (2002). Orality and literacy: The technologizing of the word. New York; London: Routledge.

Schmandt-Besserat, D. (2009). “Origins and Forms of Writing.” In Bazerman, C. (Ed.). Handbook of research on writing: History, society, school, individual, text. New York, NY: Routledge.

What is your daily need for the items in your bag? How might these items be considered “texts” and what do they say about you, the places you inhabit, the cultures with which you engage, and/or the activities you take up?

Welcome to the contents of my life in this bag. It contains an accurate depiction of what consumes my life now as a mom to a toddler and newborn, which consists of a cycle of feeding, diaper changes and appointments. Not surprisingly, the bag is filled with items mostly belonging to my two children: my 2 ½ year old, Madeline and 1 month old, Adelaide. The most obvious texts are the two picture books that I keep to entertain the kids during our rare outings.  Barnyard Dance is one of Madeline’s favourite books as she is learning about the natural rhythm of words and enjoys following along with the animal sounds, whereas the other Look, Look a  black and white book is appropriate and easier to see for Adelaide’s developing eyesight. Another text is the Starbucks symbol on the gift card that is for my emergency use on days I need an extra caffeine boost or for Saturday mornings when I take Madeline to soccer lessons. Notably are certain brands of items like the Pampers and Lysol wipes or Bath&Body Works hand sanitizer with their distinctive designs- all of which are remnants of our pandemic lifestyle and desire to disinfect. The classic “immunization records” log  has not changed throughout the years to document all the vaccinations (a term itself which could now be considered controversial depending which side of the fence you sit on). 

Thinking about the title of the course, what are the “text technologies” in your bag, if any? What do these items say about how you engage with language and communication? What do the items in your bag say about the literacies you have? How does the narrative of the (private) contents of your bag compare with the narrative produced by image you have of yourself or the image you outwardly project?

Other than my iPhone (used to capture this photo) that would also be in the bag, there are few text technologies. Possibly more exciting and revealing in character would be my “digital bag”. My top three apps that I use daily, aside from Messaging and Whatsapp, are Instagram, Huckleberry and Our Daily Bread. I often lose track of time scrolling through Instagram to gain insights on anything parenting related; from advice to raising a happy, healthy toddler to car seat safety instructions, there are so many child focused accounts to follow. Huckleberry is an app that helps me keep track of my feeding, pumping, sleeping schedule and all things growth related for Adelaide. Finally, I read a short daily devotional on  Our Daily Bread and share my thoughts with my dad and sister via email. Most of these apps are used for consumption of knowledge by reading or viewing the content. All of these apps are viewed in English, my primary language. Being brought up as a second-generation Chinese born Canadian, my parents spoke Cantonese growing up and I attended Chinese school for 6 years. Despite these efforts to remain true to my Chinese heritage, I was fully immersed in the English language (with a sprinkling of French for 4 years) and can only listen and understand Cantonese with limited ability to communicate. Side story on linguistic differences: On a trip to Hong Kong to visit my grandmother, I was trying to communicate with her in Cantonese. She kept offering me food after a giant meal. I wanted to tell her I was full so I directly translated “full stomach” to “dai to” which actually means pregnant! My partner, after laughing hysterically, quickly corrected my error. I now wish that I was bilingual, being able to write and read Cantonese fluently.  I hope to provide these opportunities to my own children and share with them the value of learning new languages to gain a different perspective on life. 

What would this same bag have looked like, say, 15 or 25 years ago? How do you imagine an archeologist aiming to understand this temporal period might view the contents of your bag many years in the future?

Had this task been assigned 2 months ago, my bag would look very different. It would be my work bag containing my laptop and agenda (Call me old school, I’ve always liked to have a hard copy to write down my schedule) that I would take to my work as an elementary school teacher. Rewind two years ago, pre-pandemic and pre-kids, I would have my gym bag with my workout gear and latest workout app. An archeologist scouring through my bag in the future may wonder what diapers are (I sure hope they become a thing of the past because it contributes to so much waste) or choose to put the board books into a museum as print may become a thing of the past (this I hope does not happen because I love reading physical books rather than on a device). Really, for such small human beings, they require so many things!