ETEC 540- Whitney Lafleur’s Blog

Richard’s Website:https://blogs.ubc.ca/richard540/2021/09/19/task-1-whats-in-my-bag/

There are a few similarities between Richard and my tasks #1.  We both discuss the bag we use on a daily basis for work.  We have some very similar items that speak possibly to the similar culture and jobs we have. Richard works as a part time lecturer and  educator at UBC, while I am a teacher at a high school.  Items that connect here are things like our laptop and pens/highlighters.  Both of these pieces of technology speak to our use of text in our job.  The laptop has become a very important teaching tool to share text and ideas in multiple modalities with students.

One of the major differences in Richard and my projects is the way we chose to display and represent our information.  I simply showed a photo of my bag and spoke to each item through written text. Richard used a mode of communication that I feel was much more personalized.  He used images that were voice over with him explaining the significance of each object.  Whenever someone can use their own voice to tell a story or explain something, I feel as though the point of the story comes across so much stronger and clearer. Richard also included an embedded video of himself speaking to each item. These videos again add personalization and create a clearer understanding of each explanation. If the point of this task was for us to get to know each other, I feel as though Richard’s choice of text did a far better job than mine.

By listening and learning through Richards’ video I reflected a lot of the difference between using a video and using written text. There is far more to be interpreted when reading text and written text needs to be careful in how they design the text in order to convey things like importance.  When someone speaks to something they are passionate about, you can hear it in their voice.  You cannot necessarily do that through written text.  For example, when Riachrd discusses the significance of some of the food items he has chosen, he also discusses how food relates to culture and how he loves to extend his cultural knowledge. The passion in exploring various cultures and food is very evident in his voice. Without listening to him explain this I might not otherwise be able to have picked up on how much of a passion he has for this.

I also looked through Richard’s Blog and it reminds me of mine in some ways. It’s fairly easy to navigate as there are not many menus. This may become more muddled as the course progresses. You can access all assignments using the menu of recent assignments posted on the right side.  In terms of aesthetics, again it is similar, but reminds me that perhaps adding a bit of color or relevant images may help peak the readers interest.  A page full of text is not super engaging.  Text can appear or not appear to be engaging based on first glance.  First impressions for many versions of “text” today may convince people to read it or move on.  Back in the days where books dominated as  the form of text where most people got their information, you may have said “you cant tell a book by its cover”. The covers sometimes had a picture that represented the book well, and sometimes  they didn’t. While the “covers” of Richard’s and my blog might not reflect the rich nature of the typed text, people will judge based on its appearance.  Today’s world of flashy, attention grabbing media draws in viewers/readers. Adding a little pizazz to Richard and my very grey background could help enhance the reader’s experience.

Marlis Website: https://blogs.ubc.ca/meetec540/2021/09/26/task-3-voice-to-text-task/

Marlis and I tackled this assignment in similar ways by using a word processor and its voice to text programming to complete the assignment.  Marlis chose Microsoft Word and I chose Google Docs.  We also both chose to discuss part of our day with the hope that it would provide an easier or more smooth discussion piece. Marlis and I both discuss the difficulties of talking smoothly without a script.  Marlis chose to create an outline of thoughts whereas I did not create an outline. This perhaps created more disjointed thoughts and created a muddled explanation of what I was trying to say.  Using an outline helps to keep thoughts flowing a bit better.

Marlis describes at the beginning of her reflection that she often uses talk to text programs on her phone and understands how to input grammar.  I have very little practice using talk to text programs and did not know I would have to input grammar.  Without a beginning and end to my thoughts this made my written text much more incoherent than Marlis’. This difference being notes, we still both discussed not being very happy with the grammar of our text. Marlis was missing some capitalizations, quotation marks and new paragraphs.  I was missing all of that as well as all punctuation including commas and periods.  We also both found that when using talk to text that often there were extra words put in like “oh” or “so” that you wouldn’t put into written text. When using these programs, unless you have a script I would say it’s near impossible not to include these transitional words unless you are being very mindful of it.  In shorter text you may not have this problem.

By reading through Marlis’ assignment I have learned that talk to text programs are not a guarantee to clear understanding of what someone is trying to say.  There are often errors made by the program that can lead to misunderstanding.  As well, Marlis reflects on how Oral storytelling allows the author to provide “animated”, “personalization”, and even “props” to help engage the audience. To try and add these to written text is very difficult or impossible to change based on the audience.  Written work cannot adapt to the needs of the audience where oral storytelling can. That is what makes oral storytelling so powerful and so different from written work. 

Marlis’ blog is a very well organized and aesthetically pleasing website to visit.  Right away I was drawn into her blog as the pictures and colors she used on her home page were very inviting.  It was very easy to navigate and this makes me reflect on perhaps some of the choices I made on my own blog. Marlis has menus to organize her task which is something I have yet to figure out how to do on UBC blogs. Her organization helps the reader navigate and access her information much easier than having the majority of content just posted to one page. For this task Marlis has included a picture of google assistant on her page.  Without having to read anything, this picture indicates the type of technology she will discuss in her task. By adding a simple picture the writer can engage and provide information about what will be discussed without having to use words. A great multiliteracies approach to the task.

Nick’s Website:https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540njh/2021/09/11/task-4-manual-script/

There are a few similarities between Nick and my assignment including we both chose to write a manual script and we both discussed using a preferred pen when writing as it makes the task easier and more pleasurable to complete. If you visually look at Nick and my assignment you will be able to tell right away that Nick is more well practiced at writing by hand than myself.  My writing is printed and looks messier and more rushed. Nick uses cursive writing and aesthetically his writing is much more pleasing to read and look at. As explained in Nick’s reflection he chooses to write by hand often and enjoys the process. I explain that I am pretty choosy when it comes to writing and only do so when the process is easier than typing.  I explain for example, I like to take notes by hand as I can connect ideas in the format of a mind map. Nick explains he prefers to write tasks like emails via typing but doesn’t explain why.  I can assume that emails are a task that he does not care to put as much effort into or that the quantity would be overwhelming to complete by hand.

Through comparing our tasks I have learned that preferences to use manual writing versus typing can be very personal.  There are a variety of reasons why one person might choose one form of writing over another.  Nick loves writing and finds it enjoyable and in comparison I don’t like to write and sometimes can find it painful. We choose our mode of writing through our thoughts on ease of process and task outcome.  We choose our more pleasurable mode unless the product dictates a method that is easier.  

After exploring Nick’s blog I have had some personal reflections on my own blog.  Nick has his blog set up a lot like mine which is very simplistic and visually plain. I have added a few more features in terms of a home page and a picture on my home page.  However, the grey backgrounds we both use are not super aesthetically pleasing to the reader.  It also appears that we both have chosen to create many tasks using written text. We both don’t have very many interactive features, or features that include audio-visual components.  Multimodal components can help to engage the reader and perhaps I can look to include more audio or visual components to engage the readers.

Chris’ Website: https://blogs.ubc.ca/chowey/2021/10/13/an-emoji-story/

Chris and I had many similarities in our emoji stories such as we both chose a TV show and used the title as a starting point for readers.  Chris wrote, and I agreed, that if you weren’t to start with the title of your show the rest of the explanation would have no context and therefore, be very confusing for the readers.  Context is such an important element of explaining any story. Titles and or thesis statements can help to provide context to readers such that the rest of the text that follows makes more sense.  

One of the differences between Chris’s emoji story and mine was that Chris used “/” to split his sentences.  I was not sure how to punctuate my story.  Instead of using the forward slash I used extra large spaces between pictures.  I think Chris’s method made things more clear which is helpful in a project where there are difficulties in communicating the intended message.

Through looking at Chris’s emoji story, and reflecting back on mine, I have learned a lot of the importance of clarity and the impact of interpretation from a viewer’s perspective.  Words, images, videos, audio, and all forms of text or communication require an element of interpretation on the viewers side.  Whether a reader is looking for the details in sentences through vocabulary, tone, pitch, point of inflection by a reader/speaker, or looking at images to tell a story, they all require interpretation.  The more attention to detail the author can implement, the clearer their message.  There are, depending on the mode of text, aspects of the text that are out of the control of the writer.  For example, in the case of the emoji story there are limited amounts of emojis to be used to explain ideas. These limitations can create confusion and increase the amount of interpretation from the reader.  As producers of text, and as readers, we need to take into account limitations of the text we choose to ensure we are not reading into something that is not there.

While Chris’s emoji story was difficult to navigate I found his blog very easy to navigate. I really liked the way he has set up his home page providing a link to each assignment stated in words and a picture.  The picture draws your attention to some of the context of the assignment without even reading the title.  As a viewer or reader, the navigational ease is welcomed by viewers as it’s more likely to grab and hold my attention than something that is difficult to navigate.

Mandy’s website: https://blogs.ubc.ca/alvesetec540/2021/10/21/task-7-mode-bending/

After looking at Mandy’s mode bending assignment our approach to the task is quite similar as we both attempt to use multiple modes of text to convey what is in our bag instead of just using written text and an image.  We both reference the New London Group’s idea of the importance and strength of making meaning through multiple modes. Mandy and I both utilized written text and videos to convey the ideas of what was in our bag.  The biggest difference in our mode bending assignments was I included audio sounds of my objects and Mandy utilized the gestures of her child to convey meaning about each object.

Through Mandy’s project I learned about the power of gestures. I think the most important aspect of Mandy’s approach was that it was not her own gestures that explained each item, instead she used a third party to gesture. By Mandy’s daughter explaining and gesturing to each of the objects there was a lot of information brought to light about the importance and use of each object from an outside perspective. The perspective of a child also adds another dynamic.  Children are honest creatures and will speak or convey the unedited truth. If items were not used often you could tell because Mandy’s daughter did not pay attention to the item or she tossed it aside.  Items that were important, and used often by “Mom”, like a pen, were gestured to have significant importance.  Mandy discusses the intersexuality of meanings that are conveyed by these gestures made by her daughter. The feelings her daughter has towards the items combined with the meaning to Mandy were shown to her through experience.  It was very cute to see her daughter pretend to do work and get mad when Mom interrupted her. I can only imagine this is usually the context of this situation with roles reversed. Gestures and the interpretation of information through a third party presents vast amounts of information about text that might otherwise be overlooked by using another form of text.  Mandy has pushed me to think about the powers of multimodal text.

I also want to take note of the way Mandy has set up and created her blog. Her assignments are so inviting to look at and the ease at which one can navigate her blog is also inviting.  Text can sometimes get muddled or lost on blogs but Mandy’s is well organized.  There are visuals to represent each assignment which presents intrigue about the tasks posted.  I also love the way Mandy highlights bold important information throughout her posts.  Bold texts convey extra meaning through typed text to signify the importance from the writer to the reader. In formal contexts bolding is not always considered appropriate but in the case of our blog I believe it is.  I had not thought about bolding or changing color of text throughout my blog posts. Changing fonts can convey extra meaning through text as well. I really like this idea. It reminds me, in the pre-digitized world, of a poster. Where information has different font size and color and meaning can be conveyed through these visual components.

Kirn’s website: https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540bhela/2021/10/22/task-7-mode-bending/

In this mode bending assignment, some of the similarities between Kirn and my assignment was that we analyzed the same type of bag.  We both looked at our everyday bag that we take with us to work. We both also made reference in our reflections to the discussion of the New London Group’s recommendation that there are various linguistic modes that can be benefited from learners to learn through including visual, audio, gestural, spatial, and multimodal approaches.  At this point our projects took a different turn as we focused on different modes to represent the “What’s in the Bag” assignment. As per the task instructions, I did my best to incorporate audio technology into my representation of the task.  After watching Kirn’s video, I thought it was interesting that there was no audio. Instead, Kirn used a video of her making gestures to show and explain what was in her bag.  After checking out Kirn’s first project I noticed she had used audio during her first assignment and, therefore, must have decided to focus in on a different mode. After reading Kirn’s post and learning she was focusing on the gestural approach to communicate items in her bag. I then watched her video for a second time. If Kirn had simply pulled out each item and showed it through a video I would have understood only some of what she had in her bag and why she uses it.  However, Kirn makes gestures in conjunction with showing each item in her bag.  This conveys so much more information about each item. For example, when Kirn shows off her bag at the very beginning of her video she does show with a positive gesture. She shakes it towards the camera with a big smile as if to say, without words, “look at my pretty bag; I love my bag!” Of course, these gestures require interpretation from the viewer but can provide a lot of insight as to how the writer/producer feels.  Emotions are very hard to convey through words and can be more easily translated through gestures.  This is one of the strengths of utilizing gestures as a form of text.  I find audio text also has the ability to add and convey emotion. This idea brings to light the importance of incorporating multiliteracies or multiple modes to help learners understand ideas. Specifically, as a teacher, these concepts become important.  Together, the strength of multiple modes to communicate information can be the most useful. The New London Group found that students have varying needs and desires when learning and educators must take into account things like age, interest, culture, and class dynamic.  Today’s youth and most adults engage with multimedia and social media on a daily basis in order to connect with ideas, people, and text in general. By integrating multiple forms of text and media, including audio, video, and a game, there is a far greater chance to engage readers, or students, than by just using written text.

References

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