Category Archives: Linking Assingments

Task 8: Golden Record Curation

Derek had a very different reasoning for curating his list of 10 songs. He picked with singing (voices) in it. He also mentioned that there were 11 singing songs, so he narrowed it down to 10 based on different languages/cultural backgrounds. For me, I picked songs based on different cultural backgrounds and genres. It is interesting to note that people appear to have different criteria’s. I wonder if this is because of personal thoughts, cultural backgrounds, or some other reason? What makes one person categorize things differently than another (if left to their own accord)?

He mentioned that human voice is unique and that is similar to what I said. However, instead of focusing on human voice, I focused more on culture and how the same species has so much variation.

Both of us touched up on wanting to show variation in different cultures and not wanting to repeat songs from similar cultural backgrounds. Derek brings up a good point that his list is more Euro-centric, which is something I also noticed when looking at the Golden Record. I think its very important that we noticed it and try our best to showcase various cultures because there is such a wide range of them on Earth.

Task 7

The first thing that stood out to me about Ping’s post was that her interpretation of Task 1 was the roughly the same as mine. Though we worded it differently, the main purpose was the same (letting others get to know who we are). We both included audio for Task 7, however, Ping also included a visual component, which is something I left out completely. How we decided to carry out Task 7 was very different.

Ping decided to reuse some of her materials from the Task 1. In Task 7, she had images/sounds of the items in her bag included in it and how it was used in her daily life. I found this fascinating since we got to see how she used the items in her bag. Like Ping mentioned in her post, you can get a lot more information about someone from the unspoken text (in this case, seeing/hearing her uses of the items). People can use the same items differently for different purposes. Getting to see how the items in her bag were used allow for viewers to get to know Ping in a deeper matter. Furthermore, Ping added more audio elements to the visual design. I would argue that Ping also included gestural mode to Task 7. She included movement and gestures within her character and her hand drawing as well. This adds another element to her audio-visual mode of presentation.

When compared to mine, I only emphasized auditorial mode. I am more of a visual person, but I decided to push myself out of my comfort zone and focused on a mode that I am not as comfortable with. It really required me to think outside the box since I prefer to have things done visually.

One point that I like that Ping mentioned in her post. “I don’t find audio-visual modes dominating written modes or writing seeing a resurgence, I see both methods working together to deliver a message better than ever.” I completely agree with this statement. Why only focus on one mode when we can use various modes together to deliver content better? There are many people who have a preference for one mode over the other. Instead of focusing on one mode, incorporating many modes allows for text to reach a wider range of audience. Of course, there are people who will still prefer to focus on one mode (eg. Having too many different modes may be distracting to some).

Another thing that Ping points out is translations. She mentions that as technology develops more, it may not be necessary to learn a new language when we can have headsets that may help us understand what others are saying/ expressing (doesn’t even need to be language). This reminds of foreign shows/ movies I watch. I often watch Korean and Japanese drama/shows and when I have friends know the language, they will point out that the translation is not completely correct and makes the sentence lose meaning. When I watched Shang Chi, I noticed that the English subtitles for when the characters were speaking in Mandarin weren’t completely accurate for some scenes. It lost some of its meaning when it was translated to “suit” the sentence structure of English. Like Ping mentioned, there is a beauty in languages and text that is hard to translate. How can we preserve meaning during translation or during different modes?

Task 6 – Emoji Story

The first thing I immediately noticed about Jacob’s post is that the style of emoji’s he used were very different than mine. The art style and design were very different than the emoji’s I used for the task. Though the emojis all showcase the same idea, the style differs. I noticed that the devil emoji for Jacob was red, while the devil emoji I have as an option is purple. Another thing I noticed was that all the characters he used were “yellow” in colour. I do not know if Jacob is able to customize the colour of his emoji’s. For my set, I was able to select the colour of my people emoji (most of them) to fit the looks of the characters from the show I was talking about. I used my iPad’s built in emoji keyboard option (Apple’s own collection) which may be why the style and options differed. I do not know which one Jacob used.  Does the different art styles in emoji’s lead to different interpretations?

From what Jacob wrote, we had similar issues when completing the task. Like Jacob, I used direct substitutions to convey messages. One major difference between us is that I did not use emojis to convey similar sounding words. I focused more on the visual parts of the emoji. If I couldn’t find an emoji for a certain word, I would find an emoji that looks as close to the word I was thinking of as possible. For Jacob, he picked emoji’s that would sound similar to sound of the word. I never thought of looking at it from an auditoria perspective. I wonder if Jacob collect a lot of information through auditory ways as well as visual. For me, I always take in more information visually. I rarely try to show or collect information through other means. Jacob brings up a good point where he told the story directionally and had a hard time incorporating other characters plots/roles. For mine, I only focused on the main protagonist as talking about other characters story line would become way to confusing. I missed many key information by doing this, but it made it easier to showcase the main points in the plot. Furthermore, like Jacob mentioned, my interpretation of the plot may differ than someone else because of how we see the emoji and the meaning we get from it. An emoji’s meaning in one cultural context may mean something different in another. I tried very hard to pick emojis that would gather the same/similar meaning in another cultural context. Overall, visual art/images can be interpreted very different between people and across culture. Would people who have similar upbringings interpret an emoji story more similarly than those who had different upbringings? Are there other factors (eg. Generation) that contribute to different interpretations?

1.4 Activity: Defining Terms – Internet Age Words

I really like how short and sweet the podcast was. I really enjoyed how Victoria started off with land acknowledgments and giving a bit of background of Indigenous culture and ideas. Using a podcast is a great use of technology to inform listeners. Podcast allow for anyone to listen to the audio at anytime. It is especially great during car drives or transiting from place to place as you are not distracted by attempting to read a text. I have only ever created one podcast and that was during my last term in the BEd program. My group would have an open conversation about a topic and then we would take turns in editing it down within the time limit we had. I sometimes get nervous during recordings and it can show in the tone of my voice. Victoria was very confident and her voice was very clear and concise.

I like how podcast can capture a whole conversation and listening to someone’s voice allows for listeners to determine the emotions and thoughts of the podcaster. Reading text doesn’t always capture the thoughts and emotions of someone. With our voice, we are able to control it in a way that showcases our thoughts and emotions on topics. People are able to capture it and relate to it. All the words that Victoria listed out are word that were ones I was thinking of as well. What I noticed is that the “main” definition of the words have been tech related. The secondary definitions listed are usually the ones of the past. It is really interesting to see how the definitions of words change and the slang that is used during certain time periods. It is interesting to see how language evolves. My one major question is: How does the evaluation of language become widespread? Who starts it? For example, Victoria mentioned the word “meme” was coined in the 1970’s and currently is used to describe pictures with text on it describing experiences. Who popularized the words “meme” in today’s context?

Task 4: Manual Script

We had very similar answers to the questions regarding the manual script. I noticed that we use technology to do most of our writing. We both started to have hand cramps after writing for a short bit. I wonder if this is because of the lack of use of the muscles in our wrist primarily. Just like working out, if we don’t use certain muscle groups often, they can easily get sore due to the lack of motor units and lack of endurance. The one thing that differ between me and Kirn was that she engaged with writing more during work and in her private life. For me, I stopped writing manually after high school for the most part. If I wrote by hand, it was because I had to (eg. In-class essays, midterms, exams etc.)

We both used ink pens and crossed out errors that were made and wrote over it when possible. The one thing I noticed is that Kirn mentioned that if this was formal writing, she would have used white out. Based off the teachers and professors I had, they say that regardless of what you are writing, you should just cross out the word and refrain from using white out. The reason if I recall was due to plagiarism. It was never fully explained to me, but all the teachers and instructors I had always told us to cross words out and not to use white out.

I liked what Kirn said that physically writing requires certain brain processes. Typing requires a different skills and processes. I mentioned in my post that I do not have the best printing. My printing has always been on the messier side and typing allows for me to worry less about my printing skills and focus more on the content. I wonder if things will change 20 years from now. Will students even require to learn how to physically write? Would everything be digitized instead? Or are the foundations of printing fundamental that this will always be part of education?

#2

https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540scarr/2021/09/26/task-3-voice-to-text/

Stephanie’s post made me realize that there are similar issues when using Office Dictation on Word. The biggest issue that we seemed to have both faced with was the lack of punctuation unless we specifically indicated “period” or “question mark” etc. Like her, I noticed that my whole text was just a collection of words that I have said. Office Dictation lacks the features of being able to detect when a new sentence begins and the tone of the sentence, where to place punctuations etc. One thing that Stephanie mentions that differs from me is that she is used to speaking clearly due to her ELL background. For me, I grew up with parents that both spoke English with accents (pretty heavy ones too). It wasn’t until I had friends point out that my parents had thick accents, did I realize my parents spoke with accents. It was all I knew and I thought they spoke English with no accent. Because of this, I would occasionally pronounce words differently because that was how my parents pronounced it. Stephanie brings up a point that I also brought up in my post. When there is a lack of punctuation in the written text, it makes it much harder to follow along. In oral language, we are able to gauge what our audience is thinking, able to correct words as we go along, and able to show our emotions within our words. People are able to pick up when a sentence ends and what emotions you are feeling while telling a story. The cues are evident in oral storytelling. In written language and storytelling, you are unable to demonstrate that without punctuations. Even then, I personally believe that it can not achieve the same level of meaning compared to oral story telling. Oral storytelling is more than just speaking, it encompasses facial expressions and body language, all are key parts in communication.

Recently I have been watching the Netflix show “Love on the Spectrum” which is a show about people who are on the spectrum trying to finding a partner/love. The one thing I noticed about the show is that oral communication is difficult for them. Body language and facial expressions are difficult to read and they have a hard time gauging what the other person is feeling and how to interact socially with others. In their oral speaking, I noticed that they are more direct in what they say (there is little to no filter), and they speak with less facial and tone expression (generally). For people on the spectrum, do they prefer written language over oral language? Are they able to gage social cues/interactions better over text than over oral communication?

#1

https://karenw0801.wixsite.com/mysite/post/task-1-what-s-in-your-bag

When I saw the site Karen created, I was in awe. Visually, it was very engaging and more appealing in my opinion than UBC blog sites (sorry). Karen used Wix.com to create her site. One key thing I noticed about Karen’s site is that is allows for you to link it to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and copy the link. Furthermore, it shows the amount of views and comments on it. This differs from UBC blog as I can only see the comments that get posted on my page. Karen has also used this site for her other courses, which is engaging as I can see her previous works! For me, I make a separate site for each course instead of connecting it. I may want to start a site than incorporates everything I have done so I can see my previous works all in one place. This can allow for me to see progression in my thinking and understanding of things.

The one thing that stood out to be about Karen’s experience is that she prefers to used audio text/audio recordings over written text when communicating using her phone. I know that this is particular popular in Asian countries (I am inferring from personal experiences and observations). In China, WeChat is the most popular social media app used to communicate with others. Often, when I am talking with my relatives, instead of using written text, we use audio recordings to send messages. Like Karen, I find it easier to communicate with others via audio recordings.

One thing that differs is when I use it. Karen appears to use it as the main source of communication. However, for me, I only use audio recordings when I am using WeChat. If I am using a North American platform, written text is my main form of communication. I do not know the reason behind the differences, but I believe it is due to the fact that I speak better Mandarin than I write (I have to often use Google translate to pick the right characters when I am typing a message). I speak with my grandparents the most, and they do not type often, if at all. Instead, they always communicate orally. There is possibly a generational difference in communication that leads to different communication modes. Also, my relative usually speak in Shanghainese dialect, which makes them have more meaningful to conserve with those who understand a unique dialect. From weeks 3’s readings, it demonstrated that oral language differs significantly from written language. There are key features of oral language that cannot be transferred over to written language. Written language can take away meaning or make wrong interpretations of meaning. Written language allows for others to have lots of interpretations, while oral language has less wiggle room.