Here is my first Twine project! I was inspired by the absurdity of “The Temple of No” and I have included some foul language similar to that Twine. Please be aware that the story if foul, vacuous and absurd.

My first day! Maurice Broschart.html

Hypertext in my daily life as an educator.

Through this week’s reading and video and while learning how the Twine platform worked, one word kept on reappearing in my mind: hypertext. The Twine activity is reminiscent of the “choose your own adventure books” of my childhood, yet through digital format. It is also quite accessible as many people can create them with having coding experience. I had no prior experience with coding, but I have been using Google Drive and Docs as a hypertext mechanism for many years now. I also teach using Canvas for my modules and lesson plans for all my classes at my current school. Here is an example of what a page looks like (please note the embedded hyperlinks that allow me to have a multi-dimensional lesson for my students).

What you can see in this screenshot is a complex delivery of information. The student experience in this particular lesson begins with two listening activities stored on the Drive. These are from a digital textbook, saved in my Drive and then shared with them. This allows students to download that file to listen to individually. One could even slow down the file by opening it with a program like VLC media player. The next step is that students can view a PowerPoint / Google Slide. It can then be saved on their devices or students can transfer key points to their digital or hard copy notes. The last link is to a personalized Quizlet list: a website and app that enhances vocabulary acquisition and verb conjugation.

Twine Process.

I found this activity quite difficult to map out digitally and I resorted to pen and paper by utilizing a mind-map to try and organize my “choose your own adventure” story. I typically learn from trial and error and that was the case with this task. I decided to watch some YouTube clips to help me with how to insert photos and how to trim them. I also learned how to link sequentially (ex: walk away slowly part) and how to link cyclically (ex: the character’s name). Engelbart (1963) writes: “the human mind neither learns nor acts by large leaps, but by steps organized or structured so that each one depends upon previous steps.” The steps that I undertook for this task consisted of watching visual media and utilizing the pause key to be able to try out examples of coding.

Half-way finished, I asked my partner to try the game and this brought up some issues in my mapping. I had decided to make a word stand out by making it purple. I noticed that he clicked on it and was disappointment that it lead to nothing. I decided the remove this faux-hyperlink. I also noticed that he didn’t click on an important link to the word “printout” where I had created a little fake schedule. My solution was to include a space of a few lines so that it was evident that a chunk was missing.

Typically a linear person, this task was challenging as I hyperlinked various paths of the story and I had trouble connecting them logically to each other. I hope there aren’t any glaring issues and ultimately, there are three endings: a very sad one, a sad one and a happy one! Enjoy 😉

References:

Englebart, Douglas. (1963). “A conceptual framework for the augmentation of man’s intellect.” In Hawerton, P.W. and Weeks, D.C. (Eds.), Vistas in information handling, Volume I: The augmentation of man’s intellect by machine. Washington, DC: Spartan Books. Available (as “Augmentation of human intellect: A conceptual framework”)