Please find all of my posts regarding the linking assignment below.
Link 1 – Srupa’s Potato Printing
July 16, 2022
Looking at Srupa’s Potato Printing assignment, it appears that we ran into the same issues. We both had a bit of difficulty cutting the potatoes and did not realize that the potatoes would be incredibly slippery when pressing them on the paper. We also both believe that the mechanization of writing was one of the most important steps forward in human history as it opened up an entire world of possibilities. It gave many of us a baseline for creating printed pieces of work that can be standardized and easily legible. It opened up the ability to easily transfer knowledge by giving more people access to writing.
One aspect that Srupa mentioned that I had overlooked was the importance of the mechanization of writing for the progression of technology overall. Many aspects of technology today needed the mechanization of writing to function, and it created many industries in our modern day business world. It really is true that without the mechanization of writing, our world would be in a very different place in which the passing of knowledge and information would be significantly more difficult.
Hi Srupa, I enjoyed reading your journey through the potato printing assignment! I got a bit stressed out during the assignments as I was having great difficulty getting my cuts right as well. I had to keep cutting back part of the potato when making an error with a letter and slowly began running out of room to hold the potato while making the print. The unanticipated challenge that you mentioned was exactly what I encountered as well. I had assumed the hardest part would be the cutting, but it became very difficult to hold the potatoes and keep them in place without sliding off the page. I am in complete agreement with you in saying that the mechanization of writing was incredibly important for all of us. It really did allow for writing to become more accessible and standardized for humans from the perspective of transferring information. Having text be uniform through digital means, with the ability to change fonts to add character, is something that I take for granted.
Link 2 – Helen’s Twine
July 16, 2022
Although I did not complete the Twine assignment myself, I was looking forward to trying some of my peers’ creations. I stumbled upon Helen’s Twine and was blown away. Their usage of images along with the writing of the Twine was absolutely superb. The entire experience made me feel as if I were part of the narrative and I was left wondering at the end what had happened to the character in which I was “controlling”.
Helen’s Twine assignment further shows the power that text can have in the digital world. As Twine focuses on using hyperlinks for navigation, it is fairly simple but can prove to be powerful when used correctly (just like Helen did). I believe this assignment did an excellent job of showing how emotion can be transferred through text based on the story Helen created. One issue I ran into with Task 3 (Voice-to-text) was the absence of emotion when telling a story since programs are unable to transfer tone and body language through text. However, this task technically could have been done using voice-to-text to transfer the emotion to the player. Overall, I really enjoyed playing Helen’s Twine!
Hi Helen, I just made my way through your Twine and it was fantastic! You made it very easy to navigate and the addition of images were great to give context to the hyperlinks. Your Twine made me feel like I was truly part of the story that was unfolding and connected to the overall experience. I managed to complete the story before finding the use for the key, so I went back to find the proper use for it. The story writing was excellent! Your idea to essentially create the Twine as if it were a graphic novel really made the experience feel like a true narrative. I really enjoyed it!
Link 3 – Jessica’s Twine
July 31, 2022
Jessica’s Twine game was a fantastic experience and provided real-world scenarios that occur daily that many of us do not fully understand. In essence, Jessica did an excellent job portraying the emotions that many of our healthcare workers experience and the complex decisions that they must make on-the-go. The sheer amount of knowledge required in the profession is difficult to comprehend and playing this Twine made me further appreciate all that they do to keep us safe.
As I mentioned in my comment to Jessica, I was really blown away when I heard the sounds throughout the Twine experience which puts the user in the same mindset that our healthcare professionals are in. The constant chatter and ringing/buzzing sounds are very real for them, and they are always expected to do so much at only a moments notice. Overall, Jessica did an excellent job portraying emotions through Twine and reminding us how thankful we should be for our healthcare workers.
Hi Jessica, I just wanted to say that I was blown away by your Twine! The amount of detail and care put into it is quite amazing! The subtle details such as the sound effects really add to the experience in terms of feeling under the amount of pressure that I am sure our health providers feel daily. I can only imagine how complex your game is under the hood in terms of the storyboard layout with all the different options! Great job!!!
Link 4 – Jordon’s Bag Remix
July 31, 2022
Jordon’s use of Genially to showcase the first assignment in a new way was done very creatively. I had never heard of Genially before and thought the tool did an excellent job in remixing this assignment. To start, I thought Jordon did a great job showcasing the importance of the items while also connecting with the viewer of the image based on how it could be important to them as well. As an example, the helmet button provided reasoning for why wearing a helmet is important and included a link to help find the right helmet to ensure the person wearing it would be fully protected.
I also appreciated Jordon’s focus on having a personal device and a work device. I also try my best to separate the two as it helps me to have a clear focus and allow me to relax. Jordon’s link to the New York Times article was also a great read in terms of just how much can be tracked on workplace devices.
Overall, I think Jordon did a great job remixing the “What’s in Your Bag” assignment which allowed the image to be showcase in a new and engaging way. As I mentioned to Jordon, I look forward to trying to use Genially with my Grade Four class for an assignment next year!
Hi Jordon, I had never seen Genially used before and it seems like a great tool! I remembered seeing your original image based on the Edmonton Oilers hat (I appreciate the Oilers and McDavid but am a Capitals fan myself – even though I’m from Vancouver). I thought your use of this interactive image was very creative and provides a lot of opportunities to share more about the importance of the objects to yourself and provide more information about them in general. It was neat to see how you could incorporate the link to the backpack and the video featuring Paul Auster relating to anxiety. Seeing Genially in action, I am going to see if it will mesh with any assignments that I do with my Grade Four class next year. Thank you for sharing the tool!
Link 5 – Katherine’s Attention Economy
August 1, 2022
Katherine’s reflection relating to the Attention Economy assignment aligned with my views perfectly. It was an equally frustrating, yet enlightening assignment that showcase exactly how our brains function while navigating digital devices. We really pay little attention when we click while we ought to be more careful.
I believe Katherine’s example of how Airbnb uses Dark Patterns was excellent. Katherine spoke about how it is difficult for a company to change from using Dark Patterns as it cannot simply happen overnight. From the point of view of the consumer, if I knew that Airbnb would frequently charge hidden fees and find ways to claw money from my pocket, it would take a very long time for them to build trust with the consumer. I would always be weary of using their site and would be more interested in trying a competitor’s service if they provided an honest and easy-to-use user interface. From this perspective, I very much agree with Katherine’s take on the Attention Economy assignment.
It was also neat to see that we both scored quite close in terms of our completion time!
Hi Katherine, I also found this task quite frustrating but also enlightening. Our completion time was also really close! It is fascinating how our brains have been trained to navigate various user interfaces without even thinking about what we are clicking on. Brignull’s article relating to Dark Patterns was a super interesting read like you said. It really makes us reflect on how difficult the internet would be to navigate if ever site varied completely. We’d have to spend a lot of extra time just to even scroll through Instagram! Your mention of Airbnb’s use of dark patterns really speaks about the travel industry. All the various industries that somehow always contain these hidden costs and fees seem to make excellent use of dark patterns online. I really hope one day we will move away from these practices, yet I feel like we will just need to educate our youth more to avoid these instances.
Link 6 – Kayli’s Emoji Story
August 1, 2022
Kayli really surprised me with their Emoji Story assignment as I learned a lot of new emojis I can now use! The movie title was exceptionally clear and easy to understand, and the plot was very easy to follow as I had already seen the movie.
I personally think that Kayli did a much better job at this assignment in comparison to my Emoji Story using Obi-Wan Kenobi. I feel like I may have added a few too many details in comparison to Kayli’s story which overall made mine more confusing. Communicating intricate plot details through signs (and in this case, emojis) is incredibly difficult which is personally where I think I went wrong. I feel that this assignment has taught me that if I am communicating in a basic method without many words, I should only include basic information to get my point across.
Hi Kayli, I think you did an excellent job in showcasing your chosen movie through emojis. Knowing the movie and the overall plot, I cannot even think of any other emoji options you could have used. I think the choices were perfect! I have also wished for superhero emojis for Marvel and DC characters since I feel like they are just so iconic! This was a bit of a tricky task with only being able to use the emojis that we have (I know I struggled with mine – especially with the name of the TV Show). I am very impressed with how clear the plot of the movie came out! Great job!
