Category Archives: Linking Assignment

I connected with Quinn’s reflection on Task 5, especially the final paragraph, because it resonated with my own experience as a grade school student reading Choose Your Own Adventure books. Like Quinn, I find comfort in reading a book from beginning to end, knowing the story will unfold in a predetermined way and that I won’t miss anything..

Reflecting on Choose Your Own Adventure books and exploring the Twine projects led me to think of other video games. After completing ETEC 544 Digital Game and Learning and exploring The Witcher 3 video game, I continued to play it beyond the course.  The Witcher 3 is highly narrative-driven, with a complex storyline in which your decisions as Geralt influence the plot, character interactions, and available choices. This mirrors real-life decision-making, where choices shape our paths in ways we can’t always predict, however, I often wonder whether I am missing something in the game due to a path I have taken.

Reflecting further on hypertext and the web, I recognize how often I feel a similar sense of missing out. The sheer volume of available information can be overwhelming when researching a topic. Unless I focus my attention, I struggle to process gathered information, constantly wondering what I might be missing. This illustrates how technology has transformed information-seeking behaviour.  As a middle school student, my research process was straightforward—I consulted the World Book Encyclopedia, followed references to related entries, or sought guidance from the school librarian, who would direct me via the Dewey Decimal System to a specific yet small section of books. Today, when my 15-year-old son conducts research, he enters a topic into Google and is confronted with thousands of results. This abundance of links and information presents both opportunities and challenges, making digital literacy an essential skill for today’s students.

https://sites.google.com/view/etec540-tomskinner/assignments-and-activities?authuser=0 (Scroll down to Task 4)

I chose to link to Tom’s reflection on manual scripts because he had many questions similar to my interests. I was also drawn to reflect on how manual vs mechanical writing is cognitively different. In my response to this assignment, I mention a study where it was found “that whenever handwriting movements are included as a learning strategy, more of the brain gets stimulated, resulting in the formation of more complex neural network connectivity” (Weel et al., 2023, p. 7).

Tom mentions that writing his grocery list out by hand helps him remember it better, even if he forgets the list at home. I, too, have experienced this, and it seems there is a scientific explanation. In a 2020 interview with WGN News, Professor Audrey van der Meer from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology points out that when you use a keyboard, it is the same little movement for every letter, but when you write by hand, it is different movements and the senses are more involved (1:56). It is suggested that this puts your brain in a state where it is easier to remember things. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l69-_wKYn_Y

I think that depending on the goal, there is an argument to be made that writing by hand is cognitively superior, and I do believe there should be more emphasis on handwriting. That is not to say there is no place for computers in education, but we need to hold on to the value of handwriting as well. Much of the reading I have been doing on best practices in teaching students to read involves multisensory approaches. This is especially important for students with dyslexia. Having students write the words, not just read the word, helps them build the connections in their brain to develop automatic recall of that word.

As an aside, I found this interview with Neal Stephenson, a science fiction author who has been handwriting his work for over 20 years. He is interviewed by Lex Fridman about this and mentions many of the same things that this class did while reflecting on this assignment. You can find the interview at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQ1yFx2sX8.

References:

Lex Clips. (2021, November 12). Neal Stephenson: Handwriting vs typing | Lex Fridman podcast clips [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQ1yFx2sX8

Van der Weel, F R Ruud, & Van der Meer, Audrey L H. (2023). Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: A high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1219945-1219945. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945

WGN News. (2020, October 1). Study shows handwriting better than typing for learning, memory [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l69-_wKYn_Y  

https://etecafe.blogspot.com/2025/01/540-task-3-voice-to-text-task-yes-today.html

I chose to link to Elaine’s Voice to Text post because I think she did an outstanding job exploring the differences between written and oral stories.  One point that stood out to me was the mention of pacing. Oral storytellers have the unique advantage of creating suspense and engagement through pauses, varying the volume of their voice, and altering their rhythm. These changes create a dynamic experience that is tailored in real-time to the audience. Essentially, a storyteller can adjust to the audience in real-time in a way that an author of written text can not.  

Elaine’s comment, “The characters in oral storytelling can be brought to life through voice, tone, and physical presence, ” reminded me of a trip I took to Barkerville, BC, in May of 2024.  Barkerville is a historic town where skilled storytellers make the past come alive. I am 100% sure my 14-year-old son learned more from this trip than he ever could have by just reading a text. While the fact of actually being on location was valuable, the storytellers were key to this experience.  Here is a link to a video of a tour of the town so you can see what I mean.  

https://blogs.ubc.ca/metprogramnp/2025/01/19/task-2-does-language-shape-the-way-we-think/

I chose to link to Navid’s post because when I read the connection with “Reading fiction improves your theory of mind,” my heart dropped. This reminder of how students are reading less for enjoyment made me gasp.  In reality, I am not surprised by this anecdotal observation that few high school students are reading for pleasure, but seeing it on the page in black and white made it stand out for me. 

I teach grades one and two, and most students are eager to learn to read.  They can’t wait to get their hands on chapter books. I have even seen students taking books outside during recess to read.  While it’s heartening to see young students still eager to read, it’s difficult not to feel concerned when considering the broader trend. I suspect that the increased use of personal devices and social media is a major contributor to the decline in reading for enjoyment.

Navid poses an interesting question: if reading fiction improves your theory of mind, could a decline in reading weaken this cognitive skill? This is a fair question; in fact, questions regarding the effects of reading fiction have been asked since the time of Aristotle (Fekete et al., 2023). However, in response to this, I would like to question if people are actually becoming more resistant to trying to understand another person’s perspective.  Historically, I am not convinced that there has been a time when populations of people were understanding each other.     

Despite the concerning decline in reading for enjoyment, there’s some hope. Fekete et al. point out that “current research shows that playing non-violent video games, that focus on storytelling and role-playing, or watching quality TV dramas also improves ToM [theory of mind]” (2023, p. 2).  It’s reassuring to know that, in some form, people are still engaging with narratives that may foster empathy and understanding.

References:

Fekete, J., Pótó, Z., Varga, E., Hebling, D., Herold, M., Albert, N., Pethő, B., Tényi, T., & Herold, R. (2023). The effect of reading literary fiction on the theory of mind skills among persons with schizophrenia and normal controls. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 14, 1197677-1197677. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1197677

SAR School for Advanced Research. (2017, June 7). Lera Boroditsky, how the languages we speak shape the ways we think [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGuuHwbuQOg