Link 1 – Braden Litt \u2013 Speculative Futures<\/b><\/p>\n
Speculative Futures \u2013 Braden Litt\u2019s ETEC540 Blog (ubc.ca)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n I found Braden\u2019s visions of Dystopia and Utopia interesting in that they were both quite \u2018realistic\u2019 per se, and I could conceive of both possible futures coming to fruition.\u00a0 They both had a bilateral element to them.\u00a0 In the Dystopian vision, one could argue that the advances in technology and environmental awareness are more of a Utopian vision, especially depending upon which segment of society you were part of.\u00a0 If you were one of the residents who lived in one of the \u2018shining metropolises of advancement and technology\u2019, then it would be a Utopia for you.\u00a0 However, if you lived in the resource plundered, \u2018desolate and decrepit\u2019 outskirts, then this would definitely be the \u2018dystopia\u2019.\u00a0 One could argue that we are living in this sort of world today already.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0There was also a dual element in the Utopian society Braden envisioned, where the main character was still somewhat lonely and unsatisfied.\u00a0 I mentioned these in the comments and Braden replied with \u201c<\/span>I don\u2019t know if there truly can be a society that is utopian for all with such diversity in preferences, lifestyle, and ability.\u201d.\u00a0 While I agree that a true Utopian society may never be achievable, it can be conceived in theory that a Utopian society will have managed to address everyone\u2019s requirements, emotionally, physically, and intellectually.\u00a0 Can a Utopian society also have elements of dystopia?<\/span><\/p>\n Link 2 – Clarissa Guevara<\/b><\/p>\n Task 10: Attention Economy \u2013 Clarissa Guevara \u2013 ETEC 540 64A (ubc.ca)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Clarissa had a similar experience with this task to mine, in that it was frustrating and loaded with misdirection and distraction.\u00a0 Clarissa does a good job of explaining her process through the game.\u00a0 I got stuck on the same page as she did, and had the same issues with not initially reading and agreeing to the terms.\u00a0 When I became aware of the intent and design of this game, I purposely looked for the distractions and misdirections and became more mindful of reading the instructions carefully but this page did pose a challenge for both of us.\u00a0 Clarissa makes mention of a \u2018hidden clue\u2019 that is \u2018close to the top\u2019 of the terms and conditions.\u00a0 I was not aware of this so that entices me to go back and search what she was talking about.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Clarissa also speaks of universal conventions such as a selected box being coloured and the opposite being used for this game.\u00a0 This had not occurred to me before – It is interesting how some conventions and universal standards have been developed over time.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever seen or heard of a \u2018rule book for web page design\u2019, but there seem to be unwritten rules about what is expected and normal for user interface design.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The points raised about not entering personal data also occurred to me.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t enter any of my real data because I gathered that the page was only looking for the proper format of the entered data, not the actual correct data.\u00a0 As more of my data is shared on the web, I have become much more leery about what I share online.\u00a0 When asked for a birthdate, I\u2019ve started to enter the wrong month\/day with the correct year.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure how much actual security this affords, but it gives me some sense of more safety.<\/span><\/p>\n I didn\u2019t have the same level of \u2018distrust\u2019 that Clarissa did at the end since I recognized the \u2018escape game\u2019 type of ending and knew that I had indeed completed the course.\u00a0 It does seem that I was not the only one who found this task engaging but challenging at the same time.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Link 3 – Eduardo Rebagliati<\/b><\/p>\n Task 7: Mode-Bending \u2013 ETEC 540 Eduardo Rebagliati (ubc.ca)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The thing that drew me to Eduardo\u2019s assignment was his creative portrayal of his objects – using a miming video and accompanying sound effects.\u00a0 Although he had included \u2018cheat sheets\u2019 to help identify the objects, he did such a good job of miming the objects that I didn\u2019t need them.<\/span><\/p>\n Eduardo mentions that understanding the gestures and sounds are culture dependent where the observer must have a similar background and understand the context of the objects being represented.\u00a0 I whole-heartedly agree.\u00a0 A person from 100 years ago would not have any idea what a \u2018laptop\u2019 or a \u2018cell phone\u2019 is and would not recognize someone miming their use.\u00a0 However, books(specifically a bible), and eating a banana are something they would be able to relate to, so those gestures would be more recognizable to them.\u00a0 The point about the universality of emotions also rings true.\u00a0 One may not understand the gestures that represent a bible, but one can gather from the emotional context that the object brings joy and peace.\u00a0 Another interesting feature about this project is that even though it may be context and culture specific, it is not language specific.\u00a0 One does not need to know English or any other specific language in order to understand what Eduardo is communicating.\u00a0 I spoke of the necessity to diversify communication modalities due to the multi-cultural society we now live and work in, and Eduardo reinforces that concept.<\/span><\/p>\n When I did my project, I made note that one can include more information in a more compact form when it is textual as opposed to video which takes much more time and energy to convey the same message.\u00a0 While Eduardo did a good job of conveying \u2018what\u2019 each object was with his gestures, there was little more information than that; nothing to convey the form or function as this would take much more time and creativity.<\/span><\/p>\n Link 4 – Dee Dee Perrott<\/b><\/p>\n Task 6: An emoji story \u2013 Text Technologies (ubc.ca)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I chose Dee Dee\u2019s assignment because it was easy to identify as I am very familiar with \u2018The Princess Bride\u2019.\u00a0 With this assignment, I think it is virtually impossible to identify the title\/show being discussed\u00a0 unless one is somewhat familiar with the title\/plot\/characters.\u00a0 I don\u2019t watch too much TV\/movies (especially current titles) so my repertoire is rather limited.\u00a0 Looking through other projects, I found that most of the emoji stories were quite foreign to me.<\/span><\/p>\n Something that adds an extra element of variability is the difference in emoji choices.\u00a0 Dee Dee used an Apple Ipad and I used an Android phone.\u00a0 Emojis are not standardized and so the selection varies between platforms and this may affect the clarity of the messages.\u00a0 If a universal system of emojis was adopted across all platforms, then perhaps they might become more easily understood and more practical and applicable for communication.<\/span><\/p>\n Both of us started with the title because they both consisted of concrete words that would be relatively easy to find representative emojis rather than abstract concepts.\u00a0 Dee Dee proceeded to describe the main plot of the story whereas I opted to describe characters because the TV show I was describing had multiple episodes and plots.\u00a0 Dee Dee found, as I did, that even with the multitude of emojis available, it is difficult to represent some concepts and she had to simplify her storyline.\u00a0 I also had to re-think my strategy because I would have a specific picture\/emoji in mind for a concept but it wouldn\u2019t be available so I would have to think of alternatives.\u00a0 Even with her simplified version, I could still recognize key elements of the characters and plot, but if one wasn\u2019t familiar with the movie, it probably wouldn\u2019t be as easy.<\/span><\/p>\n Dee Dee and I came to the same conclusion, that emojis alone are insufficient to convey a message clearly as context, culture, and previous knowledge have a lot to do with how the message is interpreted.\u00a0 If too much energy is expended trying to decipher a message, then the intent of the message will be lost.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Link 5 – Terri-Lynn Mcleod<\/b><\/p>\n