My final link is to Shaun Holma’s Speculative Futures narratives: .https://blogs.ubc.ca/shaunholma/2020/07/26/task-12/

My task link can be found here:  https://blogs.ubc.ca/rebeccahydamacka/2020/07/31/task-12-speculative-futures/

The task:

Shaun’s assignment seems so different from my own and yet it resonated with me. He created his narrative using video form while mine is primarily in text.  But then, I discovered much of his video was screens of image and text; I needed to stop the video several times to read closely.  It relies heavily on text  . . . and maybe mood music. Yes, definitely music. I really think we need to take more time to consider of the affordance of music and its power. For me, this where I really felt a connection – music is its own language, capable of conveying so much. 

I found Shaun’s two narratives believable and achievable, as I can really visualize these technologies in place. Maybe it is the video? What he has created has an almost Utopian vibe while I had created a post-apocalyptic future as I am not so sure that we are not headed towards a disastrous future brought on by human conflict, greed and climate change. Just call me pessimistic, I guess. Shaun’s  take on the future is also mainly positive. In defence of my dystopian Speculative futures 12 Task, after the apocalypse, I did create a scene of domesticity and relative calm. 

Shauns’s first narrative seemed at odds with his soothing sounds despite the high stress of an emergency room scenario. There are no sounds of pain, looks of anguish or frenzy that we come to associate ER emergency and drama. This is so removed from our other media and personal experiences.

From Shaun Holma’s task 12.

The music track is so relaxing. I am left wondering if the future is to be ‘sanitized: in tidy white.  I did, however, connect with Shaun’s ideas. Immersive training simulations are a great idea and being used in the present in some areas and maybe in a more limited scope. 

I can also  relate to the pedagogy of Shaun’s Speculative Future and feel deeply connected to the ideals. In the grade 12 aspiring firefighter scenario, I see a projected future of project-based or problem based learning as well as the “assessment for learning” model that is in current use today. And while a “personalized learning track” is what we aspire to today, I really do feel we need the assistance of technology to be successful providing the level of personalization that we desire. Otherwise this task is overwhelming.

However, I wonder where a more human element or connection existed in this future. It seems people are “sanitized out of the scene. The research proposal using VR rather than humans was interesting. I have a friend who was a trades instructor at my local college. He complained about how they wanted to teach welding using iPads. He does not believe it is the way to go as  it needs to be “hands on.” I wonder if the “human element” of acceptance in the field will be the biggest challenge.

My own post situated humans, as did Shaun, in the scenarios but mine continued not in an artificial world but a “real” one. Dialogue, including humour, were added as I situated the humans in a ridiculous and “off the wall”  protest. In addition, I included more of a human element and sense of family or community rather than immersive disembodied AI existence. Despite my ideas being a little hard to imagine, some of the fictional ideas of the past have come to fruition.  Consider the “ear shells” of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451; are they not like today’s airpods? The “snakes” that pump stomachs, maybe not, but it seems commonplace to resurrect the near dead with naloxone as drug overdoses seem to be more commonplace. Point being, I feel like Shaun was being very realistic while my task really went Sci-Fi fictional with implants for knowledge. I situated my own narrative within a story, a fiction and used a twine game as a prologue to my story as well as weaving non-fiction video and research to clarify ideas within my story.

Despite the differences between our task, Shaun’s task really did resonate with me as I could connect to the ideas, and the immersive educational pedagogy. He has proposed some very useful ideas. And  of course, I could live in the song that he has included. I am left wondering if the words held a specific meaning or if it was simply the guitar or a favorite song?

Authoring: 

Task Post Affordances:  The post with video have a professional quality to it. The laid back music track is effective in convincing the viewer of this “okay” future, as it convinces the listener that the future is stress free and relaxing. I want to live in this video! The neutral tones of the scenes with minimal colours add to the calm, serene future. 

From Shaun Holma’s task 12.

It is almost sanitized and perfect. There is no mess, no spilled coffee or dog hair – can it be real?  Do people really exist like this?  And then it seems the polished product of Shaun’s video is represented by this reoccurring image. Conversely, my “desk” and Spec futures is more messy and chaotic- perhaps each is reflective of the future we envision?)

My space . . . and this is on a good day.

Shaun’s video used visuals, text and music but tends to privilege the reader. I wondered why a voice over was not added – if it was intentional? Or not. A visually impaired reader or slower reader (due to literacy level or maybe even the music slowing them down) might benefit from a voice over. 

The Blog: The blog is easy to navigate being a UBC WordPress platform as at this point, familiarity has been thoroughly embedded. The Theme, Suits by Dreamweaver, however, is not one that I was as familiar with and it seems to appear different than I expected. At first glance, in previews especially, it reminds me of a business magazine that is trying to be a blog or a blog trying to appeal to an audience familiar with print magazines. Not exactly my preference or style but I did find it quite appealing the way Shaun has personalized it with image. have also noticed that images are  used in abundance and to good effect in his blog. 

There are also clear directions on the welcome page to go to the menu at the top.  Nice touch!

But there seems to be some broken links under the menu tabs of some of the “assignments.” At least 2 show this message:

There are, however, directions to go to the blog which takes one to a space to access tasks. The side menu with “Recent Posts” is another feature that makes access easier. I wasn’t sure I liked this look. In fact, way back in May, when I was initially choosing my own theme, I did not liked the look thinking it cluttered the page but it does make access much easier, an important feature.  it does make access much easier, an important feature.

In fact, I now find myself wanting to explore the site and blogs further. And with that, this link is complete . . . time to explore!  (And listen to that track again 😉

I have chosen to link to Alanna Carmichael’s Attention Economy Task (the fun one!)

Her task can be found here:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/alannacarmichael540/2020/07/15/task-10-attention-economy/

My task post :    https://blogs.ubc.ca/rebeccahydamacka/2020/07/16/task-10-attention-economy/

The post:

I could really relate Alanna’s post of her experiences with User Inyerface.  She found it “unbelievably ‘tricky’” as did I: yet, we both really enjoyed the task.  She notes it being an “enjoyable experience” was an “unpopular opinion” but I am not sure if I would agree with her – I wonder if we just hear or see the loudest (in this case complaining or angry) voices.

I really thought it was interesting that we shared this “unpopular opinion”  because  of the slight differences in our experiences – she took only 1 attempt of 00:09:05 while it took me 3 attempts, a side trip to Bagaar website, several pleas for help to our prof., Ernesto, and twice as long (over 00:18:00) for the one successful session. A theme of competition emerged in her post which I also felt when I looked at other people’s time. I also could not believe how fast some others completed this evil game. I wondered if they took several attempts to get their scores down and I am a very suspicious individual.  This, incidentally, also interfered with my score as I carefully re-read everything – we both found it an interesting learning experience. 

Alanna’s post, discussion thread and the experience itself really reminds me of the assumptions that we all make. Our ability to navigate the game relied on overriding the many, in Alanna’s words: “techniques interface designers use to help web users know where to click.”  She also nailed it with the difficulty we, or many of us, as humanity, share trying to prove we “are not a robot”  reCAPTCHA.  

The discussion really had me thinking as well as I noticed the assumption of what seemed to be a digital divide opinion. The grandma comment “irked” me slightly being almost twice the commenters” age. But I do not know Alanna or the other grandmas only my own experiences. We should not project out experiences on others but also do need to be careful with assumptions based on age but also  In the thread, 

Finally, I also admire the way Alanna has very succinctly summed up the experience unlike my long, rambling post which reflected the entire experience.  

The authoring:

First, Alanna’s blog uses the UBC WordPress platform which has become familiar and thus easy to navigate. I also use a top menu like Alanna with tabs linking the different categories of “tasks, “linking assignments” and “final project.”  Her chosen theme, Anders Norén theme makes the navigation easy. I have since used this theme for another course and wished I had chosen it for ETEC 540 because of the affordance of ease of navigation and visual appeal.  All post in each category are accessed easily as all appear on the page, and are clearly identified and with dates posted included in addition to the number of comments.  The number of comments feature allows one to quickly see if further comments have been made for both the author and other viewer which is great if it is a particularly hot topic of discussion such as the User Inyourface discussion.  Commenting is also accessible and easy to read. A very clean design. 

The post itself is simple, and succinct which is an affordance in itself for a busy UBC grad student. It mainly relies on text and the ability to read and to relate to the experience. It worked for me! The post also makes use of one visual (which was requested) which adds a splash of colour – incidentally matching the background images – very visually appealing.

Task #6 Connection to Tyler’s Emoji Story: 

Tyler’s link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/etec540tylers/2020/06/16/task-6-emoji-story/

My link:  https://blogs.ubc.ca/rebeccahydamacka/2020/06/14/task-6-an-emoji-story/

Reasoning: I have chosen to link to Tyler Selini’s emoji story because I felt our tasks connected is many ways. The  main reason I chose  to link to his emoji task is that our titles are for the same story although his story comes from a television series while mine is from the book. We both loved this story and it seemed relatively easy to create as most emojis were available to write it. I think we both really enjoyed this task as well. 

Same title?  Same Story? 

One would imagine our emojis titles would be the same but they are very different. And the title seems simple enough. But guessing titles requires prior knowledge of the movie or  book. This is very similar to a hyperlink that works by association.

Tyler  chose to write his title using emojis to represent words while I wrote” an idea: Little Fires Everywhere – emojis of fires all over the top of the page (following the convention for titles of course and labelled to make sure). They looked pretty small to me as well.

At first, I had no idea Tyler had chosen the same title as I “read”  “TV, __________ , fire, world.”  I had no idea that the hand meant “little” until later when I puzzled through the plot. As I started to make out emojis such as “family,” “artist,”  . . . and at the bottom of the plot “house,” “fire!” 

Only reading part of the plot, I guess it was the same story because the image of a house on fire and the people leaving was so vivid in my mind. The book starts and ends with this image. 

We need to have prior knowledge or something familiar to connect to, for emoji stories and to learn almost everything. We learn by building on prior knowledge. This is why we were able to correctly guess each other’s story. It was exciting when this happened!

Another similarity that our tasks share was that we used emoji words but not in complete sentences. It is almost like creating small vignettes or scenes from the plot. I did have to find a way to create flashbacks and forwards for my own story, because I was following the book’s story line which was circular rather than linear.  Tyler’s plot, on the other hand appeared linear but this was probably because it was a portion of the book being one show in a series. 

A final difference was the device: Tyler used his phone and its emoji keyboard while I used an online keyboard for my MacBook which I tried to copy and paste into the blog post (it didn’t translate well). I ended up doing a screenshot of my story as well. I am curious as to how he got a black background for his story. 

Authoring: Tyler’s blog is well laid, using UBC WordPress  and the same theme as I have used, Booklite, which makes it familiar to me and thus easy to navigate within the post. I did take awhile to discover the links to other tasks at the bottom of his post as I was looking for them in a menu at the top of the page. Also, his background image makes the text difficult to read especially for someone with less than perfect vision. The choice of a black background for his emoji story, however, is a great choice as it contrasts the emojis well making them pop on the page.  

For Linking Assignment Task #3 I am linking to Katlyn Paslawski’s Twine Task. I have chosen Katlyn’s Twine because it is such a stark contrast to my own in so many ways.

Katlyn’s site: https://blogs.ubc.ca/paslawski540/2020/06/10/twine-the-digestive-system-game/

My site: https://blogs.ubc.ca/rebeccahydamacka/2020/06/10/task-5-twine-a-dark-and-stormy-twine/

A quick side by side comparison:

First, focusing on the content, my twine is more rudimentary, relying solely on the default bright hyperlink text against the black background to tell a choose your own adventure mystery/horror story. Conversely, Katlyn’s background is crisp white,  much like a traditional textbook giving it a clean professional quality. She has also included a soundtrack in the background which adds an air of mystery but doesn’t overshadow the game which I consider well chosen. The inclusion of well-placed graphics adds to the visual appeal, creating a multimodal learning experience for the viewer. I am thankful that Kaylyn has included a link to Hammond’s videos on how to embed sound and images in Twine 2, and I want to play with this more now.After viewing the Digestive System Game, I was left wishing I had included sounds and images; however, another point at which our Twine’s diverge is their purposes which has resulted in different end results.

Despite both Twines being created for student audiences, they are built for different purposes. Katlyn’s Twine is a game to support learning in Science and is content driven being all about the digestive system. It has almost a quiz review feel with its gentle non-threatening manner or it could be used as a student’s self assessment for learning. Despite the hyperlinks, it has more of a linear book feel to it as it progresses from beginning to end of digestion (to do otherwise might result in regurgitation or acid reflux). My twine, however, circles or can circle around endlessly.

As I read about how Katlyn had thought the process of building would be quick, an hour maybe, but took much longer, I felt a connection as I shared a similar experience. While she spent time exploring further how to add to her twine, I spent time creating the most convoluted links and twists within my own twine which also took a lot of time but I became very invested in the storyline. In terms of finished products, I think the content and purpose really came into play in the design of our twines.

My own Twine was built for a grade 8 English class to create a sense of fun and play as well as demonstrate a non-linear, iterative and/or circular storytelling as we ask students to construct different these formats in the creation of text. Hypertext is the perfect medium to use to write as we think, associatively (Bolter. 2001. Ch. 3, 2001). I also had specific images in mind as I created my twine which I could have included  but a) I wasn’t certain how and b) I wanted to give the viewer some autonomy. But by not including images, the reader is invited to visualize the scene, and imagine the descriptive detail in their minds. This is one space that the reader actually controls in my twine.

This is yet another similarity in our Twines: both my story and Katlyn’s game give only an illusion of choice. I am in agreement with Bolter that when the reader is allowed to “choose links [it] only gives the illusion of control (Ch. 3, p. 42). If one does not make the desired choice (of the designer), either the game is over or the player is redirected to try again. This very gentle, in Katlyn’s Twine, or not so gentle or sarcastic in mine, redirections reminds me that player control is an illusion as we are in control not the player.

Finally, when considering our blog spaces and the task, I was struck by the fact that we both seemed to feel the need to include map of our Twines. This points to the value we place in images and to the process of the twine.  Katlyn may value images more than I as her text is not nearly as lengthy in her description as mine. This difference struck me as an affordance for someone with a strong visual literacy. The addition of the links to how to embed sound and images was also a great touch. As to the website, I found that it was very easy to navigate and to comment on the blog. This is in part because of the clean space with a white background and minimal background clutter. I do not operate well with distractions making it well designed for someone like me. Also, because I was familiar with the format, a menu at the top and the placement of the comment section, I had the necessary literacies to access it.

Bolter, J.D. (2001).  Writing Space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print . Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp. 27-44.

For my Linking Assignment #2 I have chosen to link to Tanya Weder’s Task #4 https://texttech.weebly.com/weekly-tasks

For ease of locating, here is my task #4 link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/rebeccahydamacka/2020/06/04/task-4-potato-printing/

I chose this link because I was struck by how similar our planning, thought process and conclusions were and yet despite having many similar elements, our websites are actually quite different.

Tanya’s experience was similar to mine as the planning process of the task seemed to be of significance for both of us. She selected a word that held meaning for her, “Teach” defining who she is or what she does.  My own word also reflects my teaching experience by defining my identity as a Raven House teacher. We both placed an importance on the appearance of our fonts, considering the historical significance of Gutenberg’s Bible and typeface. Fonts are where we diverged: she wished to display a more modern version to reflect change in teaching and also used the laddered T to indicate meaning.  As I reflected on the monks’ writing and Gutenberg’s Bible’s Blackletter, I also thought of American Gothic writer Edgar Allan Poe and his poem “The Raven,”  and decided to try a version of Gothic lettering. Our time spent on the project was also similar with results that as she so eloquently put “still missing the consistency that machinery could give but there is more life and humanity in it’s imperfections.” To this statement, I wholeheartedly agree; there seems to be more value in the handcrafted lettering. 

Tanya’s webspace, however,  is different from my own. It is a Weebly space which confused me initially as accessing from the course’s student webspace, looks different. There is not a complete list of tasks and blogs that usually appears under each individual’s name. Instead the access point appears as only one word, “tasks,” which redirects the viewer to a Weebly. Focussing on the weekly task I had not realized it was a Weebly site initially. The site appears very similar to my own WordPress which uses Booklite as a theme. Similar to my own site, Tanya’s blog presents items in chronological order with the most recent one at the top. Also at the top is of Tanya’s menu are the same words or links as mine own site with the exception of a “Contact” link on her site. Because I had co-created an earlier course’s Weebly for a project, I had wanted to create the same type of appearance in the menu at the top.  With these similarities, my brain connected the two sites. 

Because I had made this connection, it was all the more confusing when Tanya’s site did not navigate the same. What was different and confusing on her site was that to comment, I needed to go to the top of the post rather than the bottom and click on a link. I missed this at first which may be not only the location but also the lighter coloured and smaller font. The link took me to a form to fill out identifying information in addition to commenting and to ask approval to comment. Because it is different, adding another layer of complexity, it took more time and effort.  As frustrating as it was to navigate, not realizing why, it is a worthwhile experience to learn to navigate multiple blog platforms. 

The site itself has a clean minimalist appearance with a boldface type of the task which draws attention and a white background.   The photos display well on a white background. For someone who is more visual, the blog post is excellent. However, for someone with less than good eyesight it might be difficult to read the smaller, lighter font. I have played with my own font and background colours but have yet to settle on a satisfactory one as it seems to depend on graphics and effect I am looking for. One constraint of the course design was the preference to use WordPress. With this platform, I have yet to find the variety of fonts that I would prefer. I had found a font in google docs, Almendra, which I would have liked to use or something similar, to create a Gothic font appearance.  I have also found that my video file type was incompatible with uploading which necessitates uploading to YouTube first. I had wanted to experiment with my blog content. It has definitely been an exercise in exploration. What has been pleasantly surprising, is the way the course itself explores and allows a hands on, authentic experience that evolves with the text technologies despite being an online course.

As a “Double Feature,” I have chosen as my first  link assignment submission to link to Sasha Passaglia and Jamie Ashton’s blogs on Lera Boroditsky’s video on How the Languages We Speak Shape the Way We Think. 

Sasha’s task 2 link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/sashapassaglia/2020/05/22/task-2-does-language-shape-the-way-we-think/

My task 2 link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/rebeccahydamacka/2020/05/21/task-2-does-language-really-shape-the-way-we-think/

Jamie Ashton’s task 2 link: https://blogs.ubc.ca/jamiedimitra/2020/05/23/task-2-does-language-shape-the-way-we-think/

From my perspective, both task contrast each other. I was able to connect to Sasha’s task in understanding and content. Our experiences with the viewing of the video were very similar, while Jamie’s task felt like I was reading a foreign language at times although there was much common ground to be discovered.

First, I will describe my Link to Sasha’s task

Connections: Our perspectives are quite similar as is our viewing experience. This viewing experience is not one to ignore as it impacts our thinking and ability to connect in similar and yet slightly different ways. Our own children interrupted the viewing process as they attempted to interact with us, hers in person and mine via text messages. (If I do not respond, there are then subsequent phone calls.) 

As I read Sasha’s blog, I felt validated in my blog comments as I could see many similar interpretations and thoughts. The first viewing gave an overall view but on the second viewing, more details were gleaned. We had both recognized our surprise and what I will call our own egocentric thinking about thinking and language. Other similarities included the opinion that the other module videos complimented Boroditsky’s video by adding a passion for languages other than text as well as an historical perspective. We both recognized the value of the past and the need to preserve languages but Sasha included a purpose: for future generations, as her perspective as a mother of youth children reminds her of this important need. Shared experiences of being teachers, mothers, nature lovers, and classmates in an earlier ETEC course could be a reason for our shared or similar understandings. Perhaps it is also a shared culture of ETEC graduate students.  

Authoring: Sasha’s space is an easy to navigate and access WordPress blog. Items are clearly defined and accessible with a simple menu of 3 links at the top of her page. There are no additional permissions or passwords required with the comment section that easily accessible adding an element of co-authoring. The task is primarily text which is well organized and logical in its flow. A text based task such as this may privilege a more literate viewer; someone who is more of a visual learner may not find it as “approachable.” However, a quote from another source is included with its formatting (offset or indented and in a different italicized font) adds another texture to her post making it more appealing in addition to highlighting a key understanding for her. 

My own site’s authoring is similar to Sasha’s. It is a WordPress blog with a simple “menu” at the top which is really just my 3 categories, an About page and a Home page. My home page contains all of my posts and seems maybe redundant but for now it stays.  There will be opportunity to change it later (I am afraid to do so now for fear of losing items).  I am new to WordPress, and thus used a simple blog comment about the experience with no additional photos or attachments.  I have chosen to reflect on the experience as well as the content linking it to the other “readings” with a simple blog comment. This simplicity may be due the assignment itself as there was no requirement to post; this may also be considered a design restraint. While that may be all that is needed, I later returned to attempt to insert a link to Borditsky’s video which did not have the visual appeal, I had wanted.  I think I have since discovered how to include visuals such as videos now though. 

Pedagogical underpinnings of the course design are evident in specifically in Task 2’s the requirement of annotations, or learning a new system of communication in an asynchronous manner. It is almost like being in a class discussion but this immersive experience felt disjointed not being in real time with the luxury of asking for clarification. This disruption of thinking echoes one of the portions of  Boroditsky’s examples of how interrupting thought patterns can change the way an individual recalls events. Clever of the task for a truly immersive experience but was it intended? 

My own 8/9 classes are in the early states of working with annotations and this technology making this an interesting experience.  A DIY or do it yourself is highly recommended before attempting new experiences with students. The synthesizing of information from multiple sources is another pedagogical underpinning which both Sasha and myself did as we noticed how the tap dancer and Shetlandic poet complimented and even advanced the lecture by Boroditsky. 

Yet, another underpinning of the course design may be in the process in which new knowledge builds upon old.  Being new to WordPress, my blog design had been modelled as much as possible like a Weebly built in another ETEC with a top menu.  In uncertain times, there is comfort in familiarity and from this one might develop the confidence to branch out and attempt new formats. This is much the same for my own students. I can see and appreciate a process of attaching to previous knowledge before adding new. 

Unfortunately, due to the RSS feed requirements my pages needed to be changed to posts. This was done with categories and a menu created from those categories.  An excellent tutor on Google meet screen shared and walked me through the difference between pages and post and how to set up categories to appear in a menu; many thanks Ernesto! I am reminded of the need to start out at an appropriate level with some or enough support so that a task can be done independently. In addition to having instructor support, there was also the peer support. By having the ability to share comments in the CLAS annotations in addition to viewing tasks in other students blogs will help to define and refine skills. Further, the need to change and discover how to use the WordPress tool took some time and “tinkering.”  As more tools and skills  become familiar, these will be added to the repertoire. Time to explore in the early stages of ETEC 540 and develop this familiarity works.  It may organization of that time that will be a challenge.

And now for my Link to Jamie Ashton’s Task 2:

https://blogs.ubc.ca/jamiedimitra/2020/05/23/task-2-does-language-shape-the-way-we-think/

Connections and disconnections: I have chosen to also link to Jamie’s task because it is so  different from my own and also outside my own experience and paradigm of language. I cannot imagine speaking 6 different languages ever! For someone who struggled with French until grade 12, but still remained essentially unilingual, Jamie’s multilingual background amazes me. It also affords her a much deeper understanding of language reminding me that we all come from different experiences and places. The value or importance of a second or third language or the need to be bilingual varies sometimes due to cultural or geographical location. One thing that I could not connect to were, Jamie’s “very crazy looking syntax trees” which overwhelmed me initially, and still does. I am in awe of her understanding. 

I did, however, the use of augmentative technology for language as I worked as an intervenor for several students who used this technology. The world of those with deaf-blind live in a tactile language world. It is really difficult to understand until you have had a chance to be with another culture. My experience is not nearly as broad but I was able to make a few tentative connections to Jamie’s ESL experience and differences in culture and language. 

 I also connected with the annotation quoting Boroditsky: “combining a finite set of words into an infinite set of new meanings” which I, as had Jamie, found debatable as we do add new words as language evolves. But there is definitely an ability to build infinite meanings with different combinations; and even different ways to combine media to explain this concept. Jamie’s addition of the John Green’s book title video shows this well.

At one point in the annotations Jamie notes it is “probable to consider that language developed in relationship  to things that needed to be given attention in any given society” (7:54)  which while I agreed with this statement, it also lead me to think about where and why our task diverged in content and thought.  This  may primarily be due to our own experiences and the worlds we are immersed in:  Jamie in linguistics and I in a world of History.  A theme of past, present and future emerging for me.  What resonated with me was who language and culture was shaped  from our past histories and generations and the need to preserve dialects and appreciate their value. I even felt a passionate about this, similar to Sasha and found it initially odd to not “feel’ this in Jamie’s blog as for me this was the essence of the module. 

Authoring: Jamie’s  website is clean, easy to navigate with a wide variety of well placed visual elements. And then I recognized the theme, Anders Norén, which allows one to easily see tasks much like file folders or sticky notes. Incidentally, I selected this same theme for another course blog after an agonizing couple of hours. I believe the theme sspeaks yet another language as it communicates through its layout whether it is a serious “news” type blog or perhaps a modern avant garde blog.  Jamie’s blog header image fits well with the theme of How the Languages We Speak Shape the Way We Think.  I was also impressed with the addition of her annotation log along with Boroditsky’s video, as well as the links to additional videos and other information. I am in awe of the many literacies that Jamie possesses. which also privileges a a wider range of literacies by include not simply text, and images but also audio-visual content.

My own blog was short and simply text as I had yet to discover how to add other elements but the essence of meaning is still there . – language is constructed through culture and is linked to the past despite evolving into the future. Later in comments, Jamie helped to clarify these final thoughts as even I too, am evolving in my understanding, thinking and literacies.

And yes, I have discovered how to add video!