Arwin's+Wiki

I really enjoyed making the techno literacy memoir for the simple fact that it reminded me about the tools that got me to where I am today. It should me that there are so many other influences of how we learn about literature and text. Games such as See N’ Say, Quiz Whiz, and even Nintendo contributed to the education of vocabulary, reading, and writing in my life. While growing up and playing with my toys I did not realize that I was learning. I just concentrated on having fun. I had never blogged before the TLM and it was rather easy to navigate and put together. I think the hardest part was trying to come up with a format of my liking. I’ve never been one for social networking and I am not media savvy. I wish I had been more creative on the presentation of the project but over all I am content with the way I attributed my childhood games and hobbies to my education experience. I just hope that everyone that read my blog found it easy to read and navigate. I would like to think that in the future schools could possibly integrate the desks into being a multifunctional computer that interacts with the lesson plans of the class. When I say computer, I do not mean that in the traditional way. I mean that the flat top of the table is a screen that reacts to a stylist pen, like on a Nintendo DS. The function of the computer/desk could house electronic text books and assignments. Each desk will be linked to the teacher’s desk and perhaps even a multifunctional touch “blackboard.” This could possibly make it easier for teachers to monitor student’s progress and make learning a fun experience for children. My vision of this new tool would be a hybrid of traditional writing and learning mixed with new age technology that kids of the 21st century could relate to. That may sound a little futuristic and something out of a science fiction movie, but how far off are we really from developing such a item? Each year there are more and more advances in technology that are beneficial to our society and connect people in new ways. Nothing seems too far out of are reach. I was a little disappointed in the way my web-text came out. I took a research paper from a previous semester and put it in cyberspace and nothing really changed. I was able to divide up sections from paragraph to paragraph and create links to each section, but nothing really spectacular. I do interact with cyberspace except to check email or news and I was not sure how to proceed with the project. I kept the text the same way it was when I wrote it previously. I did not know how to change the paragraphs to make it easier to read for people on the web. The font and color were fine as far as readability goes, but nothing really stood out to me that screamed “Hey, read me!” I’ve always thought of myself as being a creative person but when it came down to making the blogs and web text projects, I went blank. I am hoping that next time I do a project online I will be able to contribute something much more. I am not discouraged from trying any online projects; I look forward to giving it another go. I think this project has shown me a great deal of what can be done with a little creativity. I have been shown that there are other mediums to aspire to in writing. Traditional writing with pen and paper is not the only way to express one’s ideas and thoughts. One of the things I wished I had tried was the podcasts or maybe a video. There seems to a lot of ways that a person can illustrate themselves on the web. Writing in no longer linear. The YouTube video about writing as linear was probably my favorite and really inspired me to achieve a new level as a multilayer writer. My favorite hobby is to write short stories. I would love to try and make a short story just for the web and have readers interact with the story line. Losing one’s self in a story is what most readers do and I can think of no better way to do that other than a reader getting personally involved in the story. A lot of what we went over in the semester has shown me the other aspects of writing and I want nothing more than to continue with my progression as a writer. Hopefully time will show my skills have improved. It was a very informative semester.
 * 1) ** Reflect on the process of creating the techno-literacy memoir. What did you learn from presenting this project in a mode other than traditional print text? **
 * 2. Make at least one prediction about where new media will take writing inthe twenty-first century. **
 * 3. Reflect on the process of creating the web-text. How did the text change in its transition from silent print to the "noise" of cyberspace in terms of stylistic choices and audience concerns? **
 * 4. In what ways have you changed as a writer this semester? **
 * 5. Which theory/theorist have you found most interesting or helpful in understanding digital media and why? ** I think Bolter might have been the one I found most interesting. I am not even sure that interesting would be the right word. I guess for me I am picking the theorist that I found the easiest to understand. Not that I am avoiding the question of most interesting but I had trouble following some of the other theorist. The language of the web and theories that they used confused me. I hope I am no the only one that feels that way. When reading a lot of the other articles I could not help but think “What?” As stated before, I am not very internet savvy and understanding some of what Carraway said went right over my head. Of course, I did find the “cyborg” part of her writing interesting. Bolter was an easy read for me to follow along and came across better for me. I am not saying I completely understood everything Bolter said, but it was easier than some of the others. Perhaps overtime and further development of my media education will help me to understand more of what the other theorist were talking about. I plan on keeping the articles around for a while and look forward to rereading them.