Final Post

Taking Info 303 this semester has been a great experience for me and I feel that I have learned a lot of useful information. My initial draw to the class was based simply on its name, Writing Across Media’s. Being an advertising major I thought this class would be helpful in my future career goals. I love media and anything related to it, so taking a class that helped to improve my writing skills in that medium seemed to be a natural decision. The aspect of this class that I liked the most was that the writing never felt tedious. Writing formal essay’s is not my favorite thing to do, so I liked the alternative approach to writing this class took. Blogging is a great way to improve writing skills without having to write formal essays.

I did many things for the first time in this class, which allowed me to gain a great deal of interesting and useful knowledge. For example I had never made a video or audio clip. The process of doing so was something that I enjoyed and now that I have the knowledge and understanding I feel comfortable making more videos and audio clips. In addition I had never created a website, and was not even aware that there were sites created for people to make their own websites on. Having this newfound knowledge is not only fun but also important, especially in today’s job market. As the semester progressed I think my projects became more interesting. My first project was just a basic t-shirt, which I think fit the project description well but did not go outside of the box. By the end of the semester my partner and I decided to use flash programs and create a website, which is more complex and utilized the skills I had learned throughout the semester.

I think my writing and ability to present has improved thanks to this class. Because of the blogging portion I have learned to write in a less formal manner, yet still get ideas across in an effective manner. I also learned how to write using different mediums and different styles. Writing for a website is different than writing a message on a t-shirt. I think these concepts are important for people to learn because being able to communicate is vital for success. At the beginning of the semester I was also very uncomfortable presenting in front of the class. I think this was because I did not know how the class would respond to my ideas, or I thought my ideas were bad. After having to present many times though, I found myself become more comfortable in front of the class. I realized that while some people may have critiques it is important to take those considerations because the class is really just trying to help you do the best work you can. Also the class was really supportive of most projects. They did a great job of finding the positive qualities in everyone’s projects.

I am really happy with my decision to enroll in Info 303 this semester, and I will be sure to let others know what a great class it is!

In-class Questions 04/11

What do you make of the idea that all mediation is remediation? Can media be received in isolation? How is this similar to the claim in “Networks of Remediation” that all media are social media?

1. After thinking through the different forms of media it is true that nearly all mediation is remediation. It is hard to think of any media that does not in some involve another form of media a long with it. At least in this day and age. For that reason I think it is becoming increasingly difficult to receive any type of media in pure isolation. Perhaps media such as newspapers or anything print related might be one of the only remaining forms of media that you can look at on its own. Even then though, website addresses are always displayed and you can also, often times, read the newspaper or magazine online. I’m not sure if I think that currently all media is social media, but I do think that is what all media is seeking to become. Whenever you go online there are always places for people to post comments and strike up debate and conversation, and most sites are linked to a social networking site such as Facebook, Linked In, or YouTube.

The rhetoric of remediation favors immediacy and transparency, even though as the medium matures it offers new opportunities for hypermediacy,” and that in remediation, one medium is being seen by our culture as reforming or improving upon another medium. Does improving media improve culture?

2. I’m not sure if I agree with the idea that improving media improves culture. I think that by improving media people are able to connect in ways in which they have never been able to before. But with the increase in technology I think that society and cutlure is seeing some negative consequences. People are becoming increasingly impatient because of the instant gratification that technology allows for. I also think that because of social networking sites and the like people are in a way losing their ability to converse and interact with one another like they used to. For example people are more likely to text one another than talk directly on the phone. I think this ultimately will not improve culture because people will lose communication skills.

04/13/11 Homework

1. Bolter and Grusin claim that “all mediation is remediation.” Do you think there will ever be a time when this is not the case anymore?

2. Do you agree that modern art should be thought of as more real or authentic because it refuses to be realistic?

3. In the article Bolter and Grusin state that “virtual reality is a more ‘natural’ environment for computing than a conventional video screen.” If this were to become true do you think people would eventually have trouble distinguishing between actual reality and virtual reality?

03/10

1. What are your views on nudity? can it be considered art?

2. What is your interpretation of the claim that women are watched while men are watchers? do you believe this to always be true?

3. Do you think there will ever be a time when women are not held to the standards that they are currently held to in society?

In Class 03/08

In class I watched the movie Last Minutes with Oden. It was a really touching short documentary about how a dog was there for his owner through all the rough times, and how there was no judgment and the dog taught him to love. The film quality was really great and created a nice aesthetic. My favorite shots were of the man on his bike and the camera moving a long with him. I also liked the closeups of the dog. There was a nice sense of imagery in the film that was enjoyable to watch.

03/08

In-class 02/22

The idea of playing off of others’ weaknesses stems from Shipka’s example of Val.  To what extent should a person create a message specifically geared as a response to someone else’s negativity?  How blatantly negative should you be with broadcast or broadband media?

I think that a person should create a message geared as a response to someone else’s negativity but not to a large extent. I think that just harbors more negativity. In terms of blatant negativity in broadcast or broadband media I think its important to keep a level head. It is completely fine to present something negative to the public, but important to not make it too negative or else people will not want to listen. There is enough negativity in the world people don’t want even more.

Is it because we equate “playing” with the production of texts using multimodal technology that we tend to focus on the communication of scholarly, rigorous arguments or ideas through the production of linear print based texts?  Or is it simply a matter of resources, time, or overall effectiveness that we continue with this method?

I think that the term “playing” has the ability to push people towards scholarly texts and rigorous arguments based simply on the word alone. When people want serious arguments and findings I think they are suspect to consider texts that are associated with “playing.” This is not to say all people feel this way because many people find the use of multimodal technology to be very effective and useful. I think that society continues to use linear print based text because most technology is relatively new. Many people who are producing scholarly findings have not been exposed or are not comfortable with the new technologies offered. In time I think there will be a decline in the use of print based text and with even newer technologies there will be in increase in texts using multimodal technology.

Is is possible that “just playing around,” can create a more meaningful tool or lesson for students to utilize than the outdated conventions of the past?

I think that it is important for students to understand and have a knowledge of the outdated conventions of the past, but it is also important to teach students the value of “playing around” and discovering. I think the one issue that could arise from “just playing around” is that it loses seriousness. While it’s okay to be fun, certain presentations of text need to be presented in a serious manner in order for them to be taken seriously.

Do you find yourself wanting to play more in classes like ours where you are producing multimodal projects? Do you still see a role for the outdated conventions (writing) or does the real work seem to be in the projects themselves? How do you redefine and re-situate the idea of “academic work” in this context? Are the projects you have done so far “academic”?

I do find myself wanting to play more in classes because I have the freedom to. It makes me want to explore different ways of presenting information using multimodal projects. I think there will always be a role for outdated conventions such as writing because they are such an important aspect in our society. They provide information in a straight forward manner and are informative. There also is something to be said for novels which have the ability to take people to other worlds. The idea of “academic work” in this context I think would at first be hard for many scholars to get their heads around. I believe using new types of multimodal projects have the ability to grab peoples attention and interest in a way that scholarly texts often lack for most students. I would say the work we’ve done so far is academic but not in a traditional sense. While it’s presented in a different manner our claims are still supported by evidence, and we’re still learning from them. I think it provides information in a more interesting manner and is better at grabbing students attention.

Shipka plays with the word “sound” and uses it to mean both something you hear and the adj form defined by Webster as “competent, sensible, valid.” What does it mean to you to make a project that has “multimodal soundness”?

Homework 2/21

1. What types of new media text have you used to present your work?

2. Do you think that by teachers providing open ended tasks students will help them explore subject areas and learn more?

3. Do you think in the future teachers will use more alternative types ways to submit and present work?

Homework 02/14

This American Life Homework 1:

#1 Party School

1. Locating meaning in a multimodal ensemble

For this particular episode of This American Life there was the use of background music, music played in between segments, presenters audio, and interviewees audio.

2. The element of vocal delivery

In the episode I watched there were three main types of vocal delivery. The first was by the host and narrator who would describe and keep a story line to the essay. Then the host would call upon girls that did reporting for the story and they would give more in depth information. In this episode they would talk with students and local business owners about campus drinking and norms. The last type of vocal delivery were the people being interviewed. They were used like how a direct quote would be used in a formal essay.

3. The element of music

The musical choices in this episode really added to the overall episode. For example they played the song “Party in the U.S.A” in the beginning to familiarize the audience with the popular songs at bars as well as with what college students are listening to. They also used songs that related to drinking in order to separate between the different segments of the show. The last way music was used in the episode was on an expressive plane in order to give you the feel of being in a college campus or to set a mood (typically sombre).

4. The element of sound effects

This episode did not use a lot of sound effects. If any were used they were not computer generated, but instead recorded and then played for the audience. The one moment I noticed this used the most was in the beginning of the show when they played drunk kids walking down the street and what it sounds like.

image text brainstorm 2

Potential places: