Jill Saba
April 27, 2011
WSC 002
Paper 3
The Transformation of Writing Space
Technology is constantly making advancements to keep up with the changing times and consumer demand. Currently society is slowly straying away from printed text and moving to digital media. The idea that almost anything can be done or accessed with one click of a button and the fact that hypermedia allows for instant and flexible writing attracts many users. Digital media is opening up new forms of writing, expression, and communication.
The digital media is becoming imperative to society. It seems almost impossible to walk down the street nowadays without somebody being on a cell phone or an iPod or some form of technology. The digital media allows for an easier access to the world around us. Rather than going to the library and getting a book, someone can just buy the book through his or her nook, on an iPod, or even through an online library with just a click of a button. Some authors are trying to disguise their books as digital media. But is this change or this evolution in writing unnecessary or detrimental to society? The technology of writing is constantly changing with time and what Bolter refers to as electronic space is giving a new dimension to printed text. Our minds need entertainment and to constantly be stimulated which is why the computer and hypertext are so attractive.
In Writing Space Bolter states, “the relationships between popular films and novels is further proof that the visual is now regarded as primary” (56). Bolter states that film and movies are the modern ways of telling stories. However this is not the first time that images are being used to convey a story; many ancient stories have been drawn on the walls of caves or painted with any materials that could be found. Although films and movies today are different from the ancient cave drawings, Bolter makes a valid point that many times film is the modern way of telling a story. In the PBS Frontline special “Digital Nation” college students, elementary and middle school students, and even adults in the work place, were followed and interviewed on how much they use current technology. Many students agreed that they rarely pick up and read a book any more and if they have to they would rather just watch the movie. I know from personal experience that when I have to choose between homework, studying or going online and following the endless links, I choose the latter. Although, sometimes I do enjoy reading the novel before seeing the movie because the novel leaves more up to the imagination; in a novel there are no distractions or endless links, just black text on a white rectangular page. In the typical novel there is no dimension to the page, and the pages are in an order that cannot be changed. However this one-dimensional world of a novel gets lost in the new digital world.
In my blog post responding to chapter one “Introduction: Writing in the Late Age of Print” of Writing Space I wrote, “although I do enjoy books, I don't know if it is the book itself that I enjoy or the idea of the book. Like Bolter said ‘the printed book remains the embodiment of text’ (3). People still view books and other printed texts as more intelligent or reliable. I like the feeling of a book in my hand, but for some reason I get just as distracted reading a book as I do on the internet, it's just a different kind of distraction. When I am reading I wander off in my mind, where on the internet, I wander through links and then more links until I am so far away from my original intention for being on the internet in the first place.” Many readers still value a book as more reliable or that the book contains more knowledgeable information. However, books and other forms of printed texts come with their own forms of distractions. Our minds need to constantly be stimulated, which is not necessarily bad. I do enjoy a good book, sitting down in silence, opening the book and letting the text be your guide; every word bringing you deeper and deeper into a story until you are so far in there is almost no way out, you have become a part of the story. I do believe that there are some things that words can do that pictures and images cannot, however that statement can go both ways. There are many things that images can do that words cannot. A typical page in a book can be boring, black text on a blank white page, almost getting dizzying after a while. Bolter later states in chapter four “The Breakout of the Visual”, “the attempt to make words do what pictures do might be taken to mean that pictures are primary and words are secondary” (56). Even though the printed book is still viewed as more reliable and more intelligent (and maybe it is but this might be do to the fact that the internet allows for an easier access for anyone to become an author); as technology is advancing pictures and digital media are becoming crucial and even books are starting to change to look more digital.
Digital media and the Internet have given so many people the ability to become authors or to write almost anything that is on their mind. It is easy for almost anyone to open a blog, a Facebook account or even write a Wikipedia article about anything from a to z. The digital media is changeable, flexible, easy to edit. Unlike a book more than one screen or page can be open at the same time and it is up to the viewer on how they want the screens arranged. “In the modern printed book, the space is simple and clean. Different texts do not compete in adjacent spaces for the reader’s attention, as they still do in a magazine or newspaper” (67). What this quote is talking about is the modern book versus the newspapers, magazines and even digital media. In magazines and newspapers, the images and text divide up the page and the pages can vary in size. Unlike the formalities of a book where text and images rarely co exist, the digital media thrives on using images and text together.
Many have questioned hypertext, its reliability, and its endless links to endless amounts of information. But is too much information a bad thing, can there be too much information? Hypertext allows the user to go from one topic to a completely different topic with one click of a button. At times this can be distracting and easy to stray away from the original purpose for being on the computer. However these links can also open the users mind to other possibilities or ideas or places that the users would never have thought of going. With hypertext and hypermedia images and words can work separately and serve their own purpose, but also in a sense are one in the same. Bolter states “Hypermedia can be regarded as a kind of picture writing…” (58). Hypermedia is made up of text and images that can be linked through hypertext.
The digital media has not only allowed for a new style of writing, but also a new form of communication. Over the years texting has become widely popular in society. Texting opens the door for instant communication from almost anywhere. In chapter four of Writing Space, Bolter writes about MUDs and MOOs. Originally a MOO was a chat room much like AIM or Skype; the chat room allowed instant communication with anyone around the world. As the MOOs evolved, images and avatars began being used, although most images were still two-dimensional. Today, many of these chat rooms allow users to create their own personalized virtual world. Users can walk around, chat with others, build a house, and even obtain a job or a romance. In the virtual world, people can be completely different, almost be anyone they want to be.
Another form of communication that is through digital media is video chatting. Anything from business meetings to a quick hello with a friend or family member, people can talk through video. Many computers are being made with built in webcams. Even cell phones are being made with video chatting. For example the iPhone has a camera for FaceTime, which allows any two people with Apple products to video chat. In the PBS Frontline Special “Digital Nation” that I mentioned above, it showed in one company, workers actually had meetings through a virtual world where they created avatars and would have a meeting through the avatars. Similarly to the change from printed text to digital, forms of communication are evolving too.
The technology of writing is constantly evolving. The digital media is opening up new forms of writing, of expression, and communication.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
A Partial Literacy Narrative
Jill Saba
WSC 002
Paper 4
5/9/2011
A Partial Literacy Narrative
I write for many different reasons. I write for school, for my professors, for a good grade. I write for my family, my friends. I write for myself or for others. I write to get something off of my mind of just because I can. There are many different forms of writing and I do not think I could ever write for one specific reason. However, whether I write because I have to or because I want to I am still writing.
My writing style may change depending on my audience or the medium I use. Typically when I write for school I try to complete my thoughts and sentences, however, if I am blogging or writing with a crayon the reasons for my writing change and therefore my style of writing changes. When I am writing on Facebook or sending a text, again, my reasons for writing have changed; here I am most likely writing to communicate with someone else. Sometimes I write for enjoyment or to get something off of my mind.
When I read the title “Why I Write” and was told to write about it I immediately began writing every possible reason of why I write, beginning each phrase with ‘I’. Than I began reading Joan Didion’s article Why I Write. Didion’s article was different from my passage in the sense that she is giving background to why she writes where I was giving the reasons. Didion states “I write entirely to find out what I’m thinking, what I’m looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear” (2). It seems as though she is writing entirely for herself and no one else, almost as though the readers are the lucky ones, the one who get a look into her mind. I want to be that kind of writer, I want to let myself be vulnerable for a minuet and let the page be my escape, my telling the reader that I have a voice that should be heard.
When asked to give new writers advice on how to write, I was at a loss. My writing itself is not complete, I still need advice or maybe I should for once just take my own advice. Writers need to be expressive and think outside the box. You do not necessarily have to write for your readers but almost more for yourself. Make the readers want to read your work. As I mentioned in “Why I Write”, as a writer you almost need to be vulnerable and let the page be your escape. Your writing is supposed to express you and only you. Writing is not necessarily easy, no matter what form it is. I have gone to write a comment on Facebook and typed then deleted the comment dozens of times before it was finally what I wanted. On my blog Here and Now there is an entry a sentence starts out like and I completed the sentence with building a house. Not only does a sentence start out like building a house, but writing as a whole is like building a house. The introduction is like the foundation to a house. The foundation and structure has to be just right or it can ruin the whole house, however you don’t know exactly how the house is going to turn out in the end. The foundation to a house and the introduction to a paper are important because the introduction is what draws the reader in, it is the first thing the reader will see, it needs to be strong and secure. Similarly a foundation to a house needs to be strong and secure, the introduction is the foundation, without a good foundation there is no paper.
I believe that writing and text can be powerful to a reader. Having the traditional black text on a rectangular white page allows for the reader to really focus on the words that are on the page rather than visuals. One examples of this was with the Taylor Mali videos. Personally I enjoyed the text video more than the one of Taylor Mali himself. I liked how the text changed depending on what the word was and what the emphasis on that specific word was supposed to be. For example when Mali spoke louder or with more force, the text was written larger or bolder. Or whenever Mali said "like" it was written in a cursiveish font almost giving it a somewhat sarcastic feeling. In the text version of the video I appreciated what Mali was saying more. The video had more dimension and angles and gave a different feeling than the video of Mali did. The use of fonts, sizes, and style played a role in how the words and their meanings were perceived. Yet only black font was used, so there were no colors to distract the viewer. And there were no other people or images to distract the viewer from what Mali was saying, where in the video of Mali himself, I was constantly trying to read what his shirt said under the word "Scrabble" or looking at the people in the audience. I believe that a writer has done their job if they are able to create an image with words.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Chapter 6: Refashioned Dialogues
Observe: This group used a navy blue background with white text. The dark background made the light text stand out and easy to read. The group used visuals that not only fit in the with the text they choose but that were also engaging. All of the texts and visuals were in the same direction, and the size of the text generally stayed the same. The visuals were both photos and videos.
Infer: Something that the group discussed was how "the web allows individuals not only to represent themselves in words and images, but also to publish these representations to an audience of millions at almost no expense" (119). The web has allowed for almost anyone to become an author, whether it is through social networking sites, like Facebook, or through online articles and encyclopedias, like Wikipedia. People are albe to express themselves differently now because of this digital media; they are able to use pictures and words. But what does this idea of "almost no expense really mean?" Money wise maybe not, for the most part it probably wont cost them anything, but because the digital media allows almost anyone to become an author it seems as if some people post just to post and aren't really thinking about what they are posting which can cost them in a different sense, in a figurative sense.
Question:
1) Is digital media and the idea that almost anyone can publish something changing the way people write?
2) Does the digital media make texts rely heavily on pictures where they might not have needed them before?
3) Should digital media be used to teach students how to read and write?
4) Does digital media and the internet allow for users to create their own paths to follow?
5) Digital texts will sometimes make themselves look like printed text (for example the photo that was used of the New York Times printed and the New York Times digital); are printed texts ever made to look like digital texts?
6) Does the web rely to heavily on images?
Infer: Something that the group discussed was how "the web allows individuals not only to represent themselves in words and images, but also to publish these representations to an audience of millions at almost no expense" (119). The web has allowed for almost anyone to become an author, whether it is through social networking sites, like Facebook, or through online articles and encyclopedias, like Wikipedia. People are albe to express themselves differently now because of this digital media; they are able to use pictures and words. But what does this idea of "almost no expense really mean?" Money wise maybe not, for the most part it probably wont cost them anything, but because the digital media allows almost anyone to become an author it seems as if some people post just to post and aren't really thinking about what they are posting which can cost them in a different sense, in a figurative sense.
Question:
1) Is digital media and the idea that almost anyone can publish something changing the way people write?
2) Does the digital media make texts rely heavily on pictures where they might not have needed them before?
3) Should digital media be used to teach students how to read and write?
4) Does digital media and the internet allow for users to create their own paths to follow?
5) Digital texts will sometimes make themselves look like printed text (for example the photo that was used of the New York Times printed and the New York Times digital); are printed texts ever made to look like digital texts?
6) Does the web rely to heavily on images?
Chapter 5: The Electronic Book
Observe: The prezi has a dark blue background with white text. The background didn't distract or take away from the text. Also there weren't many visuals, but the when there were they fit well with the text. Also some of the texts were turned in different directions which gave dimension to the prezi. Also the size of the text changed throughout the prezi.
Infer: At one point during the presentation the group was discussing the refashioning of books through digital technology or ebooks where people can download a digital copy of a book. This makes reading a book completely different from before because now the reader can jump around in the book. Also it makes the book a lot smaller because all the pages fit into one, flat, devise (for example the Kindle or the Nook). Also many of these ebooks nowadays allow people to go online, download almost any book, magazine, or newspaper, and even share the books with others. These give a whole new meaning to the idea of a book.
Another point the group was discussing was encyclopedias, which have also been condensed into digital copies. It seems as if nowadays it is 'the thing to do' to make almost anything possible into something electronic, something faster, and easier.
Question:
1) Are these electronic books taking away from the intentions or the purposes of a printed book?
2) Are texts going to get lost in the transition from the printed books to electronic books?
3) Because everything is becoming electronic and getting smaller or condensing, are writing styles and purposes going to change?
4) What do you believe is going to happen to printed text and books?
5) By having these electronic books and encyclopedias does it make information easier to find or are there to many links and distractions?
6) Is the technology of writing constantly evolving and changing?
Infer: At one point during the presentation the group was discussing the refashioning of books through digital technology or ebooks where people can download a digital copy of a book. This makes reading a book completely different from before because now the reader can jump around in the book. Also it makes the book a lot smaller because all the pages fit into one, flat, devise (for example the Kindle or the Nook). Also many of these ebooks nowadays allow people to go online, download almost any book, magazine, or newspaper, and even share the books with others. These give a whole new meaning to the idea of a book.
Another point the group was discussing was encyclopedias, which have also been condensed into digital copies. It seems as if nowadays it is 'the thing to do' to make almost anything possible into something electronic, something faster, and easier.
Question:
1) Are these electronic books taking away from the intentions or the purposes of a printed book?
2) Are texts going to get lost in the transition from the printed books to electronic books?
3) Because everything is becoming electronic and getting smaller or condensing, are writing styles and purposes going to change?
4) What do you believe is going to happen to printed text and books?
5) By having these electronic books and encyclopedias does it make information easier to find or are there to many links and distractions?
6) Is the technology of writing constantly evolving and changing?
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Chapter 8: Critical Theory in a New Writing Space
Observe: The visuals that were used in the presentation fit in well with the text surrounding them. The prezi had a plain white background with black text; the background was simple and did not distract or take away from the text and visuals. Sometimes the font sizes changes, however it gave a good dynamic to the presentation.
Infer: The group discussed how the canon has a definite ending where now with hypermedia it is infinite. With a click of a button you can be almost anywhere. The internet does not just end somewhere, it is constantly moving. The group also discussed how printed texts are visually simple. Generally speaking there is only so much one can do on a single page. Yes images can be layered or turned to fit differently in order to fit more on one page however overall there is only so much the reader will see and there is not as much for the reader to get distracted by.
Question:
1. Printed text is generally visually simple; can hypermedia and digital text also be visually simple or will there also be more dimension to the page and more distractions?
2.Will there always be a "new writing space"?
3. How does semiotics play a role in creating digital media and has it played a role in past writing technologies?
4. What exactly is hyperfiction?
5. Does the new writing space and digital media take away from or limit the importance of printed texts?
6. Is the new writing space necessary for the evolution of writing?
Infer: The group discussed how the canon has a definite ending where now with hypermedia it is infinite. With a click of a button you can be almost anywhere. The internet does not just end somewhere, it is constantly moving. The group also discussed how printed texts are visually simple. Generally speaking there is only so much one can do on a single page. Yes images can be layered or turned to fit differently in order to fit more on one page however overall there is only so much the reader will see and there is not as much for the reader to get distracted by.
Question:
1. Printed text is generally visually simple; can hypermedia and digital text also be visually simple or will there also be more dimension to the page and more distractions?
2.Will there always be a "new writing space"?
3. How does semiotics play a role in creating digital media and has it played a role in past writing technologies?
4. What exactly is hyperfiction?
5. Does the new writing space and digital media take away from or limit the importance of printed texts?
6. Is the new writing space necessary for the evolution of writing?
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Presentation: Chapter 4: The Breakout of the Visual
I feel that one of our accpmplishments is that our group was able to get the message across the way that we wanted to. By using the images and quotes from Bolters book, we tried to break down each section and describe what Bolter is trying to get across in the chapter. Also we chose the light blue background with the black text so that the text would be easy to read and so that there would be no distractions from the text and what we were saying. Sometimes the text changed in size or fontbut that was not necessarily on purpose, although it did work out well.
Overall we were able to get our point across and present our message through pictures and quotes from the text.
Some of the things that I would like to improve was the speed of the presentation and my memory. The presentation went a little faster than I planned or I thought it was going to and I also forgot some of the things that I wanted to say so I wish that I wrote it out better before hand. Also I couldn't figure out how to make the video work at the end. I enjoyed working with prezi, but at points it was really confusing and I couldn't always make it do what I wanted it to do. Another thing I would like to improve is there are some spelling errors or typos.
Overall we were able to get our point across and present our message through pictures and quotes from the text.
Chapter 3: Hypertext and the Remediation of Print
Observe: The background of the prezi was calming and it didn't distract from the text. There was a lot of dimension, the test was scattered. All the text was the same size and font. The prezi was easy to follow and they made it clear that there were different sections to the chapter by going back to the title in between sections.
Infer: A main point throughout the prezi was the idea of hypertext. One point about hypertext that was made is that there is too much information to follow in hypertext that you can stray away from your initial intention. Hypertext is a link that will lead you to a whole other thing and although links can be distracting or make you stray away from your original intentions, but the links can also help you in finding something else that is helpful or interesting that you might not have thought of.
Also another point is that you can choose that path that you want to follow, with a computer you can cater it to your needs.
Question:
1) Is to much information a bad thing; can there really be to much information?
2) Are the links a distraction or helpful?
3) Will our culture ever get rid of books?
4) Is hypertext in a sense an upgrade version of the book?
5) Are these advances in technology and in our ways of viewing text bad?
6) What do you think the next technological advance will be?
Infer: A main point throughout the prezi was the idea of hypertext. One point about hypertext that was made is that there is too much information to follow in hypertext that you can stray away from your initial intention. Hypertext is a link that will lead you to a whole other thing and although links can be distracting or make you stray away from your original intentions, but the links can also help you in finding something else that is helpful or interesting that you might not have thought of.
Also another point is that you can choose that path that you want to follow, with a computer you can cater it to your needs.
Question:
1) Is to much information a bad thing; can there really be to much information?
2) Are the links a distraction or helpful?
3) Will our culture ever get rid of books?
4) Is hypertext in a sense an upgrade version of the book?
5) Are these advances in technology and in our ways of viewing text bad?
6) What do you think the next technological advance will be?
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