"Pencils to Pixels"
We then spent some time talking about "From Pencils to Pixels, " Baron's essay on technologies + literacies.
First we talked a little about what Baron means by technology. If technology means the use of tools, analytic/applied knowledge to DO something => then Baron uses the term technology to refer to the inventions/systems/ applied ideas we use to communicate.
In a nutshell, Baron's main points are that:
1. new communication technologies are "accepted" in terms of a general pattern which has repeated itself over the course of the development of many communication technologies, from writing to the Internet;
2. and technology choices shape the processes and products in our communications.
You then worked in groups to sum up, Section by section, how Baron develops his argument.
Overview of group reports on Baron by sections.
Introduction: computers are the next new thing - but really it's just a new technology - and the same concept as writing with a pencil = just with pixels. New communication technologies go through predictable patterns - whether or not it catches on depends on accessibility, function and authentification.
Stages of literacy technology
limited accessiblity = high cost + lack of information how to use it
introduced to public => get used to familiar functions connected to earlier technologies=> evenutally prices go down
once a reaction spreads, new technology has to be accessible + trustworthy
Humanists & technologies
writers are often looked at as individuals who are against technology = but communication technologies are central to humanist's work (talks about this through the example of the pencil)
Technology of writing
first writing technology was writing itself=>extended human development as a whole, but drawbacks were feared (weaken memory)
printing press, electric power, radio + television
development of writing itself demonstrates the paradigm (model) for the spread of writing technologies
What writing does differently
you don't know tonal
new technology has to prove itslef cues => allows languages to grow and change, ultimately affects how spoken language is used
Pencil as technology
pencil as example of patterns surrounding communication technologies=> were not designed for the purpose they eventually served
Thoreau + Telephone
same idea - people don't at first know how, where to use it = particular example of Baron's paradigm
Computers+ Conclusions
computers weren't for writing when they started out
asd evolution of technology expanded - so did fraud
became more impersonal
computer technologies brought their own set of authenticity problems
[You did a great job on this, groups!]
Characterization of literacy technologies
After discussing Baron's essay, we made a list of some of the different technologies you used for writing, and spent a little time characterizing their "features". By features, we meant descriptions of how they work, feel, & interact with others as you use them.
We spent the most time talking about talking, pencil and paper writing, word processing, and writing on the web.
We talked about each of these in terms of how they connect you to your audience, what kind of a network they put you inconnection with and how interactive that network was, the level of anonymity, the ease of authenticating communications, the "modes" the communication technology allowed you to use (writing, images, sound, motion or any combination), how you interact with/produce text using this system (the interface = keyboard-screen, camera-screen, microphone -screen-speaker, keyboard-textpage, keyboard (small)screenpage, etc). For each technology - the features are different.
At the conclusion of this discussion, you did some writing about your self by answering the following three questions:
Three questions
1. What technologies do you use/prefer to communicate with?
2. What features of the technologies influence your choices?
Features include:
- relationship to audience (present, dispersed, unknown, etc);
- modes for representation (images, sounds, text, motion);
- distribution: (immediate and with everyone - like participating on forums, slow and only with a particular audience - like snailmail; immediate with defined audience (but easy to copy/forward) - like email; intimate + immediate - like texting)
- interactivity
- level of anonymity
- interface features
3. Which technologies do you use for what purposes? Why? (these answers might connect to the features of the technologies).
Process narrative
During the last part of class, I introduced the process narrative (the assignment sheet is posted to the right) by asking you to do some writing to "document" your "habits" for brainstorming. You did this documentation by writing down some observations about how you did the writing for the 3 questions above. Using the prompts listed below, you noted whether you wrote in paragraphs, in a list, or in random comments; how (or whether) you "organized" your writing, whether (and why) you chose to "freewrite"; how the writing flowed; whether (and when) you stopped to proofread or re-organize, and so on. From your comments in class - it sounded like you were all writing down exactly the right kinds of observations - and they were very interesting! It is always so amazing to me how we all think and write so differently!
Prompts for documenting your writing process.
Describe what you did the in-class writing for the literacy narrative assignment.1. Did you make a list, do some freewriting or make some associations (or do any kind of brainstorming which used writing) before you began to write? Describe. If you didn't use writing, describe (as near as you can) what went on inside your head as you gathered ideas.
2. As you wrote, describe the flow of your writing. Did you get stuck at any point? What did you get stuck on? What factors do you think contributed to you getting stuck? How did you get "unstuck"?
3. What kind of editing/correcting did you engage in as you wrote? Was it a disruption to the "flow" of your writing? Did some of your "edits" stop you from putting ideas on the page because they "weren't good enough" or because you werent sure about an idea or how to spell a word?
After you did this "documentation" - we took a quick look at the process narrative assignment sheet, just so you would have an idea of the purpose for this assignment, as well as "the big picture" for what you will be doing. If it felt a little overwhelming, that's OK, we will be coming back to the assignment sheet lots of times, so hopefully the idea will become more and more clear as we continue to work on it.
For next class
Read: We didn't get to the sample literacy narratives, so review them for next week. We will be reading Sample Literacy Narratives 1, 2 & 4. These are essays written for the same assignment you will be writing. We will examine them both as "models" for how to write this assignment, and for practice thinking about how to revise/write a stronger assignment.Also read Selections from Matthew McCool’s Writing Around the World: Guide to Writing Across Cultures - posted at course readings.
Write:
1) Post the writing you did for the 3 questions on the Literacy narrative page. Title the post: 1.28Name_Technologies
2) Post the writing you did for the Prompts for documenting your writing process to the Process narrative page. Title the post/document: 1.28Name_Invention
3) Throughout the week, post 3-5 short observations about the way you write using different technologies. These posts should note:
- when/why you are writing,
- what technology you are using,
- the purpose of your writing,
- and HOW you write.
4) Continue to think about your experiences with writing. As they come to your mind, write 1-3 (depending how long and detailed they are) "stories" about experiences you had with writing. An examples of what I mean by stories are short descriptive "scenes" like in Sample Literacy Narrative1 where the writer describes herself sitting in the library, realizing that she loved reading all the books that were there and that meant someone actually wanted to write them, or when she is shown her brother's map for the book he said he would write. You don't have to know why the particular story you tell about yourself and writing is important - just go with your gut and put it out there.
Thanks for the great class today! I will check in on your posts some time before next class, just to be in touch and see how you are doing. Have a great week, and see you next Wednesday.
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