Today you turned in your literacy narratives. I hope to look them over and have them back to you by next class. Below is how the work will be scored. Note that this is different than the scoring posted on 2.4.
What will be taken into account for the grade for this unit:
in-class writing 1.21 (10 points)
in-class writing 1.28 (10 points)
stories (details to help find a focus) (10 points)
rough draft (for workshop) + final draft (70)
peer comments for classmates (25)
Total: (125 points)
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
2.18 Workshop on literacy narrative
Noticing the difference between "Elbow feedback" and traditional teacher comments
Each of you should have received an email with feedback notes for your draft literacy narratives. At the beginning of class I asked you to take about 10 minutes to read through this feedback, and to post two kinds of observations about it.
The first kinds of observations were about the form of the feedback. What stance to the comments take? What kind of tone or voice are they written in? What was the focus of the kinds of comments it offered? how did you feel about it?
The second kinds of observations were about what that feedback did, and how it "helped" you think about revising your essay.
Features of Elbow-style feedback.
In our discussion in class, you noted that the tone was "personal," like a not or a conversation, where you, the author, were addressed as a person. The comments were observations, statements of the reader's feelings and ideas - rather than judgments of the author's (your) work. You said you were "not being attacked or judged" => which is what teacher's comments often feel like. You noted that many of the comments asked questions or gave you something to think about (expanded on something you wrote), and that these comments pointed to particular places in the text. As best I could, I meant these comments to model Elbow's pointing, summarizing, and telling (I didn't do much of the showing, but some of my more abstract discussions might have approached that).
What you saw the comments on your literacy narratives as accomplishing
The importance of getting in the habit of giving respectful, positive feedback. Before we got into a discussion of these comments, we talked about why bother learning to write feedback in this form. In your literacy narratives, one common theme was that school writing felt bad, and often the reason was connected to the relentless "suggestions" to make your writing more "correct" or better. Whether we mean to or not, many of us adopt the judgmental, faultfinding stance of our teachers when we work on revising our writing. This can make going back over a draft painful and unproductive.
By adopting the stance described by Elbow in Chapter 4, writers can talk to themselves about revising their writing in less harsh terms. We can question what is happening, wonder about how we respond and why, point to particularly effective or confusing places and be curious about what to do, and we can do this using a positive rather than a negative voice. This habit of seeing our work as something in progress that we are going to respond to in terms of what it does, rather than in terms of what is "wrong" with it - can make our relationships to writing more comfortable and positive.
After talking through the features of Elbow-style feedback, you spent the rest of class writing feedback for group-member's drafts.
Turning in + evaluation of peer feedback
We agreed that each of you would post a page (Titled "LNFeedback) to the Literacy narrative page. On that page you would write your Elbow-style feedback for each of the writers in your group. You will circulate feedback to the writers in your group through the approaches you decided on last week.
You will get credit/feedback on your comments to your classmate based on the form (needs to have the features listed in your book and above) and the content (needs to speak to the particular writing needs of the author you are writing to).
As you make your final revisions to your literacy narratives. . .
be sure to go back to the assignment sheet and re-read the criteria for the grade. In general as I reviewed your literacy narratives, I noticed that almost every writer had an overall focus (attention to how in particular they grew as a writer) but in most cases this focus needed 1) to be stated more directly, and 2) to be tied more closely to the stories used to develop it.
My notes on what to say to the class as a whole on how to work on their literacy narratives were:
3. Make more direct, explicit connections between the stories and your overall focus = more reflections on what the stories show with respect to the focus=> to state how the story develops/connects to the overall focus (what point does it make).
Thank you for writing such fabulous drafts! They were a pleasure to read!
For next class:
Read: Introduction, Chapters 1 Elbow review; read Chapter 2
Write: 1) Post to your site the final literacy narrative, along with the rough draft & "Elbow-style" comments for your group.
2) observations about your writing process (the kind of reflective observations we worked on in class last week - but for writing projects/processes other than the literacy narrative) => you need enough material so that you can do the practice analysis in class on 2.25
Each of you should have received an email with feedback notes for your draft literacy narratives. At the beginning of class I asked you to take about 10 minutes to read through this feedback, and to post two kinds of observations about it.
The first kinds of observations were about the form of the feedback. What stance to the comments take? What kind of tone or voice are they written in? What was the focus of the kinds of comments it offered? how did you feel about it?
The second kinds of observations were about what that feedback did, and how it "helped" you think about revising your essay.
Features of Elbow-style feedback.
In our discussion in class, you noted that the tone was "personal," like a not or a conversation, where you, the author, were addressed as a person. The comments were observations, statements of the reader's feelings and ideas - rather than judgments of the author's (your) work. You said you were "not being attacked or judged" => which is what teacher's comments often feel like. You noted that many of the comments asked questions or gave you something to think about (expanded on something you wrote), and that these comments pointed to particular places in the text. As best I could, I meant these comments to model Elbow's pointing, summarizing, and telling (I didn't do much of the showing, but some of my more abstract discussions might have approached that).
What you saw the comments on your literacy narratives as accomplishing
- pointing out the need for development (through asking questions, pointing to places of confusion)
- observing/suggesting patterns in your writing (summarizing what I got out of your writing/pointing to places I got it, telling what I thought it meant/showed)
- flippping or questioning conclusions (through telling about feelings + ideas in me as a reader)
- validation of your ideas for what you need to work on (through noticing that my response was similar to yours => so you have a good ground to move forward with your revising
The importance of getting in the habit of giving respectful, positive feedback. Before we got into a discussion of these comments, we talked about why bother learning to write feedback in this form. In your literacy narratives, one common theme was that school writing felt bad, and often the reason was connected to the relentless "suggestions" to make your writing more "correct" or better. Whether we mean to or not, many of us adopt the judgmental, faultfinding stance of our teachers when we work on revising our writing. This can make going back over a draft painful and unproductive.
By adopting the stance described by Elbow in Chapter 4, writers can talk to themselves about revising their writing in less harsh terms. We can question what is happening, wonder about how we respond and why, point to particularly effective or confusing places and be curious about what to do, and we can do this using a positive rather than a negative voice. This habit of seeing our work as something in progress that we are going to respond to in terms of what it does, rather than in terms of what is "wrong" with it - can make our relationships to writing more comfortable and positive.
After talking through the features of Elbow-style feedback, you spent the rest of class writing feedback for group-member's drafts.
Turning in + evaluation of peer feedback
We agreed that each of you would post a page (Titled "LNFeedback) to the Literacy narrative page. On that page you would write your Elbow-style feedback for each of the writers in your group. You will circulate feedback to the writers in your group through the approaches you decided on last week.
You will get credit/feedback on your comments to your classmate based on the form (needs to have the features listed in your book and above) and the content (needs to speak to the particular writing needs of the author you are writing to).
As you make your final revisions to your literacy narratives. . .
be sure to go back to the assignment sheet and re-read the criteria for the grade. In general as I reviewed your literacy narratives, I noticed that almost every writer had an overall focus (attention to how in particular they grew as a writer) but in most cases this focus needed 1) to be stated more directly, and 2) to be tied more closely to the stories used to develop it.
My notes on what to say to the class as a whole on how to work on their literacy narratives were:
1. work on the introduction => more direct statement of what you are going to say to the reader about your development as a writer. This should not be just a general statement; it should include some indication of what the stories show about how the supporting points fit within this overall generalization.
2. Keep working on illustrating/showing your points =>more stories
3. Make more direct, explicit connections between the stories and your overall focus = more reflections on what the stories show with respect to the focus=> to state how the story develops/connects to the overall focus (what point does it make).
Thank you for writing such fabulous drafts! They were a pleasure to read!
For next class:
Read: Introduction, Chapters 1 Elbow review; read Chapter 2
Write: 1) Post to your site the final literacy narrative, along with the rough draft & "Elbow-style" comments for your group.
2) observations about your writing process (the kind of reflective observations we worked on in class last week - but for writing projects/processes other than the literacy narrative) => you need enough material so that you can do the practice analysis in class on 2.25
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
2.11 Brainstorming for process narrative + Peer groups/feedback
At the beginning of class I called your attention to the post for last week where I listed the point allocation for process/product turned in for the literacy narrative. 40% is for in-class invention, 60% is for the drafts + final narrative.
We started work today by having you do some in-class writing for the process narrative. (The prompt is pasted in at the end of this post). As you wrote we had an on-going conversation regarding your observations of and reflections on patterns in your writing process and what they might suggest about how you write.
During the second half of class we discussed Peter Elbow's suggestions for a teacherless classroom, and how to make new use of writing groups. As we talked through the points in Elbow's chapter, you got into groups, worked through the planning steps, and then began some peer work using his method.
The main idea behind Elbow's suggestions is that writers "don't need advice about changes to make" or "theories of what is good or bad writing" (p.77). What they need, according to Elbow, is for readers to say back/provide information about how their writing affects them. To this end he suggests that writers work in committed, long-term groups of about 7 people, to provide one another with exactly that kind of feedback.
In particular, he indicates that the kind of feedback writers need is about pointing, summarizing, telling, and showing (see the headings in Chapter 4). That is, readers provide writers information about: 1) what gets their attention and drew them in (and what doesn't makes sense or connect) by pointing to particular words and phrases; 2) what they hear their writing as saying (summarizing what the "get" as a whole, and by parts); 3) by telling the writer how they felt, what when through their head, what they thought as they read the piece; 4) and by "showing" responses to writing (see p. 90 for showing, which is a little harder to grasp than the first three kinds of feedback
Our class now has 3 writers groups.
Maria, Heloiza, Ally, Brittany P, and Elena
Jo-Sette, Julia, Brittany T, Celena, and Aaron
Melissa, Alleli, Eve, Mody and Meghan
I will be forwarding a group email, with everyone in each group cc'd, so you can all be in touch.
Each group decided on role (facilitator, timekeeper, and reporter), and worked out a protocol for sharing their work so that group members have access to each other's writing. We then spent the rest of class "practicing" providing feedback to what you have written so far for the literacy narrative.
In the (very quick) say-back after this practice using Elbow's method, I noticed that some of you seem to want the regular kind of feedback on your literacy narratives (what to work on suggestions). That is OK if you want to do that, but remember, that the primary charge of your group is to provide one another feedback which consists of pointing, summarizing, telling and showing => feedback that gives the author a detailed idea of what readers heard in her/his writing, how they felt about it, what struck them and what was confusing, etc. Your primary role as a peer is NOT to provide suggestions (leave that to the author) but to tell the reader your response.
For next class:
Read: Elbow Introduction + Chapter 1
Write:
1) Post the process writing for composing your literacy narrative draft.
2) Post some observations about your writing process for another assignment or kind of writing that write back to the prompts (or something similar) that we wrote to in class (in this blog post)
3) Write a plan for revising your literacy narrative based on feedback from our group. If you didn't get feedback today, you may post this after class next week.
Did you cut/paste - move any sections of text from another document?
We started work today by having you do some in-class writing for the process narrative. (The prompt is pasted in at the end of this post). As you wrote we had an on-going conversation regarding your observations of and reflections on patterns in your writing process and what they might suggest about how you write.
During the second half of class we discussed Peter Elbow's suggestions for a teacherless classroom, and how to make new use of writing groups. As we talked through the points in Elbow's chapter, you got into groups, worked through the planning steps, and then began some peer work using his method.
The main idea behind Elbow's suggestions is that writers "don't need advice about changes to make" or "theories of what is good or bad writing" (p.77). What they need, according to Elbow, is for readers to say back/provide information about how their writing affects them. To this end he suggests that writers work in committed, long-term groups of about 7 people, to provide one another with exactly that kind of feedback.
In particular, he indicates that the kind of feedback writers need is about pointing, summarizing, telling, and showing (see the headings in Chapter 4). That is, readers provide writers information about: 1) what gets their attention and drew them in (and what doesn't makes sense or connect) by pointing to particular words and phrases; 2) what they hear their writing as saying (summarizing what the "get" as a whole, and by parts); 3) by telling the writer how they felt, what when through their head, what they thought as they read the piece; 4) and by "showing" responses to writing (see p. 90 for showing, which is a little harder to grasp than the first three kinds of feedback
Our class now has 3 writers groups.
Maria, Heloiza, Ally, Brittany P, and Elena
Jo-Sette, Julia, Brittany T, Celena, and Aaron
Melissa, Alleli, Eve, Mody and Meghan
I will be forwarding a group email, with everyone in each group cc'd, so you can all be in touch.
Each group decided on role (facilitator, timekeeper, and reporter), and worked out a protocol for sharing their work so that group members have access to each other's writing. We then spent the rest of class "practicing" providing feedback to what you have written so far for the literacy narrative.
In the (very quick) say-back after this practice using Elbow's method, I noticed that some of you seem to want the regular kind of feedback on your literacy narratives (what to work on suggestions). That is OK if you want to do that, but remember, that the primary charge of your group is to provide one another feedback which consists of pointing, summarizing, telling and showing => feedback that gives the author a detailed idea of what readers heard in her/his writing, how they felt about it, what struck them and what was confusing, etc. Your primary role as a peer is NOT to provide suggestions (leave that to the author) but to tell the reader your response.
For next class:
Read: Elbow Introduction + Chapter 1
Write:
1) Post the process writing for composing your literacy narrative draft.
2) Post some observations about your writing process for another assignment or kind of writing that write back to the prompts (or something similar) that we wrote to in class (in this blog post)
3) Write a plan for revising your literacy narrative based on feedback from our group. If you didn't get feedback today, you may post this after class next week.
Did you compose this draft in more than one sitting? Describe each “session” (in so far as you can) in terms of:
Where were you when you wrote? Describe the setting.
What technologies did you use to write?
Did you use information/ideas from a previous session? Where did they come from? How did you access them as you work writing this time (for example: from memory, re-read note, worked on same text/draft. ..)
Describe your process - from beginning to end, in as much detail as you can remember it.
For the invention process
For the drafting process:
What did you expect to do in this session?
What did you end up accomplishing?
Which sections came most easily? Describe the writing process for these.
What did you end up accomplishing?
Which sections came most easily? Describe the writing process for these.
Which sections were hardest? Describe the writing process for these?
What parts did you write first?
What parts did you write last?
Are there any sections of this draft that you deleted? Rearranged? Changed the wording for in a major way: Describe.
Did you write rapidly in some places and sit and “think” for others? Describe places that came easily + places that were “hard”?
In what places did you spend the most time?
Did you take time to “brainstorm” or think about what to add for any section in this document? More than one? Describe.
Were there interruptions? (talking to friends, selecting playlists, phone calls, etc) => how did they affect the flow of your writing?
Did you cut/paste - move any sections of text from another document?
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
2.4 Writing and culture, and more work on literacy narratives
Brainstorming/invention for Literacy narrative. You each should have received some comments/feedback for the writing you have posted so far at your portfolio for the literacy narrative, and for the process narrative. Writing to the prompts is part of the assignment (you get credit for them); they engage a process for writing which may be new to you, and which it is one goal of this course to teach. If you are behind in these posts, you have time to catch up and receive credit, though I may not get a chance to give feedback. The literacy narrative will be graded as follows:
in-class writing 1.21 (10 points)
in-class writing 1.28 (10 points)
stories (details to help find a focus) (20 points)
rough draft (for workshop) + final draft (with substantive revisions; you must turn in both drafts) (60 points)
Total: 100 points
Identifying what makes a "good" literacy narrative.
We spent the first part (most of) class reviewing the sample literacy narratives in light of the guidelines we developed from the assignment sheet. (see below)
Guide for thinking about what to work on/how to give feedback for literacy narratives
1. Audience/genre features (15%)
Should be in first person, set up a focus in the intro + come back to that focus in the conclusion: present a series of stories to make a point; make reflective generalizations based on the stories that create a focus.
2. Focus (25%) : clear statement at the outset, stories/examples should reflect that focus; each "point" /paragraph should connect to the focus in a different way;
3. Development (25%): includes detailed, particular stories or examples that "show" how the points related to the focus work; stories /examples should be relevant to the focus and there should be a range of stories so that each story develops the focus in a different way.
4. Organization (25%) : should reflect the focus and its components
should move between specific examples/stories and general, reflective statements which connect back to the focus. May be chronological but does not have to be
introduction (set up focus); body (develop focus through a series of points; and a conclusion which relates back to the focus, draws the paper together and brings it to a conclusion.
Internal organization of paragraphs: set up, development, transition to next point/reflection on focus.
5. Correctness (10%): not so many grammatical/spelling errors as to confuse meaning or distract from reading.
After we talked through the rubric/guidelines, you worked in groups to identify the strengths & weaknesses of the sample literacy narratives, and to make suggestions for what the authors should work on. You did a great job on these!
Cultural assumptions, values and beliefs (about writing) McCool.
During the last half hour of class we did a very rushed job talking through the McCool essays. He categorizes the different cultural assumptions associated with tolerance and intolerance for uncertainty. We reviewed the reading by looking at the "charts" where he sums up how tolerance for uncertaintly v intolerance for uncertainty cultures dealt with social relations (p.23); communication (p. 30); rules (p. 34); and time (p. 40). In general, he used United States (Western) culture's preferences for individualism, equality, particular (rather than theoretical) legal systems and so on as an example of a tolerance for uncertainty (diversity + difference) culture, and Eastern and some European cultures as examples of more socially centered value systems, less "literal" relationships fo language, and more theoretical relationships to laws. As we talked through these different postions, I asked you to think about where you placed yourself within these value systems.
We didn't really get a chance to talk through the section about language and culture, but rather I suggested that you think about your language values through reflecting on the following questions posed by McCool's discussion.
1. Do you believe words "mean what they say"? Are words "accurate" or metaphoric? Can words say all that we mean?
2. How much does context influence meaning?
3. What is your idea of "good" writing: writing that is simple, direct, and concise? or writing that is ambiguous, round-about, and an expression of a meaning that implies more than what is on the page?
4. What role do you feel emotion plays in writing?
5. How "positive" is your writing? Do you generally express ideas in terms of positive language constructions (This essay needs stronger organization) or negative constructions (This essay is badly organized).
Your answers to these questions suggest something about the (often unconscious) assumptions, values, and beliefs that will shape the way you communicate. It is important to reflect on these predispositions, both so that you can "hear" what others might say with out immediately (unconsciously) judging it as wrong; and so that you can present your ideas in language that individuals different from you will understand & relate to.
For next class:
Read: Elbow, Chapter 4, (this is the chapter on working in groups on writing)
Write: 1) post any pre-writing you want to add to your literacy narrative page; 2) post any observations/detailed descriptions of your writing process you want to add as "data" to the process narrative page; 3) post your draft literacy narrative.
The draft literacy narrative does NOT need to be perfect. Don't spend a lot of time crafting the sentences. You work here is to work on setting up a focus, using the right kind of "stories" to develop that focus, and thinking about the overall organization.
Thanks for the good discussion in class and I'm looking forward to reading your literacy narratives!
in-class writing 1.21 (10 points)
in-class writing 1.28 (10 points)
stories (details to help find a focus) (20 points)
rough draft (for workshop) + final draft (with substantive revisions; you must turn in both drafts) (60 points)
Total: 100 points
Identifying what makes a "good" literacy narrative.
We spent the first part (most of) class reviewing the sample literacy narratives in light of the guidelines we developed from the assignment sheet. (see below)
Guide for thinking about what to work on/how to give feedback for literacy narratives
1. Audience/genre features (15%)
Should be in first person, set up a focus in the intro + come back to that focus in the conclusion: present a series of stories to make a point; make reflective generalizations based on the stories that create a focus.
2. Focus (25%) : clear statement at the outset, stories/examples should reflect that focus; each "point" /paragraph should connect to the focus in a different way;
3. Development (25%): includes detailed, particular stories or examples that "show" how the points related to the focus work; stories /examples should be relevant to the focus and there should be a range of stories so that each story develops the focus in a different way.
4. Organization (25%) : should reflect the focus and its components
should move between specific examples/stories and general, reflective statements which connect back to the focus. May be chronological but does not have to be
introduction (set up focus); body (develop focus through a series of points; and a conclusion which relates back to the focus, draws the paper together and brings it to a conclusion.
Internal organization of paragraphs: set up, development, transition to next point/reflection on focus.
5. Correctness (10%): not so many grammatical/spelling errors as to confuse meaning or distract from reading.
After we talked through the rubric/guidelines, you worked in groups to identify the strengths & weaknesses of the sample literacy narratives, and to make suggestions for what the authors should work on. You did a great job on these!
Cultural assumptions, values and beliefs (about writing) McCool.
During the last half hour of class we did a very rushed job talking through the McCool essays. He categorizes the different cultural assumptions associated with tolerance and intolerance for uncertainty. We reviewed the reading by looking at the "charts" where he sums up how tolerance for uncertaintly v intolerance for uncertainty cultures dealt with social relations (p.23); communication (p. 30); rules (p. 34); and time (p. 40). In general, he used United States (Western) culture's preferences for individualism, equality, particular (rather than theoretical) legal systems and so on as an example of a tolerance for uncertainty (diversity + difference) culture, and Eastern and some European cultures as examples of more socially centered value systems, less "literal" relationships fo language, and more theoretical relationships to laws. As we talked through these different postions, I asked you to think about where you placed yourself within these value systems.
We didn't really get a chance to talk through the section about language and culture, but rather I suggested that you think about your language values through reflecting on the following questions posed by McCool's discussion.
1. Do you believe words "mean what they say"? Are words "accurate" or metaphoric? Can words say all that we mean?
2. How much does context influence meaning?
3. What is your idea of "good" writing: writing that is simple, direct, and concise? or writing that is ambiguous, round-about, and an expression of a meaning that implies more than what is on the page?
4. What role do you feel emotion plays in writing?
5. How "positive" is your writing? Do you generally express ideas in terms of positive language constructions (This essay needs stronger organization) or negative constructions (This essay is badly organized).
Your answers to these questions suggest something about the (often unconscious) assumptions, values, and beliefs that will shape the way you communicate. It is important to reflect on these predispositions, both so that you can "hear" what others might say with out immediately (unconsciously) judging it as wrong; and so that you can present your ideas in language that individuals different from you will understand & relate to.
For next class:
Read: Elbow, Chapter 4, (this is the chapter on working in groups on writing)
Write: 1) post any pre-writing you want to add to your literacy narrative page; 2) post any observations/detailed descriptions of your writing process you want to add as "data" to the process narrative page; 3) post your draft literacy narrative.
The draft literacy narrative does NOT need to be perfect. Don't spend a lot of time crafting the sentences. You work here is to work on setting up a focus, using the right kind of "stories" to develop that focus, and thinking about the overall organization.
Thanks for the good discussion in class and I'm looking forward to reading your literacy narratives!
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
1.28 Characterization of technologies + literacies
We started class by reviewing how to use the blog, making sure everyone had access to the Course readings, and commenting on using the homework to work on the major assignments for the course. Sounds like you are all getting on track, and from checking through your portfolio posts, this looks like are going to have lots of interesting stories to read.
"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:
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?
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:
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.
"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.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
1.21 Overview of ENG 2020 and Literacy Narrative
NOTE: I havesent the permissions for the 2020 Reading List. If you can not access the readings at the link to the right, send me an email and I will see what I can do.
Today we mostly focused on introductions - to course content, to the course infrastructure, and to each other.
Attendance: Your attendance is recorded in the sign-in book, on the desk at the front of the class. Be sure to sign in every day when you come in. I will help with reminders for the first couple of weeks - but it is your responsibility to sign in.
Syllabus & Calendar. We went over the syllabus (up through the discussion of grades). I did not cover the course practices or the general information about Kean. The syllabus is regarded as a contract, so it is important for you to read these sections and make sure you understand and are willing to go along with them. Also, I gave a general indication of the overall sequence of the course set forward on the calendar. One more thing about the calendar. Sometimes the way it is written confuses students so I am going to go over it here. Below is entry for today. The text in red is what we will do IN CLASS on the day beneath the date. E.G. => today we did introductions, you looked at the LN assignment, created your portfolio, and did some writing for the LN assignment.
Posted next to Read and Writing homework is what I planned to assign for the assignmnets for next class (that is, it is the homework assigned on Jan 21, due on Jan 28). These assignments are not always what you end up being assigned. You need to check this blog for the ACTUAL assignment.
We pointed out that thinking about discourse and discourse communities is about 'belonging' - about "acting like/talking like" someone from a particular region ( New Yorkers, Midwesterners, Southerners), generation (teens, profession (musicians, hs teachers, athletes, etc), and so on. It is important to be careful not to lapse into stereotyping - or simplistic thinking that assumes EVERYONE from a particular group is the same, still, it is useful to notice that different groups DO have different assumptions, values and beliefs which affect the way they relate to reading and writing.
Today we mostly focused on introductions - to course content, to the course infrastructure, and to each other.
Attendance: Your attendance is recorded in the sign-in book, on the desk at the front of the class. Be sure to sign in every day when you come in. I will help with reminders for the first couple of weeks - but it is your responsibility to sign in.
Syllabus & Calendar. We went over the syllabus (up through the discussion of grades). I did not cover the course practices or the general information about Kean. The syllabus is regarded as a contract, so it is important for you to read these sections and make sure you understand and are willing to go along with them. Also, I gave a general indication of the overall sequence of the course set forward on the calendar. One more thing about the calendar. Sometimes the way it is written confuses students so I am going to go over it here. Below is entry for today. The text in red is what we will do IN CLASS on the day beneath the date. E.G. => today we did introductions, you looked at the LN assignment, created your portfolio, and did some writing for the LN assignment.
Posted next to Read and Writing homework is what I planned to assign for the assignmnets for next class (that is, it is the homework assigned on Jan 21, due on Jan 28). These assignments are not always what you end up being assigned. You need to check this blog for the ACTUAL assignment.
W Jan 21
Introductions: course site, syllabus + calendar
Journal prompt: who are you as a writer?
Presentation on Literacy narrative + paying attention to writing process
Journal prompt: your earliest experiences with writing
Create portfolio
Journal prompt: who are you as a writer?
Presentation on Literacy narrative + paying attention to writing process
Journal prompt: your earliest experiences with writing
Create portfolio
Read: literacy narrative samples, Dennis Baron, “From Pencils to Pixels” http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/essays/pencils.htm
Writing homework: observe your writing process for the literacy narrative paper - write your observations in your writing journal; describe where you write, other "parallel" activites (listening to music? - does it interrupt you? how often? does it help you focus? how?)
Portfolio. You did a great job creating your portfolios. I have a working link for a site for everyone in class (well done!) The portfolio is where you will post most of your work for the course. You will not be turning in any writing on paper for this course.
Literacy narrative assignment. We talked through the purpose, description, and criteria for the Literacy Narrative. We spent some time talking about cultural discourses which shape or contribute to our relationship to writing, and we talked about discourse communities as the groups of people who share the cultural discourses which affect our assumptions, values, and beliefs about writing and just about everything else. If you didn't get the definition of "discourse" and "discourse community" down from that introduction, that's OK => we will be defining/re-defining/talking about what cultural discourses are and how they works for the rest of the term. Meanwhile, if you are interested, some places to read a little more, the Wikipedia entry for discourse community, and for refers to some of the major writing studies and linguistic scholars who write about discourse communities, and Matthew McCool’s Writing Around the World: Guide to Writing Across Cultures, the homework reading assignment that you will be assigned on January 28 (though it doesn't mention discourse communities per se) refers to many of the ideas we were talking about today when we described how discourse communities could be identified by the way the talked, acted, their belief systems, even sometimes the way they dressed.
We pointed out that thinking about discourse and discourse communities is about 'belonging' - about "acting like/talking like" someone from a particular region ( New Yorkers, Midwesterners, Southerners), generation (teens, profession (musicians, hs teachers, athletes, etc), and so on. It is important to be careful not to lapse into stereotyping - or simplistic thinking that assumes EVERYONE from a particular group is the same, still, it is useful to notice that different groups DO have different assumptions, values and beliefs which affect the way they relate to reading and writing.
After we read through the assignment, you did some writing to a series of "big categories - how you feel about writing" prompts. I asked you to write about how you felt about:
- writing for school,
- early experiences learning to write at school,
- early experiences writing with your family,
- experiences writing with friends when you were little,
- writing with friends (especially around middle school) - as you started to establish your own identity
- writing for your self, and about
- writing for your work/vocation.
I think that is approximately the order & focus of the prompts, more or less. You posted this writing to the literacy narrative page of your portfolio - either pasted in to the page, or as an attachment. Either way, you labeled it with the date and marked it as in-class or brainstorming writing.
For next class:
Read: literacy narrative samples 1, 2 & 4 (posted at course library)
Dennis Baron, “From Pencils to Pixels” http://www.english.illinois.edu/-people-/faculty/debaron/essays/pencils.htm
Write: Do some writing that will provide you with material to work with for your literacy narrative. You can do this by writing to your choice of prompts listed on the first page of the assignment sheet, or you can expand on writing you did in class (where you wrote quick responses for the categories listed above).
Which ever approach you take, you should quickly (not worrying about complete sentences or making a completely coherent story) - with as many details as you can remember about the experience you are describing. Length: about a page or two - enought to have some "examples" to work with in class. Post the writing on the portfolio page for your literacy narrative, either by pasting it in, or attaching it. If you have questions, let me know.
Again - this is NOT polished writing. Do not waste time making it perfect. You are looking for ideas/patterns/details that you have forgotten and you are using writing to help you remember and organize what you can remember about past experiences with writing.
Good class today! Thank you for your patience with the technology glitches.
1.21 First day of class
This is the course blog. It is the place to check on and keep track of what we do in class. It is also a "file cabinet" for documents (assignment sheets, readings, protocols, the syllabus and calendar) - and a clearinghouse for links to useful sites.
As you can see - this blog takes up where my last ENG 2020 course left off. There have been some revisions since the last time I thaught this course - but browsing back through posts will give you a feel for what we will do.
ENG 2020 is the introduction to the writing major, and it is standardized - which means that all sections of the course cover the same material.
I'm looking forward to getting to know you, and to reading your writing!
As you can see - this blog takes up where my last ENG 2020 course left off. There have been some revisions since the last time I thaught this course - but browsing back through posts will give you a feel for what we will do.
ENG 2020 is the introduction to the writing major, and it is standardized - which means that all sections of the course cover the same material.
I'm looking forward to getting to know you, and to reading your writing!
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