Chapter 8 PREZI - Critical Theory in a New Writing Space

OBSERVE:

The fifth group’s presentation on Chapter 8 was about critical theory in the new digital writing space.  The Prezi was composed of a simple black text on a white background and only one black and white picture.  We learned that forms electronic writing is underdeveloped on purpose, with the intention of using the user’s preferences to “fill in the blanks.”  It is also established that this new “Web site” mindset lends itself more towards the casual and unauthoritative, whereas print media is more regulated and authoritative.  Also covered was semiotics, the study of signs, and the fact that the “canon” often found in old literature, may be out the door in this new age.

INFER:

I think the main point of this presentation is that with new formats, the way we look back on materials will change drastically.  In the print era, we saw certain works cited as being “in the canon,” or pieces of literature that were considered important or historically significant.  Now, with so many options and with so much being written every day, there may not be room for literary “standards” anymore.

QUESTION:

Do you think the fact that a “canon” may not exist in the future is a bad thing?

Do you think electronic writing grants the author too much liberty with what he or she is creating?

Should there be a single form to writing or should authors be allowed to fully express their creativity?

What are the positive aspects of a non-canonical literary world?

Can the “canon” and electronic media coexist?

What do you think Bolter means by “The text is not complete until it is experienced by the reader”?

Paper 4: A Partial Literary Narrative

Through the years my writing has taken on many shapes and forms.  My entire life has thus far been composed of producing papers in all different kinds of classes for all different kinds of teachers.  Sometimes it’s a treacherous, tedious journey through a highly academic research paper, and sometimes it’s a fun, comedic fictional romp.  What I have found however, is that no matter who you’re writing for, whether it be for the prim and proper snarky know-it-all, or the chilled out, passive “slacker,” it’s the writer’s voice or uniqueness that will ultimately decide if people will actually read it, or if they just “go through the motions.”

            Before you start to develop your own voice, first come the basics.  Without proper grammar or punctuation, it doesn’t matter if you have the charm of an upper-class 18^th century Englishman; people need to see that you at least know how to compose words into sentences.  When asked if I was a writer as part of my WSC2 class, I responded with the following: “Yes, of course I’m a writer!  The fact that I’m responding to this question via the written word is enough proof of that.  All it takes to be a writer is to be able to compose words on a page in a legible order.  While that doesn’t necessarily constitute being a good writer, it is still writing nonetheless.”

         
            You must also take into consideration how you plan to give your information to the reader.  As part of an exercise in our class, we had to analyze and blog about two different videos depicting the same poem (“Like, You Know” by Taylor Mali).  The difference was that one video depicted Taylor Mali onstage, the other a “typography,” a computer generated motion graphic that captioned every word spoken by Mali.  When asked for a class blog entry about how the poem’s form affected my appreciation of it, I answered:  “The form of a poem can alter a person’s perception, whether it is expressed through the written word or told orally.  In Taylor Mali’s poem, the way in which he orates his piece adds life and humor to a somewhat dry lesson in communicative confidence.  The ideas worked in the strictly audio form (the stand-up special) because his delivery added a “spice” to the work. However, as good as it was as a stand-alone oral routine, the “written word” version of the speech certainly aided and helped in my overall comprehension and appreciation of the piece.  The visual words overlapped by the narration emphasized important wordings and phrases spoken by Mali.  The words were a great addition to Mali’s poem, but on their own without the dialogue, the words would not do it justice.”  Of course this was my opinion, and I received some backlash from what I wrote by classmates who found the on-stage portion much better.  Same poem, different delivery: this can mean the difference between a captivated and a half-asleep audience.

            
            Once you realize how important the choices you have to make are, it comes time to make a decision.  The writer must choose wisely, and know their audience well.  “A sentence starts out like an unhatched egg.  It could turn out to be a newborn chick or somebody’s omelet, and it’s ultimately up to the writer to choose its fate.”  In other words, you can’t have the chicken and the egg.  Especially when starting a paper, when you have many ideas floating around in your head, it can be easy to lose track and try to accomplish everything, but sometimes simpler is better.  Choose the path that the reader will embark upon and stick to it.  Keep your “vision” and don’t crack the egg if you want a chicken.

            
            Once you’ve mastered all of the grammar rules and they are firmly implanted in your brain, you know in what form your writing will take place, and you have an overall plan for where it’s headed, all you really have to do is be yourself.  Don’t try to copy anyone else, don’t try to sound like a know-it-all, just write as you.  If you enjoy what you’re doing, it will rub off on the readers.  When asked why I write, I responded with:  “I write because to me it’s fun (well, not always, but on the whole it is).  It’s a gratifying feeling to see peoples’ physical reactions to something you created.  Whether your intention was to get the reader to laugh or to dry heave in disgust, when a work “hits” you can’t help but feel accomplished…Although writing can sometimes seem boring or tedious (especially highly academic college papers), it’s a necessary skill and can be fun as long as the author enjoys his or her subject matter.”  The lesson here is to have fun.  If you don’t it will be an excruciating time for both the writer and reader.  If you can find a way to take pleasure in writing, your papers will pretty much write themselves.

Paper 3: The State of Writing

PAPER 3: THE STATE OF WRITING

What is happening to writing?  In the past decade, huge strides in digital technologies have been made and it seems that with a snap of one’s fingers we have began to live in the “electronic age.”  iPods, Kindles, laptops, blogs, cell phones, Blackberries: all are commonplace now but were either very rare or non-existent a mere twenty years ago.  Our culture and technologies are evolving fast, and so is writing.  With technologies constantly developing, it seems as though writing has become easier, faster, and even more “fun.”  Sharing, commenting, editing, and posting one’s work online on a Blog or a website is a cinch nowadays.  But with progress and development comes some setbacks.  Battery power doesn’t last forever, and a pen and paper won’t cost you the arm and a leg a laptop will.  This electronic age is a time of rapid progression and change, and it is certainly is an exciting period to live in.

While writing in a digital space, whether it is in Microsoft Word or Blogger, an author has the power to alter any part of his or her document very easily.  This malleability is not found in the printed book, which is a purely “permanent” way of presenting information.  This may or may not be an advantage for digital texts.  Even though it is a nice thought to be able to “touch up” one’s work, the print medium is so “solid” and authoritative that in turn it can come off as the more “prestigious” of the two formats.  Although we might see a day where digital texts become more regulated and scrutinized by scholars and editors, as of now print seems to dominate in prestige. 

Although the differences are spouted off again and again, the similarities between digital text and printed text are still closely related.   Words are still read in a  “left to right, down a row” pattern, our standard alphabetic symbols still apply, and it’s still regularly seen that black text is superimposed over a white background.  These “standard” rules and more are still applicable for digital texts; only the way in which we create and comprehend them are different (we create digital works in “cyberspace,” on a computer, laptop, or other electronic device whereas we create printed works using a printing press; we comprehend a printed work on a page-by-page basis whereas digital texts are theoretically infinite and not physical).  The methods may be different, but digital texts and print still follow similar guidelines.

            

          One aspect about the changing landscape of writing that is nearly unavoidable now in this age of “cyberspace” is the use of visuals.  With the click of a button, a video, picture, or music file can quickly and painlessly be placed in a Blog or Powerpoint Presentation.  Writing no longer has to stand as big, blocky paragraphs – now words can be formed in virtually any way possible, with colors, size, font style, and spacing able to be customized in any way imaginable.  The level of customization allowed in digital media far outweighs that in printed texts.  In print, elaborate pictures, designs, and fonts all create unnecessary expenditures whereas in digital presentations, where all the tools needed are in the computer, a bare bones black text on white paper look is as cost-effective as a colorful tapestry of sights and sounds.

            

         The idea of visuals as the primary mode of communication is not new, however.  Early Greek scripture often included simple pictures and designs to tell their romantic stories, ancient Egyptians would use hieroglyphics, a symbolic language that used simple pictures as its code, and tapestries, like the Bayeux from Medieval times, told stories of great battles.  In a way, this digital age is combining the “best” of what every age has had to offer. The seemingly endless “flow” of the Bayeux tapestry is now possible to replicate (see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDaB-NNyM8o&feature=youtu.be), where in the printed book this would be impossible due to its limitation to a standardized page structure.  Web pages are also starting to resemble newspaper articles: “In graphic form and function, the newspaper is coming to resemble a computer screen, as the combination of text, images, and icons turns the newspaper page into a static snapshot of the World Wide Web page.” (Bolter, 51)

            

           The segue from print to electronic media is not as abrupt and rash as one may think.  The use of the electronic book (or e-book) accounts for this.  Taking the features of a printed work to the “next level,” the Kindle or the Nook accounts for both the shift toward digital technologies while embracing the preceding mediums.  The words and the comprehension of each medium remain the same, and some e-books even make the effort to replicate the texture and look of the printed book using inks natural to that of the printed format.

            

          What was before finite in the past now seems to be infinite in this electronic future.  With online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia, the hypertextual expansion of information sharing seems endless.  “As we refashion the book through digital technology, we are diminishing the sense of closure that belonged to the codex and to print.” (Bolter, 79)  Anyone with information can upload it to the Internet for users to see. With everyone pitching in, almost everything imaginable can be found if searched for.  Of course, “everything” should not be taken literally; as with all changes in format, certain publications and printed works will be lost in the translation (just as many oral traditions were lost on codex, and codex pieces lost on print), but that is naturally going to happen.  It can be disheartening to a “purist” to see print start to go by the wayside, but in the grand scheme of things, the digital format will provide the most possible storage of information that has ever been produced before.

            

          With the advent of digital technologies and hypertext, the reader’s path has changed.  “To read is to follow one path from among those suggested by the layout of the text…the codex and the printed book both allow the writer to suggest many paths through the same book.” (Bolter, 100)  Jay David Bolter states that the codex and printed works offer many paths; taking a look at the popular line of “choose your own adventure” books throughout the years, one can see how the reader can pick his or her path.  Digital technologies are even less linear than before.  With hypertext, clicking link after link readers can chose their own path.  Since there are so many options and so much information on the Internet, one can find his or herself lost in a sea of text that may or may not be relevant to the initial topic.

            

          The remediation of print media also gives the readers a new chance to read books and other publications without the cost or the loss of quality of the original, printed form.  “…digital media might refashion the book in a way that enhances the possibilities of multiple presentation without eliminating the book’s cultural significance.” (110) The New York Times will still be “The New York Times” whether you read it on an electronic book or if you buy it at a newsstand; Romeo and Juliet will still be the same Shakespearian work you read in Middle School if you read it on the computer.  As previously stated: it’s not the message that’s changing, it’s the medium.

            

          So what does this all mean for writing?  Are we slowly turning into a purely visual society?  Or will text and visuals forever coexist as they do today?  Only time will tell, but I think the latter is more realistic.  Although Bolter’s text seems to arise with a tone of concern, the ten-year-old piece was written when blogging and electronic communication was just beginning to blossom.  I think the technologies of today show a positive progress being made, with devices being used to integrate and adapt what has worked in the past (like the Kindle using an ink based inferface) and add features to enhance our experience in ways not possible before (heavy personalization, hyperlinking, etc).  With all change, it can be scary sometimes, but the digital way of thinking seems like the logical next step forward in reading and writing.

Works Cited:

Bolter, Jay D. Writing Space. 2nd ed. Milton Park, Abingdon: Routledge, 2001. Print.

            

Chapter 6 PREZI - Refashioned Dialogues

http://prezi.com/an_qfpsnoaey/refashioned-dialogues/

Chapter 5 PREZI - The Electronic Book

Observe:

            The third group’s presentation on chapter 5 deals with the “electronic book.”  The Prezi goes over how the idea that the book as we know it is changing, just as it did from papyrus scrolls to printed books.  In the electronic era, seemingly finite sources such as encyclopedias are nearly becoming limitless in their capacity for information.  Also covered is the use of digital libraries.  Whereas in the past, libraries of information and books were sorted and collected in definable ways, now users of digital devices can sort and arrange files and texts to their own liking.  This Prezi used the same luscious dark blue and white color palette as my own group used; great minds must think alike.  Like all the other Prezis, the main points were taken out of the chapter and arranged in an easy-to-follow order.  Text was interspersed with visuals, helping the overall flow of the project.

Infer:

            I think the main point of the presentation suggests that printed books may soon become secondary to that of electronic book.  The convenient, user-friendly, customizable nature of a Kindle or Nook is certainly suggesting that a change is brewing.  As more and more people start to buy, try, and use these digital devices, it’s inevitable it will become the standard format and hence wipe out its predecessor.

Question:

1.     Is there room for both print and electronic books in the future?

2.     What does this change in mediums suggest about our culture?

3.     Is the advent of electronic books better or worse for the state of our literacy?

4.     Does the hypertextual nature of these new devices hinder the regulations set forth by print?

5.     Is there a downside to having a nearly unlimited space for information?

6.     Is an online encyclopedia any less credible than a print encyclopedia?

Chapter 4 PREZI - The Breakout of the Visual

Oberseve:

            The second group’s Prezi, a summary of Chapter 4 in the Bolter text, goes over the relation of visuals with text.  In both the “new” digital format and the dating-back-to-the-15^th-century “old school” style of print, visuals play a prominent role.  Group 2 used the example of a newspaper in correlation to a website; both heavily rely on imagery to convey their stories.  The Prezi also goes over symbols and how they function; pictures and imagery are said to be primary whereas words and text are secondary (in a process called ‘ekphrasis’).  Examples shown include the desktop icons on a Mac and hieroglyphs in an Egyptian tomb.  This Prezi had an attractive soft blue and white background that kinetically moved about the screen from text to pictures.  The font was changed up with each new “movement” which helped to visually stimulate the viewers.  Like chapter 3, this group wisely kept it brief to not bog down the audience in useless details.

Infer:

            The main point of this Prezi is that visuals are our main use of communication, secondary to that of even printed text, which seems to be cause of why the digital medium will most likely replace print as the new “standard.” Although as scholars, we rely heavily on the printed text, visual communication is our most primal communicative property, which makes this digital age of the Internet, Blogs, and personalized web pages seem like the natural “next step.”

Question:

1.     With the new digital age, where visuals are more prominent, will society’s collective intelligence wane or will we simply become smarter in different areas than before?

2.     Is this “new age” a step backward in terms of communication?

3.     Will we ever see a purely visual mode of communication (completely without text?)

4.     What about this digital age is more appealing than the print age?

5.     What about it is less appealing?

6.     Will the unity of text and the visual continue to coexist?

Chapter 3 PREZI - Hypertext and the Remediation of Print

Observe:

This chapter, as indicated in the first group’s Prezi, is about hypertext and the remediation of print.  It talked about how hypertext not only includes its visual surface, but also a data structure in a computer.  It went on to speak of how nothing is permanent in a Word Document; everything is malleable and can be changed or altered at the command of the author.  Print is shown to be a linear form, whereas hypertext is associative.  Digital texts remediate print because much of the same “rules” apply, but the way in which our creation or comprehension of materials has altered.  The strength of the informational aspect of the Prezi was that it was not overly wordy and the main points of the chapter were gone over. It followed a clear order from the chapter and didn’t stray with unnecessary details. That being said, I did wish the Prezi told the facts in a more interesting way; the information was solid but I might as well have been reading straight from the book.

Infer:           

The Prezi was mostly black text set against a white background.  Between each article of information, the title was reprised for extra emphasis.  I think the weakness of this Prezi was its lack of color and multimedia.  The Prezi format allows for some interesting features during presentations and it was unfortunate those were not taken advantage of.  I also noticed some glaring grammar problems that made it clear this project was not reviewed thoroughly.  On the other hand, I did appreciate its simplicity.  Sometimes Powerpoint-esque presentations can get bogged down with long, blocky paragraphs but it was kept nice and to-the-point in its design.

Question:

1.     Do you think with the advent of hypertext that scholarly work will become less focused?

2.     As the format of hypertext rises in popularity, do you think we are losing anything in the process?

3.     What about hypertext is so appealing that it seems as though print is becoming thing of the past?

4.     Is the fact that hypertext is easier to change than print good or bad? 

5.     How will past generations, who grew up with print, now adapt to a mostly hypertextual world?

6.     How is hypertext still “trapped” by its preceding format?