Digital Reflection.4

What role does technology play in your literate life?

In my everyday life, I read news articles, scroll through social media posts, and compose text messages and emails on my phone and on my laptop. A lot of times, I think of technology as only being a part of my recent literate life (back in the olden days we used pens and paper to express thoughts and communicate). Although, when I think back, advanced modern technology has always played a role in my literate life. My kindergarten classroom had a computer, and in first grade, we used our classroom computer to take AR or "Accelerated Reading" quizzes to test our knowledge of books we read throughout the year. I was taught how to type in tech class in fifth grade, and before that, I had a computer game (Spongebob themed) to help me practice my typing skills. My first email address was assigned with my school ID number in elementary school. Throughout middle and high school, I typed out nearly every formal writing assignment, and communicated and submitted assignments using a computer. Not to mention the fact that I applied for DU strictly through technology and got accepted via email. Though sometimes not acknowledged as "advanced technology," I also always had access to pens, pencils, and paper while in school and at home. I think these technologies and luxuries are often overlooked because reading and writing have been an integral part of classrooms since slate boards and chalk were used in one room schoolhouses. Nevertheless, my literate life and history has been aided by technology using many of the tools that I still use every day of my life.

Here is a sample question from the dreaded AR reading test. During "D.E.A.R" (Drop Everything And Read) time, you'd have to wait your turn for the lone class computer in the corner and click through ten multiple choice questions. Several of my quiz results made me cry.

What is Writing? Reflection Week 4

When I think (or used to think) about writing, I would imagine a five-paragraph essay, one inch margins, 12-point font, Times New Roman.

Even four weeks into the quarter, I don’t always think of writing as anything more than what is typed or written down. I, along with many other DU students, tend to think of writing as a formal exercise done for work or school, or to organize things in notes or lists.

People often define writing based on their relationship to it, and categorize it as either “good” or “bad.” As I noticed with many responses, and with our discussion, people typically think of writing as something that takes a lot of time and effort. Without regard to how many things can be considered “writing” outside of work or school, our understanding of the vastness of writing has narrowed drastically. As a result, writing has become something that is overgeneralized, underappreciated, and often ignored.  

Writing is a combination of letters, symbols, words, speech, and thought. It is a means of communicating thoughts to others and reflecting on one’s self. Writing is something that is interpreted differently by every person. As I have said before, I still think writing is something unique and personal to each individual.

What is Writing?

We chose to go to the library and the Daniels College of Business while on our quest to discover how writing is defined in the DU community. We interviewed the receptionist at the library, a writing professor, and an academic advisor. We also stopped by the writing center, and asked a few people working there to write down what writing meant to them. The responses were a mixed bag. Overall, each person we interviewed seemed a little overwhelmed with the question, in the same way we were when we first pondered it.

We did not give much guidance for people answering the question, besides asking the follow up question of “How do you use writing in your own life?”. Answers for this also varied. One of the most surprising was when someone responded that they mostly used writing when they composed their own poetry or fictional works, even though their specific job may have them encounter other types of writing much more often.

People also gave different answers depending on if they thought of writing as a verb or writing as a noun. Some attempted to describe the physical act of transcribing thoughts, while others considered the values of written works as objects.

Probably the most surprising part of these interviews was the fact that nobody mentioned social media or text when we asked what writing they most encounter, except for one teacher that answered “email”. When you really think about it, much of the writing we see has little to do with our personal lives (social media posts by someone we’re not close with, billboards, road signs, labels, etc.), and nobody mentioned these things either. And besides these, people certainly didn’t think of writing as the basis for virtually all technology today. And I think many of us had probably not considered the value of writing in so many aspects of life either until we really dug deeper into questions of what writing really is and where it came from.

-Trisha, Molly, and Becky

As demonstrated with each person's response, writing is unique and personal to each individual. Enjoy our video :)

https://youtu.be/lFEFw9XkbIE 


Here are the responses from the writing center - copied down in each person's handwriting!

Theory of Writing

When I tell my friends I’m taking a “Theories of Writing” class this quarter, most of them scoff in disgust. I find this a little surprising because I would much rather write than take an exam, and I would much rather think and process than regurgitate information. Although I think I have a strained relationship with writing in some respects, I find solace in its utility.

It seems like the current state of communication technologies has never been more complex or difficult to understand. The writer is tasked with the chore of producing something meaningful, to a universal audience, that stands the test of time, that is interesting and engaging to read, yet academic and serious, not too long, not too short… However, I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing. The development of the pencil, the act of writing by hand, typing on a typewriter, and later the emergence of word processing are all forms of technology. “From Pencils to Pixels” highlights the changes that have shaped our current understanding of writing. Even in college, some classes encourage strictly digital assignments, while others prohibit the use of any technology in their classes… Personally, I would rather write using an old-fashioned pencil and notebook and turn in every assignment in person. But, we don’t always have a choice. The modern writer is expected to have a thorough understanding of how to communicate through speech, handwriting, and typing. And at times, this can be very challenging.

No matter what medium, for me, writing is painful at times. Writing is erasing the same word four times because I can’t remember how to spell it and it doesn’t look right when I write it down. Writing is staring at a blank screen for thirty minutes before I get an idea that I like, and then deciding thirty minutes later that my great idea is actually terrible. Writing is re-reading the journal I wrote in fifth grade and wanting to rip out all the pages and burn them because I spent four paragraphs talking about the adventures of my stuffed animal. Writing is contemplative, tedious, and difficult to put into words. Perhaps the most difficult thing about writing is how personal it is, and the fact that writing forces me to learn about myself.

Through construction of an essay or even a response, I have learned how picky and indecisive I can be. I like things to be done a certain way, and nothing is more frustrating than realizing that I have the power to produce what I want, but I can’t seem to do it. Yet perhaps equally frustrating is the fact that I am not only writing for myself, but I must have my audience in mind. As mentioned in “From Pencils to Pixels,” writing lacks the tonal and physical cues of “face to face communication” (20-21). As a result, I find myself struggling to communicate my personality to an audience through the page.

Although writing is very personal, it is also very public. Here I go, spouting off my theory of writing and publishing my thoughts and opinions on my class blog, with the assumption that at least a few of my classmates will read it (hi there!). As King describes, “We’re not even in the same year together, let alone the same room… except we are together. We’re close” (106). But as close as the author and reader may be, they are still light-years apart. Written in 1997 and published in the early fall of 2000, even King could not predict the power of his line, “on the roof of the World Trade Center,” when an audience reads his book in 2016.

Writing is powerful because it takes a snapshot of a moment and freezes it in time. Although writing is always evolving, it is also always reflecting on the past. Though I may forget the exact words, the themes, symbols, or characters, I never forget the way I felt when reading or writing something. I still remember the enchanted feeling of reading about “Frobscottle” in The BFG and the nightmares I had after reading about Piggy’s death in Lord of the Flies (sorry if you haven’t read Lord of the Flies and if I just spoiled it for you. But it’s been published for more than 60 years so you’ve had plenty of time to read it). The muffled memories of test proctors saying, “standard wooden graphite number two pencil” still haunt me. But I will also never forget my mom promising to buy me a new book each time we went to the book store to encourage my love for reading and writing.

I am learning to appreciate writing as an advanced technology, a tool for communication, and personal expression. As King describes in “On Writing,” “It’s easy to become careless when making rough comparisons, but the alternative is a prissy attention to detail that takes all the fun out of writing” (105-106). I think writing should be fun, and through this class, I’m trying to learn how to make reading and writing enjoyable for myself.

Personal Image.3

For my classic piece of literature, I chose The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Not only was it on our class list of approved "classic" novels, but it was recommended to me by my older brother who told me it changed his life. I still have no idea what it's about because I haven't started reading, but I saw on trusty ol' wikipedia that it is an international bestseller, has been translated into 67 languages, sold more than 65 million copies in 56 languages, is one of the best-selling books in history, and set the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author. Wikipedia makes it sound pretty credible, even if only half the information is accurate. It has literary recognition and definitely has had a large impact on audiences (translated so many times!). As for the other conventions of "classic" literature, I think I'll be better able to decide after I've read it. And I know I'm not supposed to judge a book by it's cover, but the colors did complement my autumn scenery for the picture quite nicely... :)

Digital Reflection.3

I snapped this picture at Barnes & Noble while I went to go buy my "Classic" novel. About a week ago, Tanner mentioned in class that he saw a similar display of "classic" novels. I think it's kind of funny because my book (The Alchemist) is one of the fifty selected abridged Sparknotes versions. And although people are quick to hate on Sparknotes or Cliffsnotes or any other form of shortened classic, I actually think they can be quite brilliant when used in conjunction with the original text. I can't say how many times I racked my brain on Romeo and Juliet or The Odyssey in 9th grade English class because I couldn't immediately understand the cryptic message of a book that was written (or spoken) hundreds of years ago. So, the moral of the story is, although I do find it important to read the original text and hear the message from the original author, I don't think it's sinful that Sparknotes makes it easier for the reader to understand what the hell is going on.