Language, Texts, and Technology

A blog for students in Dene Grigar's course, DTC 375 "Language, Texts and Technology"

The book that you are reading from on Monday has a very robust website that accompanies it. Check it out: http://www.designinginteractions.com/

I have also written a review of the book, which can be found at: http://leonardo.info/reviews/mar2007/design_grigar.html

If you have not figured this out yet, many of the books we are using have websites that go with them and there are wonderful reviews of the books you can read that will give you insights into your readings. Looking at these materials is called "reading around a text." It is a useful way to understand information *before* you walk into the classroom.

--Dene

posted by: grigar at 05:30 | link | comments (1) |

I would be interested in knowing what you think about the forum you attended today. In particular:

1. Did you learn anything useful about jobs in Southwest Washington?

2. Did you see a meaningful dialogue between business and education about jobs?

3. Did you get any sense of what future will be and an idea about the skillsets required for those jobs?

You can respond by clicking on the "Comments" link below.



You do not have to mince your words.

--Dene

posted by: grigar at 06:53 | link | comments (10) |

Remember that we are meeting today, Monday, March 24 in VMMC 6 to hear the guest speaker, Senator Maria Cantwell, talk about jobs in Southwest Washington area. Here is the specific information about the talk:



“Jobs for Us, Jobs for our Kids”

Senator Maria Cantwell
Invites you

To attend a Roundtable Discussion on Winning in a Global Economy


Monday, March 24, 2008
Washington State University Vancouver
14204 NE Salmon Creek Avenue
Vancouver, WA 98686
Room VMMC 6
3:00pm-5:00pm

Please RSVP to: Bob_dingethal@cantwell.senate.gov
Or (360)-696-7838


I RSVPed for the class and you can leave at 4:05 if you need to. I will take roll at the beginning, so be on time so that I can easily find you.

--Dene

posted by: grigar at 20:17 | link | comments |

Activity #1: Visualizing Stories

1. Do:
Produce a 3 page "comic" that incorporates at least two different styles of panels, with images created by hand in PhotoShop or made with a digital camera. Remember, no words are allowed--the entire story must be told in image, and there must be a story line

2. Answer:
In what way are "images . . . interfaces that structure interaction, people, and the environment they share" (Burnett xix)?


Activity #2: Visualizing Sound in Garage Band & iTunes

1. Do:
Using Garage Band or another music production/editing software program, create a unique piece of music. Specific requirements include:
ß 2-minutes minimum in length
ß No less than 2 different tracks (Drums, melody, bass)
ß Saved as a MP3 file
ß Music should additionally be printed out in musical notation

2. Answer:
In what way is music language?
ß 250 words
ß MLA format
ß Typed


Activity #3: Comparing Translations of Poetry

1. Do:
Compare and contrast the various translations Pay special attention to the following: Syntax, Word Choice, Tone, Cadence/rhythm

2. Answer:
--Why particular translations may have differed
--Which one(s) captured the spirit of the work
--How translation may underpin all acts of communication


Activity #4: Producing Podcasts from Print Texts

1. Do:
Produce a podcast from a work of print literature. You must select a work no longer than 3 minutes in length to record. You are also required to bring to class 12 copies of this work to distribute to the other teams. Finally, using iTunes, you will produce a work ready for podcasting.

2. Answer:
How does medium affect textuality?


Activity #5: Reproducing Media Objects

1. Do:
Take an image of your teammate and save it in iPhoto
--Change image (hair color, eye color, etc.) using PhotoShop
--Select a video on YouTube, and reproduce it using TubeSock.

Compare the reproduction with the originals. Consider the amount of intervention required to create the reproductions.

2. Answer:
In what way is "presence" of the original object changed, particularly in time and space? In terms of value? How is value impacted by the notion of man-made?


Activity #6: Making an Artist Book

1. Do:
Make an artist book that pushes the limitations of the print medium. Follow these specific directions:
Must be at least 6 pages in length
Does not have to involve paper
Pay attention to the content as well as the form

2. Answer:
In what way does the medium in which you work dictate the end product? What did you do to subvert these limitations?


Activity #7: Making a Hypertext

1. Do:
In this activity you will take a linear story and recreate it in Dreamweaver as a hypertext. You can choose any short story, written before 1984, found in a print anthology. You will reproduce it in Dreamweaver in a way that attends to the unique qualities of the web and sets it apart appropriately from its original print format.*

2. Answer:
What does the programming reveal about the work? The medium? The work's production?


Activity #8: Making Interactive Analog Objects

1. Do:
In this activity you will make an interactive analog object. Please follow the suggestions provided by Moggridge about good interaction design.

2. Answer:
Missing from Moggridge's book is a discussion of the levels of interactivity. What are some that you can identify? What is the connection between interactivity and immersion?


Activity #9: Creating Multimedia Objects

1. Do:
In this activity you will make a multimedia electronic work using Flash or any software program you wish, including Final Cut, iMovie, Dreamweaver. The work must include, at the very least, images (still, moving, or both) and sound.*

2. Answer:
What is required of a designer of multimedia work that is not required of an author of a print text? What do multimedia authors need to consider when producing multimedia works?


Activity #10: Redesigning an Interface or Media Object

1. Do:
In this activity you will redesign an interface or media object that addresses Hayles' critique of disembodiment (1) and Varela et el's notion of "compassionate action" (251). This activity requires some forethought, so select your interface or object in advance to the class meeting. If you plan to express your design as an analog object, please bring the required supplies. You are welcome to utilize software found on the computers in our lab.*

2. Answer:
In thinking about your redesign, what did you have to change? Why? What makes your design fit better with what Hayles and Varela et al suggest? How is this approach different from, say, Moggridge's?

posted by: grigar at 07:29 | link | comments |

Agenda

1. Project Reminders: Be Sure To Answer The Question Posed With The Activity
2. Class On Monday: Vmmc 6
3. Webtext Examples
4. Greg’s Presentation on Dreamweaver


Examples of Works on the Web

Non-Native Born Digital Work

Archival Approach
Modern American Poetry: Emily Dickinson
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/dickinson/dickinson.htm

Encyclopedic Approach
Perseus Project: Homer's Odyssey (English Version)
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136

Critical Approach
Perseus Project: Homer's Odyssey (Greek Version)
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0135


Native Digital

Rob Kendall's Faith
http://www.studiocleo.com/cauldron/volume4/confluence/kendall/title_page.htm

Stephanie Strickland's The Ballad of Sand and Harry Soot
http://www.wordcircuits.com/gallery/sandsoot/home.html

Kim Stringfellow's The Charmed Horizon
http://www.thecharmedhorizon.com/

Deena Larsen's Children's Time
http://www.deenalarsen.net/children2/

posted by: grigar at 18:14 | link | comments |

Just a heads up that we will have a pop test over medium tomorrow. I will synthesize the information presented in the chart (above) with the questions posed for Week 10 discussion over the reading on Linearly and Hypertextuality.,br />
--dene

posted by: grigar at 08:12 | link | comments |

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