A place to keep track of info, links, and my thoughts on composition and rhetoric, teaching and learning, and life in general, while I work on my PhD at the University of South Florida.
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YES!
I just got some excellent news. Daisy, Matt, and I are presenting for 4C's on blogging. 
Howard's Blogs
I know not all of you who read this blog are on motime, but I thought you might like to see some visuals blogs that Howard's put together. The first is pongomania, a blog full of the pics of the sculptures that Howard makes out of pongo (a modeling clay). The second one might appeal more to the word and visual types at photo/poems. If you haven't checked them out do. Both blogs are interesting and unique.
Literacy
I just passed Doc Mox's office and he reminded me that he had asked everyone in his Rhet of Tech class to contribute to defining literacy at the wiki space. I suggest if you're in the class and haven't plugged your two cents then you best contribute to the definition and quick.
Call For Chapters on Digital Media
Dear Colleague,
We would like to invite you to contribute a chapter to the book Writing and Digital Media’ to be published in the international book series Studies in Writing (Kluwer Academic Publishers).
The primary purpose of this volume is to bring together excellent research on 'writing in digital environments’ and to discuss this theme from different perspectives. We would also like to provide comprehensive coverage of what is known about ‘writing & computers’ and to point the way for future research.
Topics of interest include but are not strictly limited to:
• Writing modes and writing environments
• Writing and communication
• Digital tools for writing research
• Writing in online educational environments
• Social and philosophical aspects of writing and new media (CMC)
Abstracts are due 31 December 2003.
A more elaborate description of the themes for this book and more details about the practical aspects (deadlines, length of the chapters etc.) are included as an attachment.
Requests for further information can be sent to the editors. Please contact: luuk.vanwaes@ua.ac.be.
Program Proposal
For the Practicum in Tech Writing we're winding the semester up with a program proposal. This is a group assignment that is being completed on Blackboard. I find blackboard somewhat frustrating to work with at times because unlike "real" discussion boards you can't subscribe to the board and get an email update whenever anyone has posted something new. Instead you're stuck having to constantly check back.
Anyways our proposal is certainly coming along and David and I have decided to stress creativity and innovation as the goals of our program, something that other Tech writing programs seem to ignore.
Next Semester
I've been thinking about this semester and what I plan to do differently next, besides using a whole new book and assignments. I assumed that my students knew that contractions, 2nd person, and MLA were used in formal papers. I was proved wrong. Perhaps its because I went to primary school in a different state and in a school district that really taught these skills, but I thought some of these things my students would have learned in high school. Next semester I know I'll remind my students more strongly about these skills and devices. I also plan on having my students create professional blogs, which they can continue to use in their other English classes. I think I create a hub and then have them create individual blogs that represent themselves online. I plan on discussing custimazation of the template and images in order to really exist in this cyberspace.
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You Are Ed Wood From "Ed Wood."SIZE="-2" FACE="Verdana"> You definitely have your name in history, although probably not for the reason you believe. Yet you are very accepting, non-judgemental, and optimistic almost to a fault. You also have a thing for angora sweaters. How could anyone not like you? |
I tried the Johnny Depp quiz that Tricia suggested. Not exactly what I was expecting to be like.
A Plesant Surprise
I had written a review of this book, Technical Communication, Deliberative Rhetoric, and Environmental Discourse: Connections and Directions, about a year and a half ago and never heard back from the editors I had sent it to at Technical Communication Quaterly. Oddly, enough today in my box was a copy of the journal and a letter telling me the review had been published in the Spring 2003 volume. I had basically forgotten all about it, but I'm stoked to find it had been published. Yeh! Another line for the C.V.
Social Text
I was checking out Joi's blog and found this link to the software that socialtext is unveiling. It supposedly combines both the wiki and the blog to create a unique collaborative platform. Here's the problem. Right now you can blog for free and you can wiki for free, but get socialtexts workspace and expect to pay around $995 for 5 users per a year. No thanks. I can wait for an opensource combo. If it were free though I'd certainly want to look at it and consider ways to use it in an academic and in a classroom setting. Though this group as created an opensource wiki called kwiki. I'm checking it out now.
If you haven't read CalGal...
I wanted to share this link to a blog entry CalGal had madeabout cell phones, but when I went over to get the link she had just posted this very interesting article on a guy named Joi Ito. It sounded like a really interesting blog and I was cool with it until I read that "Joi tells me that he's more productive than ever. He doesn't need employees; he has the posse" (The Blog of Things To Come). This kind of freaks me out. The article makes it sound like he makes money out of his blog (somehow), but instead of using employees he convinces people to do this work as just a pal of the blog. If this is the case I've got a problem with that. Of course I went to look at his blog and it didn't seem that different than any other blog, except maybe more people participating and creating community. As far as an interesting blog to study, this is certainly a good one for it and the guy even has some wiki links. I think the article is what threw me off. Anyways check out joi's blog and his wiki links.
Quote of the Day
some student quotes I'm really enjoying.
"Novels are still a source of problems in society..."
"In present day, the most common form of Brotherhood is a street gang. Where once they occurred privately in a clubhouse, male bonding is now associated with illegal activity."
"...but within the past no one appears to be overly effected by the maltreatment towards the furry creatures."
Quote for the Day
Spammers Get Conned
I just read about this article on the TechRhet listserv and had to share it. Basically, it's about people who con the conmen filling our email inboxes in the new web pastime called scam-baiting. I have received one of these 419 spam mails once. I immediately deleted it, but now I wish I'd known about all the fun I could have had leading the spammer astray. Check out this site where spam-baiters play 419eater.com.
Quote of the Day
Illumination
Let me preface this by saying I know I haven't looked at this enough to draw any sort of verifiable conclusion, but I've been checking out illuminated manuscripts on the web and have been thinking a lot about writing in the electronic medium. I found this site that went through the Life of King Edward the Confessor. After viewing the way the document uses illustrations to highlight the important envents in the story, I am becoming more convinced that there is a connection between illuminated manuscripts and electronic design. Illuminated manuscripts do not follow the typical method for including graphics in modern printed texts. The illustrations are with the text and tell a story that even an illiterate or non-speaker can understand with proper knowledge of the iconography. (I'm not sure this is making sense yet. I'm brushing at the edges.) Look at the pages where the picture continues between each side of the book on the site. Modern printed text would not do this, because it breaks up the way the page is read (prioritizing the written word). Particularly in the text on the Life of King Edward, it's easy to recognize that the text can be read up and down following the columns or read it horizontally following the pictures, which also tell the story.
Often electronic text plays with the way the page is read as well. Look at the basic web site, for instance microsoft, the page is designed with cloumns of text and the pictures tell the story of microsoft. The pics on the dump tell a story about this site. God this is frustrating; I'm touching on something that I just can't quite realize in words. Leave some comments and help illuminate the block I'm having.
You Write Like a Girl
I found this link on calgal's blog and thought I'd give it to you all here. Basically, you dump in 500 words of text and the site analysis the text to see if it can identify the writer as either male or female. So far my writing has been considered distinctly masculine. Oh dear God! I guess learning to write academically really has robbed me of my sex 
It's an interesting site because it is based on an algorithm that has been used to detect authors' sex. Obviously, it's still a little faulty over at the gender genie since it keeps telling me I'm a guy writing. This is one of the many links over at the bookblog, which looks like a very cool blog.
Free Movie Tickets at Madstone in Hyde Park
There's this promotional deal going on in Hyde Park, where Madstone theater is handing out tickets to see semi-indie films (semi, cause you'll see what i mean when you see the list.) Anyone interested?
CALL FOR PAPERS
Of course I'm not sure I'm particularly interested in heading off to the frozen north of dakota to present a paper, but I thought I'd share the call. I think I could easily do something on author's representation through blogging.
THE SEVENTH ANNUAL
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
While we are particularly interested in proposals that address the conference theme, papers and panels on all aspects of computers and writing, including the roles of computers and writing in composition courses, will be considered.
Individual presenters should submit a 250-word abstract; include your name, complete mailing address, and e-mail address. Proposals for panels must include an abstract for each presenter, as well as names, addresses and e-mail addresses of all participants. Abstracts submitted as e-mail attachments in Word or Word Perfect are preferred but hard copies will also be accepted.
Keynote Speaker:
Richard Grusin is co-author (with Jay David Bolter) of Remediation: Understanding New Media and he continues to work at the intersections of media theory, literature, and writing. Grusin is currently chair of the English department at Wayne State University in Detroit.
Address all submissions or inquires to Kevin.Brooks@ndsu.nodak.edu or snail mail: Department of English, North Dakota State University, Fargo ND 58105.
Visual Revelation
I've been wanting to blog about this for awhile, but I've been trying to figure out exactly what it is about it that interested me. Last fall I had the opportunity to see the Vatican exhibit currently crossing the States in Houston. This is a really interesting exhibit since many of the items had never been shown outside of the Vatican. What struck about many of the exhibit's items was the visual symbolic language used to construct and reference Catholicism. Some of the objects were things like angels holding ladders and columns. I understood that there was some reason these statues were holding these objects, but it took me some time to understand what the objects meant. Eventually I realized that the ladder and column were references to Christ's passion and death.
Figuring this out made me more fully understand that the advent of mass publishing and books to some extent lead to a loss of our ability to read visually. Once ideas were communicated through the visual; gradually this changed. For example monks during the middle ages wrote books where the text became an excercise in creating both visual and textual meaning. Before a majority of people could read they could understand pictures and statues and the symbols surrounding them - iconography if you will - and important ideas were transmitted throught the visual. When books became mass produced, visual images became less important, partly because it was cheaper to publish books and newspapers without a lot of graphics. Electronic media and multimedia is changing this though, and now we are learning to write in ways that include the visual and graphical. This move is not a loss of knowledge, but rather an old form of communication revisted. Once this has been accepted we can begin to look at how this changes literacy and how to write in such a way as to truly incorporate both the visual and the text with purpose.
Quote for the Day
"Characters of the great Apocalypse,/ The types and symbols of Eternity,/ Of first, and last, and midst, and without end." - William Wordsworth
Comments
I've been looking at my blogs and I realized, getting comments is like getting a present. Especially the nice kind, but any kindgives me that feeling you get before you open a gift. You're not sure what's going to be inside, but then you get the moment of joy when you open it up and realize somebody somewhere is actually reading your work. I've been trying to comment more frequently in people's blogs. I think commenting is an important aspect of blogging.
Cool Site
This isn't an academic site or anything, but it (borrowing one of Tricia's terms) is wicked cool. It's called the Hyper-Redundant-Mart and "specializes in consumable simulacra, we have everything you might as well need in today's post-post-modern world. Why buy the product, when you can buy the idea?" The products are very funny I particularly liked the new identity software. The site completely cracked me up.
Quote for the Day
"YO! If you thought the TV show Pop Stars was tough, prepare yourself for the ultimate in |-|4rD |<0r3 mainstream entertainment. Suit up, step in and sell out with this new micro management computer game from Sarcastic Simulations Inc." - ad. from one of the Hyper-Redundant-Mart's Products.
4 C's Presentation
I think a few of us in Rhet of Tech are going to try and present on blogging at USF. It should be interesting. We're hoping to use the video we made in the class as part of the presentation.
Opening a Can of Worms
The recent quote and comment I posted on change received a comment, which called into question my ability as a grad student because I guess I'm standing on the other side of an unfortunate divide.
I had no idea I could be so controversial. The comment read:
"Are you suggesting that those of us concerned about the changes are afraid of change? That's rather specious reasoning. Change, by definition is not necessarily good. Change, for those aware of the potential implications of the change, can sometimes be bad. Why should those who know what the potential implications of the changes are, sit back and wait for the inevitable? You are a graduate student for crying out lout. Educate yourself about the issues instead of having them fed to you. You give to much credit where it is not necessarily due." (unnamed person)
I knew when I wrote my comment that it had the potential to upset some people. At the same time I do not find the comment particularly valid, when instead of respecting a difference in perception this person calls into question my ability to think for myself and assumes that I'm unable to see clearly negative implications. What purpose does this serve? Especially, when what I said was that I hoped people would look at the positives that can occur with these changes instead of jumping to the negative. What can I say this comment ate at me and I felt I should respond to it.
Quote for the Day
My stupid moment (cont.)
All right a big thanks to Daisy for giving my car a jump and to the mystery guy who lent us his longer jumper cables. I owe you both big time. I can mellow out now that the car seems to be working fine and I have my ticket home for Christmas. I can't wait for the break.
A stupid moment
I just left the lights on on my car for the day and now the battery is dead. God I hate stupid moments and feeling like a complete moron for doing something so stupid.
Quote for the Day
I hope that more of us can see the current changes in the department in a positive light then see it in a fearful one.
Quote of the Day
STC's Blog
The Society for Technical Communication has put together a group blog. This is their first attempt at blogging. Here's their link. For those who don't know STC is the major society for technical writers/communicators, and over 500 other titles for tech writers. The society recently turned 50 and wants to look at ways to serve their community better and so has created a group blog in order to figure out how to incorporate the changes they see as necessary in order to continue to serve.
On the Other Side of Tufte
This PowerPoint Article looks at the other side of Tufte's rant against the program. I got this article off the ATTW list-serv and thought it might be nice to have a different view point. Basically, this article discusses both negative and positive features of powerpoint and ways to teach powerpoint to the classroom.
I also have an example of a Advanced Comp courses web-zine called Issues in Web Content Development, which also comes from the ATTW list-serv. Today was a good, useful day on the list-serv. I thought it might be interesting to look at since the recent memo all the TAs at USF received mentioned using e-zines in the classroom. Hands down the best article title in this 'zine is "Lend me your rears...", an article concerning attention span and reading electronically.
Google yourself, then play soccer
I've had the biggest ego boost, yesterday. I was in class and someone said how every once and awhile they google their name to see if they get listed or not. So I thought why not? I googled my first and last name and the second entry on the list was the dump! It really boosted my ego; of course later that day I played intramural soccer. It was the first time I played a soccer game since probably 2nd grade. I managed to touch the ball twice and be in a scoring position. Of course I completely missed. It felt good playing, but am I ever sore today. 
So if your ego starts inflating go do something you haven't done in years. It's a sure fire ego deflator.
Blogs
We did this video in Rhet and Tech about blogging. Kind of our relationships with our blogs and the thing I forgot to mention is that I hate the word blog. It's the way it sits in the mouth like blah or bleh or well you get the point. It's unplesant. I'm totally tripping to cause I just checked out the barbie blog that calgal posted in her blog. I think there's an academic analysis there just waiting to happen.
Quote for the Day
Computer Literacy: We don't teach that here
In my Rhet and Tech course we've been talking a lot about literacy, defining literacy, trying to figure out is literacy has changed. Obviously, the advent of the computer and the web has changed the way we read and write, but this is still not reflected very much in primary education. I found it interesting that NCTE has put together this statement on creating better literacy in our children. No where in the statement though, is a strategy for helping parents teach the literacy of technology. I assume we figure kids will just pick these skills up along the way and parents have no duty in educating their children in tech literacy. I disagree. Parents need to be helping their children gain the tools of tech literacy as well as reading and writing skills. Kids need to realize that we don't just read words on a page, but we also read graphically, one of the major skills needed for tech literacy.
Quote for the Day
"Practically all governments ought to be in Colney Hatch [mental hospital]." - P.G. Wodehouse
I'm thinking that maybe we should take our video project and use that as the basis of a presentation at 4C's on using technology in the classroom, especially since we're looking at centering it around blogging. Maybe those of us using blogs in the classroom can then discuss what we do with them and that kind of thing. I know I could discuss the practicality of creating a blogging hub from which to spin off my students' blogs and the reasons for making that hub a separate blog from this one. If I remember right the proposal for the presentations are due Nov. 15th. Perhaps we could collaborate on it.
Quote for the Day
Tech News for those who don't want to search the entire web
I happened to find this site while reading something else. It's a place called corante and it goes through blogs, newspapers, magazines, and journals to discuss what's up in technology. I imagine it could be a very useful site.
Quote for the Day
For those of you who are sick of pop-ups and google frequently, I strongly suggest installing the google toolbar. This toolbar is great for when you need to google something quickly, but the best part about the google toolbar download is that it as an pop-up blocker on it. It doesn't get rid of all pop-ups, but it gets rid of a lot of them.
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