Functional Literacy and Remediation

In the preparation of my Power Point presentation for a school visit, I "use[d] computers effectively in achieving educational goals," made use of "the specialized discourses associated with computers...,
resolve[d] technological impasses," studied the "social conventions that help determine computer use," and navigated my "online world" (45). Selber would be proud of my new-found functional literacy, and while I'm still a little shaky, I'm proud that I've been able to use this literacy in my work life to improve my presentations.



The photo of the little girl on stage is an expample of remediation. Her performance as the actor portraying a character from a children's book, (the same book that I'm reading to the audience off to the side), is a "kind of borrowing in which one medium is itself incorporated or represented in another medium" (45). To add to the mix, she is the girl who inspired the story, playing herself as a fictional character. Think of Plato and his search for truth here.

Movies

Okay, so I found out that I'm not a movie director today. But, I sure had fun finding that out. I can't wait to share the info with my husband for his English class. It's going to open up a whole new way of creating book reports. Thanks guys for an awesome presentation. I may not be able to download Youtube video to my blog, but now I can make a movie out of anything I want!

A Pig is the Best I Can Do

Okay, so I'm not proud of this, but it's the best I can do for tonight. I've been trying to download various educational videos onto my blog, but the only thing I can get to work is a pig video that someone sent me over the internet. I'm sorry that I'm such a loser as far as blog technology goes, but hope you enjoy the video just the same.

Cell Phones Are Fun

In our book, Multiliteracies For A Digital Age, Selber says that “students need to become producers and not just users of computer based environments” (140). He also talks about the need for “collaborative situations” (93), “trial and error,” and “peer support” (30). And it’s ironic that in creating our demonstration for our group project, Elise, Leontine and I experienced all of the above as we sat at Starbucks peering into Leontine’s laptop, sending images to our e-mail accounts from our cell phones while discussing Blog and Twitter topics.

We decided to base our group teaching project around the cell phone, because it's pretty accessible to all, and it can be used in most any environment to collect an image to download to a blog or Twitter account. We asked you all to bring in photos of functional literacy, which many of you did, and Elise brought in a photo that signifies an environmental issue. The next step, after uploading the photo, would be to comment on what the photo means to you and the world around you. Your classmates could then look at your site and make their own comments, extending the lesson from an individual's perspective to the entire class.

I hope the presentation was helpful, and that it gave you new ideas for the classroom. La Tanya, thank you for saying that you want to go home and figure out how to upload photos into your computer now. That made my day!

Transparent Immediacy or Fame?

The authors of the book, Remediation, talk about the "erasure of human agency from the production of photographs" (27), but in pondering their comments on transparent immediacy,I find a few instances of photographer recognition. Ansel Adams' nature photos have a certain emotional appeal and individual style that render them recognizable as Adams' work. Andy Warhol's reworked photos also cry out his name, although I imagine that a certain signature style would be easier to create with additional media techniques.

As we discussed in class recently, some people don't mind if their photos become part of the public domain, while others seek to make a statement with their work. Ansel Adams probably did not set out to gain fame through his photographs, rather he wanted the public to appreciate the beauty and delicateness of nature around us. Andy Warhol, on the other hand, seemed to seek the celebrity tied in with his portraits.

Either way, neither artist was "removed...as an agent..." (26). In my view, their fame adds to the mystique of the work.

Ansel Adams, Half Dome, http://www.anseladams.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=9

I did it!

For the first time ever I used power point to give a presentation. I spoke to 500 grammar school students yesterday, and borrowing from my class presentation, created a power point specifically for them. I inserted a photo of one of their favorite teachers, placed butterly graphics on the page (their school mascot), and included a lesson on writing stories with graphics that pulled the students in to the lesson. It was a big hit, and a former school superintendant told me that it was one of the best presentations he had seen, because I involved the students in the presentation, kept it moving quickly, and had lots of humerous anecdotes (of course a few of them were about his granddaughter - but still!). I was thrilled! I'm going to attempt to attach the power point to Twitter, and just want to thank you all for helping me learn a new technology that has immediately paid off for me. Dr. Rhodes - you're the best!

Visual Essays

I enjoyed looking at different people's visual essays in class last night. It's amazing how many interpretations we all have for the same project, and how many ways we can use the computer as a tool to create a captivating narration.

While I didn't have my project with me, I recently purchased a flash drive and will now have the opportunity to use it to bring my power point to class, another new technology to add to my repertoire.

I loved this project as a teaching tool for composition students. It's personal, creative, challenging, and it pulls the class together as we help each other navigate the web, and it works for students of all ages!!

(I had to leave the photo out of my essay, but I wanted you all to see how happening I was with my cool plaid pants. Even then I couldn't find pants that were long enough!)

Tool or Machine

Sherry Turkle says that,
"The computer is Janus-like - it has two faces. Marx spoke of a
distinction between tools and machines. Tools are extensions of
their users; machines impose their own rhythm, their rules on the
people who work with them, to the point where it is no longer clear
who or what is being used (Second Self 170)" (Selber 40).
In working on my visual autobiography, I felt that the computer was more a tool than a machine, yet at times I felt at its mercy in formatting my pages. Not at it's mercy like the I Love Lucy scene where the conveyor belt of candy speeds up faster and faster until Lucy and Ethel are stuffing candy down their tops, but like I was pushing against an enforced boundary that wouldn't let me step outside to make one page more unique than the others. While I used sound, finally, to distinguish my two more intense experiences, I felt that I could have used more distinguishing features. I was frustrated with myself for not being more in control of the page, but I was still satisfied with what I was able to accomplish as a novice explorer.