My Final Group Project can be found here:
http://www.wix.com/ashlyn30/future-gun
Portfolio Reflection Assignment
My Portfolio Reflection Assignment can be found here:
http://dannothemano.wordpress.com/portfolio-reflection-assignment/
Revised Letter to the Editor Assignment
Dan Jungdahl
12/02/2009
Dear Editor of the Thomas R. Watson Conference Response Video,
I have just finished watching the piece about the students who wanted to respond to the Thomas R. Watson conference. In this piece some students went to a teacher-to-teacher conference and observed what teachers had to say about using new media in the classroom, and of how this will impact learning for the students. The students felt that they weren’t being spoken for, in other words their voice was not being heard in a conference that was about them. So they decided to make this video in response to the conference so that teachers could see what students had to say on the subject.
The conceptual core for this piece was a group of students wanting to say something about new media in the classroom. They wanted to respond to the teachers at the conference that these new things like facebook and blackboard are good and will help learning and researching outside of class. Teachers can use these things to effectively communicate with students on the students’ field of communication, therefore allowing the message to be communicated as clearly as possible. These students do not want teachers to be afraid of this technology, because if they are perceived as cavemen who don’t understand a computer, the students who prefer using new media will not respect them. I think this video should have included more of what the teacher should do to accommodate their students. How would the student/teacher relationship change if students and teachers were friends on facebook? How would this type of online interaction benefit the classroom? Having students explain that they like using blackboard is not enough, there needs to be reason and argument. Without stating why the teacher should create a facebook page or a blackboard, the students are developing an ethos that conveys they are spoiled and want things their way because that’s the way it should be. Justification, reason, and examples of how this is beneficial is what is missing conceptually.
The research component was fairly simple: a bunch of students went to a conference and responded to it. It looked like they interviewed a few other students who said they like using the internet for email, facebook, and homework. Their main research pool should lie in current college students, because this is a video about how they prefer to learn. While watching the video, however, I was annoyed that I did not get a summary of what was said at the conference. I know the conference was about teaching with new media, and that the students were responding to this evolving form of classroom interaction, but I feel like I’m missing a piece of the puzzle without the basis of the conference. Most of my instructors have been open and enthusiastic about new media, and I feel like if they had a conference they’d be all for it. So the students should include a bit on what was said at the conference and why they disagree with it, or why the felt so compelled to respond to it.
As far as form//content goes, they decided to do a documentary-style video. I like the beginning because going into this video we know it is going to be academic, and the introduction portion is a spin off of the television show The Office which, if the viewer knows this show, allows a sense of relaxation because it communicates the students know it’s going to be an academic video but they are going to try to make it fun as well. Where it failed, however, was having a fun beginning and a very dry presentation. The theme of the video was not consistent and it left me confused. They should either choose a more appropriate and academic opening, or they should insert funny bits into the video to keep the viewer perked. The content of the video was pretty straightforward, with voiceovers and interviews, and I felt that it was effective because when you get to see the source that your data is coming from, then you tend to believe it more. I wish they would have interviewed a few teachers as well, however, so we can get a sense of what they took from the conference. The video is slightly hypocritical in this manner, the students feel they are not being represented in an all-teacher conference, but they don’t represent “the teacher” in an all-student video. I think the take of a few teachers would have been an interesting and educational addition to this video. I also would have liked to have seen a teacher’s response to the content of this video because I feel like the teacher would have more questions than answers. I don’t know whether it is because I am a student or not, but I felt like most of what the kids had to say was rather obvious. I think that most teachers know that college students like to use computers for e-mail and facebook, I think this video should have talked more about how the teacher should change their ways and why.
Nothing really original was done in this video, so the creative realization for the students has to lie in the video itself. It was straightforward, academic and documental. It isn’t really creative, but it fits and works with what they wanted to say. If they wanted to make it fun, they could have done it as a skit rather than a documentary, and kept The Office theme song, and done an Office-esque style skit to relay their points. This style would be more effective in keeping the viewer’s interest, but it may take away from the professionalism of the piece.
Their audience is teachers, especially teachers who went to this conference. They want teachers to hear their side of the story, and they want this to help teacher-to-teacher discussions about students and learning. The timing of this piece is good, because we live in a day and age where new media is in its youngest stages of being introduced to the classroom, and both teachers and students should be aware of the discussions that are surrounding it. This point was emphasized in the video, now it is up to teachers to see how important new media is in the classroom and hopefully adapt to the needs of their students.
Revision Ideas for Future Gun
11/18/2009
Dan Jungdahl
How I Plan to Revise our Future Gun Project
It seems that the majority of our peer reviewers enjoyed the actual footage, so only minor changes will be made to the show itself. A common complaint was Theo laughing at the end of the clip were he chops me and Ashley, so I will work on editing that out while still allowing the dialogue to finish. The volume of my voice in the introduction video should be increased as well so the dramatic music does not drown it out. The intro is the part of the show that needs to be watched first, but it isn’t clearly explained that it should be watched before clicking “Watch Future Gun!” so we will have to find a way to make it clear that is the video to be watched first.
A common complaint from my peer reviewers was that the sections with text had minor grammatical errors throughout. Obviously this is an issue that some intense revision will have to clear up. We will go through all our sections that have text and clean them up.
In our “Research” area we have a few pictures that aren’t really explained fully enough for the reader to know what they’re doing. For the chart we should clear up what an empty node vs. a node is, and for the books we should cite them officially and use in-text citations in our typed section. This way the reader can know exactly where we pulled our ideas from and if they want to go out and read the book for themselves they know exactly what they need to access.
Our “Behind the Scenes” section is incomplete, we still need input from Ashley and Theo here. Once we have their input we’ll have to decide whether we want to have three separate sections or one full section that includes all of us.
Once these things are done our project will be ready for submission.
Peer Review
Dan Jungdahl
9/30/2009
Dear Editor,
I have just finished watching the piece about the students who wanted to respond to the Thomas R. Watson conference. In this piece some students went to a teacher-to-teacher conference and observed what teachers had to say about using new media in the classroom, and of how this will impact learning for the students. The students felt that they weren’t being spoken for, in other words their voice was not being heard in a conference that was about them. So they decided to make this video in response to the conference so that teachers could see what students had to say on the subject.
The conceptual core for this piece was the students wanting to say something about new media in the classroom. They wanted to say to the teacher that these new things like facebook and blackboard are good and will help learning and researching outside of class. Teachers can use these things to effectively communicate with students on the students’ field of communication, therefore allowing the message to be communicated as clearly as possible. These students do not want teachers to be afraid of this technology, because if they are perceived as cavemen who don’t understand a computer, they will not be respected by the students who prefer using new media.
The research component was fairly simple, a bunch of students went to a conference and responded to it. It looked like they interviewed a few other students who said they like using the internet for email, facebook, and homework. Their main research pool should lie in current college students, because this is a video about how they prefer to learn.
They decided to do a video. I like the beginning because going into this video we know it is going to be academic, and the beginning portion is a spin off of the television show The Office which, if the viewer knows this show, allows a sense of relaxation because it communicates the students know it’s going to be an academic video, but they are going to try to make it fun as well. The rest of the video was pretty straight forward with voiceovers and interviews, and I felt that it was effective because when you get to see the source that your data is coming from, then you tend to believe it more. I wish they would have interviewed a few teachers as well, however, so we can get a sense of what they took from the conference. The video is slightly hypocritical in this manner, the students feel they are not being represented in an all-teacher conference, but they don’t represent “the teacher” in an all-student video. I think the take of a few teachers would have been an interesting and educational addition to this video.
Nothing really original was done in this video, so the creative realization for the students has to lie in the video itself. It was straightforward, academic and documental. It isn’t really creative, but it fits and works with what they wanted to say.
Their audience is teachers, especially teachers who went to this conference. They want teachers to hear their side of the story, and they want this to help teacher-to-teacher discussions about students and learning. The timing of this piece is good, because we live in a day and age where new media is in its youngest stages of being introduced to the classroom, and both teachers and students should be aware of the discussions that are surrounding it.
New Proposal Idea
Dan Jungdahl
Inventio/Topoi
Dr. Cheryl E. Ball
9/22/2009
The Future of Television: Today!
For my CFP I would like to do a piece on the future of television. Specifically, I would like to do a piece on the future of the plot structure of television. Over time the plot structure of television shows has changed, has evolved, into new and refreshing styles. From the completely static characters in The Brady Bunch to the completely dysfunctional family comedy The Simpsons into the mythology of The X-Files to the unique style of 24 to the completely serialized series Lost. Television shows are using techniques today that are much more complex than the ones used years ago. The demand for more advanced techniques in television plot structure is becoming more and more common in today’s society, so the future of television is more and more becoming the television of today.
The demand for interactivity from a show’s audience is becoming more and more intense with each passing year. 24 demands its audience to remember events from previous episodes in order to understand the current events. Lost demands its audience to remember events from previous seasons in order to keep up with the plot of the show. I believe the future of television plot structure does not lie in remembering the plot, but in choosing the direction that it heads. Audiences will interact with the story by creating the major events.
It will be a website. I will create a fictional show, and use a video camera to tape the actors (the following plot is not what I have in mind, but is easy to type out for the case of an example) of my show. The main screen of the website will be a set beginning, and after the first clip, say of a man and a woman meeting and the man asking the woman on a date, there will be two options at the bottom. The first option is the woman accepting, the second option is the woman rejecting. Either link will take the viewer to a different video where the plot of the show takes a different turn. For simplicity’s sake, I will make seven clips, or 3 layers. I will have a set beginning, 2 options from the beginning, and two options for either of those options (in other words four possible endings).
This may be a difficult concept to wrap our heads around, but it is a technique that we will probably see sooner than later.
Video Game Addiction
Sorry this is late guys, the assignment didn’t show up in my RSS feed for some reason so I completely forgot about it. Lucky I wrote it down in my assignment notebook, but I checked it 5 hours too late. Here is my proposal:
Dan Jungdahl
Inventio
Dr. Cheryl E. Ball
9/15/2009
Proposal Draft
For my CFP I want to do a presentation on the difference between video game addiction and online interaction. The word “addiction” has a lot of connotation to it that does the actual word no justice. Some people use the term “internet addiction” for people who check their email more than ten times a day. Others call this efficient communication. On the other hand there are people who have literally died, starved and suicide, because of the video games they play. These players call it passion, but the term needed here is addiction. I want to explore the boundaries that separate those who prefer online social interaction and those who physically and mentally cannot tear themselves away from the computer or television screen.
There are stories being told around the web about couples who have split because one of the members spends too much time playing video games. Some may see this as video game addiction, but what is being misunderstood here is the gamer prefers interacting in the cybernetic world and the non-gamer doesn’t understand this. They are two different social personality types that perhaps just weren’t meant to work out as a couple.
On the other hand there are people who cheat on their partners in games like second life and world of warcraft with other online players, partaking in cybernetic sexual activities. This perhaps is not classified as addiction, but is it healthy? People interacting in the world of the web and knowing their interacting in the world of the web is one thing, but people treating the world of the web like it’s the real world may be a little unhealthy.
I want to explore where these boundaries lie, and destroy any misconceptions there are about videogame addiction. Videogame addiction is a real problem, and identifying the problem is the first step to solving it. I would like to do a small screen-capture type video to convey my points, and identify the difference between addiction and non-addiction.
Workshop Idea
In class on September 8th I want to workshop Video Game Addiction. I have not done extensive research on this topic before, but I have heard stories here and there that Video Game Addiction has ruined lives and sometimes proven fatal. I want to put it in the same context as other forms of addiction to emphasize that it is a real problem. If I were to submit this to Kairos as a multi-modal project, I would submit it under the Inventio category because it does not have a close tie with Pedagogy, Technology, or Writing Studies. Since it is so early in the planning process, I’m not sure how I would present this to Kairos yet, but I think a video with the same style as the “Did You Know” video we watched would be the course I will take. My backup idea, which I would submit under Topoi, would be to research the effectiveness of online courses. For this I might construct a website that had, what research dictated, the aspects of the most effective online course parts.
3 Pieces of Online Digital Media that Sparked my Imagination
1. Divided Soul
This is a quality piece of video that takes place in the World of Warcraft universe. It is pure World of Warcraft fanfiction, and it sparked my imagination because whenever I read or watch a piece of fiction I always imagine what I would have done differently with such characters, or various plot points in the movie. I’m a fan of fantasy, so watching and reading fantasy lets me imagine the different fantastic races more in-depth. A vehicle like this allows the story teller to tell the story from the universe that they enjoy without having to explain too much backstory to the target audience. Since I am familiar with the Orcs from World of Warcraft, this story appeals to me.
2. Why We Need Government-Run Universal Socialized Health Insurance
I like this because it is simple. It explains things in a way that everyone can understand, it keeps your attention, and it uses analogies that make sense. This is not a very in-depth piece, but I could tell that the people who made it were educated on the issue, and truly believed in it.
3. The Un-Funny TRUTH about Scientology
This video uses a combination of text, video, and music to overwhelm the watcher with the power of the situation. This video is legitimately frightening and difficult to watch, yet the message it sends is valid, educated and truthful. Even though the agenda is clear, this is not a hate-film against Scientology, but an eye-opening documentation of facts that should perhaps be dug more deeply into. This film is so powerful to me that I really don’t know what else to say, it speaks for itself.
Syllabus Response
I would like to start this post by responding to the course goals. In my term as an English major, all that I have really scrutinized and looked closely at have been text materials. In turn, all that I have really produced were text documents as well. I am glad to see a completley new format for this class, and I am excited to learn about communicating “across modes” and to “wow ourselves and each other.”
I am prepared to get an A in this class because the expectations and values listed on the syllabus by the teacher are just my standard rules of being a student. I do not consider myself to be anything special, but if I’m going to pay as much money as I do to go to school here, then I am going to take my responsability of a student very seriuosly. This means that I will work for nothing less than an A in any of my classes, therefore requiring me to be better than “average”. So when a teacher tells me they value students that come to every class ready and willing to participate with thoughtful and insightful ideas, then I know I will be very comfortable in this class.
The fact that there are no grades until the very end of the term is intimidating. Although I put 100% behind every assignment, knowing if I’m doing poorly in a class will allow me to change my approach to the final assignments of the year. The teacher stated, however, she would inform me if I were getting anything less than an A, so even though I will not have a tangible grade, I’ll know to do something different if something goes wrong.
All in all the syllabus did not intimidate me. Professor Ball attemtping to make sure that I was not intimidated intimidated me more than the syllabus. This class looks like it will be both fun and a lot of work, which is much better than most classes which is just a lot of work.
