I'm one of those people who doesn't play video games, as I confessed in class. However, I found Gee's support of games as active learning, problem solving and even good for the soul believable and comforting. I do want to play video games, I do.
I really liked the whole layout, design and use of color in the game lab. It was inviting and fun. I liked the way there were separate corners where players could be isolated from other parts of the room.
Being a complete novice as a player, yet knowledgeable because my son was so into video games until he left for the Navy, I wanted to first observe how a game was played before deciding to try it. I played the Wii cooking game. This would have been a fun game to play with my 3-year-old granddaughter. I watched while Melissa and Ricci played the game with the bongos and gorillas. Afterwards Ricci exclaimed, "That was fun!" I also watched while others played Guitar Hero.
Finally I tried the Sim tutorial. My character got really tired of waiting for me to learn to use the controls and he sighed endlessly - poor thing. He had the same name as my son who likes the games so much. I kept imagining it was him dying of boredom while I got orientated. So enough of Sim, I moved on.
Finally, I went back to the separate room on the east side of the game room where I had observed earlier. I watched while Moushumi was winning BoomBox (I think that's the name). I was offered a controller, so I played the next round with Moushumi and Janice. Moushumi was ahead when I managed to knock down a whole bunch of blocks, putting me in the lead. After that they couldn't catch up and I won. That felt really great. We moved on to the next level. Moushumi, who played with such steely determination, got ahead in score and won. I really wanted a rematch but we were out of time.
I think that most of the 36 game principles applied to role playing games or games of strategy. But I didn't see anything there about competitiveness. That was the one thing that finally hooked me into actually really wanting to play a video game. The desire to win!
While I've never been hooked on video games, I did enjoy other games, especially board games and card games as a kid and a grown-up. And it was a desire to win that always made me competitive. I think there's still a streak of that in me! But next time, I do want to try a strategy or role playing game.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Final Research Paper Brainstorming
This is really initial brainstorming. I don't know what I want to write about. However, I can talk about which things I especially connected to.
Like Susan I really liked Cynthia Selfe's article The Movement of Air, The Breath of Meaning however I am not really interested in classroom application so much as I'm interested in ... I don't know "real world application" ... but not work or school. In one of the instructor comments on my audio project reflection another Selfe article was suggested. I went and looked at Self's pages at the Ohio State University website. She's very interesting and has done a lot of research on digital composition.
In the rhetoric class I'm taking my research paper will use The Political Brain by Drew Westen as its center. The message of this book is about creating rhetorical narratives that resonate with voters emotionally. It's not specifically about multimodal but he often describes all the modes of persuasion used in political ads.
This train of thought leads to current events: candidate Barak Obama's use of text messages, the Internet and other digital means to create an army of supporters who created the largest campaign funds chest ever and helped to get him elected. This seems like a rich area of multimedia that when combined with a good understanding of political rhetoric that resonates could be the basis of a research paper.
Hmmmm .... so what would my theme or my question be? How did Obama use multimedia to win an election? I started the video games reading and I think the readings that have to do with storytelling may connect here. Storytelling, political narrative and how the use of multimedia influences viewers, listeners, reader, etc.
Okay, so this was only supposed to be one paragraph and brainstorming. I think I've got a good start.
Like Susan I really liked Cynthia Selfe's article The Movement of Air, The Breath of Meaning however I am not really interested in classroom application so much as I'm interested in ... I don't know "real world application" ... but not work or school. In one of the instructor comments on my audio project reflection another Selfe article was suggested. I went and looked at Self's pages at the Ohio State University website. She's very interesting and has done a lot of research on digital composition.
In the rhetoric class I'm taking my research paper will use The Political Brain by Drew Westen as its center. The message of this book is about creating rhetorical narratives that resonate with voters emotionally. It's not specifically about multimodal but he often describes all the modes of persuasion used in political ads.
This train of thought leads to current events: candidate Barak Obama's use of text messages, the Internet and other digital means to create an army of supporters who created the largest campaign funds chest ever and helped to get him elected. This seems like a rich area of multimedia that when combined with a good understanding of political rhetoric that resonates could be the basis of a research paper.
Hmmmm .... so what would my theme or my question be? How did Obama use multimedia to win an election? I started the video games reading and I think the readings that have to do with storytelling may connect here. Storytelling, political narrative and how the use of multimedia influences viewers, listeners, reader, etc.
Okay, so this was only supposed to be one paragraph and brainstorming. I think I've got a good start.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Week 7 - Web 2.0
When O'Reilly was talking about Amazon, contrasting it to Netscape, that's when the Web 2.0 readings started to make sense to me. I'm a big fan of Amazon and use several of its features for customizing content. Anytime I learn of a new book that I want to know more about I always check it out on Amazon first. And as O'Reilly's article said, I make more purchases on Amazon than Barnes & Noble because I guess I've developed a stronger connection with the site.
I was also really interested to learn how many popular sites are database programs. In the jobs I've held I always seem to be involved with databases. I currently use an Access database application that I created. It inspired the creation of a larger database that our main programmer is developing. I recently started working on a management plan to write the user's guides for the new database. Internet databases are a topic I would be interested in learning more about.
I also noticed in the Wikipedia article they mention that Tim Berners-Lee, one of the original creators of the world wide web, said that all along it was their intention that anybody could put content on the Internet and interact with other users. I remember that - it was a time when I first learned to use html. Then it seemed like the Internet was taken over by commercial interests - dot.com boom - and then it was like I didn't know how to participate anymore because I wasn't a web programmer. Seems like we've come full circle. Doesn't bother me that Microsoft's business model is becoming obsolete! By the people, for the people - it's a new trend!
I was also really interested to learn how many popular sites are database programs. In the jobs I've held I always seem to be involved with databases. I currently use an Access database application that I created. It inspired the creation of a larger database that our main programmer is developing. I recently started working on a management plan to write the user's guides for the new database. Internet databases are a topic I would be interested in learning more about.
I also noticed in the Wikipedia article they mention that Tim Berners-Lee, one of the original creators of the world wide web, said that all along it was their intention that anybody could put content on the Internet and interact with other users. I remember that - it was a time when I first learned to use html. Then it seemed like the Internet was taken over by commercial interests - dot.com boom - and then it was like I didn't know how to participate anymore because I wasn't a web programmer. Seems like we've come full circle. Doesn't bother me that Microsoft's business model is becoming obsolete! By the people, for the people - it's a new trend!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Audio Documentary Project Idea
When Jennifer announced in class that it was time to begin thinking about project ideas for our audio documentaries I knew immediately what I wanted to do. I've been working with a woman who's in her 80s on and off for the past five years to write her life story. I first heard her many stories about her life as a government accountant working overseas in such places as Japan and Vietnam when she was a client of a therapy studio I worked at in the early 1990s. There's one story she told me back then that we have not revisited since starting the documentary process.
It's one of the stories from the beginnings of her career when she was in Japan. She had to attend a dinner with government and Japanese officials. Let's just call this story, "the monkey that came to dinner" because it has a surprise ending.
I've already contacted her and explained the assignment and what story I want her to tell. She's excited to participate and retell the monkey story.
I've been trying to recruit one classmate to be my partner and she seems very interested. I'm not sure if this would be a good project for three people but I'm open to it.
Also, I have on loan a Zoom digital field voice recorder that makes high quality recordings even for MP3s. I'm set to do the interview on Saturday.
It's one of the stories from the beginnings of her career when she was in Japan. She had to attend a dinner with government and Japanese officials. Let's just call this story, "the monkey that came to dinner" because it has a surprise ending.
I've already contacted her and explained the assignment and what story I want her to tell. She's excited to participate and retell the monkey story.
I've been trying to recruit one classmate to be my partner and she seems very interested. I'm not sure if this would be a good project for three people but I'm open to it.
Also, I have on loan a Zoom digital field voice recorder that makes high quality recordings even for MP3s. I'm set to do the interview on Saturday.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Week 6 - Audio Narratives and Production
I wouldn’t exactly call myself a regular listener of This American Life but as a regular NPR listener I’ve certainly tuned in many times. The broadcasts are quite memorable and always leave an impression on me.
What I especially noticed was how the stories were told by ordinary people about many of the common place things taking place in everyone’s life. The extraordinary wisdom of naïve children, embarrassing blunders and the length’s we go to cover them up, what happens when the light finally goes on in our brain. I love the way the stories are about life, and how life is full of stories. Why am I not a regular listener of this show?
While mostly focused on the story-telling I was also paying attention to the modal elements. To me I didn’t really hear a separate sound effects track. I heard interviews, people making their own sound-effects, background noise and other noises picked up by the audio recording during the interviews. Each episode is narrated; however the main narrator (Ira Glass?) was not the narrator during the segments. Each segment had its own narrator or story teller such as a producer or writer who had some involvement in the story. Each segment is moved along with music that gives emphasis as the story progresses. Music also filled in the space between stories.
Let me give some examples of sounds that I heard. I listened to “20 Stories in 60 Minutes” and “A Little Bit of Knowledge”. I heard a lot of background noise in the juvenile detention center interview as the boys conducting the interviews were in a live situation in the facility. The interviews were conducted on-the-spot, not in a sound-proof room. It gave the story more of a sense of the boys being journalists conducting an investigation – raw, gritty, unfiltered. Another juvenile detention story was the recording of a live performance that turned out to be heart-warming for the narrator. This piece also had a live feel to it, capturing the action that was taking place in the moment.
Although David Sedaris is quite famous, his stories are always about everyday life situations that become hysterical in his telling. In this short segment he tells the story of realizing that for years his sister has been talking to him on the phone while doing her business in the bathroom. He makes the sounds of her straining to open a jar – doing his own sound effects in a sense. This is why I resist reading his books. There’s no way his writing can compare to his dead-pan voice.
Robert Andrew Powell documents the year-long sabbatical of his friend Bob Berenz as he tries to disprove Einstein’s theory of relativity (E=MC²). A number of people, including Bob’s wife are interviewed so the sound of the segment varies as new people are introduced. Everything flows together as Powell narrates the story.
Most interviews and story telling seems to take place in a studio or other sound-free environment. These types of stories really benefit from having music to provide transitions between sections of the narrative. I did pay attention to the music. How music is selected to do this is quite mysterious to me. I noticed that on the web page that gives details about the episode that each segment of the broadcast has a title and song whose title fits with the them of the segment. For example, Powell’s audio documentary “Sucker MC-Squared” is accompanied by the song “Modern Physics in Five Easy Verses,” by Bruce Lesnick. Is this a song that was made up for this documentary? If not how would know a song title that matches your story would also have a sound that would match your story?
This American Life has given me confidence that my idea for a podcast is a good one because it’s a true story from someone’s life. But how will I select the music used to accent the story? I’m a little worried about that.
What I especially noticed was how the stories were told by ordinary people about many of the common place things taking place in everyone’s life. The extraordinary wisdom of naïve children, embarrassing blunders and the length’s we go to cover them up, what happens when the light finally goes on in our brain. I love the way the stories are about life, and how life is full of stories. Why am I not a regular listener of this show?
While mostly focused on the story-telling I was also paying attention to the modal elements. To me I didn’t really hear a separate sound effects track. I heard interviews, people making their own sound-effects, background noise and other noises picked up by the audio recording during the interviews. Each episode is narrated; however the main narrator (Ira Glass?) was not the narrator during the segments. Each segment had its own narrator or story teller such as a producer or writer who had some involvement in the story. Each segment is moved along with music that gives emphasis as the story progresses. Music also filled in the space between stories.
Let me give some examples of sounds that I heard. I listened to “20 Stories in 60 Minutes” and “A Little Bit of Knowledge”. I heard a lot of background noise in the juvenile detention center interview as the boys conducting the interviews were in a live situation in the facility. The interviews were conducted on-the-spot, not in a sound-proof room. It gave the story more of a sense of the boys being journalists conducting an investigation – raw, gritty, unfiltered. Another juvenile detention story was the recording of a live performance that turned out to be heart-warming for the narrator. This piece also had a live feel to it, capturing the action that was taking place in the moment.
Although David Sedaris is quite famous, his stories are always about everyday life situations that become hysterical in his telling. In this short segment he tells the story of realizing that for years his sister has been talking to him on the phone while doing her business in the bathroom. He makes the sounds of her straining to open a jar – doing his own sound effects in a sense. This is why I resist reading his books. There’s no way his writing can compare to his dead-pan voice.
Robert Andrew Powell documents the year-long sabbatical of his friend Bob Berenz as he tries to disprove Einstein’s theory of relativity (E=MC²). A number of people, including Bob’s wife are interviewed so the sound of the segment varies as new people are introduced. Everything flows together as Powell narrates the story.
Most interviews and story telling seems to take place in a studio or other sound-free environment. These types of stories really benefit from having music to provide transitions between sections of the narrative. I did pay attention to the music. How music is selected to do this is quite mysterious to me. I noticed that on the web page that gives details about the episode that each segment of the broadcast has a title and song whose title fits with the them of the segment. For example, Powell’s audio documentary “Sucker MC-Squared” is accompanied by the song “Modern Physics in Five Easy Verses,” by Bruce Lesnick. Is this a song that was made up for this documentary? If not how would know a song title that matches your story would also have a sound that would match your story?
This American Life has given me confidence that my idea for a podcast is a good one because it’s a true story from someone’s life. But how will I select the music used to accent the story? I’m a little worried about that.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Week 5 - Sound and Multimodality
I'm sorry I got behind this week while I had some extra work in my other class. Interestingly, as I was absorbed in all things Aristotle, the Cindy Selfe article quotes a portion of his definition of rhetoric in the conclusion. When she says, "all available means" in relation to communicating and persuasion she's borrowing directly from Aristotle, which I thought was pretty cool.
So I am guilty - of a print written language bias. I started to become aware of this when earlier in the semester we read that when writing instruction enters a native area, it undermines their oral language. Selfe really brought this bias I have to full consciousness and I'm guilty of thinking people that can't write have less intelligence and other terrible things.
This bias goes deep. I'm trained as a print reporter and we love to hate broadcast journalists. We're taught to not depend on any audio recording device. Your pencil is your best friend. I've been working with an elderly woman on and off the past five years getting down her life story. At first I used a digital recording device but had a lot of trouble with it. I ended up abandoning it.
I've always disliked the sound of my voice and hated hearing it recorded when I was a kid. Also, I'm tone deaf and sing like Cameron Diaz's character in a karoke bar in the movie My Best Friend's Wedding. Perhaps to compensate for this I reverted to the world of text - my best friend - my default mode. Although I gotta tell you that the reading demands of graduate school have definately challenged my abilities in this area.
So I'm ripe for a change. I'm really to listen while someone else talks. Can David Sedaris read our "reading assignments" to us? It would be a lot more fun.
So I am guilty - of a print written language bias. I started to become aware of this when earlier in the semester we read that when writing instruction enters a native area, it undermines their oral language. Selfe really brought this bias I have to full consciousness and I'm guilty of thinking people that can't write have less intelligence and other terrible things.
This bias goes deep. I'm trained as a print reporter and we love to hate broadcast journalists. We're taught to not depend on any audio recording device. Your pencil is your best friend. I've been working with an elderly woman on and off the past five years getting down her life story. At first I used a digital recording device but had a lot of trouble with it. I ended up abandoning it.
I've always disliked the sound of my voice and hated hearing it recorded when I was a kid. Also, I'm tone deaf and sing like Cameron Diaz's character in a karoke bar in the movie My Best Friend's Wedding. Perhaps to compensate for this I reverted to the world of text - my best friend - my default mode. Although I gotta tell you that the reading demands of graduate school have definately challenged my abilities in this area.
So I'm ripe for a change. I'm really to listen while someone else talks. Can David Sedaris read our "reading assignments" to us? It would be a lot more fun.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Week 4 - Blogs and Politics
In what ways do you see blogs being used for political purposes and/or civic discourse and how is this useful (or not)?
"A sphere of nonpublic opinion generated mostly by the mass media," is Jurgen Habermas' description of the state of public discourse as quoted by Matthew D. Barton is his article "The future of rational-critical debate in online public spheres," the most provocative of this week's political readings. Habermas (quoting C.W. Mills) makes a distinction between public and mass. Public discourse, while organized, is not controlled by any outside influences and is fluid, organic, real. Whereas, mass is discourse force-feed to the masses, who are unable to do anything but utter rote repetitions of what they've been feed. It is artificial, contrived and fake.
I had not yet read Barton's article when I previewed all the political websites on the schedule but I was looking for actual discourse. I have to say that the majority of posts in reaction to articles on the political sites were nothing but rote repetitions. I think it's really sad but I think our country is so politically polarized that discussions are filtered through party platforms before anyone speaks their mind on a blog - at least on these political websites.
I found one refreshing exception. Although not actually on the syllabus list I found some actual discourse within Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics blog. It can be linked to off of both Tom Udall and Swing State of Mind websites on the list.
I was reading the latest story in Bill McCamley's column trimming Politics. There was some very interesting discourse taking place in reaction to McCamley's post. One in particular struck me as, while opinionated, not partisan. Going by the name of Ben, the poster gave his thoughts on whether the government or individuals should pay for their health care. I could not tell what party he might affiliate himself with.
So while I wish it weren't so, it does seem that we are the masses being influenced by the mass media and original thinking and discourse is suffering for it.
"A sphere of nonpublic opinion generated mostly by the mass media," is Jurgen Habermas' description of the state of public discourse as quoted by Matthew D. Barton is his article "The future of rational-critical debate in online public spheres," the most provocative of this week's political readings. Habermas (quoting C.W. Mills) makes a distinction between public and mass. Public discourse, while organized, is not controlled by any outside influences and is fluid, organic, real. Whereas, mass is discourse force-feed to the masses, who are unable to do anything but utter rote repetitions of what they've been feed. It is artificial, contrived and fake.
I had not yet read Barton's article when I previewed all the political websites on the schedule but I was looking for actual discourse. I have to say that the majority of posts in reaction to articles on the political sites were nothing but rote repetitions. I think it's really sad but I think our country is so politically polarized that discussions are filtered through party platforms before anyone speaks their mind on a blog - at least on these political websites.
I found one refreshing exception. Although not actually on the syllabus list I found some actual discourse within Heath Haussamen on New Mexico Politics blog. It can be linked to off of both Tom Udall and Swing State of Mind websites on the list.
I was reading the latest story in Bill McCamley's column trimming Politics. There was some very interesting discourse taking place in reaction to McCamley's post. One in particular struck me as, while opinionated, not partisan. Going by the name of Ben, the poster gave his thoughts on whether the government or individuals should pay for their health care. I could not tell what party he might affiliate himself with.
So while I wish it weren't so, it does seem that we are the masses being influenced by the mass media and original thinking and discourse is suffering for it.
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