Edublogs (http://edublogs.org) or Moodle (http://moodle.org)

It is through modes such as this that the future of writing lies.  We must embrace change and encourage our students, and ourselves, to write in a wide variety of methods.

From this class, I have learned to embrace change.  I think when we are asked to veer away from the norm and do things differently, we are often hesitant.  Change can be scary and I have to admit, I was a bit nervous at the beginning of every assignment!  The first one totally threw me, as I had never been asked to think about the tools I use to write.  It was challenging to think outside of the box and try to express words without the tools I have always taken for granted.  But, in the end, I learned things that I never have in any of the MANY English classes I have taken. 

If someone asked me what to expect in this class, I would tell them to expect a challenge and to do your best to embrace it.  The assignments may seem strange at first, but they will ultimately teach you things you probably did not know before.  In addition, as someone who is working towards my secondary teacher certification, I can say that this class has taught me many things that I hope to take with me into my classroom one day.  I plan to teach high school English and I think I have learned that there are a variety of ways to actually teach English and many ways to explore the different aspects of writing.

What I have learned is that any advice given from classmates can be useful.  Sometimes their suggestions led me to change a small part of my essay and sometimes it helped to increase the overall content and depth of my essay.  So, as I mentioned in a previous blog on peer review, I think that, even if you only change one thing about your essay, it makes peer review a valuable process. 

When reviewing others work, I think it’s important to be as specific as possible in your suggestions.  I don’t think you ever want to be rude or offending, but rather tactful and helpful.  Suggest specific readings you think would work in the essay or point out particular sentences or paragraphs that you think need work.  I liked when classmates did things like this for me and I always tried to do the same for others.  Even though this wasn’t the smoothest experience, I still believe in the process of peer review.  It never hurts to have someone review and edit your work, so, in that sense, I will still say that this was a helpful and important exercise.

Overall, I thought the video-making process for this class was a positive one.  While it was initially difficult to get all of our schedules coordinated, I think, in the end, things worked out.  We came up with an idea, others came up with a script, others filmed, some acted, and some edited.  I think everyone was willing to offer ideas and give input.  It wasn’t supposed to be an Oscar-worthy film (thank goodness!), so I think we just learned to adapt to a new technology, while finding a way to express our understanding of course material.

In his article entitled, “From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literary Technologies,” Dennis Baron talks about how writing technologies have evolved over the years.  His discussion on how these technologies become acceptable and the ways in which they are compared to technologies of the past is something that can be explored in the video essay.

Scott McCloud’s book Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art explores the world of comics.  The ideas he presents about icons and symbols correlates to the video assignment, in terms of what types of props and things we use to represent ideas in the video.  Also, I think his discussion on transitions may be something that can be worked into the essay, as we work to create a sense of time within our scenes.  Lastly, the history of images and the relationship between pictures and words is another concept that can be explored in the video essay.

Another past reading that will be useful is Nancy Allen’s “Relationships Between Words and Images: An Overview.”  In this test, Allen talks about the history of images and the sometimes tumultuous relationship between images and words.  She discusses moving pictures and how they have added another layer of complexity to this relationship between words and images.

As far as my past posts regarding peer review, I think the process was the most successful the first time around.  My comments on the second peer review and this one are much the same – it’s a participation issue.  Obviously, the process will not be successful if not everyone posts their paper and offers comments.  I still think peer review is a great idea and, like I said in my first post about it, even if I only change one small thing in an essay, it makes the process valuable.  

After reviewing my classmates’ blogs, it seems that many of us have similar opinions on this process.  I think we were all hoping for it to be successful, but the lack of participation from some group members prevented that.  It’s frustrating to spend time reading and commenting on others essays, only to not have anyone take the time to do that for you.  Many of us wanted the feedback from others, but, for one reason or another, did not receive it.  I hope that I was helpful to those whose essays I reviewed and I do appreciate those that took the time to offer me suggestions.

Another concept discussed by McCloud is the motion line and how these are used to show movement in a drawing.  This comic uses one in the first panel to show the action of clicking a computer mouse.  I think the motion line was actually unnecessary in this frame, as the word “click” was enough to express what was happening in the scene. 

A final concept mentioned in McCloud’s book is color and its effect on comics.  In this instance, I think the color made quite a difference.  Being an online comic, I think the color serves to “attract readers more easily than black and white” (McCloud 192).  The colors are bold and bring the panels to life.  In addition, the color brings an authenticity to the symbol used.  Had it been in black and white, the concept would have still come across, but I think it would have made a big difference in the third panel that displays the logo.

In his book, Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art, Scott McCloud dissects comics and the inner workings of them.  One topic he discusses is the concept of transitions and how they are what move us through a comic.  There are several different types described and one of these, entitled “subject-to-subject,” is a comic that stays within the same scene in each panel (McCloud 71).  In Ferrell’s comic, the scene is a tennis court and it remains consistent throughout all four panels.  The reader is involved in the scene and moves with it throughout the comic to “render these transitions meaningful” (McCloud 71). 

Ferrell’s comic also employs the use of the motion line, which is one way a comic shows movement in a drawing.  In this particular comic, the first panel utilizes a motion line to show the bounce of the tennis ball as it comes across the net.  Without this line, the ball would look as though it were simply floating in space on the left side of the panel.  The line helps the ball look as though it has just come across the net, hit the ground, and bounced into the air.

Like many others, this comic utilizes word balloons to express the thoughts of the characters.  Each panel has one to two of these balloons that float above the heads of the character speaking the words.  The balloons are an oval shape and do not vary much between frames.

In his book, McCloud also discusses the concept of time in comics and how it can be portrayed in various ways.  A comic is able to make the reader pause, simply by the size and shape of their panels or by the actual number of panels used.  In this particular comic, readers can feel that time is continuous between the frames.  It is an ongoing conversation and there are no large pauses.  It feels as though it is a quick, back-and-forth dialogue between two characters. 

Overall, the concepts presented in McCloud’s book offer ways to delve further into comics and interpret them in different ways, proving that there is more beneath the surface than often appears.

I have always drawn to things that are neat, clean, and simple; uncluttered, yet visually interesting.  On our site, each page has a box.  Within the box, there are two sides.  On one side, there is a large image on the bottom with a smaller square of text above it.  On the other side, there is a large box of text on the bottom, with three smaller squares of images above it.  text.  For me, that provided the idea of balance and symmetry mentioned in Picturing Texts, a way to have “equal weight on each side” (26).  Each page is setup the exact same way, but just has different information contained within it.

In regards to comparison and contrast, the images on the site are basically the same, but with different colors in them.  This offers viewers a chance to compare the colors and determine what best meets their needs and wants. 

The text on this site is fairly minimal, as the information we needed to provide was simple and straightforward.  The main focus is the images. The pictures are meant to tell the story, so that our customers can see what our products actually look like.  I’m certain we would not have had the same impact if we had used words to describe what a room looks like with our chair covers and sashes.  As the authors in Picturing Texts stated, “some visual texts require no explanation – we can tell just by looking at them what they are or what they say” (52). 

In terms of point of view, the writing throughout the site uses the first person plural “we” and the second person “you.”  We chose this style because we wanted to speak directly to our customer in a personal way.  We work with them to help them achieve the look they want for their wedding or event and I think it would seem impersonal if we did not use this type of writing style. 

Overall,  the article helped me to see that many of the choices we made in constructing our site were purposeful, but actually very subconscious.  It was only when pausing to further analyze the site that I was able to see just how much images and texts impact our everyday lives and the ways in which we utilize technology, such as the Internet.

As for the Wetpaint Wiki space, I thought the site had its pros and cons.  It was nice to be able to have everyone’s rules and essays posted in one spot.  It was also easy to post items and to edit the text.  The negative aspect of the site was the advertising.  While I understand this is just part of  being able to use sites like this for free, it was still distracting and made the site seem cluttered.

I think the idea of peer review is a great one.  The problem lies in the fact that not everyone seems to participate, which makes it difficult to get the full benefit from it.