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Pecha Kucha – Nicole Gross

A Walk Through A Slide: I decided to choose this picture because it shows the reality of anonymous online bullying. This image is from a website called Formspring. I, like most people, have had accounts askwith Formspring and many other social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. They are just addicting to be on.

This picture fit in perfectly with my narrative because throughout the whole narrative, bullying and cyberbullying were the main topics. In this particular picture, cyberbullying is occurring because people are saying mean things such as “you are fat”, “do you try to look ugly or do you always look like that?” and “they would never like you”, which are all hurtful comments. For this slide in my pecha kucha presentation, Kevin Kelly acknowledged how social media would expand beyond what they originally thought. Formspring really took over in 2006-2010. This was not like any other social media website like Facebook or Twitter. This was just anonymous comments from people. I chose Kevin Kelly’s article, We Are the Web because it made me think of the various amounts of social media websites there actually are. When I think social media, I think Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The more social media, the more cyberbullying occurs.

I felt as if this picture fit in perfectly with my slides because it shows a real life example of cyberbullying. I think this picture stood out to most people because of the hurtful comments that people do make and can relate to it, even if it hasn’t happened to them. This picture builds on my argument by giving proof. Anyone can say things like “I hate you” or “go away” but those are different. Cyberbullying has to go a little deeper and has to impact a person. For example, in the picture the second response says, “I try to look pretty but…” which shows it has impacted this person’s confidence. Overall, I’m very glad I found this picture because I think it helped describe and prove our point about how bullying and cyberbullying affect people.

If I were to change one thing, I would have changed the order in which we discussed things. For example, I think Facebook should have been included and the first topic of discussion since it is one of the biggest social media cites with a lot of bullying.

What I learned about my blog topic: My blog topic was future teachers of America. I thought this was a very fitting topic for my group since we are all aspiring to become teachers. I have been learning all about the teaching process throughout my years in college, whether at Rowan or another school. I felt as if this was an easy topic to relate anything to because we are always learning new things.

Each article in the readings, I was able to relate to the topic of teaching. For example, Bolter’s article and the Memex article. Bolter’s article was about the technology in writing so I related it to teaching writing in the classroom multiple ways. For the memex article, I was able to compare how technology helps our writing today and how the memex was used back then. These articles gave me a new perspective on writing and ideas that I didn’t even know were possible. It showed me how we can still get by even with the use of little technology or tons of technology.

For my outside readings, I found it very interesting because there were so many topics I could choose from. My favorite, however, was the Ellen Degeneres blog post. I have been watching The Ellen Show for many years, it is my favorite daytime talk show. Constantly, Ellen and her team have been helping teachers because they understand how difficult it can be. Just the little things can go such a long way. I felt as if this was a great opportunity to give credit to Ellen because some day I hope I get recognized as an outstanding teacher.Unknown

Overall, my blog topic was perfect for me. I enjoyed reading these articles whether required or not because they were pertaining to my future. It impacted me in a way that many people won’t understand because of their choice of career. Education is such an important thing that people should not take for granted. Also, I hope as a future educator that people start to see what a different we truly make in student’s lives.

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Tweet Tweet Tweet – Nicole Gross

I have always had a love for Twitter. I think it is incredibly cool how you can tweet at famous people directly. That was my main reason for starting a Twitter account in the first place. However, Twitter can be usimagesed for an educational purpose if you follow the right people. For module 3 in my Introduction to Writing Arts class, I think that it really opened my eyes to a whole new world of Twitter.

During this Twitter assignment, I would live tweet about reading assignments or even a story being shared in class. I enjoy live tweeting when I am able to because it is something to capture in the moment. For example, my professor shared a story about the police, which I thoroughly enjoyed so I “live tweeted” (see below).

 

If you check out my Twitter account (@nicole_gross3), you will see every time I would live tweet when my tweets start with “*live tweeting*”. Also, we had several readings to blog about for this module. Although the readings were sometimes long, they were always interesting and showed me something new. It was difficult for me to Screen Shot 2015-04-30 at 4.31.25 PMlive tweet while reading because I would end up getting distracted and looking around on Twitter. I ended up embedding a few tweets in previous blogs from the Huffington Post Educational twitter account since I found them to have the most recent information open for discussion. Personally, from all of the accounts I followed in the Educational    community, @HuffPostEdu was my favorite. This accounScreen Shot 2015-04-30 at 4.33.41 PMt has some very informative tweets along with links to their article about the topic. I found myself replying to this account mainly because as a future teacher, I can relate to their articles. Unfortunately, no one ever replied to these tweets. Although that was a little discouraging, I didn’t let it stop me from tweeting to them again. Since the Huffington Post Educational is a news source for all people in the field of education, their account is following many editors of magazines and newspapers. Also, they are being followed by workers in schools such as librarians, art teachers, etc. This account tweets several times a day, each post being a relative tweet to today’s news. This account is up to date with their posts and articles. Their tweets mention what their attached article is about. I think that is smart because it hooks your followers right away. Check out the tweet below from Huffington Post Educational’s account. This particular tweet caught my attention right away because bullying is a big problem in schools, which is something I need to be aware of as a future teacher. This is one tweet I replied to, but got no response.

 

Overall, this Twitter assignment was something different, something I had never been asked to do for a class. I think that it was a great way to get yourself in your professional community. Social media is a great way to network yourself, if you network yourself with the right people.

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Challenge Accepted – Nicole Gross

Everyone is on Facebook these days, it seems to be the social norm. Personally, I use Facebook to connect with friends in other countriesfacebook-eye_2459156b and to stay updated with events going on during school. It was difficult to decide whether or not to give Facebook up or something else. I felt as if I would miss too much about what is going on if I were to not go on Facebook for a week, so I chose to give up Instagram instead.

Instagram (for those who might not know) is another social media app where you can post pictures or videos. You have, like Twitter, followers and you follow others. Personally, it took me a long time to start enjoying Instagram because I felt as if it were like another Twitter. Of the three social medias, Twitter is my favorite. This “experiment” to not use Instagram for a week was challenging. There were times where I would accidentally got on it out of habit since I’m so used to having it. The first two or three days were the hardest because it had just gotten taken away, almost like a child being punished and not being able to watch television. 7448717958_1738735d85_b

I have had a similar experience when I would go on vacation out of the country and wasn’t able to use my phone at all. I had to go from one hundrend to zero in a blink of an eye for a week. I wasn’t able to send or receive text messages, use Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. This was very tough for me. I always felt that after the first day of feeling empty without your phone was done, it only got easier. The only difference between this vacation and this assignment was that I was constantly busy on vacation and didn’t think about it too often, whereas during school, it’s all about socializing so it’s more of a necessity.

Overall, this assignment opened my eyes to how much we are dependent and addicted to social media. It has become a part of our everyday lives, which we are used to. Instagram isn’t such a big deal like Facebook is, however they are alike in the way that our minds work around social media. People jump from one social media to another all day long trying to stay updated. I felt as if this was a refresher for most people and had them focus on something different for a change.

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One In a Million – Nicole Gross

I cannot begin to express how much I appreciate Ellen Degeneres. Her daytime talk show is one of my favorites for several reasons. However, the main reason is that she helps teachers all arounthe-ellen-degeneres-show-50f4a6bb7ebd9d the world who try their very best to provide as much as they can for their students. I enjoy finding these videos because I know they are going to get a surprise of a lifetime. Recently, I saw a video that really touched my heart. It’s truly amazing how much something as small as money can do to someones life.

In this video, Sonya Romero is a kindergarten teacher in New Mexico who makes sure her students are all fed and wearing clean clothes before she starts her lessons for the day. This is a quality so rare that teachers have. One day, I will strive to be just like Sonya who is a true inspiration to not only me but to all teachers. This video really shows her passion for teaching and compassion as a teacher (honestly, I did not make it through this video without tearing up). She feels as if she is a “first responder” for these students. She became a foster parent to former students because they had no where else to go. She took on the responsibility because she puts others before herself. Sonya is a hero to all children and look upon as a fantastic role model at her elementary school.

The video shows how Target donated $10,000 to Sonya and $10,000 to the elementary school. This amazing gift will go a long way for both the school and Sonya. Sonya already has a son of herSonya-Romero-2 own plus foster children, so I’m sure she very much appreciated this surprise. Teachers in general, don’t make a lot of money (which should be changed since teachers make a huge difference in the world) so this donation is genuinely humbling, even from an outsiders point of view. I hope one day that more teachers will be recognized for their amazing job and difference that they make in a student’s life. Teachers are more impactful on children than you might think.

I have tweeted several times (@nicole_gross3) about how the Ellen Degeneres show changes teachers lives. I hope to one day impact students the way that Sonya does. Sonya is one in a million teachers. School administration should be looking for these qualities before hiring teachers because of the impact that they will make on potential students.

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Screen Shot – Nicole Gross

In Kevin Kelly’s New York Times article, “Idea Lab – Becoming Screen Literate” opens up our eyes to a whole new vision of screens in technology. The first thing that I thought was super interesting was how he explains to us howphoto screens are everywhere. When you think of screens, you probably think about a computer screen or a television screen. I never considered the ATM (see picture below) to have a screen or tUnknownhe supermarkets self check out machines (see picture to the right), but in fact, Kelly is right when he says this. “We are becoming people of the screen” (Kelly). This is true because it is fast and reliable. There is a lot less wait time with these screens. We cannot escape from these screens. No matter what, more and more screens are going to appear in our everyday lives. For example, traveling by airplane can have a screen for the passengers to watch a movie on during a long flight.

However, there is another type of screen that Kelly mentions, film screens. For example, Hollywood film screens make a ton of money and are a huge success. On the other hand, films on YouTube are being produced by normal human begins like you. These films can be original movies or homemade videos. Either way, film screens are widely known and can be a big success. As a future educator, I think that making films is a good way of students to express themselves. For instance, the student can record themselves playing the guitar and singing. This can show you a lot about that student. Also, a student can be given a choice of movies to watch and do a creative assignment on that movie. This allows the student to express themselves through art.

Lastly, cinematography is key when writing and producing screen films. Cinematograhy is “a film [that] is planned out in scenes; the scenes are filmed (usually more than once); and from a surfeit of these captured scenes, a movie is assembled” (Kelly). With the development of screen technologyproduction, movie making is a little bit easier. Kelly says, “it is like a writer’s paragraph, constantly being revised. Scenes are not captured (as in a photo) but built up incrementally”.

There are many types of screens, today. Technology is taking over many screens such as computers, tablets, television, movies, and even everyday errands. Kelly discusses with us his reasoning for how we need to adapt to the screens around us. Screens are everywhere.

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Bolter- Alex Esposito

As I was reading Bolter’s “Writing as a Technology” I began to make a prediction as to what his chapter was going to be about. I predicted that he would describe writing technologies from the beginning of time until present day. He would describe things such as the printing press, and scribes, and the pen and paper, then finally the computer. He would explain how these writing tools evolved throughout time and how they helped aid the way we use writing technologymeso_scribe today. There would be skeptics, as always but they would eventually see that writing technology helps them as writers. As I continued to read I quickly realized that my prediction was true.

In his chapter, Bolter does describe these things, and I agree with his opinion. Writing technologies have changed throughout time and through these globechanges we as people are able to write and communicate in ways like never before. I once was a skeptic as well. Through my school days, I was very apprehensive to move from one writing technology to the next. I feared that my writing wouldn’t hold the same authenticity if I moved from one technology to the next, but as I continued to write, I realized that my fear had been invalid.

One aspect of writing technology that Bolter brought up in this chapter was language (18). At first, I did not think of language as a form of writing technology. Up until now I always thought of a writing technology as a tangible tool, not something that people possess. However, the more I thought of it, the more I recognized language to be a writing tool in many different ways. One way is through spoken word. People use language in order to express things to one another, whether it be feelings, or thoughts, or for other various reasons. Those words will then be interpreted by the listener, much like writing is interpreted by the reader. Another way language can be used as a tool is through different writing tasks, for example: a different language is used when writing a personal narrative as opposed to writing a research paper. These languages are then interpreted by the readers.

As one can see, reading Bolter really allowed me to see writing technology in a different light. I now believe that language can be considered a writing technology, however I still believe that all writing technologies serve a purpose in today’s world. They allow writers to express themselves in different ways as well as allow them to convey their thoughts in more efficient ways.

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Oh, Bolter, you genius!

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Jay Bolter understands technology in a fascinating way. Technology is development of a new way to do something. When looking at a pencil, you don’t say “this is the first stage of evolution… for the computer”, but it really is one of them. Before computers existed, people used whatever they could to write. “The digital computer suggests a new definition of the machine, as a complex interrelation of logical as well as physical parts that, unlike the steam engine and the dynamo, processes information rather than produces power”, says Jay Bolter in his chapter “Writing as Technology” in “Writing Space: Computers, Hypertext, and the Remediation of Print”. This quote suggests that the steam engine and the dynamo do the same things, produce power, but the dynamo is a new technology that developed from the steam engine, just like the computer is a new technology that has developed from papyrus and scribes from the medieval times.

You can look at almost anything and think of something that served it’s purpose in an earlier time, in a different, usually less efficient, way. Right now I’m looking at a cup, before cups people drank from mugs that they made out of clay, and before that technology, people used leaves to hold water and drink from. Before my notebook, I used folders. Before I owned a printer, I went to the library to print things.

Something in my life that has evolved with new technology, is the camera. I have always been fascinated by photography, as long as I remember. I now have a fancy Fujifilm camera that takes awesome pictures, so I can capture my family’s memories. Before this camera, I had a shockproof, waterproof, digital camera that was an alright camera, but the picture quality wasn’t there. Before that camera, I had a regular 8 megapixel digital camera. Before that camera, I had a 7 megapixel camera, a 6 megapixel camera, a 5 megapixel camera, and so on. It seemed as though every year, the cameras became more and more developed and had more megapixels. Before the age of digital cameras, I used disposable cameras. Disposable cameras were funny. Back in that time, people weren’t able to take 100 selfies before they had the perfect one because you weren’t able to see your pictures until they were developed. I still have undeveloped disposable cameras laying around because they were expensive to develop. I need to develop them before the developing technology fades away! Before I discovered the disposable camera, I had a little camera that took crappy pictures and printed them out on a 1×1 sticker. Before that camera, I used my Gameboy camera to take pictures. This also goes for video technologies.

When we think of technology, we think of the latest computers and televisions, but something as simple as a pencil is a technology.

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Bolter’s View on Technology in Writing – Nicole Gross

Bolter has many good ideas about writing and writing technologies in his article. One thing that he mentioned that caught my attention right away was about the pen. “Despite its apparent immediacy, however, oral poetry is no more natural than writing, just as writing with a pen and paper is no more natural, no less technological, than writing on a computer screen” (Bolter 17).This is true in my life. I find that typing on a computer is now as technological as writing free handedly.

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With the rise of technology today, writing has multiple meaning, not just writing with a pen and paper. Writing can be different genres and written in several fashions, such as through a computer. “Each technology of writing involves different materials or different ways of deploying the writing materials, and these differences are significant” (Bolter 19). This is very important, especially in the classroom. Students need to be aware of the necessary materials required for class whether it is a pen and paper for in class activities or tablets to type their assignments on.

It’s important to remember that each culture has their owimgresnstyle of writing. People come from all around the world with different knowledge about writing, so it is important to figure out the proper tools needed to write and write with technology.

Towards the end of Bolter’s article, in Chapter 3, hypertext is mentioned. I find that hypertexts are an important part of technological writing. For example, this can help expand a readers mind and open their minds up to something new. Also, hypertexts can help develop someone’s writing with new ideas and tools. This can help you verify information that is being expressed. Even though this part of Bolter’s article is cut off, I think it is importnat to recognize it.

Lastly, Bolter explains to us about remediation in writing. He explains how “in Western Europe the shift from handwritten codex to printed book was another such refashioning, and the shift to electronic wrting is yet another” (Bolter 23). This explains how such a change takes place from shift to shift. It must have been difficult for people to adapt to each change in writing. I know that today, it takes time to get used to different keyboards because we get used to a specific one and others can have different features. For example, the keys are be spaced further or closer apart. Bolter makes great points about his view on technology in writing.