November, 2015
Dear Diary,
I registered for the classes I would like to take in the Spring Semester of 2016. I wanted to complete the required courses and select the others from the Topics Courses. I immediately went through the list because in the past I was so disappointed that several of these programs were not offered. I was told the professors were off on sabbatical or away for some other reason. This time, however, a substitute course was being offered for EGL 506, and listed as: Topics in Composition and Writing, EGL 614. What a relief!
January 17th 2015
Dear Diary,
We were notified that a tentative syllabus and calendar had been posted in Documents on the SBU Blackboard. I was curious, and checked right away. The overview stated “Welcome to Writing 614, Digital Rhetorics (Reading/Writing/Culture Across Networks), a graduate course offered by Stony Brook University Program in Writing and Rhetoric and cross-listed by the English Department. My immediate reaction was: Digital Rhetorics? What in the world is this? I perused the document and the words that jumped out at me were ‘digital spaces’, ‘digital composing’, ‘blog’, and ‘new media literacies’. What are these concepts? What in the world am I getting myself into?
January 28th, 2016
Dear Diary,
Just before going to class I braced myself and read the rest of the document posted by the Professor. She gave an outline of the course and assignments as well as the regulations. ..”This is possibly one of the strangest reading lists you’ll ever see for a graduate humanities class…This is a disciplinary area in continual flux. I invite you to contribute your own findings to this list! bring in your own theoretical leanings, or pedagogical training, to bear on the course work.” I hear myself asking…’Gwen do you really want to do something you are unsure of?’
At 4pm class was convened. I learned that there were other students who were as puzzled as I was. How does ‘Topics in Composition and Writing’ become ‘Digital Rhetorics’? No one asked the Professor the question. We all listened. The background information on the origins of the internet was interesting. The activity that followed put my mind at ease as I learned that I was not the only one who had not had any formal computer training but interacted with the machines on an experimental basis. However, what worried me was how I would be able to set up my own blog with an avatar…something I had no clue about! In the days which followed the class, I visited various websites and finally chose wordpress.com. This website was not complicated and I set up my blog without assistance from anyone. The challenge was getting my avatar embedded. Every time I tried, Safari sent notification that the source I was using was not a secure site. This was frustrating! I took a break and did some thinking, maybe I was doing something wrong. I reached out for help and was comforted to learn that Safari had responded in the same way and refused to cooperate. That was when I turned to Firefox and in seconds my avatar was in place.
At last! My avatar is embedded!
February 4th, 2016
Dear Diary,
I was fascinated by the information that came out of class discussion on Remediation. Immediately I reflected on the saying, ‘Nothing is new under the sun.’ I recalled the many songs and films in which remediation played a major role in producing what was exciting and different. I had no difficulty then in writing a blog on Natalie and Nat King Cole’s ‘Unforgettable’, a duet I enjoyed immensely.
Virtual duet, Nat King Cole, many years deceased and his daughter in a live performance. Youtube video by Joey Coco
February 11th, 2016
Dear Diary,
The Hayles document captured my attention and I read beyond the pages that had been assigned. Of course, her language was filled with jargon which could have been a turn off for anyone not used to cutting through such language in order to appreciate the main argument being advanced. I made a connection between Hayles’ thoughts about flickering signifiers and the Sherlock video, “A Scandal in Belgravia”. But, as a student of Drama, I saw so much more that the video presented thematically and technologically. I enjoyed doing my class presentation on it.
February 18th, 2016
Dear Diary,
In reviewing “A Rape in Cyberspace”, I was surprised that some of the contributors were insensitive to the fact that people who had been victims of rape, could relive that whole painful experience through the cyberspace presentation. However, I did take the point that cyberspace must be democratic in respecting the fact that there are limits to individual freedoms where those freedoms infringe on the rights and freedoms of others.
February 25th,2016
Dear Diary,
This session, though interesting, was highly theoretical and more intense than previous sessions. Maybe an activity such as a debate could have created some excitement.
March 3rd, 2016
Dear Diary,
The class enjoyed several lively discussions on Video Games and ‘My Life As a Night Elf Priest. Those of us who had never played games were able to actively participate in the class having had the experience of watching others play. This session facilitated peer learning and dialogue on controversial issues raised by the casting of characters and whether race or gender were important factors in their creation.
March 10th, 2016
Dear Diary,
“Remix” provided much food for thought, and Lessig made an invaluable point about public access to important documents. This is important in any functioning democracy. The presentation by Guest Lecturer, Darren Chase, gave invaluable guidelines for avoiding infringement of the copyright laws. I felt outrage at Aaron Swartz’s experience and the film by Knappenberger made me feel compelled to get on my soap box, and so I did, speaking from my heart, monologue style.
Address to the ‘jury’ in the Aaron Swartz ‘case’
March 24th 2016
Dear Diary,
KAIROS was interesting and gave useful pointers for persons interested in publishing. The discussion on the creation of webtexts was complicated but informative. At the end of the session, I reflected on why so many publishing houses were motivated by greed rather than a genuine interest in promoting and encouraging writing as an art.
March 31st, 2016
Dear Diary,
Wiki is an internet source I was always warned not to use as it was unreliable. This class gave me the opportunity to see the positive side of Wiki as a useful tool in the classroom. The value of ePortfolio was something I never gave much thought to. This is another teaching treasure.
April 7, 2016
Dear Diary,
It was great fun looking for Memes and learning of their power to communicate messages at different levels. Students in a classroom would love this! Online Activism also provided food for thought, as an avenue through which people could make their voices heard and press for action. Although hackers featured prominently in the literature, we had to look at the pros and cons of hacking. This was enlightening.
April 14th, 2016
Dear Diary,
One brave student presented her project which was nearing completion. It was her first effort at creating a webtext and she did an excellent job. She shared her experiences with us explaining the moments of joy as well as disappointment. She benefited from comments and recommendations from the class, and we benefited from the experiences she shared.
April 21st, 2016
Dear Diary,
I signed up to meet with Professor Davidson at 2.30. This turned out to be a very productive event. I had the opportunity to ask specific questions about my project and she gave invaluable advice as to how I could enhance my work. I was happy, but asked myself what is APA format ? I never ever had to use it…but now I know why…it is usually used for scientific documents and I was dealing with time sensitive material. My project work became addictive. I was driven to write and create every day and loved it. I had no fear of experimenting and did a lot of that, and learned important things as I went along. For example, the website was kind enough to warn me not to embed a video I had made unless it was first converted, if not, my system would crash. I spent hours playing around with the video until I got it converted to mp4. There was cause for celebration! Of course there were frustrations like trying to call St.Kitts and not getting through because the internet was down island wide! Added to that, my internet service here in Long Island was unstable at times but thankfully, I only lost one sentence.
April 28th and May 5th, 2016
Dear Diary,
I looked forward to these last two sessions with mixed feelings. I enjoyed the interaction but dreaded having to put my work on the screen before the class. I was far more comfortable talking about it rather than showing it. Professor Davidson insisted. I spoke confidently, but my hands trembled and I struggled to control the ‘butterflies’ in my stomach when I had to look at my work on screen. Words could never express my relief when I had to end to allow the final presenter to do her job!
Now I am completely relaxed and can reflect on the entire experience, I can say that despite my initial hesitancy, which is often caused by fear of the unknown, this has been an enjoyable and thoroughly rewarding experience. So will you celebrate with me in the traditional style of my country? Or as we say it….come and shake a leg?
Youtube video by Carib Island Films