Chapter 26:

This chapter was very interesting to read, and incredibly valuable for those of us in the Prof/Tech field. I was very impressed with the insights that the book offered. From the challenges you'll face as a writer to actually getting the job, it was all there. I appreciated the section on networking. That is one valuable tool that is talked about more and more as time goes on. Plus, the book even gives some networking sites applicable to students, beginners and those in our designated field. I appreciated reading this chapter as we all begin to look for opportunities to learn and grow outside of the student realm.
This has been a fun class. I gained so much information from the class and my peers. Good luck to each of you in your individual endevours! Oh the places we'll go! ☺

Stories that Speak to Us

"We don’t always know what literacy experiences they bring to the classroom; we don’t know how or why they learn best; we don’t always know what identities they have forged for themselves as literate individuals, and we don’t know how these identities might affect the instruction we provide."

I liked this paragraph in the last assigned article. Students, and people in general, all learn so differently. This acknowledges and verifies this clearly. This was a fun article, because again, it was more personal. When telling stories of ourselves, we are sharing our history. But we can also become whoever we want to be. Personal narratives give us this opportunity.

Alice In Wikiland

I enjoyed the fact that this author was much more personal in her writing. The fact that she used Alice as a comparison to the new student was fantastic. It was easy to view this confused new student because people have a reference to Alice. This made the entire paper more understandable.
As I read on I was interested in her ideas of the concepts she was writing about. The audience section gave a good definition of the audience, one that I had not previously thought of before. The author wrote, "Audience, defined in its broadest terms, is the body of readers who will interpret a text (for a wiki is a text-driven community). This body of readers can be imaginary or real, explicit or implicit." The most eye-opening part of that, for me, was the "imaginary or real." I have never thought of an "imaginary" audience. Yet, for those writing on the internet, how many people imagine who might be reading their blog? Probably quite a few.

The Evolution of Writing

This article uses the word "cognative" over and over and over again. And in reading it I felt like a less cognative human being. Confession: I was confused. Although I felt better when the author wrote, "For what it's worth, a cognitive scientist reading this would be as equally perplexed as a rhetorician might." Since I am neither, I guess that gives me full permission to be "perplexed."
 hat I took from this article is that writing,and the rhetoric displayed through it, is important and memorable. In having online outlets to write and share, we are continuoulsy able to retain information by words associated with images and even the placement of the writing.
The article also talks a lot about "constants" in writing and rhetoric. Through technology, that constant is certainly changing.

Opening New Media to Writing

I think one of the main ideas that I took from this excerprt was the idea of NEW being different, and obviously altering the way we think. But even though she relates this idea to a rug being pulled out from under you, I don't think it's a bad thing. On page 1 she quotes from the author of Writing Space who says, "What will be lost is not literacy itself, but the literacy of print, for electronic technology offers us a new kind of book and new ways to read and write."  So again, the idea of NEW not as a bad thing, but just different. And in those differences are many possibilities for the future of readers, writers and teachers.

The Museum of Me

I found this article VERY interesting and well-written. I would like to answer the question that asks, "How does the Internet MEDIATE these people's work or social relationships?"

The answer to this question is directly related to a paragraph on page 642 of Ullmen's article. The internet removes the physical mediator from our lives. Where we use to need a travel agent, real-estate agent, insurance agent, sales clerk or even teacher, the internet has now replaced that. The internet is now the mediator and we take on those roles for ourselves. I recently went to Las Vegas for a weekend and used a site I had never used to find a great deal on a hotel. I did this instead of using a travel agent or even picking up my phone to call for prices of a hotel. I found a great deal and had a great weekend. ☺

Chapter 15 or 16 Blog Post?

Hi Jessica, We missed your post for Chapter 15 or 16 this week. Please keep up with future assignments announced in class. Dr. B =)