Martians on Mars

Why did they not see it coming? Did they really think that a world existed where all their past lives were combined into one town. But like Captain Black said, "A man doesn't ask too many questions when his mother is suddenly brought back to life; he's much too happy." The picture of the town that I had seemed to be out of a Tim Burton flick. Kinda like Edward Scissor Hands or something. A little too perfect. Bradbury seems to set this up from the minute they land. He mentions that it was a perfect spring day. He describes the town as a dreamland complete with dreamy music drifting through the air. They should have known! Nothing is perfect. In the end it was too late. Captain John Black as well as his men were already in the depths of deception. Why were there seventeen graves waiting for the men though? I thought that the crew had dwindled to sixteen during the journey. Maybe I missed something. What a great classic science fiction piece though. Maybe Tim Burton could extend the short story into a feature length film. That would be cool. As far as converting this piece into a radio show goes, I would have to reference Orson Wells' and his incredible translation of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds. It would be a similar task don't you think. Converting a written piece of science fiction into a spoken theatrical radio production. I know that Orson put a lot of thought into his production. Hell, he even freaked out a whole nation because he did such a good job. He would be idol if my task was to make a radio show of Mars is Heaven!

Intellectual Property

It's interesting to think about collaborative writing and how that affects the notion of ownership. Ownership or authorship seems to be really important and that's why intellectual property laws exist. With that being said, technology such as wikis are challenging these established laws. Vie and DeWinter write, "Wikis too are far from neutral; they are a battlefield upon which concepts of intellectual property are challenged and sometimes attacked." I can see why wikis would challenge the old notion of ownership. Wikis seem to promote a voice that is the combination of many. A choir of thinkers singing the same thoughts. I imagine that this collaboration was not accounted for in the original laws established to protect authors. Not that authors haven't been collaborating before. Guys like Burroughs and Kerouac were writing together in the fifties. Burroughs even developed a cut up fold in method to collaborate with authors that were not even alive during his lifetime. I wonder what the intellectual property guys thought about that? Regardless I can see that the old ways of thinking have to change to accommodate the new ways of writing. Thats probably a lot easier written that done. I can't imagine that the authors of this article struggling to collaborate on this piece. I can only guess that the two authors combined their knowledge and experience with the subject and both threw forth their words. Maybe the only struggle was to keep it at a moderate length.

Wikis are Wild or are Wilds Wikis

I like the thought of wikis becoming a substitute for the age old blackboard. Wikis seem to offer a lot when combined with the classroom setting. Although there is still authority possessed by teachers, a wiki can be used not just by the teacher but also by the students. I have never personally used a wiki but I look forward to gaining the experience. Martin states, "a class wiki provides an ideal online interface with which to address the fissures and overlaps between creative, collaborative, and theoretical work, while also providing students a space they can access and edit." An interface that allows students to collaborate seems important. Thinking about it now, it seems like a logical step. The interaction taking place in the classroom grows with a wiki. Of course in-class discussions allow the students to interact freely but this is strictly verbal. Some students might not feel comfortable speaking up. Writing is extremely important as well, but in the past this has been pretty much a teacher student one on one. Wikis allow the students to interact with each other through writing as well. The teacher is not eliminated from the equation however. Martin explains, "Because the wiki is online, the teacher can constantly check on a project's progress and also have access to which members of the group are contributing." Seems to me that a wiki gets everyone in the classroom interacting and collaborating. I can sympathize with the students that feel a bit paranoid about having other peers edit their work. I think this will pass however. I believe that students will eventually feel comfortable with this process. The preconceived notion that your words are final will change. Everything evolves and eventually your ideas will fuel somebody else's fire. This is how growth occurs. The only disadvantage of the editing process I can see now is that someone's motives might not be for the cause of education. An advantage of using a wiki in the classroom is that using digital media also increases student's skills with technology. Dusenberry explains further, "Using the technology in the classroom not only benefits their writing but also asks them to think consciously about the visual design of their documents. These skills will enhance their ability to express themselves digitally." I agree. Digital media is the way. The only thing I am confused about is the Wild. Is this another digital term or something. It occurred three times in the article. Here is an example. "The students and I found the wild to be very useful, but not without some limitations and frustrations." I assume that a wild is really a wiki. But yeah, wikis are pretty wild.

Mutimodality

Takayoshi and Selfe bring together a compelling argument for multimodality within the the compositional education system. Multimodality is simply a word used to describe texts that go beyond just the printed word. Blogs, for example, can include words, music, pictures, and videos to express an opinion. The main argument for the article "Thinking about Multimodality" is that this ability to be multimodal as a student should be taught at the basic level of composition. They make the point that while technology is changing rapidly, composition education has remained the same. They write, "the texts that students have produced in response to composition assignments have remained essentially the same for the past 150 years." I would have to agree with this article. I believe that to be well versed in expression this day in age, multimodal composition skills are a must. This article seems to be the answer that Daley was looking for in her article. It takes Daley's ideas and creates a map of how to achieve multimodality in the educational system. Multimodality seems to have taken off with the use of blogs to express opinions. Nardi explains that blogs are the medium that many people use to express themselves. She writes, "In our sample, we discovered five major motivations for blogging: documenting one’s life; providing commentary and opinions; expressing deeply felt emotions; articulating ideas through writing; and forming and maintaining community forums." It seems that blogs have become the first step in an all inclusive multimodal expression pallet. Like everything else, blogs are constantly changing and adapting with the times. We see this through Walker's struggle to pinpoint what a web blog is in just five hundred words. It's tough to describe something that is constantly evolving. I believe that we will see blogs continue to grow in ways that will change the definition of what a web blog is still.

Literacy and Media or is it Media Literacy?

Daley makes a common argument with her article "Expanding the Concept of Literacy." She explains that literacy in our current time does not only include reading and writing the traditional printed word but also understanding the more recent innovations in technology such as hypertext. She explains "Print first allowed for mass literacy, and it has been very effective, but to privilege a print language often means to ignore the success of the technologies-audio recording, radio, cinema, and television-that have come into existence since the primary modes of print were developed." I would have to agree with Daley in the fact that the printed word is not the only form of communication used. It is, in my opinion, not even the most effective way to communicate in some aspects of life. The saying a "picture says a thousand words" comes to mind. Interactive media such as blogs combine several forms of communication into just one medium. As for Daley's example of this style of literacy being eventually required in College, I would argue that Daley's argument is almost moot. Maybe its because I am a communications major but I think that learning to become media literate this day in age is required. Thats why we have to take the course Media Literacy.

Techy Students

I Think that technology will help students and education as a whole. Like the video suggested, inventors are not just enhancing life but education as well. I think Kurzweil is at the forefront of inventing technology that benefits education. So are these guys Apple does not disappoint and each time I purchase a new product I am extremely impressed with how well they enhance my education process. My recent purchase...