Blog Post #11

I use email predominantly for file transfers or getting in contact with professors. I also have my amazon package’s tracking numbers sent to my account. I do not carry casual conversations over email, it's use is school oriented for the most part. The biggest pet peeve on email would be punctuation, then capitalization of “I.” I too have let lower case “I’s” go but it still eats away at me when I re-read the messages.

I use text messaging for a variety if reasons. I like to text previous to calling friends so I do not interupt them if they are busy. Texts are like written voicemails which can be picked up and returned at the senders convenience.

Texts are usually to the point but can't express different pitches and tones that give extra meaning in regular speech. Some texts I confuse for sarcastic remarks when they really are not. But otherwise, texts I consider to be the quickest way to give notice to things in advance, like a reminder.

I also like to text because you can send the same notification to a group of friends. A lot of the mass texts I receive are to announce that there will be dinner somewhere at a particular time.

Recently I started mass texting video that I take on the weekends of friends either diving or playing animal sharades off the diving board at the pool. I also notify the people that I have taken video off to check out the videos I have tagged them in on youtube.

Punctuation is key in any writing, yet I find myself letting my punctuation slip depending on the audience reading the texts. Some friends I would more readily use emoticons and acronisms with than others. My response to any text is usally written in the same way I received the message, so people who text me first will influnce how I word and write my reply.

I do feel text meeaging lingo is seeping into my academic writing at times. Moreso when I write papers because I noticed my writing is fragmented.

I am not all that sure that text messaging lingo will take over standard english but I could be wrong. If tha majority uf ppl strt writing this way thn whos to sey it wont become the standrd???

The reason I don’t think texting lingo will take over any time soon is because I had a hard time reading the article “the revege of e.e. cummings” where the whole article is written in text lingo. I am not that proficiant at reading or writing in that way. I ddo not feel I am used to it to the extent that the article is written.

I believe if the problem of people talking in texting lingo escalates the best solution would be to integrate computers earlier in the classroom. In the article “Writing, Technology and Teens” it states that “teens disassociate e-communication with ‘writing,’ they also strongly believe that good writing is a critical skill to achieving success.” If that is the case then educators should attempt to bridge that gap by making children notice that writing is tha same all across the board at a young age; perhaps the inclusion of computers into the classroom would do that.

Presentation Self Assesment

For my presentation about my digital story I decided to use Prezi. I had only used it once before but found it to be very easy to use. Initially I wanted to use Power Point because I was familiar with it, but after kicking myself to branch out in order to offer a different presentation I ended up with what I have. I thought I would offer pictures depicting the main idea of the sub text to drive the point home. My presentation describes how I will set up my digital story line. I am starting with Christmas because that is when Charles, my fiance's little brother" got "Call of Duty" for the wii. the story line is a chronological order of how I ended up with my obsession to the game. I would like to receive additional ideas for my project by the class. I have stuck to the story line that actually played out.

Feedback on Feedback

I believe the feedback given via audio is more helpful because I was able to hear my paper from a different perspective. I thought it was alright the way I had turned it in. But to be quite honest I did not have it proof read by a peer, which was obvious when it was read back to me. I thought it was as precise as written feedback and when I read along with the feedback was able to see what the errors where from hearing my sentences out loud, rather than re-reading the written feedback from my perspective again. I was made more aware of my mistakes because it was being read out loud. I would like to see more professors use the audio feedback.

Blog Post #9

My initial plan for my digital story was more of a video essay which would have gone through the Call of Duty game in detail and would have taken up more than five minutes. But after having class yesterday and reviewing more digital stories, rather than video essays, I decided to tell the story of how I became addicted to "Call of Duty" in the first place. The larger significance is that if I, a 23 year old at the time, could get addicted, then what does that say about today’s youth and video games? Are they productive? Is the violence detrimental to children? Is it alright to create a game where war equals fun? And tactfully killing is rewarded with points? I plan on using “Jay cut” as a tool and have also been messing around with “Reel director” on my iphone. “Reel director” is like “Jay cut” but mobile. It gives you the ability to edit video and add music or pictures and email, sms, or post it on You Tube; although I have had trouble compressing the final rendering of the film to be able to send it to any of the above. My story will have a narrative of how I used to play video games when I was younger and have now started playing them again due to my girlfriend's younger brother. With the narrative will be images and videos that are exemplary of what I am talking about within the narrative. I do not know if I will use other voice overs to emphasize my point. I do have a clip of Cartman from South Park in the episode where he is painfully waiting impatiently for the wii to come out which would parallel my addiction to the wii and call of duty. I have already edited the audio clip to go with a reel of a video clip I filmed of “Call of Duty “but am having trouble getting it to any computer or YouTube so I can upload it on to “Jay cut.” I plan on my digital story looking like a remixed version of my experiences developing my addiction towards the game as well as some experiences which will be depicted in video of the game or images. As far as voice over or text I have yet to determine which I will use; if not both.

I was just able to upload the video I edited and added sound to:

Blog Post #8

Browsing through the New Yorker I viewed a digital story called “The Media Insurgents” where Raffi Khatchadourian talks about “wiki leaks,” a site where people who have access to secret government documents or have secrets of a particular institution can post them anonymously. The video shows reporters being shot and killed by a helicopter who mistake their camera equipment as weapons. The helicopter pilots mistake the reporter’s cameras on the ground to be RPGs (rocket propelled grenades). Raffi compares the U.S. Air force leaked video to a Hollywood film saying Americans are used to watching war from the barrel of a gun. The video of the shooting which would, in a movie, move to the ground rather than shoot and kill the people in the ground reminds us of how real it is when it does not and we see the reporters being shot down. The video is said to have not yet been released by the United States Air Force. Raffi’s comparison of the leaked film to a Hollywood film implies Americans are used to seeing violence but on the movie screen. Another bigger implication is that this is one video but of how many military videos that have made the same or similar mistake?

The second digital story I saw is called “The U.S. and the World Cup” where Hampton Sides reviews two players and the American team as a whole. The video starts with Tim Howard who plays goalie for the U.S. while Sides talks about the lack of soccer in our cultural history compared to other nations. To counter the argument that we have not been all that successful in soccer World Cups he describes our strongest suit against them to be our defense, more specifically Tim Howard . He is arguably the best goal keeper in the world who previously played for Manchester United. Sides makes note of Howard’s turrets which has been suppressed by sensory overload of being a goalie. Sides claims that the media hassled Howard due to his disease but also states how he overcomes it and is consumed by soccer so much so that he has the ability to suppress it under the stresses of goal keeping. Sides explanation of Howard overcoming his disease in a way parallels the country’s handicap of being a young soccer culture, who like Howard when in the game will overcome those difficulties. Sides says we have always been the underdog but our chances are better with the inclusion of Lennon Donovan and Tim Howard. Donovan plays attacking midfielder and with Donovan and Howard Sides projects a possibility for improvement against the odds. Sides says he does not expect us to win the whole thing but does expect a significant improvement considering out lineup for this world cup.

Both videos are edited with audio superimposed so the video audio is less audible than the speaker’s voice. Both videos strung several relative clips together to emphasize what they were talking about while the video showed what their narration was saying about the video.

Blog Prompt# 7

For my digital story I have decided to describe “call of duty:world at war “ for the wii. And furthermore describe how the online interacting aspect is more than just a simple game. I have not yet decided what tools to use because I want to use something other than power point. The videos we saw in class of the slide shows with the voice over where nice but I would like to use prezi although I have not found out how to incorporate a voice recording. A possibility of assembling this project would be to use a variety of tools readily available to me now through my iphone. I do have a voice recorder but will have to synchronize the voice recording length with the montage of call of duty slides. Initially I wanted to do a video presentation but slides may work to my advantage. If I do choose to use video I will be able to take it with my iphone as well or just download/embed an already existing you tube video.
The layout of the slides would start with the game’s home screen and continue in a sequential order as if the audience was playing the game or at least going through the steps to get to play the game. Once the game slides start I will be able to perhaps label all the different utilities on the screen which will include your choice of weapon, kill streaks, perks, and how to go up in rank, among others.
I have a basic idea of what I would like the presentation to look like but will ave to decide which tool is best for my project. What I am having trouble with is retrieving the larger message.

Ben Crawford: Blog Post #6

Ben Crawford
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For the second portfolio assignment we were supposed to choose "friend of a friend" on facebook, myspace or a blog that represented themselves in an intentional stereotypical way. I chose Ben Crawford because it is someone I do not know very well personally and someone I could stereotype based on his movies and music, religious preference, sporting activities, location, and the way he depicts himself in his profile pictures.

Ben seems like a person who is spiritually inclined in stating, "GOD is too big for religion" in his religious views. This leads me to believe that Ben does not believe that faith can be based in a floor-plant and focuses his spirituality elsewhere. His sporting preferences include: "Exploring, Dirt Biking, Snowboarding, Guitar, Car Racing, and Fishing." Ben seems to be a well rounded character who is spiritually grounded and remains active and participating in a variety of fun sorting events. Ben's location is New Zealand where varied sporting activities range from snowboarding to surfing fitting Ben's stereotypical setting for his preferences. Ben also states he is self employed but I believe the comment posted is meant to be a joke because it makes reference to Ben being a bonified pimp. The post reads:

"Employers: Self/ Big Mac Daddy Pimp/U know baby, just pimpen dem hoes from time to time. Tryen to finance my fur coat, gucci glasses, diamond rings and the pimp mobile."

Although there may be pimps in New Zealand I do not believe Ben's profile is stereotypical of what a pimp's profile would look like or read. His music interests include "Michael Franti, Jack Johnson, RJD2, and Pink Floyd." These bands music genres include reggae, electronic, and classic rock. His favorite movies include "Cheech and Chong, White Castle, Half Baked, and Euro Trip." Ben's movie selection leads me to believe that he likes comedies and can be considered a funny or comedic character.


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Some of Ben's profile pictures show him on the top of a mountain. One of the pictures shows Ben at the top of a mountain with the sun shinning on a river in the background casting a partial silhouette of Ben with his arms out and reminded me of a Christ like pose which would emphasizes his religious views. Some of Ben's pictures show Ben skydiving, snowboarding, sitting outdoors, dirt biking, and with friends. Ben's profile pictures lead me to believe that the person he depicts himself to be, minus being a bonified pimp, is the person in his photographs. Although the fact that he stated he was a pimp emphasizes his sense of humor. His profile pictures include Ben either dirt biking, snowboarding, skydiving, or at the top of a mountain in New Zealand. Ben's profile fits his description of himself in his facebook"bio" which says "im always trying to make the most out of life. Anyone up for dirtbiken, snowboarding, surfen, hanging out, jamin, traveling and anything else fun, HOLLA! Much Love."