Final Reflection- 12/12

     When I think of "wobble" as learning, or moments of wobble in this class, I notice that English is the subject in which I come across these moments most often. 

     When given an assignment that offers the freedom to write about any topic, I find myself unsure or hesitant to start writing sometimes. This created moments of wobble for me when thinking of the topic for my literacy narrative and on the occasional writing into the day. When I'm told that there's no right or wrong answer to something, it's sometimes frustrating when I don't know where to begin. I usually like to have guidelines for an assignment so I know when I'm thinking in the right direction. It was a challenge to work with this kind of assignment at first but I got used to it after completing a few of them.

     The only other moments that were uncomfortable, or different than I am used to, were some of the improv activities that we did at the beginning of class. I felt like this was an uncomfortable or strange thing for most people in the class at first. People can be hesitant to do something when they're unsure of what is expected of them, which can also explain the first moments of wobble that I explained.

     

Reflexive Blog- Literacy Narrative 12/5

     Whenever I get an assigned a paper that offers some freedom when it comes to what to write about, I find myself taking far too long on deciding just that. Luckily for me, this literacy narrative assignment really helped me out with this problem. The activity we did on index cards at the beginning stages of this assignment  forced me to get out as many ideas as I could and either stick with one or move on to the next one. I eventually chose to write about a research paper that I wrote during my junior year of high school, and I noticed it was a topic I'd been thinking about since the first index card.

             


     Once I went through and got my entire first draft written out, I started to think about exactly what I had to change. In all of the major papers I have written, I've never really noticed the biggest changes in between drafts. I was just used to going through and correct errors while changing up a few paragraphs trying to make the paper flow more smoothly.



     When we were given the revision strategies, I decided to try some of them out and see if I could come up with any changes to my paper that I liked. The strategy that I found to be the most beneficial to me was definitely going though and criticizing my paper for three minutes, then praising my work for three minutes. Doing this really helped me get a better feeling of what I liked having in the paper and which parts I felt like I should try to rewrite.

     After revising the ideas that I wanted to make changes to, I focused on the organization and flow of my paper. I tried rewriting the first draft that I wrote using a different method of organization. I ending up staying with a sequence of events that was pretty close to my first draft through the whole project. I couldn't get myself to stay with many major changes that I tried. I did find it helpful to map out the parts of my paper in my daybook when I tried to rearrange it.
     This project was beneficial to me in many ways. I learned some new strategies for revision and ways to think in a different direction when feeling stuck with an idea. I also liked the way that this project made me realize what impact the research paper I wrote about actually had on me, and how it affected how I feel about my literacy.                               

Reflexive Blog- Ethnography Project- 12/3

     Our groups were figuring out what we were going to write about for our project while the idea of "underlife" was unfolding. With our original topic of "Words", my group started to try to find a common theme that we could work toward. After our mapping literacy assignment, we decided to write about the theme of public expression.

     This required some revision down the road but the idea of our theme seemed to flow smoothly during the process of putting our project together. I enjoyed working in collaborative groups the way that we did because it gave us an opportunity to constantly give and receive feedback on our ideas as we figured out how to piece our project together.

     I liked the fact that this project wasn't done as a traditional essay. Our group chose to use Prezi for our final product. I would definitely chose to work differently on a computer than turn this project in essay format. This way, we had an opportunity to be more creative and try things differently.

Reflexive Blog 11/18- Where Good Ideas Come From

   For my reflexive blog post this week, I went all the way back to the writing into the day we did on October 4th, which was the "Where Good Ideas Come From" presentation by Steven Johnson.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU

   At first, Steven Johnson explains that good ideas can take years to mature, and until then, they are "hunches". As these hunches grow, it's sometimes only when they are combined with another hunch that they complete these good ideas. A "hunch" lurking in someone else's mind is often what turns a person's hunch into a real breakthrough. There are many cases that someone can have half of a good idea.
   The reason I think this video is relevant is because we now have so many ways that we can reach out to connect to someone to find the missing piece of an idea. People can connect with each other easier than ever and that't whats important for the development of good ideas. This allows us to borrow and combine anybody's ideas easily. Looking at the advances happening in only the last fifteen years that allow this easier communication, it makes me wonder how much easier ideas will be able to spread with the technological advances in the next fifteen years.

Reflexive Blog 11/11- The Things They Carried

    I was looking through my daybook for a while trying to find something to write a blog post about when I saw the looping activity we did for The Things They Carried. I had to reread what I wrote in my daybook to remember exactly what the story was about.
    I remember in The Things They Carried, the author spent a lot of time literally describing the items that the soldiers carried with them during the Vietnam War. I saw that I made a note in my daybook about how the author then started talking about how the soldiers "carried the land itself- Vietnam, the place, the soil." I was trying to make sense of that when I remembered the writing into the day we did about the things we carried ourselves, and what they said about us.
    I then went to my entry from Nov 1, and saw that I just talked about how I usually am only carrying my phone, wallet, and keys, occasionally headphones, and whatever I need for school. The main point of the entry was to make sense of what the items you carry say about you, which I had some trouble doing. I felt like items you're carrying shouldn't really say anything about who you are, although I feel like I'm looking at the topic from a different point than the author of The Things They Carried.

Annotated Bibliography Mini Assignment- 11/2

1.

First Amendment Plaque, UNC Charlotte. 30 Oct. 2012. Personal photograph by Dillon Marr. JPEG file.

     This is a picture I took of the plaque on campus next to the bell tower. Written on it is the first amendment. I see many people in the area near the bell tower voicing their opinions on topics like politics, religion, and anything else. I thought this picture really represented the idea of public expression when thinking of what goes on in that area.

 2.

Literacy Map, UNC Charlotte. 30 Oct. 2012. Personal photograph by Dillon Marr. JPEG file.

    This is a picture I took of the map I drew for the Mapping UNCC Mini Assignment. We decided to expand where we were looking to create our map, and took a closer look around campus, mainly around the area of Friday, Denny, the Bell Tower, and Atkins Library. This is the map I drew to display each of the writings that we found in this area.




 3.

Belk Tower Graffiti, UNC Charlotte. 30 Oct. 2012. Personal photograph by Dillon Marr. JPEG file.

    This is a picture of a message that I found painted on the ground, near the Belk Tower and the plaque with the first amendment on it. It shows that positive messages can be spread with graffiti. Seeing this on the ground made me think of how the idea of public expression can show people's honest opinions, knowing that their message can be displayed without revealing who it's from.

Fieldwork Mini Assignment 10/30

For our fieldwork mini assignment, we decided to expand where we were looking to create our map, and took a closer look around campus, mainly around the area of Friday, Denny, the Bell Tower, and Atkins Library. This is the map I drew to display each of the writings that we found in this area:

One of the themes that was emerging in our group was public expression. I was thinking that could mean anything from writing on desks by students, to graffiti on walls, to any message seen around campus. I was walking past the Bell Tower while I was thinking of all the people who come there during the day to voice their opinions. I saw the plaque with the first amendment written on it, and couldn't think of a better example of public expression.

 I found this message painted on the ground in front of the Bell Tower in the same area as the first amendment plaque. It shows that not all graffiti has to be negative.

I saw these shirts on the sidewalk leading up to the library. They all had messages about stopping abuse on them, and it seemed like there were 100 of them.

Public expression, when it comes to messages written in random places, seems to me like it can be the most honest form of writing in a way. People post their messages for everyone to see, knowing that it's unlikely for people to find who wrote the message.

10/24- Mapping Literacy Underlives

On Tuesday we were assigned to go to a place on campus were acts of literacy occurred. We were supposed to take notes about the place we chose with details of what we noticed, and eventually draw a map of the setting we picked. I chose to go observe the Atkins Library. Here's the map that I came up with:

I stayed on the first floor of the library while I was inside. When I walked in, some of the first things that stood out to me was the large map of the entire building right inside the front door, and all of the artwork on the walls. Near the front doors were tables that fit about four people. I saw some groups of students studying and working on assignments together. I also saw some people at the tables doing their own work by themselves, most of them focused and wearing headphones. As I walked farther towards the back of the first floor, I got to the quiet area. There was a lot of traffic coming in and out of the library at the time, and I noticed that some noise could be heard in the quiet area. I saw several frustrated looks at this, and even heard some complaints about it. Of course people with headphones in weren't bothered by this, which made me think of how listening to music can help some people, including myself, focus easier and get work done more efficiently.

Reflexive Blog 10/14- Grammar

For our writing into the day last Thursday, we were told to rant about grammar. Here's what I came up with in my daybook at first:

Right away I mentioned how other people's grammar mistakes seem to bother me for no reason sometimes. I like to think that I've always been able to use correct grammar for the most part. Part of me feels like correct grammar isn't a big deal because most people won't be bothered by a grammar mistake, at least in a real life conversation.

But another part of me feels like it's important to use correct grammar to be taken seriously. Of course using correct grammar is necessary in some situations like writing a paper or really any kind of writing that's supposed to be professional, but I try to use correct grammar to make sense of what I'm trying to say. Using correct grammar can ensure that the reader of your work can get a better understanding of what you're trying to say, and not be confused by mistakes.

Midterm Assignment- 10/3

Our writing group met in the Atkins Library on Tuesday morning. Right away we began the search for a mentor text that would support our writing. On the elevator, we decided to look on the 6th floor in the General Collection section and see what we could find.

 

After browsing the 6th floor for a while, we did an online search for books about narratives and writing narratives. After getting our search results, we headed to the section that had the books we were looking for.

  

We began to look through some of these books, but couldn't find anything to try to imitate the style of or easily borrow elements from.

I eventually came across a book titled Narrative Comprehension, which was more helpful than others because it listed tools to use while writing narratives, then showed them being used in examples. We ended up not using this book to write beside. 

We finally decided to use a book titled There Once Lived a Woman Who Tried to Kill Her Neighbor's Baby, which was actually a book of fairy tales. 

We ended up using a short story called Incident at Sokolniki to write beside. It was a strange scary story about a woman who is haunted in a dream by her husband who had died in a plane crash and has to go bury him. We thought this story would be useful for us to try to imitate the style of because of its unique way of recalling events in an attention-grabbing way. The author of the story displayed some of the advice we've been listening to about how to keep the reader interested and eager to find out what happens next. I feel like I'll be able to borrow elements and ideas from this text while revising my literacy narrative.

Reflexive Blog 5- 9/30

For homework last weekend we had to read and respond to "Two Questions" by Lynda Barry. It was a strange writing that was set up almost like a comic. Here's the daybook entry where I started my response: 

The "Two Questions" that the title of this piece came from referred to the first panel, showing a writer at her desk asking herself "Is this good?" and "Does this suck?". She goes on to explain how into her writing career, these became the only two questions she could ask herself about her work.

In my daybook I mentioned how I really felt like I could connect with that feeling. I often notice that I'm questioning myself about my writing too much. I think when someone is writing  for someone else, like an assignment for school, or a test, or anything that would be graded, they can be hesitant to write what feels natural. I find this to be especially true for myself when doing an assignment that I'm not completely clear about or that I've never done before.

Knowing that feeling made me really understand the idea of questioning your own work too much. It can be frustrating when you know what you're trying to say, but you feeling like you have word or explain something differently than you normally would to connect to your audience. I've found the most effective way for me to get over that feeling is to just write the way that feels natural to myself. I try not to second guess myself too often, but it's important to still be open to suggestions about your writing and try out any advice that you may find helpful.


https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwM_mqgmQbT3NjNYZ1BvQjIwc0U/edit

Reflexive Blog 4- WID 9/18

For our writing into the day on Tuesday we watched a video where a classroom of kids were given 10 seconds to complete a drawing. The drawings were collected and everyone in the class had drawn a clock, as the unfinished drawing led them to. The kids were later given 10 minutes to complete the same drawing.  Needless to say when they were collected for the second time, the drawings were much more elaborate. The end of the video showed a message that said something along the lines of creativity not being helped by the pressure of time, but by the freedom of playfulness.

I felt like I could connect with the message that this video was trying to get across. When I feel pressured to write something, like if I have an assignment that's due the next day(or now... too much to do this week), it's hard for me to think creatively and really think about all the ideas that I have about something. I think that when someone is given time to freely think about anything, they give themselves the time to actually register every idea that they come up with, and not turn down a thought that they're unsure of at first. They won't be frustrated about the completion of the assignment at the time, but considering all possibilities that they imagine.
It's a useful tactic not just in writing, but in just about anything. People would be amazed at some things they are capable of, given enough time and a relaxed mindset. I try to avoid feeling pressured when it comes to schoolwork by spacing out my assignments and allowing as much time as I can for each.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgvx9OfZKJw&feature=player_embedded

Reflexive Blog 3- Literacy Dig

Last week we were assigned to write a literacy dig.  The assignment was to find five literacy artifacts around our home, apartment, dorm room, or car. We were supposed to write thick descriptions of the five items after looking at them in detail, thinking of how they might be able to tell stories in other ways. I looked through a few of the examples and after looking around my dorm room here's what I came up with:

 Item 1: Envelope on my desk

In this envelope was my credit card that came I picked up from my mailbox right before I started doing this assignment.  I had been waiting for it to come in the mail for about two weeks and it took a few applications before I was accepted for the card. I read over everything that was sent with it and I know it will be important for me to pay attention to all of the details in the letter.

Item 2: Moodle grades window

I took my first test earlier in the day that I had started working on this assignment. I remember that the grades for it were supposed to go up at 3:00 and I was checking this window constantly because the grades still weren't up that night. I find it extremely helpful how easily you can check your own grades to know how you're doing in a class, but it stressful sometimes waiting to see how you did on a test or exam.

Item 3: E-Mail

I noticed that I also had my E-mail open while doing this assignment.  Although only really use my E-mail to communicate with teachers and sometimes my parents, it's a useful tool to find important information.  I also get updates through my E-mail to find out what's going on around the school.

Item 4: Keys

On my key chain I have the key to my dorm room, my car, my mailbox, and the key to my house back home. They kind of serve as a reminder for me to keep up with my life here and at home at the same time.

Item 5: Cell Phone

The last item I wrote about in my daybook was my cell phone. I don't have a picture of it because it's what I was taking the pictures with, but I'm sure you can picture a black iPhone in a red Otterbox. I chose my phone because it's a form of communication like my E-mail, but it's a lot quicker and I use it more often. I use my phone to text constantly and I'm able to reach people no matter what I'm doing or where I am.



While doing this assignment and really paying attention to the details of these five things, I made some interesting realizations about the items. I noticed that certain features of an item become noticeable only when you look at them in certain ways. I found it interesting how my gradebook online could distract and worry me so easily even when I felt confident that I did well on my test. I also realized that I sometimes connect items to certain things or ideas subconsciously, like how I connected my keys to keeping in touch with people back home.  I think it's important to notice what meaning some things have to you while looking at them in different ways.

Writing Timeline-(Reflexive Blog 2)

Here's a link to assignment we had earlier this week.  The instructions were to put together a timeline of events in our lives that formed us as the writers we are today. I decided to put my timeline together with a website that made it pretty easy to display a bunch of events nicely.  Here's what I came up with after thinking back over my life as a writer:


http://www.tiki-toki.com/timeline/entry/56985/Writing-Timeline/#!date=2010-06-23_13:04:22!

I've never considered myself too much of a writer and I honestly still don't, but making this timeline helped me realize a few things about my own writing.  If you looked through the timeline, you probably noticed a bunch of the events I included were writing tests. I don't think the tests changed me as a writer, I just noticed that I hate that kind of writing assignment. I can't write when I know I have a short time limit for some reason.  I have to give myself a lot of time to think before I write, and knowing that I had to be done in 25 minutes on the SAT writing test slowed me down some. But I did end up doing much better than I thought, somehow.

Getting started with my writing is what takes me the longest and I've always been a slow writer.  Even now I'm sitting down trying to finish this blog entry that I've had up on my computer for hours while doing everything I can think of other than finishing it.

You will also notice that I posted about a research paper that I had to write during my junior year of high school. We spent a couple months on that, and it at least kept me interested the whole time.  I liked writing about my own research instead of having to make things up.  I find it much easier to write about my own findings or at least writing in the form of a research paper (preferably on a topic I already know something about).

After looking through the events I wrote down before making my timeline, I didn't really notice an event that had too much of an impact on my life as a writer. I've never been too interested in writing but hopefully I can learn to have an easier time writing any kind of assignment with some of the things we're planning to do in this class over the next couple of months.

Reflexive Blog 1- End of Publishing

8/30/12

Reflexive blog post 1

Earlier this week we watched a video called End of Publishing for our writing into the day.  We begin class by watching a video or clip or by reading something to just us started with writing anything that comes to mind.

I chose this entry in my daybook to write about because usually, it takes me a while to think before I start writing but after watching this video I was able to respond to it pretty quickly. It's an idea that I felt like I could expand on easily.

This video began with lines of a poem scrolling down the page being read aloud.  Poem begins: "This is the end of publishing and books are dead and boring."  The speaker is a girl who goes on to explain how her friends and her don't like to read and how books are boring.  She mentions that what's important to her is what Lady Gaga is wearing; and not what Gandhi did last century.  She finishes with a the point that the publishing market is dying.

At the end of the poem, the speaker says, "unless you reverse how you see me",  and the poem begins to scroll backwards.  The poem is read word for word in reverse, and the speaker argues the opposite point clearly.

I thought it was interesting how the writer had the ability to piece the poem together so it could flow regularly and both directions and clearly argue a point.  After seeing the video the first time and knowing that the poem plays in reverse, I couldn't ignore the fact that each line would be read in the other direction. This distracted me every time I went back to watch the video after the first time.

As far as the point being argued, I think the writer captured the attitude of a person in this generation who isn't interested in writing pretty accurately.  I can see where the first speaker is coming from with thoughts about the publishing industry shrinking, but her negative attitude causes me to disagree with the points she is making in a way.

I think that the publishing industry is obviously getting less attention than it has in the past, especially from our generation.  I don't necessarily think the industry is dying, however.  People like the second speaker of this poem who enjoy learning and reading books inspire others who feel the same way that they do.  The people who were commenting on the video were even talking about how it inspired them and restored their hope in humanity. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Weq_sHxghcg