Unit 1 Portfolio

Source 1: From Pencils to Pixels: The Stages of Literacy Technology 

Dennis Baron, author of Pencils to Pixels, uses this project to tell the history of the pencil, a very early on technology. He then goes on to talk about how the pencil led to the development of newer technologies, which are now used to complete the same writing techniques as the pencil. He draws on the similarities and differences of these technological inventions and how the invention of the pencil has impacted our world today. The author provides his opinion on how he has become reliant on technology but also leaves room for the audience to develop their own ideas through the history and knowledge he provides. The genre of this project was very informative as the author uses other academic publications to tell the technological history of the pencil. Furthermore, Baron's project seemed very credible as every source and picture was cited to its original owner. 

I found this project to be extremely successful. Before reading, I would have never thought of the pencil as a "complex technology." Being an IT major, I knew that the invention of the telephone led to the invention of the computer, however I would have never believed that the pencil could have been at the start of this chain reaction. I loved how Baron described why we may not see the pencil as technology because "we have a way of getting so used to writing technologies that we come to think of them as natural rather than technological." Baron then goes on to talk about how the pencil and writing was rejected at first, as people saw it as "untrustworthy". Just like today, this stands true, except not with the pencil of course. Have your grandparents ever refused to try technology? I know I can't even get my grandma to set up an email account. This is the exact reaction people had about trying the pencil and this state of mind will continue to occur as new technologies emerge. I think it's important to notice that most people don't reject technology at the risk of becoming too digitized, it is  simply human nature to be hesitant when asked to try new things. People are stuck in the way they know of doing things. Baron even stated that after becoming accustomed to typing on a computer, he found writing by hand to be "overwhelming and constricting." I also found this project to be successful because it fits into our class inquiry extremely well. I think this source was chosen by our teacher for all students to analysis because of the fact it fits so well into what we're talking abut this semester. Pencils to Pixels does a great job of making the interconnection between the pencil and modern day technology. This source was a great basis to base the rest of this course off of. Technology will ever change the way we do things, even the way we write. Baron stated "the computer has indeed changed the way some of us do things with words and the rapid changes in technological development suggest that it will continue to do so in ways we cannot yet foresee." It will be extremely interesting to see how people write in say, 50 years, and who knows, people may not even be writing in the traditional way we know it as today.  

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Source 2: Students View on Technology and Writing: The Power of Personal History

The Author, Susan Kirtley, conducted a series of surveys and experiments to see how students felt about the mixture of technology with writing. This was done in the 2000-2001 school year at Umass Amherst. She stated that the most important feature of her research approach was listening to the students.  Kirtley asked herself, "What, I wondered, did the computers in our composition classroom mean to the students? Did they help, or hinder, the students’ experiences of writing as a form of action, capable of influencing change?" Essentially, the purpose of her analysis was to determine how a sampling of students viewed technology and how these views influenced their experience in computerized writing labs. At the conclusion of the experiment, results varied, students that had earlier access to computers as children were more likely to want to use them in the writing course, as they had expert knowledge while it was more difficult for students without early childhood access, some choosing paper and pen over the computer. In the end, Kirtley concluded that there is a misconception with professors thinking all students prefer to use advanced technology over the traditional pencil and paper. One thing I liked about this project was how it was written. It almost looked like a lab write up with a introduction, hypothesis, experiment and conclusion section. Furthermore, I liked that the author actually tested subjects rather than simply giving her opinion on what she thinks students prefer. I found this to be very credible as she gave a background on each student tested and included direct quotes from the students that took part.

Overall, I believe this project was successful, but it could have been more successful. Since the format of this project was an experiment, I wish Kirtley was able to get a larger pool of subjects. In the end she had 12 students participate in her course (9 females and 3 males). I understand it was harder for her to get a larger pool, due to the fact that students had to enroll in her Technology/Writing class to participate. However, she could have possibly held this course for multiple semesters and combined the results from several different sections. Besides the number of subjects, I do however think her results were successful. This past summer I took part in a similar survey when I interned at an insurance company. We were asked how we prefer to order a pizza. The adult facilitators all had the preconceived idea that we would prefer to text our order and have no human interaction. However, the results varied greatly as some preferred to call and talk to another human and one intern even preferred to walk into the pizza shop and have human interaction. I think it's interesting how adults believe Gen Z prefers to only interact with technology, when in fact this isn't necessarily true. After Kirtley got the results she did, she stated, "I believe that we should try harder to understand students’ perspectives on the use of computers in their academic work." I 100% agree with this statement, if professors understood how students ACTUALLY want to interact with technology in the classroom, it could make courses easier and more comfortable for a lot of students. Next, I chose to analyze this project because I believe it fits in very well with our classroom inquiry. Kirtley held an experiment in the class that myself along with my classmates are currently taking. It would be extremely interesting to see what would happen if this experiment was actually done with this course at Syracuse. For me personally, I love doing everything online. I want to pursue IT as my future career so I am extremely acclimated to technology. However, even sitting in my WRT 205 course I can see the difference in views students have on technology. Looking around the room, I take notes on my laptop along with a few others however, a good amount of students are also taking notes in a notebook. Not all students are adapted to technology the same way, which is important for course instructors to note when preparing their class content. 

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Source 3: Digital Influencers and Their Role in Shaping Public Discourse

This project was a speaking series Q&A that took place at the 2017 TRT World Forum. After this, it was later turned into a PDF brochure which is what I read. The TRT World Forum is a meeting between dignitaries and politicians that come together to discuss conflict resolution and humanitarian issues. When I first began reading this, I thought it was interesting that a forum covering such important topics would take time to discuss social media influencers and what they should/shouldn't post online. Then it dawned on me, social media influencers have such a large online presence, I myself follow many of them on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Some influencers have 10 million plus followers and actually have the ability to use their power for good and post content on such important worldly topics. Sure, many people go online to watch viral videos of a cat playing the piano however, many people also look to Twitter and Facebook to receive their daily news rather than  picking up a newspaper. One of the speakers said "the popularity of influencers on YouTube highlights how young people who create content on digital platforms have the ability to garner international attention." In today's age, online influencers are at a critical point where they now have the ability to use their power to relate their content to the betterment of the world. I liked the genre of this project because having a live Q&A allows the audience to really experience what is being said. Furthermore, in recent years, YouTube conventions such as Playlist Live and VidCon have become widely popular and what is at the root of these conventions you may ask? Live Q&A's with everyone's favorite YouTubers. 

I think this project was indeed successful. The author did a great job of turning this into a readable PDF. Besides the content, the display and pictures of the PDF really brought it to life and it didn’t feel like I was reading some boring article. Regarding the content, I think the speakers provided great insight to the topic of social media influencers and how they can impact the world with what they put out as content. "Panelists emphasized how conventional, traditional media is being challenged by digital platforms in terms of its cost, speed and diversity" and because of this, influencers now have a huge responsibility to put out meaningful content that isn't offensive- which of course doesn't always happen. As mentioned in the article, trolls and jokesters are huge on the Internet however, there are a good amount of influencers who want to and are capable of making worldly changes. The question is how will the world react to their favorite influencers promoting something that isn't entertainment? Furthermore, I think this project fits perfectly into our larger class inquiry. Before the Internet and technology is was much harder to get ones writing out to the general public. Now, in 30 seconds what you write on the Internet can be seen by millions all across the world. With this in mind, you should be very conscious of what you're writing on the Internet, especially for social media influencers who have huge followings. What you write on the Internet should be used for good and should not include anything offensive or fake. I want to make it clear that YouTube influencers should not stop making their makeup tutorials or prank videos, however on top of what people come to them for, they have the option to spread the word on important issues that could reach millions of their followers. Technology has made it incredibly simple for anyone to share their thoughts within a matter of seconds. Our globe is interconnected across the Internet, "social media has allowed the world to be constantly and conveniently connected with different people around the globe, allowing the breakdown of international borders and cultural barriers." So, what will it take for influencers to make this change?

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Source 4: If You Don't Have Anything Nice to Say: SAY IT IN ALL CAPS

I want to begin by saying this was my favorite project to listen to and analyze. Right from the start, I felt a personal connection to Lindy West. She is an American writer, comedian and activist. In this podcast, she talks about the hundreds of trolls she deals with on the Internet. She even went so far to recognize that having Internet trolls was "just something that came along with her career choice." Later in the project, she actually sat down with her worst troll as he described to her why he did what he did and said what he said. He was her worst troll to date, but also the only one to ever apologize. Because Lindy has a large presence on social media, everything she posts gets feedback, whether that be positive or negative. She receives hate comments on a daily basis about her work, her body and her life in general. Next, I loved that this project was done as a podcast. This raunchy story of what happened to Lindy West was very informative on the struggles of dealing with online trolls. I also enjoyed this project because it didn't hold anything back, it was real, didn't bleep out curse words and told real life stories surrounding real issues with social media. I was able to hear Lindy's voice which brought her story so much more to life--not to mention hearing the voice of her troll, as he actually agreed to do an interview with her!

Overall, this was the most successful project I looked at. First off, Lindy West is extremely entertaining and I was able to make a personal connection and relate to her. She talked about how her worst troll ever, created a Twitter profile of her dead father just to message Lindy and call her a bad daughter. The pain she must have felt after reading that is unimaginable. Personally, my older brother passed away on January 2nd, 2019. Although I don't have 60k followers like Lindy, I do have 1,500 followers on Instagram. I know a good amount of my followers whether they be my best friends or friends of a friend of a friend, however I'm positive there also completely random people following me. If I were to receive something similar to that of Lindy, I would break down in an instant. It's one thing for a troll to attack your work or your looks but to come at you with something so personal and heartbreaking is one of the worst things I can think of. Lindy's story really touched home for me, it was even quite difficult to listen too. She was able to draw on many emotions as she talked about her struggle with her worst Internet troll. I thought it was crazy how after her troll apologized she couldn't help herself "and was actually starting to like him" yes, the man who previously was tearing her life apart. Lindy was so passionate about internet trolls and how to deal with them that it made me feel better about all the horrible people on the internet. Finally, because the internet is so prominent, anything you write and post online will be loved...or hated by hundreds and thousands. Due to this concept, this podcast is a great piece to look at in regards to our class inquiry. Because writing is so digitalized now, people can comment on your work or send you hate in a matter of seconds after you hit the post button. Before the computer, writers didn't have to deal with the fear of millions seeing their work within the hour. Even if you receive a hate comment and delete it, nothing actually leaves the Internet and it will be sure to haunt you long after it's "disappeared" from that social media platform. Due to this, it may make people not want to write anymore because they are scared of receiving back lash on what they write. For example, I am the social media coordinator for ITS here on campus. Part of my job is to write articles for the Syracuse News site. I'm always so nervous to post my articles online because I never know how the student body will react. There's no hiding behind the keyboard either because under each article I post there is a large stamp signed my name, home college and year of graduation. Lastly, this honestly worries me, writers should not be scared to post their content. I hope in the future there will be a way to minimize the effect of trolls but if I'm being honest, I'm not so sure how that would happen. 

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