When I entered this class I thought I had a firm grasp on new technologies.

At the beginning of this class I already had a Facebook…

A Twitter page…

and a Tumblr account.

*It should be noted that I use a different Tumblr account for this class so the blog posts don’t get confused.

However, while I was a pretty regular user of those popular social networking, and blogging technologies I was not using them to their full capacity. In addition, I wasn’t aware of other cool technologies that are now very useful to me as a student. For instance, bit.ly.com, Google Documents, and Google Reader are tools I just started using a few weeks ago! Needless to say, I wish I had known about these writing technologies sooner.

I’ve improved on my Tweeting skills since this class has started. About a month ago, I was a purely phatic Tweeter.

Now, I know how to get the most information into my Tweets! I’ve become an avid user of bIt.ly.com for Twitter, and other purposes.

And I’ve been introduced to Hash-tags which are a great way to direct your tweets at the right people. Whether your communicating with a classmate…

Or sharing your plight with people who share common struggles.

Google Documents is another technology that I started using. The extremely useful tool was discussed in the beginning of the semester.  I happened to have a group assignment to work on during the same time I first learned of Google Documents. The people in my group lived off campus, and were not open to meeting outside of class to complete our assignment. Therefore, I suggested we use Google Docs, and my group mates did not what Google docs was or how to use it. I had them all sign up for Gmail accounts, and sent them an invite to Google Docs as well as explained how to use Google Docs to them via e-mail, and during free class time. Google docs was the perfect technological writing tool for this situation. We were all able to do our parts of the assignment on our own time without having to meet outside the classroom.

Moore describes being technology literate as having an understanding of the technology we use(Moore). We have to know how they function, and how they work(Moore). While in this class I realized that just because I had accounts with writing technology tools didn’t mean I was using them to their full capacity, or knew what they had to offer me.

For example, I have a Gmail account for at least two years, and all the while I’ve been in school I never knew about Google docs, or Google reader. However, that has changed since I now subscribe to reader, and use it for class resources, and just to catch up on the news.

And of course, I’m utilizing Google Docs

Also, as a writer I’ve had my own blog since last summer, and I wasn’t using tags!

Which was a shame since tagging helps people on the web find my blog. However, now that I know about the usefulness of tagging I can tag all my blog posts!

After this module, I’ve grown in my understanding of the technology I had been using, and I’ve opened myself and utilized completely writing technologies as well. But more than anything, now I feel more technologically aware. There is so much available to us in terms of writing technologies that we are cheating ourselves if we don’t give them a try. Even though Twitter was not the most popular form of communication in our class it was very helpful in keeping us in contact with one another so we could ask or answer questions. This was the first time I’ve been in a class where the teacher and students were actively using Twitter. I wish all my classes, and professors used Twitter the way we did in this class!

Not everyone enjoys Twitter, and some have an difficult time getting used to new technologies. This class has taught me to have empathy for those who are new to something and need some extra help. Thus far, I have enjoyed helping my classmates with Twitter during class, and with Google docs for my group projects. I hope to be able to pass on what I know about useful technology tools with other students who may be having trouble adjusting to them.

Being more aware and learning writing technologies has been enjoyable for me. These are tools I will carry with me as I continue my education. Most importantly, now I know that just because you have an social networking account for a particular site does not mean you know how to use that site to its full capacity. I look forward to carrying that lesson with me, and using writing technologies to my full benefit from now on.

Source:(s):

Moore, David R. “Technology Literacy: the Extentsion of Cognition.” 23 Jan. 2010. Web.

It’s a sign of the times!

Yesterday, me and my group members met up at the library to discuss how we would approach our White Paper, and Twitter handbook. At first, we were all a little confused about how what we should focus on when writing our paper, but after some brainstorming narrowing down our thesis became easier.

Our writing technology is Twitter. We decided we will each follow a different kind of Twitter user, and observe how they are using Twitter. For example, one of my group mates will follow an entertainer to see how they utilize micro blogging to enhance their career. Another one, of my group mates will follow a character (like Shamu the whale, or that lizard from Geico) to see how those characters are promoting what they are trying to sell, and if they are saying anything else worthwhile in the process.

We’re still deciding how we are going to do the handbook. However, I’m thinking something easy to read, that’s fun, combined with some cute pictures will do the trick. Also, we have some web articles and YouTube videos that will be helpful in giving us the specific details on how Twitter is best utilized.

All, and all I feel that project is going well so far. We are on a time crunch because of the recent snow storms, but we can do it!

Swarts’s model gives a very structured view on how to put together a project. When discussing Wikipedia Swarts mentions the many complaints that are in response to Wikipedia errors. However, we all know that Wikipedia is a group effort, and of course, facts are changing all the time. Is Wikipedia the authority on every topic? No, but we it’s a great place to get information without buying a full set of Britannica’s.

When putting together our paper on Twitter, our group will have have to go through a step by step process which helps us research, form answers, and execute our project properly. Swarts discusses a term called “black boxes” which basically describes a team of people working towards one specific goal. Our paper on Twitter will require each of us to take a role in the group, and bring our research to the table so our project will be strong as a whole.

Also, Swarts discusses “method”. When we are trying to access how people are utilizing Twitter, what they’re doing right with the social networking tool, and what they’re doing wrong we’ll designate a method for analyzing the trends in how people are utilizing Twitter.

I’m looking forward to working on this project. Twitter is a little misunderstood. Many people are members of Facebook, and have no trouble navigating and utilizing the social networking site. However, those same people are mystified by Twitter and how it works. This kind of boggles my mind since Facebook is way more complicated than Twitter! There are a million different things you can do with Facebook, and it’s changing ALL THE TIME. Case in point, how many of you are pissed about the new Facebook? Mmhm. That’s what I thought. This probably the tenth time (just a guess) that Facebook has changed it’s home page since I’ve become a member. I was angry the first time, but now I’ve come to expect that Facebook will change from time to time. Because I know, that when technology can see a way to improve on itself, it does so, and it does not ask questions before doing it.

Twitter is really a specialized form a writing technology, much like the Ipad. Many people have asked the questions, “Why doesn’t the Ipad have a CD drive?”, “Why is there no Flash-drive?”, “How come the Ipad can’t take pictures?”, and the answer is simple. The Ipad can’t do all those things because it chooses not to. The Ipad, is not meant to be an Iphone, or a  Macbook, and specializes in specific areas of technology. Same grievances with Twitter, “Why can’t I write over 140 characters?”, Why can’t I have more than one photo?”, What in the hell is a hash tag?!”, and truth is, Twitter was not meant to have all those “extras”.

When new technologies like Twitter, and the Ipad have limitations we feel challenged and maybe even short changed by those changes. However, both technoligies can have many uses, and be really fun once you know how to use them to their full capabilities.

Putting together a paper, and a handbook on Twitter will be fun because then we can show everyone that easy it really is!

Many people have trouble telling the difference between Facebook and Twitter. True, they are both social networking sites, but they have vast differences in the way they utilized and in what they have to offer.

Facebook is a place where you can share photos,status updates,notes(i.e.blogs), interests, AIM username, residence etc. You can do all those things in any capacity that you wish. You can have a status update that is a paragraph(or more) long. Or you could write and ten page note for all (on your friends list to see). Oh that’s another thing, when your friends with someone they see everything you post and vice-versa.

Twitter is a different story. You get 140 characters (MAX!) to get your point, idea, or idol ramblings across to the reader. You can have a default picture, but you only get ONE picture. You can list your location, but it need, not be accurate or serious. With twitter you can use hash-tags to address a certain group of people, and you can even follow celebrities (Lady Gaga!) , and online publications. Here’s a bummer though, not everyone you follow actually follows you.

Twitter and Facebook are two different social networking tools. Facebook gives the opportunity to use a social networking website as a more personalized form of online communication. No one excepts you to be anything else but yourself on Facebook. It’s not your job to entertain anyone on Facebook, or make them think differently about their life. Facebook is simply a place where you can keep in touch with your friends and loved ones, and babble about whatever you feel like sharing.

Twitter on the other hand, is a different kind of tool. There is more of responsibility to post something meaningful. Every one has that one person on their Twitter list that post 140 characters of lameness everyday. And sometimes that’s OK. But the 140 character word limit forces you to get creative. If you have a link you want to share, you have to sell it to your followers. Twitter is a place for thought provoking one-liners. Moreover, Twitter is a place where we try to share information that we think might interest other people besides ourselves.

Let’s put it this way, when I think “I’ve got to get in contact with so and so” or “I really want to share these pictures” I log into Facebook. When I think “Gee, that’s really interesting, I’d like to share that with someone.” or when I hear a funny quote, I twitter.

Hey, my name is Emily, and I’m a senior here at Rowan. I’m majoring in Writing Arts for no reason other than I really like writing. My style of writing would fall into the confessional/sarcastic/comedic style of writing I suppose. I have a blog, www.emmyloveswine.com.

I love mindless reality TV such as “Teen Mom”, and “Tough Love”. I enjoy making my fiancee’  watch these reality shows with me, or I at least make him sit in the same room when I watch them.

Also, I love LOST, and Dexter. I’m very excited for the season premiere of LOST! If you watch LOST your just as obsessed as I am. If you don’t watch LOST, then your tired of hearing about the TV show, and just wish the series would go away. To which I say, stop watching Grey’s Anatomy and make a commitment to one of the greatest (if not the greatest) TV show of all time.

Naturally, I enjoy reading. Kind of goes with whole “I wanna be a writer” thing. I love books on dating and relationships. I’ve read He’s Just Not That Into You, eight times. Why Men Love Bitches was also quite enjoyable. And I don’t care what my mom says, I Hope They Serve Beer in hell was awesome. Recently, I read Kathy Griffin’s new book Official Book Selection , and it’s my new favorite book. Griffin sets the standard for comedic memoirs. Although, Chelsea Handler’s My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One Night Stands should be noted as a very entertaining and amusing read as well.

Okay…what else…

Well, I have one brother, and he is seven years younger than me. The age difference doesn’t seem to affect us, because we’re BFF’s and he is one of my favorite people in the entire world. He even watches Sex and the City with me! (Sorry Shawn.)

I attended community college before I transferred to Rowan.

I worked over ten menial jobs. I’ve done everything from waitressing (yuck!) to retail(sigh) to selling baby pictures in Atlantic City(What was I thinking?!). I have to say, I’m totally over the lack of respect and money that comes with these kid of jobs, and I’m looking forward to being at a point in my life where I’m employed in a semi-respected and rewarding position that allows me to get by financially.

I have a few good friends, and that’s good enough for me.

I met my fiancée’ in my Writing with Style class here at Rowan.

I would love to make a career out of writing, and have an occupation that is allows me to be creative and have fun.

Oh and I love shopping, sushi, and wine.

I.               Haas’s  “key argument” I the essay The Technology Question

a.     “Materiality” is in the center of controversies in writing.

b.     What are some computer technologies in writing?

c.      How do computer technologies affect writing?

II.             Haas backs-up her claims by:

a.     Discussing what “materiality” actually means.

b.     Proving that computers are apart of “materiality” and writing.

c.      Giving examples of how much we use writing in our everyday lives.

III.           Haas proves her point by:

a.     States in so many words that since nobody has really answered the question about how computers affect writing, that we can’t really write about the topic.

b.     Refers to the scholars who have studied the issue. Haas uses references from Eric Havelock, Walter Ong, Jack Goody, and Ian Watt’s work. Haas also refers to Lev Vygotsky’s work in the essay.

c.      Discussing  “The Technology Question” from the “philosophical”, and “historical” and “sociopsychological” points of view.

Being technically literate, is not just knowing how to use something, but it’s also knowing how something actually works.

New technologies come out all the time, and learning how to efficiently use them can be challenging. Some of these new technologies are easier to learn than others. For example, when I decided to get a Mac computer I knew that it would be completely different than my previous computer which was a Windows PC. My finencee’ had to teach me how to use the Mac, and this lesson took about three hours. After that lesson, I was general familiar with most of the programs, and how to work them. But it took me months to use the Mac and navigate it’s programs without an issue. It was tough to get used to, but my Mac has been the best computer I’ve ever had.

When new technologies come out, people tend to make statements along the lines of “Oh I could never use that, it’s way too complicated for me!”. For example, the IPhone is a fairly new technology that some people still perceive as being too complicated for them to use. When in fact, everything is spelled out for you when using the IPhone. If you want to make a phone call, you press the the icon with the picture of phone. If you need directions, press the icon with the picture of the map. Pretty simple stuff.

Of course, some technolgies are easier to grasp than others. But I think it’s easy to be overwhelmed by a new idea, and be fearful that we won’t be able to figure out how to proficiantly use a new technology.

My mom didn’t grow up with computers or cell phones. For many years, I had to turn the TV on for her, because she could not figure it out. Now, not only does she own and operate a cell phone, but she also has a Mac that uses all the time.

Being technologically literate is up to you. There are plenty of ways to find answers on how to use new technologies. Plus, new technology has a lot of cool stuff to offer. Once you get over the initial challenges of learning something new, you can enjoy a technology that makes your life easier, and maybe even more fun.

As I sit in my apartment, watching Dexter(I love this show!) with my roommates I wonder how connected do we need to be to the outside world?

Picture this, me, and my roommates sitting on a couch and watching TV. We each have MAC computer on our lap. We are all logged into Facebook and Tumblr. They are logged into AIM. Personally, I don’t use AIM because nobody ever IM’s me. Our cell phones are right next to us the whole time. You know, just in case someone needs to reach us for some reason or another.

It’s funny because when I was a teenager things we really different. I didn’t own a cell phone until I was 18 years old. I didn’t join MySpace until I was 20 years old. I grew up with a home telephone in my house, and if my friends called, and I wasn’t there, then I just wasn’t home. Where was I? I could of been in China, for all they knew! Because back in the day you couldn’t track my whereabouts with a social networking site.

Obviously, those days are over. Even my cat(Whiska L. Wiggins) has a MySpace now. We can reach all our friends and family at any time. Whether we call their cell phone, or track their whereabouts on Twitter they are always in our reach.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about how being this connected is actually sort of isolating. For example, while me and my roommates sit on the couch with our laptops, cell phones,logged into our social networking sites, and with the TV going we don’t say too much to each other. We’re so preoccupied with all the forms of communication in front of us that we miss out on what is actually going on around us. Ok..so all we’re doing in this case is watching Dexter, but how many times when we go out to we see people compulsively texting on their cell phones instead of paying attention to their surroundings?

At the mall, at school, at the movies, and even while driving we are texting every chance we get. Have you ever tried to have a conversation with someone while their texting? It’s damn near useless. It’s as if they are on another planet.

I’m not saying we should abandon all our new, and fun technologies, but I do miss the times when we didn’t have to be so connected to everything at all times.

Recently, I had dinner with my 17 year old brother, and he told me a funny story. About a week ago my brother and a friend were stranded in a town far away from their home. My brother who was obviously worried, and said “What are we going to do? How are we going to get home?” and his friend replied, “Don’t worry man, I just tweeted that we need a ride”.

To me, this is a sign of the times. We’re working under the assumption that people are really paying attention to everything we post on our social networking sites, and the assumption that people are logging into these sites enough that we perceive these means as a genuine way of contacting someone.

In The Technology Question, Haas discusses the “materiality” of (Haas, pg.3) and technology in writing. One of the questions mentioned in the essay is “What are computer technologies direct impact on writing?”(Haas, pg.3). Personally, I think there are many ways that technology influences writing today.

Nowadays, almost everyone owns a computer or laptop. Which means they can write anywhere and anytime. Pen and paper allowed us to write wherever and whenever we wanted as well. However, the Internet allows us to share what we are writing with anyone and everyone at any given time.

There are a plethora of social networking sites (e.g. Wordpress, Livejournal, Blogger, Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook), and blogging sites available for anyone interested in sharing their thoughts with friends(like a preferred list) or the general public.

Another way, technology influences is that not only can we share writing easily, but you can receive feedback from your audience. Whether you asked for feedback or not, the Internet is a place that people tend to be comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings. Writing online gives a feeling of anonymity that (I think) makes people a little more bold in what they decide to post.

Texting is also becoming a technology that affects our writing. Now, it is commonplace for someone to use “lol”, “brb”, “fml”, “ftw”(I’m still not sure what that one means myself, no matter how much my brother tries to explain it to me.),”omg” and many more in texts, e-mails, blogs, and social networking sites. Even in everyday life we sometimes actually say “lol” instead of actually laughing out loud.

Technology absolutely influences writing. Computers allow us to keep personal files of writing, or post our writing to the Internet. We don’t have to write longhand anymore when writing a journal entry. Also, we don’t really have to worry about anyone picking up out journal and reading it. Now, we can put passwords on computers, or lock our accounts so that no one can read what we are writing if we don’t want them to.

Sites like Wordpress.com, Tumblr.com, and Twitter.com make writing more fun. We no longer limited to just a pen and a piece of paper. Plus, with a huge community of people belonging to these writing sites we sure to find at least one person who agrees with what we are trying to say through writing. Whether, the topic is “I had such a bad day, FML.” , or “100 reasons why I love Twitter” there is a place online where you can share your thoughts with the world.