Category Archives: Student Blogs

Blog Post #9

@DTC_AlexTDTran

Media use that changes the user can be seen throughout society just by the way people change over the medium in which they use. For example, on page 19 Coleman talks about the X-reality which is essentially a reality that mixes (and relies on) both the virtual and the physical world together. In my opinion, the X-reality is experienced but does not necessarily itself immerse the user but rather the user can still experience the difference between the physical and the virtual world. Personally, this medium (such as a computer) would change the way I interact between the people I know over the internet and the people I know in real life. I am usually unsocial and would not openly talk to people; however, during my time using said medium, I am much more social and open to talking to people. This is just an interpretation of the X-reality. Another interpretation would talk about how the use of media (or medium) would change the person in such a way that they would integrate the medium into their own daily life. This is very apparent in modern society as the many college courses are starting to rely heavily on the use of the internet, laptops as well as the growing need for communication using cell phones and other portable communication devices. The choice is intention; however, it requires participation. If no one participates then there would be no growth in the adoption of media use; thus, there would be little to no change in the people who do use it as the community that does use this media is relatively small and so the reliance on it is relatively small.

How Social Media Affects the User

@MyDtcAccount – Jonathan Crabtree

Just like everything in this world, social media can be very advantageous in small amounts, or very dangerous in large amounts. Coleman states that “media use changes the user. With each shift in automation, simulation, and transmission, we discover not only new technologies, but also new facets of ourselves” (page 49 within the text). However, I would argue that, while her statement is true, it doesn’t touch on the whole picture. Social media, with each change, has brought with it an ability to bring surprising facts about ourselves to the surface, but it has also suppressed other truths about ourselves from being discovered. For example, if someone is constantly interacting with others on Facebook instead of in real life, how are they to know and develop the social skills necessary to survive in the work force? If someone becomes so engaged in reading 140-character-or-less tweets that they decide to stop reading books, how then are they expected to maintain an attention span long enough for them to sit down in a classroom or a meeting and be able to learn for an extended lecture/presentation? Social media certainly has the ability to change the user for the better, and it does in some people. I do not believe that social media is inherently evil or anything of the sort. What I do believe is that most people abuse the power that they have to be constantly connected, and it is going to hurt them in the long run. Although it sounds corny in this setting, as technology evolves, I think it is going to be important to remember that “with great power comes great responsibility.”

Blog Post 9- Coleman

@starlingpreston

Coleman states that “media use changes the user. With each shift in automation, simulation, and transmission, we discover not only new technologies, but also new facets of ourselves,” (49). Going back to one of Coleman’s three C’s of Networked Media, media users can see how communication can shift “human perspective” as our “concepts of space, place, and time are impacted” (Coleman 49).  We can apply this idea to Facebook and Twitter, two popular social media sites.

My personal example of how media use of Facebook has changed me is through the communication with my sister in North Dakota. Previously, my sister and I had no need to communicate through Facebook, we lived together. Now, she lives thousands of miles away, and the only way we can talk is through Facebook. Yet, Facebook has eliminated that gap between us. No longer are we limited by snail mail, which arrives days after an exciting event. Furthermore, from using Facebook I have become more technologically advanced than I previously was. I learned how to post and share videos with friends, and to link sites I like on my personal page. I can show my friends in Germany a video instantly, instead of waiting until their time zone matches mine to call them.

I am no longer limited to a location or specific time to meet my friends, when we can just chat online. As Coleman mentions I now have an “online identity” that I use to represent myself during information exchange (39).

Redridinghood Analysis

quy_luu

“Redridinghood” of Donna Leishman is the electronic literature base on children store. It is about a little girl, she wears red sweater and brings some food for her grandmother who live in the forest. Unfortunately, there is a wolf that follows her all the way to her grandma’s house to kill her grandma and her for its meal. For Donna Leishman’s work, it contains audio, touch, visual and communication. Continuing the story, the viewers have to click on the chosen items like doors or windows; also, we can pick two options that were created by the end of the story. They are letting her sleep or waking her up and we pick either one of them; it will lead us to different scenarios. That way, it makes people get more involved to the story by their physically activities with new technology environment. Besides, the soundtrack and the music describe very well the story’s situation which is dangerous and high risky. The video has the viewer’s interaction; it keeps the viewers awake.

“Electronic circuitry profoundly involves men with one another” and “We can no longer build serially, block-by-block, step-by-step, because instant communication insures that all factors of the environment and of experience coexist in a state of active interplay”(Page 63). In my opinion, Donna Leishman’s work is great example by turning original story to electronic literature; plus, Donna brings all the viewers together by video’s step-by-step structure. That way, the views will find more interesting in this video than read straight content as the story in children book.

Redridinghood

@ObergJustin

I found Donna Leishman’s work, “Redridinghood” very entertaining. Being able to take a familiar story and make it new and exciting is not easy. However, the ability to utilize a new medium to present the story gives you the opportunity to experiment with more facets of the story than you could with traditional print. In Marshall McLuhan’s book, “Medium is the Massage” he states that, “Media, by altering the environment, evoke in us unique ratio of sense perceptions. The extension of any one sense alters the way we think and act – the way we perceive the world” (41). Because Leishman was able to use electronic literature and the computer screen to present her story, she was able to evoke different kinds of senses in the reader. For instance, instead of letting us interpret the visuals of the scene, she provides us with how things look through animation. Being able to play with colors and movement is something you cannot do with print but is very important to “Redridinghood”. A lot of the feelings that I got from the story came from the colors and animation and not necessarily the words on the screen.  Also, instead of it being an entirely linear story, we are allowed to make choices that effect the direction of the story. There were also some optional “easter eggs” that I found you could click on that give you more information to the story, which made me feel more immersed and made me feel that I was personalized with the story.

LittleRED

“Redridinghood,” was the perfect example of showing digital media in its different aspects. It included many forms of digital media to tell a story that we all knew as a child. Total classic! The game-like work told a classic tale and gave it a little mixture or like a touch up which symbolized the changes made throughout digital media. It wasn’t more of Little Red going into the woods, it was more like going into the country from the city which could be connected or tied to the changes in generations of the different medium people decide to use. With the generation of technology that we use today, I feel as if the author wanted us to see the differences. He took advantage of the right away thinking so that we would continue to click knowing that we would be curious. This game-like media gave us the intention to get engaged in it all. From clicking on windows to clicking on flowers, just to see what would happen next. The artist uses the different mediums well to express his/her message across the audience. In the book, “The Medium is the Massage,” by McLuhan, it says, “Information pours upon us, instantaneously and continuously. As soon as information is acquired, it is very rapidly replaced by still newer information.” The artist created something different that kept the reader engaged. Leishman did everything mentioned in this quote, from providing information quickly and never left any gaps between messages. I found it really interesting and fairly easy to comprehend.

Bethel Muasau – @_bjeezy94

Redridinghood Analysis

@MyDtcAccount – Jonathan Crabtree

 

Donna Leishman’s work “Redridinghood” puts a twist on the familiar story of the sweet little girl who goes to Grandma’s, and encounters a wolf along the way. What I found intriguing was a thought that occured to me halfway through. In print literature, there is a set series of events and happenings. You don’t control what happens, nor do you control when it happens. But, when you read a print edition of a book, you’re mind is opened up to a plethora of possibilites in regards to visualization of the characters, creating a certain “voice” in your head of what the characters must sound like, and imagining the setting and all the colors of the environment. When viewing an electronic piece such as Redridinghood, however, it is backwards. Sure, you may have control over several factors like when the story progresses, choosing what the character does in a certain event, or anything else that comes from the increased interactivity that electronic media offers the user. But the author provides the visuals, provides the voices (though there were no words in this specific example), and provides the colors that make up the environment. Personally, I feel like this detracts from the overall sense of satisfaction that I get from reading a book.

 

One way that the affordances of having a story told in an electronic medium does enhance the work is the ability to play a set type of music for each situation in the story. Music evokes a certain mood, which changes our perception of the story and how we read it. McLuhan touched on this, saying that “media, by altering the environment, evoke in us unique ratios of sense perceptions. The extension of any one sense alters the way we think and act – the way we perceive the world” (41).

Oh what Big Bytes You Have

The artist for “Redridinghood” incorporated many forms of digital media to tell a classic tale that everyone is familiar with. The twist being set in a more modern time with her going from a city to the country and the ‘wolf’ being an imposing boy on a scooter makes it more relatable to the digital generations. Because of the level of technology assimilated into our society the artist takes advantage of the natural instinct of clicking on objects without prompts to see what happens. That was my first reaction, once the story started I found myself clicking on all the windows just to see what happens and make sure I did not miss out on anything. By letting the reader of the story pick what happens when she falls asleep keeps the reader engaged and interested to see what happens next, and yes I did click on all the flowers.

With all these different mediums being used the message of the artist is expressed very well. In the book “The Medium is the Massage” McLuhan states

“Information pours upon us, instantaneously and continuously. As soon as information is acquired, it is very rapidly replaced by still newer information”

With the interaction, music and having to figure out what was needed to keep the story going Leishman did exactly this by providing information instantaneously and continuously very rapidly by not letting any gaps happen in her rendition of the story. McLuhan sums this up when he states “all factors of the environment and of experience co-exist in a state of active interplay”

Audra Mann | @WSUVcollegeMom

Hood Red Riding

@cougar_sean

“I am fascinated with the stories that are told through this confusing haze of mediation, experience, and screen” (Burnett 104). Thus is presented the story of Redridinghood by Donna Leishman. This is a story that cannot be told the way it was when printed in a physical form. Redridinghood evokes interaction/participation from the audience, which is invested in the story as we choose the path on which Red Riding Hood will live. Through this point-and-click adventure, Donna Leishman has altered the traditional folktale and encourages active participation by the audience to create their own version of the story. When this folktale is told in picture book form, there is only one path, one resolution and one ultimate understanding of the story. However, because of the electronic medium, the story is presented with vivid colors of red, and black and white representing not only the dark side of life, but also the relationship between the story and our emotions. The wolf was often times found in the shadows of the animation and always accompanied by bloodthirsty eyes. Accentuating another aspect of our senses was the introduction of music. This music seemed foreboding and dark, which complimented the story very well. This is something that we cannot experience outside of the electronic medium. Coupling point-and-click with animations also created a certain sense of consequence to our actions. Although initially in control of the story, the repercussions of those decisions were entirely out of our hands.

Blog 8: Redridinghood

@kylemcgee77

It is safe to say that everyone has heard the story of Little Red Riding Hood. But have you ever experienced the story in a New Media type of way? By turning Little Red Riding hood into a piece of electronic literature the story is experienced in a whole new way. Dona Leishman’s work “Redridinghood” tells the story in new way by allowing the reading to interact with the text. By showing a lot of animations and using sounds, this electronic literature piece essentially makes the reader interpret the story in the way the author wants it. By reading the print version of the story, your mind can interpret what the setting and characters “might” look like. In Leishman’s version, the characters such as the wolf are animated for you. The music also adds to the overall vibe of the story. This supports McLuhan’s claim that “the extension of any one sense alters the way we think and act the way we perceive the world” (McLuhan pg. 41). I feel that electronic literature is becoming more and more accepted in today’s world. It is arguable that the new media can never replace classic stories such as Little Red Riding Hood. There are always going to be those die hard people that will only read print versions of classics. But this new media is not created to “replace.” It is created rather to “enhance” the story or to give it a different feel. Print books will one day be a thing of the past, but new media will keep their stories alive.

#dtcv