This is an explanation of media from Wikipedia. "In communication, media (singular medium) are the storage and transmission channels or tools used to store and deliver information or data". Retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_(communication)
Digital alarm clock
food packaging
daughters weekly timetable
calendar
television
laptop
google maps
local newspaper
books
street signs
GPS
speedometer in the car
petrol station
school tuck shop menu
adverts on bus shelters
lecture material displayed in lecture
scanning books in library.
recording favourite programmes on television
It is only once you take the time to notice the media all around us that it becomes obvious. As I have said in a previous post "The Study of Gamers and Gaming", how can something so pervasive be so unobtrusive? I believe it is because it meshes within the environment around it that we do not notice its presence. However, loose electricity for an hour and suddenly, some of the media that forms part of your life is made obvious and sorely missed.
Mark Weiser, chief scientist at Xerox PARC, coined the term "ubiquitous computing" and believed that "the most profound technologies are those that disappear. They weave themselves into the fabric of everyday life until they are indistinguishable from it" (Rheingold, 2002, p. 88).
Reference:
Rheingold, H. (2002). Smart Mobs. The next social revolution. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books Group.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Response to Jason Nelsons digital art.
Once I had got my head around the fact that there were no rules or conventions with digital poetry and accept it for face value, I think I began to cringe a little less when viewing Jason's work. NOTE: I did say, cringe a little less. I still dont truly 'get' his work. Perhaps I need to throw off the shackles of traditional poetic rules and just embrace the work as a cocophony of sounds, words, visions, colours, spaces and animation...the very 'artistic materials' that make a digital environment in the first place.
Responses to the questions:
How does it make you feel? Truthfully...."Grab your children and run for cover!" However, i am all about unlearning and relearning. So I have delved into videos of Jason explaining his work, reviews and discussed it with fellow students in order to make sense of my feelings. Jason's work appears to have no point, theme or purpose. It confuses, infuriates and mystifies me. I see no inspirational words and much of the work is macabre - examples of such are "This is how you will die", "Pandemic rooms" and "Endings eventually end". Yet one element of the work which I admire is the fact that he creates it and then hands it over to the public to manipulate and interact with it.
In Jason's own words, he describes how a job description for electronic art writers may read:
"Bored and computer-tied public searching for writers to inspire, confuse and entertain them. Writers must be willing to experiment, to be perfectionists and awkwardly lost. Technical skills or at least the willingness to work with technically proficient others is a must. Additional skills of thinking spatially, seeing poetry as geometry and reading the narrative of images together with a non-linear understanding of world are encouraged. Applicants must also be willing to delete works soon after they are created and be able to moderate epic battles between gypsies, hobos and the occasional Bill Gates".Retrieved from:http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/writersguide/craft,_part_two/professional_profile_150_jason_nelson
What does it makes you think about? If I were faced with work of this calibre in any format within my classroom, how will I respond? If I assess students work without gaining an understanding of what they were thinking and what message they were trying to put across. There are many works of great literacy merit that unless it was 'explained' to me or the premise behind it detailed, I would not have the same opinion of the work. Only when I viewed videos of Jason online giving explanations of some of his work, did I begin to appreciate what he was doing. Once again, I cannot say I like it, BUT...I can appreciate his talent.
What are the other media forms that it uses, or is similar to? Computer games, music dvds, Wii. Basicly anything interative.
If we accept that Jason's worksre poetry - How do you "read" digital poetry like that? I don't believe you read it in the true linear, non spatial manner that is characteristic of traditional poetry. Rather it is non linear, spatial and needs to be experienced by all the senses.
It is best summarised in a quote I found on blog called "Digital Dada" where digial poetry is compared to Dadaism (a post World War I movement of 'artists' protesting against the barbarism of the War).
"As more poets begin creating works incorporating such rich media, the dream of digital dada everywhere will soon entrance the sleeping public. The boundaries between different forms of creative expression, between the visual, the cerebral and the audio is becoming ever more blurred as the new digitalogists begin exploring new ways to create provocative virtual experiences". Retrieved from: http://www.poetscoop.org/dada/blog/2007/01/concept-of-digital-creation-in-terms-of.html
If you are interested in finding out about Dadaism - click this link The Dada Movement
If you are interested in finding out about Dadaism - click this link The Dada Movement
Friday, January 28, 2011
I am on my soapbox...
Photo - Shuttleworth Foundation (Flickr)
Today's lecture really got me thinking...for a change AND got me really really fired up. It was interesting to learn the history of the current governments attempts to provide all of us with a 'clean feed' internet.
"What this means is that Australian Internet Service Providers (ISP's) will now have to filter the Internet to block access to websites that would be "Refused Classification" under Australia's classification laws.
The filter will be based on blocking a list of between 1,000 and 10,000 web page addresses (“URLs”). That list is called a ‘blacklist’. This list of URLs will be maintained by the Australian Communications and Media Authority, and will be added to by lists from overseas groups that make their own lists (such as the Internet Watch Foundation)." Electronic Frontiers Australia.I am of the opinion that EVERYONE has the RIGHT to choose....anything! The only people this does not technically apply to are my two gorgeous daughters...sorry girls - perhaps when you are older! I extend this belief to fluoride in the water, abortion, religious beliefs, sexual preferences etc etc. Who am I to make those type of decisions for people. The same can be said for the 'clean feed' internet. I have a list an arm long of reason why this should not be allowed and here are the main reasons.
- First and foremost, it is a violation of MY right to parent my children as I see fit.
- If this were to go ahead, many parents would be lulled into a false sense of security as they believe that the internet is safe as it has a filter on it and therefore not take due diligence when their children are using it.
- As the list is secret, how do we know the content that is being placed on it?
- We are violating the right of those without children as this is all been packaged in order to 'protect the children'.
- Who is paying for this? Me as a taxpayer! Who is to say that the ISP providers will not put their prices up to accommodate the additional costs of having to filter their service.
- We would be joining only a handful of countries in the world where such extreme censorship is in place...China being one of them! Yikes, not too sure about being placed in that political basket...
- Once on the black list, how do you get off the list? Case in point, the dentist that was placed on the list. Is there an appeal system in place?
Filters will not cure the problem of inappropriate material on the internet as all it is doing is forcing the content further underground and makes it harder to police and merely places a rather dodgy blindfold on our kids (and parents) for a while. In addition, if you forbid or close one site down another will pop up in its place. Saddam Hussein may be dead, but radical terrorism activity has not ceased. The key is EDUCATION!!!!!! Spend the money on educating our children and some parents about the dangers. Make it part of the curriculum (SOSE). I realise that the curriculum is overloaded in schools already, but this could be seamlessly integrated into many parts of the curriculum and daily pedagogy. The concerns that sparked this irrational proposal are valid, I just do not believe that taking away our rights and treating us like nitwits is the solution either.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
E-literatrue or E-lunacy - it is all in the eye of the beholder.
Well I feel as if I was time warped into another dimension in the lecture today. The first hour of the lecture involved viewing E-literature and digital poetry. Now to your general school teacher, this would make their heart sing?? You would think so, but NO! At first glance it made me cringe, wince, laugh and balk at the thought of continuing to sit through another minute of the lecture. Yet, it has challenged my perceptions and raised a few questions. What defines poetry? What is literature? Will the students in my class see something in this that I may not and in doing so, I miss the opportunity to engage and connect with my students. So, true to my life motto, I decided to learn, unlearn and relearn in the interest of all my potential students in the future. How sacrificial and noble of me!
This is what I know already. Poetry is meaningful, beautiful, creative in its art of placing words in an order that can create a picture or transcend all boundaries of the page. Poetry falls within the category of literature. To define literature, the word means "acquaintance with words". Or as the Macquarie Dictionary says "all the writings of a particular language, period, people, etc". So this got me thinking, if poetry is an emotional response to what has been expressed through meaning, sound, and rhythmic language choices then what is to say that Jason Nelson's poetry is not in fact another form of poetry that depicts a "language and period" of a particular time and people. The mere fact that it evoked such conflicting emotions within me proves that it has achieved its purpose.
Consider the following excerpt from a speech given by President Kennedy at Amherst College in honor of the late poet Robert Frost.
"When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the areas of man's concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of his existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses, for art establishes the basic human truths which must serve as the touchstones of our judgment. The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. He has, as Frost said, "a lover's quarrel with the world." In pursuing his perceptions of reality he must often sail against the currents of his time".
So touche Jason, I concede that your work is indeed poetic and that it has a place within literature. Although I cannot go so far as to say I enjoy it, it does evoke emotions and that is a job well done. Lesson learnt, unlearnt and learnt again...
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Polictical activism...well my attempt at it anyway.
Today I will be completing the following tasks:-
GetUp "Save the Net"
state- Peter Dowling
federal- Peter Dowling
Information retrieved from: http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/advocacy/advocacy_article.jsp?articleId=2386#QLD
Let your local member know what you think about their last speech.
I do not feel like I have anything of value to contribute....sorry.
- Sign an e-petition.
GetUp "Save the Net"
- Respond to a professional blogger at a major news site.
- What is Barak Obama up to today?
- Find out who your local, state and federal representatives are.
state- Peter Dowling
federal- Peter Dowling
Information retrieved from: http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/advocacy/advocacy_article.jsp?articleId=2386#QLD
- Look up the Queensland or Australian hansard to find the last time your local member spoke in parliament.
Let your local member know what you think about their last speech.
I do not feel like I have anything of value to contribute....sorry.
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