Blog week 2
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, I was raised around a predominately African American/ Hispanic environment. Despite that my family has developed our own distinct culture. I listen to a wide range of music, most of which may not be popular in the area I was raised in such as dubstep, rock, some metal but also r & b and rap. The primary language in my household is English. More specifically, we speak in a kind of broken English alongside plenty of jargon that only people who live with my family could comprehend such as āmoteā as a substitute for remote and āghostedā as a way of saying someone or something disappeared without an explanation. We also communicate using a lot of hand gestures and facial queues that may include a long blank stare to express when we are upset or tired of something or someone. We even have our own signature door knock that we use to be able to tell whoās at the door without having to ask.
Some desirable traits of communication would be good eye contact. This applies mainly with the adults and elders of the family, whenever we have something important to say or explain they usually expect you to look them in the eye when saying it. Speaking slowly and clearly is also a very important desirable trait of communicating in my family. It is the only way I or any other member of my family can get any of the older adults to understand even a syllable of whatās being said.
Speaking in a low monotone voice is a perfect example of an undesirable trait for two specific reasons. The first being that when speaking in a low tone, no one will make the effort to try and hear what is being said. The second reason being even if whatever was said was heard, no one will take it seriously enough to give it attention if it came with a monotone uninteresting attitude. As stated earlier, speaking clearly is a very good trait for communication. So naturally another undesirable trait would be speaking to fast for anyone to understand. This is something that I have a habit of doing. Even though my brother and sister may understand whatās coming out of my mouth my parents wouldn’t be able to catch what I am trying to say. A good example of this occurred one day when I was younger coming home from school. I had just returned from a school trip to the Museum of Natural History and my mother asked me how my day went. Instead of starting off slow giving her details from beginning to end, I tried to summarize every detail and event that happened while speaking over 100 words a second. As a result she did not grasp a single thing I said.
Blog week 3
For My Audience analysis I decided to study an instructional manual I found in an online website. This instruction manual contains a series of steps necessary for building a computer, more specifically a gaming computer. I found that this manual has been very simplified. The goal here was not only to inform readers how to build a gaming pc but also to convince those that believe building a computer from scratch is difficult and expensive, that it is actually not very hard to accomplish and can be cost effective. The author does this by explaining in detail along with some illustrations step by step instructions on how to properly install each component. For example the only tool required according to the manual is a standard Philipās head screwdriver. The instruction manual also reveals that around 80 percent of the parts can be installed by either clipping or snapping them in place with secure latches and the basic concept is that every component is going to connect to the motherboard.
Building a computer takes a lot of components and doing so correctly will take a little research and technical knowledge. Background knowledge of computers and its structure is helpful when trying to accomplish this task. Other traits that I discovered which can be helpful are the fact that people already having an existing interest in either technology or video games will particularly have an easier time doing this than others, they will also be known to have the most enjoyment out of it as well. Another thing to note is that it is also wise to be smart with your purchasing decisions. When purchasing parts for a gaming computer you have to consider many factors that may become an issue as well. These factors include size of the components in relation to the case and motherboard for which it is to be installed in, the manufacturer, the components power consumption and their heat outputs. As an example, suppose a person bought a 16 gigabyte RAM or high performance processor without a sufficient cooling device, that person could risk overheating the computerās motherboard rendering it useless.
Blog Week 4Ā
All through my life growing up, my views on ethics constantly change. Whatever I believed to be āmorallyā right and wrong has always been a constant debate between me and my conscience. As a kid I was very indecisive, whether it be with what I wanted for my birthday or what I wanted to be when I grew up.Ā My moral stance at this point and time was clear cut. I considered that if whatever I do was in direct offense to someone else such as stealing, physically hurting and verbally hurting was wrong and anything I did that benefits me while at the same time not directly offending someone else was right.
In my early teenage years, I was always up in my head worrying about what others think based on what I do. This in turn led me to make choices and actions that were perceived as āgoodā according to my environment. I would let outside forces like public criticism to become the bases for what I wanted to do. If my peers didnāt find joining the military as a āpositiveā career move then I also would not consider it, even if deep down that was what I wanted to do in life.
It was not till after I graduated high school that I finally started to become more decisive and think independently at the same time. Now I believe that the most important person whose opinion I should be worried about is myself. My stances on what is right and wrong will always vary from case to case but overall if I cannot sleep a night because of the decisions Iāve made then it is wrong in my point of view. The reason for this is because I began to realize that everything in life is relative, this includes right or wrong, good or bad and best or worst. As an example, most people would believe that Rebellion is morally wrong and only creates chaos in an orderly society. I believe it is not wrong as long as whoever is rebelling feels as if it is absolutely necessary to either defend themselves or free themselves from oppression. Now whether or not the actions we take were worth the results is up for debate but as long as we can live with the decision to act then it was the right move to make.
Blog Week 5Ā
My writing practice have definitely changed since the beginning of this semester. Previous to taking this course I had to cope with writing in a very restricting method of formulating a main idea, constructing an introduction, expanding it in detail and summarizing everything I wrote at the end.Ā This was a problem for me because in order for this method to work, it required a lot of premeditating that only forced me to procrastinate actually writing the paper.
While taking this course I am learning that the āwriting processā public education teaches us from grade school through high school, does not coincide with how the human mind thinks and formulates good ideas. I do not think of good ideas in a linear beginning to end format. I simply think of a cool event or topic that I like and then think of a climax, multiple endings and at most times the title during the very end of the process. Now when I write I first think of a topic that interests me without going to deeply into how I will import my idea onto paper. Instead I just jot down whatever I think I would like to include in my paper into either bullet points or randomly formed paragraphs. Most of the material I jot down are usually the conclusions and the details that traditionally the writing process would tell me to think of later rather than first. I then look over all the notes I took down and rearrange the sentence and bullet points that seem to relate to each other in one document. Once that process is over I look to discover that I have paragraphs that are coherent and make sense, meaning Iām not just jumping from idea to idea with no relevance. I make small adjustments by looking for spelling and grammatical errors to the best of my ability. If I feel that everything is correct I then decide on what to title my paper. If I am not happy with the overall results sometimes I move paragraphs and topics around to change the order in which I want to move from idea to new idea. On rare occasions I might decide to overhaul my paper completely by changing the theme but that is usually decided while I am jotting down random thoughts and interest that I would like to talk about.
Blog Week 6Ā
Liberating but Frustrating paper
Writing the quicker and dirtier report was both liberating and frustrating at the same time. I like the idea of breaking from the normal and trying different things but this one in particular came with some headaches. This process was liberating in that I was glad I didnāt have to think of an introduction or thesis statement before getting into the details of what I wanted to write about. Coming up with ideas comes easy for me and I particularly liked the part where I can just throw my ideas and focal points on paper with no concern for a beginning middle or an end. I also didnāt mind breaking up my random notes and ideas into paragraphs.
The frustration came when I had to organize my many ideas and methods into one unified argument. Especially being that I donāt consider my paper to be persuasive or convey some sort of argument in anyway. The point of my paper was to bring to light an idea that I found interesting while providing various methods to do so and backing those methods with valuable sources. I had trouble formulating one of potentially hundreds of arguments that couldāve been made using all of the ideas I talked about. Although I had a main goal in mind, I mentioned so many ways in which it could be accomplished that it became difficult to try and make them all fit as one. Each method I mentioned also varied in topic, some were more biological others where more mechanical and technical.
During the process I was constantly troubled by the fact that I was running out of time to formulate a conclusion, intro or title in mind while writing the paper despite the fact that it was the whole point of the āquicker and dirtier paperā. While I do like the fact that I didnāt have to think about it at first it became worrying as time passed by and I have yet to effectively link all my focal points and still have to have an introduction and conclusion for the end product. I didnāt feel as if I had enough free time within the remaining week (including weekend) put aside from work and my other classes to effectively sit down and unify my ocean of ideas. Eventually I picked a topic and found a way to link all of the methods I mentioned in my paper into somewhat of a unified idea in a mediocre manner. In the end I felt that I had two choices. 1) Throw up a quick but nonsensical paper that had plenty of text and sources or 2) develop a paper around a topic I found interesting with some good sources and colorful methods but also not as argumentative as it couldāve been. I chose the ladder.
Blog Week 7 My opinions about this course
To be perfectly honest I thought that this class would be similar to my Eng3770 which was an advanced technical writing course. In that class we were taught how to write memos, resumes and proposals in a business setting. This was mostly because in the description of the course it specifically says ātechnical writingā which kind of through me for a loop as to what we will be doing in this class. I was not entirely sure what kind of technical document we will be learning how to write, neither did I know that we would be ārevolutionizingā our writing process as whole.
Here I found that the way in which I write my papers would be completely negated and reversed. Learning how to develop my ideas through writing and formatting those same ideas on paper was something I was never taught in previous English/writing classes, as well as synthesizing a conclusion, intro and title after rather than before all the details. Most of my time here I feel will be learning how to form ideas through my details that I wrote on paper. Putting text on paper on the other hand comes relatively easy so to me. I find that learning how to actually start writing a paper is a little less useful to me as opposed to organizing them with the purpose of communicating an argument or new idea, which is something I will need more work on.
In this class I feel the most important parts are the parts where we learn how to write in the same manner as how our mind thinks. It was explained during class that our mind is very sporadic when it comes to thinking. So trying to think about how and what the paper is going to be before actual putting words on the page will only result in constant pondering and no progress getting done. Previous to taking this course I would do exactly that. I would spend hours trying to think of how I will begin my paper, what details I want to include as well as how I want to summarize my conclusion. Overall I believe that the most important part of this class is learning how to simply begin writing something down and learning along the way how the paper will be formed along with learning how to use that process to develop an argument.
My overall opinions about this course in general is kind of a mix bag. On one hand, technical communication and writing is not my major nor is it my interest. I see myself as an adequate writer and I don’t particularly enjoy writing as a job or a hobby. On the other hand, I am learning a lot of useful techniques that may hopefully be useful to me later.
Blog Week 8 Strengths and weaknesses
In completing my Midterm project, I have come to discover my many tendencies when writing. I realize that I spend too much time explaining my topic in detail instead of using it as a tool to anchor my argument. Although I am good at coming up with ideas and producing text, I had plenty of stuff that I wanted to say. It shows in my first draft as I tried to cram it all on to one paper which ended up making it unnecessarily long. Finding reliable sources was also something that has troubled me. For my first draft most of my sources were simply speculative and contained vague information that could have not been confirmed as fact or possibility.
I needed to look for sources that not only explained my topic in detail but also helped me construct an argument as to why the reader should care. My paper in particular, needed to have a good balance of Scientific, technological and philosophical information. Structuring my ideas took just as long to figure out as it did to find reliable sources. I still believe I didnāt nail the concept yet but for the midterm project I think that I am getting close. My paragraphs are slowly turning from containers of information into ideas which all together sums up one argument.
My improvements in page design are also becoming more noticeable, at least from my point of view. I chunked my paragraphs into more manageable portions, I worded my sub headings better and overall reduced the āfatā or not so useful information that did not need to be in my text. I am even considering adding more images to better illustrate what I am talking about to my audience. In comparison to my earlier drafts, I designed my final paper to be both easier to read to a more general audience as well as highlighting my main points.
Blog Week 9 Planning for change
One of the things I would like to change in my approach to this course as well as my next project would be how I structure my ideas. After completing my midterm project I realized that it is important to set up a hierarchy of your ideas so that you give the reader a reason to care about what you are trying to argue or convey. I donāt feel as if I completely accomplished that with my final paper but I am starting to better understand what I am supposed to do.
Another approach I would like to improve on would be where I look for my source. I now know that I should be using my sources to back up what I am trying to say but depending on my topic I would like to be able to choose the most credible place to get my information.
For My next project I would like to put more focus on page design. I understand that the words in my paper are little more important than how my pages look, I would still like them to be more appealing to the reader. Depending on what exactly I will be doing for my next project, I also want to be able to streamline my ideas accordingly with my topic. In other words I want to be able to collaborate with my partner with the intentions of better figuring out what we are doing and how we are going to do it. This will alleviate any potential headaches from the start and will allows us to spend more time working than worrying.
Blog Week 10 How to promote From Here To There
One of the things this show provides is a chance to expose Taiwanese customs and learn about their ways of life. Most people view Americans as one sided and completely close minded to the rest of the world, but despite popular belief there are a huge number of Americans who actually enjoy learning about other cultures, myself included, especially of Asian cultures in places like Taiwan, China. This show also seems to put an emphasis on persons with disabilities, more specifically a blind man. This perspective is interesting in that we learn how a blind man experiences life a little differently than others which could be both inspirational to people with disabilities and also shed some light on the misconceptions of how blind people live.
The demographics that I believe this show will cater to at its core would be those that love to travel as well as those who are sympathetic to the physically disabled. Promoting this to an American market will prove difficult aside from the interest some Americans might have in it and the language barrier between cultures.
From the start of the episode, the show jumps straight into the story without really emphasizing the relationships between the characters. I could not tell if the two characters are close child hood friends, or if they just met and decided to accompany him on a trip across Taiwan. The viewers in America would be more engaged in the show if the two main characters have established a close friendship. The show could be better introduced, Using things such as a title screen will help those who just tuned into the episode and not knowing whether they are at the beginning or if they are in the middle of the episode.
It should be established from the start that the viewers will be exploring various parts of Taiwan and that the story will be centered on the blind man and his close friend.
The fact that the main character is blind but yet he is still able to experience traveling around through his abilities to hear, feel and smell should be a little more highlighted and softhearted. This adds an element of drama and something for the viewers to cheer for. The point is to make the viewer care more about the blind man and wanting him to experience traveling. I would suggest creating an ad or promo that shows clips about this Blind man who always wanted to travel the country side and will finally be able to do so with the help of a close friend. Within this commercial, scenes that show off of the vistas and locations of Taiwan could be included to catch the attention of those interested in traveling.
Blog week 11 MiVersa
After trying āMiVersaā I am surprised to see how simplified the User Interface features are. Unlike most social media applications, I did not feel overwhelmed by huge amounts of options, features and abilities that are usually thrown at the user all at once. This to me makes it a great starter application for older demographics work teams who are not very tech savvy and is new to the idea of using social media apps to their business advantage.
However, Simple does not always mean better and for that reason I believe younger business teams may not make this their preferred choice of communication. The interface does not take long to understand but there are not many options of mediums to where your messages gets sent to. As for what Iāve seen so far this app only sends messages as a two way path through SMS text message between your phone and your computer. This could be a problem because not everyone will check their phones for text messages about important work notifications. I would suggest linking the messages to emails as well for those who prefer not to receive business information on their personal phones.
Another suggestion would be to instead of broadcasting the userās message directly as a text message but to develop a mobile version of this app that pops up notifications whenever someone in the shared group makes a new post. This would operate similarly to the application used at my job known as āSlackā. Slack allows you to do the same basic posts and messages to a created group just like MiVersa, but the difference being that this app is synced to both the computer and the mobile version of the app. Every time someone in the group post content, a chat box notification opens on either your phone or your computer. I would keep the text message notification as a second option being that the only downside would be that the mobile version of this app would require some kind of internet connection to receive these notifications.
Blog week 12
Very lucky Indeed.
Blog week 13
Although after taking ENG2700 I will have no more ārequiredā writing courses, going back to traditional essay writing will definitely feel awkward for me. I will also not be able to hand in a paper that resembles a technical document similar to the ones I have done for this course. Knowing this I have thankfully picked up some new skills and habits that I can continue to implement in all of my writing.
The way I organize my thoughts will be radically different than it was before taking this class. Before I would always try and categorize my topics and ideas without even knowing what was going into the paper. Now I just write a mass of information of what I know and have researched. Later is when I decide to divide all my details into chunks and from there I can decide what the topics will be titled.
My choices of sources of information will be more credible and thought out. Choosing reliable sources was one of my many weakness when it came to writing. I had a hard time both deciphering which sources are good to use as well as where to find authentic sources that best suit the topic I was researching. Now I know better to second guess the quality of each website, book or article that claims to have credible information on my topic. I can do this by reviewing the authorās background and the overall nature of the source location.
Overall I feel that what I have learned in this class have given me a new perspective on how I approach my writing. Unfortunately most of my writing assignments outside of ENG2700 will have to be structured with an intro, body and conclusion. Rigid structure aside, I can still thankfully develop my papers from now on from the inside out.
