Writing 105M, you have been good to me...

Truthfully, Writing 105M came at a perfect time in my life. Then again, everything else during this wondrous winter quarter did, too. I am a big believer in the phenomenon that everything happens for a reason, and much of what I accomplished in my personal, social and work life seems to have paralleled the new skills I have acquired from this course. This has been an incredibly rewarding and fulfilling experience. I have only recently learned just how crucial it is to express yourself creatively, emotionally, mentally, physically, and essentially, in any way you can. We have so many outlets readily available to achieve this, and while I find it important to express known parts of yourself, expression is just as good for uncovering elements about oneself and bringing them to the surface. Personally, I had no idea what I was able to accomplish in Prezi, Gliffy, this blog, Screencast-O-Matic, Audacity, and especially Photoshop. This class nurtures the mentality that is actively trying to create and yearns for opportunities to learn and acquire new skills and have new experiences. I became a better writer in the way that I learned to write in a different style. And if there is one thing I would like to accomplish while being in school here, it is becoming a better and versatile writer. I have found that the hardest part, with this class, with my personality, and with essentially anything that means something is always trying. With that being said, I would like to leave you all with this quote that has helped me tremendously:

Thank you all for a fabulous quarter together! You truly inspired me with your blindingly beautiful work and hungry minds. There is no sweeter feeling than fostering creativity in a loving and encouraging environment, and I have each and every one of you to thank for providing me with that! 

Screencasts on screencasts

First off, my only love for formal presentations used to be Powerpoint. But, Prezi is much more engaging and allowed me to visually represent all of my other desires in a cool and stylistic way, like with music, its 3D aspect, and even my own screencast. It is limited in some aspects, but it does allow a creator to achieve many things at once, and I am happy I had that opportunity with this program.

Below is my screencast about my Prezi -- with a screencast in it. Hehe. Enjoy!

Happy weekend everybody! :)

Writing isn't linear in multimedia, and that's okay

May your writing always feel as free as the waters of this earth. 

The first thing to intrigue me about this article was its title. Though simple, I felt it not only contributed to the premise of this class, but also to the writing process in general, our experience as young and new writers, and our exposure to the field of multimedia. I think all of us have been exposed to various elements of multimedia, but until now, have not actively written in its style or within the subject matter enough to know what constitutes its writing process. 

I particularly appreciated when Jean Simard, the author, said "writing is not a linear process but the focal point of many other processes. Writing can be facilitated by an environment that is non-linear and rich in connecting together many different abstractions and occurrences." 

This really struck me. I think it's a statement at the forefront of the our changing society and how technology permeates other forms of expression and articulation. The multimedia component is the difference between a traditional history paper and a photoshop project that combines word and text. The process for each is navigated differently. Each serve their own purpose. 

Simard also claims "multimedia environments facilitates learning the writing process." I also specifically identified with this excerpt: "Multimedia environments appeal to many types of learners and potential writers: those who prefer to imagine and picture things, those who need to see things, those who like to hear and say things, and those who learn best by doing things." 

I am an extremely hands-on and visual person, and have learned that multimedia helps me to conquer multiple things at once: visuals, written descriptions of these visuals, etc. Simard rightfully claims multimedia is a process just like others, but that it can still be shaped and guided by the writer. Writing is interactive and ever changing. Multimedia is complicated because it addresses the use of various forms of media to develop its expression of something. 

Writing is also entirely subjective. The only thing anyone could ever do wrong is not try. Simard emphasizes this ideal. Her perspective was extremely refreshing and let me know not to change what I'm doing, but to just continue to open me eyes and mind to new ideas about the discipline of multimedia and how this will impact my writing. 

A link to read the rest of the article. I highly recommend you do:

http://horizon.unc.edu/projects/monograph/CD/Language_Music/Simard.html