Digital Story

     I faced a couple challenges in creating my story. The first was getting the video itself to work because the pictures were not showing. The second challenge was getting my voice and the soundtrack to work together. I overcame these challenges by switching to a different version of windows movie maker for the pictures, and I used a file mixer for the audio so my narration and the soundtrack could be on the same file.

Digital Stories

     Digital stories in academia hold some value in academia for a couple reasons. They can help us predict the future based on what happened in the past so we don't repeat our mistakes. They also help us take a look back into the history of previous events so we can study more in depth about them. Digital stories outside of academia hold more value because of the different ways it helps us. They can entertain us in our free time or if they are really interesting. They can be healing if they are used in support groups or in churches for inspiration to the rest of us. They can also be used for sentimental purposes, such as stories on a past relative or if someone has just died and we want to display the wonderful parts of their lives. Bottom line, digital stories have their purposes in academia, but they have so much more useful purposes outside of the academic world.

Awareness of Writing

     These past couple of weeks have impacted the way I look at my research and writing methods only in a minor way. My revision strategy has always been to revise while I write my paper, and I have never been a big fan of rewriting papers or proofreading. Sommer's findings from experienced teachers' strategies are interesting
ways in which others do it and how I could tweak my writing skills for the better, but at the same time my writing process has worked for me for a while. If it has worked before, I don't see any reason to change the way I revise and write. The research process that Kleine talks about is what I basically do except for the fact that I don't go through my research to see what is relevant and irrelevant, so I could improve on that aspect of my research process. In my opinion though, it all depends on what works best for the writer.

Nathan and/or Klein

     I think Nathan confirms my experiences as a student because sometimes it is easy to cheat without knowing I am cheating. I also don't support the idea of cheating even though I know everyone does it and that it's just as easy and tempting for me to cheat as well, especially when it's a class that I don't necessarily need for my career in the future. I can see how the culture around students can make them cheat even though I personally don't let it effect me, and it is also possible that the unclear instructions of the teacher can make it easier to cheat because he or she doesn't give clear guidelines for what he or she wants the students to do. Cheating is not only morally wrong for me, but it also cheats me out of the true grade that I need to work for. I can still understand the factors that students face that make it easy to cheat, especially in college.

source #2

English, Sonya. "Write or Wrong? Teachers Wary of Technology's Effects on Writing Skills". 16 March 2009.
     
       02 February 2012. http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2009/mar/16/write-or-wrong-teachers-wary-

       technologys-effects-w/?city_local

     This article is about teachers from different high schools who are cautious of what technology is doing to the

writing skills of the students. It talks about how texting and instant messaging produce "non-thinking" students

and that they do not require reflective thinking. Some of the teachers even talk about how teachers themselves

are supposed to be the guidance for students in knowing how to write properly both formally and informally.

     I agree with the viewpoint of the author of this article because it agrees with my thesis statement and the

argument I try to make in my paper.

source #1

Goldenberg, Lauren. "Impact of a Technology-Infused Middle School Writing Program on Sixth-Grade
   
        Students' Writing Ability and Engagement". 2011. 02 February 2012.

http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=2&hid=22&sid=a9ae53f6-9906-4be2-9801-b1d493e6605c%40sessionmgr11

     The article talks about how a technological program called Writing Matters possibly affects the writing skills

and engagement of students in the sixth grade. A group of students and teachers use the program, and another

does not use the program. They both follow certain procedures already laid out for them. By the end of the

school year, the results of the tests show that no significant difference was present between the group that used

Writing Matters and the group that did not.

     According to my thesis statement, this article supports my the argument that I am trying to make in my

paper. It not only shows statistical data, but it also has a comparative group that participates at the same time

as the experimental group to help compare how technology may or may not affect students' writing abilities.

Thompson support blog

Last year, I had to write a 10 page paper for English, and I needed to talk about a variety of topics, including different topics about myself. I found that technology helped me write it because I was able to write my thoughts faster, and I was able to keep my original thoughts in my head before I lost them due to time passing by. I was also able to be more articulate with my words because I feel like I am able to write better whenever I use some sort of technology whether it is a phone or a computer. I feel that way because I almost always text or use Facebook, so when Thompson says technology is improving the writing of our generation, I completely support his position.