Journal 7 Talia Colarusso

The article starts off by talking about how the type of writing students are creating now a days is quite different form the writing people were used to seeing in the 20^th century, this is in part due to hypertexts. To put quite simply you don’t need to be a computer wiz to understand what exactly a hypertext is. A hyper text is simply a link a writer add to their piece which views can click on to direct them to a different page. This page is typically full of useful information pertaining to the writer’s original text. Hypertexts are so useful because they make it so easy for writers to make their work so much denser and chalk full of useful information. Although “While a portion of writing teachers find these new texts and techs compelling and exciting, others are wary, fearing that we may not be able to adjust to or manage 21st-century literacies. “ I choose only to see the good in incorporating hypertexts into my own work as a writer. We are living in a digital age as we have emphasized quite frequently throughout this semester. You can either swim or sink the way I see it, and hypertexts are going to keep you afloat. Hypertexts can add so much to your rhetoric, giving you more to back up your opinion on and also making it easy for your readers to follow along with the supplementary information the hypertexts provide. Hypertext also give a writer a great deal of mobility; “Hypertechs and digi- tal texts are dynamic, multimodal, interactive, and connected. They can be produced, reproduced, written, and rewritten with relative ease and flexibility and distributed more broadly than ever before almost instantly. “ The addition of hypertexts to one’s writing make the writing accecable to a much larger and more broad audience, therefore giving the piece much better chance of circulation. They also keep pieces more interesting visually and content wise. The addition of the hypertexts really aid in making the reader feel more immersed and involved in what they are reading, versus simply scanning page after page of nothing but writing. All in all hypertexts are great writing tools that should not be feared, but should be embraced in writing in this digital age we live in.

Journal #7 - Jack Quinn

Hypertexts are the way of the future. My first experience in learning the value of hypertexts came from a music website that I frequently read. The article was in regards to the new release of an artist that I had been following. The writer had included links throughout his article that first linked to the timeline of the public announcements tied to the new album. Each click would bring me to a tweet or public statement that added more information to the release of the new music. Next the author linked several charts and studies and looked at the popularity of the artist overall and of artists who make music of the same genre.

This instance was the first time it occurred to me how helpful hypertexts can be. The ability to tie other studies and authors to your own work, with a single click, has potential to revolutionize the way we view and consume information.

However, hypertexts are not without their problems. With the ability to easily link outside sources comes the risk of said sources being false or misleading. This is a criticism that many news outlets such as fox or cnn constantly face.

At one point the author also addresses the point that many make regarding social media platforms: “While a portion of writing teachers find these new texts and techs compelling and exciting, others are wary, fearing that we may not be able to adjust to or manage 21st-century literacies. While most writing teachers understood the value of incorporating early digital technologies such as word processing into the classroom, some of the newer digital technologies many be less apparently connection to our pedagogy and curriculum: wikis, blogs, digital video, social networking (e.g., MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter) and social bookmarking (e.g., del.icio.us and Diigo), and the expanding range of audio/visual technologies (e.g., Flickr, YouTube, Wardle, Prezi, and Vuvox).” He then quickly disregards this, instead appreciating this widening spectrum of platforms for writing and ideas. In my opinion, this forward way of thinking is both exciting and productive. Hypertexts are something that people can now learn naturally as they are both fun and deeply engrained in our society.

                                                                                                            

Eric Calderon- Journal 7

I think the major considerations that we need to make for reading a hypertext is how this will help someone expand on their creativity—rather than to just teach the mechanics of a computer. It’s something that was talked about during the seminar last week with Dr. Yancy, when she discussed that most schools will just teach their students how to use softwares like Microsoft Office. Although it is important to teach these students how to use these types of programs, there still lies a big problem with these ways of teaching. The problem is that there aren’t many teachings for these young students that encourage any type of initiative to go beyond what the basics are and to be more creative while doing so. So the main idea that you would have to think of when reading a hypertext would be to understand what the author’s creative intent might be when making their given hypertext. For example, using different types of formats and medias can alter the way we think while reading a specific hypertext. There are ways—like using pictures—that can help manipulate the audience to either lean for or against a specific audience that might be viewing this hypertext. You might want to consider why the author is choosing to use specific formats, and if it was meant to change your view of that specific topic, or if there was potentially a different motive behind the intent. Overall, readers should cautious when reading certain hyper texts, especially when it can be possible if the author did not include all of the information that can either alter or reinforce your opinion on a given topic. Also—in terms of making these hypertexts interactive—with the emergence of comment sections at the end of some hypertexts, a viewer can go straight to the bottom of the hypertext after they read it and view the opinions of “normal” people to help confirm if they either agree or disagree with the hypertext.

#7 Audrey Wheeler

In reading a hypertext, it is primarily important to recognize and consider the creator’s intentions.  The composition of the written (or rather, typed) words will follow the author’s intentions to a specific format, primarily due to the fact that these hypertexts are a specifically chosen method of writing.  The creator themself may not even label their own expression as “writing” and as such it may not carry as much weight to them as perceived by the reader.  The initial self assessment within a hypertext may be devoid of guidelines, so much so that the author possesses very little opportunity to reflect and enhance upon the truly valuable pieces of what they have brought into existence.

Additionally, due to the developments of hypermedia and their incorporation into texts, readers must be aware of all the additional sensory components available to them within these parameters.  The Manovich and New London Models align in their categorizations; however, Manovich’s deals more in specific methods whereas New London’s is framed by the effects these methods will indulge the readers in.  By that, the reader needs to be much more aware of the New London concepts of hypermedia as these effects will change how a reader perceives the knowledge they are provided with.  A short video with no citations is eye-catching on Facebook and easily spread, but it could very well be full of false information that the reader no longer recognizes simply because the format of presentation has changed from linguistic and visual to visual and audio.

A last primary consideration for readers when faced with hypertexts is simply to analyze them both from the method of delivery and the information presented.  Is a video shot well?  Too many close-ups?  Does this affect how the reader perceives the information?  In an article with photos, is the author hiding or enhancing the information?  Are there too many visual components?  Hypermedia possesses an innumerable number of ways and manners to develop writing further than it has ever metamorphosed before, but if the information and presentation are not both fully considered by the reader, the value of the writing is lost.

Journal 7- Marin

In my opinion, the first assumption one must make for reading in a hypertext is that each individual reader is going to have a different experience upon reading the hypertext.  Neal notes in his reading, “Since the assumption, though false, is that print texts are to be read from beginning to end”.  I believe that Neal encapsulates a lot in this sentence.  With previous texts in the twentieth century, there was never any question as to the order in which the text would be experienced.  The Western world reads left to right, top to bottom, and there was no opportunity for variance.  When the Internet (and therefore hypertexts) was created, this gave way to allowing the audience to make their experience of the text their own.  When adding another text as a segment of a different text, this introduces many more elements.  Between the original text and the linked text, the tone will be different, the biases will be different, and the overall message is also likely to be different.  Overall what I’m trying to say is that the spectrum for interpretation expands greatly when another text with many different variables in introduced.

Another consideration to keep in mind when reading in a hypertext is that the name “hypertext” alone implies twenty-first century writing.  And with twenty-first century writing comes the implication that the text you are experiencing has likely been shaped entirely by media that has preceded it.  The fact that the piece references a different media at all (the hypertext) is a sign that the piece you are reading was assembled through themes and ideas created by another author. 

Finally, because of these considerations, it is important to remember that the ideas and messages the reader draws from the text will likely be original and different to the other people experiencing the same text.  Because nearly all text today is a form of remediation, this means that each new remediation introduces an original idea based off of the text.  Text these days is interesting because ideas and messages are all interwoven into ideas and messages created by previous authors.  It is important to recognize the different sources that a hypertext introduces.

Journal #7 Falyn Tover

         Hypertech's, according to this article, are texts that possesses "extravagance" and "excess." These texts can be produced and reproduced, written and re-written. This is mostly because of the fact that these techs are written on digital platforms.

        According to this article, some teachers battle with the idea whether Hypertechs are "compelling and exciting" or if they are "wary" and unable to be adjusted. Teachers are unaware of the things that students write on the multiple social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, ect. 

        The author of this article, who is also a professor, states that a students use is digital techs is exciting to him. He states he teaches with Hypertechs and he thinks that it is the best way to teach students when it comes to writing. According to him, it keeps him on track and engaged. 

          The author of this article wrote, "Not only do i see writing students do outside of class as valid, I am increasingly concerned about what happens to composition when we delegitimize or marginalize the writing students do outside class, even those done in digital spaces..." I personally agree with this statement. I believe that students use these social media platforms as a way to express themselves without being grammatically judged. There are also certain types of slang that teachers might not appreciate or understand and for them to critique or undermine this writing that students do, could be very damaging to their self esteem, and do the social media world.

         While some professors believe that digital techs cause students to lose their literacy and learn incorrect grammar, the author of this article argues that it can be taught in a way that shows the students how writing is evolving and how we change our writing depending on who is our audience.

         The author also writes that when it comes to reading Hypertechs, there is an organization to it. There is a path to read these certain texts. He explains that if you just read the ending of a book, you would be very confused. This is the case for Hypertechs as well.

Journal #7 - Megan Quinn

Hypertext is an inflated text, writing combined with a digital component. Unique to hypertext is its nonlinear approach to movement. A person can navigate a hypertext in any direction they see fit and still have the information coherently make sense. A story that stuck out from Hyperactive Hypertechs was how a student did not consider his blog to be writing in the sense of work composed in a classroom. This implies hypertexts are somehow less significant or acceptable. This stood out to me because it illustrates the limited scope of what is considered “real” or “good” writing. Hypertext, or digital writing, could be considered its own genre and accepted as a legitimate writing source. Although not at all Facebook or Tumblr posts are gold mines, people do write genuinely on social media sites and more weight should be given to their writing.

Different considerations for a hypertext have to be given depending on what type it is. News outlets are popular across the Internet and people often have their favorite sources they automatically go to, whether it be CNN, FOX, or BBC. However, thanks to social media, news articles are posted and shared across feeds and people click to read the stories without considering where they come from. At this moment, the reliable news sources are reporting on the dangers of fake news stories, in particular how they may have affected the presidential election. People need to learn not to trust everything they read on the Internet, as ridiculous as the idea sounds, because it can have harmful effects. One of Gallagher’s main points in his article was context. If readers give attention to context, it will raise their awareness of a hypertext and how its information should be taken.