Reading Discussion (Optional)

Please remember to use this space for academic exchange. Do not post random comments that are meant to get a laugh. This is an extension of our classroom and it will be averaged into class participation.

Today in class we held some lively conversations surrounding the symbolism present in “Hedda Gabbler.”  We will have a short-answer/essay exam on Friday covering “Hedda Gabbler,”  “The Hunger Artist,”  and “The Infant Prodigy.”  Tomorrow we will discuss the other two stories. Tonight, if you would like, you may use this space to converse with your peers about the stories.

Coming Across Digitally

Great job, guys! I enjoyed reading your comments, and it looks as though just about everyone was able to get on and navigate through okay. Tonight I’d like you to pick up on the conversation begun in class about how we convey meaning–intentionally, but also unintentionally. This is an especially hot topic for your generation and there are multiple subcategories that we could explore. For now, just pick one to respond to and then check back to see what others have said. If you see a comment posted by someone else and you’d like to respond to what they have said, please feel free to do so. This site will only become interactive if we make it so.

Possible ideas:

1. As I read through your comments last night, some of you posted very short comments that included words like “tired, long, same old same, etc.” What “feeling” might these short posts convey? Do they feel depressed? Sad? Disinterested? Not necessarily intentionally so, right? Think of all those times when a disagreement or a misunderstanding occurred through email–what is it about digital communication that lends itself easily to misunderstandings?

2. Spelling skills–are they changing because of technology? Do you routinely use acronyms or symbols to communicate on-line (brb, lol, jkg, smiley faces, etc.)? Does this impede your ability to spell correctly when you need to or do you think that the amount of writing you do on-line has actually made you look up (or ask parents to spell) more? Does it matter? Do you just excuse poor spelling because it is on-line?

3. Social skills–has the Internet created a generation of people who are better at interacting with new acquaintances or a generation of people who rely so heavily on on-line communication that they are losing the ability to interact face-to-face?

How was your first day?

I’d like to see everyone navigate through this site to get acquainted with it. See if you can open our class syllabus and then come back to this post and respond–how did you like the writing excercise we completed in class?