Field Bromund Journal 5

From these texts I have asserted that reflection is a method not only for looking back over work but also as a form of looking inward at how a work affects the writer. As Yancey claims "articulating what we have learned for ourselves is a key process" (p.7) this process not only allows the author to reflect on what is being presented the audience but also how the author has grown their knowledge. Reflection allows the author to better understand the purpose of what their writing was about and how that purpose is being conveyed to their audience through their writing. This process of looking back on ones work also allows the author to better understand the proper genre for which their writing will make the biggest impact on their intended discourse community.

I choose to depict reflection as a brain with a lightbulb over it's head, looking in a mirror. This image is intended to represent the process by which the author is able to gain new perspectives and ideas by reflecting on their work.

Journal 6-Maggie Weeks

I would define medium as the way in which something is communicated, similar to genre, but more in the sense as to how it is physically portrayed or communicated to the audience. Medium is important in writing because it effects the genre as well as the way the purpose is portrayed and understood by the audience. In the video, they discuss how medium can be anything from paper in books, to letters, to the internet or even projected images like movies. Wysocki states that, "All page and screen-based texts are visual and their visual elements and arrangements can be analyzed," (p. 124) basically stating that although mediums may not always be physical, they can still be compared to and analyzed in the way that other mediums are such as paper. McLuhan states the idea that the medium is actually more important than the content itself. He uses the example that a hand written idea through the medium of paper is more important and understood than through just speaking the idea to another, making the medium the most important part. He also stresses the idea in the future that technology will be the future of mediums and bring everyone together through easier communication. Wysocki helped me understand that medium isn't the only thing that effects the reader and the purpose of the paper, other facts like font, color and style also affect the readers attention and the way your message may be perceived in a paper.

By determining which genre you would like a piece of work or literature to be, you may first reflect on what kind of medium you would like it to be in order for the reader or audience to understand the genre. For example, if the genre is a letter to a family member, the medium would be a piece of paper, helping determine the genre. Audience also connects to the medium, the author must understand who their audience in to determine what kind of medium they wish to use. If the audience is a bunch of toddlers, it would probably be best to display their ideas in a video rather than on a piece of paper, for them to understand. The author must have knowledge and an understanding to determine what the medium of their work should be to properly display their purpose to the correct audience through the right genre. By considering all of these concepts, I will be able to pick the correct genre of my project to be able to thoroughly portray my ideas and purpose to my audience by having a knowledge of all these factors.

Miakara Belanger journal 6

Based on your reading across these two texts, how would you define medium?

Be sure to reference the specific passages of Wysocki's text and/or segments of the video that have helped you to arrive at this conclusion.

What connections does McLuhan make between medium and content?

between medium and technology? Again, quote the passages that heave helped you develop this understanding. What does Wysocki contribute to your understanding of medium?

Finally, try connecting medium to each of these key terms: genre, audience, knowledge, and purpose. Describe how each of these key concepts connects to one another, and then consider how this understanding will help you as you begin to compose your assignment three.

I would define medium as the means in which people communicate and present ideas. It's about how you choose to present the information, not what the information is about. I understood this from the beginning of the McLuhan video when they said that medium is things like social media, television, ads, etc. It is the format in which the information is provided. McLuhan makes the connection that medium is the way your present content. H connects medium and technology by talking about television and how that is a new and massive way of communicating through a popular medium to the general public. Wysocki talks about the visual presentation of content and how it can be varied depending on how you want to represent the information and who's attention you want to grab. Medium and genre are interconnected because genre is the format of writing you use depending on your audience or discourse community. Genre is the format, and medium is the wy it is presented. Audience plays a part in which medium is chosen to present the information because you change the medium for which audience you are trying to reach. For a younger audience, you use social media. For an older audience, you use television or news. Knowledge is what is presented by the medium, and the medium depends on what information is meant to be presented. The purpose of information is also a factor of which medium is pertinent because depending in what your goal is and what affect you want the writing to have, you may change the visual presentation of the medium to better get your information across.

Journal 6 - Jenna

After I read these two texts, I would define medium as the physical way a text is presented instead of the message of the text itself. McLuhan agrees with his definition that it is "what has been communicated (message) is less important than the particular medium through which people communicate." For example, a "children's book" should have bright colors and images in order to communicate with its demographic of children and their interest in way the text is presented (Wysocki 124).

McLuhan mentions that in history, the content was never the most important but it was the medium that left a lasting affect. He mentions that the cavemen wrote on rocks and although what they were trying to communicate with one another was important at the time, the new ideas and advances of communicating with writing was something that began to be passed down through each generation as new technological advances were made. McLuhan mentions that the "technology that transfers the message changes us." McLuhan claims that technology affects multiple aspects of our lives including family, leisure, society, and work just to name a few. The way information is presented leaves an impact on the brain as much or even more than the content itself.

Wysocki contributes to my understanding of medium in its description of the four things reader look at the most when they are handed a piece of text: the page itself, what is on the page, the connections among different parts on the page and what contains the page (127). Wysocki points out what everyone looks for immedietly when they read and not one of those points is analyzing the message but mainly just looking at the physical text, medium, itself.


Finally, try connecting medium to each of these key terms: genre, audience, knowledge, and purpose.
The medium of the piece is a genre itself. So the genre might be a newspaper and the medium is the paper and ink that is used to print a newspaper. The audience relates to the medium because the medium will want to please the demographic of the writer's choice. Knowledge can be gained but only if the medium matches the text; no knowledge will be gained if a scientific article resembles a children's book. And purpose is similar to knowledge in that the purpose will not be understood if it is presented in a unprofessional manner.

Project 3 I will be creating a new media website therefore I need to research other news media websites so I can create the most appropriate website that will attract viewers and get my purpose across so readers can gain knowledge.

Miakara Belanger journal 5

For this journal, please read the pdfs labeled “Yancey_On Reflection” and “Taczak_Reflection” in our Google folder. Yancey provides a brief overview of the scholarship and research that has facilitated our current understanding of reflection. She also explicitly defines the term, and writes about three different kinds of reflection. Taczak provides a slightly different definition of reflection and writes about its usefulness for writers. For this journal, please respond to the following:

How do Yancey and Taczak each define reflection? How does Yancey build on others’ scholarship to define reflection? According to both Yancey and Taczak, what does reflection enable writers to do? How might we understand reflection in connection with each of the key terms we have discussed so far—genre, audience, purpose, and discourse community?

Finally, please compose (as opposed to merely finding) a visual that you believe will help us to better understand reflection. This can be an image, a chart, a gif, video, etc. that you have created. Write a few sentences about what you hope readers will understand about reflection by looking at your visual.

Yancey defines reflection as "the process by which we know what we have accomplished and by which we articulate accomplishment and the products of those processes" (p.6). Taczak says reflection is " a mode of inquiry: a deliberate way of systematically recalling writing experiences to reframe the current writing situation" (para 1). Yancey talks about how using students as research subjects to understand their writing process and how reflection is used, we can understand how to use reflection in the teaching process and what benefits it has to the writing process. She cites many researches about the writing process for students and compares how many authors have spoken about reflection. She creates an assemblage of opinions and knowledge on the subject and adds her own experience in to the mix to create her own text. Yancey and Taczak believe that reflection enables the writing process to become more fine tuned and is an important part of making the writing process successful. They talk about how reflection should occur within the writing process and not just as an after thought. They say how reflection is a way of understanding what you have learned and revising your thoughts to fit your goals. Reflection is one of the key terms for our theory of writing because it is an important step in being a successful writer. Just like recognizing your audience, tailoring your style to a discourse community, understanding the purpose of your writing, and creating the right genre format, reflecting is another key step in the process that betters the writers work and should not be skipped. All of these things help make a better writer and are important things to spend time on. 

   

This visual is a composition of the writing process and how reflection is involved. I intend it to portray a writer who stops to reflect on his work, understands what he has learned, changes according to new ideas and revisions, and repeats this throughout the writing process. 

Journal 6 - Christopher Harb

Based on your reading across these two texts, how would you define medium?

I would define medium as a way of communication. Rather than the information contained itself. It is a way to transport and get it from one place to another.

Be sure to reference the specific passages of Wysocki's text and/or segments of the video that have helped you to arrive at this conclusion.

In wysocki’s text she referred to different types of mediums. She referenced magazines and websites which could be classified as their own type of medium. In the video they also used a very familiar type of medium a message in a bottle to illustrate communication from one place to another.

What connections does McLuhan make between medium and content?

They connection they made is that they were eventually talking about what has become the interent. A giant group of connected people that can all communicate with each other. While content is the information contained inside of a medium a medium is the transportation method. We can see this as the internet is a medium while the information contained inside the internet is our content that is being delilvered through the internet.

between medium and technology? Again, quote the passages that heave helped you develop this understanding. What does Wysocki contribute to your understanding of medium?

Wysocki helps me understand fundemental concepts of medium. One of the best examples she talks about in her text is the various examples she gives, Wysocki mentions text based, web based, and digital formats of mediums. She gives us an understanding of the “multiple media of texts” because that is really what she is doing providing us with examples of the mediums of text.

Finally, try connecting medium to each of these key terms: genre, audience, knowledge, and purpose. Describe how each of these key concepts connects to one another, and then consider how this understanding will help you as you begin to compose your assignment three.

Genre : Genre contains the information of a medium. With a genre we can use it to communicate through specific mediums rather than a broad band of them.

Audience: We want to communicate with one person or many persons we will use different forms of mediums

Knowledge: While in the video they said knowledge isnt being gained from the information inside of the medium its how the medium is transforming our knowledge.

Purpose: We have a purpose and that is to communicate fluently with others. We use medium to communicate through various different ways that suite our specific needs and purpose.

Journal 6 - Michaela Dugdale

Based off of the reading and my prior research of mediums, I would define medium as the words, pictures, colors, sounds, and other forms of design to show how a message is communicated not necessarily the content.  In Wysocki’s piece, she shows how the shape and style of the text and the placement of the words and columns effect the way a text is perceived.  In the very beginning of the video, it explains how McLuhan believe that what people communicate is less important than how they communicate it.

McLuhan, then goes on to talk about the technological advancements.  The narrator of the video believes his book “The Medium is the Massage” is a play on words for “mass age,” even though it is known to be a typo.  The video explains how the communication of text has grown; going from oral communication all the way to the internet.  In Wysocki’s piece, she has a section that focuses on the medium of a website.  The internet is a prominent part in the lives of people, especially millennials, in the 21st century and it just continues to grow.  Therefore, websites are a very common form of medium today.  She suggests how the shapes and photographs and even the sounds used on a website help form the perfect website for their audience.  

We can connect medium to genre, because of the different genres of typefaces and Wysocki explains hoe genre follows visual presentation of the page and text.  We can connect medium to audience because each specific type of medium is put together for a specific audience.  We can connect medium to knowledge, because the authors must have knowledge of their content.  We can connect medium to purpose because each medium is specifically manipulated to help authors achieve their purpose.  The understanding of medium will help me very m much for project three as i will now consider how I can communicate it and the placement and specific details of everything.

Journal 6 Marissa Latouche

        After reading the passages, I would define medium as passageway for the author to express the message at hand to the reader. The medium used is an important factor of writing and can completely change the entire style of the writing. McLuhan says " the medium is the message." This statement means that whatever the medium is, that is how the message will be conveyed. In today's society uses technology as a medium. Technology is advancing according to McLuhan, it is bringing people together. After reading the passages, this helps me decide what medium I would like to use if Project 3. Medium and genre are connected as a medium can be considered a type of genre. A medium is based off the audience and is structured for the specific audience. Content is shaped specifically for the medium and must be portrayed as such. The purpose is very important in concern for the medium and they must coincide.

journal 6 matt schmeltzer

I would define medium as the way that information is presented, and also as a uniform way that everyone can get their information. Medium is connected to technology because as technology evolves, their are new mediums to display text, for example social media.

genre- medium connects to genre because genres are made out of mediums, such as books

audience- connected because a medium always has an audience looking at it

knowledge- people share their knowledge using mediums

purpose- all mediums have a purpose, whether it is to entertain, or to share how you feel

Journal 6 - Mitchell Rossini

Based on your reading across these two texts, how would you define medium? Be sure to reference the specific passages of Wysocki's text and/or segments of the video that have helped you to arrive at this conclusion.

In Wysocki's text, she describes medium as the form in which something has been written. She focuses primarily on the way things have been printed and formatted rather than the actual material McLuhan focused on. My own personal definition of the word medium after reading the text and watching the video would be; Medium is both the format and material used to develop a piece of work, rather it be any form of art or writing. This is because both Wysocki and McLuhan are correct in their statements. 

What connections does McLuhan make between medium and content? between medium and technology? Again, quote the passages that heave helped you develop this understanding. 

McLuhan believed that throughout history it was not the message/content that mattered but rather, how the content was communicated. He believed that the form of communication that occurred was a great example of our influences at the time. 

What does Wysocki contribute to your understanding of medium? 

She focuses on the form of writing and fonts rather than the actual medium. Her discussion of the way fonts and colors attract a readers attention made me realize that both writers were correct in their statements. 

Finally, try connecting medium to each of these key terms: genre, audience, knowledge, and purpose. Describe how each of these key concepts connects to one another, and then consider how this understanding will help you as you begin to compose your assignment three.

Genre- The medium that something is written in can vary depending on the genre it is written for. For example: if something were to be written for a horror movie, the font might be made to look similar to blood. However, if we were to expand our understanding of genre, the genre of digital media, such as youtube videos, would require the digital mediums of the internet, etc. 

Audience- The medium that a work is set in can effect who the audience is. A work created in a digital medium would narrow the audience not only to those who are interested but also to those who have access to this form of entertainment. 

Knowledge- Knowledge can be spread through different forms of mediums

Purpose- The medium of a work can change depending on the purpose. For quick communication the medium can be the digital coding of a text message.  

Journal 6 - Justin Suter

I would define medium as what form the text is in that you are reading. In Wysocki’s text she mentions “When you see a large page with brightly-colored drawings, you probably think children’s book.” This showed me that when you see a form of text the medium can be detected before reading the content and made me consider that the medium is actually the form in which the text is presented to you. McLuhan contacts medium and content as the form in which the content is being presented to you allows that part of your body to develop and strengthen. The video stated when there wasn't many forms of written communication peoples ears where their strongest trait, this shows how the medium in which the content is delivered shapes humans. He also brings up the technology in which the medium is communicated changes society. With technology advancing he said it was bring people together and unifying them. McLuhan believed that a form of a global village was emerging through technology. 

Medium connects to the key terms we have discussed in class because they all have to do with writing. When writing a text the genre will be present no matter what medium it is presented in, also depending on the medium n which the text is delivered could help you understand the genre. Audience and purpose can also differ the way in which the text is presented to someone, so it can have an effect on the medium. This can help me begin to compose assignment three because it gives me a good understanding for choosing which medium I want to use for assignment three. 

Field Bromund Journal 6

Following these readings I would define medium as a passage way for which the author can transmit information to their readers. Although a medium is a transporter of information the medium itself also acts as a distinct genre and piece of literature. In the Wysocki text the purpose of the writing is to inform the reader that these forms of medium are not only a transport but distinct works that differentiate texts and art forms. For example on page 124 when Wysocki compares children's books to academic texts by the visual presentation and layout alone with no regard for the content. This comparison reveals to the reader that there is an inherent sense of recognition for different forms of medium. In the video McLuhan claims that "The medium is the message" this statement puts more emphasis on the medium transferring the message rather than the content and this medium is ever-changing with the advancement of technology. The genre of a text can clearly be seen without reading the text. Often simply looking at the medium by which a work is composed with can indicate the genre. This is also true of audience, much like the children's book comparison a text intended of a specific audience will be formatted to that audiences traditions format. The purpose of the text can be inferred from the medium by indicators such as font, bolding, photos, etc. they allow the reader to quickly differentiate multiple types of media quickly and efficiently. This ease of differentiation allows readers to expand their knowledge by focusing on which forms of medium are relevant to their needs. These texts will help me in project three as I think about how I should use my medium to appeal to a physician setting.

Journal 6 Victoria Farrar

After reading and watching the video I would define medium as the form in which a message is communicated. Marshall McLuhan argued that “what has been communicated (message) has been less important than the particular medium through which people communicate.” This quote simply means that, the way the content is portrayed is more important than the content itself. The technology of what the message or content is seen on changes our lifestyle. Back when there were no written texts or technology, stories were told putting an emphasis on listening. When writing became prominent, the visual aspect was tapped into. After the radio, phone and television came out, this helped combine audio and visual. McLuhan claimed that this technology made a “global village” because it seemed to bring people together, just as the internet does today.  Wysocki explains that you can create mediums through typefaces, visual shapes, colors, graphs, etc.

Medium and genre go hand in hand. Medium, how the content is presented, helps place it into a specific genre. The way the medium is structured and how it encompasses the content rely on the audience. Everything in writing should cater towards a specific audience, in order to create a connection with others. Knowledge of what graphs, pictures and programs there are today help increase the work put into the medium. This helps put an emphasis on the medium itself. Knowledge also connects to the content within and the message the author wants to write. The medium is shaped and made for the purpose of portraying the message/content. This will help with project three because it helped me understand that I must look at the medium and the purpose of my genre and content that I will need. I will be doing a case study so the way I present it is more important than the content. The knowledge I have about biology will also help me in creating a medium in which to portray my message.

Journal 5-Maggie Weeks

How do Yancey and Taczak each define reflection? How does Yancey build on others’ scholarship to define reflection?

Taczak describes reflection as, “a mode of inquiry: a deliberate way of systematically recalling writing experiences,” where as, Yancey describes reflection as he processes by which we know what we have accomplished and by which we articulate accomplishment and...the products of the processes.” Yancey used other author’s such as Harris to help define the term reflection to the reader.

According to both Yancey and Taczak, what does reflection enable writers to do?

Reflection allows writers to look back on past work and REFLECT on what they have written, what they did well and what they can do to make it better. Reflection allows author’s to better their writing through looking back over their writing.

 How might we understand reflection in connection with each of the key terms we have discussed so far—genre, audience, purpose, and discourse community?

Reflection could allow the reader to go back and ensure that the writing is focused on the correct ideas and that they are clearly portrayed to the reader. Before writing the author can reflect on what they want to write on what they want to write about, helping create the genre as well as understanding who the audience is. After writing, the author may also reflect on what kind of vocabulary was used to determine what kind of discourse community it is a part of.

Finally, please compose (as opposed to merely finding) a visual that you believe will help us to better understand reflection. This can be an image, a chart, a gif, video, etc. that you have created. Write a few sentences about what you hope readers will understand about reflection by looking at your visual.

I hope to make a brochure about accounting, to summarize the profession to potential future accountants. This type of brochure will be displayed at job fairs as a way to attract people to the profession. I plan on exaggerating what accountants do to make the job sound more appealing.

Journal 6 Cooper Tesch

Medium is a message within itself. It is an important part of the message that we are trying to convey. To me if I received a letter in the mail from a friend I would take that as a message of deep caring. Today we don’t mail letters as much seeing as we can text or call someone, but to receive a letter in the mail from a friend shows that they put time and effort into sending you something they created so along with the message they enclosed inside the medium also reflects the message of deep caring. This goes for all types of mediums; I believe it’s a way of communicating another feeling or meaning aside from the actual message part. The part in the video where they’re talking about the importance of the medium like when writing was invented to shift from oral communication and the visual on screen of a message in a bottle, these helped me reach my conclusion of what I feel medium is and what it does. McLuhan makes not just emotional but physical connections with the medium, where our importance on a certain sense has changed over time such as oral tradition shifting to written taking our primary focus off listening and shifting it to an emphasis on sight. This shift has happened again and again has technology has advanced to where we get messages from reading or speaking with him arguing its created some sort of global village.

Your medium you choose to convey your message is in a broader sense your genre. Your medium is social media and your genre is either twitter or facebook or tumblr. Depending on your audience determines what kind of medium you should use to convey your message to them whether it be a powerpoint for a business presentation or a video for kids. A lot of the knowledge we’ve gathered throughout humanity’s existence exists in mostly written form now but somethings are still in a different medium such as oral tales or history. All types of medium have a purpose depending on the message you are trying to convey, a hand-written letter to convey that you care or an email to serve the purpose of communicating with your business partners.