Escaping the Sandbox: Technology, Writing, and Imagination

In the second chapter of Because Digital Writing Matters, the authors explore how teachers and students can use new technologies to teach and learn how to write. The authors point to three “strands” at the foundation of a writing curriculum that can be summarized in the following quote: “Supporting students in the process of writing, studying the craft of writing, and helping students analyze and understand the rhetorical situation for their writing thus remain hallmarks of an effective writing curriculum that aims to create, reflective, flexible, self-aware writers.” (43) They argue that the teaching of writing can still rest upon this foundation of “strands” and still incorporate new technologies that can actually accelerate and enrich the learning of writing. As an early example of technology enhancing how humans learn to write, the authors point to the computer entering the writing classroom: how this new technology replaced the typewriter and, to an extent, made the writing process less cumbersome and time consuming, as concerned its affect on revision, grammar, and publication. This idea is echoed by Manovich in his article “New Media from Borges to HTML”, in which he investigates what he calls “New Media” and its transformation of our concepts of art and artists (UX designers, video game designers, music video directors, and DJs) from traditional forms to more digital-based mediums. In section six of his article, Manovich writes, “When we use Photoshop to quickly combine photographs together, or when we compose a text using Microsoft Word, we simply do much faster what before we were doing either completely manually or assisted by some technologies (such as a typewriter).” Yet, Manovich, unlike like the authors of Because Digital Writing Matters, does not see technology as merely augmenting our learning and communication abilities, but points to algorithms functioning almost timelessly in the background of our machines free of any need for human interaction: a new entity that did not exist before.

Borges in his short story “The Garden of Forking Paths” seems to explore this human-text interaction. For me, the human-text interaction can be equated to the human-computer interaction, as both exist within a world of text or texts. Additionally, Borges' short story is a text from a text featuring a textual account of a mission to decipher and deliver a text and ultimately the discovery of another mysterious text. I think the prior sentence is an accurate summary of Borges’ work but I find it as inaccessible and uninviting to the reader as the short story itself. Manovich summarizes the story more gracefully, stating the Borges’ work and another article, “both contain the idea of a massive branching structure as a better way to organize data and to represent human experience.” Borges seems to be “playing” with the concept of how to write a text true to life when we live in a world built of text.

Oh right, Play, sorry for the delay. Adeline Koh, in her article “The Political Power of Play”, views the concept of Play as a powerful tool of both an educational and political nature that can expose hierarchical relationships, rather than the common sense notion of Play as “frivolous” and designated for children. Of her exploration of Salman Rushdie’s critique of the film Brazil by Terry Gilliam, Koh writes, “The location of the Brazil in the film Brazil is key because it represents imagination, the creative impulse and play; all three of which are deeply political as they allow the dreaming of alternate possibilities and realities.” We see this kind of play and disruption of logic in Borges’ short story about a Chinese male functioning as a German operative in the British military. Koh sees Play as serious and powerful, and the notion of imagining different realities allowing the audience to see outside of the existing social structure.

So, if Play is powerful, how much Play should enter into the writing classroom? Why don’t we just let the Play of students dictate future curriculum of writing as they maneuver through the writing process with these new tools? Or do we already? Why hold onto the foundation of those three “strands” mentioned above?

The following is a video segment from the cartoon Rick and Morty. In the episode (“Rixty Minutes”, Season 1 Episode 8), Rick programs the family television to play shows from alternate dimensions on each channel. I would suggest watching the full episode if you can, as it relates to many of the concepts in our readings for this week, but, if you could humor me, watch this video and then visit the website featured in it www.fakedoors.com. Thanks!