Computers and Writing

Haas and Raschke have very valid points regarding the use of technology and how it applies to the world today. I completely agree with their view too. The society we live in today has become entirely dependent on technology. We see it everywhere on a day to day basis. Practically all jobs today use computers one way or another. At schools too, we can see how computers play a huge role. Term papers always have to be typed and printed out on computers, attendance is done electronically, research is mostly done through computers, and some classes are based solely online. Not to mention how students can interact instantly with the internet with things like Myspace and Facebook. These websites allow people to post anything they want about themselves instantly. Even online games like "Second Life" allow players to "defy reality." In the essay written by Hall, he states that "The longer one's time spent in Second Life, the more their virtual identities begin to reflect their inner desires." Meeting and interacting with new people at the click of a button, thats what has America hooked.
Now that im up here in college, I basically live on the computer. Between Blackboard, working on assignments, and writing papers, I would say that I'm on my computer a good 15 hours a week atleast. This doesn't include the Facebook/Myspace frenzy that 99.99% of all college students go through. The articles by Haas and Raschke make ten times more sense after almost a semester of college under my belt. I could not think of trying to redue this past semester without the use of a computer. It just does not seem logical.
The use of computers in this class has deffinately influenced the way I think. I literaly have the internet at my fingertips whenever I'm in class. I can instantly look up anything that I want to know that comes to me in the middle of class. It makes writing much easier because I can type faster than I can write, so whatever I think of I can write down instantly. For example, when we do free writes, I can just let my thoughts flow from my head straight into the computer. I feel like my ideas and thoughts are unbound because I can instantly record them, instead of laborously writing them out via pen and paper. Honestly, I'm glad we get to use computers just because of that fact. I would rather not write out free writes everyday with a pen, typing it out makes it so much easier.

Short Story

Langston Hughes was the only black man in his class at Harlem. He knew it and was sure everyone else did too. He never really brought it up in conversation and it bothered him but at the same time it gave him a sense of individuality. He felt like he was supposed to be there just because he was the only one with his skin color there. He had a feeling deep down that he was starting a movement that would bring more colored people to this school. If that didn't work, he felt he had something to accomplish while at this school. Something that only he could do and that he was destined to do. Whatever it was it would have to wait....because it was lunch time and he heard they had baked potatoes in the cafeteria.
As he made his way down the steps from his classes he looked around. "Yup, I belong here" he thought to himself "I am here for a purpose and I'm not leaving until i find out what it is." He had to hurry up and eat in order to make it on time to his next class, English B.





I used these three pictures because two of them are from a actual college in Harlem. The other picture of the stairs seemed important to me because the poem seemed to imply special influence on the college being on a hill and him walking down stairs.

portfolio

I tried to present my work to my readers in a simplified way. In a way that doesnt appear too complicated as to scare off anyone with a fear of complexity. I tried to stick with simplicity. Colors easy on the eyes, designs that dont distract or throw off the reader from the actual text.
Having the entire porfolio online is extremely helpful. I can edit all of my work and access it from anywhere that has internet.....ok and NVU but still. With all of them being online, you can change the fonts and formats to make the papers look more unique. It is good for the writer because it opens a whole new door for his/her creativness to run wild. While on the other end, readers can look at images and other forms of text to help them understand on a different level what the writer is trying to get across.