A Question of Aesthetics

And identity of course. I am struggling with finding aesthetic peace here at wordpress; not for the lack of options, but rather quite the opposite really. With blogger, I had a limited amount of templates to choose from, and any alterations or personalization was done through the code of the template. Often time consuming, and to be quite honest, I never got it quite right, so I always rested on a pre-designed template.

With WordPress, i have more templates available (and I refuse to go further than the options offered to me directly from my dashboard – as I know there are hundreds of others out there that are compatible…). The personalization of the templates is easier as well, which brings me to my dilemna of aesthetics. As spring is (supposed to be) here, I feel a little heavy sticking with the dark blues and greys that I admire so much against the stark contrast of snow and grey/white sky of winter. I need something lighter, airier (something to contrast the dark wet grey outside my windows lately perhaps – to remind me that spring and summer are really closer than it seems).

So, I found the template I like – but the header image I am not so sure about now. It feels too dark and pixelated for the rest of the aesthetic. I need something light, smooth sharp clean lines, while maintaining somewhat of a contrasting ‘header’ feel. Fingers and keyboard feels a little too cliche especially put together with the title of the blog … but what to put there that would relate the idea of conversation, digitality, exploration, struggles and idle chatter mixed in with wishful thinking and pessimistic ramblings.

What to Play…What to Play…

So in the spirit of getting on with things, and actually playing games when I actually have the time – I am looking for suggestions. For now, single-player games have priority since I want to start looking at other elements of gameplay and design (outside of social and role interaction) that influences player identity and/or game identification. For now, I think I will stick to the rpg genre, or some form of rpg hybrid. Suggestions welcome =)

Getting Back Into The Game

Since my formal academic work is complete until I hear word about my fate at Universite de Montreal for the fall session, I have been in a sort of ‘float’ mode. Returning my focus to my family, our new condo (we still have many boxes that need to be unpacked, and the white walls could use some color), and catching up on some reading (I am ACTUALLY reading fiction for the first time in years!) I have been asking myself what is my next step in terms of games.

My entire Undergrad and Graduate research stemmed from my past mmorpg play experience. As writing time surpassed play-time, I became quite disconnected from my object of study – but at least my work was autobiographical, having a good 5 years of intense play to draw upon. But as I re-read my Doctoral Research Proposal (the short version of course), I realize that I have to start playing again – but what, I am not so sure. I am tempted to pick up a new MMO (there are a few that have been released that look like they could be fun), but I know that this isn’t the direction of my research… I am hoping to take what I wrote about EverQuest and other mmorpg’s and see where it stands with other genres and interactive situations. As much as I love the mmo’ genre, I know I have to step outside (my) box, try something new and hope to push my work in a new and hopefully innovative direction, 

Spirit of Inquiry – Day 1

Thank you to a kind sponsorship by the organizers, I spent today attending sessions at the Spirit of Inquiry conference. Sadly, I missed the welcome and morning key note – which I was told was riveting. Sessions are 1 hour long, with only one presentation – which leaves plenty of time for interaction, which is really what it is all about. Interestingly, most sessions are actually interactive workshops, which made me a bit uncomfortable – since most of the attendees were seasoned teachers. I attended an interesting session today on Narrative Pedagogy (abstract below). This is my first ‘Education’ conference – I decided that if I really do plan on teaching (at the university level) as a career, I should learn about the art of teaching (especially since I am such a mental and physical wreck when I have to talk in front of a group). When it was my turn to “share” I started with my usual disclaimer that I loathe speaking in public, yet am trying to learn to deal with it. The group was incredibly receptive, and I even had several people approach me throughout the day who were in that session, offering to help me work through my fears – fostering connections indeed =) 
 

Critical Inclusion: Fostering Connections through Narrative Pedagogy
KARINA LEONARD, EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT IN INSTRUCTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, DAWSON COLLEGE
Abstract Although our students come from vastly different backgrounds, we tend to teach them all as we were taught: by lecturing. In doing so, we reinforce students’ sense of disconnection between course content and ‘real life’. In response to traditional pedagogies, narrative pedagogy attempts to personalize content and to create meaningful and pertinent connections between students’ lived experiences and course outcomes. Narrative dagogy implies both method and content. As such, this session offers both new and experienced educators a discussion of narrative pedagogy in the context of exploring our own experiences. Participants will come away from this session with an understanding of how to use student experience to create connections, develop content and further engage students. Participants are encouraged to come prepared to share their experiences and will be asked to engage with the experiences of other participants.

A Difference in Meaning

So, I am reading this book, which is interesting so far. But in making the claim that machines will surpass humans in terms of ‘intelligence’, I ask the following question:

Although computers may be able to store and compute more information than human capacity, is it really memory and knowledge?

In the last book I read, a big part of the text dealt with the difference between information and data. Information, to be useful, must bear meaning, otherwise it is simply data. If Kurzweil is making the claim that machines will surpass human intelligence, is he implying that machines will be able to create meaning out of their stored and computed data? Is there not something unique in the human experience that alters all meaning depending on the receptor? Or is intelligence simply the cumulated sum of information?

The Spirit of Inquiry

A great looking conference coming up next week, May 14-16 at Concordia University. I am registered and waiting! The Spirit of Inquiry: Developing Critical Thinking, Creativity and Community is part of the Teaching, Learning and Technology Conference Series. For anyone who plans on making teaching a part of their academic career, and hope to implement the use of technology, this is a good event to attend.

Check Marks & Being

I submitted my chapter/essay over the weekend (and had the obligatory editing exchange) and at this time, I believe it is safely tucked away, earning another check mark on my list of things to do. The last thing on my list is the groundwork for our AoIR paper on community building through course websites (with Shanly Dixon). Completely out of my scope of research but not experience, it will be interesting mining for information without my usual feelers on.

It is sunny, with a warm breeze. Nice enough to sit outside and read a book. After contemplating my bookshelf to pick a book off of the “to read” shelf, I picked The Age of Spiritual Machines by Ray Kurzweil. Interestingly, another science oriented book (the 2nd in a row; strange for my reading habits..), it was written in 1999, so it is interesting to read statements that address the first 2 decades of this century; whether they have proven false, developed in the direction the author anticipated etc etc.

I chose this book because of my resistance against believing in the cyborg ideal. Although I believe that humans have become inextricably linked with technology in many ways (from pace makers to blackberrys) and in this way, cyborg may be an appropriate term to use as individual become increasingly digital/technical etc. I am still resistant to the idea that machines will surpass humans as intelligent beings. This is not to say that a machine will not (and has not) surpassed the computing capacity of the human brain, but rather, I am resistant towards the idea that a machine will write a better fictional novel, create its own art movement (outside of humans using the machines to create such artefacts).

As the early pages of the book suggests, the answer to this question really lies in the bigger (philosophical) question of the meaning of being. What it means to be human… a question that we have been struggling with for what seems like an eternity. Looking forward to seeing how Kurzweil works it into his overall argument.

Loose Ends & Moving On

As I finish up this chapter (today) I am faced with the fact that this is my last ‘academic’ project until I get news about my PhD. Perhaps that is a little dramatic since I do have a paper for AoIR to research and co-write and that research methods project my colleague and I keep talking about doing, but I really feel like once this is submitted, I will have an empty road for the next few months. I am sure that my children will be happy to hear it though. And my parents too, since I have often been “too busy” to chat when they would call to check in.

Finishing my MA was a great milestone to hit, but now I am faced with tying up loose ends. Some of those ends are professional (I loved saying hello to all of my old professors when I was on campus; chatting with the secretaries in the department..) and, I fear, some of them are personal. Over the last 2 years friends and classmates have splintered in different directions as everyone moves on to pursue their studies somewhere else. Some have already left and some are leaving soon, but contact in both cases have been dwindling, and eventually, I will just have to let them go – some will be harder than others, but at this point, all I can do is move on and hope our paths cross again sometime in the future.

Maybe in letting go, I will be able to move forward.