Website Critique

Lauren Tsugawa:

The website is very visually appealing a filled with great writing. The website is well constructed and the flow of the writing is easy to follow. She makes great use of the sources and did not fall into the “present the information” trap. In particular, I liked the site titled “A Grayish Medium.” I felt like it did a good job of summarizing what remixes were and the controversy surrounding them. It also flowed nicely into her section on “Democracy at Work” where she presented various examples of how the internet provides a medium for democracy to reign.

Randy Holaday:

The simple layout really let the writing be at the forefront. The writing was clear in its direction and it was not obscured by attempts to make an extravagant website. The introduction did an excellent job at laying the framework of the hypertext. Each page flowed into the other, creating a sense than no single one was more important than the other, which allowed me as a reader to explore each one and not overlooked pages that might have otherwise appeared “unimportant.” I was particularly fond of the “Sound of Silenced Voices” because it provided two excellent examples of how the internet was used as a powerful driver for political and social change. Overall, the writing was clear and easy to digest, making it a pleasant site to visit. What made it a good website was that the response to the issue took precedent over the actual sources, so it didn’t feel like I was reading a response to various individual websites.

Nicolas Feigenbaum:

The simplicity of the site made it very easy to read and to digest all of the information. The hypertext aspect was used very effectively and provided nice context throughout the discussion. The section on the “Role of the Remix” was very good and the analysis was thought provoking. He was able to effectively tie together many examples and highlight the controversy surrounding remixes in a very clear and revealing manner. His section on “fixing the problem” did a good job of highlighting the analysis of many major scholars of the field. It also did a good job of addressing the one possible solution that is currently being explored in the video game industry. The ease of reading the material made it very pleasing to go through and I didn’t feel like I was struggling to understand the point of it all.

Critical Thinking in Hypertextual Writing

“Critical thinking skills: understanding the meaning of a statement, judging ambiguity, judging whether an inductive conclusion is warranted, and judging whether statements made by authorities are acceptable.”
Smith, 1990.

The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
Maiorana, Victor P. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: Building the Analytical Classroom. 1992.

Critical thinking is "a process which stresses an attitude of suspended judgment, incorporates logical inquiry and problem solving, and leads to an evaluative decision or action."
NCTE Committee on Critical Thinking and the Language Arts.

These three quotes illustrate my course of thinking while creating a hypertext. Like a child that does not understand the meaning of words or concepts, when one searches for answers in any aspect of life, questions must first be asked. However, at a higher research level, a writer must not only ask questions, but ponder about the meaning of these questions and how they play into the greater whole. A hypertext research paper that involves thinking critically must contain inferences and judgments. When evaluating a statement or comment made by an authority, one must look at who that person is, the context in which they made that statement, and what patterns or values can be determined from them. Within critical thinking and writing, an individual must also seek to sustain a scientific approach while reviewing the information they find. One must be without judgment, without bias, taking in the reports and information as is, to justify their meaning, as a whole, rather than one by one. In studying the literature, a person must then inquire and attempt to solve problems associated with what was found, thus, making personal additions to what is already known.

Critical Thinking and Hypertexts

“Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns.” Stahl and Stahl, 1991
“Critical thinking is ‘the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work.’”
Lindzey, Hall, and Thompson, 1978.
“Critical thinking is ‘the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible.’"
Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)

For me, theses three definitions describe my process of creating a hypertextual webpage. In order for the webpage to work, the links have to make sense and connect to one another. They need to be logical and work together. When I create my webpage and am choosing what I want to link to, I don’t always know right away. I go through a series of trials and errors to figure out what works best—which words to make links and what the importance of those links are. Lastly, revision is always key in the creation process. Even after I am “complete,” I usually feel like there is something more I can do. This is why the last definition makes sense. I am constantly thinking about what I did, changing my thinking, and then re-publishing. It is a constant work in progress.

The critical part of thinking

"Critical thinking includes the ability to respond to material by distinguishing between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences, inductive and deductive arguments, and the objective and subjective. It also includes the ability to generate questions, construct, and recognize the structure of arguments, and adequately support arguments; define, analyze, and devise solutions for problems and issues; sort, organize, classify, correlate, and analyze materials and data; integrate information and see relationships; evaluate information, materials, and data by drawing inferences, arriving at reasonable and informed conclusions, applying understanding and knowledge to new and different problems, developing rational and reasonable interpretations, suspending beliefs and remaining open to new information, methods, cultural systems, values and beliefs and by assimilating information."
MCC General Education Initiatives

This sums up what critical thinking is to me. It is analyzing all sides, perspectives and working to understand them. Then you see problems and solutions that can be explored with greater care and understanding. What is real to you is real, but some one else’s reality is important to look into and the information you gain by considering it is more valuable because of it. New strides can be taken if critical thinking is applied to every situation.

Critical Thinking and Hypertext

"Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. - Halpern, Diane F

Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible."
Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)

Critical thinking is "a process which stresses an attitude of suspended judgment, incorporates logical inquiry and problem solving, and leads to an evaluative decision or action."
NCTE Committee on Critical Thinking and the Language Arts.

These three quotes each bring something unique and special to the dialogue of critical thinking in the context of creating a work of writing and specifically a personal hypertext. Creating a hypertext involves the use of creative thinking, because it requires decision making, clear and accurate thought-processes, and the use of cognitive strategies to increase the probability of a desirable outcome. In drawing from these three different definitions of creative thinking, it becomes easier to understand the intensive process of thinking and writing, and the networking of a personal hypertext.

Critical Thinking Response

Critical thinking is “the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking on order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible.” Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)


In creating a hypertext document, it is crucial to have the ability to think about something, process those thoughts and then organize them in a way that is beneficial or logical for another person to follow. Anyone can get a random idea or a thought, but it is the “dissection” of your thoughts or the ability to “think about your thinking” and produce them into an organized way for another person to understand your thoughts. Thoughts can be random, but the ability to think about them and organize them is a very important ability.

Critical thinking is "the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work."

Lindzey, Hall, and Thompson, 1978.

This is essential to the creation of hypertext documents because not everything will work all the time. As discussed above, it is critical to the legibility and understandability of a hypertext document to have organization. Sometimes one orientation may not prove to be as organized or as effective as another. Maybe there is another approach to your thoughts and critical thinking that should be taken in order to accurately create an effective hypertext document.

Quotes

1. Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns. Stahl and Stahl
2. Critical thinking skills: understanding the meaning of a statement, judging ambiguity, judging whether an inductive conclusion is warranted, and judging whether statements made by authorities are acceptable.
Smith, 1990.
3. Critical thinking is careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment.
Moore and Parker, 1994.

One of the major issues when creating a hypertext is to decide what warrants the creation of a new page. It is this decision making that is very similar to what is discussed in a lot of these quotes on critical thinking. For example, when I was designing my first hypertext essay I wasn’t sure if I should create separate pages for certain words and ideas thus I had to, "careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment." Overtime I came to develop strategy about whether or not I should make a page on a certain topic and thus I developed “cohesive and logical reasoning patterns.”

critical thinking in hypertext development

Critical thinking is careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment.
Moore and Parker, 1994.

Critical thinking is "reasonably and reflectively deciding what to believe or do."
Ennis (1985)

Critical thinking is "a process which stresses an attitude of suspended judgment, incorporates logical inquiry and problem solving, and leads to an evaluative decision or action."
NCTE Committee on Critical Thinking and the Language Arts.

These three quotes are all very similar in their definition of critical thinking, and directly relate to my personal experience with developing the skills needed to create hypertextual work. Throughout my work in this class, I have developed from an unfocused and awkward feeling towards writing in this new way, becoming more aware of how I go about creatively thinking and critically developing my thoughts. The most important part of this progression is the acknowledgement that while I am working, I am consciously making decisions about the information I am using relates to what I have already said, and what I am going to say. It is about an engaging process that builds as you go, and requires recognition of the bigger picture as work formulates.

Critical Thinking

"Critical thinking is careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment." I would utlize this quote in determining how I think and use outside information. For instance the reading response we had to do for media ownership and remixing,I would have to think about ideas that I accept, reject, or suspend in regards to judgment.

"The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve." This quote describes my thinking for the civic engagment project that I am working on. The process of outside reasearch, primary and secondary sources. I have to evaluate the information I find and determine whether or not it is useful to me and how, or the way it would support my work.

Critical thinking is "reasonably and reflectively deciding what to believe or do."
Ennis (1985. I think this is what I do in regards to creating my personal hypertext. It's hard to make decisions to incorporate my writing and design at the same time.

Critical thinking & my hypertext philosophy

TOP 3:
Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns. Stahl and Stahl, 1991.

Thus, critical thinking involves: following evidence where it leads; considering all possibilities; relying on reason rather than emotion; being precise; considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations; weighing the effects of motives and biases, Kurland, Daniel J. I Know What It Says . . . What does it Mean? 1995.

Critical thinking is "a process which stresses an attitude of suspended judgment, incorporates logical inquiry and problem solving, and leads to an evaluative decision or action."
NCTE Committee on Critical Thinking and the Language Arts.

Personally, I find that these definitions of critical thinking really applied to the way I created my hypertext projects. I tried to use cohesive patterns of reasoning- to make all of the links make sense. I also wanted to make MY evidence follow where it leads...so everything is in a logical order. Also, I think that the organization of a hypertext has to be logical- one has to make decisions- what are the key words to link, what should the links lead to? etc.. Mostly, the decisions used when making a hypertext must be logical so that a reader can follow the lead and understand the reasoning behind it.

Quotes

Critical thinking is the formation of logical inferences. - Simon and Kapplan, 1989.

Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns. - Stahl and Stahl, 1991.

Critical thinking is "the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work." - Lindzey, Hall, and Thompson, 1978.

I think that these quotes represent my experiences in creating my hypertexts fairly well. In my experiences I have started with a central idea, and then by trial and error broken it down into different sections. Hopefully all these different sections are unique but relate well to each other. They need to stand alone by themselves, but also contribute to something larger.

Critical Thinking

Some of these definitions seemed to propose the exact opposite of what occurs in hypertext writing: focusing on one main goal, and figuring out how to get there. With hypertexts, one has to continually disperse and and find new, but related, topics to discuss. I think the three best defitions are:

Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thinking process - the
reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making a decision.
Halpern, Diane F. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. 1996.

"The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points,and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
Maiorana, Victor P. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: Building the Analytical Classroom. 1992.

"Broadly speaking, critical thinking is concerned with reason, intellectual honesty, and open-mindedness, as opposed too emotionalism, intellectual laziness, and closed-mindedness. Thus, critical thinking involves: following evidence where it leads; considering all possibilities; relying on reason rather than emotion; being precise; considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations; weighing the effects of motives and biases; being concerned more with finding the truth than with being right; not rejecting unpopular views out of hand; being aware of one's own prejudices and biases, and not allowing them to sway one's judgment."
Kurland, Daniel J. I Know What It Says . . . What does it Mean? 1995.

These three definitions involve evaluation and thinking, but allow for freedom and broadening of the writing.

Critical Thinking

"Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making a decision. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome."

"Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns"

"Critical thinking is the formation of logical inferences."

These three quotes I chose highlight the fundamental aspect of hypertext writing that I have observed in creating my websites: "logical inferences," or, the link. In writing for a website, I have to anticipate every aspect of an argument that a reader might question or want to learn more about, and make a link to a page that has that information. I have to think about the thought process of others, and ask what they will be interested in. I can't simply make arguments without backing up with evidence. Either my lack of evidence will be evidence by the lack of a link, or the reader can quickly go to Googole and check my claims. Like critical thinking, writing a hypertext requires me to develop an argument or idea logically, and be critical with my own decisions as to what part of that argument needs to be developed-for my readers' sake, and for the sake of my argument. But more than critical thinking, any assumptions I make must have logical inferences backing it up and, unlike when I'm just thinking it in my head, must be made readily avaiable to my readers.

"Critical Thinking" & Hypertexts

Critical Thinking...

"involves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived [...] the development of cohesive and logical reasoning pattern"

I think that these two snippets of quotes encapsule the process we have been utilizing to create our websites. We need to "evaluate the thinking process" in order to create our links to new pages; imagine how other people would see our pages to make the links logical and easy to follow. And in the end, we hope to have developed a "cohesive and logical [...] pattern" of webpages that will form each of our four projects and our website as a whole.

Nicolas Feigenbaum's hypertext really stood out to me because of its professional looking layout and the consistency throughout all of his projects. The home page and all of the project hypertexts have the same format. Within the response hypertext, the writing stays in the same format, but there is a different picture for each topic. Although there are only three main colors used, it's not a boring page. This hypertext is very easy to read and navigate.
I really like the organization of Kanwal Palla's hypertext. The categories at the top divide up the material very well. I like the embedded pictures and texts on the pages; you can see what she's talking about right next to her writing. I think she uses the links well: both internally and to external sites.
I love the colors on Kate Bradley's webpage. She uses bright colors, but they're not overwhelming and it's still very easy to read the text. I like that she has short summaries all on one page, and then a "read more" button so see more about the topics you're interested in.
Reviewing my classmates' hypertexts will help me for the next two projects. I've seen how creative you can be, and the different elements you can use on a website. Seeing how other people organized their writing and spread out the material helped me; it was one of my biggest problems for this assignment.

For my basic criteria for who I think deserves an “A” on the analytical hypertext response essay, I looked for people who integrated the required examples into some sort of argument, over those who simply listed examples and described what they were. All three of the people I chose fulfill my understanding of what the prompt was asking: integrating various sources into one cohesive argument about Internet culture and democracy.
Kate Lanier did this, and presented the material in an engaging way. The intro page does an excellent job of simultaneously establishing her subject and hooking in the audience, an her lack of linear writing is enviable, something I need to learn how to do. The examples she uses don’t stick to the ones provided on the syllabus, but they fit her argument better than I think a lot of the websites would have. To me, this demonstrates that Kate thought critically about the subject matter, and didn’t limit herself when creating an argument. To top it all off, the site is designed well, which goes beyond what the assignment called for.
Myrna Mungal also does an excellent job of integrating the raw materials into a cohesive argument. She brings up interesting questions about Internet culture that show that she thought about the subject matter; she seems to want to contribute to the subject, rather than just talking about it. It’s quite apparent that Myrna has strong opinions on the matters she discusses, but she has the examples and analysis to back up any criticisms she has on the different website examples. The design also shows she had fun with format, using different font colors, sizes, and narrative devices to argue her points. But this playful hypertext doesn’t distract from her argument (as it does is some other examples; instead, Myrna uses the form of the hypertext in a way that positively affects her argument.
Finally, Lauren Tsugawa uses a very engaging format to argue her points about democracy on the Internet. Here is where I most see the hypertext format aiding the content on the page; it organizes Lauren’s examples and analysis very affectively, presenting her arguments clearly. She uses various types of visual mediums to break up her text sections, which makes reading it easier for the reader (much appreciated). And her analysis shows that she did more than just look at the examples. She integrated them into thoughtful questions and issues about Internet culture. She also recognizes that the questions she raises can’t be answered, which I think signals clear, intelligent thinking.
Like I’ve said, these three response essays all create cohesive arguments that use examples so support analysis instead of as analysis. They all use the format of the hypertext to improve how their essay is read, and I believe all three should be rewarded for the thought and work they obviously put into the assignment.

Review of Reading Response Essays

After closely reviewing each of my colleagues’ hypertext response essays in our English 138 spring quarter class, it is my personal opinion that Nicolas Feigenbaum, Jamie Coakley, and Lauren Tsugawa all deserve A’s on their projects. Not only do I feel that these three students explored the topic assigned in detail and with a unique intellectual approach, but I feel that the distinct elements each student added to his or her essay made it both entertaining and eye-catching for the reader.


I believe that Nicolas Feigenbaum’s website, first of all, is the most creative website in the class. His home page is very easy to navigate as he gives simple summaries of each project connected to the link itself with attractive pictures and listed updates. In his reading response essay, Nicolas first seeks an outside source to exemplify how remixing has come to play such a political and expressive role in society. His example about the NOM’s advertisement depicting homosexuality as a “gathering storm” and how this led to an explosion of remix videos and public outrage really catches and holds onto the readers’ attention. He then links a hypertext to the “unresolved question” about the legality of new media and its conflict with media ownership. Nicolas offers an answer (sourcing Henry Jenkins) that media owners and consumers should learn to utilize one another in collaboration. Nicolas also links to a page about participatory culture, detailing various examples from the internet and explaining their importance. I enjoyed the side navigation bar he gave us, in case we got caught up in clicking links, it was easy to get back to the main paper and keep reading. His hypertext is incredibly unique and his writing is academic and thought-provoking.


Jamie Coakley’s reading response essay deserves an A because it is passionate, contemplative, and well written. Jamie explores outside resources beyond class material to justify the use of new media in the expression of public opinion. She explains how the media conglomerates in various countries reduce diversity and restrict individual expression. She counters the idea with that of an Adbuster’s article, encouraging society to speak out since change often comes from “renegade voices in the media.” Jamie explores the impact of Indymedia and Smartmeme, as well, in the democratization of media ownership. I felt Jamie’s most powerful account was that about the Shack Dwellers movement in Durban, South Africa. She speaks fluidly and influentially about the power of new media in the lives of these people. Though they may be oppressed and downtrodden, the internet allows them to present their personal experiences and elicit help. The impact of such a new innovation is the mass spread of knowledge and experience that would have previously remained unknown. Without it, Jamie contests, “we as a world will fail to recognize and educate one another on the conditions that surround us and form our own generation’s identity.” Jamie’s report is clear, yet well thought out. I truly enjoyed reading her paper.


Finally, Lauren Tsugawa’s paper is deserving of an A because it is very nicely organized and intuitive. I really enjoy how Lauren begins the paper with an introduction about Lessig’s idea of pirates and creators. She explains their unique interaction and questions, what now? Lauren details the “grayish medium” of fan participation and explains the intense controversy that exists between creator and pirate in this supposedly “equal rights” creative commons we call the internet. I really enjoyed reading her points and skimming the videos she placed to support them. I also appreciated Lauren’s extra work finding photos of the authors she commented on, linking to their books on Amazon or their personal works. Lauren’s conclusion provides a pithy overall explanation, leaving her reader’s head resounding with both an obvious personal opinion about new media and three of Lawrence Lessig’s most important points.

I honestly enjoyed reading and exploring each of these three students’ reading response papers and I believe their hard work and extra effort are deserving of A’s.

Reading Response

The first reading response that stood out to me was Kate Bradley’s. The whole layout of the website is very efficient, and helped me easily navigate through all of her pages and understand her argument. First of all, the home page for her project is not just a blank page with an introduction paragraph – she states the question that her project is focusing on, and then goes straight to the examples. She has a few main examples in the middle, followed by a “read more” link, and the rest of the examples are organized by categories on the left side. But more important than the layout of the website is the way she presented her argument. It doesn’t read like a typical essay. She explains her examples, provides links to the videos, and then spends a significant amount of space stating her opinions on the subject matter of the examples. After going through her pages and reading her opinions, we really get a sense of her feelings towards the whole subject of media ownership.
The second reading response that I liked was Craig Benko’s. Again, the first thing I noticed was the organization of the site. He has a clear introductory statement, short enough not to scare away a reader who is just browsing through the site, but long enough to get the purpose of the project. He then has his examples listed down the side of the page, and his argument split up into three sections, “Music Creations,” “Political Movements,” and “Political Activism.” This is helpful because it really pulls the examples together and puts them into specific groups, instead of just having them as a list and going through them one by one. Finally, he has the technological ability and know-how to imbed the videos he is talking about right in his website. There is no need to click a link and follow it to YouTube or some other site – you can see what he is talking about right on the page.
The third reading response that I enjoyed was Nicolas Feigenbaum’s. I was initially drawn in for two reasons – first, his user friendly format, which has all of the different sections of his project clearly labeled on the left side of the page. Second, his introduction paragraph was unique. Instead of launching into why he was doing the project or what the debate about media ownership entailed, he started with a great example of a political video and how it has been remixed several times. By starting with an example, and then relating that to the broader subject of media ownership, the reader, in this case me, has a better understanding of what the rest of his project will be about. The project then goes into further detail, using more examples to explore the issue and prove a point.

Observing Reading Responses

I really enjoyed checking out what other students have been working on in the Winter sections of English 138. Everyone’s design aesthetics and familiarity with Dreamweaver differ, so it was interesting to see the array of work people have been publishing. When selecting my top three, I decided to choose webpages with different styles- to demonstrate that one style does not necessarily work better than others. I really liked Lauren Tsugawa’s layout. When you first enter her site, there are four different pictures that link to projects. On her response paper page, there are buttons on the left side that link to examples such as “creative commons,” “democracy at work,” and “grayish medium” The buttons work by highlighting the selection in a red-dashed line. In the center of the page is the bulk of the writing, and on the righthand side are pictures of the author and links to further reading. The simple dark blue background with light blue text, and red accents really work to keep the page simple and clean. The top header with a light blue picture and title also maintain a professional appearance. The text itself is engaging, and includes supportive examples from class readings.

I also thought that Nicolas Feigenbaum has an inspiring design style. Though using a template, it seems as though he is really able to put his own mark on the page-- it looks much more advanced than other work in the class. At the top of the page he has a picture of himself and title of the page, and in the center of his “home” are small pictures and a bit of text that introduce class projects. A black & white picture of a book, and the title “Internet Culture is Participation Culture: subhead, Reading Response” leads to that project page. There is an introduction page, that kind of serves like an introduction to a paper, on which there are links to his 6 other pages- which include titles like “resurgence of folk culture” and the “role of the remix.” The font of both heading and main text is clean, but not too plain- like Georgia Sans or Times New Roman. The 1.5” x 1.5” little image boxes in the top left of the text are a nice addition to the text, lending a visual lead into the explanations. Kate Bradley also uses a template, and I like the “blogger” look that it provides.

Another student’s work that I thought was really deserving of an A, was Kanwal Palla. Though her mainpage didn’t look as “clean” as Lauren or Nicolas’, I really liked her reading response page. I thought the text was very applicable to the class, and the layout of the page with the top buttons served really well. I thought her choices of subtitles worked well, and that including youtube videos made her text really interactive. I also thought she selected good movies to demonstrate her points. I also liked how she included references at the bottom of every page to show the sources that she used on that particular page, but I think that an additional subtitle button with references including a total list could help also.

-- Jamie S

Three A's

The three people I think did the best on the response essay are Kate Bradley, Laura Dwyer, and Nicholas Feigenbaum

Kate’s site was also visually appealing to me, but more importantly I liked the examples she used to supplement the reading. I like that she presents the example and the issues and then gives her own opinion below posing questions as well as taking a stance. This shows that she really did the reading, found examples she liked and then critically thought about them. She keeps the topics recent and relevant and the writing is thoughtful yet familiar—making her site and writing accessible.

I agree with a lot of what Laura wrote in her response. It felt very well thought out and she used great examples. She poses a lot of interesting questions and I especially liked the section about how free our culture is. I think she could’ve done a little more with visuals but overall I think she did a great job.

I liked Nicholas’s response essay because of the style of the site as well as the content he discusses and examples he uses. Visually, the essay was divided well into six sections and the design was simplistic and accessible. Similar to my essay, he talks about participatory culture citing several examples I used as well. I also liked his part called “fixing the problem” and the point he raises regarding co-collaboration.

Students I believe deserve an A

After looking at the different projects of everyone in the class, there are three students’ work that stands out to me as being above the rest. These three students deserve an A in my mind, based on the quality of their work as well as improvement. The first student that I believe deserves an A is Craig Benko. His work is extremely original, he is very talented with the layout of pages, and his work is very organized. I liked that in his first personal hypertext, he included a section where you could leave comments on his work. It was something he did that wasn’t required, and it showed how he went above and beyond with this first project. With his reading response, the layout and presentation was very appealing. In addition to the physical features of his work, his ideas were thoughtful and cohesive, and he created a well-thought analysis of the reading.

The second student whose work I found was worthy of an A grade was Kanwal Palla. Her personal hypertext was well-organized, a fairly basic outline that was taught in class, but I found that she went beyond the requirements. The use of special fonts adds something unique, and sets her hypertext apart. I also liked the way that she formatted some of her pages. I could see improvement, especially, from her first hypertext to her reading response hypertext. The second project was clean and clear, with the use of topics to organize her work, demonstrating her analysis. The use of pictures and videos were visually appealing, as well as the creative fonts. I like the overall format, it was interesting and not the least bit boring.

The third student whose work I found worthy of an A was Jamie Coakley. Her first hypertext is very creative and thoughtful. I can tell that she put a lot of time and effort into this project. Each of the links is written in a fun font, with “button” type things for the links. The creativity is so powerful in this project, and it’s also very informative. Her personal hypertext has great information about Seattle, which happens to be one of my favorite cities. I like the professional but comfortable and welcoming feel to her first project. Her second project is quite different from the first but has something else to offer. The reading response is organized, easy to navigate, and demonstrates a good deal of thought about the material. I was very impressed with both projects of hers.

These three students demonstrated A-effort. It is obvious from their final projects that they dedicated time, effort, creativity, and analytical thought in order to produce clear and easily understandable projects. In looking at their work, I saw things I would like to use for my next project (including more use of different fonts, the idea that sometimes “less is more” in terms of layout, and overall format choices).

Hypertext Essay Response

For the hypertext response essays, the idea was to address the issues Jenkins, Barlow, and other readings or videos had introduced, particularly along the lines of their contributions to the democracy of society and internet culture. Exploring videos and projects on the web was also included in analyzing these democratic ideas for this project. The project was supposed to be minimally hypertextual and the author was advised to use the readings and at least one story, video, or project from each source provided. What I consider to be an A project, is a hypertext document that is a) easy to navigate through—well organized, b) makes a strong claim on the contribution of media to democracy and c) uses the proper sources. In analyzing individuals’ projects I found Jamie Coakley’s, “Media Ownership and Striving for Democracy,” Sean Lee’s, response hypertext, and Lauren Tsugawa’s, “The Fight for Democracy,” to be specially well-done.


I thought that Jamie Coakley did a great job with this project because she efficiently used hypertextual concepts to help navigate through her paper, made a strong argument, and used many of the sources. Her in-text links were both internal and external where it seemed appropriate. She also had a side navigation bar that helped navigate through the major parts of her paper. Her arguments were supported exceptionally both through her reasoning and use of external sources (as was indicated in the prompt).

Sean Lee also did a great job with this project. Although the webpage design is not all that exciting, the content and the organization are great. Every major topic addressed in media creation and ownership is clearly marked and easy to navigate through. The ease of the navigation made comprehending the essay much better. The project also used very helpful in-text links throughout the text. I found this essay to be extremely informational and it introduced the major controversies in the media discussed in class and in the readings.

Lauren Tsugawa created the last project that I think was exceptionally well-done. The essay was very easy to read and very easy to navigate through. She addressed the major controversies in the media as we know them and used great examples, including embedding her videos into the pages, to support her claims. The use of internal links kept the ideas and the reading flowing well, and made it easier to comprehend. The web design and creativity was also great! In addition to all of this, she had a “sources” section on the side of her introduction that I could click on and view, which I thought was very creative!

Overall, many people in this class did a great job with their projects. Just about every project I viewed covered the basics of addressing the topic, using the sources, and using hypertextual links both internal and external. However, I felt that these three projects were done extremely well. They all used hypertextual elements, the sources provided, made a great argument supported by sources, and kept my attention! Great job everyone!

Response to Webpages

Kate Bradley’s webpage inspires me possibly because of the topic she chose to do for her personal hypertext, “Live One World.” I think the design of her webpage really expresses the person she is, and I can tell she put a lot of heart into her pages. Her webpage is a form of personal expression, especially since it appears she is apart of the organization most of her work is based on. I like how she kind of has one main theme throughout her webpage. This theme of humanity and empowerment.

She teaches us about caring for the world, and not forgetting who we are as individuals. Kate emphasizes how it is possible for us to make a difference in the world because we all are capable of doing something we believe in. Her writings and pictures convey this idea that we cannot take our lives for granted because a lot of us are lucky to get the education, food, families etc. compared to others less unfortunate than us around the world. Her personal hypertext inspires me to volunteer, whether it’s about the environment, communities, or just lending a hand out in general.

I like the different layouts she uses, especially how she uses the pictures as links instead of using words. I feel like her webpage speaks for itself because of the creative pictures she uses, and this makes it more personal. Because of the way she designs her pages, and the messages she tries to convey, you can feel the emotion she puts behind her work. I like how her pages always are full of empowerment and try to draw awareness to whatever issue she is addressing.


Craig Benko’s webpage is so artistic and creative. I enjoyed looking through his personal hypertext because it’s all about doing what he is passionate about- photography. I think it’s because I love art and I think what he does is so great. His webpage inspires me to do the things I love do to, whatever I’m passionate about.

I like his webpage designs and layout. His pages have that artsy feel, but at the same time they all look so professional. The professional aspect of his webpage is throughout- his personal hypertext, the reading response and his civil engagement project. For instance, I think his personal hypertext’s design emphasizes his photography. The gray, black, and white color palette fits to provide the artistic atmosphere to portray his photography. This also demonstrates his artistic creativity as well. I also like how his webpage layout keeps a consistent pattern of design throughout, even though there’s different sections.

I looked through his civil engagement project and I think the idea he proposed based on the difference between an athlete who lifts weights or a football player compared to someone who is a cyclist is an interesting thought. I don’t have any knowledge of diet for an athlete because I have never completely immersed myself into an athletic sport. So reading about what the body needs, in regards to protein or nutrition, especially if one wants to be a successful cyclist is new information to me.


I really like Randy Holaday’s style and all his pages are so personalized, they totally portray his character. First, I looked through his personal hypertext, which is all about the bands he loves and his taste in music. I enjoyed listening and learning about the bands he likes, especially the Goo Goo Dolls because I like them too. It was fun learning (plus watching videos) about his other favorite bands including Stars, Metric, and Tegan and Sarah. He has such good taste in music.

Randy’s design of his webpage, using his personal hypertext as an example, always connects with whatever the subject is. His personal hypertext also has that artsy, creative vibe, which goes with his theme of showing the music he loves. Similar to Craig’s webpage, where the design of his webpage emphasizes his photography. Looking at our second assignment, Reading Response, I like how his design looks political. Because of his font and background choices, for instance, blue and gray- this ties into the political aspect of the issue of media ownership and remixing.

His Reading Response addresses the issue of as to what extent there is to freedom of speech and how freedom of speech is presented or not throughout the internet. This taught me his perspective on how the government does restrict our freedom of speech on the internet. I think I discussed this issue of free speech within my reading response as well, but his questions did make me think more in regards to our democratic society.

-Cristina

3 A's

Maggie Ryan's website took a very graphic design approach. The splash page is easy to navigate with the solid black background and large white typeface on the right side. The site feels more like a designed pamphlet than a website which is nice since it break up hypertextual monotony. The internal project pages take after the splash page and are also very east to navigate and read. It shows that a considerable amount of time was taken to design the site. For example, the slang dictionary in the personal hypertext project was a valuable and well designed addition to that project. The civic engagement project, Are You Happy, has its own nested splash page that makes the hypertextual essay seem more engaging and dynamic. Although the site lacks a consistent typographic style, all of the text is legible and easy to read. Lastly, the inclusion of a photo gallery made the personal hypertext much more enjoyable to go through since it was grounded in something more than just text.

Another site that was done exceptionally well was Jamie Speigal. One element that always makes a site more enjoyable to navigate is the legibility of the fonts on the page. Jamie's splash page is simple, but the simplicity makes it easy to find what you are looking for. This simplicity permeates the rest of the site. The personal hypertext project is split up into a two column design that is easy to understand. Once again, the project has many thoughtful additions to it such as recipes nested in a glog and a page dedicated to highlighting some of her favorite super foods. The civic engagement project is very hypertextual which makes for a much more interactive experience. For example, when the film be kind rewind is referenced it can be clicked and the browser will navigate to the IMDB website. These thoughtful additions made the webpage a much more engaging experience overall.

Another website that I liked was Jamie Coakley's. Jamie's web-page is a great of example of how less can be more when it comes to design. The uses a white background with mostly black text, making it very legible. The content of the pages supports the simplicity of the design. The reading response is very hypertual with links leading in and out of the site so that the reader can better understand the issue at hand. Another thoughtful element of the site is that in the hypertext essay pages there is a unique quote at the top of each page that has to do with the content at hand. This addition, although small, makes the reading experience much more dynamic. With the personal hypertext project the images are helpful and not overwhelming, on a lot of the other sites there are just too many images, often to compensate for a lack of content; however, Jamie's page tactfully incorporates meaningful pictures to compliment the text.

Two A's

I thought that everyone did a great job on their hypertext response projects. It was interesting to read all the different opinions on cultural commons, remixing, and to what extent democracy should prevail in hyperspace, and I thought many of the pages deserved A’s. I particularly liked Adam Ringler’s response. I thought that he did a great job with his essay- it was well written and the page was very easy to navigate through. He made a good point on his page “Democracy, Intellectual Property and the Internet” stating: “tenuous relationship between democratic culture and the concept of intellectual property derives from the fact that supporting this concept of intellectual property seems to stifle democratic spirit .” Though it was a concept that we had touched upon in class before, he used his own opinion to push the topic further. He then continued to say that both sides provide a valid argument- which I think we all can agree with to some extent. He took the time to find other examples of mash-ups and remixes, going beyond what was required for the assignment. The Avatar/Poccahontas mash-ups were hilarious! I also enjoyed listening to the mash-up of songs that he created with his friends; it was an interesting twist on some old songs. I also found Adam’s response to the Zapatista’s movement to be interesting. I thought his connection between their movement and John Perry Barlow’s “A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace” fit perfectly. All in all, though there could have been more pictures, I thought his overall project was very successful and went above and beyond what was required.
In addition to Adam’s response, I also thought Randy Holaday did a great job on this project. His hypertext was also well organized, making the links easy to navigate through, and his prose was also well constructed. He had a different narrative style than Adam- his narrative voice was much clearer- which I thought made the hypertext very interesting to read. Randy also used examples other than those required to support his work, strengthening the points of his paper. I especially enjoyed his “At What Point Should Free Speech End” page. In the opening paragraph, Randy admits to not knowing what the “answers to these questions are”, which though unconventional in a research paper, gives him a lot of breathing room- which he uses to expand upon both sides of the argument. I also thought he gave a good overview of the Zapatista movement. The video that he used on that page about the oppressed youth in Iran added a lot to the explanation.

3 A's

The first website that I went to from our class was Randy’s whose initial personal hypertext essay on taking readers through a tour of his Ipod really impressed me, and I wanted to see what he had come up with for this assignment. The work was really different, the layout had a more professional and structured feel to, and the alignment and presentation of his essay was much more academic and well planned. I think what I took from Randy’s site that was the most impressive however, was his ability to in-bed movies into his site to support his argument. The work was strengthened by his organization of links by color, yellow ones went to outside websites that he discussed, and blue for navigation to the works cited page, used when referencing works specifically. Not to mention, Randy is a very talented academic writer. His pages were engaging, elegantly structured by topic and arguments, and had supple, concise evidence that supported his claim about formulating tensions between democracy and media ownership. I would have liked to see more creative sources used for his website, the pages were mostly just writing and links, it would have been nice to enjoy more videos directly on the page instead of just as outside links.

Kate Lanier’s website is the next that I would chose to deserve an A. It is creatively designed with innovative and beautifully rendered vectors and images from Photoshop (CS3), showing that her work for her second assignment went past just writing the essay and designing a webpage, but creating the images within that website too. The links and organization of the website is something that I would like to strive or as in creating works that are in a specific hypertext language, and appeal to people who are going to be reading and using the web on a daily basis. The writing is limited on each page, and makes the work seem very specific, although really there are many links and other pages that make the work more extravagant and complex then it first appears. The format of the website was a bit confusing at first, probably because the font is smaller and the color scheme of the navigation is designed in a way to not take away from the images that she has created. I think that although the website is aesthetically pleasing, the artwork’s size and intensity is distracting from the writing, and controls the focus of the page (but I like that because I am an artist)..

The third person I believe should receive an A is Kate Bradley. I love the way her website is so colorful and decorated with attractive fonts and images that initially made me really interested to continue reading. The layout of her 2nd writing assignment is also an example of how I hope to get my writing to look when I publish my last two projects: less of something that is academic writing, and more so something where it engages a reader into the hyper-textual experience. She may have used a previously formulated layout, but the work is able to be exhibited clearly and adds to the success of her work as it is able to speak clearly to her readers in bits and pieces, rather than wearing them out in one long page of text (as I do). I think that if someone has taken the time to do the work, and to make sure that is surrounded by a layout that speaks for it, then they definitely deserve an A.

CN Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is "reasonably and reflectively deciding what to believe or do."
Ennis (1985)

The reason why I believe this particular definition of critical thinking applies to how I constructed my hypertexts is that creating my hypertext was for me both logical and reflective simultaneously. Without logical connections and networks throughout my website, there would be no structure and would render the site meaningless. On the other hand, without reflective thought, there is no real content, and no part of myself within the hypertext.

"Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making a decision. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome."
Halpern, Diane F. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. 1996.

I also chose this definition because creating a hypertext was in essence a massive problem, or network of problems that entangle within one another and it is my job to untangle it with my goal in mind. Also, when creating a hypertext, it is likely that I am creating it with a specific outcome I want to achieve, or a specific result and reaction I want to illicit from my audience, and therefore need to think critically of how to achieve my goal in this manner.

"The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
Maiorana, Victor P. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: Building the Analytical Classroom. 1992.

Finally creating a hypertext is all about questions: how do I want it to look, how do I want to sound, what sort of tone should I take, am I creating the website as myself or as an academic project? I want to understand and evaluate myself and what my goals are, and resolve how to incorporate my ideas into the text. This definition is just a mix of the previous two, in a way. On the other hand, besides questioning myself, I want to question, understand and evaluate any material I am going to be injecting into my hypertext.

Critical thinking is "reasonably and reflectively deciding what to believe or do."
Ennis (1985)

The process of making a hypertext is very much about deciding what to believe or do. I would say the majority of my time spent on the project was spent agonizing over the details. What presentation will best help my argument? In what order should I progress through my argument? Do I believe the arguments made by the texts I am analyzing? I asked myself all of these questions many times and only through careful though was I able to move forward.

"Broadly speaking, critical thinking is concerned with reason, intellectual honesty, and open-mindedness, as opposed too emotionalism, intellectual laziness, and closed-mindedness. Thus, critical thinking involves: following evidence where it leads; considering all possibilities; relying on reason rather than emotion; being precise; considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations; weighing the effects of motives and biases; being concerned more with finding the truth than with being right; not rejecting unpopular views out of hand; being aware of one's own prejudices and biases, and not allowing them to sway one's judgment."
Kurland, Daniel J. I Know What It Says . . . What does it Mean? 1995.

Having never made a website or had much interest in modifying my profile on facebook or myspace, creating a hypertext was a chance to be completely open-minded. There was no predominant design or font that would make my page “pop,” only through trial and error could I determine the best route for my site to take

Critical thinking is careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment.
Moore and Parker, 1994.

I very easily could have said “screw it, Dreamweaver sucks. My site will never look that good, all the pages are going to be the same.” But after exploring with the program a bit, I found that simple pages could look good as well.

Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns. Stahl and Stahl, 1991.

"Broadly speaking, critical thinking is concerned with reason, intellectual honesty, and open-mindedness, as opposed too emotionalism, intellectual laziness, and closed-mindedness. Thus, critical thinking involves: following evidence where it leads; considering all possibilities; relying on reason rather than emotion; being precise; considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations; weighing the effects of motives and biases; being concerned more with finding the truth than with being right; not rejecting unpopular views out of hand; being aware of one's own prejudices and biases, and not allowing them to sway one's judgment."
Kurland, Daniel J. I Know What It Says . . . What does it Mean? 1995.

Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible."
Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)

Throughout my four years at Santa Clara University I have often walked into a lecture for the first time and met the same question. ‘What is critical thinking?’ To many students’ surprise, it is often difficult to succinctly word a response to this question. Although ‘critical thinking’ is a process of which we often speak, especially at institutions of higher education, it is a process that has been ingrained within students’ subconscious to the point that we no longer even remember what it is. This is much like cognition of networking. Castells postulates in his text, The Network Society, that networking has always been an integral part of the human experience. Understanding networking, through the form of creating a hyperlink text, is much like understanding critical thinking.
I chose the first quote because it directly addresses formation of logical reasoning patterns. While creating my hypertexts, I never formally addressed the logic of the connections I was making (either by hyperlinks or by choosing which points deserved to be on menus etc), however this comprehension of cohesion was central to the organization of my site.
The second quote spoke further to the cohesive aspect of creating a hypertext. Not only in-so-much as that in creating a webpage, one is creating written word we are also creating a live interaction between these ideas and concepts; by linking them in cyber space rather than using conjunctions and prepositions. This form of language and expression relies explicitly on the creators ability to put themselves in the readers’ shoes and understanding the importance of “following evidence where it leads; considering all possibilities.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible."
Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)

define, analyze, and devise solutions for problems and issues; sort, organize, classify, correlate, and analyze materials and data; integrate information and see relationships; evaluate information, materials, and data by drawing inferences, arriving at reasonable and informed conclusions, applying understanding and knowledge to new and different problems, MCC General Education Initiatives

Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making a decision. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome."
Halpern, Diane F. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. 1996.

Composing a hypertext differs quite drastically from composing a linear essay. Instead of developing an idea over the course of a multi-paragraph essay, a hypertext requires the ideas to be centrally connected. In elementary school it was known as the spider chart – taking a central idea and connecting various offshoots to it. The authors of the above quotes think that critical thinking is all about classifying, organizing, and developing relationships between these various concepts. And this is exactly how I go about composing a hypertext. I take a central idea and then try to organize all the related information around it.

Critical Thinking & Hypertext Composition

"Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. … Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome."
Halpern, Diane F. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. 1996.

Writing for hypertext differs from my other experiences of writing in that it is very focused, very audience-directed, and has a stronger focus on the publication aspect. Hypertext, and using the web to create a networked self, or to participate in a network group, is above all an active engagement, rather than a passive essay or research paper. Like Halpern describes, critical thinking is an important aspect of creating effective hypertextual communication because the goals of writing are so integrally tied to the context and audience.



Critical thinking is careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment.
Moore and Parker, 1994.

The presentation of an issue through web publication is an active engagement with the audience that invites them to respond to the issue you present in your writing. By publishing, you are asking the audience to utilize their critical thinking in their reaction to your work. An effective piece of writing requires a response, and requires that the reader accepts, rejects, or questions what you have published.



Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible."
Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)

Just as important as the more abstract act of engaging with the audience, is the ability to communicate information clearly and effectively. I’ve found that organization, efficiency, and clarity are so essential to keeping the audience interested and convinced. By creating a hypertext response you are formulating your thoughts into a more rigorous organization by keeping in mind the different pages, link paths, and headlines required to keep the flow of information from you to the audience clear.

Critical Thinking and Hypertexts

"The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
Maiorana, Victor P. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: Building the Analytical Classroom. 1992.

Critical thinking is "a process which stresses an attitude of suspended judgment, incorporates logical inquiry and problem solving, and leads to an evaluative decision or action."
NCTE Committee on Critical Thinking and the Language Arts.

“Critical thinking includes the ability to respond to material by distinguishing between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences, inductive and deductive arguments, and the objective and subjective.”
MCC General Education Initiatives

These three quotes speak to me because in one way or another, they define what critical thinking is to me, in the way that I have found myself to be engaging in critical thinking while developing hypertexts of varying topics. I strongly believe that a dominant portion of critical thinking is in fact asking questions. By asking questions, you are immersing yourself in the subject matter and are therefore acquiring the knowledge so you can respond to it without being impacted by any one else’s opinions. Its important to make connections without letting the writer guide your thoughts, but rather use your own ability to differentiate between fact and opinion so that you may respond to material in a logical and personally motivated way.

Hypertext is important to this kind of thought process because it is important for a hypertext to present the data in a way that it keeps the readers interested as well as involved. It should present the data in a clear way, such that it makes the writers point clear, without seeing any of the writers’ personal opinions surfacing in that. In this way, the reader can deduce from the data presented, their personal feelings on the subject matter.

Critical Thinking of Hypertexts

"Critical thinking is 'the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work.'" This reminded me of the trail-and-error process of formatting an essay. Sometimes you need to move paragraphs around and switch sentences with others. Sometimes it's important to rename your anchor text to something more informative.

"Critical thinking is 'the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible.' This definition of critical thinking made me laugh because it's talking about how to make your thinking more clear, although the definition itself isn't that clear at all. How exactly do you think while you think?

"The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve." This is my favorite of the critical thinking quotes. It reminds me of making a draft, reading it over, and making an attempt to make it better.

Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible."
Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)

Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns. Stahl and Stahl, 1991.

"The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
Maiorana, Victor P. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: Building the Analytical Classroom. 1992.

These three quotes best describe critical thinking as applied to my experience of composing hypertext. These quotes emphasis understanding or the search for understanding of problems. Hypertextual work is in a way disorganized but it follows a strict logic. It sets a sort of structure from which stem new ideas and concepts which further your understanding. The starting page introduces the general idea of the problem and from the multiple hypertextual links littering the page, branches to new ideas of thought extend. You are thinking about your thinking because you are making identifying between different ideas in your work. You evaluate the statements you make and in the end if you are successful, your supporting converge to a solution of the given problem. Success depends on the logical connections between your points. Pages can link to new information, but it must be relevant to the current idea and must eventually converge to the main issue at hand. Essentially, working hypertextually is breaking a big problem into smaller ones and solving them piece by piece in order to complete the whole.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is "the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work."

Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible."

"It also includes the ability to generate questions, construct, and recognize the structure of arguments, and adequately support arguments; define, analyze, and devise solutions for problems and issues; sort, organize, classify, correlate, and analyze materials and data; integrate information and see relationships; evaluate information, materials, and data by drawing inferences, arriving at reasonable and informed conclusions, applying understanding and knowledge to new and different problems, developing rational and reasonable interpretations, suspending beliefs and remaining open to new information, methods, cultural systems, values and beliefs and by assimilating information."

These three quotes describe best how I write my hypertexts for several reasons. When writing my hypertexts I start with a general introduction about the message I am trying to get across. By writing this general statement, I then see where I can go further, where I can create new connections. The second quote is the best description. As I am writing, I am constantly thinking of new ideas or areas that I want to incorporate into the work. The more I write, the more ideas come out and in the end I am able to create a cohesive work that takes the best arguments or points that I came up with while freely writing. After coming up with all the possibilities, I use the best ones to create the most logical and effective piece. By using this approach, I find that I am able to come up with the best and most logical conclusions than when I take the time to write out everything I want to say in an outline, then using that as the template for the writing. It doesn't allow for new ideas to come in or the creation of new pathways in the thinking. These new ideas tend to be the best ones and the most logical for my argument. By using this technique in my writing, I have found that I produce better work than the outline technique I used in the past.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible." This quote, as confusing as it it, best explains my critical thinking process when I am writing any paper. I always critique myself as I'm writing and trying to find better ways to express myself and make my points clearer, more accurate, and solid. I do the best I can to make my points as defensible as possible which shows that I put the work into researching and really thinking about what I have read and learned.

Also, the "development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns" is another way that I think critically when writing. If my points do not make sense I have no way of defending them if they are challenged. It also shows that I haven't really thought about what I am researching: just regurgitating information. My reasoning also has to make sense. Like the quite says, I try my best to reason my thinking. If someone were to read my paper they need to be able to understand why I am saying what I am saying. This is all a part of the critical thinking process. It can't just be a list of things I learned after researching there has to be thought and time put into my writing.

As a whole, my method of critical thinking when I am writing can be summed up by the following quote:
"Critical thinking includes the ability to respond to material by distinguishing between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences, inductive and deductive arguments, and the objective and subjective. It also includes the ability to generate questions, construct, and recognize the structure of arguments, and adequately support arguments; define, analyze, and devise solutions for problems and issues; sort, organize, classify, correlate, and analyze materials and data; integrate information and see relationships; evaluate information, materials, and data by drawing inferences, arriving at reasonable and informed conclusions, applying understanding and knowledge to new and different problems, developing rational and reasonable interpretations, suspending beliefs and remaining open to new information, methods, cultural systems, values and beliefs and by assimilating information."

I do the best I can to reseach for my essays as if they were a scientific experiment. Looking for answers, evaulating my findings, deciding what is logically sound and what is not., etc. I just want my writing to reflect thoughts that have been picked apart and analyzed until I am firm in my understanding and viewpoint of a topic so that I can defend it rationally and soundly without faltering.

Critical Thinking

"Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making a decision. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome."
Halpern, Diane F. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. 1996.

Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns. Stahl and Stahl, 1991.

"Broadly speaking, critical thinking is concerned with reason, intellectual honesty, and open-mindedness, as opposed too emotionalism, intellectual laziness, and closed-mindedness. Thus, critical thinking involves: following evidence where it leads; considering all possibilities; relying on reason rather than emotion; being precise; considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations; weighing the effects of motives and biases; being concerned more with finding the truth than with being right; not rejecting unpopular views out of hand; being aware of one's own prejudices and biases, and not allowing them to sway one's judgment."
Kurland, Daniel J. I Know What It Says . . . What does it Mean? 1995.

The above quotes apply to me when I’m creating my hypertext. When I write my draft, I’m writing for a purpose, and obviously, I tend to focus on the final outcome. Not only do I write for that one page, I have to think and form strategies to formulate my other pages as well; my main goal is to tie it all together in a coherent and understandable manner, and I have to always be open to change just in case something does not work out the way I imagined. It takes a lot of planning to get it all to work out in the end. Because I am publishing for anyone to view, I have to remind myself that I shouldn’t be biased in my opinions and try not to take sides. I also want to present information in a manner that investigates all aspects rather than just focusing on one little part. I’m always feeling as though I have to think outside the box to ensure full exploration of the subject at hand.

Composing Hypertext

"Critical thinking is the formation of logical inferences. "
Simon and Kapplan, 1989.

"Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns. "
Stahl and Stahl, 1991.

"Critical thinking is "a process which stresses an attitude of suspended judgment, incorporates logical inquiry and problem solving, and leads to an evaluative decision or action." "
NCTE Committee on Critical Thinking and the Language Arts.

As you can see, the common thread through all these quotes is logic, or the idea of logical patterning. Since I come from a web design background, the creation of a hypertext essay was, for me, a directed and deliberate exercise. While I incorporated a number of external and inter-site links into the main body of my writing, I used external navigation to direct the user to what I thought were the most relevant sections for them to read next.

Though these ideas, and the above quotes, may be the best direction to go in when creating a user-friendly and controlled-flow website or analytical essay, the basic structure of a hypertext is very different. It is more like a web of information, where most of the pages reference each other and there may be no central navigation. It is a collection of information that the user navigates with no logical pattern or reasoning, simply following their own desires about what to read next.

My own experience of creating a hypertext was a very logical one, though perhaps it should not have been. I should have made the information more connected, much like everything else is on the internet, instead of trying to direct the reader the way I thought they should go. All the above quotes postulate that critical thinking is the development or creation of thinking patterns, and this is true. But what they failed to mention, and I failed to realize, is that everyone forms thinking patterns in different ways. Information is read and absorbed by different people in different ways and through very different paths, and a hypertext should reflect all the myriad of options available to a user.

"The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."

This definition of critical thinking reflects the process of composing for hypertext. For me, hypertext is all about asking questions. Inquiry is the basis of the progression from page to page, idea to idea. The evaluation/understanding/resolving is the natural result of composing with a question in mind. There is an important difference between begining with a goal and begining with a question. When we begin with a question, the progession occurs naturally.

"It also includes the ability to generate questions, construct, and recognize the structure of arguments, and adequately support arguments..."

When composing in hypertext, generating questions is the starting point. From there, the process consists of considering the best structure for your argument. this does not occur prior to composition. Rather, the recognizing the appropriate structure occurs during the writing process. I often asked myself, "Where is the best place to go from here? From here, the adaquate support falls into the structure and the process comes together.


Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns

The key word here is development. These "logical reasoning patterns" do not map out the writing for hypertext before the actual writing happens. The patterns are developed as the writing occurs. As I formulate ideas for the direction...

-"Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome."

Halpern, Diane F. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. 1996.

This definition truly speaks to me because why else do we make drafts and think about what we want to do about a certain topic. Critical thinking throughout this quarter in improving my hypertext has been about what looks right, what should go here, etc.

-"Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
Maiorana, Victor P. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: Building the Analytical Classroom. 1992.

Again, why would we bother to ask questions or draft something up if we weren't critically using our heads? I am a very curious person for this reason, I am always wondering what to accept and reject. I am always questioning what is useful. I did this very same thing when I created and when I still enhance my hypertext projects.

I had never composed a hypertext prior to this class, so in relation to critical thinking and this project, I am always actively using my critical thinking skills. I cannot say the same for an English class however, for this class I have been exposed to many different ways to get to a final "paper". I first questioned the professors method, but I can now see why it works.

-"the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work."
Lindzey, Hall, and Thompson, 1978.

Why would someone ever just take information and not examine that information or test it? I see this as the reason for getting an education, you are to question things until you understand them, you are to explore and experiment until things look right and make sense to you. in the hypertext project that is exactly what I have been doing. There are so many things about this project that makes me wonder how exactly does that do that? Why do I need that? Who came up with that? How will I remember to use that? In my opinion I think that these are things we should always be aware of.

Response to Reading Hyperessays

Justine Schiele
I quite liked this essay, mostly because of the design elements. I thought the main font used was interesting and unique, and the color scheme was very effective. I also liked the way images were integrated into the page, as sometimes it can be difficult to figure out how to work with static graphics like JPEGs. This author did a very nice job.

Michael Kent
I really liked the way this author incorporated links into his writing. He connected all the different pages together in a really interesting way, without relying on the navigation bar.

Tara Manny
I also liked the way this author used links. They were well used, and didn't look like they were added to fill a requirement. They made the essay something like a web of information. Another thing I liked was her color scheme and use of buttons, because those can be very difficult to work effectively.

Overall, I think that everyone did a really good job, and good examples can be made out of everyone's work. Personally, I'd like to mirror the way some of my classmates managed to include links, because my own essay was much too dependent on the list navigation and header to be a real "hyperessay".

Response Reviews

Nicolas Feigenbaum’s website incorporates advanced html design which makes it visually appealing, but he also shows good analytical capacity about the topic. Hypertextually his project flows well for the most part, but it is hard to distinguish between links to the media used and links to other pages. Rather than separating sources and discussing them individually, Nicolas blends them together and explains how each may be connected to the specific topic he is analyzing. I like the structure of this project. It is linear in a way, but also hypertextual at the same time. His navigation bar provides an easy way to view all of the pages in any order you wish, but from looking at it you can kind of tell where you should begin and where the project ends; he gives an introduction and concludes with the implications of the issues discussed in his paper.

Craig Benko’s website divides his paper into three main topics and uses the assigned media to assess the current situation. He examines music and the complications it has dealing with copyright law. He also looks at past political movements dealing with free media and its uses, and contemporary activism. His website embeds video which adds a lot to his discussion, but like the previous website it is sometimes hard to distinguish between links to subsequent pages and links to outside sources. Unlike the last project, Benko’s website does not give a nice navigation bar to all of his pages.

Myrna Mungal’s website shows a great deal of engagement like the previous two websites. Her project is simple aesthetically, but she does something which the previous two websites did not. Myrna effectively uses text is various ways to emphasize key points and project important quotes. The previous students must have had previous experience with html and css, while this project uses less artistic design elements and instead uses things like the placement, size, font, and color of text to effectively capture the reader. The tone of the essay is very personal. You get the feeling that this really is the opinion of the author and that she is not simply reiterating what has already been said. I like how thorough Myrna is in explaining each source she used. She introduces you to the organization being used and then proceeds to give examples of what they have done.

In contrast with my website, these websites have implemented a much better variety of design techniques. These websites made good use of pictures and videos, while I focused on making my essay hypertextual and on ensuring good use of multiples sources of relevant information to my key points. While not as visually appealing, I do think that all of these projects, mine included, address the issue of the conflict between copyright and democracy pretty well. I noticed that I divided my essay into more topics than these other projects. However, concerning the overall effectiveness of each website, I don’t think that this had much significance. The combination of quality content and good use of media makes these A projects.

Response Blog

Melea O’Dell
I really like Melea’s website and the way in which she presented her material. She uses several videos/stories and connects them in a way where it shows that they are all interrelated and share the same idea. Not only does she give a little short summary, in some, she even goes as far as providing not just one, but several links that tie it all together. She uses a unique format by having her navigation be at the bottom of the page, and her color scheme is really nice; it’s not too flashy yet not too plain. By using the same template, it allows readers to know that they’re still on the same site.

Sean Lee
I really like Sean’s Website. He does a nice job at using hyperlinks throughout his page. Instead of plainly hyperlinking it to its main source, he uses the links to connect to various pages on his site. He goes into detail, and he provides in depth information about the subject matter, despite it being a one-thousand word minimum. I like his format and the way he distinguishes his material by making it a bigger size font than the font on the navigation bar.


Myrna Mungal
I enjoy viewing Myrna’s website. I really like the way in which she connects her subject matter with things that are relevant to her in her real world such as talking about a singer’s (Rihanna) video, the way it gets the message across, and the way in which her words are powerful; it definitely is a sufficient and very effictive way of bringing forth the subject and getting it to stick in other people’s mind, especially in my mind since I’m able to relate it to the music world which interests me. I love how she uses different colors and font sizes to stress the importance of a particular word, and she uses a wide variety of different pictures.

After viewing all of my classmates’ websites, I really got inspired. I am really impressed with the way in which the same assignment can be displayed in so many different manners. You originally asked us to choose three that we think deserve an A, but I think we all do. You also wanted us to tell you how our project can be compared to our classmates, but in no way is it comparable. After doing so, I really don’t have many nice or exciting things to say about mine since all of the others look so good and are unique in their own individual ways. When I created mine, I thought my format and idea was good only because it seemed perfect to me, but when I see all the others, I stumble upon many ideas in which I can incorporate into future projects. I really enjoyed looking at everyone’s work, and I must say, it is extremely interesting. Not one website was similar to another; I now understand why you never get bored of teaching this class. No matter how often you repeat the syllabus, each and every single student will always come up with a different outcome.