[teaching digital writing]

If I was still living in England..... This conference will be brilliant and my ph.d examiner (Ruth Page) and ph.d supervisor (Sue Thomas) will be speaking too along with "Inanimate Alice" author Kate Pullinger.



http://www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/events/event_detail.php?event_index=281

Cost: No charge, but we reserve the right to charge a £15:00 non-attendance fee.

Last Date for registration: 14 Apr 10

Event Description:
Digital Writing crosses over Media, Creative Writing, Art & Design and English departments and demand for more higher education courses continues to grow. How are we meeting that demand and how is digital writing being taught? This free, one-day symposium is an opportunity to discuss, debate and sample Digital Writing with leading practitioners and university lecturers.

- How do we teach students to analyse digital writing?
- How do we teach students to create digital writing?
- What are the particular challenges and rewards of teaching and learning this developing genre?

These questions and others will inform the presentations and discussions.
The event takes place at the state-of-the-art Phoenix Square, in Leicester where delegates will have the opportunity to participate in a hands-on workshop and demonstration. Undergraduate and postgraduate students are welcome.

Confirmed speakers include: Award winning digital novelist – Kate Pullinger, Sue Thomas, Ruth Page and Tim Wright.
Programme: (subject to alteration) 

9:30 Registration
Coffee/Tea

10:00 Welcome
Brett Lucas, English Subject Centre

10:10 Presentation
The Transliteracy Research Group
Kate Pullinger & Sue Thomas, De Montfort University

11:00 Panel Presentation & Discussion
Doing Digital Writing
Tim Wright, Digital author
Donna Leishman, Digital author
Respondant TBC

12:00 Lunch

13:00 Panel Presentation & Discussion: Teaching Digital Writing
Digital Writing and Pedagogy: How do We Teach, What Do We Teach?
Matt Hayler, University of Exeter
Designing Narratives and New Media
Will Slocombe, Aberystwyth University
The Next Frontier? Teaching electronic literature in the undergraduate classroom
Ruth Page, Birmingham City University

14:30 Hands-on Workshop and Demonstration
Tim Wright, Digital author

15:30 Keynote Address
Michael Bhaskar, Digital publisher, Serpent’s Tail/Profile Books

16:30 Closing Remarks
Kate Pullinger & Brett Lucas

16:45 Close



Note: image from Engadget. 

[inanimate alice = the future of the novel]

The Future of the Novel is Digital: Interactive Narrative 'Inanimate Alice' Featured in Epic Documentary TV Series

VANCOUVER, Dec. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Inanimate Alice, the award-winning multimedia title from novelist Kate Pullinger, recent recipient of the Governor General's Award for fiction, features in the final episode of TVO's epic documentary series Empire of the Word broadcasting December 16, in Canada.

Demonstrating an entertaining new way to read, the interaction of Inanimate Alice makes for an immersive reading experience. Being interspersed with puzzles and games, simple to start with, growing more complex with each episode as the story unfolds, the series has a layered structure and a multi-tasking environment that digital natives feel is their territory and which teachers can employ for reading inspiration.

Inanimate Alice may feel more like playing a casual game than reading a novel, however a richly endowed story is at the heart of the experience. "Inanimate Alice has been created as a world story," said series producer Ian Harper. "It is about peoples and places and the world young people experience today. It reaches beyond borders and the constraints of language and religion."
"What is really exciting is for us to receive messages from young students on their home computers telling us they have been working on Inanimate Alice at school and asking when the next episode will be available," said Harper.

The teaching resources [by me!] associated with the Inanimate Alice series have been accessed by Departments of Education, National Libraries and major universities around the world. In Australia, the series is seen as "demonstrating an innovative way of presenting resources that support learning in the areas of English Literacy and Information and Communications Technology." Elsewhere, teachers are using episodes for improvement in English Language training. "No matter how hard we try we cannot get young students to read from books," a teacher from Singapore noted.

Harper commented, "It is gratifying to see the series being deployed across wide age ranges, encouraging the hard-to-engage while inspiring creative writing amongst the gifted. While we are immersed in the discussion about what shape the books of the future will take, we'd like to see the series be a kick-start for more traditional forms of reading."

http://www.inanimatealice.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/inanimatealice
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inanimate-Alice/125007357446

Investors interested in learning more about Inanimate Alice contact, Ian Harper, harperjian@gmail.com

[inanimate alice in my undergrad. English class]

x-posted at iTeach Inanimate Alice


On Thursday (19th of November) I started the final unit of the term with my English 102s at Grant MacEwan University (Edmonton, Alberta). After essays and other academic texts, our final study would focus on the multimodal narrative, Inanimate Alice.


Before I began the lesson I recalled what I had done with other classes (mostly media or creative technologies while at De Montfort University in Leicester, England). But this time, it would be a little different. I could incorporate more of a "literary" analysis as this was for an English class...right?


Interestingly out of about 30 students, only one admitted to having read something similar to Inanimate Alice (but when he was "younger"). I gave a background to Inanimate Alice. I introduced the students to Alice, to Brad. I also explained what Alice's parents do. We talked about setting and character development, noting that Inanimate Alice can be read as a bildungsroman.


We agreed to spend the remainder of the lesson reading Episodes 1 and 2. Students were also given time at the end of the lesson to reflect on their first-time reading a multimodal narrative. Some of the questions I asked them to think about included:

• How reading this online fiction is different from reading the essays in the course books or reading the texts for your research assignment
• What can readers infer about the identity of Alice? What traits does Alice seem to possess?
• 1 instance of foreshadowing
• Complete this sentence: “I think the author is trying to say....”

 
 
 

These students have had plenty of opportunity to respond to literature. They all understand what a story setting is and how to examine character development. However, until we slowed down and re-read each screen of Episode 1, the students found it difficult to answer the aforementioned questions. Only when we paused on a screen and analysed the role of sound (it's speeding tempo and increasing volume), the role of image (the gravel road, jerking in and out of a downward view), the role of text (the comforting voice of mother Ming) and reader interaction (the blurring arrows urging the reader to click on), we were able to recognise foreshadowing. Josh reads this scene as: "The text reads "Mum says, John knows what he's doing, he'll be back soon. That’s what she said yesterday and the day before. But not today." This text suggests that unlike before, the mother, Ming, can no longer comfort Alice because she too may be worried about when John will be returning, foreshadowing that something may have happened to him." Looking for a different example of foreshadowing, Ivy interprets: "[a]n example of foreshadowing is that Brad is becoming more animated, he first appeared as a stick figure in the first episode but his images is constantly progressing. I believe as the episodes progress he’ll become an actual person." Jamie also had a different view of foreshadowing: "An example of foreshadowing is expressed by the speech bubble that states Alice is the girl always losing her parents. The whole scenario of it appearing seemed out of place, perhaps hinting at a hidden importance."

Slowing down and performing this kind of close reading proved powerful for the students (and me too!). In turn, they clicked back to individual screens and reread the multiple modes. When asked how this online narrative is different from some of the texts students have read in the past Tasha explained that Inanimate Alice is very "different [from] reading a book, essay, or text because there are many different sounds, moving pictures, and games that could distract you from the text that you have to read. It helps you to visualize what is going on... Also the speeding and slowing, and the type of music makes you more emotionally involved in the story. For example, in the second episode after Alice finds her parents, a softer music is playing and it gives you a sense of relief." Another student, Matthew, noted: "The audio is very context sensitive, as with the pictures. When the story gets more intense the music speeds up." Many of the students also enjoyed the required elements of interactivity. Not only the clicking of the arrows (which Matt likens to "the equivalent of turning a page in a convential text." ) but the puzzles too. As Kalmy explained, "It also allows us to interact with the story as well (ie: selecting the clothes she's going to wear)."


My English 102 students began to read as transliterate readers. Scott put it succinctly:

"The growth in [t]ranliteracy as Alice grows in age in my opinion is the author/creators way of expressing how the general public views this mixture of media, text, and story. We’re still developing a bridge between all of our learning tools. While everyone is structured to learn how to read and write the old fashioned way, new forms of literacy tools are developing."

Since our first class, students are now becoming producers of their own texts. Their creations (an example of differentiated instruction) will, in turn, reinforce the importance of reading all modes simultaneously. Students can choose one of the following activities:

• Write a letter to the authors: Kate Pullinger and Chris Joseph

** Use strong English, give examples
** ask at least two questions
** length should be two paragraphs

• Create a podcast reflection of Episodes 1 and 2 (include the link to your podcast and e-mail me the HTML and the written version). Analyse the role of multimodality. You might use http://www.mypodcast.com// or http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
• Create a google map of places from the first two episodes of Inanimate Alice (include the link to your map in the comment and e-mail me the HTML). For each place marked on the map include:

**analysis of the story related to that area
**and a link to an image


While the students are crafting their responses, I'm looking forward to tomorrow's class because I as Brian sees it, "Inanimate Alice is the next generation of text, designed to incorporate all of the modern technologies of today."


You can follow along on our class blog.

[technology and improving literacy]

A topic I'm always interested in and am examining during my research fellowship at the IOCT and through pedagogical work on multimodal story Inanimate Alice. With this in mind, the recent article by James Paul Gee and Michael H. Levine on "Innovation Strategies for Learning in a Global Age" seems particularly relevant.

As Katie Ash notes, the article by Gee and Levine "using new, innovative technology can help students who are struggling with language to increase their vocabulary and form associations between what they're learning with the real world." Also, being au fait with 21st century technology means that the digital divide is closing and students won't be left out of the "global economy."

Some key points:

• According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, most low-income children in this country [U.S.A.] are below grade level in reading by 4th grade [known as the fourth-grade slump]
• What gives students a good head start toward comprehension is a wide-ranging, sturdy vocabulary of complex words in the early years, before the age of 5
• Video games, simulations, modeling tools, hand-held devices, and media production tools can allow students to see how complex language and other symbol systems attach to the world
• Mastery of digital media for the production of knowledge constitutes a new family of “digital literacies,” since such media, like print before them, are tools for the production of meaning
• Digital media offer other advantages. They naturally elicit problem-solving behavior and attitudes in students, and have the potential to create different modes of assessment
• [Digital media] can also be used to track how learners learn, moment by moment, allowing constant feedback based on our knowledge of various trajectories of learning.

Read the entire article here.

[chris joseph and NRG]

Today Chris Joseph, digital writer in residence at the IOCT presented his latest project, NRG. A culmination of his two years at the IOCT resulted in an impressive hybrid piece of electronic art that highlights issues pertaining to digital literacy, digital art, art reception, performance, narrative, multimodality, interaction, performance and the environment. Chris is well known for his work on multimodal digital fiction Inanimate Alice (with Kate Pullinger) and his work has frequently been nominated for a variety of prizes. Some examples:

2008:

Finalist (Interactive productions category), Learning on Screen Awards 2008, British Universities Film & Video Council, UK 2007: Selected Finalist, 2008 CULTURAS Intercultural Dialogue Awards, Madrid, Spain [Alicia Inanimada, Episodio 1: China] Selected Finalist, 8th Seoul International Film Festival, Seoul, Korea [The Surveys] IBM New Media Prize, 20th Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Stuttgart, Germany [Inanimate Alice, Episode 1: China] Selected Works, 20th Stuttgarter Filmwinter, Stuttgart, Germany [Inanimate Alice, Episode 1: China and Inanimate Alice, Episode 2: Italy]

Today Chris presented NRG at the IOCT. This work is a combination of bicycle, human power, narrative, multimodality and a laptop. Chris notes that he was initially very interested in raising the question of sustainability in electronic art, a question seemingly often overlooked. Spurred on by the success of The Magnificent Revolutionary Cycling Cinema, Chris attempted his own pedal-powered system. Players or readers or interactors must cycle to generate the story which appears on a laptop hooked up to the bike. As Chris says:

It's 2010 and you have been appointed to lead the new World Energy Directorate, with the power to control international spending and research on energy sources and production. Your decisions will influence the life of billions of humans, countless species and the Earth as a whole. How will your choices change all our lives during the planet's next forty years of industrial development?

Part environmental game, part multimedia artwork, NRG (short for En-er-gy) is self-sustaining, people-powered installation. No previous knowledge about energy issues is assumed or required, but NRG is intended to stimulate thought and discussion about energy consumption, its links to global warming and the need for the development of lifestyle alternatives.

***

Over the past fifty years electronic art has grown to become an established genre, yet energy – specifically the power required to view a work, as well as create it - is rarely acknowledged. But a electronic writers, artists and musicians must confront the fact that natural resources (converted to electricity) are continually required in order for the work to be experienced by both physical and virtual audiences. So in responding to the IOCT - an institution at the forefront of electronic creation - it seemed natural that my residency work should consider energy, both as a narrative theme and in the practical realisation of the piece.


NRG resides on a laptop that is not connected to the mains, but instead requires power to be periodically supplied by its ‘players’ through a bicycle generator. To play, simply select which energy sources the world should invest in, choosing as few or as many as you wish. Just as in the real world, the choices made will have significant impacts upon energy supply and use, population, carbon dioxide levels and other planet-wide measurements over the next five decades.

Perhaps the reading/kind of performance required to understand this work is a good example of transliteracy and of transdisciplinarity - various modes and disciplines coming together.

Congratulations Chris and best of luck!

[how to write fiction]

This morning's Guardian has arrived. After briefly skimming the front page and a lengthy read of the Money section (100 questions about the current *financial* climate answered!) I happily found Kate Pullinger's tutorial on "How to Write Fiction." Working with Sue Thomas, Kate runs DMU's Online Masters in Creative Writing and New Media (and is author of Inanimate Alice with Chris Joseph) and thus is the perfect person to write this user-friendly guide. I'm definitely going to memorise these tips including the suggestion to "turn off your word count."

This guide book doesn't tell you where to buy your ideas: "Asda for chick-lite, perhaps, Waitrose for literary fiction," but it certainly includes loads of opportunities for laughter (not something I would expect from any guide). Kate tells us that writing is about "graft" rather than just a great ideas and that the act of writing is the important thing:

"But really, the best way to start writing is to start writing. Get the words down onto the page. For many writers the most productive technique is to push on, regardless of what crap they are spewing. Bad writing can be imprved upon, can be polished and cut and shaped and revices. A blank page is just that, and the only thing it is good for is driving you crazy."

Besides the instructions concerning genre, character, setting etc and the wide reference to other writers, there is a checklist:

1. Is the beginning too slow?
2. Have I "killed my darlings"?
3. Have I checked my grammar and punctuation?
4. Have I laid out my dialogue properly?
5. After my compelling beginning, amd I keeping my reader interested?
6. Is it finished?

If you don't have the Guardian hardcopy, each of the eight steps included in the guide are available as separate articles on the Guardian site.

[inanimate alice & media literacy]

While working on the second Education Pack to accompany Inanimate Alice and to coincide with the release of Episode 4 (yay!) I'm researching various countries and their (sometimes very different) approaches to the teaching of new media writing/digital literature/electronic literature/born digital fiction... (insert term of your choice). I've recently come across an interesting publication: "A European Approach to Media Literacy in the Digital Environment" created by the Commission of the European Communities published on the 20th of December 2007. The report reminds readers that although media use is widely acknowledged as a key enabler, there is little understanding of how "the media work in the digital world, who the new players in the media economy are and which new possibilities, and challenges, digital media consumption may present" (p.2)



This EU document also presents a very detailed definition of media literacy including the notion of critical literacy. Some aspects of the definition have tinges of transliteracy, encouraging the use of different kinds of media and their role in daily life:

[inanimate alice and edu in the news!]

"An interactive novel created by a writer and artist who work at De Montfort University has been nominated for a national education award, and is being showcased by the EU as well used by teachers in classrooms around the world.

'Inanimate Alice' (see www.inanimatealice.com ) tells the adventures of a girl who becomes a games artist and it has been nominated in the Interactive Productions category of the 2008 Learning On Screen awards given by BUFVC, the British Universities Film and Video Council.

Winners will be announced in York on 18 March. For more information on The Learning on Screen Awards which celebrate excellence in the use of moving image and related media in learning, teaching and research, go to: http://www.bufvc.ac.uk/learningonscreen/.

Author Kate Pullinger said: "Inanimate Alice has proven to be popular across a broad range of ages as well as with a broad range of viewers, including both book-lovers and gamers. Because the level of interactivity starts out low in episode one, increasing with each subsequent episode in order to reflect Alice's own growing abilities, we've found that we can take an audience unfamiliar with multimedia fiction with us. Educators like Inanimate Alice because of this; students from primary to post-graduate level find the work engaging."

Chris Joseph said: "It's fantastic that the BUFVC have recognised Inanimate Alice for its use within educational environments, and the nomination is confirmation of De Montfort University's growing status as a centre for cutting edge digital arts and education within the UK. It is particularly satisfying to be sharing the platform with the high budget productions from the BBC and CBBC."

Jess Laccetti said [woo hoo! that's me!]: "Students from primary to post-graduate level find Inanimate Alice engaging and it can help teachers successfully integrate new media literacies into the classroom. Because of its multimodality (images, sounds, text, interaction) students see storytelling in a new light and this can them develop and refine the multiple literacies (literary, cinematic, artistic, participatory etc.) required today for successful navigation of the online environment."

Download the education pack that goes with Inanimate Alice episodes 1-3 from here. Any comments, add them to the iteach blog or send me an e-mail.

A press release at MCV: Market for Home Computing and Video Games.

[new technologies always pose a challenge]

I've just come across Julie Lindsay's slideshare presentation: "Digital Literacy: E-Learning ideals in the 21st century." She has some fantastic quotes on reactions to technologies that were *new* at one time:

*note to self*: wouldn't Julie be a great participant in the iTeach Inanimate Alice project?

[woo hoo: i'm *kinda* mentioned in the news...]

On Sunday Katie Haegele wrote an article for the Philladelphia Enquirer about Inanimate Alice and there's a wee bit on the education pack I've designed for the pilot project (which is now available to anyone as a free download).

"There's a question that sometimes comes up in conversations about interactive fiction: Is it literature, or a game?
I've wondered myself, as I've joined animated characters on their journeys and tried to fit their narratives into a preexisting slot in my mind. But recently, as I watched Inanimate Alice - an adventure story told through a series of 10 Flash-animated films - I began to think there might be a better way to look at it.

Alice's story begins when she is 8 years old and living in a remote part of China with her parents (and her imaginary friend Brad). The second and third episodes are set in a villa in Italy and an apartment in Moscow, and in each place Alice finds herself alone, thinking her way out of a scary situation or just keeping herself company. It's a sophisticated piece of storytelling that makes use of digital imagery and sound, haunting electronic music composed by cocreator Chris Joseph, and of course interactivity. The viewer is also a user, who participates by making the stories move forward and by solving puzzles as Alice introduces them. The third chapter gives users the option to only watch and read the story, or to "play" it.

As the story progresses Alice will grow up to be an artist who, in a nice bit of self-reference, designs characters for a computer game company. The series is still in creation by Kate Pullinger and Joseph, who both teach in the area of digital media arts at De Montfort University in Leicester, England. The fourth episode is due out this month.

[...]

Pullinger, who has published novels and collections of short fiction in addition to creating other digital pieces, said she and Joseph did not set out to make Alice a children's story. But the first several episodes take place during the character's childhood and adolescence, and the series' producer, Ian Harper of the Bradfield Co., saw the potential for Alice to be used as an educational tool.

He hired Jessica Laccetti, who did the story's Italian translation, to create supplemental educational materials, which are available on the site (http://www.inanimatealice.com/education/) as a free download. The idea is that pieces like Alice could both engage reluctant readers and acclimate students to "reading" within digital formats - as well as help teachers and parents get a feel for the kinds of technologies their kids are using.

"Teachers have responded incredibly well to Alice, but as with any new form, it's difficult to find and expand the audience - [though] this is changing already," Pullinger said.

If readers continue to enjoy these kinds of stories, the question may change from what they are, to where."

Read the whole article here.

[new media demands new literacies]

Today we seem to face a quandary. On the one hand there are anxieties about the reliability of internet sites and concerns of how to educate students to make informed online decisions. On the other hand we have the National Curriculum in England and Media Literacy outcomes in Canada as evidence of the important role technological skills play in all sorts of learning environments. But how can teachers successfully integrate new media literacies into classrooms? I have found Inanimate Alice as an exemplar new media fiction that is easily assimilated into learning environments. With its use of multimodality (images, sounds, text, interaction) students have the opportunity to see storytelling in a new, multisensory light. Being able to interact with the fiction and explore and critique how all the modes interact has given students an opportunity to develop their new literacy skills. As one of my students said after reading Episode 1 for the first time: "Inanimate Alice is a very innovative way of telling as story." In my teaching experience Inanimate Alice has proven to be an excellent new media fiction which allows students to develop multiple literacies (literary, cinematic, artistic, etc...) in combination with the highly collaborative and participatory nature of the online environment.

Check out the brand-spanking new Inanimate Alice Education Portal! Live from 4th December 11:20am GMT.

Fancy adding the catchy iTeach Inanimate Alice button to your course site or blog? Just copy this code into your template:

<a href="http://www.inanimatealice.com/education">
<img src="http://www.inanimatealice.com/education/images/iteach.png"
alt="iTeach Inanimate Alice" title="iTeach Inanimate Alice" border="0">
</a>

Keep up to date with lesson plans, interviews, tips, suggestions, etc... at the newly launched iTeach Inanimate Alice blog.

[audible and visual pedagogy]

In a seemingly text-centric academic culture (where students must write essays and submit written coursework) I've been thinking about how to bring in more of our other senses including image and sound. What follows is a simple attempt to allow students to move within other kinds of literacy (oral and visual).

Name of the lesson: Hearing and Seeing Sounds

Level: Can be adjusted to suit age or level.

Subject: New Media, English, Creative Technologies,

Materials: Computers with PowerPoint, Internet Connection, Access to copyright–free images (http://www.freeimages.co.uk/, http://www.pics4learning.com/, http://freestockphotos.com/) and sounds (http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Music/waves.html), recording equipment (microphones, digital cameras, video),

Overview:
Students will become aware of the role sound and image play in telling a story.

Objectives:
Students will collaborate in pairs to create a short story. They must develop a narrative employing various modes including sound, a recording of their voices, images (scanned in, photos, or free–pics) and text (while being aware of how words sound and being able to explain why they chose certain words).

Activities & Procedures:
1. Have students read a selection of online stories: any episode from Inanimate Alice, Pirate’s Treasure and Number Story.
2. Discuss what students liked about each story. Talk about the role of images, colour, text, and sound in each work. Pay particular emphasis to the rhythm and tone of language.
3. Students collaborate in pairs to create their own stories using PowerPoint (due to its ease of use and general availability) or Istories if available.
4. Students can record their voices telling parts of the story or making sounds. Students can use digital cameras to take photos of classroom or school artefacts to use in their stories. Students can visit the sites suggested to collect royalty–free images.
5. Students present their creations to the class and explain how the various modes, specifically images and sound, tell their story.

[inanimate alice education portal]

For the past few months I've been quietly beavering away on a sample resource pack with lessons, handouts, and links to sources to be used alongside the teaching of Inanimate Alice. I finished it a little while ago and have sent it out to a group of willing educators who are going to give I.A. a test-run (some educators have already used Alice!) in the class room/lecture room/educational environment. The aim of this project is to develop an educational portal alongside the main Inanimate Alice site. Hopefully this will mark an important step in bringing web-based multimodal texts into learning environments. I realise there are new media courses being taught out there (I'm involved with one at DMU) but it would be so handy to have some resources available online so teachers/parents/students/readers can help themselves to ready-made ideas. Plus Inanimate Alice seems to be a perfect building block in the multimodal landscape as the development of Alice and the story probably parallels the experience we've had (well, at least some of us) with new media (we get better with it as time goes on).

I'm hoping to add some case-studies and student comments to the site too, so that we get a feel for what's *really* happening when students access and participate with these kinds of works. I'm also wondering how the reader/author dynamic will shift and develop with the new tool called iStories coming out soon. (Peter Brantley has blogged about iStories here.) With students able to easily make their own multimodal stories I wonder how their perception of what they *read* will change.

Of course, any lesson ideas that you have are welcome.

I can't wait to get some feedback from the educators participating at this early stage. If you'd like to get involved send me an e-mail.

[narrative and multimodality conference - day 2]

Today marked the second and final day of the Narrative and Multimodality conference organised by Dr. Ruth Page and held at UCE. The morning began with 4 presentations after which we were divided into 3 smaller groups.
Each group settled into a room and prepared for an exciting workshop with the focus on pedagogical and narratological implications of web work. Our group, the structure and suspense group, first read Inanimate Alice episode one so that everyone in the group would be able to talk about the same thing. Bruce guided us through the reading on a huge screen and I must say that Alice really should be experience with such a screen and volume. The booming music really helped build suspense (although people in the group didn't all agree that it was in fact suspensefull but rather anxiety-inducing). After the reading we discussed using Inanimate Alice in the class/lecture room and how we might encourage students to recognise that reading multimodal works such as Alice means reading all of the modes (I think so anyway) involved in the storytelling - not just concentrating on the textual apparatus (as one member of our group thought was more apt).

After the illuminating discussion we gathered back in the main room for a panel (which I chaired!). Jennifer Harding presented some fascinating insights thanks to her use of wikis in her undergrad. English classes. She def. gave us all some ideas to try.

The afternoon sessions were all fascinating and ranged in topics concerning high-tech uses of multimodality (Sarah Hatton and Melissa McGurgan on Using Sound Maps in Multimodal Environments to Promote Interactive Narrative) and multimodal print (Alison Gibbons' reading of a print text which, through its use of multimodality, encouraged an embodied reading). Fascinating stuff.


In his plenary session, Michael Toolan focussed on the literary/narrative potential (or lack of) of what he calls "high-tech multimodal works." Toolan explained that because certain hypertexts are "too open, too interactive" problems arise because readers cannot share the same "object" (as a book) - something that remains the same across multiple viewers and platforms and time. Therefore (according to Toolan) hypertext is not narrative art. It's "too protean in seqence and event to let us analyse hypertext as narrative." While Toolan is certainly right that some hypertexts and web fictions are open, I would argue (as I did in our workshop session) that most readers would share the same general understanding of plot. After all, the author (hyper or not) has written a story (if we are confining ourselves to web fictions and not poetry or art although those too can be narrative) for a reader. Though there are links, it is ultimately the author who controls access to them and would probably want a story to evolve. Texts such as "afternoon" were mentioned but that seems to be an example where reading paths might differ however readers do visit the same lexias. So, the order of events might be different, but the reader encounters the same narrative fragments. Also, does that mean narrative only exists if "we" can share it? What about each reader narrativising each reading experience? I'd like to hear more about what Toolan meant and I wonder if his views would change after reading stories like Inanimate Alice which is pretty teleological so readers would then share the same "object," or even These Waves of Girls where the underlying story is apparent from most nodes. Toolan successfully got us all thinking (which deserves congratualtions as it was the final session of the day) and his talk has helped me think about what place web fictions can play in pedagogy - what kinds of ideas we'll have to teach students before beginning to teach them multimodal works.

**Thanks to Ruth who did an incredible job organising the whole conference and making sure it all ran smoothly.**

UPDATE: Ruth has also shared some reflections on the conference.

[digital fictions]

Reading Marie-Laure Ryan's Possible Worlds in relation to my chapter 4 - linking and possible worlds in web fictions - I have found my quote of the day:

"not all plots are created equal." (148)

Ryan goes on to suggest that those stories which remain through generations and traverse cultures owe their familiarity to an "intrinsic 'tellability'" (148). Does this mean that online fictions or multimodal narratives have more tellability - i.e. augmented options for performance? Perhaps this might just become the case if we agree with Ryan that

"[m]any events are not told for their own sake but for their illustrative value: their function to fix an atmosphere, outline a milieu, reveal the personality of characters, promote a symbolic or allegorical interpretation" (150).

Testing: Inanimate Alice's "tellability" (from Episode 3: Russia)


Atmosphere:





Milieu:



Character: From this image we come to understand that Alice is not accustomed to hearing arguments:







Additionally, if the reader does not interact at all the required points in the narrative, the story cannot proceed: