Before reading Inanimate Alice you might like to review these helpful resources:
Subject = Digital Literacy: “Literature in a Hypermedia Mode: An interview with Marjorie Luesebrink” by Thomas Swiss and “Electronic Literacies” by Caitlin Fisher
Subject = Modes: “Examining a Picture” by Dr. Martha Driver, “On Gold and Silver Ages and the Elements of Hypertext” by Jennifer Ley (see page 2) and “Hypertext and the Art of Memory” by Janine Wong and Peter Storkerson
Student Objectives:
After completing this lesson, students will be able to:
- Identify and become familiar with multiple modes of representation.
- Critique the effects of various modes on the narrative.
- Give examples of explicit calls for participatory reading in Inanimate Alice.
Students should refer to accompanying handouts for further explanation and questions.
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Student Handout: Reading Inanimate Alice, Episode 1 - Student Reading Reflection
NOTE: Students should answer at least ONE of these questions as a comment to this post.
Now you have finished reading “Episode 1: China,” Inanimate Alice. Write a short blog (or journal) entry to think about your reading experience. Be sure to answer the following:
What I did (Explain how you read the story – did your eyes scan each screen from left to right? How did you feel about the sound, images, and words that would appear all at the same time on certain screens?)
What I enjoyed (Write about what you liked most about Episode 1)
What I found difficult (Write about the most difficult part of reading Episode 1)
What really worked (What was the best bit about the story and why)
Next time (What will you do when it comes to reading Episode 2? How will you prepare? What tips might you share with other readers for their first digital story reading experience?)
Thanks to all the students of MEDS 2007 for participating!!!
24 comments:
I didn't read the 'pages' from left to right, but I did read everything on the page in most cases - flowers one was a bit confusing as I had never encountered anything like this before.
To summarise - interesting read and a refreshing change from dead trees.
The story was an interesting and different way of telling a story. I thought the sound and images helped to create the story to a more advance level, though it did mean that the child's imagination would not be used.
The most difficult part i found was the text becoming almost 3-d like, as it was hard to read at some points.
The sound and moving/interactive images i felt really made the story.
I read the story as it was told, and I found the music a little odd and at times distressing in it's pitch.
I enjoyed the idea of the mobile device (like a Sidekick) and the Mum's name (Ming). The images went well with the story and the high pace of the car journey was portrayed well through this.
I found the storyline weird and hard to follow. There was no real 'moral' to the story, and no instructions on what the participant was supposed to do.
I have to be honest, nothing really worked for me on this, and I can't understand why an eight year old would find this entertaining, or feel like they could empathize with the central character. The music and the images were too far fetched, and the story line was too basic and, again, I use the word, weird. Soz.
there was too much going on at once i was unable to concentrate on all things enough to evaluate them. I found i was tending to dart from one point of interest to another and was trying to take it all in. the music seemed simply there as a contextual tool as it sounded oriental. it was interesting to watch and made a change from your typical book but did seem as though it would quash children's imagination somewhat in the same way tv does..there's no room for them simply to visualise images on their own. the only real point of confusion was the interactivity of taking the photos as there was no indication that this was expected of you. overall though i thought it was enjoyable and as i said made a change from your average book. it could also help with children's use of the internet as interactivity is developed.
I found the story in parts didn't fit with the way it was illustrated.Areas such as the static noise in the base camp slide worked well to take the viewer to the setting. however for most of it i found the fast paced images were out of place for a story aimed at an 8 year-old.
The music was also strange and annoying after the first slide.i also don't think that the way in which the text jolts around is easily accessible to a child; i found it quite difficult to understand what i was supposed to be doing or where the story was going.
The story didn't seem the type that it's target audience would be interested in, with the dull colours on the majority of the screens with the mellow music.
The "taking pictures" of flowers was confusing, as there was no indication as to that is what you had to do to progress to the next screen!
The story didn't capture the imagination either, with the characters and scenario being placed for the reader, which meant that it was skimmed over, more than thought about.
What I did...
I looked from left to write to begin with. Then I noticed the text, after reading this I looked at the other visuals. I sometimes got a little confused by all the sound and visuals appearing at once. It was hard to tell what the creator want me to look at first. However obviously the sound created atmosphere, as support for the story.
What I enjoyed...
I enjoyed reading a story in a different way, interacting with the story lets the reader go at their own pace, and gives them more of an active role. I particularly liked the portable computer the child, to see her writing on the screen and the different things she used it for. Almost like an advert for the game its self!
What I found difficult...
As with many of the other people in my group, sometimes I was unaware of where to physically click. Such as taking pictures of the flowers. The visual didn't make this obvious enough I think. Also, I didn't really get the story. There was no moral, or excitement to it particularly. It also seemed to deal with a serious underlying issue of war maybe, might be difficult for an 8 year old to work this out.
It wasn't stimulating enough for a child in terms of the pictures. Where as at some points the pixelated and blurred images worked (as when the car was going fast) other times it just looked less professional.
What really worked...
As previously said, the part with the interactive computer game.
Was also good that the story was told from the point of view of the child. Increases the chance of identification, if it was a child reading the story.
When reading the story I read it like any other webpage, looked centrally first then went on to read text then clicked onto the next page...and so on.
I would not say I enjoyed the story it was not very exciting/stimulating for me personally.
I thought it was an advert for alice's phone or gadget thing.
I dont think there was anything dificult about the story it was pretty self explanitory and readable I feel.
The best thing about the story was Alice's Gadget I want one..
I thought that the sounds and the images helped us as the viewers to believe we were there with the storyteller as opposed to just reading a story on a website.
I enjoyed the fact that the moving images helped us to understand what the girl was talking about. For example, some of the images made it look as if we were in the jeep with her.
Nothing in the story was really that difficult to understand, although I find it quite hard to get my head around the fact that this is actually targetted at 8yr olds - I thought it would be for older children.
I think the best bit of the story was the fact that because there was little information on each page, it built up suspense as to what was going to happen at the end.
What I did: I looked mainly to the middle of the page, i feel the sound added to the atmosphere the images and texts were trying to create. I was mainly focused on the arrows and then and where they were going to come up.
What i enjoyed: I enjoyed the story because it was like nothing i had seen before, the animation and movement of the piece worked well and some points you actually thought you could be in the story with Alice. i liked the fact it was easy to understand and follow, obviously because this is for children the narrative was easy to read and the images backed up the content well.
What i found difficult: I didn't like how the text moved sometimes you were half way through reading something and it wobbled meaning i had to start reading it again. This would be difficult for an 8 year old (target audience) who isnt a very good reader. i also thought there was a lack of instructions when taking flower pictures and clicking on certain buttons.
What really worked: The layout worked well and the screen wasn't too busy to the watcher could absorb and digest the information well. I think the music worked well as a background sound and the dark images helped create the narratives mood. I really liked the change in layouts,they were quick and snappy and kept the piece entertaining.
Next time: Having watched Episode two, i was ready to be more involved in the piece, clicking alot more icons and reading things slower because i realised i had the time too. I would tell people who want to watch this that they need to keep their eyes on the screen because it is not always indicted that they have to move to another page. also for them to enjoy it!
i found some aspects a bit hard to follow in the way that i wasn't sure what to click say with the flowers and the taking pictures and also the clicking on buttons on the phone to go to areas of the story.
the theme tunes to the location of story was good, but i couldn't help thinking if a 8 year old would be the best audience on terms of how would they know something like this was out their being targeted at them and if they would understand it, im not really too sure on the story and if it really would appeal to someone of 8/10years old.
the method was good and would help an child become confident in using a computer but think it would work better as a program rather than a internet story.
but fun, interesting and different
i didn't feel that this was very challenging for an eight year old. the pictures weren't very eyecatching so it didn't grasp my attention. the sounds were interesting and different and i liked the idea of the car window image where you could see everything passing by.
i liked inanimate alice as it is different i just feel that it could be improved in many ways, one of which would be to make it more eye catching and to grasp the attention of kids. i feel the story is a bit strange and could be a bit more exciting rather than just the idea of looking for someone's dad. kids may be able to relate to this but i feel that they should be have the chance to read more of an eccentric story where it will let there imagination run wild.
Inanimate Alice
What i did?
The story was easy to read and the sounds worked well with the footage. I scanned every page looking for directions onto the next part of the story. Most of the links were easy to locate.
What i enjoyed?
The plot was ambigous and left me wanting more. Also i enjoyed the plausabilty of it.
What i found difficult?
To a degree i found it difficult to know when to take pictures.
What really worked?
The defacating video clips went really well with the text.
CRAIG
I found the experience of watching episode-one to be rather boring. The plot and narrative wasn't very strong I think that a more entertaining story could have been chosen.
When watching the story unfold i did find myself scanning my eyes from left to right, trying to catch all the information available on screen. First of all I would read the text given, then scan all the images and background.
The bit that I enjoyed the most, was that I was able to interact with the website.
Although as mentioned before, not entertaining for me. However I am aware its aimed for children of 8 years old, so perhaps for children of that age, it may be a fun experience to interact with a story being told.
A very interesting and effective way of enhancing and heightening young childrens use of interactive media.
The sound was able to convey the location of the story and also add to their experience of "new media".
What I found most effective was the page when alice is looking out of the window, the moving effects were really interesting.
Although this idea of story reading was interesting, I found some aspects of it disappointing. The sound did not do much to evoke an appropriate atmosphere - it seemed to be there only, to enhance its oriental base. The sound, as well as some of the imagery became annoying after a while - I like the idea of stories inspiring and evoking the imagination and being given sound and imagery with the story, leaves little room for the imagination.
I actually liked the story and how it is written from the child's perspective. The simple, child like dialect that it is written in gives the story an authentic feel.
My understanding of the story is that it's about fear and especially the fear of losing a parent and the way a child might cope with such feelings. Where Alice is listing things she would rather be doing and the things she would like to have, I believe that she is using this device as a distraction from the 'real dilemma'.
Although this was not entertaining for me, certain aspects would definatly make it appropriate for its target audience of 8 year olds. It uses images and sounds combine to engage the audience and it also allows them t interact and follow an adventure story through til the end. Although the sound was annoying after a while it helped to intensify the images, making them seem more real.
At the commencement of each scene, i paid more attention to the writing, before then moving on to look at the images that came alongside them. For the most part i found all of the episode relatively easy to follow, with the exception of not understanding if Alice or myself had to take the photos.
What i found really worked was the combination of the images and sounds together, and how the images would change on the page of Ming's painting.
To begin with, during the first couple of screens, I read the screen from left to right...however at this point there was only text based information on the screen.
However, once the third screen started with the music, I began to view it more like a film.
At certain times, particularly on faster paced screens with different images and text on the screen at the same time, it could appear a little cluttered and difficult to follow.
The novelty of episode one was enjoyable. It offers the audience a new and interactive way of reading a story.
The most difficult part of reading episode one was photographing the flowers. It was not immediately clear what the reader should have been doing at this point in the story.
i really liked the interactive bits, like putting the bike together in episode 2, and the whole game with the russian dolls in episode 3. the music in episode one wasnt too good, but through the episodes it got better. the 2nd episode tended to drag a little bit though, it didnt capture my attention as well as the first, i guess its just a thing you cant really watch more than once
I found the sound quite annoying, it may have been because everyone was listening to the same thing at different times though. I just didn't like it too much.
I found the third episode easier to listen to with the speed of the music making much of the story go at the same pace.
The rest I enjoyed, it was interesting to participate in the story to an extent, especially with taking photographs and other interactive elements. I like how the difficulty of these elements reflect Alice's increasing age throughout the episodes.
I really like the mixture of different media in the stories as well.
Inanimate Alice is a very innovative way of telling as story. When reading the scene i tended to just scan the writing and images. The music was a bit overpowering at times , in some scenes the static sounds was overpowering and i believe the images worked well even without the sound at times.
I enjoyed the interactivity over the 3 series although it was sometimes unclear that you could play the game with alive e.g. taking the pictures of the flowers.
The most difficult part of reading inanimate Alice was the lack of directions in interactivity.For example in series 3 Russia it was unclear at the beginning that i had to collect the dolls , so i missed them in the first 2 scenes, this only came apparent when in scene 4 or 5.
I think the images were very effective the best bit about the story was probably the advancement in media used and interactivity as Alice gets older and it seems as if her technological ability has advanced during her travels. Although her slight obsession with the character she drew in 1-China seems to stay with her throughout.
What I found difficult?
It was difficult to focus on certain parts of the text as they became blurred in parts, I had to re-read some sentences.
It was also difficult to keep my concentration on the text when there are other things going on in the background such as the constant moving images.
The reading of the story also becomes difficult when there are several things on the screen at once. I didn't know what order to read or view the objects.
The backgrounds used in Episode One were quite effective in setting the mood, I felt there was a slight problem with the text, the way it moved caused me to lose focus and trust in the narrative. Had it not been for the colorfulness in the situation of taking pictures of the flowers to the dark road of when they search for his father. Movement seems to be shown as a sinister and worrying time, and when there are no problems, everything is still. Therefore, the movement of the text is made to also represent that there is something wrong, but not with the situation but with the story and narrative itself. The story would be much more effective without the disturbance, although I can see it being used at certain times in the story, but as a start of point raises the issue that the very words we go by in the chapter are not concrete and show a distressed movement. The background works well, the text doesn't, and the contrasts break the illusion and mood to a certain extent.
Thanks to all the MEDS 2007 students taking the time to read Inanimate Alice in the seminar sessions and for contributing your thoughts on the handout and blog. Your honest views are appreciated.
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