Twine. At first, I wasn’t sure what I was missing. I rarely use things and think: This is absolutely useless. After researching Twine on Google and Wikipedia, I came to appreciate the idea of creating a hypertext text. Had I known this before I began, I would have attempted to make my notes a bit more interactive. After messing around with Twine for an hour, I discovered Depression Quest. It is an interactive game about living with depression. The game (?) is text heavy, of course, allows the player to choose the actions that the character takes. It is a computerized choose your own adventure game. Playing this helped me to appreciate Twine a bit more. I realize that I just do not know how to use it (and probably will never take the time to make something as complex as Depression Quest). This of course also led me to Zoe Quinn and #gamergate. Anyway, Twine was fun and interesting after I visited a few Twine games and stories created by professionals. Below is a screenshot of my Twine and the link.



I can see the benefit of Twine as a mind map.  It was referred to as a “hypertext structure” in the description. It allows you to see the nodes and their connections easily. This could be beneficial for students in regards to helping them visualize connections. Twine allowed me to almost cut and paste my notes into the application. I was a bit confused about how to create the links and to set up the order of the Twine, so it would play. After a few tries, I was able to utilize the bracket system to connect a few of the nodes. I still was unable to get it to play through each of the nodes, but they are there. In regards to note taking, I don’t think Twine limited anything for me. Other than the small learning curve, the process was relatively simple. I will say that I got more out of researching Twine than using it. While writing this, I have played Depression Quest, Memorial, and Howling Dogs.  After playing a few games, I would love to see a paper written on Twine. It would be awesome. After reading this, I am realign thinking of changing my project for this class to a Twine paper. I imagine student using the hypertext to link readers to asides, citations, or whatever. If Twine can be used for Storyboarding then it can certainly be used for an essay.

One issue I had with Twine was the archiving. The Twines are not saved online, so I had to download a html version of the Twine. It says that I can upload this file to pick up where I left off. This was problematic to me. It also made me wonder if sharing and collaboration possibilities would be limited. I also noticed that there is a version to download. Having the physical application probably makes saving, sharing, and collaborating much easier than using the web-based version.

I cannot attach the html file, but here is what it looks like when it is opened:

learners
bring knowledge and experience with them to the classroom. Their
everyday experiences or “[[Lifeworld]]” comes with them to class.
The lifeworld includes the things that one knows through living; it is
unconscious learning. Education’s goal and challenge is “to engage
with and extend learners’ lifeworld experiences” (138).There are three dimensions to lifeworld difference: material, corporeal, and symbolic. [[Lifeworld]] difference: Material [[dimension]] refer to “differences of social class, geographical locale and family,” corporeal dimension to “[[differences]] of age, race, sex and sexuality, and physical and mental capabilities,” symbolic refers to differences “of culture or ethnicity, language, gender, affinity and persona” (139). The
text provides a [[historical]] overview of how these dimensions have
been treated in the modern past, recent times, and potential future of
New Learning. This historical overview highlights the ways in which each
time period dealt with differences.The
modern past started with exclusion and pushed for assimilation. People
in this area lacked access to resources or were placed in separate
institutions. If they gained access, they were expected to assimilate to
the ideas/norms of the majority. [[historical 2]]In
recent times, there was a move towards recognizing difference.
Differences were recognized, but there was no action taken to
“redress” these differences. [[historical 3]]New
Learning moves further by “developing strategies for inclusion in
which corporeal differences do not create disadvantage” (183).
Inclusion is favored for its ability to utilize differences to make
things more productive.

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