The Economics of Attention
After reading Lanham’s “What’s Next for Text?,” chapter 3, The Economics of Attention, I’d like you to prepare a lesson plan (approximately 900 words) on how you might present this reading to a group of undergraduates at the University of Illinois. What points would you cover? What would you do to get their attention?
For my class, I would focus on discussion and activities in order to keep the attention of the students. That way they would be interacting with each other, instead of just listening to a boring lecture. For the first activity, I would have the students try to come up with their own shape poem. That way, they could understand both the difficulties and fun in it. We could discuss how even though it’s still print, and not digital, that it still leaves the reader with a connection between image and words. I’ll then have them jot down their same poem about an object just as a regular poem and not in a shape. Then we would discuss why the shape is more appealing and what we lose from just the words without the shape.
The second activity would be to compare a few different texts and discuss why and how each work so differently. I would pass out a legal document, a magazine article, and a poem. I would like the students to note how legal print is very small and single spaced, while magazine articles use pictures, and poetry can be appealing because it’s shorter, and has a bit of form to it. A poem can be harder to understand than a legal document, but we would rather read it because it’s shorter, more visually appealing, and it just sounds “pretty.” And magazines are so appealing because pictures are used to visually represent the text in the article, making the text easier to understand.
My last activity would be for the students to write a short paragraph about whatever they wanted and to represent in two different ways. First, they would just type it on word and make it very plain and simple (flat). Then, the students could use any digital tool they preferred, such as photoshop, to enhance their text and make it more visually appealing. They could even add images if they would like. Then they would discuss how each one works in its own different way. I think these activities and discussions would be the most helpful way of demonstrating how text and image connect…or don’t.
I would begin the lesson with a bit of background on what we are going to discuss. A bit of history about the written word and also some of the different forms of writing this article discusses. I would like to bring in some ideas about oral dictation as well to show how, and why, that evolved into the manner of writing we now have. I would ask them if they had any examples of unique kinds of writing, if they knew of any shape poems or could think of an advertisement that had something similar to the elevator presentation where the progression of boxes shows not only a continuity of the words, but also a progression of an elevator moving through the shaft, as well as the doors opening and closing at the different levels. I would have a handout prepared with some examples of shape poems that I would give to the class so they can view some different types of shape poems and see how they can be used to create different images in different ways, and also notice how the words interact with the shape, adding to the power of the poem.
As well as demonstrating how the shape poems have changed over time where such poems as those written “by the Greek poet Simias of Rhodes, who flourished about 300 B.C.” (pg 84) had to be read in a certain manner. In his shape poems, “you must read first the top line, then the last, then next-to-top, then next-to-last, and so on” (pg. 84). This is in contrast to other shape poems demonstrated through the article where the lines imply read from top to bottom, progressing through the shape. I would then have a discussion with them attempting to discuss the pros and cons of these two methods of composing the shape poems. Is it better to write top to bottom, or better to make it different and write it in the older fashion? I would force them to find some positives and negatives of each style, which I would then put up on the board so they could see the fruits of their labor.
Next, I would like to have them attempt to create their own shape poem. We would go over the different ways of writing one of these. Perhaps coming up with an object they would like to write a poem about first or, writing a poem and then picking an object that fits that poem. This would likely take up a great deal of time and I would ask them to work on it for the rest of the period and then finish whatever they didn’t at home because we would share a few in class the next day. I would go around assisting, giving ideas about what they might want to work on for the duration of the class. But, at the same time not giving too much help because I want this to be their own, unique idea. And, ideally, I would like it to be about something that actually matters to them. For instance, if one kid was the high school quarterback, but secretly played the trombone at home, I would love to see something about that. I want this to not only be a lesson about poetry and the progression of writing, but also a way for me to learn a little more about the students and for them to learn a little more about themselves.
The next class would focus on another interesting aspect of the article. But before we got to that I would ask for some volunteers to share their poems, both in reading it and allowing us to see the visual nature they chose to use. After sharing a few poems I would have a bit of a debriefing about the assignment, asking about the way they wrote the poems, if they chose the object or wrote the poem first. I would also ask if any of them did the poem on the computer, using a program that could evenly space the words throughout a given shape since I did not say anything about the poem needing to be handwritten.
We would then segue into the next idea I wanted to discuss about the article. The method of writing that people used a long time ago to write where there were no spaces and no punctuation is intriguing and I would like to see what they think of it so I would pass out a handout that has three different examples of writing in that style. I would number the class off and ask them to form groups where they would then read one of the three pieces and attempt to figure it out. After giving them some time to understand the poem, I would ask them to come up with a way of performing it for the class since that was how these were meant to be used, as a performance. This could either be a group presentation, or they could pick a representative to perform. After each group performs I would ask the students what they thought about this type of writing and how much more difficult they felt it was to read. Were there any specific obstacles or was everything just pretty tough? As well, do they think it would be harder not only as a reader, but as a writer to compose something like this? This should bring us to the end of class and I would wish them a happy weekend and say goodbye.
I would start out my class with a brief quick write on what is typography? And based on the students responses they would provide some examples from their personal definitions. This would hopefully allow the students to start thinking about the topic before we dive directly into the text. After the students come up with their definitions. I would have them share with the class, along with their example. After each student goes, I will give my definition of typography (from the article) and come up with some new examples. After the students have a broader idea of the topic I will proceed in explaining the history behind typography. And why text, in many points in history, can be considered an art form.
Assuming the students have not read the article, I would show some examples from the book and from the web. After the students fully understand the idea of typography, I would have them select a quote from their favorite movie and try to compile it in an interesting way. I would encourage that their design, or layout of text directly relate to their quote. I would put emphasis on the display of meaning through both text and shape. I would show them John Hollander, “Idea:Old Mazda Lamp” (pg 85)
After the students have put some time into creating their own form of typography, I would bring their attention back, and ask how difficult was the process of converging text and form. Was it worth it? Could you find any use for this in modern day?
I would explain to them that the way things are presented are a very effective tool in which concepts can be communicated. I would then show many different advertisements and t.v. commercials that successfully use the idea of kinetic typography. I would try and show as many youtube clips of this as I could.
After the student witness how typography is used today, hopefully they will grasp a better understanding of the past and the future of typography.
Teaching a class for undergraduates is much different that teaching a class for middle schoolers. I think our attention spans are much shorter. We are always sleep deprived, and more often times than not, people will not come to class if attendance is not required unless it is an extremely fun and enjoyable class. To get their attention, I might start off with a YouTube clip of some sort of a commercial I thought was interesting – one that utilized text. It seems that a lot of teachers like to use YouTube or video clips in class because it’s fun and interesting (I’ve had several professors utilize this). I would then ask the students to hold on to that thought (the commercial) while we discuss some of the things in the article. I will also tell them that they have an inclass activity that they will have to turn in for participation (this is to ensure people pay attention, I’ve had many professors use this tactic).
The main point of the article centers on the relationship between text and the visual representation of text – that’s what I would center my discussion on. To begin, I would ask students this: “What does a poem look like? Or what does a book look like?” Then, I would ask, “Should a poem or book look a certain way? What if it was different?” After discussing those questions, I would bring in a few examples of different types of written word – poems, excerpts from books, legal documents, magazines, advertisements, etc. Then with the class, I would explore the different types of form text can take on within those categories. For example, we can look at shape poems, 3D books, and advertisements that utilize whitespace. Then I would ask the students if they still thought a poem or a book should look a certain way – and if they could, what they would make a poem or book look like.
When reading the article, the poet E.E. Cummings came into mind. Reading his poetry is quite difficult because he often doesn’t have punctuation and does not capitalize, making it hard for one to know when a sentence begins and one ends. For an activity, I would bring in several of his poems and give each student a poem (but at least 2-3 students will have the same poem). I would then ask each student to mark up where they thought each sentence began and ended; essentially, they would note how they would read the poems. Afterwards, students who had the same poem would get into groups and discuss how and why they noted the poem a certain way.
I would also like to try an activity that is similar to what we did with the Photoshop movie posters. I would give the students a piece of text and have them mold it/shape it the way they wanted to convey the text’s meaning. Then, each student would submit their work to a gallery (much like the one we use in class) and I would have students comment on each piece of work with their thoughts. Afterwards, we would discuss what people made and wrote, and how the relationship between the text and visual representation of the text worked in each piece.
Before class ends, I would ask them to revisit the commercial. Now that they have learned about the relationship between text and the visual component, I want to know what they thought about the commercial and jot their thoughts down. They would then turn in these comments into me at the end of class for participation points.
After reading the Economics of Attention, I learned that the preference between digital and print is very enlightening. One would think that most people would prefer new styles of writing as a way to present information but in fact there is a majority of people prefer either one. As such for my class presentation, I am going to introduce 3 different theories/concepts that I gathered from the reading and present them each in a different way to see which catches the students’ attention. The first plan is through a discussion and an in-class discussion; the second is a magazine/photoshop project and lastly is an internet/newspaper workshop.
My first plan was to initiate a discussion forum regarding the advantages and disadvantages between print and digital. For instance, in today’s society the world runs on mostly digital appliances because technology is progressing towards improved inventions. As such, I would have the discussion first to get an understanding of which students prefer to use print over digital and vice o versa. Once I have the student’s preferences I would split them up into two groups. The first group would be for the digital people and the second for the people who prefer print. Next I would assign the first group 15 minutes to write a short synopsis in print explaining how print could be more beneficial than digital. I would then give the second group 20 minutes to do the opposite. The only catch is that the first group must write theirs by hand whereas the second group must use a computer. I chose to reverse the roles of the groups because it would stimulate the students to try and gain a further appreciation for both skills rather than just their preference. It also allows them to clarify (if needed) why they chose their preference. It also gives each respective group the knowledge to see which option stimulates the mind’s creative usefulness. Through this method the students will see the effectiveness of the opposite writing style, hopefully allowing them to gain an appreciation for both styles rather than a predetermined bias for their preference.
The next project I would assign for my students would be a take home project. I would ask the students who chose print as their preference to make a collage using various magazines. I would allow them to use any magazine of their preference but I would ask them to write a short poem of how their pictures relate to each other. However, there is a catch, I would have the students create a poem but it would have to be in a different format than a traditional style. For instance, if their poem was about sports it could be in the shape of a football or basketball, etc. By doing it this way, I believe this assignment will give the group the opportunity to express their creative ways and still remain a fun assignment.
On the other hand, I would have the other group do a photoshop assignment similar to the one we did in class. Yet, this one would have a different objective. For their assignment I want the students to express their thoughts solely through images. There can be no text in their project since they rely on the digital preference that society has inspired. They will still be required to make a collage but instead their goal will be to explain the meaning images intentionally produce without the requirement of text. I think this will be a motivating assignment because it removes the task of thinking through text and replaces it with visualization through images. As a result, each group will have a distinct advantage over the other unlike in the first plan where I put them at a disadvantage intentionally.
My last idea was to have a newspaper/internet workshop. For this assignment I would supply the class with a copy of the Daily Illini. I would see who reads this paper daily or if ever. From this decision I would separate the students into 3 groups, those who read the DI, those who would rather use the Internet regularly and those who use neither.
For the first group I would ask them why they read the DI and when did they start reading it? Through this, I will hopefully get the students to identify why they choose print over the Internet. There are many possibilities for their preference whether it be the easy availability or simply because they can read it wherever they are without the necessity of an Internet connection.
For the second group I would ask them to elaborate on why they use the Internet rather than a newspaper. The paper has been around for centuries and was the central component for people to learn about world events. However, with the change in society and technology people rely on the Internet because it is faster, allows for more consistent updates and doesn’t require the small price of carrying a newspaper. As such, hopefully from this group I will gain the students insight on their preference choice as well as a possible debate between them and the first group.
For the final group I would ask them to collectively write a summary of why they don’t use either a newspaper or Internet and how they get their news? I think this group might provide an interesting mix of answers because they are not grounded by societies biases and technologies cramps. They are free to deliver answers based on their own preferences. Ultimately, this group would have to explain how their style is still productive even though it lacks the necessary tools that make finding information such an easy task.
Prior to the first lesson day, students will be assigned “Chapter 3: {What’s Next for Text?}” by Richard Lanham. Copies of the reading will be provided to all students as well as posted on the class web site for those students that are not present in class. While being assigned the reading, students will be asked to pay close attention to the different forms of visual writing representation. They will be encouraged to jot down some ideas and highlight/underline the reading.
On the first day of the lesson, students will be paired into small groups (of three or four) and will be given about five to ten minutes to discuss the reading with group members. Towards the end of the allotted discussion time, students will be asked to begin making a list with their group members of different ways in which writing can be represented.
Students will be brought together and asked to share what they came up with in a larger group. The reading introduces and often gives examples of many different methods in which to present writing. As students volunteer to share what they came up with, the answers will be written on the white board. Some examples of ways in which to present writing that I came up with from the reading are visual puns, shape poems, dimensional typography, animated letters, billboards/signs, voice and gestures, scriptio continua, performance, hieroglyphics, and cuneiform. Once students have come up with a definitive list on the white board, more examples can be added to give students more choices.
Next, a project assignment will be introduced to the class. After distributing a handout with instructions, the instructions will be read aloud and explained. Students will have the option of working independently on the project or working in small groups (of no more than three) to complete the project. Students must chose one method of representing writing that is introduced and discussed in the Lanham reading. Some methods, such as animated letters, visual puns, and shape poetry, will not require students to work in groups. Other methods, such as performance and voice/gestures, may call for students to work in small groups. Students must use their chosen writing method to present the reading to the rest of the class. For example, one student may chose to do a shape poem. He could write a poem with a summarization of the reading and shape it in the form of the letter “W” for “writing.” Another student may chose to pair up with a classmate and put on a performance for the class involving a summarization of the reading.
Another aspect of this project is to write a brief essay (about one page) talking about why specific words, images, and sounds are used. The reading talks about determining the significance of the writing presentation and determining when to use what words, images, and sounds. It is important for students to take time to reflect on their process and determine what the strengths and weaknesses are of the method of writing representation they chose to use.
Students will be allotted the rest of the class period to begin working on their chosen method of writing representation. All other work must be done out of class. Students in groups will be encouraged to meet at campus libraries or other places to complete projects. They should also be reminded to exchange contact information before the end of the class period. The project will be due one or two weeks after it has been assigned.
The next class, students will be asked to briefly explain what they are planning with their projects. This will be a good way to see if there is a particular form of writing representation that is being used more than the others. If there is a form of writing representation that is being neglected, it would be helpful to talk about it more during class time. When discussing methods of writing representation that have not been incorporated into any group projects, the pictures within the reading will be referred to as well as additional examples will be brought into the lesson. The lesson will be interrupted several times to ask if there are any questions. Any concepts that need clarification will be covered more thoroughly so that all questions are answered as best as possible.
On presentation day (determined to be one to two weeks after the date in which the project is assigned), students will be given two to five minutes to present their projects. After presenting their projects, students will be asked to give a brief summary of their reflection essays. The floor will be open to classmate commentary following each presentation. Before the end of the class period, students will also be asked to turn in their reflection essays.
Students will be graded with a combination of their work on their project as well as their reflective essay. The reflective essay will need make an effective effort at explaining the thought process of the student, as well as incorporating specific passages and examples from the reading. Quotes will be particularly helpful in portraying the thought processes of the student.
The main goals of my lesson plans would be to help my students make sense of this article and discuss its implications. I would like to focus on the affects of print vs. digital and how the world is responding to the responses. The reading would have been assigned for homework and I would have advised students to make notes in the margins to discuss in class. I would break the students in groups of five students each and have them discuss the reading and what it meant to them. I would tell them to be subjective in the discussion and to add personal experiences about how they felt about the reading. I would also encourage them to ask one another questions so we can begin to think about how others interpret ideas and thoughts. This will set up our discussion of interpretation and its significance. This way, students who may have gotten a different view of the reading or did not complete the reading would have a general understanding of it and could contribute in the larger group discussion.
After this, I would pass out different examples of textual representations, such as a cereal box, a handwritten letter, a television logo, and the homepage of a website printed out. I will give each object to a different group and ask them to write down some thoughts about what this object or picture means. I would then pose other questions on the board for the students to consider like, “What would change the intent of the object or picture?” “Do you think your assumptions about the objects are what they intended?” “What could make it better in your mind?” After about 10 minutes of group discussion, I would ask the group to present their object or picture and explain these three questions to the rest of the class. I think this would be a great way to explore the text in a tangible and engaging way.
After exploring the text, I would point my students to page 107 in the Langan article. I would note the idea of gestures and engage the class in a discussion about how some gestures are universal and others are often misrepresented not only by cultural boundaries, but also on a daily basis. I would ask the class for some examples of gestures that are both universal and cultural and then connect it back to the text. How can we accurately represent our feelings within print and digital texts? I would note the importance of font and spacing from our earlier activity with the objects. In our world of media and television, written word and visuals are open to much more interpretation. There is so much creativity beyond sentences and letters and words can be just as effective when placed in different ways. I would ask the class about their favorite representations from the article and ask them why these things are effective as representations.
I would then pass out an assignment for the next class. This assignment would involve creating two pieces, one print and the other digital. I would like the students to write a paragraph about something significant in their lives and then represent it in both print and digitally. I would encourage creativity and to try new things with this assignment. This is a foreign concept for students who only have experience writing down their thoughts and messages. I would say that they will be graded on completion and to have fun with the assignment. I would not want this assignment to be a burden, but rather a learning and thinking experience about digital and print text. I would encourage students to use a template from the article as their basis or to try something completely new. Some students are always going to be more creative than others and I would invite the students who do not normally take risks to do so with this assignment. I would want them to play with punctuation and words in a way that defies a certain genre. I would ask the students to then write a reflection piece on how the aspects of each work capture the essence of the event. “Did you have to do something different in the digital piece than the print?” “Which was easier for you and why?” I would give the students the rest of the time to begin thinking about their assignment and highlighting quotes that would be relevant to their project. I would also have a model of one of my previous students or my own work to show the project and to encourage the students that this project is doable.
For my class I would try to base the introduction of the text around interactive activities where all the students must interact with each other. I would start with small groups, perhaps of 3-4 students, and then have the groups come together for a class discussion involving the entire class.
I would give each group of students a word, such as acrostics, telestics, intexus/intertext, anaphora, epanaphora, or chiasmus, and have them look it up. (I am working under the assumption that it is a class like ours, in a computer lab. If not, I would simply give them the definitions) I would ask each group to come up with an example of each word, and after a few minutes have them read it to class out loud. Then I would have everyone try to find connections, links between the words, pairings.
This would introduce the main idea of the article, that words and typography are more than just invisible mediums to facilitate meaning or ideas, that they can be communicative based on their look movement. I would then have the students read the article for the next class, paying special attention to the plethora of sources Lanham quotes. I would ask each student to look up one of the books Lanham uses as one of his examples and do a little research on it. A short description of the book would be turned in for the following class. Also, I would have each student make a note of where the words I asked them to define in class were in the article, and how Lanham connects and pairs them up.
In the second class period, I would once again split the students up into small groups, and I would have them focus on a specific portion of the article to discuss. Some of the topics would be shape poetry/prose, oration, silent reading, and animated letters from classical and medieval literature. The I would once again have the class reconvene with an entire class discussion relating all of these ideas posed in the article. At the end of the discussion I would pose a question they would have to answer by the next class period: “What do you believe is the ‘best’ way to communicate? (i.e writing, speaking, film)”
By the next class period I would want each student to have answered this question, as well as given examples of why they believe this medium is best. Then in class we will begin working on how each student will be part of a project group (3-4 students assigned by me based on what they believed was the best medium of communication) working on delivering a main point from the article in the medium of their choice.
Each student will need to write a short essay (one page) describing why they chose this medium, and how their work on the project has helped to strengthen or weaken their initial thoughts on the chosen medium.
For extra credit, I would allow the students to come up with a lesson plan on how they themselves would teach the article to a group of undergraduates, with a specific section giving feedback, both positive and negative, on how I myself taught the chapter.
I actually made a lesson plan using a template and I can’t get it to post here, so I’ll just email it to you :S sorry!
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