hyperfiction forum part 1

Mariel Amez – Rosario – Argentina

Literature in English III – 2008

Teacher Education Programme – Final Year

Example of an online class forum

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Hyperfiction Published by Amez, Mariel on 12/09/2008 Message:

Hyperfiction Try some of the links below. Make sure you look for links in all parts of the screen, including images. In some cases there is audio available as well. You can choose whether to read the article "Hyperfiction" by Claudia Ferradas Moi before or after this experience. Then write a paragraph summarising your impressions, and publish it here before October 3rd. Feel free to comment on the comments as well. If you want to look for other examples and share them, it would be most welcome. Hyperfiction links: http://www.ryman-novel.com/ a novel for the Internet about London Underground in seven cars and a crash http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/crazyworld/ crazy world news (from Learn English, British Council) http://eastgate.com/ReadingRoom/WhatFits/WhatFits.htm What Fits by Adrienne Eisen http://www.eastgate.com/LastingImage/Welcome.html Lasting Image by Carolyn Guyer and Michael Joyce http://members.fortunecity.com/phharper/index-frames.htm five|standing (a hypertextual portal to the diverse lives of five linked individuals) http://www.hyperfiction.net/ http://www.thetherapist.com/index.html http://www.eastgate.com/Circa/ Circa by Edward Falco http://scribble.com/world3/meme1/Mola/index.html Mola. Collaborative web project by Carolyn Guyer, Michael Joyce, Nancy Lin, Suze Schweitzer, and Nigel Kerr. 1994-95 Check http://www.eastgate.com/ReadingRoom.html for more examples

RE:Hyperfiction Answered by Traverso, María on 02/10/2008

Message:

Hello girls and Fer! I had a look at three of these hyperfiction links: ryman-novel.com, hyperfiction.net and thetherapist.com. I must say that at first I was quite lost. Then, I started clicking and gradually understanding how hyperfiction works - even though I had read the article on it before accessing the sites. I completely agree with Moi when she says that the reader takes an active part in the





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process of reading, thus, empowering them in the creation of meaning for thet text. Besides, as she also points out, hyperfiction is an excellent tool to achieve more "democracy" in a clasroom - since each student would have read a different "version" ( multiple texts.) Of the three sites I visited the one which I liked most was the ryman-novel about the London underground. It tells you that while you're reading you're going to be like God in that you'll know what the "characters" which are travelling in this train feel and think. That caught my attention and, so, I went on reading. One thing I found rather "frustrating" is the fact that many times you go back to the same lexia. I felt as if I had to start everything again and never reach and end or conclusion. As regards two of the questions posed in the article by Moi, while I was surfing these sites I thought about the real freedom we - the readers- have in order to chose where to go. I believe there is not much in fact- obviously much more than in a traditional book! But we can only chose between a predetermined number of links. Moreover, I don't think hyperfiction is really a democratic form. Still today, not everybody has access to a computer or the internet and, among those who have it, there are many who lack the "know-how." I personally believe that hyperfiction is another way of widening the gap between literate and non-literate people (literate in its new and wider sense) As you may have noticed, I'm always against technology ha.. Hope to read your comments soon. María

RE:Hyperfiction Answered by Amez, Mariel on 03/10/2008

Message:

Really thorough contribution, Maria! You have covered quite a number of issues. I think some of your classmates may choose to express their point of view about your comments, too. As regards this sense of frustration you mention, can you find any point of contact with the features of Postmodernism? Read you soon, Mariel

RE:Hyperfiction Answered by Ramírez, Melina on 03/10/2008

Message:

Hello everyone!! I visited all the sites published in the forum and to tell the truth I was completely lost. I was so engaged that I wanted to visit all the links and click in all parts of the screen but I realized that it will be a never ending story. So, I decided to focus my attention on only three links: http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/crazyworld/. http://www.hyperfiction.net/ http://www.thetherapist.com/index.html I forgot to say that before visiting the sites I read the notes on Hyperfiction by Claudia Ferradas Moi. I had a vague idea of what hyperfiction was but I wanted to check if what I knew was correct. When I visited http://www.thetherapist.com/index.html, which is one of my favourite links it was amazing to see that I had the control to build up my own story, I could jump from one link to another according to my interests. In view of this, I totally agree with what Moi says, that the reader takes an active part in the reading process and as George Meroid points out it is the reader who decides where to go and what to read. After exploring these links I read the questions at the back of Moi's article and I started reflecting upon one of them that reads: Will screens ever replace books?. Unluckily, I think that the answer is yes. Books are being replaced by computers, information is





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available in the web just at a click of a button and as Maria said Internet offers the reader the opportunity to choose where to go and what to read, hyperfiction is a clear example. I really enjoyed visiting these links and I came to the conclusion that I didnt know that hyperfiction worked in this way

RE:Hyperfiction Answered by Centioni, Laura on 03/10/2008

Message:

Hello everybody! I've visited most of the links we have but I focused mostly on those which caught my attention. One of them was hyperfiction.net and the other was ryman-novel.com. As Maria said, at the beginning I was a bit at a loss, so I decided to read the notes and then go back to the sites. Of course after reading the notes, I approached the sites with the different view. In spite of this, I still find this question of hyperfiction a bit disorganized. It's not that I can't see the benefits its has: as it is quoted in Moi's article, the reader helps the author shape the story and the reader never reads the same novel the same way twice and I believe that hyperfiction is a very interesting way of looking at things and of reading and interpreting them but in spite of this, as I said before, I cannot find an organization in the way things are arranged and I am left with a feeling of no finality. That is to say, I think that when we read a book, or any text, in spite of the different interpretations, we all go towards the same direction. By contrast, with hyperfiction we chose which direction to take, and even though I don't see it as something bad, I still don't like it much because of what I said before. See you, Laura

RE:Hyperfiction Answered by Ferranti, María Eugenia on 03/10/2008

Message:

Hello everybody! I agree with Maria since sometimes I am also a bit against technology. It is difficult for me to read long texts from the screen of the computer. Although nowadays I get used to the screen, I really dont like it very much. It was very complicated at the beginning to understand how hyperfiction works, even though before doing the forum, the first thing I did was reading the notes by Claudia Ferrads Moi and then I entered the sites. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this experience as the sites I accessed (www.rymen-novel.com and www.learnenglish.org.uk/crazyworld) were very enriching. I found them very interesting. I also agree with Maria when she stated that it is as if you never reach a conclusion. Even though the sites were well-developed, sometimes I lost the main ideas of the story. For example while I was reading (ryman-novel), I entered into so many different links that I felt a bit lost. I had to start reading again from the beginning of the story and I felt I never reached and end. Besides, I was left with a feeling of incompleteness. Perhaps I had this difficulty because I am used to reading books in a linear sequence (I mean, without having to read from different places). In addition, I dont like the way in which George Merlod defined HYPERFICTION since the reader never read the same story the same way. Although I love to find different interpretations to the same story, I like to read it in a linear way and then try to analyze it. On the other hand, I completely agree with Claudia Ferrads Moi when she stated that hypertext can be considered a threat to the power of the book and he publishing industry. I hope hyperfiction continue to develop but without taking over books, which are in my opinion highly valuable tools. See you in class Mariu





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File Attachment: lit-hyperfiction.doc (25.5 kb.)

RE:Hyperfiction Answered by Tournier, María Eugenia on 03/10/2008

Message:

Hello! Firstly, I read the notes on hyperfiction by Claudia Ferradas Moi. Then, as the girls mentioned, at the beginning I was at a lost. After visiting all the sites Mariel gave us and clicking in every part of the screen, I found out that, in my opinion, the most interesting sites concerning hyperfiction were: http://www.eastgate.com/LastingImage/Welcome.html http://www.thetherapist.com/index.html As regards the first one, for me it was interesting because I could find different categories such as hypertext, tool, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, books, etc. This was guided for me to search for information. The site was very well organized! As regards the second site, for me it was amazing. Not only the picture of the man on the left but also the boxes in which by clicking you could enter randomly to different stories. Whats more, it was important to give the reader different options to take a look at the contents. To tell you the truth, at the beginning I thought it was going to be a bit boring for me to access the different sites because I prefer to do "active" exercises and not just sit in front of the computer and click in different places, but I really enjoyed it. It was very interesting not only to read the notes but also to visit the sites.


Message:

Loss seems to be the keyword so far... As regards "the reader never reads the same story the same way", how far do you think this is also true of books? Be careful with www.eastgate.com. The "text" is what you see on the screen with a full link, such as http://eastgate.com/ReadingRoom/WhatFits/WhatFits.htm . The inks on top ( hypertext, tool, fiction, non-fiction, poetry, books, which Ma Eugenia T. mentions) correspond to the site, which includes many different aspects, among them, examples of hyperfiction. A question: Melina & Ma Eugenia F. were you actually able to see www.learnenglish.org.uk/crazyworld? I can't.

RE:Hyperfiction Answered by Chiesa, Laura on 03/10/2008

Message:

Hello everyone! What a difficult task! (I wanted to avoid the use of "I was at a loss") The notes proved to be challenging but clear, I really liked them a lot. As the girls, I first read the notes by Ferradas Moi, just in case. As María mentioned above, the site "ryman-novel" about London underground is a clear example that the reader is the one who puts the different components of a story in





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order and in that s/he makes sense of what s/he is reading. It is a very interesting way of approaching information. As regards Mariel's question, I couldn't agree more with "the reader never reads the same story the same way" When I read this, I remembered "The Turn of the Screw", for example. There we have a very clear example of how a text leads to different interpretations and, according to the viewpoint we choose, we can say that if we take Borges's idea of the "forking paths" the text is different, is a new text, for every reader. The same is true of books that we read as children and we re-read as adolescents and grown ups. Don't you have the feeling that you're reading a new book? By reading Claudia Ferradas Moi, I also related the theory with books I used to read as a child, called "Elige tu propia aventura" These books may be rather silly right now, but I think they follow the basic idea behind links, for example. And when I entered thetherapist.com, I saw that that site works in a very similar way, giving the reader choices as regards what to read next. I have never entered this site and I really liked it. As regards the questions in Moi's text, the one that stuck in my mind was "Will screens ever replace books?" I hope not! As Maria Eugenia F said, it is not the same to read a book than to read from the screen. Reading from the PC makes me feel terribly exhausted and it gives me a headache. Reading a book, on the other hand, is a very relaxing experience which helps me in various ways, among them, it helps me to fall asleep (no kidding, it's great!). I think that both kinds of reading can be considered proper reading but I prefer reading books. I don't know if these answers are ok, I hope they are! Have a nice weekend, everyone. See you on Monday. Yours, Laura

RE:Hyperfiction Answered by Ramírez, Melina on 03/10/2008

Message:

Yes, I was able to see the link. It says the following: "·The page you have asked for may have moved. Find it on our new site Our site has moved to: www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish

RE:Hyperfiction Answered by Roche, Cristina on 03/10/2008

Message:

It's impossible not to be lost!!!! So many links... it's never ending. Well, in the notes of Hyperfiction it is mentioned that the reader is the one who decides where to go and when to put an end to the story. I've vistited four sites http://www.ryman-novel.com/ , http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/crazyworld/, http://eastgate.com/ReadingRoom/WhatFits/WhatFits.htm and http://www.thetherapist.com/index.html. In the first one, I got lost and I coulnd't follow the story, and on top, the author did not reeveal the end of it! I was rather frsutrated at the end (answering one of the questions





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from the notes on "Hyperfiction") ... The site I liked most is the second one, it's very interesting for teachers of English since there are many useful tools and resources for teaching Though, as C. F. Moi said, "hyperfiction is a temptation to explore", I completely agree with the girls who said that books should not be replaced!


Message:

Melina and Cristina (and everyone else): What you find when it says Our site has moved to:www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish is a great site for teachers (I thought you knew it), but the hyperfiction Crazy World is not available there (or anywhere). That was a story about a spaceship, and some aliens, and stuff of the sort. Best, M.