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19 December 2007
11 December 2007
critical thinking
I found Halpern's idea that critical thinking is "used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed" to be related to my experience writing my hypertext essay. While making my hypertext, I not only had to review the information I read, analyze it and organize it into a cohesive essay, but I had to plan how to spread this essay across multiple web pages. I found this a little challenging at first but by planning and directing my ideas towards my goal, a series of webpages, i was able to create my hypertext. I had to think critically about how to lay out and organize my hypertext before I began writing, which I actually found made writing my paper more easy than the way I would traditionally write a research paper. I also used this concept to predict whether my site would be a successful site for the reader and if it would promote interest.
Moore and Parker's definition of critical thinking, "careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment", related to the topic of my hypertext. While researching and writing my essay I had to be careful not to include my own opinions of whether or not I felt prostitution was right. It was difficult to set aside my judgments and opinions when writing but I realized that I had to in order to effectively analyze the topic. I found at some points that my opinion was beneficial to my writing, however, for the most part I had to set aside my own views.
I related to Kurland's definition of critical thinking similarly to that of Moore and Parker. With Kurland's definition, I did find myself "following evidence where it lea[d]; considering all possibilities; relying on reason rather than emotion (...) considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations; [and] weighing the effects of motives and biases". I found all of this necessary in order to effectively create a hypertext essay on prostitution. My topic, prostitution is very controversial, especially considering arguments for and against the legalization of it. I found that I had to set my own judgments aside and "consider all possibilities" as well as "rely on reason rather than emotion". I also examined "the effects of motives and biases" and because I remained so openminded, my opinions on some aspects of prostitution did change, however, I did not include my opinions in my paper. I found the part of the definition "being precise" as related to my organization of my hypertext.
Moore and Parker's definition of critical thinking, "careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment", related to the topic of my hypertext. While researching and writing my essay I had to be careful not to include my own opinions of whether or not I felt prostitution was right. It was difficult to set aside my judgments and opinions when writing but I realized that I had to in order to effectively analyze the topic. I found at some points that my opinion was beneficial to my writing, however, for the most part I had to set aside my own views.
I related to Kurland's definition of critical thinking similarly to that of Moore and Parker. With Kurland's definition, I did find myself "following evidence where it lea[d]; considering all possibilities; relying on reason rather than emotion (...) considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations; [and] weighing the effects of motives and biases". I found all of this necessary in order to effectively create a hypertext essay on prostitution. My topic, prostitution is very controversial, especially considering arguments for and against the legalization of it. I found that I had to set my own judgments aside and "consider all possibilities" as well as "rely on reason rather than emotion". I also examined "the effects of motives and biases" and because I remained so openminded, my opinions on some aspects of prostitution did change, however, I did not include my opinions in my paper. I found the part of the definition "being precise" as related to my organization of my hypertext.
07 December 2007
Learning Essay
Since the printable version came after the creation of the second draft of the hypertext, creating the printable version was a relatively smooth process. Once I had most of my hypertext in a linear version with added detail and analysis, it was extremely useful to go back and touch up on the hypertext itself. I found that by creating the printable version I came up with a large amount of useful material for extra hyperlinks and pages that weren’t initially there.
Composing a hypertext is a great way to think critically about the topics we chose. First of all, the format of a hypertext allows you to run with your ideas in any direction since the information doesn’t need to flow in a linear manner. It was a huge relief to get away from the traditional five paragraph essay format because it allowed me to break some of the habits that had formed from always using a linear style of writing. I think that this was one of the most important things that I learned in this class.
Composing a hypertext also taught me a lot about my need for improvement in the area of artistic composition. Since the hypertexts can be wrapped around images along with interesting facts about the issue etc., it was necessary to learn how to make the site interesting while keeping the readers attention on the important content.
My site has the potential to reach many different types of people. The focus is somewhat informative yet it has a lot of interesting information on things that I feel need to be changed. I do not feel like this is a site that would be particular interesting to drug dealers because I did not focus on how they should get out of their bind. There is always a demand for drugs and when there is such a strong demand, there will be suppliers. I feel that one of the main issues of solving this problem is helping people get out of their addictive cycles. We need to find ways to decrease the demand for harmful drugs. People who are interested in finding ways out of addiction may find some useful information in my hypertext.
I highlighted a number of goals half-way through the quarter which I felt were important to achieve. As mentioned earlier, composition was one of my main focuses. Although it is very important to make the site interesting, I found that by keeping the design relatively simple, the site was more effective in keeping the readers interested. If I went too far with the design, it almost seemed distracting. Another goal that I wanted to focus on was adding more links within my text and that is a process that I am still involved in. I want to make sure that the reader feels like they are going somewhere and by using both a navigation bar and links it allows the reader to have many options in terms of direction.
The blogging on Google were helpful because they allowed me to see other student’s opinions with even more detail than some of the class discussions. If there was one thing I could do over again, it would be to use the blogs to my advantage even more.
26 November 2007
critical thinking
1."Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making a decision. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome." Halpern, Diane F. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Thinking. 1996.
2.Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible." Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)
3."Critical thinking includes the ability to respond to material by distinguishing between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences, inductive and deductive arguments, and the objective and subjective. It also includes the ability to generate questions, construct, and recognize the structure of arguments, and adequately support arguments; define, analyze, and devise solutions for problems and issues; sort, organize, classify, correlate, and analyze materials and data; integrate information and see relationships; evaluate information, materials, and data by drawing inferences, arriving at reasonable and informed conclusions, applying understanding and knowledge to new and different problems, developing rational and reasonable interpretations, suspending beliefs and remaining open to new information, methods, cultural systems, values and beliefs and by assimilating information." MCC General Education Initiatives
These three quotes describe the process I have gone through so far in designing my hypertext. Initially, I had to use a great deal of judgement about the sources I was finding and whether or not they could help me. I found out there is a lot of useless information out there, and finding legitimate resources is a long process. Then, once I did find some useful information, I had to think about how I could present it in the most effective manner. The advangtage of a hypertext is that they are much more engaging than formal essays, and I needed to decide how I was going to use this advantage. Also, a lot of information I had, while on the same topic, conflicted in some manner. To get past these problems, I had to think critically about what information would benefit my site the most, and then use that source rather than cause confusion with two.
Writing this hypertext has been different from any other essay I've worked on mostly because hypertext flow is much more liberated than that of an ordinary essay. Instead of hitting point after point as I would typically writing an essay, with hypertext I found that I was all over the place working on one section followed by a totally different aspect on another section. A regular essay also doesn't have the intricate design and aesthetic work associated with it obviously.
2.Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible." Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)
3."Critical thinking includes the ability to respond to material by distinguishing between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences, inductive and deductive arguments, and the objective and subjective. It also includes the ability to generate questions, construct, and recognize the structure of arguments, and adequately support arguments; define, analyze, and devise solutions for problems and issues; sort, organize, classify, correlate, and analyze materials and data; integrate information and see relationships; evaluate information, materials, and data by drawing inferences, arriving at reasonable and informed conclusions, applying understanding and knowledge to new and different problems, developing rational and reasonable interpretations, suspending beliefs and remaining open to new information, methods, cultural systems, values and beliefs and by assimilating information." MCC General Education Initiatives
These three quotes describe the process I have gone through so far in designing my hypertext. Initially, I had to use a great deal of judgement about the sources I was finding and whether or not they could help me. I found out there is a lot of useless information out there, and finding legitimate resources is a long process. Then, once I did find some useful information, I had to think about how I could present it in the most effective manner. The advangtage of a hypertext is that they are much more engaging than formal essays, and I needed to decide how I was going to use this advantage. Also, a lot of information I had, while on the same topic, conflicted in some manner. To get past these problems, I had to think critically about what information would benefit my site the most, and then use that source rather than cause confusion with two.
Writing this hypertext has been different from any other essay I've worked on mostly because hypertext flow is much more liberated than that of an ordinary essay. Instead of hitting point after point as I would typically writing an essay, with hypertext I found that I was all over the place working on one section followed by a totally different aspect on another section. A regular essay also doesn't have the intricate design and aesthetic work associated with it obviously.
14 November 2007
Critical Thinking of Travis Lee
All along our scholarly career, we are on the constant journey to find the “right answer”. In essays, we are looking for the right response and the right formula of sources and examples. Even though some teachers encourage students that there is no “right answer” answer in some cases, we still look. The engineering side of me agrees with Halpren when she says that critical thinking is ‘the use of those skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome.’ I am constantly acquiring new skills and problem solving abilities in my studies of math, physics, and other sciences. I use these skills to solve new, harder problems. In my hypertext, I am acquiring many new skills and I use them to try and solve things to a standard.
In research for the hypertext, you have to do a lot of “judgment” on the scholar or author’s writing. You can’t take every piece of evidence or opinion as the Word of God. Moore and Parker illustrate that in their definition of critical thinking as the “determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment.’
Putting both these definitions, Lindzey, Hall, and Thompson define critical thinking as the ‘examination and testifying of suggested solutions to see whether they will work.’ In the formulation of the hypertext, I have to go over pages time and time again to see whether the pictures/text are relevant or whether the format of the page works for future viewers. It’s a guess-and-check process that I use to find Halpren’s ‘probability of a desirable outcome.’
In research for the hypertext, you have to do a lot of “judgment” on the scholar or author’s writing. You can’t take every piece of evidence or opinion as the Word of God. Moore and Parker illustrate that in their definition of critical thinking as the “determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment.’
Putting both these definitions, Lindzey, Hall, and Thompson define critical thinking as the ‘examination and testifying of suggested solutions to see whether they will work.’ In the formulation of the hypertext, I have to go over pages time and time again to see whether the pictures/text are relevant or whether the format of the page works for future viewers. It’s a guess-and-check process that I use to find Halpren’s ‘probability of a desirable outcome.’
Critcal Thinking
Critical thinking, that is a headache within itself. For me critical thinking is what Ennis said “deciding what to believe or do”. When I write I always write what I feel or in other words what I read and believe in when I read the material, using the skills of reasonably and reflectively, of course. Not only do I put into consideration of what I believe, but thought process of what to do after I have considered reason and reflection that went into it questioning the topic. To consider what I do after understanding what I believe I would turn to Paul, Binker, and Adamson because their definition of critical thinking. In which I would have to go back and read, again, and think of what I thought of the first time to make things a lot more clear, accurate, and less of a judgmental believe. Thinking at the same time as reviewing the work can be fairly hard, but it does make things a lot more definite and understandable. Paul, Binker, and Adamson call it “the art of thinking” and that is a good way to put it because it is. To think critically involves a lot of thinking, as artwork involves a lot of staring and imagination. After I read the article twenty times, I then look for inspiration from Lindzey, Hall, and Thompson. In this case I have to examine what I have re-thought about and see if in the end it will work out as a suggestible solution.
Critically Thinking about Critically Thinking
Out of all the definitions I really took in 4 that seemed to sum up the experience of writing a hyper text. I probably wouldn't have been able to critically think about all the various elements of writing a hyper text if it wasn't for the persistent teaching. Because we were encouraged to think of the audience while we developed our sites we followed Ennis's definition of critical thinking as, "Reasonably and reflectively deciding what to believe or do." We've constantly been pushed to think of an A.D.D. reader by using Dang's knowledge of internet reading. This has given me something to critically think about and has effected the choices I've made about how to construct my hypertext. The MCC General Education Initiatives had a lot to say about critical thinking, but what I pulled from it was to, "devise solutions for problems and issues...sort and organize data...and remain open." These were all elements involved in creating a hypertext. We've really had to look at how to make issues come alive for people who are curious or ignorant. I've had to find more diverse data then any other writing experience that I've had before. Remaining open has also been vital in all situations when working with this new media and many new situations of writing. With Diane Halpem's her definition really emphasizes the point of thinking about actions and how they will effect others. The way we've been taught to write hypertexts is through critically thinking about what choices our readers will make and how to best reach them. Each definition can apply it self some way to our hypertext experience. That's a good sign for all of us, not only are we learning how to write with new media we are being encouraged to think critically.
Kurland:
He says, "considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations," is part of critical thinking. This is important for writing in hypertext because getting multiple perspectives is important for creating a complete hypertext essay.
NCTE Committee on Critical Thinking and the Language Arts:
What they say about critical thinking is that it ultimately leads to action. This is what many of our hypertexts are basically about: finding out about the low wage life, and what can be done about it.
Halpern:
She says, "Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome." Writing in hypertext uses this idea. The desirable outcome of a hypertext essay is one that effectively communicates to the viewer what the essay is about. We have studied many strategies for effective ways to communicate in hypertext.
He says, "considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations," is part of critical thinking. This is important for writing in hypertext because getting multiple perspectives is important for creating a complete hypertext essay.
NCTE Committee on Critical Thinking and the Language Arts:
What they say about critical thinking is that it ultimately leads to action. This is what many of our hypertexts are basically about: finding out about the low wage life, and what can be done about it.
Halpern:
She says, "Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome." Writing in hypertext uses this idea. The desirable outcome of a hypertext essay is one that effectively communicates to the viewer what the essay is about. We have studied many strategies for effective ways to communicate in hypertext.
Critical Thinking
When I think of critical thinking, I get the idea of a time to evaluate what has been done, and it is now time to make a firm decision. The NCTE committee believes that judgment is suspended in order for a decision to be made. I also believe that critical thinking involves exploring other options after evaluating the progress made thus far. Like Maiorana says, one must ask more questions and explore new view points. I don't think a project can be completed without stepping back from it, re-evaluating it, and then asking more questions or trying to look for new ways to improve it. When asking yourself questions about a project, you can look for what is wrong or what is ineffective. Then, after asking those questions, you can fix the problems. Like Halpern says, the goal of critical thinking is to use skills which will result in a "desirable outcome." Critical thinking is the use of these skills in order to better the outcome. Like Maiorana says, some of these skills involve asking questions and thinking outside the box. There are so many shapes which a hypertext can take, so it would be a good use of time to explore other options for your hypertext. Since Halpern says you are looking for a desirable outcome, the goal of exploring other options isn't to create the "correct" project, but to create the best project which you can.
Writing about thinking about thinking critically
-Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns. Stahl and Stahl, 1991.
-"Broadly speaking, critical thinking is concerned with reason, intellectual honesty, and open-mindedness, as opposed too emotionalism, intellectual laziness, and closed-mindedness. Thus, critical thinking involves: following evidence where it leads; considering all possibilities; relying on reason rather than emotion; being precise; considering a variety of possible viewpoints and explanations; weighing the effects of motives and biases; being concerned more with finding the truth than with being right; not rejecting unpopular views out of hand; being aware of one's own prejudices and biases, and not allowing them to sway one's judgment."
Kurland, Daniel J. I Know What It Says . . . What does it Mean? 1995.
-Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible."
Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)
In terms of applying my notions towards hypertext creation, I can say honestly that I make the most progress when I constantly evaluate and make more concise, evocative, and straightforward the message behind the hypertext. Stahl and Stahl are absolutely right. Logical and cohesive reasoning powers bring cohesion and fluidity to a web-page. With links sensible and, well, logical, one need never fear that the reader is straying away from the main point or hypothesis. Even if they move out on a tangent, they're always directly or indirectly connected back to the main theme or idea. Kurland brings up an interesting point that I feel is directly applicable to my hypertext page and experience. The idea of open-mindedness as opposed to emotionalism rang the most clearly. With a pre-conceived disposition and mindset, one will stagnate in the constant denial of other ideas and points of view. The last quote about critical thinking I found quite comic yet intrinsically useful and insightful. The "thinking about the thinking to improve your thinking" or whatever just makes sense. The constant re-evaluation and re-assessment of one's own thinking process can only improve one's conceptual capacity and one's ability to recognize the good from the bad in terms of effectiveness, clarity, and other hypertext concerns and issues.
Writing in hypertext is necessarily different than writing a flat essay. My favorite analogy is that of the web. There's a central theme, and branches away that are all interconnected yet still connected to the main theme. Flat essay writing is more of a logical progression centered around a key point. One point leads to another that leads to another and so on. In a hypertext, though, one point can lead to myriad points, each of which could lead to myriad more. The options and ways of imparting information are more numerous and less linear in form. More is left open to the viewer of the web page in terms of their navigation and use of the site. In a linear essay, I guess, the writer is in the driver's seat. In hypertext the opposite is the case, but the creator must make sure that the reader is allowed this freedom of movement and that numerous angles and insights are provided to make his reading of the site worthwhile and mentally expansive.
critical thinking
Hypertext writing is incredibly different from all other types of writing I have ever done. It has challenged me to think in new and different ways. Essentially, it has encouraged me to think more critically about all all aspects of my writing. Those aspects include but are not limited to my intended audience, the purpose of my writing, the effectiveness of my words, the most effective layout etc... The critical thinking I have engaged in to create my hypertext aligns with the definitions of Halpern, Maiorana, and Smith.
Halpern suggests that critical thinking is important when reaching a desired outcome. I find this to be very true because in all my writing I have thought of how it best encourages people to become aware and active about the garment workers in Los Angeles.
Maiorana suggests that critical thinking is effective in solving problems through understanding, evaluating and resolving them. I find this to be true because the entire goal of my site has been to solve the issue of exploited low wage laborers.
Smith suggests that it is important to judge the validity of scholars on the issue. This is important because my writing is based on the gaps in certain scholarly research. That is, I feel I am trying to expose an issue that has been somewhat disregarded by the academic sphere.
I feel that there has been one very significant difference between my hypertext writing and my previous writing. I feel that this writing has a real purpose beyond the classroom such that much of my writing has been influenced by the possibility that people other than my professors will read what I have written. This has guided me to make decisions that I would have otherwise disregarded as unimportant.
Halpern suggests that critical thinking is important when reaching a desired outcome. I find this to be very true because in all my writing I have thought of how it best encourages people to become aware and active about the garment workers in Los Angeles.
Maiorana suggests that critical thinking is effective in solving problems through understanding, evaluating and resolving them. I find this to be true because the entire goal of my site has been to solve the issue of exploited low wage laborers.
Smith suggests that it is important to judge the validity of scholars on the issue. This is important because my writing is based on the gaps in certain scholarly research. That is, I feel I am trying to expose an issue that has been somewhat disregarded by the academic sphere.
I feel that there has been one very significant difference between my hypertext writing and my previous writing. I feel that this writing has a real purpose beyond the classroom such that much of my writing has been influenced by the possibility that people other than my professors will read what I have written. This has guided me to make decisions that I would have otherwise disregarded as unimportant.
critical thinking
Writing a hypertext requires a unique type of thinking. The first quote that I feels best defines my experience using critical thinking skills while working with hypertext is by Halpern, "Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task....Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome." I definitely feel that when writing / formulating a hypertext i need to have a sense of direction of where I am going- otherwise i will end up with a wide range of web pages that don't connect.
The second quote I picked was by Maiorana, "The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve." This probably represents my whole outlook after working with hypertext. By designing a hypertext, you really need to know what it is you are trying to get across- you need to understand your topic to a degree that you understand all viewpoints and are able to propose a solution to any problems that you consider. Throughout this course, i have been asking myself numerous questions to deepen my understanding about issues in order to help propose solutions and resolve them.
the last quote i picked was by MCC General Education, "Critical thinking includes the ability to respond to material by distinguishing between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences, inductive and deductive arguments, and the objective and subjective...applying understanding and knowledge to new and different problems, developing rational and reasonable interpretations, suspending beliefs and remaining open to new information, methods, cultural systems, values and beliefs and by assimilating information...." This particularly addresses my process with working with hypertext because while working on certain issues, I've had to put certain issues aside and evaluate situations without a bias. It has forced me to remain open to new ideas and in some cases changed my opinion on certain issues. Although it was hard to do at times, it has made me see situations from different points of view and allowed me an opportunity to deepen my critical thinking skills by remaining open.
The second quote I picked was by Maiorana, "The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve." This probably represents my whole outlook after working with hypertext. By designing a hypertext, you really need to know what it is you are trying to get across- you need to understand your topic to a degree that you understand all viewpoints and are able to propose a solution to any problems that you consider. Throughout this course, i have been asking myself numerous questions to deepen my understanding about issues in order to help propose solutions and resolve them.
the last quote i picked was by MCC General Education, "Critical thinking includes the ability to respond to material by distinguishing between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences, inductive and deductive arguments, and the objective and subjective...applying understanding and knowledge to new and different problems, developing rational and reasonable interpretations, suspending beliefs and remaining open to new information, methods, cultural systems, values and beliefs and by assimilating information...." This particularly addresses my process with working with hypertext because while working on certain issues, I've had to put certain issues aside and evaluate situations without a bias. It has forced me to remain open to new ideas and in some cases changed my opinion on certain issues. Although it was hard to do at times, it has made me see situations from different points of view and allowed me an opportunity to deepen my critical thinking skills by remaining open.
Quotes about Critical Thinking
The three quotes I thought described the process of critical thinking for hypertext the best are from Diane Halpern, Victor Maiorana, and MCC General Education Initiatives.
Diane Halpern talks about critical thinking as "goal directed" which I found was very true while writing for hypertext. I know how I wanted my pages to look and generally what I wanted to say, but I had to work towards these goals. She also talks about being "thoughtful and effective for the particular context" which is very true when writing for hypertext. We have to think about the context when we are creating our pages.
Victor Maiorana talks about evaluating viewpoints, which was a big part of writing for these hypertexts. We had to look at a lot of different viewpoints when writing for something that will be published online. He also talks about problem solving, which I thought I did a lot as well when I was writing. There are a lot more problems when trying to write for hypertext, so I had to think about how to solve them.
The last quote from MCC General Education Initiatives talked about "distinguishing between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences" which I thought we had to do a lot while writing these hypertext essays. Since we were publishing this information on the web, we had to be sure we were putting up objective information and not just someone's opinions. We had to evaluate a lot of information on certain levels that are not thought of when writing a linear paper.
Diane Halpern talks about critical thinking as "goal directed" which I found was very true while writing for hypertext. I know how I wanted my pages to look and generally what I wanted to say, but I had to work towards these goals. She also talks about being "thoughtful and effective for the particular context" which is very true when writing for hypertext. We have to think about the context when we are creating our pages.
Victor Maiorana talks about evaluating viewpoints, which was a big part of writing for these hypertexts. We had to look at a lot of different viewpoints when writing for something that will be published online. He also talks about problem solving, which I thought I did a lot as well when I was writing. There are a lot more problems when trying to write for hypertext, so I had to think about how to solve them.
The last quote from MCC General Education Initiatives talked about "distinguishing between facts and opinions or personal feelings, judgments and inferences" which I thought we had to do a lot while writing these hypertext essays. Since we were publishing this information on the web, we had to be sure we were putting up objective information and not just someone's opinions. We had to evaluate a lot of information on certain levels that are not thought of when writing a linear paper.
Evalutaion Of Critical Thinking
The critical thinking definitions that most apply to my writing of the hypertext essays are those by Simon and Kapplar, Victor Mairoana, and Lindzey, Hall, and Thompson. Simon and Kapplar says that critical thinking is the "formation of logical inferences." I believe this goes along with the creation of a hypertext because a hypertext must be entirely interconnected while at the same time being connected with the world outside of it as well. Points must move in a logical order, yet allow the reader to see how the second to last page is connected to the third page of the site and allow him or her to jump around while still maintaining the same thesis. Victor Mairoana said that we use critical thinking to "achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems," and I think this also applies to the hypertexts that we have learned how to write. We use the websites to not only learn about a subject by ourselves, but to also formulate our own opinion and try to help the visitors to our site try to understand the problem as well. The hypertext also allows us to link to a worldwide community in order to promote a global understanding a a more unified effort of solving problems. Lastly, Lindzey, Hall, and Thompson say that critical thinking is the "examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work." This works both with the design of the website and the content. We struggle as authors of hypertexts to find variations of both design and content of our websites in order to both capture the reader's attention and at the same time try to allow them to hear a clear argument. This process of trial and error allows us to create wonderful projects that are clearly thought out and that will hopefully make a difference to the world, or at least the reader.
Critical Thinking 101
I'm going to break it down based on each statement about critical thinking;
1.Critical thinking is careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment.
Moore and Parker, 1994.
This statement is very relevant to how we've been thinking (or at least I have) for this class, especially about hypertext #2. My topic is on legal immigrant gardeners and their struggle to survive, as well as examining the effects of illegal immigrants on this ability. I find it funny because there are some cases where gardeners are very successful human beings, running their own businesses and becoming mini business tycoons, so in that regard i need to "suspend" judgment.
2."The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
Maiorana, Victor P. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: Building the Analytical Classroom. 1992.
This one is DEFINITELY what this class is based on, asking random questions. Alot of "Why" and "How" questions are asked in this class, and so i believe that this pretty much nails it on the spot on how critical thinking is done here. I personally have asked some pretty generalized questions in this class, and begun to examine things that i had previously assumed as normal or average, and not out of the ordinary.
3.Critical thinking is "a process which stresses an attitude of suspended judgment, incorporates logical inquiry and problem solving, and leads to an evaluative decision or action."
NCTE Committee on Critical Thinking and the Language Arts.
Finally, this quote is more of an application of the two quotes above, and really sheds light on how we solve problems in this class. I think critical thinking in this class is really a combination of all 3 quotes, because we're asking all of these questions and then suspending certain parts of our judgment to logically come to a conclusion about the topic or idea we're studying. Overall, this class' end of critical thinking is really a multi-faceted idea of how to explain and come up with solutions to problems that we haven't even necessarily discovered yet.
Differences in writing hypertext vs. writing a 5 paragraph essay;
For me, writing a hypertext is much more engaging and interesting than writing a standing 5 paragraph essay. Hypertext allows me to express my opinion whenever i feel it is necessary, and it also allows me to go in depth and allow my readers to jump and change their focus on certain parts of my writing. In regards to a 5 paragraph essay, a hypertext doesn't really have a thesis, it really has an idea... which i like much, much, better. Marc said it perfectly when he said that a thesis is like a hammer that you're bashing over your reader's head. I couldn't agree more. I feel like a hypertext is a better type of writing when it comes to developing an idea or expressing your opinion of that idea to a greater mass of people. While it is somewhat informal, because it is just as such, as readers you feel more connected to the writer, whereas in a 5 paragraph essay it feels like you're being lectured or told about the topic.
1.Critical thinking is careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment.
Moore and Parker, 1994.
This statement is very relevant to how we've been thinking (or at least I have) for this class, especially about hypertext #2. My topic is on legal immigrant gardeners and their struggle to survive, as well as examining the effects of illegal immigrants on this ability. I find it funny because there are some cases where gardeners are very successful human beings, running their own businesses and becoming mini business tycoons, so in that regard i need to "suspend" judgment.
2."The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
Maiorana, Victor P. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: Building the Analytical Classroom. 1992.
This one is DEFINITELY what this class is based on, asking random questions. Alot of "Why" and "How" questions are asked in this class, and so i believe that this pretty much nails it on the spot on how critical thinking is done here. I personally have asked some pretty generalized questions in this class, and begun to examine things that i had previously assumed as normal or average, and not out of the ordinary.
3.Critical thinking is "a process which stresses an attitude of suspended judgment, incorporates logical inquiry and problem solving, and leads to an evaluative decision or action."
NCTE Committee on Critical Thinking and the Language Arts.
Finally, this quote is more of an application of the two quotes above, and really sheds light on how we solve problems in this class. I think critical thinking in this class is really a combination of all 3 quotes, because we're asking all of these questions and then suspending certain parts of our judgment to logically come to a conclusion about the topic or idea we're studying. Overall, this class' end of critical thinking is really a multi-faceted idea of how to explain and come up with solutions to problems that we haven't even necessarily discovered yet.
Differences in writing hypertext vs. writing a 5 paragraph essay;
For me, writing a hypertext is much more engaging and interesting than writing a standing 5 paragraph essay. Hypertext allows me to express my opinion whenever i feel it is necessary, and it also allows me to go in depth and allow my readers to jump and change their focus on certain parts of my writing. In regards to a 5 paragraph essay, a hypertext doesn't really have a thesis, it really has an idea... which i like much, much, better. Marc said it perfectly when he said that a thesis is like a hammer that you're bashing over your reader's head. I couldn't agree more. I feel like a hypertext is a better type of writing when it comes to developing an idea or expressing your opinion of that idea to a greater mass of people. While it is somewhat informal, because it is just as such, as readers you feel more connected to the writer, whereas in a 5 paragraph essay it feels like you're being lectured or told about the topic.
critical thinking
i think Halpern's definition,
"Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making a decision. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome."
Stahl and Stahl's definition,
"Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns."
and Lindzey's definition,
"Critical thinking is "the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work."
are the best definitions for critical thinking. from my experience whenever i do critical thinking, i usually need to solve a problem and figure out whether or not a statement is true or not and if i agree with it. i have to consider all points of view or solutions before coming to my conclusion, which is what halpern, stahl and stahl and lindzey all say. critical thinking is thinking logically about things you've learned before and putting it all together to produce a cohesive argument or conclusion.
i hope to create a website that forces people to think critically and create their own opinions about a certain topic. i wish to include all the views, positive and negative about my topic, so that people will think critically before making a judgment as soon as they figure out what my topic is. i don't want to lean toward any one side of my topic until i have considered all views.
the difference between the writing i've done in the past compared to the writing now is a lot more structured. all the papers i've written in the past all have the same structure and look the same. none of my papers ever had graphics or pictures, which is one very big difference to the writing i do now. i think pictures and graphic help and enhance a paper a lot. i wouldn't want to be the teacher reading forty papers over the weekend if they were just a bunch of words with no graphics. with graphic, papers become a lot easier on the eyes, instead of reading papers all day long, one can relax for a bit to look at the pictures on the side of a paper. the hypertext writing now is also a lot easier because we don't have to worry about writing transitions or summaries, everything is held together by links.
"Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned and goal directed - the kind of thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making decisions when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and type of thinking task. Critical thinking also involves evaluating the thinking process - the reasoning that went into the conclusion we've arrived at the kinds of factors considered in making a decision. Critical thinking is sometimes called directed thinking because it focuses on a desired outcome."
Stahl and Stahl's definition,
"Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns."
and Lindzey's definition,
"Critical thinking is "the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work."
are the best definitions for critical thinking. from my experience whenever i do critical thinking, i usually need to solve a problem and figure out whether or not a statement is true or not and if i agree with it. i have to consider all points of view or solutions before coming to my conclusion, which is what halpern, stahl and stahl and lindzey all say. critical thinking is thinking logically about things you've learned before and putting it all together to produce a cohesive argument or conclusion.
i hope to create a website that forces people to think critically and create their own opinions about a certain topic. i wish to include all the views, positive and negative about my topic, so that people will think critically before making a judgment as soon as they figure out what my topic is. i don't want to lean toward any one side of my topic until i have considered all views.
the difference between the writing i've done in the past compared to the writing now is a lot more structured. all the papers i've written in the past all have the same structure and look the same. none of my papers ever had graphics or pictures, which is one very big difference to the writing i do now. i think pictures and graphic help and enhance a paper a lot. i wouldn't want to be the teacher reading forty papers over the weekend if they were just a bunch of words with no graphics. with graphic, papers become a lot easier on the eyes, instead of reading papers all day long, one can relax for a bit to look at the pictures on the side of a paper. the hypertext writing now is also a lot easier because we don't have to worry about writing transitions or summaries, everything is held together by links.
An Original Title
"the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work."
This is the one that i think sums it up the best. How many times did Marc as well as the entire class give us suggestions about how to do it, or what to improve on? but when it got right down to it, we just had to try it. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but we had to figure it out. We couldn't have simply done what they said we should, we had to examine and test each one to see if it would work with our site.
"Critical thinking is careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment."
This one was also very close to what critical thinking meant. While the first quote said what we should do, assuming we accepted the criticism, this quote points out that hey, screw them, i can decide what to do for myself. and while that is kind of crass, that is a huge part of critical thinking, is deciding which ones to take, to listen to, and which ones to ignore or defer.
"The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
This summed it up pretty nicely. At first we had to ask a question to even begin making our projects. And so, we sought after understanding when we first started. Secondly, we evaluated view points, those of our teacher and classmates to decide if they were valid or not, and how much weight to put behind the suggestions. and finally, we had to solve problems. We looked at what we had to change, at all teh shortcomings our site had, and change whatever was necessary to resolve the issue.
Differences in writing, now and before:
The main difference is in this class is the lack of a coherent topic. In high school, there was always a reason for writing, a point you were supposed to get across. If i were to do an essay on one of my websites, it would be a simple, one-track essay with a self explanatory title and a clear focus. Now however, there are so many different angles and literally hundreds of ways to present them, that the reason for doing it seems clouded, unclear. The point of the website is hidden almost. If I were to finish reading a website and ask myself the question "so what? why should i care?", i would have a much harder time answering it than at the end of my old essays. Reading a traditional essay, you know what you are reading and what the person is saying. In one of our websites, both of these can get very confused.
This is the one that i think sums it up the best. How many times did Marc as well as the entire class give us suggestions about how to do it, or what to improve on? but when it got right down to it, we just had to try it. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but we had to figure it out. We couldn't have simply done what they said we should, we had to examine and test each one to see if it would work with our site.
"Critical thinking is careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment."
This one was also very close to what critical thinking meant. While the first quote said what we should do, assuming we accepted the criticism, this quote points out that hey, screw them, i can decide what to do for myself. and while that is kind of crass, that is a huge part of critical thinking, is deciding which ones to take, to listen to, and which ones to ignore or defer.
"The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
This summed it up pretty nicely. At first we had to ask a question to even begin making our projects. And so, we sought after understanding when we first started. Secondly, we evaluated view points, those of our teacher and classmates to decide if they were valid or not, and how much weight to put behind the suggestions. and finally, we had to solve problems. We looked at what we had to change, at all teh shortcomings our site had, and change whatever was necessary to resolve the issue.
Differences in writing, now and before:
The main difference is in this class is the lack of a coherent topic. In high school, there was always a reason for writing, a point you were supposed to get across. If i were to do an essay on one of my websites, it would be a simple, one-track essay with a self explanatory title and a clear focus. Now however, there are so many different angles and literally hundreds of ways to present them, that the reason for doing it seems clouded, unclear. The point of the website is hidden almost. If I were to finish reading a website and ask myself the question "so what? why should i care?", i would have a much harder time answering it than at the end of my old essays. Reading a traditional essay, you know what you are reading and what the person is saying. In one of our websites, both of these can get very confused.
Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns.
Stahl and Stahl, 1991.
While working on my hypertext i have made a point to use logical reasoning patterns. For instance, I try to make sure my links are clear and they follow a logic pattern. The most important thing for a website is to ensure that it is user friendly and people can use logic and simple thinking to navigate the page. that is what I've tried to create for my website.Critical thinking is careful and deliberate determination of whether to accept, reject, or suspend judgment.
Moore and Parker, 1994.
Once again i think it is imperative to evaluate the hypertext, imagine it from all angles, and see what can be changed. Once I've challenged myself to answer these questions i can then accept, reject, or suspend my judgment. But only through my judgment can i question and change my work.
"The purpose of critical thinking is, therefore, to achieve understanding, evaluate view points, and solve problems. Since all three areas involve the asking of questions, we can say that critical thinking is the questioning or inquiry we engage in when we seek to understand, evaluate, or resolve."
Maiorana, Victor P. Critical Thinking Across the Curriculum: Building the Analytical Classroom. 1992.
This definition describes my experience of composing hypertext. I look at different view points, i try to understand others, and try to think of all possible outcomes. Therefor i think that questioning is a key part of what I've done with my hypertext. I really try to push myself to see what else can happen, what can i change, what can i edit. I revise and revise till i think I've successfully answered all those questions.
The way i write for a an academic, research paper differs hugely from a hypertext. For a hypertext i write small excerpts and link each excerpt (or paragraph) lightly. In other words there doest have to be a concrete connection- i can loosely link parts together. When writing an "traditional" paper i need to be more concrete and direct. Also on a hypertext i do a lot of my writing with pictures or design, as where a traditional paper i must use only words and follow a certain way of writing.
Critical Thinking
Definitions of Critical Thinking are best for writing a hypertext:
Maiorana: I think Maiorana brings up a good point when he states that we must take into consideration different viewpoints on various topics. Specifically writing a hypertext allows the author to bring to light different opinions in a unique way so the ability to critically evaluate those beliefs and present it to the reader in a organized and non biased fashion is imperative to critically writing a hypertext.
NCTE Committee: The committee talks about incorporating an attitude of suspended judgment with logical inquiry and problem solving. I believe that not holding prejudice is key to critical thinking. Only when you suspend your own biases and add logic can true critical evaluation flourish in a hypertext essay.
Ennis: "Critical thinking is "reasonably and reflectively deciding what to believe or do." Ennis conveys the necessity for reflection as apart of rational evaluation. We must reflect and ponder with pure reason to critically think about something. Thinking is only the tip of the ice burg, it is reflection that results in true understanding.
Differences in essay writing before and Hypertext writing now:
The most important difference for me is the incorperation of various genres to illustrate your information to the reader. This allows you the freedom of expression to use the best medium to convey your ideas. More mediums envoke to different levels of comprehension which result in deeper understanding. Also, different points are more effectively communicated in through unique methods.
Maiorana: I think Maiorana brings up a good point when he states that we must take into consideration different viewpoints on various topics. Specifically writing a hypertext allows the author to bring to light different opinions in a unique way so the ability to critically evaluate those beliefs and present it to the reader in a organized and non biased fashion is imperative to critically writing a hypertext.
NCTE Committee: The committee talks about incorporating an attitude of suspended judgment with logical inquiry and problem solving. I believe that not holding prejudice is key to critical thinking. Only when you suspend your own biases and add logic can true critical evaluation flourish in a hypertext essay.
Ennis: "Critical thinking is "reasonably and reflectively deciding what to believe or do." Ennis conveys the necessity for reflection as apart of rational evaluation. We must reflect and ponder with pure reason to critically think about something. Thinking is only the tip of the ice burg, it is reflection that results in true understanding.
Differences in essay writing before and Hypertext writing now:
The most important difference for me is the incorperation of various genres to illustrate your information to the reader. This allows you the freedom of expression to use the best medium to convey your ideas. More mediums envoke to different levels of comprehension which result in deeper understanding. Also, different points are more effectively communicated in through unique methods.
critical thinking
Critical thinking is "the art of thinking about your thinking while you are thinking in order to make your thinking better: more clear, more accurate, or more defensible." Paul, Binker, Adamson, and Martin (1989)
Critical thinking is the formation of logical inferences. Simon and Kapplan, 1989.
Critical thinking is "the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work."
I think that these three definitions best describe the formation of my hypertext so far, but I think the first definition describes my process the best overall. While I was making different pages for my hypertext, the second one, I has one set topic that I was writing on. As I started to write more, there were subcategories that were coming up in the main topic I was writing about and then I made links for those categories. The one page that I sought to make turned into 5 pages easily. Also, the much experimenting I did to come up with an effective design can best be described by the third definition of critical thinking pasted above. In class we were given suggestions on how to improve our site. From easy navigation to making it seem like there is less context on the page than there really is so it would not scare of the reader. In order to come up with an effective design for the hypertext one has to do a little of experimenting with the setup and placement of text and pictures. The writing has to be reviewed over and over again because you want the writing to be interesting and to the point because if there is excessive definition and unnecessary writing in the hypertext, the viewer is more likely to skim over the work and not read it. Also, I think that links have to be carefully chosen so that they are clear to the reader and so readers will want to click on them. The links are ways to get deeper into your site and you don't want people to miss the details which will then make your hypertext "more accurate" and "more defensible."
The difference between writing for hypertext and writing essays is that writing essays is a bit of a drag. With hypertext, your ideas don't have to be formal as in a thesis for each page. Each page of the hypertext is like a new paragraph in an essay but without the boring opening sentence and the transition sentence to the next paragraph in the end. All the pages are related to each other somehome and it doesn't matter what page you start with in the hypertext, whereas in an essay the first paragraph has to lead to the seond and the second has to lead to the third and so on. Hypertext can also include bullets instead of all linear writing as in an essay. If i had to choose writing in hypertext and writing an essay I would chose writing in hypertext. It's much more easy and faster to complete and besides from wanting to write in hypertext rather than in essay form, I'd also rather read hypertext than an essay.
Critical thinking is the formation of logical inferences. Simon and Kapplan, 1989.
Critical thinking is "the examination and testing of suggested solutions to see whether they will work."
I think that these three definitions best describe the formation of my hypertext so far, but I think the first definition describes my process the best overall. While I was making different pages for my hypertext, the second one, I has one set topic that I was writing on. As I started to write more, there were subcategories that were coming up in the main topic I was writing about and then I made links for those categories. The one page that I sought to make turned into 5 pages easily. Also, the much experimenting I did to come up with an effective design can best be described by the third definition of critical thinking pasted above. In class we were given suggestions on how to improve our site. From easy navigation to making it seem like there is less context on the page than there really is so it would not scare of the reader. In order to come up with an effective design for the hypertext one has to do a little of experimenting with the setup and placement of text and pictures. The writing has to be reviewed over and over again because you want the writing to be interesting and to the point because if there is excessive definition and unnecessary writing in the hypertext, the viewer is more likely to skim over the work and not read it. Also, I think that links have to be carefully chosen so that they are clear to the reader and so readers will want to click on them. The links are ways to get deeper into your site and you don't want people to miss the details which will then make your hypertext "more accurate" and "more defensible."
The difference between writing for hypertext and writing essays is that writing essays is a bit of a drag. With hypertext, your ideas don't have to be formal as in a thesis for each page. Each page of the hypertext is like a new paragraph in an essay but without the boring opening sentence and the transition sentence to the next paragraph in the end. All the pages are related to each other somehome and it doesn't matter what page you start with in the hypertext, whereas in an essay the first paragraph has to lead to the seond and the second has to lead to the third and so on. Hypertext can also include bullets instead of all linear writing as in an essay. If i had to choose writing in hypertext and writing an essay I would chose writing in hypertext. It's much more easy and faster to complete and besides from wanting to write in hypertext rather than in essay form, I'd also rather read hypertext than an essay.
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