Week Ten: The Public Sphere

 A Peek at the Week

This week we were tasked with reviewing the following literature: chapter six of Net Smart, "Public Writing for Social Change", "F-shape pattern of reading the web', and the Web Aesthetics lecture PowerPoint. Each of these readings are summarized below.

• In Rheingold's Net Smart, the chapter summarized the previous chapters and elaborated on the importance of being mindful and prepared online. In this chapter Rheingold states "...I do suggest that your best individual defense at the moment is know-how" (Rheingold, p. 240). This excerpt provides a clear insight into much of what this chapter is about: the more you know the better prepared you are. Furthermore, the author discusses the public sphere and the dangers to be prepared for. To end the writing, Rheingold reviews key aspects of the five literacies he discussed in detail in the previous chapters. 
• In the article "Public Writing for Social Change" in Writing Spaces, the author Ashley J. Holmes discusses what public writing entails and how to participate in it as an academic citizen. She lays out the steps of public writing: define issue, list possible audiences, narrow the audience, pick a genre, and decide on context. Together, these steps are the basis for participating in public writing. 
• In "F-Shaped Pattern of Reading on the Web: Misunderstood, But Still Relevant (Even on Mobile)" by Kara Pernice, the topic of F patterns and misconceptions is addressed. The author begins by elaborating on what the F pattern is. Then, explains briefly the other types of eye-scanning patterns: layer-cake, spotted, marking, bypassing, and commitment. Lastly the author discusses the problems and solutions related to this topic. 
• In the PowerPoint "Visual Design and Aesthetics" by Dr. Tucker, design aesthetics is defined and elaborated on. After defining aesthetics, the author goes on to discuss elements of it: contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity. 

Connections

The topics of this week relate completely to the past weeks. The public sphere combines all of the literary elements we have learned and makes it evident that it is necessary to practice each element to be successful.  

Visual of the Week

The image below shows the F shape pattern in an image. This relates to one of the readings from the week, but I chose to showcase it because was interesting in my opinion. 

Contributions to Learning

This week contributed to my learning by reinforcing the reasoning behind being informed prior to going online. In addition, it provided me with more information on how to properly participate in the online realm. 

Ponder This

How do you participate in the public sphere?

References

Rheingold, H. (2012). Net smart: How to thrive online. MIT Press.

Plus, W. (2018, June 12). The F-shaped reading pattern - wired plus marketing hub. Medium. https://medium.com/@marketing_72553/the-f-shaped-reading-pattern-wired-plus-marketing-hub-8729911545a5