The End

"There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story."- Frank Herbert

This is my last post! At least for awhile. But it is important to reflect about the things you learn, otherwise they go in one ear and out the other. So for my English class we were given a set of learning outcomes that we were supposed to achieve. While I looked at these periodically throughout the term, now that I am finished with class it surprises me how much I have actually accomplished. While I wrote a little bit about his in one of my posts, I would like to speak once again about the many things I have learned from this class. Throughout the term we were continually minded about the ideas of Consume, Create and Connect. I did this by reading new literature, blogging about it, and then relating it to my ideas about literature and the digital media. While doing this I followed the learning outcomes, which are:

1. Follow the BYU-I Model of Learning, which is Prepare, Teach One Another and Ponder & Prove: Everyday I would think about the things I learned in this class. I felt like the internet was an unknown land that I explored, hoping to find some little bits of treasure. I blogged all term long about the things that I discovered. However, my topic was one of endless worry and debate. There were so many directions it could have gone, and some days I was very frustrated. By talking to my brilliant cohorts, Jam Jenkins and Erica Oldroyd, they talked to me about my topic and helped me narrow it down to what I wanted to say. They not only helped me research and think more narrowly about my topic, but Sam also taught me how to resolve my many technical difficulties. In return I also thought deeply about Sam's and Erica's papers, and even connected our books through a Guest Post on Erica's blog. Eventually all this thinking (or pondering) led to the final creation of my paper, which proved that the social media can greatly affect the writing process.

2. Write Substantially and Publicly about Literature. While writing my blog posts, I was continually absorbing new research from different sources and connecting it to Anne of Green Gabes. This post in particular helped me to really understand how blogging about our ideas on literature can really help us move past the boring usual ideas that we shoot out in our writing. When we are writing continually about our ideas, and letting other people read and comment, it makes our topic relevant, and gives it new life.

3. Develop Research Skills. This was one of the most useful aspects of this class. I never realized how many research tools there are on the internet. I have discovered so many new sites and online tools that I will continue to use. Throughout the term I used Diigo online bookmarking for saving all of my sources. I used facebook group pages, goodreads, google scholar, the library website, fanfiction, youtube, google+, google search, wikipedia, chat forums, literature blogs, and so much more. By using a variety of different sources, I felt like I got to know my topic from every available angle.

4. Perfect Ideas Socially. This was the most difficult part of this class. It was hard enough just figuring out what to write about, let alone trying to be brave enough to put my ideas out there and get others to respond. But by proving my ideas socially I was able to connect to other people and their ideas, and it really changed the way my paper turned out. If I had more time in this class, I would have tried to start social proof MUCH earlier. However, the contacts that did get back to me were very insightful about my topic of imagination. I had one contact, Darcy Cowan, that wrote me back several times, with many ideas about how imagination and blogging relate to one another. Without him, I would have felt like my topic wasn't relevant to anyone! I also got a few responses on facebook, goodreads, and fan pages.

5. Gain Digital Literacy. Gaining digital literacy had such a major learning curve. Often I felt that I was drowning in the sea of new information. But slowly, I began to get used to the ideas that were common in digital culture, such as openness, wich reminds me of Erica's topic of confession on the internet, and information. By thinking about the different digital resources and ideas behind them every single day, it often felt that everything in my life could be related back to these core concepts. I now feel that the internet is no long my enemy, or a monster, but a place of infinite resources. Just like anything though, digital media isn't perfect, and has its own set of issues. But if we take advantage of the good parts of the digital media, then it allows us to consume new information, create new creative products or ideas and connect our own ideas to the ideas of the entire world.

6. Address Changes to Literary Study. This topic was prevalent in everything that we did this entire term. My book, Anne of Green Gables is a book that is well represented among the internet crowd. It has been transformed into plays, movies, audio books, video books, and is discussed on blogs, goodreads, facebook, twitter, and many more sites. By using these sources, it helped me understand how each new medium was something different from the last. Instead of just reading a book and understanding it according to our own experiences and perspectives, we can connect to other people's ideas. This gives us insight to characters and themes that we might not have previously connected to. By using many different sources, we can have a well rounded experiences with literature. Digital Media is making information more readily available, as well as changing the way we read and write. It is important to keep the academic rules and regulations, but by branching out and using all resources it allows students to make our topics relevant and useful to the world, instead of something that is read, graded and then thrown into the trash.

This class was fast pace and chaotic, but I felt that I have learned so much within the past 2 months. I have a renewed love of learning and writing and I no longer fear using all the digital media sources available! I have grown to love writing, and I will miss writing down my thoughts about books and literature. But as my quote says, my journey with literature and digital culture is not ending, it is just the place where the story stops.

Reflections part 2

SO, I accidentally combined my last two posts together, and instead of just deleting the post entirely, I thought I would stick with one of the main ideas of my English class and make it about the process, not the end product. Not to say that it isn't important to polish your work and have completed ideas, but really, showing how you got to that final product is just as significant as the product its self. When I first began this class, I was very skeptical about using the new media sources as a way to connect to literature. I am very attached to paper and pen, and I still feel like I respond better to the printed page, rather than online sources such as videobooks. However, I had never thought about how we interprete literature differently depending on which medium we choose to access. Over the course of time, I slowly began to think more and more about how media changes the way we think and respond to the things we learn about. While writing this blog this term, I have thought more in depth about my research than ever before. Usually when I begin writing a paper, I look up some online academic sources, I sit down and write my paper all at one time, and then I go back and edit. Thats all there is to it! For this class, we began by blogging about our books and the main topic of literature and the digital culture. Next, we started researching a little more using media tools, not classic academic sources. Then we began to connect to different levels of people that were related to our topics. This included bloggers, Professors, fans on fansites, our friends and families, and pretty much everyone that would listen to us. As we began to learn from our contacts, our blogs began to reflect the new interest we found in our topics and become a little more narrow in topic. Next, we found traditional academic sources, and blogged about those as well. Next we converted our ideas into the different medium of a book trailer! This forced us to condense our topics and think about them in a different way. Finally, we combined all our blogs, different sources and contacts, every communication we had ever had, and wrote a paper using every source available to us. The conclusion was a rough mash up of ideas and people. But even though my paper wasn't perfect, it was also more well thought out, more in depth and more relatable to a wider audience. It had the potential to become something that was important, rather than just another paper written on a topic no one cares about, that only the professor reads. 


One of my really good friends passed away this week, and I found out from facebook. It immediately hit me how much our social media has influenced the way we connect to other people and ideas. This tragic thing happened, and immediately people in Counties thousands and thousands of miles away knew about it. This connection to the world and people is something that changes the way we think and live. So it makes sense that the way we connect to fictional people and worlds should change as well. While I don't think that this lengthy process of writing and connecting to literature is applicable to every paper and class that I ever participate in, the things we learned in this english class are certainly something to consider every time we pick up a book or try to write a paper. In my head, I have always pictured the inside of my brain to look like a room with a desk. The desk has stacks and stacks of papers on it that represent everything I have ever learned. The things I learned first are on the bottom of the pile, and the more recent additions stay on top. Each thing I learn just adds to this pile of knowledge, building on and adding to it. I hope that the things that I have learned in this class will stay with me, to be built on and added to. While this way of learning and researching is time consuming and is not the easy way out, I have found that the things most worth learning are sometimes the most difficult and frustrating. While it will be challenging keeping up with all the new digital media, hopefully by participating in this way of thinking and learning, I will be able to make my work something more worthwhile. 

Webinar!

Ok. So the webinar was a little rough for me. I get VERY flustered in front of cameras. It is almost like all the millions of thoughts I had swirling in my head immediately disappear the minute that camera focuses in on me. But despite all of that, I really enjoyed this webinar. It was uch an interesting way to present all of the ideas that everyone had over the entire term. While it was a little chaotic, it definitely had some quality conversations going on. It was just another way to reinforce all the ideas I have had about blogging and the internet and how they relate to imagination in Anne of Green Gables. Just like when we did the post with our book trailer,  in order to present in the webinar, we needed to rethink our topics and exactly how we wanted talk about them. The questions people asked made me rethink about everything I have just written about! When presenting, I began to think more and more how the internet really does change the way we think and reimagine things on the internet. It makes me wish we had done this earlier in the term as social proof. The people that show up at the webinar are really connected to the topics and ask fascinating questions, unlike a lot of the feedback I got when originally looking for social proof. So all in all, I would call this a very successful first webinar! I would be interested in trying it again, now that I know what it is like. 

Reflections

  Looking back on this term, so much has happened in such a short period time. While this class has been fast, and chaotic, I also feel like I learned so much. However, because of the time constraints, this learning process has felt a little like my head would explode from too much information all at once. Like this:

• This class has been very interesting, because even though I felt a state of panic the majority of the time, I realize now how much I have actually processed. While writing my paper, I was suddenly aware of how much work we have done over this short term. Instead of getting a topic, and trying to come up with something interesting to say about it while jamming some scholarly sources in there randomly, the process was drastically different. I began by coming up with a book that I have always loved- Anne of Green Gables. No matter what I had to write about, at the very least I knew I would enjoy rereading this book. Next we began to explore our books through different media resources, like this. I also found that there are many different ways to read the text, like online audiobooks.  After getting WAY too many ideas about possible topics, I found myself kind of wandering around through a million different topics. At this point it was important to get some feedback from my cohorts, so they could help me narrow down my ideas. Talking to Erica Oldroyd and Sam Jenkins really helped me discover which of my ideas were worth pursuing, and which ones really were at a dead end. Eventually, I came up with my thesis for my paper, and began to write about it in short spurts. Like so. This entire time, I was also working to get social proof about my ideas, or to contact many different people in order to get feedback. I did this by hunting down different bloggers, posting on facebook, talking to fans who had written reviews on goodreads, and even emailing many, many different professors that had taught classes on Anne of Green Gables. Some of my contacts really had great ideas about my topic and really made me think more in depth about what I was writing about. In particular, my contact Darcy Cowan had some wonderful things to say about imagination. As my ideas and paper was progressing, I also tried to think about my topic and how I would talk about it differently if it were in a different medium, compared to a scholarly research paper. This line of thought lead to the creation of a book trailer! This really helped me to think about what the most important aspects of my topic were. Along the way, I was also looking at scholarly sources and seeing how m interpretation of the text was different hen looking from scholarly sources to social sources. Eventually, all of this information led to the creation of my paper. This process was lengthy, but it really made me view research papers in a different light. When I actually started writing my paper, I felt like I had pondered my topic, by using every available resource, including ones that I had never realized existed before this class. I had talked about my topic with many different people, and had compared my own topic to my fellow classmates. When we got in a group and discussed our ideas, I felt like I learned so much from my cohorts, and also helped to shed some light on their own theories. Then by taking these ideas and proving that people were interested in them by getting them to contact me to talk about it, really made me more interested in my own topic! This way of writing, while long and complex, really made me feel like I did everything I could to write about a relevant topic, as well as engaging a larger audience than just my Professor. Although I wouldn't typically take this long to prepare for a paper, I will definitely use some of these new skills to write in the future. Although my paper definitely wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, the process was more important than the end result. 

Final Draft!!

This is my final draft!! Yay! 

Makenna Phillips

English 295

June 3, 2012

Imagination in the Blogging World

Since the beginning, myth and imagination have influenced how humanity sees the world. History books are filled with the romanticized ideas of events that actually occurred. In Anne of Green Gables, Anne is consistently known as a character with a knack for imagination. While many think that daydreaming and imagination are a way to hide from reality, this is not true.  Imagination is a product of human labor. For some, this comes easily, but for others they struggle to see beyond the scope of their own realities. By using creativity and ability to re-imagine our own personal world, today's technology allows each person to take part in the transformation and growth of modern culture.

There are many definitions and ideas that surround the broad topic of imagination. While one common definition is the producing of ideal creations that are inconsistent with reality, or in other words, the ability to picture our lives differently than they are, imagination is also the ability to face and resolve difficulties, or having resourcefulness (“Imagination”). Greg Bayles, a student and Brigham Young University wrote:

“What's really inside of people -- inside of every individual -- is the ability to think and to create, to call forth a little piece of our imaginations or our dreams into reality. We don't have to chase after the age-old aspirations of our grandfathers or follow the trends of our neighbors and friends, and it just doesn't make sense to waste our time living out someone else's second-hand dreams when we might, with a little effort, attain that which we ourselves desire (Bayles).”

Imagination is something that is important that we develop, because it allows us to “live in a subjectively colored world unlike the gray world of reality (“An Experimental Study of imagination”, 422).” While imagination often has an emphasis on the ‘power of invention,’ it is important to have a broad definition in order to encompass all the small facets of the nature of imagination. In one particular article, called "Do you use your Imagination?" by Remez Sasson, he questions the definition of imaginations and declares that it isn't a useless waste of time, but the capacity to visualize different situations and events. By using this tool, people can prepare themselves for different problems that may arise, plan for the future, or create something completely new.

 In a more romantic sense, one blogger named John claimed that there is a traditional "understanding [of] imagination as the spiritual heart of the human person (Granger.)" By combining both of these ideas, it can be argued that imagination is both useful and romantic. It covers every aspect of human life. It allows us to be practical and accomplish things that we need to do daily, while still allowing us to show a reflection of what lies within our hearts.  There is a new study about the sociological aspect of imagination called the sociological imagination.

“The new sociological imagination is a search for satisfactory ways of understanding the contemporary world in a rational, communicable, telling and coherent way, while also contributing to the development of the public sphere and a collective understanding of social issues (Solis- Gadea, 113).”

 If we apply this definition to our total understanding, then “our perceptions of reality become the blueprint for our lives (Chen.)”

Anne of Green Gables is the perfect book to exemplify the power of imagination in our daily lives. The story begins with a young, unloved orphan named Anne, who is quick to love, and quick to hate. She is talkative and willful, but she is filled with a desire to be good, despite her tendency to make dreadful mistakes. In Anne's case, her imaginings affected her everyday life; she was a dreamer, constantly trying to form her world to fit the way she saw things inside her head. At one point she became so enthralled by her dream world that she started a Story Club in order to cultivate her imagination and get all of her dreams out of her head and onto paper. Anne influenced so many people because she dared to dream big and spoke of the things in her imagination unabashedly. People today are still dreaming, and imagining things that they want to happen in their own lives.  By taking part in online media and allowing our imaginations to grow, we are participating in the modern history. This culture is fast growing and has a life of its own, but by each person taking their own ideas and showing their interpretations to the online world, it gives each person a part in the vast online culture.

In Anne of Green Gables, one of the main characters, Matthew Cuthbert, is known for being shy and unable to speak his mind to women. He is stuck in his own boring, daily routine. When he and his sister, Marilla, plan on adopting a young boy to help around the farm, they accidentally get a girl instead- Anne. While Marilla wants to send Anne back to the orphanage, Matthew imagines what his life would be like with a talkative young girl around. From the moment Anne and Matthew left, her imagination began to change the way Matthew saw the world around him. In that one instant where he allowed his imagination to run free, he let his heart open to this love starved little girl, and it ended up changing his life forever. Anne is known for saying, “It is delightful when your dreams come true, isn't it? (Montgomery, 21.)" Anne had a way of not using her imagination just to escape the world, but to influence her life and the lives of others. While Anne didn’t have media tools to help her spread her creative spirit, everyone that came into contact with her was changed by her ideas and infectious spirit. By using her creative energy for good, Anne managed to transform her own community into a place that was more willing to accept new ideas and ways of thinking.

Marilla Cuthbert is severe and believes in duty and decorum above all else, although she does have a sense of humor.  While it takes awhile for Marilla and Anne to find a sense of balance between their two opposite personalities, Anne found a way to help Marilla see the lightness and joy in the world, while Marilla gave Anne the ability to use her imagination for useful things.

“But Anne with her elbows on the window sill, her soft cheek laid against her clasped hands, and her eyes filled with visions, looked out unheedingly across city roof and spire to that glorious dome of sunset sky and wove her dreams of a possible future from the golden tissue of youth's own optimism. All the Beyond was hers, with its possibilities lurking rosily in the oncoming years — each year a rose of promise to be woven into an immortal chaplet (Montgomery 286.)”

While imagination is a tool to take advantage of, in the beginning, Anne only used hers in order to dream of fanciful things that could never actually true. Under Marilla’s influence, these imaginings and daydreams turned into ambitions that made Anne work hard in order to become a college graduate, school teacher and writer, all in a time period where women were supposed to stay at home, get married, and have a family. Imagination is something that can lead to the creation of creative content, but it can also be used to inspire ambition for our daily lives.

In a literary criticism on Anne of Green Gables it says, [while the writer] “cautions against letting the female imagination run wild, [the writer] does not deny the power of imagination nor suggest that a woman’s life can be negotiated through reason alone (Miller, 125.)” Our ability to imagine is also our ability to create, to wonder, to inspire, and to influence the real world. In order for change to happen, it has to start with someone thinking about how things can be different. If we stick to our old routines and never picture anything other than our real lives, then everything stays the same. Inventions, and new ideas all begin with imagination. However, this does not mean that we should ignore our real lives, but use imagination and reality in a perfect balance, allowing each to play a role in who we are and what we do. A blogger named Darcy wrote:

"Imagination is not an unalloyed good, and neither is instant access to everything anyone ever wrote on a topic. But it's probably better than the alternative. Looking directly to the use of imagination, it's true that broadly defined imagination is essential. Arguably we couldn't function without it, the ability to envision a situation different from the current one doesn't just allow us to change our lives in significant ways, it helps us to simply get through the day. But not all imagination is of the same quality (Cowan.)"

In the digital age, we are now capable of spreading our thoughts and ideas to the entire world. The hope is that our own perceptions of reality influence someone else and their own perceptions. We aren't speaking to ourselves, but to the entire world. The only problem is everyone wants to be unique and to put their every thought and feeling out there for everyone to see. Dr. Burton, a Professor at BYU wisely pointed out that a lot of content on the Internet is inert and doesn't really have a point. However, the digital media has the potential to act as a medium for our own ideas to become the blueprint for other people's ideas about the world. Blogging is one of the many useful tools that the Internet provides for creative expression. In today’s media culture, blogging is the perfect outlet for our thoughts and ideas to turn into creative content, because it is a space with no rules. While other social media does not allow for much creativity, blogs are a blank space. It is in this forum that people represent their creations, rant about their inner thoughts, display their personalities, and write about the things they love.

By reading blogs, we become well acquainted with the individual that writes them. Blogs that we keep coming back to have a common theme of allowing us to see behind the words and pictures, and letting us see the person that is writing them. This has changed how we read literature today, because now we have the ability to relate our own personal connections to the text online. Each person understands literature according to their own sphere of knowledge and their own unique perspective. Online media, and blogging in particular, lets these perspectives to be brought out into the open, which changes how we approach different ideas.

Even more importantly that how blogging changes how we connect to literature, blogging has changed the way we create, and even the nature of imagination by allowing the world to comment on our thoughts and inventions. This "social proof," that our ideas are relevant and interesting to someone other than ourselves changes the way we think. By allowing others to engage in our imaginations, we transform the way we ruminate. Our imaginations have the ability to move our lives in different directions than we originally expected. It is important to use blogs not just as an online journal, but also as a way to really express the way we think and to be creative in a social atmosphere. By allowing the two-way street of letting our ideas influence others, and others creations spark our own ideas, the online culture of letting imagination run wild and free directly affects our lives. “The Internet gives mankind the ability to enact his creative visions by providing access to both the resources and audiences necessary to realize his specific creative endeavors (Bayles.)”  By using the power of the Internet, each person is adding to the unique medium that has come to define our modern age and culture.

Works Cited

"imagination." Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition.   

          HarperCollins Publishers. 08 Jun. 2012.          

Bayles, Greg. “At One with our Creative Ideal: Paper in a Post.” New Horizons.                    

          Blogspot.com. 30 May 2012. 3 June 2012.

"An Experimental Study of Imagination." The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 21, No. 3(Jul., 1910), pp. 422-452.

Sasson, Remez. “Do You Use Your Imagination?” Successconsciousness.com.

           14 May 2010. 25 May 12.

Solis-Gadea, Hecter Raul. “The New Sociological Imagination: Facing the Challenges     

          of a New Millennium.”

          International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society 18.3-4 (2005):113-122

Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables. London: Bantam Books. C. 1908.   

          Print.

Cowan, Darcy. “Imagination in Reality.” E-mail to Makenna Phillips. 25 May 2012.

Miller, Kathleen Ann. “Haunted Heroines. “The Lion and the Unicorn. Vol.  34 (2010)

          pp. 125-147 c. The John Hopkins University Press.

Granger, John. “Anne of Green Gables and Harry Potter.” Hogwarts Professor

            Thoughts for Serious Readers. 18 January 2010. 25 May 2012.

Chen, Minjie. “Critical Evaluative Essay on Text.” Anne of Green Gables by L. M

         Montgomery. November 2004. 16 May 2012.

If I imagine writing this paper to be fun, will it come true?

This paper writing experience has been very different from previous experiences. In this case, I feel like we have used every single resource available to us, and it has allowed me to see how wonderful social proof actually is. I don't know what I would have done without my cohorts to keep me on the right track! Here is the very first draft of my paper. Many things will be changing, but this it where it all begins.

New Ideas!

While the majority of my contacts haven't been super helpful, it has been useful for me to put my ideas out there. Just writing to all of these different professors and bloggers, has helped me work through my own ideas. I have found that when I write down my topic, I write it in different ways when I am trying to contact different people. This has helped me understand how many little tiny facets and sides there are to the idea of imagination leading to creative content. 

One of my contacts, a blogger named Darcy, wrote:

"Imagination is not an unalloyed good, and neither is instant access to everything anyone ever wrote on a topic. But it's probably better than the alternative.Looking directly to the use of imagination, it's true that broadly defined imagination is essential. Arguably we couldn't function without it, the ability to envision a situation different from the current one doesn't just allow us to change our lives in significant ways, it helps us to simply get through the day. But not all imagination is of the same quality."

This definitely helped me to realize that imagination isn't something that is misunderstood or good versus bad. As with everything, imagination is what we make of it. While my thesis is staying the same, this as well as talking with my cohorts has helped me direct my call of action to those who use the internet and blogging as an "online journal." It is important that we try to use the power of blogging and the internet for good, rather than content that isn't helpful or pertinent to anyone. 

It is an Essay Trailer!

These are the main ideas of my essay...in trailer format! Please let me know what you think. Keep in mind that this is my first youtube video ever, and when converting files it made the audio file go a little out of sync. However, this the perfect point to remind everyone that sometimes publishing the creative process is more important than the actual result! 

Imagination moving the World: Paper in a Post

"On the human imagination events produce the effects of time. Thus, he who has traveled far and seen much is apt to fancy that he has lived long." “But Anne with her elbows on the window sill, her soft cheek laid against her clasped hands, and her eyes filled with visions, looked out unheedingly across city roof and spire to that glorious dome of sunset sky and wove her dreams of a possible future from the golden tissue of youth's own optimism. All the Beyond was hers, with its possibilities lurking rosily in the oncoming years — each year a rose of promise to be woven into an immortal chaplet.”

Since the beginning, myth and imagination has influenced how we see the world. Our history books are filled with the romanticized idea of events that actually occurred. In Anne of Green Gables, Anne is consistently known as a character with a knack for imagination. While many think that daydreaming and imagination is a way to hide from reality, this is not true. Our imaginations are a product of human labor. For some, this comes easily, but for others they struggle to see beyond the scope of their own reality. By using our creativity and ability to re-imagine our own personal world in blogs, today's technology allows each of us to take part in the transformation and growth of our culture. 

In Anne of Green Gables, one of the main characters, Matthew Cuthbert, is known for being shy and unable to speak his mind to women. He is stuck in his own boring, daily routine. When he and his sister, Marilla, plan on adopting a young boy to help around the farm, they accidentally get a girl instead- Anne. While Marilla wants to send Anne back to the orphanage, Matthew imagines what his life would be like with a talkative young girl around. From the moment Anne and Matthew left, her imagination began to change the way Matthew saw the world around him. In that one instant where he allowed his imagination to run free, he let his heart open to this love starved little girl, and it ended up changing his life forever. Anne is known for saying,"It is delightful when your dreams come true, isn't it?" Anne had a way of not using her imagination just to escape the world, but to influence her life and the lives of others. 

In one particular article, called "Do you use your Imagination?," by Remez Sasson, the definition of imagination is questioned. It isn't a useless waste of time, but the ability to visualize different situations and events. By using this tool, we can prepare ourselves for different problems that may arise, plan events, and create something completely new. In a more romantic sense, one blogger named John claimed that there is a traditional "understanding imagination as the spiritual heart of the human person." By combining both of these ideas, it can be argued that imagination is both useful and romantic. It covers every aspect of human life. It allows us to be practical and  accomplish things that we need to do daily, while still allowing us to show a reflection of what lies within our hearts. 

While talking to my cohorts and many bloggers within the extensive blogging world, I have realized that there are many different types of blogs and reasons for wanting to share your thoughts with the world. Blogs are unique, because unlike other social media, they are used for more than just talking to friends or relating exactly what we are doing every minute of the day. They are forums for expressions, and allow creativity to flourish, and are ways to expand our hobbies and interests. Even more than that, they allow our ideas to grow and expand by allowing the world to comment on our thoughts and creations. This "social proof," that our ideas are relevant and interesting to someone other than ourselves changes the way we think. By allowing others to engaged in our imaginations, we transform the way we think and feel. Our imaginations have the ability to move our lives in different directions than we originally expected. It is important to use blogs not just as an online journal, but as a way to really express the way we think and to be creative in a social atmosphere. By allowing the two way street of letting our ideas influence others, and others creations spark our own ideas, the online culture of letting imagination run wild and free directly affects our lives.  

Anne's Imagination and Social Proof

One thing I have noticed about Anne's devoted fans, is that they tend to identify with her crazy imagination. This obviously leads to a huge group of people that are daydreamers. People who live in fantasy of worlds of their own. People who are inspired one moment, and then move on to the next thing they can't live without in the next. Exactly like Anne. I know this, because I am just like her. However, this daydream-y attitude does NOT lead to a lot of feedback with social proof. Ok. Maybe I am exaggerating. But I have had difficulty getting people to respond. This does not mean that their ideas and numerous sources haven't inspired me and my theories though.

So far I have been contacting people and posting questions about Anne of Green Gables on facebook, with a little feedback. It seems everyone "likes" my ideas, but it has been difficult engaging any one person in a lengthy conversation about this topic. However, I have had a little more success by commenting on fan reviews of Anne of Green Gables on Goodreads. The fans there have many interesting ideas about Anne's character. 

The best resource I have found has been the many, many blogs dedicated not only to Anne of Green Gables, but also to the topic of imagination within the blogging atmosphere. Their ideas have influenced my own theories about my topic of choice. I have emailed Janga, The Anne of Green Gables and L.M. Montgomery Lexicon, and Darcy Cowan, directly about the ideas they blog about, and am hoping for some responses!

Right now I am working up the courage to contact some experts on the topic. They are:

• Paul W. Martin- An English Professor who teaches Canadian Literature with an emphasis on women characters and their roles throughout their books. 
• J.T Barbarese- An English Professor who teaches Anne of Green Gables as part of a romantic modern literature class. 
• Nancy McCabe- Is a Professor and a Director of a writing program. She also writes literary reviews and articles. 
• Victoria Nash- An enthusiastic blogger who writes about Anne of Green Gables and imagination vs reality. 

While Social proof has been difficult, it definitely has been a rewarding learning experience. The little feedback I have had among family, friends, and social networks has helped me narrow down my ideas. When I first began thinking about topics for my paper, I had too many ideas whirling around in my head. It wasn't until I was inspired by the many blogs and syllabus (Syllabi?) that I finally discovered what interested me within the many topics of Anne of Green Gables. 

The Sources behind Anne of Green Gables Theory

Tweethis Statement: Anne, from Anne of Green gables suffers from a conflict between her imagination and the real world. Today’s blogging atmosphere naturally allows imagination to soar, but does this help or hurt our perceptions of reality?

The Lion and the Unicorn 34 (2010) 125-147 c. The John Hopkins University Press
http://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/lion_and_the_unicorn/v034/34.2.miller.pdf 
This is a scholarly monograph found through Project MUSE. This article asserts that the gothic imagination of character contrasts with reality in order to socially instruct the characters on discipline of their imaginations. Once the imagination is done away with, they will be ready for their own real life romances. This fits perfectly with my idea that imagination and wanting to project a certain image while blogging can hold you back from the real world.

Gates, Charlene E. “Image, Imagination, and Initiation: Teaching as a Rite of Passage.”
         Children’s Literature in Education 20.3 (1989): 165-173
          http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01126458
This is a scholarly article in a journal found through google scholar. Gates argues that the combination of image and imagination leads to a more satisfying result than reality. This made me think about how people combine what they want people to think and the truth about the themselves when blogging in order to create something more interesting.

Solis-Gadea, Hecter Raul. “The New Sociological Imagination: Facing the Challenges of a New Millennium.”
          International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society 18.3-4 (2005):113-122
http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/20059678?searchUrl=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dimagination%2Band%2Btechnology%26gw%3Djtx%26acc%3Don%26prq%3D%2528imagination%2529%26Search%3DSearch%26hp%3D25%26wc%3Don&Search=yes&uid=3739928&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=47699020948347 
This scholarly article, found through a search found by my cohorts on JSTOR, talks about sociological imagination as a way of facing intellectual challenges in present times. This helped me think of how imagination and learning go hand in hand with Anne’s character.

"Force of Imagination." The Dublin Penny Journal , Vol 3, No. 144 (1835), p. 319
http://www.jstor.org/stable/30003722?&Search=yes&searchText=imagination&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3Dimagination%26f0%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26q1%3D%26f1%3Dall%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don%26Search%3DSearch%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo%3D&prevSearch=&item=12&ttl=19644&returnArticleService=showFullText
This scholarly journal article, found through JSTOR, relates a science experiment on the force of imagination. This made me think of blogging as a way to imagine that our lives are better. The force of imagination can make real things fall into place. Almost like the concept of "fake it till you make it." Anne was always trying to imagine the way things should be, and many of her dreams came true.

Montgomery, L.M., and Cecily Margaret Devereux. Anne of Green Gables. Peterborough,
         Ont.:Broadview, 2004. Print.
http://books.google.com/books?id=9kpgvRjMlNMC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
This is a scholarly edition of my primary text, and I found it through a recommendation on an article found on JSTOR. The commentary in this book suggest that imagination makes people individuals, instead of conformists. This made me think of all the blogs that are all the say format and are just part of the masses. They aren't extraordinary. Do blogs require an imaginative twist to make them unique?

"An Experimental Study of Imagination." The American Journal of Psychology, Vol. 21, No. 3(Jul., 1910),                      
     pp. 422-452.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1413350?seq=2&Search=yes&searchText=imagination&list=hide&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoAdvancedSearch%3Fq0%3Dimagination%26f0%3Dall%26c1%3DAND%26q1%3D%26f1%3Dall%26acc%3Don%26wc%3Don%26Search%3DSearch%26sd%3D%26ed%3D%26la%3D%26jo%3D&prevSearch=&item=21&ttl=19644&returnArticleService=showFullText&resultsServiceName=null
This is from a scholarly article from a journal found on JSTOR. This article is a scientific study of imaginations. It defines imagination as more than the ability to distort facts or the ability to live in a colored world rather than the "gray world of reality." It also means to see things with a rosy light, or to entice a feeling of sympathy. This helped me to see Anne's character in a new light, and helped define exactly what imagination was.

Rubio, Mary. "Satire, Realism, and Imagination in Anne of Green Gables." University of Winnipeg. c.2008.  http://ccl-lcj.ca/index.php/ccl-lcj/article/viewArticle/1213
This is a scholarly article found through google scholar. It was written about the imagination in Anne of Green Gables and compares it to the realism of life. It says imagination is romanticized, but that it happens in a way that shows the real event. This way, you see exactly what Anne's point of view is. This fits with my thesis, because it shows me that while some imaginative blogging might not be realistic, it could certainly show exactly what the writer's real point of view is.

Gammel, Irene. Looking for Anne of Green Gables: The Story of L.M. Montgomery and her Literary
           Classic. Macmillan. 2008. Print.
http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=8OL_VpTa7tEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA13&dq=anne+of+green+gables+and+imagination&ots=el83RJ9xn0&sig=pS5OEczbfR2onrzXPgZBjHgOLzs#v=onepage&q=anne%20of%20green%20gables%20and%20imagination&f=false
This is a book found on google scholar. It is a literary analysis of Anne of Green Gables, as well as the author. In the prologue, it points out the quote where Anne is saying that what she can imagine about herself is much more interesting that what she knows about herself. This fits with the idea in my thesis that people embellish their lives while blogging in order to seem more interesting. The idea of self protection and perception is more important than reality.

While this research experience was challenging, it helped a lot with developing my ideas. When I began, I had a very basic idea about the subject I wanted to write about. After looking at all the articles and journals about my topic, it helped me think more in depth about my theories, and exactly what direction I want to take my paper. It was nice to get back to my roots and research books and article rather than websites, but I do think that the websites will add a lot to my ideas as well. I think this will end up being the perfect mix of sources, but I am glad to finally have the bibliography finished, as citing sources is time consuming!!!

Kindred Spirit

What is a Kindred Spirit? Most Anne of Green Gables Fans would know. According to a blogpost by a girl with the pen name of Miss Dashwood, Kindred Spirits are friends who always know what to say, but don't need words to know how you feel. A friend with whom you can feel safe and mirrors your own thoughts. You understand each other and have that special connection. Essentially, your souls are made of the same stuff. In Anne of Green Gables, Anne finds 'Kindred Spirits' in unique places. They don't always start out liking each other, but eventually Anne's way of seeing the world wins people over. The  digital age, and in particular, blogging, is just a new way for people to form Kindred Spirits. When we blog about our ways of seeing the world, and our own perceptions, it puts our ideas out into the universe. Instead of having to wait to meet someone in order to become friends, you can find friendship with people from all over.

While commenting on blogs dedicated to Anne of Green Gables, I have found camaraderie with many people outside of my world in Provo. While I am still working on getting them to comment on my own ideas, I find it that our shared love of the characters in Anne's story is a great place to start. 

Influence on the World

Today, while reading a literary criticism of Anne of Green Gables, https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/mchen6/www/collection/514A/eva.htm, a certain quote stood out. It reads, " Our perception of reality often becomes the blueprint for our lives." In Anne's case, her imaginings affected her everyday life. She was a dreamer, constantly trying to form her world to fit the way she saw things  inside her head. She had so many ideas that she formed a story club in order to 'cultivate her imagination.' Anne influenced so many people because she dared to dream big and spoke of the things in her imagination unabashedly. People today are still dreaming, and imagining things that they want to happen in their own lives. In the digital age, we are now capable of spreading our thoughts and ideas to the entire world. The hope is that our own perceptions of reality influence someone else and their own perceptions. We aren't speaking to ourselves, but to the entire world. The only problem is everyone wants to be unique and to put their every thought and feeling out there for everyone to see. Like Dr. Burton said, a lot of content on the internet is inert and doesn't really have a point. However, the digital media has the potential to act as a medium for our own ideas to become the blueprint for other people's ideas about the world. 

The World behind the Characters

"They had driven over the crest of a hill. Below them was a pond, looking almost like a river so long and winding was it. A bridge spanned it midway and from there to its lower end, where an amber-hued belt of sand hills shut it in from the dark blue gulf beyond, the water was a glory of many shifting hues- the most spiritual shadings of crocus and rose and ethereal green, with other elusive tintings for which no name has ever been found."

In 1908, L.M Montgomery was looking to capture the feeling and inspiration of Prince Edward Island. The Island has pastoral landscapes, with rolling hills, shadowed forests and red sandy beaches. There has been a preservation act passed so the landscape looks much the same today, as it did then. This landscape also inspired, L.M Montgomery's main character, Anne. She would often be found outside, imagining the flowers to be souls, and trees to be dryads. In a way, this book perfectly matches the environment it was written in. Prince Edward Island is a real place and some of the cities in Anne of Green Gable are real, but the Town of Avonlea and its characters are fictional. This is the perfect connection to Anne's character, for she is such an interesting mixture of real and imagined things. Her imagination influenced who she was and what she believed in. 
The imagination of the town of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery has actually influenced the real Prince Edward Island. There is a thriving Anne of Green Gable community there. Along with the Anne of Green Gables House, there is a musical, museums devoted to L.M. Montgomery and her character Anne. 

The more you know about the beautiful place of Prince Edward Island and its background, the more you understand about the characters and their way of thinking. 

A New Perspective

When I was about 10, I read Anne of Green Gables for the first time. Anne was precocious and a little dramatic, but she essentially wanted all the things that I wanted at the time; to have a best friend, to be the best in school, but to be thought of as pretty too, not just smart. This book was always a story about growing up, and learning lessons from the things we have to go through in life. However, while doing research on this book, I found a syllabus from an English 180 class by Professor Paul Martin. This book was on the syllabus for a class about Women authors and their views on feminism. For the first time, I realized that this book could be much more than a coming of age story. 

Anne of Green Gables was published in 1908, right in the heart of the Edwardian Era. This time period was known as the beginning of the women's suffrage movement. Suffragettes all over the world were trying to win equality for women, and were breaking norms in order to prove that they could be as influential as any man. With Anne of Green Gables placed into this point of view, it takes on a whole new meaning. Having been born in 1990, I have always taken equality for women for granted. Anne going to college and having a career, as well as being a wife and mother didn't seem too out of the norm. However, when taking into consideration that this was a time period where women didn't even have the right to vote, Anne's accomplishments in the book are actually quite a feat. When thinking about Anne's example as someone who could break free of the restrictions placed on her as a women, it makes me ponder about the ways we will break free of the norms we have now. Maybe we are in the process of cutting loose our own constraints that we have previously had in the literary world by expanding the way we think and learn with the help of the new digital culture. 

Thoughts about themes

I have been contemplating my favorite scenes from Anne of Green Gables. And as much as I love the book, whenever I picture the most epic moments, I always start humming the music from the movie. As a musician (I play harp and piano), music plays such an important role in my life. It can perfectly express whatever you are feeling. I have always kind of wished that my life could have a soundtrack. I was thinking about exploring the different themes from Anne of Green Gable's using music to reflect the most important moments in the book. I am not quite sure how to do this though. Maybe create a youtube video that shows a mix of art, text and music? Essentially, I want to show my perspective of the characters and themes using art and music.

Popular media

In Anne of Green Gables, everything is centered around the aesthetically pleasing. The language is descriptive, Anne's character loves pretty things, and the surroundings are picturesque. Most importantly, this book is based on how souls can be just as beautiful as the world. Two people that connect can change each other's lives. I am amazed at how this book has inspired so many people. There is a lot of fan art and videos based on the love of the characters from Anne of Green Gables. 

Is History Repeating?

After reading Rainbows End, it made me question the technology in our own futures. 50 years from now, will our world be run by technology, or will we hit a period of rebellion, much like the period of Romanticism after the Industrial Revolution? Many of us have been asking questions about what technology does to society, and whether we agree with it or not. It seems like this is a question that has been asked many times before. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote:

"The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. He is supported on crutches, but loses so much support of muscle. He has got a fine Geneva Watch, but he has lost the skill to tell the hour by the sun. A Greenwich nautical almanac he has, and so being sure of the information when he wants it, the man in the street does not know a star in the sky. The solstice he does not observe; the equinox he knows as little; and the whole bright calendar of the year is without a dial in his mind. His notebooks impair his memory; his libraries overload his wit; the insurance office increases the number of accidents; and it may be a question whether machinery does not encumber; whether we have not lost by refinement some energy, by a Christianity entrenched in establishments and forms, some vigor of wild virtue."

I think that no matter what day and age we are living in, we are going to question the direction the world is going in. While reading Anne of Green Gables this week, I noticed that the main character, Anne, sees so much beauty and mystery in the world. Even though her surroundings and experiences are constantly changing, she has a firm foundation in the things she believes in. I think that if we apply our own principles to everything we learn, then we don't need to fear how things are changing around us. We will learn new skills, forget ones that are no longer applicable, but no matter what happens, we are adaptable. I think Anne's spirit of adventure is exactly the inspiration I need in order to conquer the new digital age. 

Internet Dependency- The student's drug of choice

Today, I ran home in between classes, with JUST enough time to work on my blog and do some homework. I was excited to be caught up with everything and not be rushing to finish at the last second. I was online for about two minutes, when all of the sudden- the internet crashes. Frantically, I try to unplug the router and restart my computer and helplessly cross my fingers and pray that it comes back from the dark side where the internet sometimes likes to reside. No such luck. Now, with not enough time to try and go to the library I am forced to put off everything that I need an internet connection to do. Which, is basically everything. Being without internet forced me to think about just how dependent students are on the internet. Not only do we use it as a form of communication, and as a way to submit projects and homework, but we really don't know how to do research without it. The internet and online media is great, when it actually works. But so often, I find that I am getting frustrated over being unable to do things because of technological errors. It is amazing that we can rely on our computers so much for everyday tasks. Even now, with my patchy internet signal, stolen from my neighbor's router, I am praying that I can finish my thoughts before the internet cuts out again. While the internet is full of wonderful new things to discover, it often reminds me of a very twisted love-hate relationship. While things are going in your favor, you love the internet, but all too often we get let down our guard and the second we do- we find ourselves cursing how attached we have become to something so fickle.

My Lake of Shining Waters

When I was about 11, I remember picking up a book most girls have read and loved- Anne of Green Gables. Immediately, I identified with Anne's character, who was in love with all things beautiful and romantic. She would rename places that had boring names, for example, Barry's Pond become the Lake of Shining Waters. From there, I began to watch the film version of this story, which begins with Anne becoming distracted by the beauty of a poem called "The Lady of Shalott." Of course I had to read the poem that Anne was in love with, so I remember looking this poem online. 

At once I was mesmerized by this epic poem. 

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,

Little breezes dusk and shiver
Thro' the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
   Flowing down to Camelot.
Four gray walls, and four gray towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
   The Lady of Shalott.

This is only one stanza of a poem that tells of a Lady trapped in a tower by magic. http://www.lib.rochester.edu/camelot/shalott.htm In the book, Anne is so inspired by this piece of poetry that she and her friends decide to play act and actually send Anne in a boat down the pond, pretending she is the Lady of Shalott. I was later looking for this poem online, when I found many others had been inspired by the Lady of Shalott and had attempted to recreate her in art.

This pattern can continue on forever. Literature has the power to connect all things. An idea or a character can remind you of something else you read. A favorite author can inspire you to delve into their original inspiration. Life has a way of guiding you to the books that connect to your current situation. I am continually amazed at how the internet supports literature. It has become so easy to find a book you have been looking for, or to give you ideas on what to read next. But not only does it help you find what you are looking for, it helps intertwine all things creative. Art, poetry and literature can be found in the same place, just waiting to be discovered. At first, I believed the internet to be an ordinary, practical thing, used for convenience. It was Barry's Pond. Now, I have been converted and the internet has been transformed into my own Lake of Shining Waters, full of mystery and all things beautiful, just waiting to be discovered. 

Too Many Thoughts

Where to begin? This is always the question that leaps into my head the minute I sit down to write. I always feel like there are too many ideas in my head, and they become tangled together until I am unable to form a coherent thought. When thinking about the digital age, it reminded me of an article I read last semester called "Is Google Making us Stupid?" by Nicholas Carr. I also believe this same article was mentioned in the E-book Writing about Literature in the Digital Age. Nicholas writes about how we think changes based on the current medium we are using. When we write by hand our thoughts become slow and methodical, while the internet makes us want to process a million bits of information at once, constantly scanning and flipping through different pages online. I was thinking about how I used to absorb information from books like a sponge. Now, I always feel like I have to be multitasking with 10 different tabs up on my computer, never being completely focused on one thing taking in a few sentences here and there. I can relate to the way Carr compares our way of thinking to a staccato note, short and sharp. Bouncing from one thing to the next. It makes me question if despite the new and wonderful ways of learning the internet provides, if it doesn't come at a steep price. Is the internet worth the toll on our minds and the way it changes the way we think?

Writing about Literature in the Digital Age

Today in class, we were assigned to read the digital E-book, Writing about Literature in the Digital Age. This explores the topic of how blogging, instead of long research papers can introduce new ways of connecting to the things we are reading. I read 2 chapters, A Letter from Hell: Screwtape on the Digital Age as well as Jane Eyre and Social Technology: Changing the Learning Process. 

Around the World in 80 Days

Around the World in 80 Days, by Jules Verne is one of my favorite books. While I typically like longer books than this one, this novel has such a wide range of settings with a new adventure in each one, that this book of 122 pages is more exciting than most 500 page books I have read. Most importantly, this book is very applicable to how Literature is being changed by the Digital Age. 

We begin with the character of Phileas Fogg, who is a very proper, well regulated, British Gentleman. He does the same thing every day at precisely the same time in precisely the same way. Then out of the blue, a friend challenges an idea of Mr. Foggs's, that with the new impressive traveling routes, a person could make it around the world in a mere 80 days. Taking the bet, Mr. Fogg decided to leave that very afternoon, along with his servant, to prove that one could travel the world in such a short period of time. On his travels, Mr. Fogg doesn't always stick to his route, and he meets new people and becomes acquainted with new ideas. 

This reminds me in many ways of the "new traveling routes" of experiencing literature that are available due to many new digital resources. While many scholars want to stay within defined, regulated standards of learning, if we take a step outside of the world we are used to living in and explore, we can discover many new ideas and ways of relating to literature.  

BYU-I Learning Model

Well, to begin with, my name is Makenna Phillips. This blog is the beginning  of an interesting concept for my Writing Literary Analysis class, about how the world is changing due to the internet and advanced online resources. These new resources disrupt the traditional approach to learning about literature. But before I delve more into this topic, it is important to go over the learning model for this class. The BYU-I learning model is made up of three parts:

1. Prepare

2. Teach one another

3. Ponder/prove

One can prepare in many ways for a class. I believe that in order to be fully prepared, you have to do more than just doing the assigned work and showing up. You have to look at learning as more than just information you are trying to memorize. I try to become engaged in the subject I am studying, to seek additional information so that I might actively participate and have more ideas than those that were just handed to me in the book. I have found that when I try to become excited about a subject, I am more prepared for class by actually caring about what we are discussing. 

As for teaching one another, I have had many opportunities to work in groups and one on one within classrooms. I have found that when you get to know your peers, it is easier for me to participate  in discussions. I am on the shy side, so speaking my opinion in front of a foreign audience is nearly impossible. Once I get to know my fellow students, it becomes much easier to talk without turning a bright shade of red! Even if I completely understand the subject, by teaching someone else and having to explain everything, it reinforces the things I have learned so that I understand the subject on a new level. 

It is important not to just memorize information and regurgitate it on a test, then promptly forget whatever it was you just memorized, but to ponder the things you learn then prove them. To me, proving means that you take the knowledge you gained and apply it to your life. I have found that the things I learn about in books change the way I think and view many ideas. When I am interested in the subject, a piece of literature can effect how I see everything. However, I have found that more and more lately I have been immediately forgetting the things I read instead of trying to apply my new knowledge. I hope that this learning model will inspire me to become more prepared and dedicated to the English Language so that I might be able to effectively communicate my ideas with my fellow classmates.