McGinnis,+Ryanna+S.


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 * MSA**
 * Disappearing Rain**
 * By: Deena Larsen**

**Overview:** Deena Larsen’s //Disappearing Rain// is viewed as one of the first hypertext novels. Consisting of two parts; //Part 1: Water Leavings// and //Part 2: River Journeys//. Larsen invites the reader into the text of //Disappearing Rain// by stating “Come on in” and “The water’s fine”. It seems innocent enough; however, once the reader enters into this world, the innocence is lost. The readers join the search for Anna, Amy’s missing twin sister. **Textual Features:** **Media Features:** **Reading Experience:** The experience of going through this digital novel was interesting to say the least. As the family and detectives search for clues to Anna’s disappearance, the reader searches through the “pages”. With some time (a lot of time) and a notebook to keep track of what links are clicked, it is possible to discover what happened to Anna. **Discussion Questions:**
 * Third-person narrative
 * Urgent tone
 * Personal
 * Meet the characters
 * Paragraphs are the main structure (nothing too flashy)
 * Few images; pictures of characters and Japanese symbols
 * Colors correlate with the story (blue=water)
 * Continuous, just keep clicking
 * 1)  What do you think about digital novels (not kindle/nook)? Are they practical to use in a classroom setting?
 * 2)  Do you find the character descriptions helpful? Does that allow you to make a personal connection with the character(s)?

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[] **Overview:** Nelson created an interactive Rubik’s Cube with a twist. Instead of colors and the frustration of matching and lining up the colors, Nelson offers the users words in the forms of lined poetry. As the article states “This interactive piece invites the reader to configure lines of poetry and images along the multiple axes of a simulated Rubik's Cube,” by having the options to manipulate the work, the readers are able to view all aspects on the cube. Nelson discusses how this cube is not the original version, rather a finished product. With this cube there is no “winning,” and Nelson states why “I would rather the reader explore the work than seek a resolution, a pathway to victory. Therefore in creating this work, I clearly numbered a possible print order for the lines of text.” **Commentary:** The Poetry Cube offers one version of how the digital application of a Rubik’s Cube could be used. Nelson created the cube with set features. The readers view what he wrote, rather than “creating” their own poems using the application. The conception that most digital works are merely experiments until a finished project is produced is interesting when one remembers that this is a digital media. Just as items online update constantly, so do the digital works which are put online. **Discussion:**
 * Jason Nelson’s Poetry Cube**
 * 1)  Nelson refers to himself as a “digital artist,” yet he produces “digital literature.” What is the difference?
 * 2)  Do you think that the cube would be better if it allowed the user to create his/her own works? If that was possible, would you use it in the classroom?