Reina's Thoughts on Creating a Website

Exciting.
Frustrating.
Learning.
Confusion.
Completion.

In short, I have and had many thoughts about my website while and after creating it: Reina's Website.

It is here that I wish to address some of my thoughts as well as explain some of my shortcomings while creating my website.

When I first began creating my website, I was beyond thrilled. I had never worked with technology in this manner. For the first time I was successfully opening and using programs on my computer such as  iMovie, photoshop, and much more. Before I began on this assignment I believed those programs were meant for the amateur professional, a status I was not sure I could obtain.

And then came the frustration: "Why isn't it working for me?" Not understanding why my page is not looking like the professors. Over time I realized that one mis-type in html code, uploading the wrong document, or using a different browser were simple explanations to why things weren't working. I began to be frustrated by the time consuming endeavor of changing a simple mistake. I would first work on the html code in jedit, upload the document to my files, refresh my website, just to realize I needed to make more changes and begin the three-prong process all over again!  A simple lack of an apostrophe required three steps to correct.

After a few months, I began to understand the logic behind the code. I started to figure out, through trial and error, how to complete the assignments. However, I am still confused as to why some of my pages are not exactly how I aesthetically would prefer them to look.

I would like to discuss the following assignments/pages:
Animation.
iMovie.
Powerpoint.
Table.

Both my animation, masksani3.gif, and iMovie in their final stages of creation appear with some issues. After uploading my filtered mask images to gifbuilder and added the set length of time of each image and looped them I notices a red tint to some of the images. I have no idea how to get rid of it! Similarly, with my iMovie in the application itself the pictures and images look great and after converting the movie to .mov in vlc it still looks great. But after embedding it in the webpage a couple of the images/transitions disfigure the images. I have no idea how to fix it.

I am very proud of my powerpoint. As a .ppt file the transitions are as I wish them to be and in the last slide I figured out how to embed videos, which play by clicking the boxes below the video's title. However, after saving the file as a movie the transitions changed and the videos do not play. I did however attach a link to the file so viewers can view the slideshow in ppt and hopefully see it and access the material as originally conceived.

Lastly, let's discuss my tables. Under assigmnet #7 there are two tables. The first one was originally conceived where the table would be the entire page with 25% of the page white and 75% purple. I was unable to figure out how to make it appear that way and settled with how it looks now with the table appearing as just taking up the top of the page. My Pilobolus table and my final project which are both tables, for some weird reason, don't get smaller or larger when the page is decreased or enlarged, rather it is a set size and one must scroll to view it all. The first table however does change, so I can't tell what is different in the codes.

I am very proud of my work, but I also had to give up some of my aesthetic preferences while creating this website. On May 11th, my mac computer started to slow down and completely stalled the following day. I had to spend an entire morning at the apple store and proceeded to reinstall my software over the weekend. Despite my huge strides over the semester when dealing with technology, I freaked out about the thought of completely wiping my hard-drive clean. Even though my entire computer was backed up with time machine and documents were on a usb drive and dropbox online, I was scared.

Despite the lack of having my own mac computer to work on, I was able to complete my website with the help of my Mom's pc and the Steinhardt computer lab. It was not ideal, but it got the job done. It was a bit frustrating not to have my entire iTunes library available to me when choosing background music for my iMovie and final project, time consuming to teach myself how to use a different computer and download the necessary programs and plugins to finish the remaining projects, and slightly inconvenient to head to NYU to use the computers, I was still able to get the job done. I did notice that on the various computers I used my webpages appeared differently. Music started on its own despite the code stating: autostart = "false", controllers and movies had weird borders, etc. I can only hope that the webpage is viewed as intended, even though that seems unlikely depending on the computer and browser it is being viewed on.

I was surprised how I have enjoyed blogging. Although I do not think I will continue blogging after this class, I felt I was able to explore some of my thoughts on technology and took greater interest in how the media discussed various aspects of technology.

On a final note, I have a website devoted to me as an artist, teacher, and student and hope to use it as a way to promote myself in the future. I have finally learned how to use various computer applications, which would have otherwise remained a mystery. Lastly, I have just offered to work on a website for a community project that I co-created and co-run, Flattening the Hills Street Fair: A Celebration of Jewish Life in Washington Heights, an endeavor I would have never volunteered for before this course. 


So in short, I learned a lot, and still have a lot to learn. 

Reina's Thoughts on Internet 2

Over the past semester, I had the wonderful opportunity to collaborate with Music Tech student Cheng-i Wang. We have been exploring the use of live video capture in a dance piece. While we were preparing for my class showing, Cheng-i asked me if I would be willing to adapt my choreography for Internet 2, a performance that streams footage live from various sites. This year three different sites were scheduled to participate. Cheng-i created a score that would be played at the three locations and accompany my choreography set at each site.

Sadly, I missed the Internet 2 performance. I was celebrating the Jewish Holiday of Passover with my family and was unable to be at NYU. As an observant Jew, I was unable to even connect to the Internet to watch the live stream. On the day of the performance, surrounded by my extended family, I still wished I was at NYU watching the performance. When Cheng-i informed me that there will be another Internet 2 workshop, where only our piece would be performed, I was ecstatic!

I can't even begin to explain how amazing it was to see everything come together. Once we overcame the technical issues, the end result was awesome. At one showing my choreography was being performed internationally: NYC, Norway, and Stockholm.

I can't wait for the next opportunity to work through live stream!

Check out the footage from the workshop: Internet 2 workshop

Reina's Thoughts on Gadgets

I am sitting in my seat on my New York City bound plane, surrounded by upper middle class Jewish kids. One boy to my right is actually throwing a hissy fit because his in-flight entertainment console is not working. Ok, I know how much it sucks when those things do not work. But this kid up until this point was playing on his hand held gaming device. His sister, seated next to him, is fidgeting with an I-pad and I can only imagine what other gadgets he has on him.

The stewardess tries to console him telling him that they are not supposed to work until after take-off. He shrieks, “but his works” as he points to the person seated in front of him. The stewardess replies that what he sees does not indicate that his won’t work after take-off. He was unsatisfied, but there was nothing else to be done at the point.

Of course I was struck by his spoiled attitude, but I also wondered if I am any different? Granted I have a much better attitude, however, I too am connected to my gadgets. I don’t go anywhere without at least one of my devices. My phone, Ipod, and computer can all connect to the Internet through wifi. I am currently typing on my computer while hooked-up to my in-flight entertainment consle, listening to music.

Am I any different?

I have always valued my weekly Sabbath respite from these gadgets, pride myself that I attend a monthly in person book (not nook) club, and appreciate that my profession requires me to move to music in real time and space.

Once again I am reminded what my professors told me before embarking on a dance piece that utilizes technology. Envision a dance whose artistic aesthetic is enhanced by the technology you are using not one that is simply about using technology. I am beginning to believe that this principle should seep into my every day life. Allow the technology to enhance ones life not be its essence.

As I return to my New York City life, final projects, and the beginning of summer, I have started to envision how my days will unfold. I would like to connect to the people and places that are important to me, using technology to get me there, but once there I hope to be fully present and not to still be connected to my devices.  

Reina's Thoughts on the Internet

Over this past Passover Holiday I was able to spend some quality time reading. I came across an old issue of New York Magazine entitled "PORN and Junior-High Culture, the vanishing male libido, and the google of smut plus: Emily Nussbaum on 'Skins' and NC-17 TV." Although I was at first struck by the provocative cover article, the segment on Junior-High culture in this February 7, 2011 issue was very informative.

Time and time again we are hearing about the impact technology and, in particular, the Internet is having on our youth. I have already witnessed how it has affected my generation, no one really talks on the phone anymore people prefer the impersonal nature of texting, relationships are developed on g-chat rather than in person, and the boundary between what is personal and public has been completely blurred by social networking. As an educator who works with K-12 and, part of the Y generation, I am sandwiched in between two realms. I remember, appreciate, and grew up in the times of old, as well as value, understand, and utilize the technologies of new. I am also in direct contact with today’s youth.

Am I expected as a young teacher to help navigate students through this “newish” frontier for them?

Alex Morris, in his article “They Know What Boys Want,” focuses on young teen relationships. He discusses that this generation of kids’ “sexual maturation is inextricably bound up with technology.” They are exposed to more, they have access to more, and they live behind a screen. Morris mentions a teen who ignores her “boyfriend” in public, where they act like they are just friends, but have extremely intimate online conversations. It is as if this generation of youths can only communicate online.

So what is the big deal?

Teens also realize that it is not only easier to communicate online but is also easier to conceal the truth. Words of commitment and devotion can be written and copied to many “girl/boyfriends.” Actual emotions, whether good or bad, are only expressed through emoticons rather than visual confirmations and/or confrontations.

There is so much lost and gained by exposing our children to the Internet, so how do we keep up?


Over this past Passover I had the great opportunity of spending time with my cousins in Israel. They are all Israeli and range from 14 to 2 years of age. Technology exists in each one of their lives in different ways. I had the great pleasure of watching the Disney Channel with my 7-year old cousin. We were watching an episode from the TV series “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.” In that particular episode characters of the show take part in a virtual online community where their self made avatars roam. One character describes it as an online world featuring their better selves. My cousin who was reading the Hebrew subtitles exclaimed that he wanted to join such a community. He immediately went to the Internet to search for it. After a few minutes, he came back to ask me if I could search for the program in English as he was not sure how to spell it. I was all of a sudden searching for “virtual world” and trying to navigate through the hundreds of hits. At some point I stopped and sat my cousin down next to me. I explained to him that what was taking me so much time was that I was trying to find a child appropriate world. He asked me why? I tried to explain to him that just as adults and children visit different places in the real world so too in the virtual world. Fortunately for me, he accepted this explanation. The last thing I needed was for his parents to find out that I gave their 7-year old access to a virtual stripper club or worse. I kept on thinking what would happen if he ended up on the wrong site and interacted with the wrong avatars. Isn’t the nightly news full of these horror stories? At the same time a lot of the kid sites had animal avatars, not realistic looking ones. I finally decided to look up the actual TV episode, I found out that Disney made up the program used on the show that was similar to but not identical to second city, which does not exist for children. After another search, I found something and we began to navigate the program together. Within half an hour my cousin lost interest.

This experience made me think about how I, as an adult, want children to navigate the web. More than anything I have learned that I cannot control what they view, but hopefully I can inform them how to search for appropriate material. 

Recently, I came across an article that uses “Second Life to Enhance Classroom Management Practice in Teacher Education.” 

Reina's Thoughts on Singularity

The February 21, 2011 issue of TIME Magazine was entitled "2045 The Year Man Becomes Immortal*." The asterisk led to the bottom right corner of the cover, "*if you believe humans and machines will become one. Welcome to the Singularity movement." I proceeded to read about and expose myself for the first time to the concept of singularity. The cover article begins with a dictionary definition. "sin·gu·lar·i·ty n: The moment when technological change becomes so rapid and profound, it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history." 

The idea that artificial intelligence (AI) will eventually outperform the capabilities of humans does not surprise me. Right now there exists artificial intelligence that outsmarts humans. For example, Watson the computer that played on Jeopardy! competed against trivia champions. As of now, what remains the same is that these AIs are being programed by man. Technology is not creating original thought nor producing innovative work. What is being suggested by singularists is that by 2015 AI will surpass the brainpower of a mouse, by 2023 surpass the brainpower of a human, and by 2045 surpass the brainpower equivalent to that of all human brains combined! Some even theorize that humans and machines will become one. Man will insert chips into their brains to function better. Eventually the line between human intelligence and artificial intelligence will be blurred.

So how does this affect me as an artist, as a person whose craft is based on creativity, on original thought?

Over the past semester I have embarked on a journey to incorporate technology into my art. My dance and technology professors alike have been warning/reminding me to use technology as a means to enhance my artistic vision, not to become the work. The artistic driving force behind the piece can not be the use of technology. So what happens when technology becomes a part of us? When there is no thought without it?

The article ends with the following thought: "Singularitarianism is grounded in the idea that change is real and that humanity is in charge of its own fate and that history might not be as simple as one damn thing after another." Whether I like it or not technology is changing at a much faster rate then I can keep up. It seems every few months another device is being launched and the current models are becoming outdated, while I struggle to find a way to stay relevant.

Reina's Thoughts on Technology

First and foremost let me begin by writing that I am not a fan of blogs. I am a bit upset that I have been assigned to write a blog for my technology and resource course. I never imagined myself writing a blog. Blogs give people a platform in which they can write and be "published." For some it's an incredible opportunity for others a waste of time and internet space. I am not a writer and definitely do not need my thoughts to be broadcast and accessible on the world wide web. I am, however, a fan of personal writing and when I was a kid I kept many journals. In order to come to terms with this assignment I will view this blog as a class journal.

With that being said let me continue with the assignment. Reina's Thoughts on Technology.

My biggest concern with the rise of technology in the form of kindles, nook, online books, newspapers, magazines, etc. is the future of actual books. For that reason I chose my backdrop for this blog to be books, to remind us of how they look, in case you forget. Although environmentalists are probably raving about the decrease in paper and everyone likes the accessibility, mobility, and simplicity of the online books I am simply not a huge fan. I can not read on a screen. It strains my eyes. In addition, I can not curl up with a piece of technology like I can with a book. Lastly, and most importantly, as an observant Jew who keeps the Sabbath I do not use any form of technology from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday night. For 25 hours I close all electronics and rest. Besides for going to Synagogue, eating, and sleeping, I'll sometimes go for a walk, make a puzzle, play boardgames, or read newspapers, magazines, my latest book club pick, whatever. Activities that have almost been forgotten by my generation.

The idea of the print word going extinct scares me more than anything. If all textbooks and reading material go online how will my children study/read on the Sabbath? When I discuss this concept with friends we wonder if Jewish law will evolve to accommodate the changes that technology brings. It might be decades before that happens, presses, publishers, printers would have to all be extinct. But the idea that we are heading in that direction is scary and/or exciting depending on your stance.

I wanted to bring up the concept of social platforms and technology as a way for us to connect to one another. In general, I find that we are all to connected to our appliances, whether it is a cell phone, Ipod, Ipad, Nook, etc. I too, like many individuals, ride the subways and walk the streets of Manhattan attached to some piece of equipment. We have found more and more ways to separate ourselves from actually confronting and facing our fellow man. We keep on finding more impersonal ways to stay connected. This Friday morning (March 4th) I was woken up by a phone call from one of my closest friends who lives in Israel. We stay connected via facebook (fb), e-mail, gchat, and a phone call around twice a month on Sundays. A call on a Friday morning is extremely out of the ordinary. She called to inform me that a friend of mine, Ilan Tokayer z"l, died the night before. It was a shock, he was 25, in good health, no one saw it coming. My immediate reaction was to confirm this horrible news. After all, I had just gchatted him the day before. There was just no way that he could be gone. I called another friend to confirm the news. Throughout the day I spoke to various friends. I spoke on the phone with people who were close to me but whose connection was over the past few years regulated to gchat and fb. During this tragic day, I needed real actual connection. I spent the Sabbath surrounded by friends, who like me grew up with Ilan. We reminisced and drew strength from one another.

It is at times like this that I appreciate my real connections with people. No form of technology can take the place of human comfort.