It was our duty to come up with a writing technology for this class. As we were given this assignment many of us probably thought it wouldn't be that hard to complete. We have been writing for most of our lives. I grew-up writing reports with pens and pencils. It wasn't until college that I began using the computer to write reports. Most of us have probably had the same experience. This report is an example of how I have integrated computer technology into my live. Even though we didn't have computers all our lives, we quickly became accustom to using the computer. Even though I may use a pen to write an outline for a report such as this one, I am no doubtably using the technology of the computer for the final draft. It has only been a few years since any of us began using the computer in this fashion. Despite this short amount of time, we have all become accustomed to the advantages of the computer age. There was never any doubt in my mind as to how this report would be written. I knew from its very conception that this report would be completed using the technology of the computer.

We don't even realize the power of the technology we use. Completing this assignment was relatively easy because of the technology accessible to me. We may not conceive the task as an easy one but compared to the difficulty of completing this report without these advances, they are extremely easy. We just don't realize how it easy it is for us because we have become so accustom to the accessibility of technology. Walter Ong wrote that, "the fact that we do not commonly feel the influence of writing on our thoughts shows that we have interiorized the technology of writing so deeply that without tremendous effort we cannot separate technology from ourselves or even recognize its presence and influence."

I believe what Walter Ong says is true for most of us. Before completing this assignment I didn't even realize the amount of technology I have internalized as being normative. My having interiorized the technology of writing is what made the first half of the assignment so difficult. I am so use to the writing technologies provided for me that I was unable to look at other ways of creating a writing technology. We assume that it wont be difficult designing a writing technology because of the simplicity of some of our current writing technologies. As Dennis Baron points out in his essay, the pencil may be a simple looking mechanical device, but it is not one that could be made by a hobbyist at home (73). Not only did I face the difficulty of designing a writing technology, I also faced the difficulty of what kind of technology to design. Because of advancements in our living conditions I was not familiar with natural writing utensils such as grapes that some of the classmates used. I had not thought of using a staining device. Melons, berries, and oranges were the last thing from my thought for this assignment. If I had thought of the staining process, what to stain would surely be an issue. The innovative ways people used produce showed their ability connect with their daily environment.

My first idea was to use mud as a writing technology. Like those who used produce, I figured that mud would offer itself as a pliable utensil; it would also adhere to the guidelines of the assignment. Mud is an all natural substance created from dirt and water that has been used to build huts. If used right mud could be a very lasting form of writing. This was my initial thought anyway. Just like the example of cheese on pizza professor Krause gave us, mud-writing would be lasting as long as it was kept in it original state. This means that as long as rain didn't wash it away or smear it, it would be alright. The mud huts were successful for two reasons: they were combined with other materials, and they didn't have to adhere to a specific shape in order to be useful. Besides the downfall of not lasting through rain, there were other shortcomings to using mud as a writing technology. The most damaging to its success was the inability to create and use mud in cold weather conditions. If it would have been summer, mud would have been a great thing to try for this assignment. Because of the weather conditions it was almost impossible to use mud. It was near the freezing point when this assignment took place; by time I wrote half of the words the mud would have most likely been frozen.

Weather conditions may have made me abandon my first type of writing technology, but it provided me with another. This technology had some of the same downfalls as mud, however, the weather conditions were prime to expose snow as a writing technology. Its permanence wasn't any better than mud; in fact it may be less then that of mud. Despite its obvious shortcomings due to changing weather condition, snow became my new writing technology. Instead of being the thing that I wrote with, it would be the device I wrote on. To make this happen I used a stick to write in the snow. The first obstacle to using snow is the positioning of the person doing the writing. Writing in snow requires a lot of space. This is space that can not be obstructed in any way. Most people don't worry about their bodies getting in the way when they write. Positioning of one's self becomes a very important factor when writing in snow. If I wasn't positioned correctly I would erase the very thing I just wrote. I had to place myself as far away from the first line as possible so there would be room to write lines below it. This made writing in the snow a very strenuous task. The next problem with writing in the snow is how well the letters came out. Because I was using a stick to write on a grassy surface the lettering was awkward to the dimensions we are use to. Some letters could not be designed in the conventional way. The letters became block style, and could be viewed only from certain angles. If a person came upon my snow writing from the wrong angle they wouldn't be able to distinguish it from random lines in the snow.

This assignment showed that even if snow didn't lack the characteristic of permanence, it would still be an inferior writing technology. Writing in the snow was just to complicated and time consuming. This form of writing lacks true technological advancement. Even the pencil, as simple as it is, has made writing more advanced. This advancement makes writing simpler, and more worth while. Without these simple advancements we wouldn't be able to compile reports such as this one. Dennis Baron was absolutely correct when he said that technology changes the way we think. Instead of thinking about the writing process, we are able to concentrate more on what we want to write. Because of our advancements, I am able to sit in the comfort of my warm house and finish this report in a more timely manner. If it had not been for my computer this report would not be at the stage it is at this very moment. I am able to think about the report itself without concern for the mechanics of how to physically design it.