Literacy Community: Gymnastics and Photoshop by 22A Hatala

Gymnastics: What One Needs to Know

22ahatala28590 — 2019-09-09 18:55:18 UTC

To be literate in gymnastics, one has to understand the sport in a technical manner as well as know the specifics and diverse terms that apply to each of the four events. Verbal communication contains multiple diverse corrections that can and cannot be used on the four events. For example, one would receive the correction to straighten their arms on bars, but would never need that correction for floor. Commonly, coaches specialize in coaching an event. A beam coach is literate in all the skills, values, and correct body shapes for that event, but would be illiterate on bars because they do not focus on that event. Gymnasts, though, are literate on all four events. When talking to coaches and other gymnasts about connection skills, one would need to know the slang that is used to say a connection faster. Instead of saying “back handspring - back handspring -layout step out,” a literate speaker would say “flic-flic-lay” instead. Because it is such a technical sport, one would need to fully understand how to make these corrections, as well as know everything about body shapes. One would also need to know how to set the equipment with the numbers and letters. So, when someone says “5’6 all the way in” on vault, the other gymnast needs to fix the board and put the hand mat in the correct spot and position. One needs to be very specific with their setting so that their equipment can be set right. An articulate speaker in this community knows all the different corrections, skills, and settings that include numbers and letters.

my brother and I in 2012

Photoshop: What One Needs to Know

22ahatala28590 — 2019-09-09 18:58:37 UTC

To be literate in photoshop, one needs to know all the tools and what the program is capable of performing. Because it is on the computer, there are a lot of symbols that the user would need to know about. Photoshop is made up of mainly symbols and numbers, so it is very visual. When speaking with another person about photoshop, they would have to be familiar with what, for example, the spot healing brush is or what the patching tool is. This is important when working on a photoshop project with a peer. Each would have to be able to communicate, because they would need to make meticulous changes that may interfere with the other partner's progress. So it is very important to know what each tool is, and how to navigate through the software.

Gymnastics: Why This Language is so Great

22ahatala28590 — 2019-09-09 22:34:51 UTC

This language is so amazing because it is so nice to finally be able to have conversations with someone who is literate in this language. I like this because then our conversation can flow and I don't have to explain everything. Also, when I am talking to a teammate about gymnastics, it is cool to share what our practices are like and what skills we like and maybe even what frustrates us. I like having genuine conversations about gymnastics, because very few people know the language and so it is easy to bond over something we have in common. What I also like about speaking this language is that I don't feel like I'm holding back anything. I can just talk about everything and it is so cool to have someone that understands the struggles and triumphs of gymnastics. I love to learn about other gymnasts and how their gym works. It's very interesting to learn how their practice is run compared to mine.

Similarity Between Gymnastics and Photoshop

22ahatala28590 — 2019-09-09 22:35:50 UTC

These two languages are very different, because one has to do with the ability of what the mind can remember and perform, whereas the other is very focused on body shapes. Photoshop focuses on certain tools and the abilities of them, and gymnastics language focuses on what skills we do and what we look like doing them. These two languages can be similar when talking about different things that you can do. The confusion and technicality of each language is very much similar. I never weave in and out of the languages just because they are so different from each other. It would be really hard to switch off each language in a conversation on accident. These languages are similar to Jamila Scott’s languages in the way that they can really confuse people who are not experienced in that area of knowledge. This means that not everyone is going to understand how we can speak these languages and why we do it, but that is just what we have become accustomed to with our peers who share the same interests and knowledge.

This is a gymnastics photo that was used to make a poster for gymnastics _{(found on the internet)}

Photoshop: Why This Language is so Great

22ahatala28590 — 2019-09-10 03:28:12 UTC

This language is great to speak because it's really cool to talk about certain things that can be created. I like to talk about, for example, how to combine two images into one. Or maybe even how to make a Range Rover have a funny pattern. What is amazing about this language is that because there are hundreds of different terms one can use, it is a unique language. So one would have to be familiar with photoshop in order to understand the language used in a conversation. Also, what makes this language fun is that I can have a conversation with someone and we can share ideas on what we could make or what funny things we could do. I like this language because of it's uniqueness and technicality.

I added some rocks and a tree, and I also changed the lighting of the green trees in this photo I took