Translate

When you hear the word translate, do you immediately think about translating from one language to another? Or maybe some other aspect of translation comes to mind?

Many people will think of languages, so as an introduction to this challenge, watch this short, animated video:

Here is another example of translation that doesn’t have anything to do with foreign languages. Just before writing this quest, the author spent a long weekend at a weaving workshop.

On one of the days, a group of vision-impaired young students visited the classroom. Our instructor had asked us if we would mind taking a bit of time away from our learning so that these students could get a sense of what weaving is, which no one did. But what none of us realized is that so many students would come (we expected just three or four) that we would each be paired with one of the students.

So, with no notice, we had to think about how we could translate what to us is a very visual craft to one that would make sense to those with limited or no vision. This was a challenge, but luckily, weaving is very tactile. However, one of the issues that many of us had was remembering not to refer to the different threads we were using in our projects by color.

This act of translation typifies an element of the act of translation: often, you don’t have the luxury of time to develop the perfect way to rework and share information.

Think about the kinds of translations you may have encountered. Have you translated some scholarly idea for friends or family members who aren’t taking the same course? Or translated a complicated concept for a young child? Has someone translated intricate workplace policies for you, so that you understand the practical aspects necessary for your job?

Now, back to the video. You’ve been issued a challenge! Mr. Boxx has asked you to try to come up with other examples of how you might translate information. Before you do this, though, find the metaliteracy learning objective in Goal #3 that addresses the ability to translate.

In this writing exercise, you will address two items connected to the idea of translating information, and then analyze what you’ve done.

1) First, provide two examples of how you yourself have translated information, in the metaliterate sense (not the foreign language meaning of translation). Note whether you were translating content from more than one source. (For example, consider the example provided at the start of this quest when visual information was translated for the students who did not see the weaving samples.)

2) For each example, describe why you felt it was important to engage in translation, and how you decided on the method you chose. (For example, think back to what the woman in the video said about why she does this.)

3) Lastly, were these information translations successful? Why are you responding as you are? As you answer these questions, consider:

• How you analyzed the situation to determine what needed to be translated

• To what extent your experience informed what needed to be translated and how to do so

• The way you evaluated the needs of your audience and arrived at a solution to effectively translate and communicate information

• Your confidence level about what you were translating, and how that affected the process