Friday, May 11, 2007
Inspiration
So, the other night Willis and I finally finished our inspiration software project, and let me tell you, it certainly was fun! We will be presenting a short lesson on our last class day on the 16th on just what this website is and how it is beneficial for teachers and students in the classroom. We are having a huge problem saving the project, however. For some reason we cannot get it to save to a disk or a flash drive and it will only save to the computer we used to create it. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to save this or any idea how to help us? Willis is away for lacrosse this entire weekend, as she left yesterday and will not be returning until Sunday evening. I would definitely appreciate some help with this! Anyway, I hope all of you are excited about wrapping up yet another semester. Good luck on finals and see you on Wednesday.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
In-Class Project
When we were first given this assignment, I must admit that I was very taken by surprise, as this is a task that most certainly is not easy. The first thing that came to my mind, however, was to create a powerpoint. Having created several powerpoints in the past, this is a program that I feel extremely comfortable working with. The next issue, was figuring out what to create the powerpoint on. A topic that I am extremely passionate about, is the topic of banning books in high school. I feel very strongly that banning books is 100% detrimental to students. Why do we as educators feel that it is necessary to discourage our students from reading certain material? It is difficult enough to get our children to read in the first place, so why ban certain material.
Again, this was a spur of the moment activity, so I wasn't able to accomplish a whole lot. My immediate response was to work with a program that I felt comfortable with. Having prior knowledge and experience with banning books, I felt that this was a good choice for me.
Again, this was a spur of the moment activity, so I wasn't able to accomplish a whole lot. My immediate response was to work with a program that I felt comfortable with. Having prior knowledge and experience with banning books, I felt that this was a good choice for me.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Hobbs Chapter 3
I was very glad that chapter 3 was the chapter that I was assigned to discuss, as this is the main chapter I have been focusing on in regards to my media literacy project. In this chapter, Hobbs dicusses ways in which certain high schools are becoming more media literate and incorportaing that into the classroom. Some high schools were very excited and interested in adapting media tools in the classroom, however not all were receptive to this new idea. The school that Hobbs most focused on was that of Concord High School. Concord's teachers were receptive to this new material and Hobbs was thrilled.
There were several activities in this chapter that I found extremely creative in relation to integrating new media literacy into the classroom. Teacher Joanne McGlynn, who began teaching in 1998, showed a video of President Clinton and his denials of having an affair with Monica Lewinsky. After viewing the video, the class was given a sheet of the Five Core Concepts of Media Literacy. They are as follows:
-All media messages are constructed.
-Media use symbol systems with codes and conventions to shape messages.
-Media messages have embedded values and points of view.
-Different people interpret the same media message differently.
-Most media messages are constructed to gain profit and/or power (41).
The next class, McGlynn showed another film, this time of Clinton testifying about his sexular relationship with Lewinsky and also images of the Unites States' decision to use cruise missiles in Sudan. Then, using the critial questions and core concepts above, the students discussed how media messages have their own uniqe languages. Finally, the students pointed out how the language of the pieces, "emphasized the sense of responsibility and focus of the president in taking meaningful action to limit the spread of global terrorism" (42).
The activity that I found most interesting was that of the docudrama project for Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying." In this project, students were asked to create a television program, 30 minutes in length, that will relate to Faulkner's book. In that half hour, students were asked to tell the story of the Bundren family and the trip they took when dropping their dead mother off in Jefferson. The project consisted of five components. The first, (1) "An overview of the program that will describe your approach to the story, outline the sequence of scenes you will dramatize, and dealieniate the characters and narrators if any) who will be the program's focus, (2) A brief rationale for your particular approach, (3) A storyboard depicting the sequence of scenes in the program, (4) A transcript of an interview with at least one of the participants in the docudrams, (5) A screenplay (or otherwise detailed description) of one 3-5 minute scene: (54).
I can foresee myself assigning a project like this to my students someday in my own classroom. Not only do they first have to read As I Lay Dying, but after the story is read, they are required to talk about it. Most teachers, after reading a novel with their class, simply assign a paper in response to the material in the book, and then the knowledge is forgotten. With this new media literacy approach, students are allowed to dicusss the book with other students, take on roles of several of the characters, and act out on scenes in the book. In addition, other students will have the ability to watch their classmates' films, which can only give new and fascinating ideas about the book. This was by far my favorite project that Hobbs discussed in Chapter 3, as it incorporates active learning, listening, reading, writing, creating, etc. The possibilities with projects like this are endless, and the rewards will far exceed teacher's expectations.
In the final pages of Chapter 3, Hobbs gives a brief summary of what was discussed. She states, "English 11 teachers at Concord used reading, viewing, discussion, and writing in a sequence of activities designed to promote inquiry, critical thinking, and communication skills" (58). This most certainly is my goal when I become a teacher, as it is vital for our children to go beyond what is written in textbooks and novels. This is not to say that I will not have my students reading and writing, as I most certainly will. However, there is so much more to teaching english than what meets the eye. We should all be taking advantage of the new media tools and technologies that are available to us. There are there for a reason, and it is about time we start using them. It is time to add more to the "traditional" way of teaching, as times are changing right before our eyes.
There were several activities in this chapter that I found extremely creative in relation to integrating new media literacy into the classroom. Teacher Joanne McGlynn, who began teaching in 1998, showed a video of President Clinton and his denials of having an affair with Monica Lewinsky. After viewing the video, the class was given a sheet of the Five Core Concepts of Media Literacy. They are as follows:
-All media messages are constructed.
-Media use symbol systems with codes and conventions to shape messages.
-Media messages have embedded values and points of view.
-Different people interpret the same media message differently.
-Most media messages are constructed to gain profit and/or power (41).
The next class, McGlynn showed another film, this time of Clinton testifying about his sexular relationship with Lewinsky and also images of the Unites States' decision to use cruise missiles in Sudan. Then, using the critial questions and core concepts above, the students discussed how media messages have their own uniqe languages. Finally, the students pointed out how the language of the pieces, "emphasized the sense of responsibility and focus of the president in taking meaningful action to limit the spread of global terrorism" (42).
The activity that I found most interesting was that of the docudrama project for Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying." In this project, students were asked to create a television program, 30 minutes in length, that will relate to Faulkner's book. In that half hour, students were asked to tell the story of the Bundren family and the trip they took when dropping their dead mother off in Jefferson. The project consisted of five components. The first, (1) "An overview of the program that will describe your approach to the story, outline the sequence of scenes you will dramatize, and dealieniate the characters and narrators if any) who will be the program's focus, (2) A brief rationale for your particular approach, (3) A storyboard depicting the sequence of scenes in the program, (4) A transcript of an interview with at least one of the participants in the docudrams, (5) A screenplay (or otherwise detailed description) of one 3-5 minute scene: (54).
I can foresee myself assigning a project like this to my students someday in my own classroom. Not only do they first have to read As I Lay Dying, but after the story is read, they are required to talk about it. Most teachers, after reading a novel with their class, simply assign a paper in response to the material in the book, and then the knowledge is forgotten. With this new media literacy approach, students are allowed to dicusss the book with other students, take on roles of several of the characters, and act out on scenes in the book. In addition, other students will have the ability to watch their classmates' films, which can only give new and fascinating ideas about the book. This was by far my favorite project that Hobbs discussed in Chapter 3, as it incorporates active learning, listening, reading, writing, creating, etc. The possibilities with projects like this are endless, and the rewards will far exceed teacher's expectations.
In the final pages of Chapter 3, Hobbs gives a brief summary of what was discussed. She states, "English 11 teachers at Concord used reading, viewing, discussion, and writing in a sequence of activities designed to promote inquiry, critical thinking, and communication skills" (58). This most certainly is my goal when I become a teacher, as it is vital for our children to go beyond what is written in textbooks and novels. This is not to say that I will not have my students reading and writing, as I most certainly will. However, there is so much more to teaching english than what meets the eye. We should all be taking advantage of the new media tools and technologies that are available to us. There are there for a reason, and it is about time we start using them. It is time to add more to the "traditional" way of teaching, as times are changing right before our eyes.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
New Project
In addition to Willis and I continuing our media literacy project, we also have made plans for our next project. It is something different than anything we've done in class so far this semester, but it should prove to be a unique and powerful tool in the classroom. Dr. Stearns informed us of a new site called "Inspiration Software." This is such a cool site because it actually allows students and adults as well, to create visual thinking tools for pretty much anyone. Essentially, what Willis and I are planning on doing, is choosing a book that is appropriate for high school english classes. We both decided that Romeo and Juliet was a good choice, as nearly every student will or already has read this classic play. Since the two of us are huge fans of the play, and we have a great deal of knowledege on the topic, we thought that this would be a good choice. The Inspiration Software website gives a great explanation for their reasoning in creating this site. It states:
"At Inspiration Software®, Inc. we are dedicated to developing and providing visual thinking tools that help establish a solid learning foundation for all students. Built on a solid base of educational research, our products support improved performance for all students, helping them achieve standards across the curriculum"
I will give you all the link to this site so that you can take a look at all it has to offer for students, teachers, parents, etc... The possibilites of this new virtual learning tool are endless, as there are several different approaches one can make in attacking a project like the ones listed on the site. By having students create a web-like project after reading a particular novel, and branching out on the many important aspects of that novel, we are allowing them to think critically about the book as well as artistically. The outline that follows the "web" design, allows for students to pick out important parts of the novel and elaborate on them.
Willis and I still have a lot of research to do on this site, as we only had a brief time in class this afternoon to check it out. At the bottom, I will leave the link for any of you whom are interested in taking a look at this.
http://www.inspiration.com/productinfo/index.cfm
"At Inspiration Software®, Inc. we are dedicated to developing and providing visual thinking tools that help establish a solid learning foundation for all students. Built on a solid base of educational research, our products support improved performance for all students, helping them achieve standards across the curriculum"
I will give you all the link to this site so that you can take a look at all it has to offer for students, teachers, parents, etc... The possibilites of this new virtual learning tool are endless, as there are several different approaches one can make in attacking a project like the ones listed on the site. By having students create a web-like project after reading a particular novel, and branching out on the many important aspects of that novel, we are allowing them to think critically about the book as well as artistically. The outline that follows the "web" design, allows for students to pick out important parts of the novel and elaborate on them.
Willis and I still have a lot of research to do on this site, as we only had a brief time in class this afternoon to check it out. At the bottom, I will leave the link for any of you whom are interested in taking a look at this.
http://www.inspiration.com/productinfo/index.cfm
Second Life
I must say that before Ray spoke to us in class today about Second Life, I had never heard of it. After viewing what I did, I must say that I was both surprised and intrigued. I literally had no idea that this virtual society existed, where one can actually build and support their own personal community. I found it so funny that not only can you build your own town, but you can also fly, dance, and interact with other people in the site. Things like this just make me realize that there is so much on the web that I am unfamiliar with. I took a look at Second Life's homepage today and I was blown away as to how many people were actually members of the site. Nearly millions of people worldwide are a part of this remarkable site, and most of us in the class had no idea that it even existed. The fact that some classes in the United States are actually running virtual class through this site is unbelievable to me. This just goes to show us that the times really are changing and they are changing fast. I am very interested in doing some further research on this site and well as even possibly becoming a member just to check it out! Thanks, Ray for showing us this cool site!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Warick Put Into Play!
I just thought I'd blog on something simple that happened in class yesterday. I was in Dr. DiCicco's class and we were discussing our new paper assignment that is due on Wednesday. Someone brought up the idea that it is very difficult at times to switch from AIM lingo back to normal, cohesive, english. DiCicco then responded by saying that he notices in a lot of his student's papers that very often they use this instant messenger lingo in their papers. This immediately made me think of the discussion that we had in class a few weeks back when we were discussing Warick and how it is very difficult for some students to differentiate the difference between this "new" language and proper english. Anyway, some of the kids in the class agreed that this was a problem for them as well, yet most of them responded that this new lingo that is being used over the internet just isn't for them and that they never use it. It was very easy for me at that time to realize who the english majors were and who weren't! Very rarely do I use this particular type of language, but in the few times that I have used it, I've found it difficult at times to refrain from using it in a paper. Just wanted to share that with you!
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