I can't believe the semester is coming to a close. Looking back, I am surprised at how much my views have changed. I used to think blogging was stupid, and didn't see the point of a professional blog. I didn't know anything about Twitter, Ning, or Wikis, nor did I care. I just thought they were another senseless form of social networking. Before this semester, I couldn't have told you what a graphic novel was, and I would have never gone to the Cleveland Film Festival.
However, now I see why all of this was assigned. My perspectives are broader, and I realize that a blog is good because you can reflect on how you once thought compared with how you think now. It's really a good way to practice writing, too. Ning is pretty neat too, because it can be set up like a facebook type of thing, but you can restrict it to whoever you want to join, ie. only the students in your class. Wikis are great, and are a terrific resource for one-stop-shopping for information. As for Twitter, I'm still not so sure I see the point of it, but that's okay. The film festival was great too. Looking back, I wish I would've gotten to see one of the alternate language films or the film shorts.
I will probably not use all of the things we learned in class. I will use a lot of the lesson ideas, the in-class activities, and so forth. I don't want to be too pushy or too technologically advanced and try to use a class wiki, a ning, and a blog in my class. Rather, I think that I will have to see which will apply to my class best, and choose one or two. Maybe I could present all the ideas to my class and let them choose which ones they would like to do. All three have great advantages to using them. The wiki would be a good collaborative project for my class, and would serve as a resource they and others can use in the future. The Ning would be a great way to set up an online community specifically for my class, so that students can pretend they are on Facebook, but is purely for educational talk and use. And the blog would be a great way to get students to do a journal and practice their creativity and writing.
I think that these new sources for information are great tools. They should enhance communication between students and myself. They should enhance communication among students as well. Although texting and instant messaging and Facebook and Myspace can be looked at as hindering communication and the English language, I think that these resources can be quite positive as well, it all just depends on how they are used!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Twilight
I can't believe it, but I watched Twilight today and I loved it! I haven't read any of the books, and I've wondered why everyone was obsessed with it, but I never planned on watching the movie or reading the books. I'm not a huge movie fan anyway, so I figured I would probably never see it. But one of my roommates went out and rented it, and I got to see what all the fuss was about.
I thought the subject of vampires was stupid because I don't really like the fantasy or science fiction genre that much. But, after you get used to the idea, you sort of forget that vampires aren't real. I'm so surprised that I liked the movie. I liked it so much that I really want to go out and read all the books now too, because everyone knows that the book is nearly always better than the movie! Plus, I got to thinking about it, and I should read it anyways because my students might be interested in it. I need to keep up on what's popular in books so that I can relate to what they are reading.
...maybe I should give Harry Potter a shot next!
I thought the subject of vampires was stupid because I don't really like the fantasy or science fiction genre that much. But, after you get used to the idea, you sort of forget that vampires aren't real. I'm so surprised that I liked the movie. I liked it so much that I really want to go out and read all the books now too, because everyone knows that the book is nearly always better than the movie! Plus, I got to thinking about it, and I should read it anyways because my students might be interested in it. I need to keep up on what's popular in books so that I can relate to what they are reading.
...maybe I should give Harry Potter a shot next!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Persepolis and Naruto
After writing my compare/contrast essay on The Complete Persepolis and Naruto, I found myself wondering why I'd never heard of a graphic novel. Personally, I prefer a "normal" novel over a graphic one, but I still enjoyed reading these. As much as I thought that I would hate Naruto, I ended up wanting to find out what happened in the end, instead of just trying to finish it.
As for Persepolis, I thought that the book read as a normal novel would, and might have even been able to be read without the pictures, which I found interesting. The artwork was very simple in Persepolis, whereas in Naruto, the artwork was very detailed and showed a lot of action.
Persepolis proved to have a lot of educational value for the classroom. Its subject of the Islamic Revolution reminded me a lot of the Holocaust, and might be a good addition to a lesson of that sort. It may even be able to be used in a History class as well. As for Naruto, I think that although it might spark more interest from boys, it is not really classroom appropriate. There is not a lot of educational value in it, and there are lots of sexual overtones, especially in some of the images. Also, it devalues women, which is something I wouldn't want to introduce to my students.
In general, I think that using graphic novels in the classroom is a good idea. It is a great change of pace from the ordinary, which might spark some additional interest from students. Also, since the text is accompanied with pictures, students with reading issues might be positively affected. Their understanding can be furthered since there are context clues available in the pictures as well as the text.
As for Persepolis, I thought that the book read as a normal novel would, and might have even been able to be read without the pictures, which I found interesting. The artwork was very simple in Persepolis, whereas in Naruto, the artwork was very detailed and showed a lot of action.
Persepolis proved to have a lot of educational value for the classroom. Its subject of the Islamic Revolution reminded me a lot of the Holocaust, and might be a good addition to a lesson of that sort. It may even be able to be used in a History class as well. As for Naruto, I think that although it might spark more interest from boys, it is not really classroom appropriate. There is not a lot of educational value in it, and there are lots of sexual overtones, especially in some of the images. Also, it devalues women, which is something I wouldn't want to introduce to my students.
In general, I think that using graphic novels in the classroom is a good idea. It is a great change of pace from the ordinary, which might spark some additional interest from students. Also, since the text is accompanied with pictures, students with reading issues might be positively affected. Their understanding can be furthered since there are context clues available in the pictures as well as the text.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Wikis
Recently, I submitted my information to the class wiki that Dr. Kist has set up. I think that the idea is great! He selected numerous novels that we will most likely have to teach in the future, and assigned one to each of the students in our class. I was assigned to Beowulf, which was fine by me because I've read it, I understand it, and I like it. The assignment was to find 20 lesson ideas for your book, and post them to the wiki. Each needed a hyperlink and a description of what the lesson idea is. This is such a good resource because after everyone posts the information that they found, there is an easy-to-navigate site including everything! If I need to know a lesson idea for Romeo and Juliet or 1984 or any other book listed on the wiki, I simply click and then read the descriptions until I find a lesson idea that I like. I really hope to use a wiki with my future class, and maybe do the same type of setup, assigning each student a different part of the whole wiki. Maybe it could even work as a review for a test: I could assign each student a different chapter from the book we are reading and have them post some kind of important information from their chapter. Once all the students post their information, they will be able to use it to study from.
Technology is sweet.
Technology is sweet.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Film Festival!
Today I went to the Cleveland Film Festival and ended up seeing "World's Best Commercials" with one of my roommates. We got there a little bit early (the film was at noon) and I was actually expecting to see more of a crowd than there was. After we bought our tickets, we were directed to stand in line until they were ready to begin seating for the film. I thought that in general, the film festival was pretty well-organized. However, the film that we saw was a little less organized than I'd hoped. There was no type of beginning, middle, or end to the film. It simply started out by showing a commercial; then it went to the next one, then the next, and so on, without any commentary or anything like that. Between each commercial that was shown, a green screen would pop up for a few seconds. The green screen had a lot of information on it, but not much time was given to read through it. I noticed that it showed who submitted the commercial, what company it was for, and the name of the campaign/commercial. At the bottom of the green screen were the hyperlinks "previous" and "next." This led me to believe that perhaps someone was selecting the commercials that we were seeing. There were a few commercials that were shown twice throughout the film, which I found a bit annoying.
BUT, I really enjoyed a lot of the commercials that were presented! I was surprised to note that there were only two or three that I'd seen previous to the film festival. I had a lot of favorites, and definitely could not pick just one. I loved the Crest commercials, with the punchline, "Say anything with a smile." A really creative and funny commercial from the UK is an ad promoting the importance of being aware of bicyclers on the roads. It's definitely worth watching a few times! I encourage you to watch it and find out for yourself what it is about, because if I say it, the effect of the commercial would be ruined.
There were many commercials for Axe, Burger King, Net10, and FedEx. It amazes me the amount of creativity and effort that must be put into making commercials like these. An ad for the LCD Sony Bravia TV must have taken a long time to produce, and I thought it was really cute. I could go on and on listing these commercials, because I wrote nearly every one down and enjoyed them all!
All in all, I enjoyed the film festival. A small side note: if you park at the parking deck, bring in your parking stub to validate your parking so that it's free. If not, it'll cost you about $7 to park for less than three hours!
BUT, I really enjoyed a lot of the commercials that were presented! I was surprised to note that there were only two or three that I'd seen previous to the film festival. I had a lot of favorites, and definitely could not pick just one. I loved the Crest commercials, with the punchline, "Say anything with a smile." A really creative and funny commercial from the UK is an ad promoting the importance of being aware of bicyclers on the roads. It's definitely worth watching a few times! I encourage you to watch it and find out for yourself what it is about, because if I say it, the effect of the commercial would be ruined.
There were many commercials for Axe, Burger King, Net10, and FedEx. It amazes me the amount of creativity and effort that must be put into making commercials like these. An ad for the LCD Sony Bravia TV must have taken a long time to produce, and I thought it was really cute. I could go on and on listing these commercials, because I wrote nearly every one down and enjoyed them all!
All in all, I enjoyed the film festival. A small side note: if you park at the parking deck, bring in your parking stub to validate your parking so that it's free. If not, it'll cost you about $7 to park for less than three hours!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Presentations
I missed class on Feb. 23 because I was really sick, so I missed a majority of the Multi-Genre Autobiography presentations :(
But this past Monday's class, I got to present my autobiography and saw some of the other ones too. I was really impressed by them, even though I only got to see a few. Everyone was so creative, and it was interesting how there were so many things that were different about each presentation, yet many of us cherished some of the same books, movies, and television shows. It's funny how everyone can live in different places and live completely different lives, but when it boils down to it, we all pretty much watched the same shows (to a certain extent). It was interesting to hear people say that "TV is so different now," and that "it was much better when we were younger," because I've had that same thought.
I was thinking about it, and it's very hard to judge the validity of those statements, because I guess we, as a generation, are a bit biased. Kids that are glued to Spongebob, High School Musical, and iCarly are probably going to say the same thing about the shows they watched once they get older, too. I think it just has a lot to do with the fact that television, movies, and music all seem to have a big influence on young people. I think that as a teacher, it would be good to embrace the current popular shows and incorporate them into lessons, because it would help grab students' attention and also help reinforce the lesson.
But this past Monday's class, I got to present my autobiography and saw some of the other ones too. I was really impressed by them, even though I only got to see a few. Everyone was so creative, and it was interesting how there were so many things that were different about each presentation, yet many of us cherished some of the same books, movies, and television shows. It's funny how everyone can live in different places and live completely different lives, but when it boils down to it, we all pretty much watched the same shows (to a certain extent). It was interesting to hear people say that "TV is so different now," and that "it was much better when we were younger," because I've had that same thought.
I was thinking about it, and it's very hard to judge the validity of those statements, because I guess we, as a generation, are a bit biased. Kids that are glued to Spongebob, High School Musical, and iCarly are probably going to say the same thing about the shows they watched once they get older, too. I think it just has a lot to do with the fact that television, movies, and music all seem to have a big influence on young people. I think that as a teacher, it would be good to embrace the current popular shows and incorporate them into lessons, because it would help grab students' attention and also help reinforce the lesson.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
I got an email from my grandma...
My grandma is awesome. She is so technologically advanced for someone her age, it's crazy. At 67, she can do more with a computer than any other granny I know.
Why, you might ask?
My grandma sends so many emails, my parents actually had to ask her to stop sending forwards and chain letters because they were sick of weeding them out of their inboxes. She still sends me chain letters and all sorts of junk mail, but what really amazes me is when she writes me an email to see how I'm doing. She can do all kinds of stuff with AOL Mail that I'm shocked she knows how to do. Every email she writes to me has a fancy background image, animated smiley faces, and attached pictures. She knows how to do hyperlinks too. I think it's really cool because up until like, two years ago, she never owned a computer. My dad gave her our old one, and she couldn't figure out how to use the mouse. Who would've thought that she'd be bombarding us with emails two years later?
On a side note, another reason why my grandma is awesome: she has a MySpace page! Who knows, maybe she's out there blogging too!
Why, you might ask?
My grandma sends so many emails, my parents actually had to ask her to stop sending forwards and chain letters because they were sick of weeding them out of their inboxes. She still sends me chain letters and all sorts of junk mail, but what really amazes me is when she writes me an email to see how I'm doing. She can do all kinds of stuff with AOL Mail that I'm shocked she knows how to do. Every email she writes to me has a fancy background image, animated smiley faces, and attached pictures. She knows how to do hyperlinks too. I think it's really cool because up until like, two years ago, she never owned a computer. My dad gave her our old one, and she couldn't figure out how to use the mouse. Who would've thought that she'd be bombarding us with emails two years later?
On a side note, another reason why my grandma is awesome: she has a MySpace page! Who knows, maybe she's out there blogging too!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
I've been thinking...
So, I've been thinking that I'd really like to start reading a lot more than I do currently. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to enjoy a good book as often as I used to. College would definitely have a lot to do with that. I guess that's only natural though. When I was younger, I didn't have to do anything but school and sports. That left me plenty of time to read. Whether it was on the bus on the way to a volleyball game (we weren't allowed to talk for some reason), or during study hall, or after school, I always seemed to find the time to read. Now that I'm living on my own, I have bills to pay. Yuck. So, I go to class half the day and then head to work and bus tables. Even more yuck! By the time I get home, I'm too exhausted to read without it putting me to sleep. Plus, I had to buy 19 books this semester, which was incidentally a low blow to my wallet. I can hardly keep up with assigned readings, let alone do my own pleasure reading.
...the complaining part of this post is done, by the way :)
I've been making some progress, though. I just finished reading He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt. I've been wanting to read it for some time, and I'm glad I finally did. Girls, read this if you haven't already! It's split up into sections and they all give good advice. Not that I need any dating advice at all (kidding!)... But seriously, even if you're not looking for advice, I think it's still a good read. I haven't gotten around to seeing the movie, but I'll definitely rent it when it's out, if it's not already. Oh, and guys should read it too. Note: It's safe to say that this is probably not a school-appropriate book.
...the complaining part of this post is done, by the way :)
I've been making some progress, though. I just finished reading He's Just Not That Into You by Greg Behrendt. I've been wanting to read it for some time, and I'm glad I finally did. Girls, read this if you haven't already! It's split up into sections and they all give good advice. Not that I need any dating advice at all (kidding!)... But seriously, even if you're not looking for advice, I think it's still a good read. I haven't gotten around to seeing the movie, but I'll definitely rent it when it's out, if it's not already. Oh, and guys should read it too. Note: It's safe to say that this is probably not a school-appropriate book.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Multi-Genre and Reading
I've started trying to piece together some things for my Multi-Genre Autobiography assignment. I think I'm going to have to give my mom a call for this one, because I know that I used to have my parents read me bedtime stories every night, but I can barely recall any of the books they would read me. I do remember, though, that I loved Corduroy and Goodnight Moon. Those were classic! I know there's a ton of other ones, though. Once I get the list compiled, I'd like to go onto Amazon and buy all my old favorites if we don't still have them at my house somewhere. It would be a nice flashback to childhood to see what all I can remember from the books, and another plus: I could read them to my kids someday.
I don't have any children, nor do I plan on having them anytime soon, but I do plan on reading to my kids a lot. My parents read to me all the time (every night, like I said earlier), which is probably why I never had to use Hooked On Phonics or anything like that. Reading just came to me naturally I guess. I really enjoyed reading and still do. Maybe my parents' reading to me paved the way for me to become an English teacher. Or, maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions with that one. Ha! Regardless, my brother and I both turned out pretty well, and I'd like to think that reading helped do that.
I don't have any children, nor do I plan on having them anytime soon, but I do plan on reading to my kids a lot. My parents read to me all the time (every night, like I said earlier), which is probably why I never had to use Hooked On Phonics or anything like that. Reading just came to me naturally I guess. I really enjoyed reading and still do. Maybe my parents' reading to me paved the way for me to become an English teacher. Or, maybe I'm just jumping to conclusions with that one. Ha! Regardless, my brother and I both turned out pretty well, and I'd like to think that reading helped do that.
Friday, February 13, 2009
"Name Five"
I wanted to mention an activity we did in class Monday that I thought was really cool.
I'm pretty sure Dr. Kist called the game "Name Five" or something along those lines. The whole class gets up and stands in a circle. Then, the teacher asks one of the students (let's call her Mary) a question pertaining to a book the class is reading. I can't remember the exact questions we used in class, but they had to do with Little Brother. The questions that were asked each had multiple answers. Mary has to name five of the answers to the question as an object (a crumpled piece of paper will do) gets passed around the circle. If Mary can't come up with all five answers before the object comes full circle, then she has to stand in the middle of the circle. But, if she gets all five answers before the object is passed all the way around, then whoever is left with the object in their hands is the next one to have to "Name Five". The concept is a little bit like musical chairs, in a way. The great thing about it is that it keeps students on their toes, because they all have a good chance of ending up with the object. Plus, I think it is a nice ice-breaker for kids and a good change of pace in the classroom.
I actually think that it would be interesting to do a bit of a twist on this activity, and turn it into a knockout-style elimination game. If Mary can't answer in time and has to stand in the middle, then she is eliminated from the game. This way, there can be a little bit of competition among the students to be the last one standing. Whoever is left at the end can be considered the winner, and a small prize of some sort could be offered as incentive—nothing too extravagant though. If the game keeps going on for longer than the teacher had planned, multiple winners could be awarded. Even so, it's okay. If the game goes on for too long, that just means that the class must really know their stuff!
Hopefully all of that made some sense; it's a bit easier to understand if you take part in the game than if I try to explain it.
I'm pretty sure Dr. Kist called the game "Name Five" or something along those lines. The whole class gets up and stands in a circle. Then, the teacher asks one of the students (let's call her Mary) a question pertaining to a book the class is reading. I can't remember the exact questions we used in class, but they had to do with Little Brother. The questions that were asked each had multiple answers. Mary has to name five of the answers to the question as an object (a crumpled piece of paper will do) gets passed around the circle. If Mary can't come up with all five answers before the object comes full circle, then she has to stand in the middle of the circle. But, if she gets all five answers before the object is passed all the way around, then whoever is left with the object in their hands is the next one to have to "Name Five". The concept is a little bit like musical chairs, in a way. The great thing about it is that it keeps students on their toes, because they all have a good chance of ending up with the object. Plus, I think it is a nice ice-breaker for kids and a good change of pace in the classroom.
I actually think that it would be interesting to do a bit of a twist on this activity, and turn it into a knockout-style elimination game. If Mary can't answer in time and has to stand in the middle, then she is eliminated from the game. This way, there can be a little bit of competition among the students to be the last one standing. Whoever is left at the end can be considered the winner, and a small prize of some sort could be offered as incentive—nothing too extravagant though. If the game keeps going on for longer than the teacher had planned, multiple winners could be awarded. Even so, it's okay. If the game goes on for too long, that just means that the class must really know their stuff!
Hopefully all of that made some sense; it's a bit easier to understand if you take part in the game than if I try to explain it.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
BLOGGING!
Well, I'd never thought that I would have a blog again, but here I am, blogging away! My first (and only) time blogging was on Xanga and I was probably only in eighth or ninth grade. I only used it for about two weeks and then deleted it, deciding against posting every insignificant moment of my social life online for all to see. However, I do think this idea of a professional blog is great. It's going to take some getting used to, because I've never been good at maintaining a blog or diary. Plus, as weird as it sounds, I can't hardly stand to be on my computer anymore. Maybe because it's becoming dated (using a 2006 Dell Laptop is like driving a ten year old car), or because I'm so inundated with emails that I don't even want to bother. Regardless, I think it will be nice to have experiences from my education classes on here to share with my classmates and whoever else cares to read this!
Dr. Kist's Multi-Modal Literacies class is interesting, and definitely a lot different than I had originally thought it would be. At first, I assumed it was another version of the Educational Technology course, which would be fine, since I'm pretty well-versed with the computer. However, I was glad to learn that we wouldn't be learning how to operate computer programs, but instead, we would be discovering creative ways to incorporate different modes of literature (ie. movies, video games, music, the Internet) into the classroom. If technology continues booming at the rate that it has been, I can only imagine the computers and cell phones that my students will be using by the time I become a well-seasoned teacher. So, I think it is really great that we are being taught how to incorporate these technologically-advanced teaching methods into the classroom. If times keep changing, then teaching strategies need to continue evolving as well!
Whew! Enough rambling on about that. I guess since this is my first blog entry I will keep it simple and finish up here. We'll see where this new blog leads me to!
Until next time,
Lauren :)
Dr. Kist's Multi-Modal Literacies class is interesting, and definitely a lot different than I had originally thought it would be. At first, I assumed it was another version of the Educational Technology course, which would be fine, since I'm pretty well-versed with the computer. However, I was glad to learn that we wouldn't be learning how to operate computer programs, but instead, we would be discovering creative ways to incorporate different modes of literature (ie. movies, video games, music, the Internet) into the classroom. If technology continues booming at the rate that it has been, I can only imagine the computers and cell phones that my students will be using by the time I become a well-seasoned teacher. So, I think it is really great that we are being taught how to incorporate these technologically-advanced teaching methods into the classroom. If times keep changing, then teaching strategies need to continue evolving as well!
Whew! Enough rambling on about that. I guess since this is my first blog entry I will keep it simple and finish up here. We'll see where this new blog leads me to!
Until next time,
Lauren :)
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