Video Project Reflection
Well this project did not go as smoothly as I would have liked it to go. However, it was definitely a learning experience! My goal is to use this video-or one like it- in my classroom when introducing the different literary elements and how they work together to create an overall story. I decided to use Harry Potter as an example because it is so well known, and many are aware of the underlying messages within the text. The students and I could discuss this and then apply the terms-or more specifically the term allegory- to other more “traditional’ works throughout the semester, such as The Hobbit and other JRR Tolkien works or Animal Farm.
When creating this video I thought it would be easier for me because I was familiar with movie maker. Yet, I underestimated technology and how it will let you down when you need it most. After staring at the rubric for the project for about ten weeks, I decided it was time to get started. I soon realized my computer didn’t have movie maker so that was then installed. Following the installation of movie maker, my speakers decided not to work and this posed as a serious problem. However, somehow everything seemed to miraculously fix itself, and I was able to complete the project in a timely manner.
Once I finished creating the slides in power point, I imported them into movie maker, edited the slides with transitions and effects, and added music. It was a fairly simple process looking back, but it did prove to be very tedious!
Add a comment April 19, 2010
Video Clip Project
Video clip assignment: These are the handouts, for both students and teachers, Bethany and I created for our video clip assignment. It explores the differences between stereotypes and generalizations, as well as addresses the influence they have on society today. The assignment is based on the video below.
Add a comment April 14, 2010
What is a meme?
According to the chapter on memes, they are “contagious patterns of cultural information that are passed from mind to mind and directly shape and propagate key actions and mindsets of a social group.” What exactly does this imply about memes? Well most of the time memes will refer to popular culture references or popular phrases, videos, e-mail, etc that in essence spread rapidly and become “viral.” Also, memes have to do with the transmission of these ideas and the possible changes people may make to them. In class the example used was the game of telephone, but another example could be how things are interpreted to mean over forms of communication such as: text, e-mail, etc.
A specific meme I found interesting is the Star Wars Kid. A male student created a video of himself swinging a golf ball retriever around as a weapon and this was placed at the end of a school basketball game video. The clip was uploaded to internet and spread very quickly–becoming viral. Television shows, such as American Dad, even picked the clip up and incorporated it into episodes.
This meme spread because it was humorous; yet, teachers have to think of repercussions of memes like these. Also, we have to think about memes that may not be as offensive and how to address memes in the class and how they affect technology.
Memes mean we as teachers need to be aware of popular culture references because our students are aware of them. Watching television shows and staying current about certain themes that appear on websites and blogs are of the utmost importance in teaching to those in a meme world.
Add a comment March 29, 2010
Postman Chapter 9 and Metaphors
Metaphors allow students to connect not only definitions but the thoughts that definitions and meanings imply as well. When teaching metaphors in a classroom I hope to examine why it may be necessary to use metaphors as opposed to JUST learning the definition, as well as having students create their own. Also, I feel as if providing a strict “this is the definition, and don’t stray from it” will stifle the student’s creativity and restrict their personal thoughts. This goes not only for metaphors, but for any literary or non-literary element when the students are only provided the definition of a word.
The metaphor which I am focusing on is a quote by Jean Kilbourne: “ Advertisers are America’s real pornographers.” I think this identifies advertisers as those who create things which appeal to our underlying thoughts. This commercial from the 2010 super bowl provides an excellent example.
Advertisers say and try to send messages via means of communication such as commercials that are true; yet, some of the items addressed may not be brought up in everyday conversation. (Also, in connecting this post to my group’s media/visual literacy project on infomercials.) I found that most advertisers use one of three approaches when forming an ad: the bandwagon appeal, celebrity testimony, and the association principle. These three strategies involve demonstrating that everyone is buying the product so you should too, a celebrity has used this product and look how great it worked for them, or showing how this product could be associated with ideals like wealth, success, or beauty.
This means that we as consumers have to be aware of the strategies and combat them if necessary or embrace them as needed. Yet, in referring back to Kilbourne’s quote, advertisers are trying to appeal to senses that we may not want to acknowledge or feel that we should acknowledge. Although pornography is quite an abrasive comparison, it isn’t entirely incorrect. For example, what if a young couple is watching television one night a commercial for the new Toyota Four-Runner appears. The young girl knows they have too much debt, and not to mention a huge mortgage payment as well. Yet, the newness of the car and the way the ad makes the car appear as being a symbol of success and achievement, makes the young girl want the car even more. She has fallen into the association principle “trap” of advertising. This scenario also brings about the negative consequences advertisements have on society. They force us, as a culture, to want and need more and more! Advertisers play the media to their advantage and present the consumers with goods that we may or may not NEED.
Add a comment March 25, 2010
Podcasting in the Classroom
I had never utilized the wonderful tool of podcasting before now, but now I realize how beneficial it could be in as well as out of the classroom. Many of my students may be auditory learners and incorporating a podcast into my lessons would help not only me but my students too. Once I glanced over the examples given in the day’s agenda, I started thinking of how to incorporate these into my class. Although many students have ipods now, they may not voluntarily choose to listen to lesson on semi-colons via a podcast. Yet, what if the students had the option to create their own podcast for a project? This would enable them to gain skills using technology, as well as present information they learned regarding their topic.
This site for teachers Podcasting: Tips for Teachers provides teachers with a broad overview of what exactly a podcast is (for those of you who don’t know …a podcast is a audio which you can create and then post for anyone to listen to on the web), how to use the technology, and it informs the students of their tasks for the project. Also, using podcasts within the classroom allow you to invite people into your classroom that normally wouldn’t make appearances. For example, J.K Rowling may be able to talk to your class via the Pottercast podcast – because we all know J.K Rowling probably does not have time to visit middle schools or high schools in the Kennesaw, GA area in her spare time.
Also, maybe the way you are teaching a concept just isn’t getting the message across to your students and you may be struggling with a new approach. The solution to this problem is simple! Grammar Girl is here to save the day with new approaches to grammar. I have referred back to her podcast regarding semi-colons for another education class and it has been an immense help! So go ahead… podcast it up and let your students play around with it as well!
This video shows just how easy it is to create a podcast:
Add a comment March 21, 2010
Response to Richardson Chapter 6: The Social Web
Although in my previous post, I discussed how social networking tools such as facebook would be beneficial in an academic setting there are countless other ways to network socially on the web as well. After reading chapter six in the textbook, I realized how easy finding sources and researching has become. Sites as Delicious and Diigo have the ability to place sources at our fingertips in an instance. When searching about information on a specific topic, it can sometimes become a tedious tasks yet with the help of sites like these- fear no more! Once you have created an account you are able to bookmark and tag sites you find helpful and then share these with others. The example in the text kept referring to Romeo and Juliet. Perhaps in a classroom, the students would all find sites they believe relevant for their topic surrounding Romeo and Juliet and all they simply have to do is bookmark the site and tag it to enable others to find and link up to the site. This would certainly make tracking down resources simpler for students and teachers alike.
These tools have many other benefits as well, such as not just bookmarking the link but the content as well. So if you have bookmarked the link and the creator decides to take it down for instance you would still have the information. Also, according to the text, if you are using sites such as Diigo then you would have access to the information anytime at any computer. This would be helpful in any setting because you wouldn’t have to worry about saving it to a specific computer or file. This prevents the student excuse of “my computer crashed” and things of that nature.
Sites like these will also enable educators to close the gap between each other as well. For example, teachers teaching the same material no longer have to in the same school to share materials or websites that have specific activites. Now all teachers have to do is create and account and search according to common tags people place on their bookmarked sites. Talk about a huge stress reliever!
Add a comment March 1, 2010
To be or not to be: Social Networking in the Classroom
Social networking and the number of participants considered “social networkers” is growing every day. Social networking is not just limited to the number of facebook or myspace users, but bloggers and number of wiki accounts as well. In the field of education, we have to start considering how has and will how it WILL affect our future classrooms. Some points to consider include computer and internet access for the students, whether this is at home or at school (when looking at low-funded schools), also how will different types of social networks affect student’s and even teacher’s social skills face-to-face.
Social networking provides students and educators with opportunities that didn’t exist even ten years ago. Now if a student misses a day of school when their paper is due they can just e-mail it in, or if they forgot to write down their homework assignment maybe they can visit the class website or blog to see what it was. Perhaps, students who aren’t as willing to talk in class or contribute to discussions will be more active in discussions on-line. Also, tools such as blogs and wikis (and sometimes facebook as well) eliminates many possibly scheduling conflicts having to do with working on group projects.
Yet, with all these positive uses, social networking has numerous downsides as well. It does enable students to become more comfortable with “virtual” chats verses “real/in-person” conversations, and could possibly hinder their face-to-face social skills. With the number of on-line college classes growing rapidly, professors and students will possibly never see each other in person. Also, (from personal experience) we must be aware of the fact that technology does indeed fail sometimes. Computers crash and websites may be down for maintenance, what do we do when these things happen?! We ultimately may have to rely on our “old-school” ways of research like going to the library or using paper and pencil to write a paper.
My personal stance would be for the use of social networks within the field of education. Not only would it be beneficial in my future classroom for students, but also for teachers. My new favorite social networking site is The English Companion Ning. Teachers are now able to share advice, personal experience, as well as favorite texts and ways to assess students. I think the different ways students can connect using various methods involving social networking would only enhance their academic careers.
Add a comment February 22, 2010
Individual Topic Format
For my individual topic, I would like to add to a past project involving allegories in literature such as current popular culture novels like Harry Potter and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe . I already have created a tentative lesson plan for teaching this literary element, and I would like to incorporate this into that plan if possible. Essentially, I could explain the definition of the word(like maybe the buffalo video) and applying it to these texts and films among others as well. I will be using movie maker in for my final project and incorporating music, pictures, and text within the project.
1 comment February 15, 2010
Hunger Games Response
After hearing my peers talk about the book and reading reviews regarding The Hunger Games, I was excited to start reading it. I was able to find many similarities between this text and Little Brother, and I thought both books raised good questions about governmental control and regulations. This whole concept of fighting to the death is just appalling to me, and this made me think of Shirley Jackson’s short story “The Lottery.” Also, this text especially reminded of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 because of the harsh setting and also had the same futuristic feel to it almost.
The really good thing about this book is the fact that it could appeal to both a female and male young adult audience. Due to the fact the main character is a girl; this could possibly demonstrate a non-typical female role for young women. Katniss was the main provider for her family which entailed her hunting and tracking their food and resources. This presents a different type of female character to the female audience. The male audience would be engaged because of the brutality of the game and fighting.
A reoccurring pattern in both of the novels had to do with teen romance. This seems to be all the rage for young adult literature as well as films. Why is this? Well in the novel, I think it gave both Peeta and Katniss a sense of hope and something to look forward to after the competition. Furthermore, I think this confusing element of teen romance is something most teams can relate to.
In bringing this text into the classroom, I think it would make for good discussion to connect it with an older text such as Fahrenheit 451 or Brave New World and see how they can compare the two, and even go as far to compare criticisms and see if they can find similarities. I even started some research of my own when I thought of this and found a link via google scholar. This document is pretty much a list of books and how they connect the “end of the world” texts, both old and new. Check it out!
VS
2 comments February 11, 2010
Chapter 7 Response
Although I wasn’t too sure where this text was going at first, I soon found out very quickly about the author’s intention to question the educational systems in place as well as the underlying elements being taught. I agreed with a majority of the text and even liked the fact that the author posed questions, such as: what education means, and how it could be conducted differently? These specific questions really got me thinking about what is being taught to students in class today.
We want students to be able to make contributions to society, so we, in turn, need to provide them with the adequate tools to do this. For example, when talking about the First Amendment, have the students give their interpretation of this statement. The text said for students to make provisions to the amendment and explain why they changed or kept specific pieces of it. Being able to think critically (even with something as simple as the First Amendment) is important for students in order to formulate their own thoughts and ideas about issues and topics that may arise throughout their lives.
Also, another good point within the reading had to do with the use of technology. Is technology a good thing or a bad thing? How has it affected the world and how our “sense” of the world? Personally, I think technology proves to be a helpful resource majority of the time. Yet, it all depends on the user and those that abuse technology and its uses give it a bad name. I do believe our perspective on the world and how we view it has changed dramatically because of technology. Due to the rise in the use of technology (especially in the classroom), we want information and we want it fast. There is no more thrill of the search or debating on answer—you simply google it and problem solved.
Add a comment February 10, 2010
