Unit 10 Blog Reflection

For Module 10 of Writing for Non-print Media, everyone in class created and presented a non-print media assignment. This unit was very informative and everyone came up with great ideas for projects. Some assignments included texting, blogs, Facebook, and book trailers. My group and I really enjoyed creating our own assignment. All these projects serve a unique purpose and would definitely help to teach literature in the classroom.

My group’s assignment was called Instagram-A-Text. It was meant to act as a review after students read a novel as a class. After reading, they were supposed to make a collage consisting of at least four photos that somehow tied in to the story. The pictures could portray characters, setting, plot, or symbols. When finished with the collage, they would have to post it on Instagram. If they didn’t have Instagram, they could just email it. In addition, they had to write a rationale paragraph explaining their photos and how they relate to the text. We created this assignment so students could have a lot of freedom, while demonstrating their knowledge of the novel. There were no limits as to what type of pictures could be used. For my example, I did The Great Gatsby. I used four photos that represented the setting (West and East Egg), characters (Gatsby’s yellow car), and symbols (the green light and eyes of TJ Eckleburg). Overall, we had fun creating this project and thought it’d be a good way to get students engaged in reading.

Two other assignments I really liked were the character blogs and the faux Facebook. Both these projects make students think deeper about characterization. For the blog assignment, students must take the perspective of a character and write a blog from their point of view. The blogs are due after every two chapters and have to be at least three hundred words. In a way, the Facebook assignment was similar. Students choose a character and create a Facebook page for them, using at least ten events of posts on their timeline. They then justify five of the choices made. They can post status updates, bios, photos, friends, and likes. These were probably two of my favorite presentations because they both allow students to think about and understand a character more.

Writing for Non-Print Media taught me a lot this semester, such as graphic novels, blogs, video production, and process drama, just to name a few. I will definitely be taking what I learned from this class and using it in my classroom.

Unit 9 Reflection Blog

The focus of Module 9 of Writing for Non-Print Media was Process Drama. I didn't know very much about process drama before this unit. The most "acting" or "drama" I did in class was reading lines from a Shakespeare play. I was definitely a little nervous to start this unit because I'm quiet and don't like talking in class. So needless to say, acting in class terrified me. Surprisingly though, it wasn't bad and I never felt uncomfortable. This module taught me a lot about process drama and it's benefits.

The reading, "Exploring Castles," went into detail of the numerous advantages of using process drama in the classroom. Like most other non-print media tools, process drama increases student engagement. This activity gives them an opportunity to be hands-on with abstract concepts. Process drama in this case included reading, writing, and even science experiments. Students also drew, sculpted, danced, and sang. The author stated that the classroom environment became more multifaceted, supportive, and complex. Students will probably feel more comfortable with each other after doing process drama, as it requires a lot of group work. The article reports that "When students connect their experiences with those of others', then their views of others and of themselves will be changed." In my opinion, that's the point of literature: to experience different situations and learn to be empathetic. Process drama also increases connections with the outside world, cooperative learning, critical thinking, creativity, and in-depth analysis.

One activity we did in class was group storytelling. Someone started telling a story and after a certain period of time, the next person would pick it up. It was relatively stress-free because we were in small groups. You really had to pay attention to what everyone was saying in order to keep up with the story. I enjoyed this because it wasn't scripted.

We also did another activity that I found very interesting. We read a poem about a grocer. We then answered questions from the perspectives of different characters. It required us to really think about what that character was feeling and going through. Volunteers went up in front of the class to play the grocer, spouse, children, social worker, union representative, and neighbor. The rest of the class asked questions. The classmates playing roles had to come up with responses from that character's viewpoint. I definitely saw benefit in all these activities. In my own classroom, I really want to incorporate process drama.

Unit 8 Reflection Blog

The topic of Module 8 of Writing for Non-Print Media was Video Production. This form of technology can be utilized in a variety of ways in an English classroom. Different lessons we covered this unit include the 20 shot short story, book trailers, digital and audio feedback, and Vine. Each of these gives students an opportunity to be more hands-on with what they’re learning. Video production can be very valuable to both students and teachers.

One way to use video production is designing a book trailer. Like a movie trailer, a book trailer previews the plot and entices the viewer to read the book. They use elements such as photos, music, words, and effects to convey the story. Book trailers benefit students in a number of ways. According to Chapter 1 of Gura, “Creating book trailers is a differentiated way students can demonstrate their knowledge about and understanding of books in a way that plays to their strengths and interests.” Book trailers provide a unique outlet for students to use their knowledge.

Another tool discovered in this unit was Vocaroo. This site gives teachers the ability to give feedback through audio. It’s a very easy-to-use tool. To start and stop recording, you just click the red button. When finished, the site provides a link that can be sent to the student. This form of feedback is more convenient and faster than typical written comments, which can appeal to both students and teachers. Other tools for non-traditional feedback include Audioboo, Camtasia, Jing, and Vimeo.

The 20 Shot Story and Vine are comparable, as there is only a certain number of shots or amount of time to record. For our Vine project, we were required to demonstrate a theme of a chapter in only six seconds. It was a lot more difficult to act out a theme than the plot. After a ton of time and consideration, my group chose to do our project on Chapter 5 of Divergent. We decided to do the theme of society and class, but we weren’t sure how to convey it. Finally, we came up with an idea. For most of the Vine, we see “Triss” trying to figure out what she wants, or more specifically, what faction she wants to join. We decided to be a little creative and at the end, we show her with different kinds of pizza. We wanted the various pizzas to represent the different factions. The benefit of the Vine project is that it promotes deeper thinking about the novel. Because it’s only six seconds, only the most important details should be used. Once we finally had an idea, my group really enjoyed creating the Vine. Video production is definitely something I’d like to use in my classroom.

Unit 7 Reflection Blog

Writing for Non-Print Media Module 7 introduced the idea of audio production. According to Gura, a podcast is defined as an audio recording, usually part of a themed series that can be downloaded from a website to a media player, or listened to directly on a computer. Creating a podcast for educational purposes is beneficial for students. Gura also wrote, “Podcasts provide students an opportunity to use technology to apply them skillfully and authentically.” From both readings and our own podcast, which gave me first-hand experience, I can say they’re a great way to learn about a concept. I also think students would be really engaged in this type of project.

                Gura Chapter 18 addresses using podcasts in a foreign language classroom. Madame Smith had her students listen to various podcasts in class. She then recorded an interview with a French person and played it for the class. The students were trying to mimic certain words. After, they were able to create their own podcasts. All the projects dealt with a different topic. The podcasting assignment for Madame Smith’s class was a success.

                We were assigned to create a book review podcast. I learned so much from this project. Creating and scripting a podcast is a lot harder than it may seem. It took a lot of time to come up with exactly what we wanted to say, but it was fun to be more creative. My group decided to do our book review on Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee. I liked this choice because it’s a sequel to the classic, To Kill a Mockingbird. One of our biggest challenges was trying to figure out how to talk about the plot and characters without being so formal. It also had to be concise, so we had to be selective with what information we included. It was somewhat difficult to not give away spoilers. We also thought it’d be interesting to interview one of the characters so we chose Jean Louise. I played her and had a lot of fun creating answers to her interview questions. It made me consider the character more than I normally would have. The podcast assignment definitely gave us a deeper understanding of the novel. In addition, we found a great recording app and had no trouble with the technology aspect. My group and I really enjoyed this project and it’s definitely a lesson I’d use in a classroom.

Unit 6 Reflection Blog

Module 6 of Writing for Non-Print Media is labeled “Non-Print Media and Argument Writing.” The books introduced many unique ideas to teach argumentative writing. Some lessons that stood out to me include the police report, digital writing workshop, and Public Service Announcement. All of these assignments could improve students’ writing.

                Hyler Chapter 5 starts out by addressing the elements of an argument, such as claims, evidence, reasons, and counterarguments. Before this, I never really thought about the different parts of an argument. The book also establishes the difference between persuasion and argument, which I never considered either. I learned that although they’re similar, persuasion is more one-sided. Argumentation acknowledges both sides of an argument and is more fact-based. The lesson that caught my attention was the police report. The teacher showed students a picture of a crime scene. From there, students recorded evidence they found, as well as their claims and reasons. Once the students had a theory of what took place, they created a four-paragraph essay describing their thoughts about the crime scene. I found a lot of value in this assignment. I think students would be very engaged because it’s not something typically done in a writing class. I also believe the lesson is valuable because it emphasizes the specific parts of an argument. This is definitely something I’d like to try in my classroom.

                The next assignment comes from Gura’s book. The digital writing workshop is used to write and do research for an argumentative essay. By using a program called Evernote, students don’t have to keep track of notecards or outlines because everything is done online. The teacher is also able to view students work and give feedback, which is beneficial in the writing process. Using Evernote, students record their notes, as well as conversations they have that can contribute to their argument. Evernote also makes it so simple to annotate and sort through credible sources. It categorizes sources into “Reliable, Questionable, and Non-Expert.” Before they start drafting their papers, students can use ReadWriteThink.org to generate a “Persuasion Map.” This shows the main points of their essays. This online assignment seemed so much easier and efficient than writing a paper the old-fashioned way.

                For class, we created our own Public Service Announcement. By doing this, I learned a lot about how to persuade an audience, but also be concise. Every choice on a PSA is deliberate such as images, font, size, and color. I really enjoyed making mine and I think it’d be a great pre-writing strategy before an argumentative or persuasive essay.

Unit 5 Reflection Blog

                Module 5’s theme was Using Non-print Media to Create Stories and Narratives. The two chapters included in the unit provided various ways to do this in the classroom. Chapter 3 of Hyler categorized text types as either narrative, argumentative, or informational. However, the chapter focuses on narratives and mentions the many advantages of this type of writing. Narratives allow students to be creative. According to the book, students learn to use “effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.” As middle or high school students are still struggling to find their identity, narratives can benefit them. Personally, I’d love to include narratives in my classroom because it’s my favorite style of writing. As a matter of fact, narratives are the reason I fell in love with writing in the first place.

                Hyler’s book mentions the idea of “This I Believe” essays, where students write about a strong belief they possess. To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of this assignment. The author talks about using Wordle as a tool, but the only aspect of it I found helpful was the word frequency display. While describing these essays, Hyler establishes the difference between revising and editing. Before reading this, I used the words interchangeably, but I now know the difference. Revisions include adding or deleting information and possibly changing the organization. On the other hand, editing entails checking for spelling and grammar mistakes, as well as sentence structure. I liked that he has students do revisions and editing during separate class periods. That’s an idea I’ll use in my own class.

                One assignment I found unique and intriguing was the digital stories. This goes back to the idea of transmediation. Though this type of lesson requires more time and patience, it seems to be extremely beneficial. In addition to text, a digital story contains videos, pictures, and music. The videos must include basic pieces of a story such as a plot, setting, characters, and a conflict. Both books mentioned using Animoto to create these stories. I briefly looked at the website and it looked really easy to use. It seems like a great tool for this type of project. Hyler reported that his students enjoyed this assignment and I can understand why. Using videos, photos, and music can contribute to the story. Gura Chapter 2 states, “The act of retelling their own short stories through text, images, and sound added to the students’ understanding of the story-making process.” That quote sums it up pretty well. I see a lot of value in digital stories and it’s definitely something I’d like to try when I’m a teacher.

Unit 4 Reflection Blog

Module 4 was titled “Analyzing and Discussing Literature Online.” This unit described various ways to incorporate technology into learning literature. Some online avenues mentioned were e-mails, discussion boards, Cel.ly, Wiki, Quizlet, and Twitter. Combining literature and online programs that kids are already familiar with can enhance a student’s comprehension and understanding of a novel.

                My favorite online outlet described in this chapter was definitely Twitter. I think students would enjoy working with this because they probably use it on an everyday basis. There are so many different ways to use Twitter including Adaptation, Roleplaying, Prequels and Sequels, Reader Response Blogging, and Twitter Stream Co-Lecture. All of these were mentioned in the article “To Tweet or Not to Tweet: Using Twitter in the Literature Classroom,” by Peter Kunze.

                One way of using Twitter would be Adaptation. This is when students summarize or retell the story in their own series of tweets. If I use this method in my own class, I would set a limit on the number of tweets they can have. That way, because they’d be limited to 140 characters per tweet, they would have to consider the most important parts of the story. According to the article “To Tweet or Not to Tweet,” this exercise also helps with genre.

                Roleplaying is another strategy of using Twitter to teach literature. The students would tweet from the perspective of a character. They also create the default picture, the handle, bio, and who the character is following. I did an activity like this in high school and found it to be very useful. This exercise goes against what the article states that David Elkind calls “adolescent egocentrism.” It gives students a chance to think about the thoughts and feelings of others, instead of themselves.

                Another Twitter lesson could be Prequels and Sequels. In this activity, students come up with a series of tweets to describe events that occurred before or after the novel takes place. With this, students can consider what influenced the characters or plot. I like this idea because it allows the students to be creative and come up with their own ideas about a text.

                Reader Response Blogging was another tool described in the article. Students tweet their thoughts and responses as they read. The article reports that this exercise can help with critical thinking, writing, and reading skills. I like this idea, however, I probably wouldn’t use it in my class.

                The last Twitter lesson the article talked about was the Twitter Stream Co-Lecture. The class uses a hashtag as they live tweet about the story. Students can reply to each other, as well as the instructor. As helpful as this activity would be, it seems like it might be really complicated to set up.

                By the time I become a teacher, Twitter might not be used anymore. However, I’d still like to incorporate some type of social media into my lessons. By doing this, I think students would be more engaged and interested in reading.