As we all prepare for the last day with our eager PEOPLE students, I just wanted to thank everyone from this summer's C&I 630 for a great experience. Personally, I think that this year's readings and activities were extremely beneficial, and the knowledge gained will directly affect many aspects of my teaching. I know that I am not alone in this regard.
Thanks again to Don, Jeff, Elissa, Joyce, Tom, Amy and Amylia for the enlightening comments and candid discussions. Above all, thanks to Scot for organizing and facilitating another great class. Have an awesome summer!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
New-Old Rubric
While reading this article, I wasn't aware that there was such a crisis regarding the ability to assess multimedia projects. On the first page, Sorapure refers to the three articles (Takayoshi, Zoetewey & Staggers, Yancey) and states that in all three we see a "balancing act between old and new, as the authors detail suggestions for adapting current approaches and inventing new ones to help us assess writing in new media." This doesn't seem too difficult of a task for us to bite off and chew.
This spring I was involved in an Intel course that integrated the new writing with the old curriculum. The end products consisted of technology-focused units utilizing wikis, blogs, etc. as part of the learning process. While developing these units, we had to develop assessments for different aspects of each one. Seemingly simple, we adapted traditional rubrics slightly to use in the assessment of the students' projects. As I think back to the spring, this rubric adaptation really wasn't a challenge and didn't seem to be a hurdle for any of the participants in the course.
Now, regarding the multi-modal form that the compositions take, I think that this is phenomenal. This is something that was unheard of even ten years ago, something only that could be seen on television and in the movies. I have seen some of these compositions turn out so well and right-on, and some that have crashed and burned. Just as we as educators must learn to embrace new technologies and integrate them into our curriculum, we must teach the children to embrace them and use them appropriately.
As a precursor to the larger assignments, Sorapure assigned "several shorter exercises that invited students to explore relations between text and image." Some students will "get it" right away, others (most) will need these types of activities to avoid the "crash-and-burn" scenes that could result from their misunderstanding. Furthermore, Sorapure hopes that these exercises allow "for exploration between modes," and show the students "that the modes should not simply repeat each other." This is something I feel that I need to work on when I present technologically-infused units. Right now, I am still digesting all of the metaphorical and metonymic relations between the visual and verbal modes of all of the collages represented in the article.
This spring I was involved in an Intel course that integrated the new writing with the old curriculum. The end products consisted of technology-focused units utilizing wikis, blogs, etc. as part of the learning process. While developing these units, we had to develop assessments for different aspects of each one. Seemingly simple, we adapted traditional rubrics slightly to use in the assessment of the students' projects. As I think back to the spring, this rubric adaptation really wasn't a challenge and didn't seem to be a hurdle for any of the participants in the course.
Now, regarding the multi-modal form that the compositions take, I think that this is phenomenal. This is something that was unheard of even ten years ago, something only that could be seen on television and in the movies. I have seen some of these compositions turn out so well and right-on, and some that have crashed and burned. Just as we as educators must learn to embrace new technologies and integrate them into our curriculum, we must teach the children to embrace them and use them appropriately.
As a precursor to the larger assignments, Sorapure assigned "several shorter exercises that invited students to explore relations between text and image." Some students will "get it" right away, others (most) will need these types of activities to avoid the "crash-and-burn" scenes that could result from their misunderstanding. Furthermore, Sorapure hopes that these exercises allow "for exploration between modes," and show the students "that the modes should not simply repeat each other." This is something I feel that I need to work on when I present technologically-infused units. Right now, I am still digesting all of the metaphorical and metonymic relations between the visual and verbal modes of all of the collages represented in the article.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Plagiarism
While reading both of the chapters by Howard and the article by Robillard, I started to think back to my years as an undergrad and the papers that I would write. I was always careful to credit all of the lines that I would borrow from others, always for fear of this thing called plagiarism. I didn't really understand that there were different degrees of this p-word, just that I knew that I didn't want to be the one who was caught using an author's words without giving the credit that was due to him or her. Oh, and I also "knew" that as long as I rewrote what was said by someone else, that was usually okay. Following these "guidelines," I felt that I wouldn't be sent packing from this great institution.
This rewriting of words and direct quoting with credit was the way of the undergraduate world. None of what I wrote was ever really original. I was learning and showing that I was learning by what I put on the paper. What I put on the paper came from the course reader, the professor, or the book that was written by the professor.
I think back to times when I worked on large-scale projects in my business classes, where we collaborated by each writing different sections and coming together to edit all of the 50-100 pages. These were always a blast to edit and revise. If ever I had doubts about my writing, these were put to rest after reading some of my group mates' work. I am sure that some sort of p-word violation must have occurred somewhere in those "original" works.
During my Master's studies, I know that I must have matured and was more vigilant about using others' words. At least my research was original, or was it? Had I taken those ideas about teaching a non-white centric curriculum of U.S. history from someone else? Was that illegal without giving due credit?
Even as we blog for these classes and comment on what we've read, I ponder the p-word. It seemed so cut and dry during my undergrad years, but I feel more than a little naive when I think of how we as a society are "unconsciously" committing degrees of the p-word more than we think.
This rewriting of words and direct quoting with credit was the way of the undergraduate world. None of what I wrote was ever really original. I was learning and showing that I was learning by what I put on the paper. What I put on the paper came from the course reader, the professor, or the book that was written by the professor.
I think back to times when I worked on large-scale projects in my business classes, where we collaborated by each writing different sections and coming together to edit all of the 50-100 pages. These were always a blast to edit and revise. If ever I had doubts about my writing, these were put to rest after reading some of my group mates' work. I am sure that some sort of p-word violation must have occurred somewhere in those "original" works.
During my Master's studies, I know that I must have matured and was more vigilant about using others' words. At least my research was original, or was it? Had I taken those ideas about teaching a non-white centric curriculum of U.S. history from someone else? Was that illegal without giving due credit?
Even as we blog for these classes and comment on what we've read, I ponder the p-word. It seemed so cut and dry during my undergrad years, but I feel more than a little naive when I think of how we as a society are "unconsciously" committing degrees of the p-word more than we think.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
FanFic
I will admit that I personally am not a fan of Harry Potter, but I am a fan how it has excited so many children (and adults!) to read challenging and intellectually (?) stimulating material. If one were to break down the complexity of the story line, Steven Johnson would be quite content that the readers of Rowling were engaging their adolescent brains in such complex works. The Hardy Boys have nothing on Harry Potter.
The FanFic genre of writing that has been inspired by the works of Rowling and the like have had such a monumental effect on the the literacy of the fans. The readers are able to discuss the works in a nonthreatening environment, where they are able to analyze texts at a very deep level. Jenkins claims, "When they discuss such stories, teen and adult fans talk openly about their life experiences, offering each other advice on more than just plot or characterization." It's analysis at a level not often seen in the traditional "brick and mortar" classroom.
Furthermore, so many classrooms are stuck in the book and chalkboard mentality. Sometimes this is due to a fear of integrating new technology or a lack of access to technology. We all see it in our school. Some are embracing technology, but face the pitfalls of the limited availability to the resources; some clutch to the way it's always been done, possibly because they see the challenges that the new technology can bring, but also because that's how it's been done for years. Jenkins discusses how "Schools are locked into a model of autonomous learning that contrasts sharply with the kinds of learning that are needed as students are entering the new knowledge cultures." He goes on to suggest that students possibly are being deskilled in the traditional classroom. It's no wonder why so many students appear to display apathy in class; they're possibly being deskilled! :)
Personally, I believe that there is a solution to this disconnect. Somewhere between the pen and pencil and the blog, we can find a happy medium where the students aren't being robbed of their skills; where they can analyze literary works at a deep level. If we treat the blog as the publication step of the writing process, the students are able to apply their formal writing skills and reach an audience larger than the teacher and the students in the class.
The FanFic genre of writing that has been inspired by the works of Rowling and the like have had such a monumental effect on the the literacy of the fans. The readers are able to discuss the works in a nonthreatening environment, where they are able to analyze texts at a very deep level. Jenkins claims, "When they discuss such stories, teen and adult fans talk openly about their life experiences, offering each other advice on more than just plot or characterization." It's analysis at a level not often seen in the traditional "brick and mortar" classroom.
Furthermore, so many classrooms are stuck in the book and chalkboard mentality. Sometimes this is due to a fear of integrating new technology or a lack of access to technology. We all see it in our school. Some are embracing technology, but face the pitfalls of the limited availability to the resources; some clutch to the way it's always been done, possibly because they see the challenges that the new technology can bring, but also because that's how it's been done for years. Jenkins discusses how "Schools are locked into a model of autonomous learning that contrasts sharply with the kinds of learning that are needed as students are entering the new knowledge cultures." He goes on to suggest that students possibly are being deskilled in the traditional classroom. It's no wonder why so many students appear to display apathy in class; they're possibly being deskilled! :)
Personally, I believe that there is a solution to this disconnect. Somewhere between the pen and pencil and the blog, we can find a happy medium where the students aren't being robbed of their skills; where they can analyze literary works at a deep level. If we treat the blog as the publication step of the writing process, the students are able to apply their formal writing skills and reach an audience larger than the teacher and the students in the class.
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