At the beginning of the course I felt a little overwhelmed and unsure about learning how to integrate these technologies into the classroom. After we started using them ourselves, however, I found that these tools can be very useful. I'm not sure how much I would get into using social network sites, but I think that blogs and Wiki projects are something I would like to try.
I think these tools can both enhance and hinder communication. I know that some students are gifted when it comes to computers, and these programs would provide them an opportunity to shine in a nontraditional manner. Of course, there are also students who might not be eager to try these new things. I know that when we started to use these programs in class I wasn't very happy because I despise spending time in front of the computer. However, I do see the value in using these tools, and I'm glad that I tried them.
As I review my blog, I have come to the conclusion that blogs are not such a bad thing. Actually, I found that I enjoyed being able to present my opinion in this way. I also liked being able to read what everyone has to say and view things they have stumbled upon on the internet. However, I still do not think I will be keeping up with a professional blog in the near future.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Persepolis and Naruto
I finished reading Persepolis and Naruto, and I have to say that I enjoyed them both. I never really got into comic books, so I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this assignment. I read Persepolis first and I was very pleased when I realized it read more like a novel than a comic. I never knew could learn so much from a graphic novel. I was never bored during this read and I enjoyed her simple yet effective illustrations that went along with the narration.
I was a little more apprehensive about reading Naruto. It is definitely not the kind of book I would pick up on my own. When I began reading I was not enjoying it at all. I was wishing that the layout and story were like Persepolis. I was also really confused about the characters. it was hard for me to tell sometimes which one was which and what their roles were and where they came from. Once I figured all of that out (about the middle of the novel) I started to enjoy the story more. I have to admit that by the end I wanted to know what happened next. I also enjoys the pictures, mostly because the expressions on the characters faces were very detailed.
I also finished writing the paper for these books and i found it rather difficult. I am not knowledgeable about comic book jargon, and even though I tried to Google some of the elements I didn't find it very helpful.
I was a little more apprehensive about reading Naruto. It is definitely not the kind of book I would pick up on my own. When I began reading I was not enjoying it at all. I was wishing that the layout and story were like Persepolis. I was also really confused about the characters. it was hard for me to tell sometimes which one was which and what their roles were and where they came from. Once I figured all of that out (about the middle of the novel) I started to enjoy the story more. I have to admit that by the end I wanted to know what happened next. I also enjoys the pictures, mostly because the expressions on the characters faces were very detailed.
I also finished writing the paper for these books and i found it rather difficult. I am not knowledgeable about comic book jargon, and even though I tried to Google some of the elements I didn't find it very helpful.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Kist Chapters
I just finished reading chapters 1, 6, 7, & 8 from Dr. Kist's book. I wanted to blog about one aspect of each chapter that I found interesting.
Chapter 1. On page three Dr. Kist takes readers back to a time before computers, cell phones, and DVR's. He mentioned that if he wanted to type a paper, it would have to be on a typewriter, or else written in long hand. This made me think of my 10th grade English teacher. She was not the type to integrate technology into the classroom. I'm not even sure we watched a movie in her class. Anyway, for our first paper of the semester she insisted that we write the paper out in long hand, and in cursive. This had been the first time we had been asked to do this in years, and many of us were not happy. Many doubted they even remembered how to write cursive. However, we all wrote our papers in cursive in blue or black ink. After this assignment my teacher allowed us to type the rest of our assignments She said that our handwriting was so poor that she could hardly read them. (I have to wonder if this is a result of technology.)
Chapter 8. On page 135/136 Dr. Kist includes som opinions aboutt he works that is involved in new literacy projects. Like Dr. Kist mentions Ialways had the belief that new literacy projects were easy. After reading about some of the assignments these students were doing, I realized that they were a lot more involved than anything I had done in high school. They are interpretting and analyzing movies just as they would do with a novel, and maybe even more so. When I watched movies in high school, it was mainly "OK now compare and contrast the book and the movie"...boring and obvious. All of the movies we watched were based on books, too. I think I would have enjoyed doing other types of lessons using movies, such as something to do with characterization or foreshadowing.
Chapter 7. I wanted to comment about the use of "fluff" projects in the classroom that are mentioned on page 123. Obviously, these are not fluff projects. A lot time, effort, and thinking go into the creation of new literacy projects. I had a teacher who always allowed us to repsond to literature using these types of projects. She hardly gave us regular quizzes or tests and I loved it. I felt that this was a way to better gage our understanding of the text. We were not simply memorizing and reciting, we getting involved with the literature.
Chapter 6. A student in this chapter talked about how he learned to "read movies" from the new literacy course he was taking. This made me think of my own experiences now that we have been analyzing films in class. When I attended the film festival I found myself looking at camera angles and different shots to see how they were affecting to picture. I have to say that I really saw the power that was created from the close up shots of peoples faces. I was even listening to the music in the background in relation to what was happening on the screen. I am ruined for movies now :) kidding kidding
Chapter 1. On page three Dr. Kist takes readers back to a time before computers, cell phones, and DVR's. He mentioned that if he wanted to type a paper, it would have to be on a typewriter, or else written in long hand. This made me think of my 10th grade English teacher. She was not the type to integrate technology into the classroom. I'm not even sure we watched a movie in her class. Anyway, for our first paper of the semester she insisted that we write the paper out in long hand, and in cursive. This had been the first time we had been asked to do this in years, and many of us were not happy. Many doubted they even remembered how to write cursive. However, we all wrote our papers in cursive in blue or black ink. After this assignment my teacher allowed us to type the rest of our assignments She said that our handwriting was so poor that she could hardly read them. (I have to wonder if this is a result of technology.)
Chapter 8. On page 135/136 Dr. Kist includes som opinions aboutt he works that is involved in new literacy projects. Like Dr. Kist mentions Ialways had the belief that new literacy projects were easy. After reading about some of the assignments these students were doing, I realized that they were a lot more involved than anything I had done in high school. They are interpretting and analyzing movies just as they would do with a novel, and maybe even more so. When I watched movies in high school, it was mainly "OK now compare and contrast the book and the movie"...boring and obvious. All of the movies we watched were based on books, too. I think I would have enjoyed doing other types of lessons using movies, such as something to do with characterization or foreshadowing.
Chapter 7. I wanted to comment about the use of "fluff" projects in the classroom that are mentioned on page 123. Obviously, these are not fluff projects. A lot time, effort, and thinking go into the creation of new literacy projects. I had a teacher who always allowed us to repsond to literature using these types of projects. She hardly gave us regular quizzes or tests and I loved it. I felt that this was a way to better gage our understanding of the text. We were not simply memorizing and reciting, we getting involved with the literature.
Chapter 6. A student in this chapter talked about how he learned to "read movies" from the new literacy course he was taking. This made me think of my own experiences now that we have been analyzing films in class. When I attended the film festival I found myself looking at camera angles and different shots to see how they were affecting to picture. I have to say that I really saw the power that was created from the close up shots of peoples faces. I was even listening to the music in the background in relation to what was happening on the screen. I am ruined for movies now :) kidding kidding
Monday, March 23, 2009
Film Festival
I went to the Film Festival on Saturday afternoon and I have to say I enjoyed it. My fiance and went to the 4:30 movie The Last Days of Shishmaref. It was a documentary about a village of about 500 Inupiaq Eskimos that live on an island in Northwest Alaska...brr. Unfortunately for this community, which has been on the island for 4,000 years, their home is sinking into the ocean. Because of global warming, the rising ocean is carrying away 5-10 feet of their island a year. It is estimated that in 15 years the island will disappear. This is very sad. Imagine if you had to leave your home of 4,000 years. The village does not have the resources to move to the Alaskan mainland without the assistance of the government, which they are not getting. It would cost over $100 million to move the village. The people of this community do not want to just move to other parts of the state, they want to remain together, as they always have been.
Before attending the Film Festival, I'm not sure I was looking forward to it that much. I did not want to go downtown to watch a movie that I had no interest in, and waste 12 dollars in the process. I am very glad that my initial feelings about the Festival were wrong. Don't get me wrong, I was having doubts as I stood in line with 500 other people that were at least 20 years older than me. My fiance and I were definitely the youngest ones there, and I was worried that this was not going to be something a person of my age was going to enjoy. I'm sure there could have been plenty of reasons for this audience though. It could have been the movies that were playing at the time.
We had a hard time choosing a movie. We wanted to see something in the afternoon, so we didn't have to be downtown all night. We ended up choosing The Last Days of Shishmaref because my fiance has family in Alaska and we thought we might learn something, and it got us out of town before dark. This film was very enlightening but also depressing.
I actually did not get lost on my way to Tower City, and I always do even though I go there a million times. So I was proud of myself. Also, I snagged the sweetest parking spot in the place, right next to the escalaters. I was also glad parking was free. The only thing that gave me a little anxiety was when the Cavs game let out (Yay for the win!!!). We were standing in line outside the theatre and a hundred million people were all shoving past on the Walkway.
Overall, I really had a good time at the Film Festival. Everyone who attended was eager and excited about these films, and I also got into the spirit of the festival. This is something that I would definitely consider attending in the future. There were other films I wanted to see, but could not because of the times they were being shown. My mother expressed interest in going, so maybe if she offers to pay, we might go check out a film later in the week. I am glad I had the opportunity to attend. I never knew this Film Festival even existed, but I will be looking for its dates in the future.
Thanks for this assignment!
Before attending the Film Festival, I'm not sure I was looking forward to it that much. I did not want to go downtown to watch a movie that I had no interest in, and waste 12 dollars in the process. I am very glad that my initial feelings about the Festival were wrong. Don't get me wrong, I was having doubts as I stood in line with 500 other people that were at least 20 years older than me. My fiance and I were definitely the youngest ones there, and I was worried that this was not going to be something a person of my age was going to enjoy. I'm sure there could have been plenty of reasons for this audience though. It could have been the movies that were playing at the time.
We had a hard time choosing a movie. We wanted to see something in the afternoon, so we didn't have to be downtown all night. We ended up choosing The Last Days of Shishmaref because my fiance has family in Alaska and we thought we might learn something, and it got us out of town before dark. This film was very enlightening but also depressing.
I actually did not get lost on my way to Tower City, and I always do even though I go there a million times. So I was proud of myself. Also, I snagged the sweetest parking spot in the place, right next to the escalaters. I was also glad parking was free. The only thing that gave me a little anxiety was when the Cavs game let out (Yay for the win!!!). We were standing in line outside the theatre and a hundred million people were all shoving past on the Walkway.
Overall, I really had a good time at the Film Festival. Everyone who attended was eager and excited about these films, and I also got into the spirit of the festival. This is something that I would definitely consider attending in the future. There were other films I wanted to see, but could not because of the times they were being shown. My mother expressed interest in going, so maybe if she offers to pay, we might go check out a film later in the week. I am glad I had the opportunity to attend. I never knew this Film Festival even existed, but I will be looking for its dates in the future.
Thanks for this assignment!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Film
Recently I have become a part of this phenomenon called "Renting movies at the libray." I don't know why I never considered this before because I rent movies all the time, but when you rent them at the librbary they are FREE. Given the current economy and my lack of income it was like a white light shined down on the library as I passed it a couple of weeks ago. My fiance is currently laid off work, so I've been seeing a lot of him, and over the past three weeks or so I would say we rented about 12 movies. We made a "nest" in the living room and watched a movie a night with a huge bowl of popcorn. I didn't really think about the movies much. Mostly, I was just glad to have a break from homework, but after last weeks class I really examined the films we watched this week.
If I remember correctly we watched 1408 (which we had to rent twice because the first time there was a different movie in the box), The Assasination of Jesse James, and September Dawn. You've probably never heard of the last two, but they are set in the old west type time period (those are my favorite kind of movies). I recommend all of them, except I fell asleep during The Assasination of Jesse James, even though Brad Pitt is in it, so I can't say much about that one.
Mostly, in this blog I wanted to comment on 1408. I'm sure a lot of you have seen this movie because it came out a litle while ago, but what really interested me was the camera angles in this movie. I don't remember a lot of specifics, but I know that at times when the main character would sort of withdraw into himself and try and get his bearings the camera would be angled below him, and it kinda distorted his proportion a little bit. The music also made the movie very suspenceful.
Some of the other movies we wathced were Black Snake Moan, American Gangster, March of the Penguins, Mr. Woodcock, The Illusionist, The Prestige, Mystery Alaska, and Rocketman (a childhood favorite). I just wanted to blog on this because this is really the first time this semster I actually took time out of my week for some viewing pleasure. This DOES NOT happen often, and even though it meant I had to spend more time doing homework I really felt a lot less stressed. Oh and I saw Taken on Five Dollar Movie Night in Solon last Monday. I love movies when people beat the crap out of each other.
This week it is back to reality and papers to write, so I really don't have time to watch movies. However, the next time I do rent a movie, it will not be from Blockbuster.
Hope everyone is enjoying the semester being half over
Stephanie Schmitt
If I remember correctly we watched 1408 (which we had to rent twice because the first time there was a different movie in the box), The Assasination of Jesse James, and September Dawn. You've probably never heard of the last two, but they are set in the old west type time period (those are my favorite kind of movies). I recommend all of them, except I fell asleep during The Assasination of Jesse James, even though Brad Pitt is in it, so I can't say much about that one.
Mostly, in this blog I wanted to comment on 1408. I'm sure a lot of you have seen this movie because it came out a litle while ago, but what really interested me was the camera angles in this movie. I don't remember a lot of specifics, but I know that at times when the main character would sort of withdraw into himself and try and get his bearings the camera would be angled below him, and it kinda distorted his proportion a little bit. The music also made the movie very suspenceful.
Some of the other movies we wathced were Black Snake Moan, American Gangster, March of the Penguins, Mr. Woodcock, The Illusionist, The Prestige, Mystery Alaska, and Rocketman (a childhood favorite). I just wanted to blog on this because this is really the first time this semster I actually took time out of my week for some viewing pleasure. This DOES NOT happen often, and even though it meant I had to spend more time doing homework I really felt a lot less stressed. Oh and I saw Taken on Five Dollar Movie Night in Solon last Monday. I love movies when people beat the crap out of each other.
This week it is back to reality and papers to write, so I really don't have time to watch movies. However, the next time I do rent a movie, it will not be from Blockbuster.
Hope everyone is enjoying the semester being half over
Stephanie Schmitt
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Autobiography projects
I want to start by saying that I absolutely loved everyone's projects. I think that everyone did a fantastic job with them. It was so nice to take a little trip back into my literary history. I expected that many of us would have some of the same books and TV shows in our presentations, but it was also interesting to see the differences between them as well. This was something that I really enjoyed putting together and perhaps when I have a little more free time I will improve it to use in my classroom one day. I think this is a project students could be eager about, as so many of us obviously were.
I wish I was a little more technologically advanced. I would have liked to use a program other than PowerPoint, but that would not have been an easy task for me. I think part of the reason I enjoyed putting it together was because it was simple.
I actually had a lot of fun interviewing my mom before I started collecting images. She remembered so many stories we read together that I had completely forgotten about. It seemed to me that she had a lot of fun with this project too, and she was excited to see it when I was finished. I give my mom most of the credit for starting me on reading becasue she read to me everynight and was always buying me books. I could cry and whine in WalMart because she wouldn't buy me a Barbie, but she would always buy me a book.
There is one thing I wanted to comment on that I was a little disappointed in. I feel that I spent a great deal of time on this project, but I wasn't given an opportunity to share it the way I wanted because we were running out of time. I did not think this was very fair because those that went first got to explain everything they wanted in their presentations. Don't get me wrong I absolutely loved listening to every second of their presentations, but I would have loved to have been given the same courtesy. Instead I had to "move it along." Everything I planned to say and comment on pretty much went out the window, and I felt a little cheated. I don't feel that my presentation was anywhere near as good as it could have been the way I practiced.
Overall this was a fun project, and I am glad to have this little reflection of my literary life. It would be nice to keep adding to it in the future.
Stephanie
PS. Here is my movie related link www.rottentomatoes.com
I wish I was a little more technologically advanced. I would have liked to use a program other than PowerPoint, but that would not have been an easy task for me. I think part of the reason I enjoyed putting it together was because it was simple.
I actually had a lot of fun interviewing my mom before I started collecting images. She remembered so many stories we read together that I had completely forgotten about. It seemed to me that she had a lot of fun with this project too, and she was excited to see it when I was finished. I give my mom most of the credit for starting me on reading becasue she read to me everynight and was always buying me books. I could cry and whine in WalMart because she wouldn't buy me a Barbie, but she would always buy me a book.
There is one thing I wanted to comment on that I was a little disappointed in. I feel that I spent a great deal of time on this project, but I wasn't given an opportunity to share it the way I wanted because we were running out of time. I did not think this was very fair because those that went first got to explain everything they wanted in their presentations. Don't get me wrong I absolutely loved listening to every second of their presentations, but I would have loved to have been given the same courtesy. Instead I had to "move it along." Everything I planned to say and comment on pretty much went out the window, and I felt a little cheated. I don't feel that my presentation was anywhere near as good as it could have been the way I practiced.
Overall this was a fun project, and I am glad to have this little reflection of my literary life. It would be nice to keep adding to it in the future.
Stephanie
PS. Here is my movie related link www.rottentomatoes.com
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
As it is, I am at this very moment using technology in the classroom. I am in my Teaching High School Journalism class and I just finished taking a test on the laptop. (HI! Everyone in this class with me right now. How do you guys think you did on the law quiz?) I have to wait for everyone else to finish their quizzes because we have to be here till 8:15 tonight, so I figured I'd take this opportunity to post.
I'm attempting to work on my multi-modal presentation, and it is not going as smoothly as I had hoped. I wanted to include some videos to go along with my still pictures, but unfortunately that whole Debut business is not working out so swell for me. I'm hoping that it was just my computer because I really wanted to include some of that stuff. I guess you'll all see if I succeed in class on Monday. Originally, this project had started out as something fun for me, but of course technology ruined it. I'm crossing my fingers for better luck later this week.
We talked about books that are normally included in a secondary English classroom, but I felt like I was missing out because at my school we didn't read half of those books. Fortunately I had read them on my own at my mother's suggestion. She loves to read and she was always checking out good books for me at the library. I hope that wherever I end up teaching the curriculum includes a variety of novels. It is my opinion that students will get more involved in novels than textbooks. Unfortunately though, I apparently have no say in the curriculum, which is also something we discussed in class Monday.
Well, I guess I better end this because I think almost everyone is done with their tests and we have to get back to business. I can't wait to get out of here. It's my Mom's birthday and my whole family is in town, and there is ice cream cake waiting for me at home (my favorite!!)
Stephanie
I'm attempting to work on my multi-modal presentation, and it is not going as smoothly as I had hoped. I wanted to include some videos to go along with my still pictures, but unfortunately that whole Debut business is not working out so swell for me. I'm hoping that it was just my computer because I really wanted to include some of that stuff. I guess you'll all see if I succeed in class on Monday. Originally, this project had started out as something fun for me, but of course technology ruined it. I'm crossing my fingers for better luck later this week.
We talked about books that are normally included in a secondary English classroom, but I felt like I was missing out because at my school we didn't read half of those books. Fortunately I had read them on my own at my mother's suggestion. She loves to read and she was always checking out good books for me at the library. I hope that wherever I end up teaching the curriculum includes a variety of novels. It is my opinion that students will get more involved in novels than textbooks. Unfortunately though, I apparently have no say in the curriculum, which is also something we discussed in class Monday.
Well, I guess I better end this because I think almost everyone is done with their tests and we have to get back to business. I can't wait to get out of here. It's my Mom's birthday and my whole family is in town, and there is ice cream cake waiting for me at home (my favorite!!)
Stephanie
Monday, February 9, 2009
This is my first blog...ever. I never had a blog before, mostly because the thought of sitting at the computer and typing turns me off for some reason. I don't like to sit at the computer any longer than I absolutely have too, which is difficult this semester because I have an online class. I was actually nervous about the whole Multi-Modal deal because I thought it was gonna be a technology class, and I'm not a huge fan of the computer. I am really glad it isn't :) Anyway, I really like trying new things, so I hope to make this blog a good experience and something to use in the future.
I think for a classroom to have Multi-Modal capabilities is a tremendous advantage. Teachers have so many options these days about what they can relate the curriculum to. The kids that we're going to teach (let's face it) are going to be interested in so many other things besides school. It is nice as teachers, to be able to bring a little bit of their outside world into the classroom. Using Multi-modal techniques is a great way for students to be engaged in learning without really relizing it. Plus, if they're having fun that's always a bonus.
In class we talked about Facebook and MySpace and how they relate to teacher professionalism. I personally, do not have a problem giving up my Facebook (as I mentioned I'm not a huge fan of sitting at the computer) but I completely understand why many people are not so eager to get rid of them. I'm not sure about where I stand on completely getting rid of an account, but I do think that if you have one you need to be professional about it. I'm sure that all of us future teachers are in agreement about this.
As I sit here and think about it, it almsot makes me wish for a simpler time, back before the Facebook's, and blogs, or even the computer. I'm not talking like Pony Express time, but I do know for a fact that people actually managed to survive without being constantly surrounded by technology. Of course, if it were that simpler time then I probably would have been married at 13 and have seven children by now (kidding kidding). I guess it doesn't sound so simple. I suppose I kind of take this easy and instant access to information for granted. Now that I think about it I guess I should stop doing that...
Til next time...(this was kinda fun)
Stephanie
I think for a classroom to have Multi-Modal capabilities is a tremendous advantage. Teachers have so many options these days about what they can relate the curriculum to. The kids that we're going to teach (let's face it) are going to be interested in so many other things besides school. It is nice as teachers, to be able to bring a little bit of their outside world into the classroom. Using Multi-modal techniques is a great way for students to be engaged in learning without really relizing it. Plus, if they're having fun that's always a bonus.
In class we talked about Facebook and MySpace and how they relate to teacher professionalism. I personally, do not have a problem giving up my Facebook (as I mentioned I'm not a huge fan of sitting at the computer) but I completely understand why many people are not so eager to get rid of them. I'm not sure about where I stand on completely getting rid of an account, but I do think that if you have one you need to be professional about it. I'm sure that all of us future teachers are in agreement about this.
As I sit here and think about it, it almsot makes me wish for a simpler time, back before the Facebook's, and blogs, or even the computer. I'm not talking like Pony Express time, but I do know for a fact that people actually managed to survive without being constantly surrounded by technology. Of course, if it were that simpler time then I probably would have been married at 13 and have seven children by now (kidding kidding). I guess it doesn't sound so simple. I suppose I kind of take this easy and instant access to information for granted. Now that I think about it I guess I should stop doing that...
Til next time...(this was kinda fun)
Stephanie
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