ER-April 14th- Molding Minds in Media

Hello Everyone! I hope this blog find you well! Did you have some Peach Cobbler in celebration of national Peach Cobber Day today yet?

Anyway, getting started, the readings really made me think about multi medias in the classrooms. I know I talked some about how we as teachers must change classroom pedagogy along with the changes in technology, but it is a crucial point to talk about.

The fact is, kids are getting more and more complex technology at an ever decreasing age. Several friends of mine have told me stories how their niece, nephews, or neighbors who are like 5 and 6 already have a cell phone. Growing up, my Dad had a strict rule about no cell phone until you have a job and your license. He kept that rule with me but caved in with my little brother who got one at 14. Of course, all my siblings and I were peeved he did that, but it seems to go with the changing time.


(Boy: "Dude, that time where Big Bird found Bernie in his nest was CRAAAAZY"
Girl: "Girl, I said 'Swiper No swiping three times" but he still stole Dora's hat. Next time I will yell it!"
Boy 2: "I don't know man, Blue hid those clues pretty well. I don't think we'll solve this one")

My point is this: If kids are getting technology sooner, then we must adapt the pedagogy. Even if parents wait to get their kids started with tech, by the time kids reach the high school, they will no doubt be technology capable and will want to use technology in the classroom.

So, we as teachers have to prepare and get ready. I do not think it will be too big of a challenge for us, seeing as we ourselves are pretty technology dependent and knowledgeable  but it still would not hurt to really research and see what we can do.

If you guys have any ideas, i would love to hear them! Leave a comment or two below with you thoughts!

Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week!

Until then, take care and remember...
~Add a little Streiff to your life~

-Joey S.

RR-April 14th- Digital Dilemmas

Hello Everyone! I hope you are doing well!  

Fun fact: April 13th is National Peach Cobbler Day, April 14th is National Pecan Day, and April 15th is National Glazed Ham Day. I hope your stomachs are ready for the next few days! I wonder what is it about April that makes people want to eat?!

                                                (Mmmm! That Peach Cobbler looks good! :P )

Anyway, let's start on the readings shall we?

Chapter 8, Miller and McVee:

The story of Nicole and Paige making a video about the Jim Crow Laws is a neat one because I have done those kinds of projects before but I never really realized how much media goes into it. Miller and McVee then go on to explain how digital video is really filled with multi media but we read about that last week.  What I really focused in on was the digital aspect of the classroom. Miller and McVee expressed desire to reshape pedagogy in the classroom to not only include digital literacies and technology, but to also cater to the students to make school  an interactive environment shaped around the students so they may feel like school is an extension of themselves and a way to express who they are.

I highly agree with Miller and McVee. As technology changes, so must the world around it do the same. No longer can classrooms rely solely on print media. The world needs technology. Its a simple fact. The society in the U.S. is one that is always on the border waiting for new technology to come over the horizon. For example, every time the iPhone gets a new release, people will stand for hours, literally hours in the cold, rain, and snow just to get the new phone simply because it is new. In fact, some have even took advantage of this technology craze by selling their spot in lines from $200-$500 dollars! http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/national_world&id=8818083

So, it seems our society is really passionate (and sometimes insane) about technology. Which means the kids we teach will be born with technology in their hands. In fact, my niece Emily knew how to work an iPad to get to Netflix to watch Dora when she was 2. Growing up, she will be used to Technology and will need the digital stimulation in school in order to peak her interest.

We as future teachers need to be ready for these kids and prepare thusly. For example,  Miller and McVee talked about classroom set-up and how it is crucial in facilitating learning, I already thought about how I want to set up my future classroom and each time, I can never finalize a design because I strive for it to be the best.

Overall, Miller and McVee talked about how crucial it is to remold pedagogy to include technology and cater to the student's wants and needs.

Dali, Broz, Edmondson, and Ostenson:

Reading all four articles, I found the ideas in each of them really neat and practical for the classroom I would teach. as i mentioned before in the Miller and McVee section, teachers have to incorporate technology and bring the students interest into the classroom. I like how Dali used current examples from popular Young Adult books because those are the ones that really grasp a student's interest. I know I absolutely loved the Hunger Games trilogy so if I had to do a voicethread about them, I would be excited!


If anyone has not read the 4 articles, I highly recommend it. They provided me with lots of cool ideas and I have thought of ways of how to tweak them to fit other lessons and I am sure you will do the same!

So that about sums it up for this week. I hope you have enjoyed reading and I will see you next week!

Thank you! Have fun, be safe and remember...
~Add a little Streiff to your life~

-Joey S.

ER-April 7- POW, THWANG, ZAPP

Hello Everyone!! I hope your day is going well! Have you started reading comic book/strips since the readings?

I know for sure my roommates have! Two of my roommates are huge, huge, HUGE, comic book fans. Our room is filled with Superman symbols, countless batman comics, and I don't even know how many superhero merchandise is lying around here. In fact, if you are to watch my group's video "The Necklace", you will notice Janet is reading one of my roommate's Batman graphic novels when she sits in the "park".

 For them comic books are amazing and they make a story come alive. They say the art, characterization, and pure kick-assery makes comic books and graphic novels really fun to read.If we could take that and translate it to what we are teaching, imagine how interested kids would be.

As for me, I actually started looking into how graphic novels and comic books can be useful in an English classroom. Carter brought up some good points but I wanted to do some more researching. And I did.

My first instinct to tracking down something useful for English in the graphic novel section was to look for something related to Shakespeare. The biggest opponent to Shakespeare is the language. Most kids I talk to, and even some of my classmates, detest Shakespeare because the language is too difficult and they don;t get it. Well luck was on my side and I stumbled upon this little beauty here: http://www.grammarmancomic.com/scripts/download/romeostory.pdf

It is the famous balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet done in a comic book style. I like this for a few reasons. 1. It is pleasing to the eye. 2. It uses the style of comic books to its advantage. Notice how the speech bubbles changed when emotion is added. Even the words are bolded when they are needed to be stressed or carried with emotion. 3 (And my favorite) It keeps the Shakespearean language in its exact form but it reads like normal language.

My second instinct lead to find something related to Young Adult Novels, as well as, the books we read in high school. Examples include Brave New World, The Great Gatsby, Tom Sawyer, Of Mice and Men, and all the other books.

Below is a link for a compilation of comic strips for The Great Gatsby. They're funny, witty, and bring up some good points about the book.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/books/assets_c/2010/04/gatsbysm-thumb-465x1984-33961.png
(Double click to enlarge the strips)

Of course avoided the language and some of its crudeness, comic strips such as these could be useful in the classroom. Having students illustrate something about the book that they deem worthy of discussion or just something they felt passionate about the book can be a great way to really get students invested in a book.

All together, graphic novels can be a great asset in the classroom and the examples I provided show that they can actually be useful and interesting. What do you all think?

Until next time, take care and have fun and remember....

~Add a little Streiff to your life~

-Joey S.

RR-April 7- Graphic Goodies

Hello Everyone!! I hope you are all enjoying this wonderful weather! I know I am!

So this week, we had to read about Graphic Novels and their use, function, and purpose in the classroom. The two authors I really connected with were McTaggert and Carter.

McTaggert:

What i really liked about McTaggert's article is that it had a question for almost every question I had. She really went into detail and thoroughly explained what a graphic novel was, the different types, and why they are valid in a classroom. To be honest, I never thought of graphic novels in my classroom because whenever I think of them or comic books, I think they are for children and not meant for high school. But after listening to McTaggert explain why, it really made sense to me.

The one line she said that really was a wow moment for me was when she said "They have grown up with TV,  electronic games, video games, and graphic software, and they need graphics to help them understand the message. The graphic novel satisfies their need." It never really hit me at just how many graphics I come across in my daily life. In fact, one of my favorites websites is just a website filled with nothing but funny pictures. McTaggert made a great point that in our classrooms, we need to look into graphics because of not only our generation, but of those who come after us.

Carter:

Carter focused more attention to graphics novels in the classroom and included a little section on how graphic literacy can help in the English classrooms. He brought up the example of storyboarding in the classrooms (a thing we are very familiar with) and how the graphics can help students bring the story to "life." As an English major, I have a love for books and the written word, but there are times where I would not mind having a picture or two. After all, I always say, and even Carter said it that "A picture is worth a thousand words" I have always believed in that statement and as much as I love reading, there are just some words that cannot be described about a picture.

Overall, I now see the use and validity of graphic novels and such in a classroom. I think they will be a great help, especially to those who are still struggling to read and comprehend, and that we as future teachers need to start looking into ways we might think are a little "childish"


Until next time, take care and have fun and remember....

~Add a little Streiff to your life~

-Joey S.