Sunday, May 10, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
One More Week of School...
This song has been my motto for the past few days. It's the final push that's the hardest. Congrats to all of graduating! We're so close, just "move along"!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSbGur1dz9k
(Won't embed. D: )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSbGur1dz9k
(Won't embed. D: )
Blogging About Blogging (Kevin Stole My Title)
Well this should prove to be interesting: a blog about blogging. How meta!
Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed using Blogger.com for this class. I’ve had a few blogs over the years, which I only updated sporadically, and this class gave me an opportunity to collect my thoughts. Although we had to write to specific prompts, I really liked the way we were able to communicate as a class in another capacity, through media literacy. I liked how this blog project allowed us to discuss “classroom stuff” in another forum, where communication is less formal. It was also encouraging to read what people commented on my blog, to know we’re in the same boat.
That being said, I think it would be a tremendous opportunity for students of any age to have a personal blog, created for a class. I think a blog is most appropriate for high school or college age students since the teacher can safely assume the students are more familiar or have the capacity to learn how to use a free blog site, like Blogger or LiveJournal. I would probably do something similar to what we did in this class, and have the students respond to prompts before, during, and after we complete a unit. As the teacher, I would probably have a blog too and possibly end up posting assignments there. If students had any questions, they could email me and talk to me but also comment on my blog and I would promptly respond. Perhaps the students could even use their blogs to post essays (save a tree!) and communicate and do group projects. At any rate, the idea of a blog can be put to tremendous use in almost any classroom and can be used to a variety of assignments.
Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed using Blogger.com for this class. I’ve had a few blogs over the years, which I only updated sporadically, and this class gave me an opportunity to collect my thoughts. Although we had to write to specific prompts, I really liked the way we were able to communicate as a class in another capacity, through media literacy. I liked how this blog project allowed us to discuss “classroom stuff” in another forum, where communication is less formal. It was also encouraging to read what people commented on my blog, to know we’re in the same boat.
That being said, I think it would be a tremendous opportunity for students of any age to have a personal blog, created for a class. I think a blog is most appropriate for high school or college age students since the teacher can safely assume the students are more familiar or have the capacity to learn how to use a free blog site, like Blogger or LiveJournal. I would probably do something similar to what we did in this class, and have the students respond to prompts before, during, and after we complete a unit. As the teacher, I would probably have a blog too and possibly end up posting assignments there. If students had any questions, they could email me and talk to me but also comment on my blog and I would promptly respond. Perhaps the students could even use their blogs to post essays (save a tree!) and communicate and do group projects. At any rate, the idea of a blog can be put to tremendous use in almost any classroom and can be used to a variety of assignments.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Shopping in the Fiction Section
Another month has passed by, which mean it’s time for another comparison blog. =]
Like I mentioned in a previous post, because I am an English major, a lot of the time I find it easier to write about fiction or poetry or a novel. Since I’ve been “trained” to look for meaning in texts and how to analyze the symbolism and imagery, I am prepared to explicate a story. Although I will admit that the short stories included in the reader were challenging and quite interesting, especially because the stories were so culturally diverse. I definitely feel like the worksheet with leading questions and the information on the cultural background was useful in writing my essay.
On the other hand, sometimes I find it more difficult to write fiction, especially since I am my own harshest critic. A lot of the time I will think of a great beginning for a short story, but then I don’t know where to take it or how to end it. This is exactly what happened when I wrote my fiction piece; I plan to remedy this and successfully complete it for the final portfolio. However, it is obvious how both aspects of fiction inform the other: you have to know about the elements of fiction when you write your own story.
As for the classroom, I would certainly include a fiction exercise into a lesson plan. I always had to do some creative writing in school, but it usually took the form of writing poems. Only recently have I had an assignment to write an entire short story, and that was in an Asian American Literature class. It was a great exercise that allowed me to be creative while forcing me to finally finish a story. Writing fiction gives students an outlet and allows them to be original, instead of just writing about the same standard ideas. I would have few parameters to the assignment (maybe only a minimum page length) and see how the students express themselves.
Like I mentioned in a previous post, because I am an English major, a lot of the time I find it easier to write about fiction or poetry or a novel. Since I’ve been “trained” to look for meaning in texts and how to analyze the symbolism and imagery, I am prepared to explicate a story. Although I will admit that the short stories included in the reader were challenging and quite interesting, especially because the stories were so culturally diverse. I definitely feel like the worksheet with leading questions and the information on the cultural background was useful in writing my essay.
On the other hand, sometimes I find it more difficult to write fiction, especially since I am my own harshest critic. A lot of the time I will think of a great beginning for a short story, but then I don’t know where to take it or how to end it. This is exactly what happened when I wrote my fiction piece; I plan to remedy this and successfully complete it for the final portfolio. However, it is obvious how both aspects of fiction inform the other: you have to know about the elements of fiction when you write your own story.
As for the classroom, I would certainly include a fiction exercise into a lesson plan. I always had to do some creative writing in school, but it usually took the form of writing poems. Only recently have I had an assignment to write an entire short story, and that was in an Asian American Literature class. It was a great exercise that allowed me to be creative while forcing me to finally finish a story. Writing fiction gives students an outlet and allows them to be original, instead of just writing about the same standard ideas. I would have few parameters to the assignment (maybe only a minimum page length) and see how the students express themselves.
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