30 Second Video

Creative thoughts are on the way...not sure when...for my video, I think that I would like to use a movie  of maybe my really cute grandson, or maybe the dog (Waldo).  Sound would be a great addition, but I am not sure of what sound to use yet.  Maybe just the natural sounds of the baby and the dog.  I am also not sure how to connect this to giving the students feedback, but I am sure I can connect this somehow. This will be another challenge for sure!

What can I do in a video?

I can add cool sounds and music
I can add colors and textures
I can add movement in the form of transitions and video
I can add pictures

All of these items can serve to make the video hopefully interesting!

My Poster

The first thing that I learned as a result of the in-class poster review is that this is really hard work!  I saw quite a few interesting and creative posters that would put mine's to shame.  After listening to some of the comments, I believe that I have more work to do  It seems as though the use of contrasts work well.  For example, I could have a title that contradicts with the picture.  The opposite is also true; I could also include a slogan, title, etc. in my poster with a picture that matches.  The one thing that I don't want to happen is a lot of ambiguity between the two.  Either it should be a direct contrast, or they both should be complimentary.  Short titles also work.  When the title is too long, the poster seems to lose some of its effect.  I think that most people would prefer a poster that made a message short, sweet, and to the point.  Finally, it seems that almost everyone hates clip art!!  OMG, what else is there?

The one thing that was similar between the writing process and the poster was the uncertainty.  At times, I felt really unsure of myself in the paper; the problem seemed to also happen in the poster.  I wanted to find some creative way to explain my ideas in both the paper and the poster, and I struggled with both.  Revising and revising again will also be the same between the writing and the poster!  After today's class, I feel like more work could be done; I am not sure of what to do, though. Maybe I will have a brainstorm between tonight and next week!

My Paper vs. The Rubric...who will win?

As far as my paper is concerned, I feel that I am on track with most elements in the rubric.  I believe that this is definitely an argument worth making!  Many teachers are silently struggling with this issue.  The reason why this is true is because we sometimes talk about it at faculty meetings.  Teachers want to do better, and provide good feedback to their online classrooms.  I tried to arrange my writing by first introducing the problem, discussing possible solutions, and giving a strong conclusion that restates the importance of my solutions.  I think that the examples of software, and how to question students Socratically are good examples that teachers can use.  Finally, I worked hard to format the paper and cite references correctly.  The one thing that I am not really confident in is that I did not write too many difficult sentences.  As I review my draft, I will challenge myself to do this.  Finally, I did not use the word “bubbler” in the paper, but I am sure that I can find some way to make this happen! J

My Posters

Hmm…I am not really sure if I am on track for the poster.  I guess I will see on Thursday. For the poster drafts, I tried to use as less words as possible to say what I meant.  For the first draft, I tried to be creative and aware of how the pictures and colors would affect the poster.  The overall ‘feel’ of the poster was important to me.  For example, since I did not want my viewers to be intimidated, I avoided the use of dark colors.  I also picked clip art of people who looked like they were smiling.  It will be interesting to see if my viewers ‘see’ the concept the same as I do.  For the second draft, I was also aware of the colors.  As I learned from graphic design, I tried to choose a piece of clip art that would actually face the words (it draws attention to the words). 

The main thing that I will carry back from the draft to the written word is the concept of accuracy and saying what you mean. I think as writers, we should consider how our writing will be received; yet, understand that we cannot be responsible for everyone’s interpretation. 

Week 11: My Draft (#4)

In the current draft, my purpose is to solidify my argument.  I (think) that I am saying that good feedback is essential online!  I am writing to teachers who either ARE or WANT TO teach online.  I hope that my research paper engages these teachers and makes them want to consider the importance of feedback.  The main points are that Feedback is essential, and there are lots of electronic ‘helps’ available to assist teachers in the online classroom. 

I also make the point that some of the electronic tools are so good to where all teachers may want to consider using them.  These tools help teachers to not only eliminate the red pen, but point the students to good resources for correction.  Finally, I want online teachers to understand that even though they are not face to face, they still have options to speak with students through chats, discussion boards, and even the telephone.

I think that I have become more persuasive in that I am constantly focusing on the Feedback teaching strategy.  I hope that they walk away with a feeling that they are not alone, and there are options out there. 

As a whole, I know that I will make further revisions, but I feel more confident that I am at least on the right road…I want to find some way to dress up my conclusion, so that my paper ends with a Bang…I forgot to mention…the Title thing is driving me nuts!  Sigh…I will come up with a good title soon.

Week 11: The Readings on Visual Composition

The readings in general were surprising to me.  I am not an “artsy” person, so most of it was new information to me.  I think that the most interesting part was that the Shore article mentioned how cameras essentially don’t lie.  The discussion on how a photographer can take a photo from a slightly different angle and create different perspectives reminded me of a book I once read.  In the book, a community photographer was searching for a suspect along a parade route.  The photographer searched diligently through photos from different angles.   The suspect was eventually located in a photo (at an angle) somewhere behind a building.  This article helped me to realize that cameras are interesting.  I understood some of the concepts in the Bang article on perceptions, heights, etc., but towards the end of the book, I lost focus (no pun intended).  I feel that because I am not artistic, I could not really understand what the author was trying to show.

My understanding of visual composition is that graphic artists, photographers, etc. can purposely ‘arrange’ things and get certain effects from the audience.  This is similar to how writers can arrange certain words and evoke specific responses from the audience.  One main difference with visual composition is that there is much more room for interpretation that written composition.  Sometimes, artists are also extremely surprised by how the audience interpreted a work.  While this also happens in writing, it seems to be more prevalent in art. 

As I move toward designing a poster, I think that I will most remember that colors (light vs. dark), shapes (curly vs. sharp), and heights and widths can affect how an audience may feel about my poster.  I will adjust my poster according to the overall feeling that I am trying to display. I am a little concerned that I may not be able to do this well, but I will certainly give it a try.  I almost feel like I have to send subliminal messages to my audience or something! J

Week 10: The Readings on Culture and Language

The Delpit article discusses the rules of power that dictate our world.  She asserts that these rules are enacted in classrooms as well.  According to the author, there are these ‘codes’ of conduct that the majority culture are aware of (consciously or subconsciously), and those who don’t know the ‘codes’ have a difficult time achieving power in our society.  This was a difficult read in that I was not exactly sure what she meant by Skills-oriented writing vs. Process-oriented writing.  I have ideas, but I am not sure if I am on the right track.  Overall, Delpit is saying that Black children need a more direct, authoritative teaching style than White children. This “minority culture” is used to being told what to do, and will easily disrespect an authority figure who does not act with explicit authority. As a result, Black students may seem to misbehave in the classroom when they do not know the ‘codes’ of the “majority culture.”  These students must be taught how to assimilate into the American culture, but not lose their identity.  Finally, Delpit says that the educational system must pay attention to and respect the ideas from Black parents, teachers, and members of community.

The Young article is a very humorous, yet serious journey into his head and his views about language in America.  Young believes that education helps to support the divide between Blacks, Whites, and in his words, ghetto-Blacks.  He asserts that Black students’ culture should be respected, and they should not have to ‘code switch’ in order to be successful.  He seemed to wish that we could do away with race, and that all students should be able to write the way that they feel.

After reading both articles, I must be honest and say that this is too much reading for one week…not because of the amount of pages, but because of the content!  I have taken several breaks, but these readings are really DEEP, and my mind is reeling!  I honestly don’t know where to begin.  Both articles brought up so many issues--I mean, even one issue could be debated forever.

In my experience, I always tell my students that we are judged by the words we use and how we use them.  It is just a fact that will not go away.  People from different cultural groups tend to use language in different ways, and as human beings, we will make our judgments and first impressions.  I think it is in our nature to categorize people, places, and things, so I don’t see this changing. I have been judged more than once by the words that I use.  As I mentioned before, I learned to ‘code switch’ early in life.  I was constantly getting bad grades in writing; I grew up in a predominantly white, suburban neighborhood, while family came from the south (and they were country as hell).  Mixing the two cultures together was like striking matches to dynamite.  School was a struggle because of it, but the only advantage that I had was that I loved to learn and I enjoyed reading.

I can think of one instance in particular many years ago.  I became friends with my neighbor, who eventually introduced me to her friend (also named ‘Pam’), who seemed to have some jealousy issues.  The three of us spent quite a bit of time at backyard barbecues, McDonalds, and hanging out with our kids.  We were three Black, Christian, married moms who somehow needed one another’s company.  Because we all shared the same race, I felt comfortable to use my ‘native language’, and not worry about grammar.  I felt free to use incorrect verb tenses, say words from my old country, and otherwise chop the English language to death.  One day, Pam found out that I had a Master’s degree, and said something like, “Yeah right…oh no she don’t.”  That was quite a shock, but it said a lot about how our language can be used to judge us.  This ruined my self-esteem, and it made me feel so inferior to her.

Despite what happened between Pam and me, I also make such judgments when I meet people.  I don’t know if it comes from being a teacher, or just from being a person…the truth is, I think we all do.  When we meet other people, we make a mental inventory from the clothes, hair style, mannerisms, and of course, language.  By listening to another person’s language, we are SOMETIMES able to pinpoint what type of neighborhood they grew up in, who their friends are, and how much they make on their jobs.

Both articles were a good reminder of this.  The Delphi article was especially interesting, because I have never taught young children before.  I had to think about how I raise my own children, and admitted that I do have to take that authoritative approach with them.  I agreed so much that our Black children need to be taught the codes, so that they can fit into society.  To me, it is just a fact that cannot be denied. The Young article was a hope for the future (in my opinion), but I do not see it ever happening.  I cannot see a world where every student is allowed to write/speak in his or her own way.  Maybe I am being short-sighted, but without some form of standardization, we would all sound like we just climbed the Tower of Babel.