I love that when you focus on teaching your own level of understanding has to increase. Because I have a procrastinating nature from birth (I blame it on my mother who is the biggest procrastinator I know) a majority of the time I'm writing for a class I don't think a heap about decorum. On page 228 the author disucsses grand, middle, and plain styles of writing. When writing for academic purposes I follow all the common professional rules but I probably always use a more "plain" style of writing which is described as direct, clear, and accessible. When I feel pressure to use a "grand" approach" my writing seemed to be too fluffy and lacks clear voice.
1. How do you successfully use "complex academic terms and a sophisticated vocabulary." How is your writing changed when you are aware that you need to sound "sophisiticated." How do you think students are intimidated to write in grand style?
2. As secondary teachers one part of our job is to prepare students for college. Do you feel like there is a gap between what we've been discussing as far as teaching in the high school classroom and what students will face at a large university. How will a Freshman who has been use to using images and multimedia in their presentations, papers, small groups survive with 200 other students while the professor lectures for 50 minutes and then their expected to turn in a five page paper double spaced with no other additives?
3. I would love to use a visual argument as a cover to an essay. Do you think a majority of the professors in your literature/writing classes would appreciate a visual image or discourage them?
4. I changed some of the font and sizing in my first paragraph, do you feel that this focused your attention more?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Designing Arguments
I found this text very helpful in generating ideas for assignments I may give my future student and also for ways I might more adequately and succesfully teach lessons. As I read through, I had a couple thoughts/questions for you guys to ponder. And I'm sure some of you thought the same things...
1. I thought the "Collaborative Challenge" box that described a situation where different readers read the same paragraph but in different fonts was very interesting. I have never considered the impact that font style and size might have on the interpretation of a text. I wonder why this is... Any ideas?
2. I completely agree with the fact that readers tend to focus on visual parts of a text long before they ever make it to the written argument or explanation. Why do you think this is?
3. Another comment on written versus visual text.... why might visual juxtaposition be more powerful than written juxtaposition? What is it about the way the human mind works that clicks with visual imagery more quickly and distinctively than with written word? With visual juxtaposition, do you think adding a written explanation would benefit or distract from the comparison?
4. In the section on Composing a Website, the author explains the importance of visual organization. Why is this so important? Would websites be as impactful if they information was not organized from a visual standpoint?
1. I thought the "Collaborative Challenge" box that described a situation where different readers read the same paragraph but in different fonts was very interesting. I have never considered the impact that font style and size might have on the interpretation of a text. I wonder why this is... Any ideas?
2. I completely agree with the fact that readers tend to focus on visual parts of a text long before they ever make it to the written argument or explanation. Why do you think this is?
3. Another comment on written versus visual text.... why might visual juxtaposition be more powerful than written juxtaposition? What is it about the way the human mind works that clicks with visual imagery more quickly and distinctively than with written word? With visual juxtaposition, do you think adding a written explanation would benefit or distract from the comparison?
4. In the section on Composing a Website, the author explains the importance of visual organization. Why is this so important? Would websites be as impactful if they information was not organized from a visual standpoint?
Creating Visual Arguments
I found Alfano's and O'Brian's article on how to effectively design visual arguments very helpful.
The more I read about designing visual arguments and integrating technology while teaching the more I think that combining visual and verbal design element is the future and, therefore, not to be ignored.
Do you think the four ways of how to create visual arguments, described by Alfano and O'Brian, are applicable in the english class room?
Did some of you create visual arguments already? If yes, how did it work?
Do you think that designing visual argument will inevitable lead to a decline of the written word or even literature?
The more I read about designing visual arguments and integrating technology while teaching the more I think that combining visual and verbal design element is the future and, therefore, not to be ignored.
Do you think the four ways of how to create visual arguments, described by Alfano and O'Brian, are applicable in the english class room?
Did some of you create visual arguments already? If yes, how did it work?
Do you think that designing visual argument will inevitable lead to a decline of the written word or even literature?
Friday, February 6, 2009
Envision: for Feb 10
Ok... so i am the first to blog this week. Again. . . . It's nine-thirty at night on Friday-date night-for all you youngsters. Here i am on the computer. I just want you to know that I too, Miss 42, also had a date. The perfectionist in me, my biggest attribute and downfall, won't let me sleep until I've finished my stupid blogging, (no offense Heather or Merilynne.) So... I made a couple of comments and I"ll post a joke so we all don't get too serious and think we are smarter than we are. And i will say this about our reading assignment for the week: If you can actually read it (small print)-save it! It encompasses the deifinitions of every kind of assigment you may give a student or have to do yourself. It is dry. It is boring. But, it is valuable. Start with your 'decorum' ; how fancy do you need to be? And understand the types of conventions used for each type of decorum. ETC ETC. This article gives you a flowchart of designing every assigment with aspects to please the most formal works (right down to adding page numbers and names where and when) to photo essays, web designs and multimedia composites. Here are my questions and my answers. Is this helpful? (You'd have to be an idiot to say no. So don't.) Can you apply this to your everyday life? (I have a 30 page research paper due for Hist 300 and I learned how to incorperate photographs effectively. If it doesn't apply to you maybe you are in grade school or a football player-just kidding football players!) And finally, could you really make a flow chart outlining the different assignments (cause, really, I'd like to have one!)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Envision (Alfano & O'Brien)
Hi ENT 442 bloggers. As discussed in class today, our blog is beginning to feel a bit unwieldy and some of us are having trouble effectively navigating through the various texts, questions, and responses posted. Our experiment is for all of us to post under the heading of a text--Envision in this case. Let's see how it goes and we can re-evaluate in a few days. At some point maybe we can move our conversations to a wiki...So, ENVISION, (photocopies handed out 2/3)--what does it have your agreeing/arguing/aspiring to? Comments, questions, connections--go!
Picturing Texts
I found some interesting information in the introduction. I wasn't sure how many people would read the introductions so I figured I should read it and report back. One question I had while reading the intro was how critical is it to consistently pair images with words. Can they no longer exist on their own? Later on in the introduction Faigley explains that writing today is more than just words. People have come to rely on words being accompanied by images. I thought about scientific reports or a business report that uses a graph. That graph is often times more informative than the entire report.
Scott McCloud's essay "Through the Door: Digital Production" made me think of my own experience with comic books and graphic novels. Graphic novels have become extremely popular in the past 5 or so years. I was required to read a graphic novel last semester in a class that I was taking. I had to make adjustments in my reading style because I would get lost in the pictures and forget about the words or i would skip important details that occurred in the pictures. Once I became more comfortable with them, I realized that graphic novels have much to offer. The pairing of images with words can be more powerful than just words or images alone.
Scott McCloud's essay "Through the Door: Digital Production" made me think of my own experience with comic books and graphic novels. Graphic novels have become extremely popular in the past 5 or so years. I was required to read a graphic novel last semester in a class that I was taking. I had to make adjustments in my reading style because I would get lost in the pictures and forget about the words or i would skip important details that occurred in the pictures. Once I became more comfortable with them, I realized that graphic novels have much to offer. The pairing of images with words can be more powerful than just words or images alone.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Virgin Blogger
I must confess that until this semester I had never blogged before! While reading through Learning with Blogs and Wikis I fully agreed that there is so much growth in blogging (is blogging an actual verb if you looked it up?). I have more motivation to read the materials assigned and think about everything I read with a more critical eye. Additionally I’ve loved looking at other people’s posts and responses. Ferriter mentions the benefits of feed reader as a learning tool. Does anyone know what feed reader is?
SQueeZInG the JuiCEs in a CLC
I really identified with the article, "Moving Beyond Talk." One of the questions that came up in a small group discussion in class was how to move the ideas we've been talking about in class to our actual classrooms. I fear that the fire to bring change to the classroom will easily be smothered by issues like standardized testing, expectations of principals and parents, etc etc etc. It think the igniting juices to bring forth change are squeezed (yes I really did just say SQUEEZED :) and nurtured within a collaborative learning community. As far as student teaching goes I hope there is a way to stay connected to other student teachers to get support and suggestions from someone who is in a like situation. Yes, we will mostly rely on our experienced teacher for support but sometimes you just need someone who can directly relate to the position you're in!
Circling back
I found the history Jessica Helfand presents in "Squaring the Circle" fascinating. The power of an image. The point I saw carrying over into the education and life application section in general was pg 87: "The process of mediating the tension between rational (square) and rotational (circle) - that of imposed order versus natural order - is hardly new." I saw a correlation of that image with much of the discussion we've been having in class thus far: this ambivalence between how we've been teaching in the English classroom with what we want to see happen in there.
(Insert image here)
1. Stevens does an excellent job outlining the differences between images and words in his essay. He recognizes each mediums strengths and weaknesses and makes it clear that the two mediums are not interchangeable. Then, as if he was taking a little dig on the power of words he states in his concluding remarks that "Certain pictures can put words to shame." This comment made me reflect on the powerful images I have seen, and if it were possible for words to explain the situation portrayed in the image any better? I think not. Stevens is right. If we are going for an emotion explosion, images can offer that much like an intellectual explosion can happen with words. The difference is that words can convey ideas better, while images convey an overall "feel." Can you feel me?
2. Alright, I loved the essay Grierson wrote comparing advertising techniques to a bunch of mental patients on acid with the message: "You're not worth anything," playing in the backround. Brilliant. It made me wonder what images go through my head everyday? It's scary to think about...
3. In the introductory essay to Chapter 3, Faigley talks about the depth and dynamics visual elements can add to the stories that make up our lives. My older brother, Dustin, went on a church mission for two years while I was still in high school. I could only write letters to him while he was away. This was challenging for me since I found it difficult to tell him stories without him being able to see my facial expressions, or here the influx in my voice. How was he to know when I was being sarcastic? I started doodling figures on the side of my letters...me pulling my hair out, me stabbing a profesor, or maybe just a giant question mark. I also started using different colors to reflect my mood. And I must say, that I felt much better about sending those letters off to him. I believed in the power of visual elements before I even knew what a visual element was...
2. Alright, I loved the essay Grierson wrote comparing advertising techniques to a bunch of mental patients on acid with the message: "You're not worth anything," playing in the backround. Brilliant. It made me wonder what images go through my head everyday? It's scary to think about...
3. In the introductory essay to Chapter 3, Faigley talks about the depth and dynamics visual elements can add to the stories that make up our lives. My older brother, Dustin, went on a church mission for two years while I was still in high school. I could only write letters to him while he was away. This was challenging for me since I found it difficult to tell him stories without him being able to see my facial expressions, or here the influx in my voice. How was he to know when I was being sarcastic? I started doodling figures on the side of my letters...me pulling my hair out, me stabbing a profesor, or maybe just a giant question mark. I also started using different colors to reflect my mood. And I must say, that I felt much better about sending those letters off to him. I believed in the power of visual elements before I even knew what a visual element was...
Still. Moving
Mitchell Stephens kept specifying that there were definite limits that the "still image" could not convey. I wonder if he had more hope for what a medium like film could convey? It wouldn't have to be as restricted as an image, but then there isn't that pressure of executing something with a single shot like a still image carries. Things to ponder.
February 5: "Seeing is Learned"
1. When is it better to use words vs visual images (or vice versa) to relay a concept to students? These days, visual images have become such a prominent element in everyday life, but many of the images have little or no meaning outside the context of coupled words. What might be the most successful way(s) to combine these two in instruction? How do we as teacher accommodate the learning needs of visual learners and those who learn best through written word?
2. What does Emberto Eco mean when he says, "The ability of a visual language to express more than one menaing at once is also its limitation"?
3. Do you think the face that pictures stimulate emotions more often than words help or hurt the learning process? Are these emotions a distraction or a beneficial element to learning? Because they evoke emotion, do visual texts help us describe ourselves and our thoughs better to an unknown audience? What are ways that written word might embellish our visual self expressions?
2. What does Emberto Eco mean when he says, "The ability of a visual language to express more than one menaing at once is also its limitation"?
3. Do you think the face that pictures stimulate emotions more often than words help or hurt the learning process? Are these emotions a distraction or a beneficial element to learning? Because they evoke emotion, do visual texts help us describe ourselves and our thoughs better to an unknown audience? What are ways that written word might embellish our visual self expressions?
I love Billy Collins.
From Sailing Alone Around the Room:
Schoolsville
Glancing over my shoulder at the past,
I realize the number of students I have taught
is enough to populate a small town.
I can see it nestled in a paper landscape,
chalk dust flurrying down in winter,
nights dark as a blackboard.
The population ages but never graduates.
On hot afternoons they sweat the final in the park
and when it's cold they shiver around stoves
reading disorganized essays out loud.
A bell rings on the hour and everybody zigzags
into the streets with their books.
I forgot all their last names first and their
first names last in alphabetical order.
But the boy who always had his hand up
is an alderman and owns the haberdashery.
The girl who signed her papers in lipstick
leans against the drugstore, smoking,
brushing her hair like a machine.
Their grades are sewn into their clothes
like references to Hawthorne.
The A's stroll along with other A's.
The D's honk whenever they pass another D.
All the creative-writing students recline
on the courthouse lawn and play the lute.
Wherever they go, they form a big circle.
Needless to say, I am the mayor.
I live in the white colonial at Maple and Main.
I rarely leave the house. The car deflates
in the driveway. Vines twirl around the porch swing.
Once in a while a student knocks on the door
with a term paper fifteen years late
or a question about Yeats or double-spacing.
And sometimes one will appear in a windowpane
to watch me lecturing the wallpaper,
quizzing the chandelier, reprimanding the air.
Schoolsville
Glancing over my shoulder at the past,
I realize the number of students I have taught
is enough to populate a small town.
I can see it nestled in a paper landscape,
chalk dust flurrying down in winter,
nights dark as a blackboard.
The population ages but never graduates.
On hot afternoons they sweat the final in the park
and when it's cold they shiver around stoves
reading disorganized essays out loud.
A bell rings on the hour and everybody zigzags
into the streets with their books.
I forgot all their last names first and their
first names last in alphabetical order.
But the boy who always had his hand up
is an alderman and owns the haberdashery.
The girl who signed her papers in lipstick
leans against the drugstore, smoking,
brushing her hair like a machine.
Their grades are sewn into their clothes
like references to Hawthorne.
The A's stroll along with other A's.
The D's honk whenever they pass another D.
All the creative-writing students recline
on the courthouse lawn and play the lute.
Wherever they go, they form a big circle.
Needless to say, I am the mayor.
I live in the white colonial at Maple and Main.
I rarely leave the house. The car deflates
in the driveway. Vines twirl around the porch swing.
Once in a while a student knocks on the door
with a term paper fifteen years late
or a question about Yeats or double-spacing.
And sometimes one will appear in a windowpane
to watch me lecturing the wallpaper,
quizzing the chandelier, reprimanding the air.
Picturing Texts Comments, Questions, Critique
1. In chapter two we learn how to analyze a visual text! I am overwhelmed. Can visuals only be understood in terms of author, purpose, audience, composition, medium, genre, social, cultural, historical, and economic contexts? When we create visuals, do we have to consider all those features?
2. Is there such a thing as visual politics? If yes, how can we define it? How does Bell Hooks try to raise awareness of visual politics?
3. In his essay " Shock's Next Wave", Grierson argues that the "aims of advertisers haven't changed, but their tactics have had to adjust". Thus, in our society the tactics of advertisement become more and more shocking in order to reach the customer. This, however, is shocking to me. I wonder if our society becomes more and more hard-nosed what we observe in a few decades from now on TV?
4. Visuals are able to convey more than only one meaning. It is an advantage but I also see a problem with that. What if the author/designer doesn't want to convey multiple meanings?
2. Is there such a thing as visual politics? If yes, how can we define it? How does Bell Hooks try to raise awareness of visual politics?
3. In his essay " Shock's Next Wave", Grierson argues that the "aims of advertisers haven't changed, but their tactics have had to adjust". Thus, in our society the tactics of advertisement become more and more shocking in order to reach the customer. This, however, is shocking to me. I wonder if our society becomes more and more hard-nosed what we observe in a few decades from now on TV?
4. Visuals are able to convey more than only one meaning. It is an advantage but I also see a problem with that. What if the author/designer doesn't want to convey multiple meanings?
Reading Responses (Feb. 5th)
I absolutely agree that "seeing in learned" (pg. 53) - I may not be a studio artist and there are certainly days that I ask myself why I went to art school at all but the answer is always the same: Art school taught me how to see the world differently. I am frequently grateful for this. In addition to seeing, being formally trained in the arts has taught me how to process what it is that I'm seeing (or creating). What do you think I'm missing with my elitist art school point of view? (Sorry, I've been conditioned! haha.) Perhaps, the simplicity of images/beauty? I can't just look at something and say, "That's pretty." - I automatically analyze its composition, deeper meaning, process, material, and of course, the WHY?!?
With that said, it seems as though an English teacher is already starting behind the ball without any formal arts education. So much of what Faigley, et al is proposing requires an artful mind. Now, I realize our lot is not probably not the number crunching kind - but how many of us consider ourselves artistic? I see the logical connection between the questions you ask yourself about art and those same questions being asked about books/print literature. I guess I just really see a challenge for ELA teachers who are not comfortable in their artistic ability (in fact, they may not even think that way.) to incorporate seemingly advanced media technologies.
Some of the ads were exciting to look at, think about, etc. The "Red Cross ad" and the "Dr. Miller, Psychiatrist" are two that really stuck with me. Any of them stay with you? Why do you think they did?
With that said, it seems as though an English teacher is already starting behind the ball without any formal arts education. So much of what Faigley, et al is proposing requires an artful mind. Now, I realize our lot is not probably not the number crunching kind - but how many of us consider ourselves artistic? I see the logical connection between the questions you ask yourself about art and those same questions being asked about books/print literature. I guess I just really see a challenge for ELA teachers who are not comfortable in their artistic ability (in fact, they may not even think that way.) to incorporate seemingly advanced media technologies.
Some of the ads were exciting to look at, think about, etc. The "Red Cross ad" and the "Dr. Miller, Psychiatrist" are two that really stuck with me. Any of them stay with you? Why do you think they did?
Comments/Questions for February 5
1. On p. 53 of Picturing Texts, the author writes that "seeing is learned." Is it possible that when we look at a picture their are things we physically don't see, because they are not in our concious thought? I don't know the science of it, but I think it's an interesting question. How do we know we are seeing all the possiblities so that we can teach our students to see them, too?
2. In reading the article by Michael Blanding on Facebook and Myspace, I instantly thought of the status bar used in facebook. For those of you unfamiliar, the status bar gives the writer an opportunity to fill in the statement, So and So is..., in my case Bridget is_______. People often use verbs (Bridget is blogging) and adjectives (Bridget is excited for the weekend) to describe their stauts, but I think that it could be a great place to work on metaphors. I like to think of creative statuses (most of which I don't post, I just like the mental challenge), and I think students might enjoy them too. For example, a possible status could be, "Bridget is a dustbunny hiding under the bed."
3. In the article on having a courtesty policy in school, my main question is what do we do about controlling the content of technology, if anything? I know schools that have had problems with kids text messaging inappropriate pictures, but there are even small things like the lyrics a student is listening to while working on a paper. Would it be our job as teachers then to talk about those lyrics, possibly bringing up issues of negative gender roles, etc? Is there a way to show that we accept the technology but not all of its content?
2. In reading the article by Michael Blanding on Facebook and Myspace, I instantly thought of the status bar used in facebook. For those of you unfamiliar, the status bar gives the writer an opportunity to fill in the statement, So and So is..., in my case Bridget is_______. People often use verbs (Bridget is blogging) and adjectives (Bridget is excited for the weekend) to describe their stauts, but I think that it could be a great place to work on metaphors. I like to think of creative statuses (most of which I don't post, I just like the mental challenge), and I think students might enjoy them too. For example, a possible status could be, "Bridget is a dustbunny hiding under the bed."
3. In the article on having a courtesty policy in school, my main question is what do we do about controlling the content of technology, if anything? I know schools that have had problems with kids text messaging inappropriate pictures, but there are even small things like the lyrics a student is listening to while working on a paper. Would it be our job as teachers then to talk about those lyrics, possibly bringing up issues of negative gender roles, etc? Is there a way to show that we accept the technology but not all of its content?
Picturing Texts
In the first chapter, the author states it is, "Not a matter of if but when we should use images." I would argue to further this a bit more. Over the past five years, since the book was written, media-rich materials have become even more popular. So let's flip this question, with our English classrooms in mind: In what instances should we not use images?
A section of the book is a comic about computer history and art. He talks about ( and shows) different reactions from artists in relation to computers (pg 71). Using his words, does technology today make you feel like a master or slave? How often do you "fling the door open" with new technology?
The author on page 62 argues that readers are not asked to see anymore, but instead interpret code. Do you think the multimodal explosion from the last 15 or so years is a rebellion movement against too much print? Could we looks at this as a "nature"-image/"nurture"-print pairing?
A section of the book is a comic about computer history and art. He talks about ( and shows) different reactions from artists in relation to computers (pg 71). Using his words, does technology today make you feel like a master or slave? How often do you "fling the door open" with new technology?
The author on page 62 argues that readers are not asked to see anymore, but instead interpret code. Do you think the multimodal explosion from the last 15 or so years is a rebellion movement against too much print? Could we looks at this as a "nature"-image/"nurture"-print pairing?
2/5 Post card: Houghton Michigan
The post card that Michigan Tech students created on page143. I have been past that particular road sign, which the locals left up, several times. What I find interesting is that the author correctly identifies that the picture is a parody of postcards. However, having been around the students at Michigan tech, the postcard and the road sign are also a statement of how isolated the campus is from the towns and cities that the students came from. Houghton Michigan has very little to offer the students beyond academics most of the school year other than cross country skiing. The campus is located in a very small old town. Unlike MSU or U of M, few students remain in the area after graduating to offer interesting local arts or music or cafés. This has as much to do with the inhospitable weather as with the lack of engineering jobs most students need upon graduation. Chapter two focuses on how the viewer’s perspective alters the meaning of the photo. For me, the photo brings up personal memories, the thirty degree temperature drop that brought in the largest thunder storm I’ve ever seen, and three days without my luggage which was lost at the airport. The day I first saw the sign, there was fog behind it, just like the postcard shows. Is some form of writing required to be sure an image is interpreted as intended require?
"Seeing" - Picturing Texts
“The word “seeing” brings to mind the way we use our eyes to perceive patterns of light and dark and shapes and such. But seeing is as much about memory and experience as it is about perception.”
“Seeing is learned. It is as much about making sense of what we see as it is about using our eyes to recognize patterns.” – page 53 of Picturing Texts
It’s amazing how many different interpretations can come from a single picture. Depending on the person they might focus in on different details and the emotional response might be affected by the person’s background. Doesn’t this apply to the written and spoken word as well? How can we encourage differences in what our students “see.”
“Seeing is learned. It is as much about making sense of what we see as it is about using our eyes to recognize patterns.” – page 53 of Picturing Texts
It’s amazing how many different interpretations can come from a single picture. Depending on the person they might focus in on different details and the emotional response might be affected by the person’s background. Doesn’t this apply to the written and spoken word as well? How can we encourage differences in what our students “see.”
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