I got really worked up by Sirc's visit. I guess I think the foundation of his argument is wrong. He does have a lot of very good points about teaching writing.
1) Good writing is authentic
2) Good writing is honest
3) Formulaic writing is neither honest nor authentic
4) Writing teachers should be open to more new ideas and new genres.
5) The modern world and its technology is changing what writing and how we use and interact with it
6) Personal, high interest writing is motivating and interesting while traditional writing assignments are boring
7) Composition classes stifle original and artistic writing
However, I believe that writing is a craft.
I spent the better part of my life studying writing and I believe there are tools and techniques you can learn. I agree with Sirc that I would much rather have a student who writes honestly than one that is stuck in tradition -- but I would then take that student and teach them to write.
Good writing MUST be honest and authentic and enthusiastic. But honesty, authenticity, and enthusiasm do not, in themselves, make writing great. The masters spend their lives honing their craft. Teaching students that honesty is all that matters is a really bad idea. We will have a generation of enthusiastic scribblers who aren't worth reading. Not all of three thousand years of literary study should be tossed out the window -- the trick it s to not let ourselves be constrained by it.
And what were those videos we watched from Sirc's friend's class? Were those the end product of an assignment? Is this what undergrads are spending their time doing instead of learning to communicate effectively?
Oh, and by the way, I know this is mean, but maybe Sirc would have been more convincing if the essay he read to us was well written, or even understandable...
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Sunday, November 18, 2007
On Sirc's Cornell Box...
I found Sirc's article interesting, but I don't think I entirely bought it. I understand that he is concerned that the world is being changed by modern technologies and that traditional writing techniques don't take that change into account. Also, I agree with him that students need to be engaged in authentic writing experiences that reflect the changes the world is going through, writing experience that will allow them to develop and communicate their ideas in new and exciting ways. However, I don't really entirely buy his logic box.
I do think that he has created an interesting way to approach information. I think the box approach is a creative way to organize ideas and see connections that you might have missed otherwise. However, I also noted that his article was really just a traditional essay in which he use some nontraditional formatting and broke a lot of grammatical rules (for little reason, as far as I could tell.) Perhaps he should of had some design training if he wants to effectively communicate his ideas through formatting? Certainly writing classes and graphical design classes are, I believe, more closely related than most people would think.
I agree with Sirc that analysis can be art in itself. Why waste your time talking about art when you can be creating it. But, there is good art and bad art. Good art breaks rules for a reason, bad art break rules just to break rules. I believe you should break a rule to communicate an idea.
We use the written word to communicate ideas. New technologies have given us new ways to communicate. We have a living language that changes and evolves. I know that. That is a beautiful thing. But students still need to know how to manipulate the language of power - standard academic English. Then, once they know a rule, they can break it. They can break it when they have good reason to. They can break it when it strengthens their argument.
Is he really helping the college students in his writing classes by not teaching them how to write. I am constantly shocked by how bad people are at writing in the real world. Certainly he doesn't have to teach them as if they are locked in the 19th century, but still they'll never get anyone to listen to their ideas if they can communicate them effectively.
Notice that there were only about one hundred copies of the Green Box published in 1934. Possibly so few copies were printed because it was self indulgent and inaccessible?
Sirc's ideas could be used for an interesting technique to explore ideas... but students need to learn how to write.
For my exploration of the Sirc's ideas I decided to collect artifacts related to masculinity in hip hop culture today. Particularly, I choose three male rappers who are very big right now and looked at how they choose to represent their own masculinity. I've been incorporating Hip Hop into my classroom as a way to engage students and as an authentic modern poetic form. However, I there are a lot of issues in Hip Hop culture that need to be addressed... as you can see below.
This is the cover to 50 Cent's album "Get Rich or Die Trying." 50 Cent's music is filled with images of violence. Moreover, the picture of masculinity he draws is clearly evident in this picture. In almost every studio released picture you will ever see of him, he is angry, partially naked, and armed. For 50 Cent, masculinity is about power and violence and sexual prowess. It it is about taking what you want and showing no fear. In fact, it is apparently about showing no emotions beside anger, as he recently attacked another rapper for crying in a video calling him a "bitch-ass nigga'." Bitch, of course, being one of the insults of choice for 50 Cent as it serves to feminise the object of his insult.
Interestingly, 50 Cent is also extremely homophobic, but likes to pose in sexualized half-clothed poses. The pictures all show off his threatening physic, of course, but are also undeniably homo-erotic. Of course, my definition of sexuality extends to gendered, sexualized behaviors. Certainly he enjoys showing off this body in a sexualized way and certainly women are not the only ones looking at these pictures.
Of course the diamond-laden crucifix, which your eye is drawn to in this picture, complicates the image further. Rather than making you think of 50 Cent as a particularly spiritual man, it rather draws your attention to his rather sizable fortune. Perhaps a form of proof that his version of masculinity is a successful one. Certainly the title connects monetary success and violence.
I have never brought a 50 Cent song into my classroom, by the way. But here are some 50 Cent lyrics:
*****
"Back Down"
It's easy to see when you look at me
If you look closely, 50 don't BACK DOWN
Everywhere I go both coasts wit toast
Eastside, Westside, I hold that MACK DOWN
Every little nigga you see around me
Hold a gun big enough to fuckin hold SHAQ DOWN
Next time you in the hood and see an ol G
You ask about me, the young boy don't BACK DOWN…
I ain't tellin anyone you pussy
I ain't tellin anyone you gettin extored
It ain't over.... (G-UNIT)
I've been patently waitin to BLOWW
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the "50 Cent Show"
This is my life, my pain, my night, my gun
Now that I'm back, you can't sleep
I'm a nightmare huuhhhh
You hired cops to hold you down cuz you fear for your life
You heard about them guns I done bought, right?
I ain't goin no where, I done told you nigga
I'ma G-Unit motherfuckin soldier nigga (They not gon like you)
I know, I know...ha, ha (G-UNIT)
*****
Many of 50 Cent's songs have similar themes: hyper masculine posturing, and depictions of violent scenes. I have had a few students admit that 50 Cent doesn't talk about anything but guns and murder.
This image of Lil' Wayne is not quite so grotesque, but is certainly similar in some ways. My students often tell me Lil Wayne sings about important things, not just all the Gangsta' stuff. To this I would like to laugh, but of course, I just smile and nod and have them listen to Talib Kweli, Brother Ali, or Aesop Rock.
Note that Lil' Wayne is, like 50 cent, expressing an aggressive attitude. No emotions are shared with the public beyond anger and pride. Also notice the partial nudity, and the dangerous looking tattoos -- often proving particular gang affiliations.
I recently looked into Lil' Wayne in particular because of both his rising popularity and because several of my students insisted that he was not like 50 Cent and wrote about "things that mattered." Here are two of Lil' Wayne songs:
*****
“My Alphabet Bitches”
Well the A is for Ashley
she always ask for me to take it out her pussy
put it right in her ass and the
B is for Brittany she right in the class
she be hatin on Ashley 'cause she tight in the ass
The C is for Christina want me to big screen her
the way she dick dish should be a misdameanor so if you seen her
I been searchin but cant find her
ever since i been wit Diamond wit Diamonds in her vagina
And the E is for ever elegant Ericka
sweet red bitch
we used to call her Miss America
I aint gon lie now Ericka is a dog
but to the that magnolia nigga she done fucked em all, (Slim!)
Speakin of slim, the f is for Fat,
a real skinny hoe so you know
why they call her that
And the G for gabriel , you can call her Gabby
but all my homeboys seem to call her nasty (man)
These are my bitches, my Alpha Bitches
These are my bitches, my Alphabet Bitches
These are my bitches, my Alpha Bitches
These are my bitches, my Alphabet Bitches
I get bitches (say what)
I get bitches (say who)
I get bitches (say huh)
I get bitches
You got (oh)
You got (oh)
You got (oh)
You got…
*****
"Beef"
You liable to catch me speedin' up the six, or beatin' up a chick
or standin' over a stove, sweatin', heatin' up a brick
And we keep the hustlin' slick, and got clips like bananas
We twist the bandanas, and spit at niggas with cannons
We ran in habitats with masks and plastic gats
Stormin' through the house, screamin', "Where's this bastard's crack?!!"
I flash the Mack in front of your gal and make her tell
Like, "Slut! Where's the yay, or I'ma pop one in your grill!"
It's Lil Wayne, nigga – blast and bang triggas
Pay with my change, then I'm gon' have to bang niggas
I bag the caine quicker, and sprinkle like rain, nigga
Flood the av quick with the quarters and halves, nigga
If you out, you can find me on the street with the work
If it's a drought, you can find me on the street with the work
Never slip – I empty half a clip deep in your shirt
And put your whole clique deep in the dirt
Smell me?
Who wan' beef with 'em?
Who wan' creep with 'em?
And when it comes down to guns, nigga, I sleep with 'em
See, we can sweep with 'em 'cause it get deep with 'em
And when it comes down to drugs, I'm on the streets with 'em…
*****
The moral of the story is that my students believe that misogyny, drug dealing, and murder is what "really matters." It would be hard to find any two other rap songs quite as offensive as these two... but of course, I did.
Notice in this picture of Kanye West the partial nudity, the diamond filled 'grill' and the frightening attitude. By the way, West is considered the 'sensitive guy' of hip hop.
Let's look at how this "sensitive guy" portrays his masculinity in his lyrics:
*****
"Drunk & Hot Girls"
We go through too much bullshit just to mess with these drunk and hot girls
We go through too much bullshit just to mess with these drunk and hot girls
Driving around town looking for the best spot for the
(Drunk and hot girls)
Up in the club look at here what we got some
(Drunk and hot girls)
Stop dancing with your girlfriend and come dance with me
Stop talking about your boyfriend since he is not me
Stop running up my tab cause these drinks is not free
You drunk and hot girl…
I don't wanna drop your friends off, I just want you
(You drunk and hot girl)
You wanna sit down but we hit the drive thru
(You drunk and hot girl)
Please don't fall asleep baby we almost back
Please don't go up in the car we almost crash
Oh now you so good, howd I know you'd say that
You drunk an hot girl…
I thought I'd be with you for only one night
Now I'm with this girl for the rest of my life
That drunk and hot girl
*****
It seems that Kanye's responsibilities as a man are very trying. He has to spend enormous amounts of money getting women drunk so that, in return, they will have sex with him. Unfortunately, sometimes they pass out before he gets to have sex with them. Even worse, after the sex sometimes they want something else from him. Sometimes they get pregnant and he is "stuck" with them for the rest of his life.
What is a man to do? All he wants is sexual gratification and women won't stop making him work for it...
I choose these three images among a plethora or choices available because these are all rappers who my students are particularly interested. They are all very popular and successful and young men are looking to these three gentlemen as examples of how a man is supposed to act.
What do young men in America today learn by looking at these three images and listening to these lyrics? What behaviors are normalized?
Now, don't get me wrong, I really like rap music. I think that some very cutting edge poetry is going on out their under the auspices of rap. But, my students don't even know the names of most of the rappers that I like.
You all should really check out a documentary on this topic: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.
It's really good.
Watch a piece of Beyond Beats and Rhymes.
I do think that he has created an interesting way to approach information. I think the box approach is a creative way to organize ideas and see connections that you might have missed otherwise. However, I also noted that his article was really just a traditional essay in which he use some nontraditional formatting and broke a lot of grammatical rules (for little reason, as far as I could tell.) Perhaps he should of had some design training if he wants to effectively communicate his ideas through formatting? Certainly writing classes and graphical design classes are, I believe, more closely related than most people would think.
I agree with Sirc that analysis can be art in itself. Why waste your time talking about art when you can be creating it. But, there is good art and bad art. Good art breaks rules for a reason, bad art break rules just to break rules. I believe you should break a rule to communicate an idea.
We use the written word to communicate ideas. New technologies have given us new ways to communicate. We have a living language that changes and evolves. I know that. That is a beautiful thing. But students still need to know how to manipulate the language of power - standard academic English. Then, once they know a rule, they can break it. They can break it when they have good reason to. They can break it when it strengthens their argument.
Is he really helping the college students in his writing classes by not teaching them how to write. I am constantly shocked by how bad people are at writing in the real world. Certainly he doesn't have to teach them as if they are locked in the 19th century, but still they'll never get anyone to listen to their ideas if they can communicate them effectively.
Notice that there were only about one hundred copies of the Green Box published in 1934. Possibly so few copies were printed because it was self indulgent and inaccessible?
Sirc's ideas could be used for an interesting technique to explore ideas... but students need to learn how to write.
For my exploration of the Sirc's ideas I decided to collect artifacts related to masculinity in hip hop culture today. Particularly, I choose three male rappers who are very big right now and looked at how they choose to represent their own masculinity. I've been incorporating Hip Hop into my classroom as a way to engage students and as an authentic modern poetic form. However, I there are a lot of issues in Hip Hop culture that need to be addressed... as you can see below.
This is the cover to 50 Cent's album "Get Rich or Die Trying." 50 Cent's music is filled with images of violence. Moreover, the picture of masculinity he draws is clearly evident in this picture. In almost every studio released picture you will ever see of him, he is angry, partially naked, and armed. For 50 Cent, masculinity is about power and violence and sexual prowess. It it is about taking what you want and showing no fear. In fact, it is apparently about showing no emotions beside anger, as he recently attacked another rapper for crying in a video calling him a "bitch-ass nigga'." Bitch, of course, being one of the insults of choice for 50 Cent as it serves to feminise the object of his insult.
Interestingly, 50 Cent is also extremely homophobic, but likes to pose in sexualized half-clothed poses. The pictures all show off his threatening physic, of course, but are also undeniably homo-erotic. Of course, my definition of sexuality extends to gendered, sexualized behaviors. Certainly he enjoys showing off this body in a sexualized way and certainly women are not the only ones looking at these pictures.
Of course the diamond-laden crucifix, which your eye is drawn to in this picture, complicates the image further. Rather than making you think of 50 Cent as a particularly spiritual man, it rather draws your attention to his rather sizable fortune. Perhaps a form of proof that his version of masculinity is a successful one. Certainly the title connects monetary success and violence.
I have never brought a 50 Cent song into my classroom, by the way. But here are some 50 Cent lyrics:
*****
"Back Down"
It's easy to see when you look at me
If you look closely, 50 don't BACK DOWN
Everywhere I go both coasts wit toast
Eastside, Westside, I hold that MACK DOWN
Every little nigga you see around me
Hold a gun big enough to fuckin hold SHAQ DOWN
Next time you in the hood and see an ol G
You ask about me, the young boy don't BACK DOWN…
I ain't tellin anyone you pussy
I ain't tellin anyone you gettin extored
It ain't over.... (G-UNIT)
I've been patently waitin to BLOWW
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the "50 Cent Show"
This is my life, my pain, my night, my gun
Now that I'm back, you can't sleep
I'm a nightmare huuhhhh
You hired cops to hold you down cuz you fear for your life
You heard about them guns I done bought, right?
I ain't goin no where, I done told you nigga
I'ma G-Unit motherfuckin soldier nigga (They not gon like you)
I know, I know...ha, ha (G-UNIT)
*****
Many of 50 Cent's songs have similar themes: hyper masculine posturing, and depictions of violent scenes. I have had a few students admit that 50 Cent doesn't talk about anything but guns and murder.
This image of Lil' Wayne is not quite so grotesque, but is certainly similar in some ways. My students often tell me Lil Wayne sings about important things, not just all the Gangsta' stuff. To this I would like to laugh, but of course, I just smile and nod and have them listen to Talib Kweli, Brother Ali, or Aesop Rock.
Note that Lil' Wayne is, like 50 cent, expressing an aggressive attitude. No emotions are shared with the public beyond anger and pride. Also notice the partial nudity, and the dangerous looking tattoos -- often proving particular gang affiliations.
I recently looked into Lil' Wayne in particular because of both his rising popularity and because several of my students insisted that he was not like 50 Cent and wrote about "things that mattered." Here are two of Lil' Wayne songs:
*****
“My Alphabet Bitches”
Well the A is for Ashley
she always ask for me to take it out her pussy
put it right in her ass and the
B is for Brittany she right in the class
she be hatin on Ashley 'cause she tight in the ass
The C is for Christina want me to big screen her
the way she dick dish should be a misdameanor so if you seen her
I been searchin but cant find her
ever since i been wit Diamond wit Diamonds in her vagina
And the E is for ever elegant Ericka
sweet red bitch
we used to call her Miss America
I aint gon lie now Ericka is a dog
but to the that magnolia nigga she done fucked em all, (Slim!)
Speakin of slim, the f is for Fat,
a real skinny hoe so you know
why they call her that
And the G for gabriel , you can call her Gabby
but all my homeboys seem to call her nasty (man)
These are my bitches, my Alpha Bitches
These are my bitches, my Alphabet Bitches
These are my bitches, my Alpha Bitches
These are my bitches, my Alphabet Bitches
I get bitches (say what)
I get bitches (say who)
I get bitches (say huh)
I get bitches
You got (oh)
You got (oh)
You got (oh)
You got…
*****
"Beef"
You liable to catch me speedin' up the six, or beatin' up a chick
or standin' over a stove, sweatin', heatin' up a brick
And we keep the hustlin' slick, and got clips like bananas
We twist the bandanas, and spit at niggas with cannons
We ran in habitats with masks and plastic gats
Stormin' through the house, screamin', "Where's this bastard's crack?!!"
I flash the Mack in front of your gal and make her tell
Like, "Slut! Where's the yay, or I'ma pop one in your grill!"
It's Lil Wayne, nigga – blast and bang triggas
Pay with my change, then I'm gon' have to bang niggas
I bag the caine quicker, and sprinkle like rain, nigga
Flood the av quick with the quarters and halves, nigga
If you out, you can find me on the street with the work
If it's a drought, you can find me on the street with the work
Never slip – I empty half a clip deep in your shirt
And put your whole clique deep in the dirt
Smell me?
Who wan' beef with 'em?
Who wan' creep with 'em?
And when it comes down to guns, nigga, I sleep with 'em
See, we can sweep with 'em 'cause it get deep with 'em
And when it comes down to drugs, I'm on the streets with 'em…
*****
The moral of the story is that my students believe that misogyny, drug dealing, and murder is what "really matters." It would be hard to find any two other rap songs quite as offensive as these two... but of course, I did.
Notice in this picture of Kanye West the partial nudity, the diamond filled 'grill' and the frightening attitude. By the way, West is considered the 'sensitive guy' of hip hop.
Let's look at how this "sensitive guy" portrays his masculinity in his lyrics:
*****
"Drunk & Hot Girls"
We go through too much bullshit just to mess with these drunk and hot girls
We go through too much bullshit just to mess with these drunk and hot girls
Driving around town looking for the best spot for the
(Drunk and hot girls)
Up in the club look at here what we got some
(Drunk and hot girls)
Stop dancing with your girlfriend and come dance with me
Stop talking about your boyfriend since he is not me
Stop running up my tab cause these drinks is not free
You drunk and hot girl…
I don't wanna drop your friends off, I just want you
(You drunk and hot girl)
You wanna sit down but we hit the drive thru
(You drunk and hot girl)
Please don't fall asleep baby we almost back
Please don't go up in the car we almost crash
Oh now you so good, howd I know you'd say that
You drunk an hot girl…
I thought I'd be with you for only one night
Now I'm with this girl for the rest of my life
That drunk and hot girl
*****
It seems that Kanye's responsibilities as a man are very trying. He has to spend enormous amounts of money getting women drunk so that, in return, they will have sex with him. Unfortunately, sometimes they pass out before he gets to have sex with them. Even worse, after the sex sometimes they want something else from him. Sometimes they get pregnant and he is "stuck" with them for the rest of his life.
What is a man to do? All he wants is sexual gratification and women won't stop making him work for it...
I choose these three images among a plethora or choices available because these are all rappers who my students are particularly interested. They are all very popular and successful and young men are looking to these three gentlemen as examples of how a man is supposed to act.
What do young men in America today learn by looking at these three images and listening to these lyrics? What behaviors are normalized?
Now, don't get me wrong, I really like rap music. I think that some very cutting edge poetry is going on out their under the auspices of rap. But, my students don't even know the names of most of the rappers that I like.
You all should really check out a documentary on this topic: Beyond Beats and Rhymes.
It's really good.
Watch a piece of Beyond Beats and Rhymes.
Monday, November 12, 2007
On My Podcast...
Check out my podcast on Capoeira (a hobby of mine). Just click on the title of this posting!
In this podcast I describe Capoeira, and then discuss the history of Capoeira and my own personal feelings about the game while, in the background, I used four separate tracks to record myself playing four different Capoeira instruments. I started playing Capoeira in college, but I only played on and off since then until about a year ago when I finally found a group I liked as much as my college group.
Basically, I learned that making podcasts is really easy and fun, but hosting them somewhere is another story. I decided to host mine myself on my UofM web space since I don't have a .mac account. I hope that's cool with Rick... I can also upload it to the class wiki if need be, but it is about 70mb.
I'm excited to try and create podcasts with my students as soon as I figure out how to make it fit into my curriculum. I'll keep thinking about it because I think my kids would like it, but I don't really know how I'd make it fit in right now.
In this podcast I describe Capoeira, and then discuss the history of Capoeira and my own personal feelings about the game while, in the background, I used four separate tracks to record myself playing four different Capoeira instruments. I started playing Capoeira in college, but I only played on and off since then until about a year ago when I finally found a group I liked as much as my college group.
Basically, I learned that making podcasts is really easy and fun, but hosting them somewhere is another story. I decided to host mine myself on my UofM web space since I don't have a .mac account. I hope that's cool with Rick... I can also upload it to the class wiki if need be, but it is about 70mb.
I'm excited to try and create podcasts with my students as soon as I figure out how to make it fit into my curriculum. I'll keep thinking about it because I think my kids would like it, but I don't really know how I'd make it fit in right now.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
On Podcasting...
I listened to parts of several podcasts this week, and I really enjoyed the experience.
First, I listened to teachers teaching teachers because Rick has such a high opinion of this particular podcast. I enjoyed it a lot. Some of the people invited on talked over each other a little, but that is to be expected I suppose. We become so accustomed to professionals talking on the radio that we notice when someone is more of an amateur. However, the subject was interesting and I really enjoyed how informed the participants were, and how clearly they were able to connect the ideas to their own classrooms.
Next, I searched for what high school students could do with podcasts and I found Hilltop High LancerTalk. It is a pocast created by the video production class at Hilltop High, somewhere in California. This podcast was very professional. It was a kind of school newsletter radio show and included an interview with the new football coach about the upcoming season (it was a little old). I though it was really well done, a great way to communicate with the community, and a very fun project for the students involved. They used music and guest appearances, and generally sounded like they could have been on the radio.
Lastly, on a whim, I searched for a podcast about Capoeira. Capoeira is a Brazilian art form combining kick boxing, dance, music, gymnastics, culture and ritual. It is also a hobby of mine. I didn't expect to find anything, but I immediately found the Capoeira Resources Podcast amoung several others. This podcast was made by a Capoeira group that wanted to share the new music it was creating with its community members and the Capoeira community at large. The sound quality was a little low - I think they used a single microphone of only okay quality to record the music of a big group of people. But that may have been intentional since most Capoeira groups sell CD's of their music (which would be higher quality).
I think having my students create a podcast sounds like great fun. Here are a few ideas:
1) Create a radio documentary about being a teen parent in America today. This could involve all sorts of interviews.
2) Maybe a radio drama unit. They could listen to some radio drama and try and create their own. They would have to write and produce it themselves.
3) Maybe a radio news letter like Lancertalk, the podcast I found, about what is going on at the school.
4) Maybe they could create a radio drama of one of the books we are reading? That might get into copyright issues though, eh?
If I was going to create my own podcast? I think it would be really interesting to interview different immigrant populations around the twin cities. I have so many students from so many different backgrounds I could start with some of them. It would even be a podcast I could use in my classroom to educate my students on twin cities immigrant populations.
First, I listened to teachers teaching teachers because Rick has such a high opinion of this particular podcast. I enjoyed it a lot. Some of the people invited on talked over each other a little, but that is to be expected I suppose. We become so accustomed to professionals talking on the radio that we notice when someone is more of an amateur. However, the subject was interesting and I really enjoyed how informed the participants were, and how clearly they were able to connect the ideas to their own classrooms.
Next, I searched for what high school students could do with podcasts and I found Hilltop High LancerTalk. It is a pocast created by the video production class at Hilltop High, somewhere in California. This podcast was very professional. It was a kind of school newsletter radio show and included an interview with the new football coach about the upcoming season (it was a little old). I though it was really well done, a great way to communicate with the community, and a very fun project for the students involved. They used music and guest appearances, and generally sounded like they could have been on the radio.
Lastly, on a whim, I searched for a podcast about Capoeira. Capoeira is a Brazilian art form combining kick boxing, dance, music, gymnastics, culture and ritual. It is also a hobby of mine. I didn't expect to find anything, but I immediately found the Capoeira Resources Podcast amoung several others. This podcast was made by a Capoeira group that wanted to share the new music it was creating with its community members and the Capoeira community at large. The sound quality was a little low - I think they used a single microphone of only okay quality to record the music of a big group of people. But that may have been intentional since most Capoeira groups sell CD's of their music (which would be higher quality).
I think having my students create a podcast sounds like great fun. Here are a few ideas:
1) Create a radio documentary about being a teen parent in America today. This could involve all sorts of interviews.
2) Maybe a radio drama unit. They could listen to some radio drama and try and create their own. They would have to write and produce it themselves.
3) Maybe a radio news letter like Lancertalk, the podcast I found, about what is going on at the school.
4) Maybe they could create a radio drama of one of the books we are reading? That might get into copyright issues though, eh?
If I was going to create my own podcast? I think it would be really interesting to interview different immigrant populations around the twin cities. I have so many students from so many different backgrounds I could start with some of them. It would even be a podcast I could use in my classroom to educate my students on twin cities immigrant populations.
On The Final Project...
I think I would like to design a unit for my final project in the class. It seems like the smartest use of my time since I could then use that unit, perhaps next semester.
Ideas:
1) Continue to develop my idea about a unit using pbwiki to have students in my creative expressions class group write a play about their own experiences as teen mothers in Minneapolis. This is expanding on a project I once ran at another high school, but in the original project I did all the work compiling and editing the script. The unit would center around having the students do that work on a wiki. I would use the same writing exercises before this unit and similar theater exercises after this unit.
2) A unit involving on-line role playing. I'm not really sure how to do this well. I was thinking perhaps the social studies teacher and I could set this up together so that we would have enough computers between us... Perhaps a debate between the two rooms where groups work together at each of the fourteen computers to create a character for the debate?
3) I think creating a unit that has students create their own podcasts would be super fun. Either in autobiographical documentary style, or perhaps modeled after old radio drama... I need to think about this one some more, but the ideas are churning around in my head.
Ideas:
1) Continue to develop my idea about a unit using pbwiki to have students in my creative expressions class group write a play about their own experiences as teen mothers in Minneapolis. This is expanding on a project I once ran at another high school, but in the original project I did all the work compiling and editing the script. The unit would center around having the students do that work on a wiki. I would use the same writing exercises before this unit and similar theater exercises after this unit.
2) A unit involving on-line role playing. I'm not really sure how to do this well. I was thinking perhaps the social studies teacher and I could set this up together so that we would have enough computers between us... Perhaps a debate between the two rooms where groups work together at each of the fourteen computers to create a character for the debate?
3) I think creating a unit that has students create their own podcasts would be super fun. Either in autobiographical documentary style, or perhaps modeled after old radio drama... I need to think about this one some more, but the ideas are churning around in my head.
On My Current Digital Teaching Activities...
I've got a lot of ideas on how to use some of what we've been talking about in class in my own class, getting it all together is another mater, of course.
Let me tell you what I am doing right now.
My ELL English class (high level ELL students who aren't quite ready for a regular English class) is working on writing in preparation for the BST. We are spending some time on five paragraph essays since I've got to get these kids to pass, but we are also spending a lot of time on a digital writing project.
I started by having all the kids make a time line of their life. It had to include the ten most important events that they were willing to share with the class. I included the comment about "willing to share" because some of these kids are refugees fleeing from some terrible things, and i don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. However, with that said, I also encourage the students to choose important "difficult" and "sad" things, not just the ten best things that ever happened to them.
Next, we went through a series of writing exercises on story telling. Then they had to choose one of the events from their life to create a story about. They started by hand-writing their stories, but eventually they had to move to a computer and type. This is the arduous portion of the lesson. Most of the students have used a computer to surf the internet and watch itube, but few have ever typed something. I made up several lessons on word processing skills and made them as interesting as I could.
Finally, I am now having them create blogs (I created them and invited the students to join later) and post their short autobiographies on their blogs. It took days to sort out signing up and setting up their blogs to look like they wanted. Of course, these blogs will not have their real names on them and will be set up as private when I create them. Next, they will have blog partners that will comment on their autobiographies, and I will post feedback for their autobiographies. We will continue to work and edit these stories until they are pretty polished.
Lastly, when this is all done, I am going to take volunteers who would like to share their stories with my other classes at the school. Depending on how many volunteers I get I may have to offer extra credit or some such thing. There is a good amount of prejudice and animosity from the American students toward the ELL students at my school. My other English classes will have to read the ELL students electronically published autobiographies and post comments (after some scaffolding about appropriate comments). Hopefully, these very honest and intense stories will help my regular ed students empathize with their foreign born peers a little more.
Also, showing my regular ed students the on-line work of my ELL students will hopefully create some excitement about digital writing and kick off a unit for them in which they will be researching the work of a poet of their choice (and the definition of poetry here is pretty broad) and create a blog about that person.
It's not the most high tech of assignments. Just blogs, you know? But it is something they can do, that they have never done, and will really stretch their computer skills. It has also gotten them pretty exited about writing...
Let me tell you what I am doing right now.
My ELL English class (high level ELL students who aren't quite ready for a regular English class) is working on writing in preparation for the BST. We are spending some time on five paragraph essays since I've got to get these kids to pass, but we are also spending a lot of time on a digital writing project.
I started by having all the kids make a time line of their life. It had to include the ten most important events that they were willing to share with the class. I included the comment about "willing to share" because some of these kids are refugees fleeing from some terrible things, and i don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. However, with that said, I also encourage the students to choose important "difficult" and "sad" things, not just the ten best things that ever happened to them.
Next, we went through a series of writing exercises on story telling. Then they had to choose one of the events from their life to create a story about. They started by hand-writing their stories, but eventually they had to move to a computer and type. This is the arduous portion of the lesson. Most of the students have used a computer to surf the internet and watch itube, but few have ever typed something. I made up several lessons on word processing skills and made them as interesting as I could.
Finally, I am now having them create blogs (I created them and invited the students to join later) and post their short autobiographies on their blogs. It took days to sort out signing up and setting up their blogs to look like they wanted. Of course, these blogs will not have their real names on them and will be set up as private when I create them. Next, they will have blog partners that will comment on their autobiographies, and I will post feedback for their autobiographies. We will continue to work and edit these stories until they are pretty polished.
Lastly, when this is all done, I am going to take volunteers who would like to share their stories with my other classes at the school. Depending on how many volunteers I get I may have to offer extra credit or some such thing. There is a good amount of prejudice and animosity from the American students toward the ELL students at my school. My other English classes will have to read the ELL students electronically published autobiographies and post comments (after some scaffolding about appropriate comments). Hopefully, these very honest and intense stories will help my regular ed students empathize with their foreign born peers a little more.
Also, showing my regular ed students the on-line work of my ELL students will hopefully create some excitement about digital writing and kick off a unit for them in which they will be researching the work of a poet of their choice (and the definition of poetry here is pretty broad) and create a blog about that person.
It's not the most high tech of assignments. Just blogs, you know? But it is something they can do, that they have never done, and will really stretch their computer skills. It has also gotten them pretty exited about writing...
On Tappedin
I'm sorry that I've fallen behind over the past two weeks. It's been very busy for me, and then, of course, because I was so busy, I got sick. That's what I get for letting myself get stressed out and not getting enough sleep. It's that time of year.
I will try to get completely caught up today!
Anyway, I've had a lot of experience with Tappedin as an example of an on-line synchronous discussion forum. We used Tappedin during Tom Reinartz's media literacy class back when I was in the English cohort at the U.
I'm sure there are other similar programs out there that might be better, too. But from what I've seen so far I think I prefer asynchronous posting.
My students do not all have access to computers at home. Some of them have pretty low technology skills. We do not have a computer lab and I've only got seven machines in my classroom. All of this makes on-line discussions very tricky. I am doing some work with blogs, but even that is tricky because we don't have enough computers...
I think in a different building or a different context on-line discussion would work great. I love how mush potential it has, and I'm excited to try some of these programs someday. Maybe my students could work in groups to have a on-line debate or something? Buy in would be huge, though, and probably one person in the group would work and the others would goof off. I'll have to think about it a lot more.
I will try to get completely caught up today!
Anyway, I've had a lot of experience with Tappedin as an example of an on-line synchronous discussion forum. We used Tappedin during Tom Reinartz's media literacy class back when I was in the English cohort at the U.
I liked some parts of it. I liked how you can create a private community for your students to use, and how you can track their activity on the site. I liked that it had a chat function and also that you could post documents, schedules, assignments, etc. I liked that it has real live people for tech support.
However, it had some problems. It was not as user friendly as I would have liked. I was able to figure it out, but I'm pretty tech savvy. Some of my students would pick it up in seconds, but others would really struggle with the look, the layout, and the chat function in particular.
I'm sure there are other similar programs out there that might be better, too. But from what I've seen so far I think I prefer asynchronous posting.
My students do not all have access to computers at home. Some of them have pretty low technology skills. We do not have a computer lab and I've only got seven machines in my classroom. All of this makes on-line discussions very tricky. I am doing some work with blogs, but even that is tricky because we don't have enough computers...
I think in a different building or a different context on-line discussion would work great. I love how mush potential it has, and I'm excited to try some of these programs someday. Maybe my students could work in groups to have a on-line debate or something? Buy in would be huge, though, and probably one person in the group would work and the others would goof off. I'll have to think about it a lot more.
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