Multi Modal Class Reflection

Upon reflecting what I learned in Multi Modal class this semester, I realized that I was introduced to many new ideas of which I had never been acquainted. For instance, blogs and wikis. I never knew how to create a blog before, or even cared to, but now I find it to be an interesting and engaging activity that truly reflects how much I've learned in this course. Reading through my blogs, I realized that many multi modal literacies have affected my life on a daily basis. I've also realized how much I have learned in this class. In addition to what I've learned through blogging, I feel that blogs would be a great tool to use in the English classroom because they promote students' writing and also allow them to reflect on what they've learned. In addition to that, it allows the teacher to see and evaluate what the students have learned. Along with blogs, being introduced to wikis definitely took my interest. The wiki pages my classmates created will be a great tool next year in student teaching. Also, I feel that having students create wiki pages would be great way to have them reflect on class readings. Many of the activities we learned in this class will assist me in my future teaching.

Another assignment I enjoyed was the Film Festival. I had never been to a Film Festival before, or even knew about them, but after experiencing it, I felt that it was a worthwhile experience. I would definitely like to take my students to the high school part after I am a teacher!

Lastly, I really enjoyed reading the graphic novels for this class. At first, I thought they were a waste of time, but after buckling down and reading them, I realized that students can truly derive literary meaning from them. A teacher can instruct students on literary elements from graphic novels, which made me realize that they can be an important part of my future English classroom.

Through my experience in this class, I feel that I will become a more open-minded teacher that will use various literacies in order to enhance student learning. I am really thankful to be opened up to these new ideas and cannot wait to use them in the future, and plan to attempt to use them in student teaching! Thank you, Dr. Kist!

The Summer for Movies

Because I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly Magazine, I get all of the updates on new movies, television shows, music, and even books weekly; it's quite nice and enjoyable! Last week, when Hugh Jackman's ribbed body as Wolverine came on the cover, I knew it would be a good issue. As it turns out, it was a double issue that was meant to inform the reader of all the new movies coming out this summer. Reading through this magazine, I realized there were many that I plan to see. The first one of course that came out on May 1st was X-Men Origins: Wolverine. (I have plans to see it tonight, so I will blog about it later). On May 8th, I plan to see Star Trek. I find it interesting that they are still making Star Trek movies; I hope this one will be better than the last one at least. Angels & Demons comes out May 15th, which will not be as good as the book, but I will still see it nonetheless. On May 21st, Terminator Salvation will be released. I am a HUGE Terminator fan, but the third movie absolutely sucked! I'm really hoping this one will be better...we'll see. In addition, Sasha Baron Cohen is in a movie this summer, released on July 10th, called Bruno. From what I've read and watched, it seems to be a more graphic Borat...if that's possible. The last movie I plan to see, since I will only update you to July, is, of course, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, which will come out July 15th. It will most definitely not be as good as the book, but it will still be exciting to see the Director's take on J.K. Rowling's novels. Because I have been waiting for this film to release since last November, the fact that it is finally coming out is absolutely thrilling to me! You can bet that I will definitely be at the midnight showing for that movie!

From my experience and love for movies, I can reflect that some of my students will also have this same love. It will be important to stay updated on new movies, music, and books in the classroom setting so that I, as a teacher, can relate to my students and utilize this love in the classroom.

New Literacies in the Classroom

After reading "Chapter 3: Designing Space in a Rural Classroom" of Dr. Kist's book New Literacies in Action, I found it interesting that Clarence Fisher was able to bring technology into the classroom of the remote, ghost town of Snow Lake, Manitoba, Canada. The way the students were engaged in his class showed that they actually found it interesting and fun. Although the students did not seem to understand the lesson Fisher wanted them to learn about the manipulation of advertising, from their actual projects, one could see that they actually understood a great deal about this subject. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this chapter and found it exciting that students were so technologically advanced in such a remote and rural location.

Upon finishing "Chapter 3," and glancing at "Chapter 4: A Dot-Com with Salsa," I decided that I definitely had to read this chapter; the title did it in for me. Reading more about the classroom Marco Torres and Veronica Marek set up at San Fernando High School showed me that the use of multi-literacies in a setting where there may be a language barrier is extremely helpful! A quote that greatly affected me from this chapter was when Torres stated, "In a poor school, the teachers rule; in a rich school, the parents rule." I thought about this statement for a bit and realized what he stated was absolutely true. For this reason, the teachers want to do all they can to help the community and students. Another interesting point I found in this chapter was the fact that these students lived so near to Hollywood and all of those magnificent sights and famous people, yet they did not care about the fame of those people. They wanted to use what they learned to somehow greater their community rather than be concerned with meeting famous people. I also enjoyed the part where they put on their ican Film Festival. The students basically did all of the work with little help from the instructors. It was amazing how tech savvy these students appeared to be. From reading this chapter, I would love to put on a film festival similar to this one in my classroom because I think it helps the students showcase what they learned. In a way, their film festival will be similar to the one we will have during finals week. (I wonder why? lol)