It’s amazing how quickly moods can shift. I’ve been in a cranky mood for several days. Just exhausted and uninspired. Then, tonight, the students presented their literacy artifact reviews and engaged in wonderful discussion about the articles and I feel refreshed and renewed and hopeful again. The literacy artifact reviews were so much fun. I greatly enjoyed the imagination and thought that went into constructing them. The artifacts the students brought in or targeted were fantastic. Their analyses of the different artifacts were well done as was the overview of the era they were responsible for exploring. I’m just so pleased. Plus, my intent for them to engage in the new literacies – the web 2.0 ethos – I think had some level of success. I know it was uncomfortable for them not to know exactly what to do, but they stepped up to the challenge and really came up with some great stuff. It totally changed my mood. The handouts were awesome too because they showed solid thinking and analysis. Happy, happy me.
We then spent time discussing the articles. Fantastic. I listened in on some of the conversations and they were insightful and enthusiastic. They dug into the articles and “got them.” It was really fun and exciting to talk with different groups about the articles.
I went over the essay outline and expectations and asked the students to bring in a rough draft – however far they get – so we can workshop it next week. When we workshop it, we can also use the graphic organizer to think about content.
Class ended with a bit of a lecture from me going over the different theories. I got as far as the new literacies. Next week I’ll dig into that some more. I asked the students for questions, and most of the questions had to do with Lankshear & Knobel’s work. Their stuff is intense and dense, but of all the readings we’ve done these past few weeks, I believe it to be the most theoretically important. I keep alluding to it in my discussions, so I’ll be making it more explicit.
In all, it was a great class. I know there are natural swings to the energy of a class, and last week’s was on the downswing. This week was an upswing. And I’m loving it. I knew the students had it in them. It’s just so cool to see.
November 26, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I can’t believe it is almost the end of the semester already…time really does fly! Overall I really enjoyed how Monday’s class went. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the literacy artifact review presentations. They were all so different but it was presented in such an engaging way that I think I was able to get a lot more out of them than if groups were to just stand up in fron of class and give an oral presentation. I found myself struggling with what to do for this presentation because I had to go out of my “comfort” zone, but in the end I think it turned out great.
I do wish we had more time to go over the readings in class. My group was only able to dig into 1 article (we had a great discussion going). I always find the discussions beneficial so hopefully next class we can spend a good chunk of time discussing the articles, especially the ones that are more dense.
I look forward to next class and hopefully we can have more discussion on the final paper.
November 26, 2008 at 7:13 pm
I enjoyed the literacy artifact assignment, brought back lots of memories. Best of all I got to know Jessie, Brenda and Michelle a little more. Time is the demon for all of us. My skills need improving also. I was frustrated that I was not able to help more with the powerpoint but was thankful for my “old fashioned” research skills.
I was going over some of the reading again and while the 2.0 article was still challenging the first Lankshear and Knobel article will be central to my final. I found I have a lot in common with their point of view.
While I found this class exhausting (I am a very slow reader.) I did gain a lot from it in the most unexpected ways. My class was able to produce three mini-radio shows as a result of one reading on expository reading and I another put a bee in my bonnet that I will be pursuing further. Cranberry nut breads are waiting to be freed from the oven. Happy Thanksgiving.
Lynn
November 26, 2008 at 10:05 pm
I also thought Monday night went well. At first it was honestly just a relief to get the Literacy Artifact Review done and out of the way, but I did enjoy everyone’s presentations. Not only did I learn a lot, but none of the presentations were the same and everyone was so creative and engaging.
I’m a bit nervous about the final paper – mainly because I don’t feel 100% confident with this set of readings and I still have some confusions. I wish we had more time on Monday night to discuss the readings though, because I felt a little rushed. Anyways, hopefully looking at the paper in class next week will give me some assurance and get me on the right track with everything.
Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!
November 28, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I also cannot believe it is almost the end of the class. The second half of this semester has flown by. I really enjoyed the prentations on Monday night. They were all different but delivered the same content. That was neat! It was also really interesting to see how literacy has changed and developed over the eras. It really makes you think about the new literacy studies and the impact that that has on the classroom and what could develop out of that.
I wish that we had more time to discuss the readings. It seems like our group never has enough time to talk about all of the articles. We usually discuss one or maybe two and it is always hard to move on. I think that we all benefit from discussing the articles and I know that for me personally, my understanding of the articles always deepens after our discussions. I can always go back and make my annotations stronger after our group discussions. My experiences in this class has taught me the value of giving students time to discuss literature. Keeping my experiences as a learner in mind helps me make the learning experiences for my students stronger! I have a new perspective about literacy and teaching literacy as a result of this course and I know that my students will benefit from this!
November 30, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Well, here it is, the end of the semeseter. Time really has flown since mid semester. I loved seeing everyone’s presentations on Monday night. As frustrating as they were to do (at least for me), they were all wonderful in the end. I like the fact that we were allowed the freedom to choose how to present the information. I think we are just not used to that, so it caused a lot of discomfort for us. Our group relied on a tried and true presentation method, the PowerPoint, but we tried some new things with it this time. I did not know how to put music into a PowerPoint, and we tried, unsuccessfully, to embed video in it as well. So, this old dog learned some new tricks. Hopefully, I will be able to use these tricks in my classroom.
I also wish we had more time to discuss the readings. Our group always seems to get through one or two, but then our conversations turn to how we are using these theories in our classrooms. I had a professor once who began each class wiht 5 minutes of “phatic communication”, basically the class engaging in small talk, venting, questioning, whatever. Once we got that out of our systems, we were able to focus our attention better. Might be an idea worth pursuing.
I am still left wondering one practical point. If we know that students need to engage in authentic literacy activities, and bring their own knowledge to these activities, why do we continue to use these prepackaged curriculums? My school just this year began using the Houghton Mifflin series, which was presented to me as a great resource, full of leveled texts to meet all needs. What a bunch of hooey! I have kids who struggle to decode, much less get meaning from, the lowest level readers. Yet I have to continue using them. I feel like all I am doing is setting my students up for failure. I am so frustrated, I want to scream. This goes against everything I believe about literacy instruction, and I just don’t know what to do about it. Thanks for letting me vent.
Hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable Thanksgiving…only 3 weeks until Christmas break!
December 1, 2008 at 9:07 am
I really enjoyed the Literacy Artifact Reviews! At first I was nervous about it and came to class just wanting to get it out of the way but more groups that I watched present, the more relaxed I felt. I thought it was so much watching the others and the creative ways they came up with to display their era! It was definitely interesting.
I am still nervous about the final paper though. I have been working on mine but am unsure writing it (I’m not a strong writer to begin with) but I know I’ll pull through. Going over the different theories, even if we didn’t quite finish yet, helped. I appreciate you going over those with us. In all, I enjoyed class this week!
December 1, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I really enjoyed the artifact projects. Everyone took on a unique approach which made the class fun and interesting. It was fun to look at all the objects and ideas my classmates had coming into class. I loved the creative outline of the artifacts and the creative way people presented them in their era.
As others the final is looming over my head and difficult to begin just yet. I feel tonight’s class will help and so will many hours of brainstorming and article reviewing. Good luck everyone!
December 1, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I feel that the artifact presentations went better as our group started to have more fun with the era we were given. Even though we experienced some technical difficulties with our powerpoint presentation…I think the walk through portion of it went well and everyone enjoyed the snacks. It was interested to watch all the other presentations. Everyone had a totally different way a presenting their information which kept your interest.
Now, it’s on to the final paper for the next assignment. Hopefully we will talk about it more as a class Monday night to help give each other ideas about what to write about and thoughts to include. Getting towards the end, but still alot to do. Not enough time in a day……
December 7, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I just wanted to comment on the literacy artifact presentations. We were all so stressed and worried about these and in light of that I thought it was so interesting to see all the different ways that people presented. I think straying away from the rubric allows for more creativity and it seemed like time flew during these presentations as each one was so unique and interesting. Each of the presentations really gave insight into the era and I felt I was able to walk away with a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the eras. Nothing is worse than having to sit through the same presentation over and over again, so I was really pleased with how the presentations played out.