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.