The Wrap-Up

As I think back on everything that we have been doing in this mulit-modal literacies class, I think about how I can use all of this as an educator. One of the most impressive and useful things that we did in this class, at least for me, were the wikis. I think this would be a great tool to not only use as an educator, but to set up as a lesson for students. They could post different sources of information on a given topic and go back to edit, or to just look through the links, etc., and learn about another topic that htey did not cover. I looked through the wikis that we did recently, and I was able to get some ideas from a few of them for other classes. It is so nice to have this at our disposal, and I feel it is a great learning opportunity for ourselves and our students.

Another thing that I liked was the autobiography. I still remember the ones that I was able to see, and I had a lot of fun doing it as well. It was nice to be able to open up to those around you and share your life with them. It was also nice to see how we were similar and different in so many aspects of our lives. I think it was a great opportunity to share a little part of us, and it was fun to see what everyone's interests were. I just had a lot of fun with it, and I think it would be a great starting point with my students. They could not only get to know me on a more visual level, but also on a personal level. I also think it could help build a community within the classroom that would really enhance the learning.

I still have to admit that the blog was not my favorite part, but I did fin value with it. It made it so easy to connect with the students in class, no matter where you are. Normally you only get to see each other in classes and bounce ideas off each other then, but here you can talk to them no matter what time it is, even if you are miles away. I think there were some really great entries that really made me think about education, among other things, and I feel that this was a great way to connect people. I had a little trouble sitting down and actually blogging though. Sometimes it would slip my mind, and other times I felt it was a little weird that anyone could read it. But I still found an interesting way to stay connected with people, and I am sure there are many future students that would love to do this.

I also enjoyed reading the literature we were given in class. I actually really enjoyed Little Brother, even though I didn't think I would initially. The technological terms were a little difficult at times, but it was still a great story and it really came through the pages, even though there was some jargon I didn't recognize. I also loved Persepolis, and I would really like to teach it in my classroom someday. I never thought I would ever present a graphic novel to my students, only because I didn't know much about them. I just thought they didn't really have substance to them, and I was definately proven wrong. I didn't care for Naruto, but I would still love to use Persepolis.

I also loved the activities in class, and I am glad that we actually were able to physically do them. A lot of times you are presented with ideas, but you don't get to try them out. The fact that I had a blast with them at age 23 is a good sign. I have no doubt that my students would love to do the activities presented in class, and it's a great way to get the students moving and interacting with each other instead of just listening to a lecture. I think it will help promote cooperative learning, and I think they will appreciate the break from traditional teaching.

I didn't really know what to expect with this class when I first signed up for it. I was not sure what we would be doing in class, and I was not sure what it was all about, but I am not disappointed in the least. Not only did I learn a lot of valuble information to use in the near future, but I actually had a lot of fun doing everything! That is not something I get to experience everyday in all of my classes. And given the current trends with young adults, I feel that what we have done within the classroom, as well as the projects, will really help me incorporate new literacy ideas into my classroom, because without this class, I might not have given certain things much thought.

A Different Age

While reading Dr. William Kist's New Literacies in Action, I found that there are many things I have not thought of before when it comes to education. Going over Chapter 8, "Final Thoughts: 'My Grandchildren's Time Zone,'" I found it interesting how the teachers and students had conflicting ideas on what the goals were for these new literacies. (pg 127) Are these used to help the students get better jobs in the future, understand their environment in a different, perhaps better way, or to help them tap into emotions in order to better understand the world around them. I thought it was interesting to see how these educators also had trouble assessing the students since this type of teaching and learning is different that traditional text based strategies.

I also found it interesting to see how the students would call these new literacies an "easy A," while others found it more difficult. I do not think this answer is only found with new literacies, but also with traditional ones as well. And when asked why some thought it was difficult, some of the students gave the answer that it was time consuming and made you think deeper about the task given, such as the Edward Scissorhand's movie assignment.

I also was surprised how many teachers had to "let go." This was very interesting to me since I have always thought of teaching as time management, and making your lessons and assignments for particular sets of days, weeks, etc. This thought did scare me a little, since I am a very organized person. (If I am not, I would forget my own name and where I live.) But being able to let go and let the lesson go down a road all its own is a little intimidating for me. I think it would be difficult for me, as an educator, to just be like, "Oh, well this is something I would like to go deeper into, and I am not sure how long it will take for the little lightbulb above my student's head to go off, so I am just going to let it go where it wants to." But I do appreciate how these teachers were able to adapt to the lessons, their students, and even let go of their preconceived notions on how to "teach" in order for their students to get the best possible learning experience out of the lesson being taught.

I also thought that it was interesting to see how students could get "burned out" when it came to new literacies. Especially when it comes to working with technology and the lengthy assignments. I just thought that younger students would be all about computers and using them at every possible moment. I guess that is because my four-year-old neice has her own computer and can work it all by herself already. I was obviously not working on a computer at that age, so I just assumed many students would be glued to the screen. It was interesting to see how these students also wanted "traditional" work, such as sitting at a desk without a computer!

I thought this was an interesting chapter that made me re-evaluate what I had thought once before. All this technology is a little intimidating to me at times, but I am open to learning new things and incorporating them into my classroom. And I also feel that the new literacies are going to gain momentum as the years go on. I mean, just look at my neice. She will be able to do more with computers in a few years than any of us could probably think of. And she probably won't even be in the double digits yet.