Attention Graphic Artists

I'd like to create a logo to use on my blogs, wikis, podcasts, etc. Would any of you artists out there be willing to help me. If so, let me know.

Humanity Labotomy

Cycle 19

Okay, now that we've had a chance to sink our proverbial teeth into our blogs, I think I move a better sense of how to continue to use them effectively. So I've rearranged things a little because one of the biggest benefits of the blogs is that it allows us to see our in-class time differently. I'm going to try to explore and take advantage of that. Instead of cycle sheets, I'm going to write a post at the beginning of each cycle. Like this. It'll have a description of where we've been and where we're going, a list of things we're going to do in-class, including any activities for which you need to prepare specific work or feedback, and a list of homework to be completed on your blog. Unless a specific piece of work needs to be ready for a specific day of class, you can complete the blog postings in any order you see fit. Each post should be completed between each class meeting and should represent 20-30 minutes of blogging. It's easy to tell how long it took you. We're also going to engage in a cross-grade level, cross-class vocabulary development exercise. This cycle, everybody needs to look up these two words, use them in at least 2 of your posts (each word twice) and try to use them in class discussions. Also add them, with definitions, as a permanent list on your sidebars. The words are:
contumacious and impute

Sophomores:
In Class:
Day 1 - SAT writing and assessing
Day 2 - Literature 8's meeting and work
Day 3 - Literature 8's meeting and work
Day 4 - PB quiz and Lit. 8's class discussion

Blog:
1 post analyzing your SAT essay after class discussion.
2 posts worth of PB literature 8 work.
1 or more commonplace posts.
Maintain correspondence with partner schools.
Special note to sophs: I'm bringing my headset for TIB podcasting today after school.

Freshman:
In Class:
Day 1 - Reflection on 1001 project, what to do next: organization.
Day 2 - Literature 8's meeting and work: White Tigers
Day 3 - Literature 8's meeting and work.
Day 4 - WT quiz and class discussion.

Blog/1001 wiki:
Post feedback to partners in Seoul and Denver by Thursday midnight.
New draft of story by Sunday midnight.
2 posts worth of literature 8 work.

Composition:
In Class:
Day 1: A video, take a look at some of our blogs, how the notebook requirement will change, debrief on our use of the wiki as writing workshop, start reading a new essay, return essays?
Day 2: Elbow revised draft (be sure you bring three).
Day 3: Elbow #2
Day 4: Grammar work, but not what you expect.

Blog/Wiki:
Requirement change: 5 pages in notebook and 4 blog posts each cycle. Try to follow themes in your writing. In other words, carry on a conversation, explore it from different angles and points of view.

Here's My Practice SAT Essay

The media does not determine what's important and worth value in our culture; at the same time, they do. What I mean is this is a false question because technology has changed the face of the media. Increasingly, we are our own media. We have places to publish and broadcast our own original work, opinions, and news. In addition, we have the tools to critique what we all the "mainstream" media. We are able to hold them much more accountable than ever before.

Recently, The New Yorker published an essay about Google's current project of creating the world's loargest digital library. The implication is that anyone with internet access has the ability to access any information they deem valuable. Access changes everything. And the ability to publish freely makes the amount of and diversity of media content grow exponentially. People have a choice. They can decide what's worth valuing and consuming. The question becomes who does and doesn't have access.

Currently, my class is reading The Poisonwood Bible in which a family goes to the Congo in the 1960's on a Baptist mission. They realize that Congo is diametrically opposed to the world they live in, and what works in America doesn't work there. In a very general sense, they (admittedly, in their own way and with a religious bias) are trying to help. One problem is that Congo is only covered during the 1960's by major news broadcasting organizations. Now, with the advent of what we'll call hyperlocal media, more information is available, awareness is global, and there are resources to try to help in appropriate ways that make sense within Congolese culture, or at least there are ongoing attempts. Moreover, with a people-controlled virtual spotlight, leaders are hopefully held more accountable as are Americans.

What we are beginning to realize is that the technologies available now are redefining terms, like media, that we've grown accustomed to. Logically, once our literacy changes, the way we communicate, negotiate, and live will change. It's not a question of us or them defining culture. We are them. The lines have disappeared. It's time to examine what we value. And who has access.

What We Did Yesterday

We were lucky to have Marco Torres present and run workshops for the faculty yesterday. Follow this link and explore his sites. Comment on this post about what you think.

Literature Circles With A Twist

I guess that makes them literature figure-eights. :) As we read our respective novels in freshman and sophomore English, we'll be using literature circles to discuss and extract ideas from the texts. Traditionally, I'd assign you groups, assign you roles, and assign you a reading and meeting schedule. I'll still assign you groups, but they will change after we read each chunk of the book. I'm going to give you a list of role options from which your group will decide who does what. And you will post and comment on each other's work on your blogs. This will allow you class time to discuss and determine what direction your explorations will go. Eventually, we'll use our wikispace to develop an extensive, original, Poisonwood Bible and Woman Warrior resource publications. For now, here's the list of possible roles:

Moderator (Bring questions)
Lexicographer (Vocabulary)
New Critic (Identify key passages)
Character Analyst (What do we know about the characters?)
Biographical Critic (What do we know/learn about the author?)
Psychological Critic (Analyze motivations)
Director (for drama) (Give instructions to actors for key passages)
Engineer (Identify physical and/or logical structures)
Historian (Information and inferences about history)
Anthropologist (Information and Inferences about culture)
Narratologist (Identify authorial strategies)
Stylist (Sentence-level strategies)
Feminist (What is stated/implied about the role of women?)
Devil's Advocate (Identify and attack weaknesses)
Cinematographer (How would this work as a movie?)
Philosopher King (What are the themes/big ideas?)
Musician (Where is this language most pleasing to the ear?)
Egotist (What's in this for me?)
Artist (How would this translate into a picture?)

Watch This And Weigh In

This video has been going around the education blogosphere. Your friends in the English department watched it yesterday. What do you think?