Project Reflection:

My digital project focuses on the Beat Movement of the 1950’s, as well as one of its key members, Allen Ginsberg. I chose this topic because I just recently learned about this generation of writers in one of my other classes, and I wanted to further my research on the topic and become completely knowledgeable in this area. I was extremely excited about creating this video and feel as though I have picked a topic that is interesting to my college peers, as well as future students of mine.

The process involved with creating this video was complicated, and took much longer than I expected. I first began by compiling a stack of articles and books that contained information on my topic. I read through everything I collected, and highlighted the points I felt were most important. After that, I created an outline that would simplify the information on to two sheets that I could easily read. From these two sheets, I created my storyboard which I presented to my classmates, as well as my professor in a personal conference. Following the conference, I wrote the script to my speech which plays in the background of my video. I then collected all my images and doctored them accordingly so that I could easily insert them onto my PowerPoint slides and add the text I needed. I attempted to add some humor and wit to my project and photos (although I cannot entirely predict that my jokes are as funny to others as they are to myself).I ended up creating a PowerPoint with over 120 slides, and imported each slide as an image to Windows Movie Maker.

Once I began using Windows Movie Maker, things became slightly more complicated. I added my speech track to Movie Maker first, and adjusted my slides according to my speech. This process took about three hours. I then tried for at least another two hours to add an audio track to the background, but could not figure out how to do so without completely throwing off my speech track. I tried using Audacity to combine my vocal track to my music track and several other different methods, but all to no avail. I then came across some technical difficulties while trying to upload my video to YouTube, learning that I had saved my movie as the wrong format. Once I fixed my error, it was smooth sailing from there. I uploaded my video to YouTube and embedded a link on my blog so that I can easily access my video on my presentation day.

Overall, it took me about 15 hours total to complete my project. This, of course, was broken up over several weekends, so I actually enjoyed taking the time to correct and polish my presentation. Although I wish I could have some music playing behind my voice, I am still proud of my project and the effort that I put in to it.

“It was an amazing experience. I read insightful comments from students who hated speaking in class but have powerful ideas, and they felt comfortable communicating in this format. Kids were able to be themselves, and I felt like I had an excellent opportunity to get to know my more shy students because they had let their guard down. One girl even told me, ‘She never had so much fun doing homework, that it didn’t even feel like homework.’”

In this case, social networking became a powerful tool which allowed teachers to require ALL students to participate in discussion without making shy students feel like they are being ostracized. Having an entire class of students comfortably propelling discussion would allow teachers to truly see how well students grasp the material, what individual students are capable of, and how much progress students have made in the material being discussed online.

The article also explains a negative aspect of using social networks for educational purposes. According to a professor at Kent State University, using these websites could potentially open the doors to online child predators, and with no blocks on student’s home computers to prevent this type of interaction, the teacher/school could potentially be at fault if something gets out of hand. While this professor makes a valid point, I believe it is important to remember that educators have the power to teach students about proper online conduct, and inform students of the dangers of chatting with strangers online and making personal information public.

While I found the technological language a little distracting and hard to understand, it amazed me how easily teenagers and young adults can access and invade public and private data that strangers create. Unfortunately, what is even more shocking is how much access the government has to civilian’s computers, bank accounts, and other personal items that most people think is completely safe and secure.

I believe that by Doctorow’s creation of the main character, Marcus, Doctorow is able to voice his opinion on present-day issues that tread beneath the surface of the situations that Marcus encounters throughout the novel. The first thing that comes to my mind is the Patriot Act which seemed to heavily parallel the scene in the novel where Marcus is arguing with Severe Haircut Lady, who is torturing him to get the passwords to all the different areas of his cellphone in order to see whether or not Marcus had anything to do with the terrorist attacks that just happened.

It is frightening to me to think about how dependent our society is becoming on technology. During our class discussion, someone raised the issue of putting cameras in classrooms which are supposedly put there so that parents can keep an eye on their children while they are not around. Unfortunately, this tool is more often used as something that parents log onto to watch the teacher instead of the student. This really bothers me as a future educator because I know I have the ability to learn classroom management techniques and be able to professionally hold together a classroom in a manner that would not disappoint the parents or the school system. I understand that there have been instances in which teachers were caught misbehaving and lost their jobs for justifiable reasons, but students are also given the opportunity to speak out against wrongful teachers, and principals and other administrative positions are also in place to monitor teachers and make sure that there are no “bad eggs” which inhibit the school from being outstanding. I believe that there are so many other options than putting cameras into classrooms to monitor students–and inadvertently–teachers.

Although technology has it’s “downs” in the classroom, it also has some potential positives. Giving students the access to technology could lead to more involved discussion in the classroom, and could also make teaching easier for the teacher. Of course, there is a huge difference between this category of technology and the category of technology which I discussed in the last paragraph.

Doctorow raises some interesting issues through the school, home, and city settings of his novel. As future educators, I believe it is important to consider how technology will affect our future careers. I know that I would much rather have technology working with me rather than against me in the classroom.

I plan on focusing mainly on poets Allen Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Gregory Corso. More importantly, I plan on explaining what the beat movement stood for, as well as revealing these writer’s ideas, and many times, the consequences for voicing these ideas.

I chose this topic because I just recently learned about the beat movement and was incredibly intrigued by the way poetry shifted in the 1950′s. I also felt like this topic connected great to our novels, The Hunger Games and Little Brother, as both the movement and the novel have a strong anti-government message.

Our image is that of an orphan from Haiti. The content of this image is simple: a small boy, standing nude in a dark place, alone. His face, is most prominent in this picture, with the focus resting on his eyes. Through this photo, the photographer has been able to send a message of hopelessness to anyone viewing this work, especially when it is very well-known how much turmoil is taking place in Haiti.

The image’s frame is a dark, fuzzy border. The only thing that is truly crisp and clear about this image is the child’s face. There is an empty space next to the child, implying that someone could be standing there, helping or guiding the child. Instead, that space remains empty. The child is also leaning against an inanimate object that is covered in some type of dirt or mud. The texture of the image implies that this object would be sticky or slimy.

The focus of the image is on the child’s face, or more importantly, the child’s eyes.  The way that the photographer has chosen to focus this image implies that the audience needs to pay attention to the helplessness exhibited in the child’s face. The picture is taken at an angle that puts the audience above the child, looking down at him. This could be the photographer’s way of making the audience feel as if he or she is bigger than the child, therefore more able to help the child than the child is able to help himself.

This image speaks to the public concern of the aftermath of the recent earthquake in Haiti. Media across the world has reached out to citizens and asked to donate and help the earthquake victims. This picture is a perfect example of the type of images the media is putting on their networks in order to encourage their viewers to extend a helping hand.

I believe it is extremely important to adhere to the changing times. Our future students will be reading about current events that affect our world through blogs, YouTube videos, and other forms of media that are present on the internet. As a teacher, I believe that it is important to understand that these are the types of places where students will be receiving the majority of their information. The internet is considered a necessity in most households, and is readily available outside the home as well. Wi-Fi is quickly becoming a “goody” that businesses offer, and there are even companies that, through a monthly subscription, allow you to receive internet on your laptop/cell phone/mp3 player anywhere!

I believe that using blogs, internet videos, and other forms of Web 2.0 that we unknowingly encounter every day will be one of the most effective ways to connect to our students. By using what tools they are most familiar with and most accustomed to using, I believe that educators will find their students to be more successful with their assignments.

As far as using Web 2.0 in the classroom, I believe it would be an extremely effective to use blogs as a way to communicate with students outside the classroom. The teacher could post notes and classwork assignments on the internet for students who were absent or who forgot their agendas. Also, teachers could post supplemental information that pertains to what is being taught in class.

For my video post, I chose this clip of a sleepwalking dog for sheer laughter. Enjoy!