Multimodal Reflection

The multimodal project was the only project completed individually this semester.  Since we have been learning about interactive technology, we were assigned to use some type of interactive software program and create a “multimodal” presentation.  We were initially asked to analyze a poem or story on the basis of symbolism and imagery.  Next we were asked to take that interpretation and create a project that incorporated Joddy Murray’s elements of perspective, juxtaposition, layering and unity using one of the interactive software programs.  For the assignment, I chose to analyze the poem “Once by the Pacific” by Robert Frost.  I then decided to use Prezi to create my presentation.  I liked the way that I could create a Prezi presentation any way that I wanted as opposed to some other softwares that just had you choose a presentation format and basically plug in your information and pictures.  Instead, Prezi allowed me to arrange my slides however I wanted and put anything on the slides that I preferred, even video.  Although I was new to Prezi, I was able to align my slides in the shape of a wave (to go along with the poem) and incorporate images from the poem, but also some images from my alternate interpretation of the poem, along with the actual lines of the poem.  For this project, it was also emphasized that we cite everything that we used in the project, even if they were just images found on Google. 

            One of the education standards of technology that applied to this project well was 4,A which states that teachers should “Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and documentation of sources”.  In the beginning of the semester we were taught all of the logistics about citing sources and what is legal.  This project really made us apply that.  I think this caught some people off-guard, because we are used to simply looking up images on Google, and do not necessarily consider them sources.  Our professors emphasized that no matter what you use in a project, if you incorporate something into your project that you did not personally create, it is imperative that you give credit to the person who did create it; this project forced us to do just that.

            Citing information is not something that is encourage for practice, but is an actual legal obligation.  Not only is it imperative to cite information, but it is important for teachers to emphasize the importance of abiding by the laws to their students.  Therefore, in my future classroom I will absolutely require the citation of all sources in the appropriate manner.  This will likely be an easy element to incorporate, as most schools require that teachers have their students cite information. 

http://prezi.com/qqzjdqczbk9o/liz-simpson-multimodal-assignment/

Podcast Reflection

            For the podcast project, we remained in the same groups that we had been assigned to from the “Know Your Meme” project.  For this project, we were pre-required to listen to at least one episode of the podcast entitled “This American Life” and reflect on it on our blogs.  We were then to create our own installment to the hypothetical podcast “This West Chester Life”.  For this assignment, we were asked to find anybody in West Chester with an interesting story, and model a podcast interview with that person similar to those that are created on “This American Life”.  For this project we were provided with an iPod Touch Device and still had our MacBook Pros to work with as well.  My group got in touch with and decided to interview members from the Chester County Paranormal Research Society.  Although the group could not meet us in person, they were willing to contact us via Skype, and with Dr. Penny’s help we were able to download software that would record the interview so we could then use Garage Band to edit the audio.  Because the group that we interviewed had high-quality audio equipment, the interview was very clear and turned out very well.

            According to the technology standards for teachers as defined by ISTE.org, one standard that applies well to this project is 1,D which states that teachers should “Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments”.  The entire premise of this project was to engage with others in order to produce a final product.  Although the intention of the project was to use the iPod Touch Device to interview the subjects face-to-face, my group was somewhat of an exception in interviewing our subjects in a virtual environment.  Through this experience, we learned about the easy accessibility to many various types of software (although most recording software required a paid subscription, we were able to find many that offered free demos which were perfect for our project) and were able to produce a very good final product because of it.  Additionally, because of access to this unique software, we were able to conduct a very interesting interview that we would not have had the opportunity to conduct without the software. 

            One thing that I really liked about this project was the flexibility.  We were given a lot of freedom in choosing to interview anybody we chose, and were given a lot of flexibility when we presented the idea of conducting the interview via Skype.  Originally our group assumed we would not be allowed to do so, because we had been assigned to use the iPod Touch Device, however when we presented the idea we were encouraged to conduct the interview virtually.  Not only was the project flexible, but we learned a lot about various iPod applications used for audio recording, types of software available on the internet, and we also learned a lot about using the program Garage Band.  Not only did we learn about these things, but we realized how simple all of these things were.  Because all of the technological aspects of this project were so easy, I would absolutely incorporate them into my future as a teacher.  I think that it is important to teach students to be resourceful, and the only way to do that is to let them experiment with the various resources available to them.  I also think that our project was such a great success because of Dr. Penny’s flexibility, which is another aspect that I would like to incorporate into my teaching career as well.  Finally, as the standard states, students should engage in learning with other students, colleagues, etc. which is very important.  It is important to realize that everybody has something different to teach you, and by working with others you can only gain more knowledge and insight.  This project reinforced all of these ideals, and they are all aspects that I would absolutely incorporate into my future classroom.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/6p8c30zzaoqbhcq/CCPRS%20Interview.mp3

Know Your Meme Reflection

The multimodal project was the only project completed individually this semester.  Since we have been learning about interactive technology, we were assigned to use some type of interactive software program and create a “multimodal” presentation.  We were initially asked to analyze a poem or story on the basis of symbolism and imagery.  Next we were asked to take that interpretation and create a project that incorporated Joddy Murray’s elements of perspective, juxtaposition, layering and unity using one of the interactive software programs.  For the assignment, I chose to analyze the poem “Once by the Pacific” by Robert Frost.  I then decided to use Prezi to create my presentation.  I liked the way that I could create a Prezi presentation any way that I wanted as opposed to some other softwares that just had you choose a presentation format and basically plug in your information and pictures.  Instead, Prezi allowed me to arrange my slides however I wanted and put anything on the slides that I preferred, even video.  Although I was new to Prezi, I was able to align my slides in the shape of a wave (to go along with the poem) and incorporate images from the poem, but also some images from my alternate interpretation of the poem, along with the actual lines of the poem.  For this project, it was also emphasized that we cite everything that we used in the project, even if they were just images found on Google. 

            One of the education standards of technology that applied to this project well was 4,A which states that teachers should “Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and documentation of sources”.  In the beginning of the semester we were taught all of the logistics about citing sources and what is legal.  This project really made us apply that.  I think this caught some people off-guard, because we are used to simply looking up images on Google, and do not necessarily consider them sources.  Our professors emphasized that no matter what you use in a project, if you incorporate something into your project that you did not personally create, it is imperative that you give credit to the person who did create it; this project forced us to do just that.

            Citing information is not something that is encourage for practice, but is an actual legal obligation.  Not only is it imperative to cite information, but it is important for teachers to emphasize the importance of abiding by the laws to their students.  Therefore, in my future classroom I will absolutely require the citation of all sources in the appropriate manner.  This will likely be an easy element to incorporate, as most schools require that teachers have their students cite information.

http://youtu.be/YBner7eyf4U

Robert Frost: "Once By The Pacific" Analysis

Once By The Pacific

By: Robert Frost

The shattered water made a misty din.
Great waves looked over others coming in,
And thought of doing something to the shore
That water never did to land before.
The clouds were low and hairy in the skies,
Like locks blown forward in the gleam of eyes.
You could not tell, and yet it looked as if
The shore was lucky in being backed by cliff,
The cliff in being backed by continent;
It looked as if a night of dark intent
Was coming, and not only a night, an age.
Someone had better be prepared for rage.
There would be more than ocean-water broken
Before God's last 'Put out the Light' was spoken.

Robert Frost’s poem “Once by the Pacific” can be interpreted a few different ways.  The general theme of the poem is of an angry ocean slamming into the beach which is backed up by cliffs and land.  Some of the various interpretations of this poem include one regarding life and friendship, a biblical interpretation, and one of the end of the world.

            The interpretation that I am particularly partial to is that regarding life and friendship.  In this interpretation of “Once by the Pacific” the audience can interpret the line “There would be more than ocean-water broken before God’s last ‘put out the light’ was spoken” as the world working against someone, and that “Someone had better be prepared for rage”.  The most important line in this interpretation is “The shore was lucky in being backed by a cliff”.  The shore, which can metaphorically be seen to represent a person, is lucky to have support behind them, and because the shore has the cliffs (family, friends, etc.) backing him up he has a chance of surviving the storm that is life.

            The beginning of the poem describes the deceitful qualities of some people, especially in the lines “Great waves looked over others coming in, and though of doing something to the shore that water never did to land before”.  These lines represent the hardships that everybody deals with in life, and although these things do exist, once again it is important to emphasize the symbolic cliff and continent that serve as supports in life.

            I’m not sure how I will complete this project.  One idea that I am having is to show waves knocking a person down and somebody helping them up (or something along those lines).  I would like to incorporate both humanity and a visual of an angry sea into the project.  I am still debating over whether I will prefer to have the poem read during the presentation, or if I will have the words visually represented.  Because the poem is not very lengthy, I should be able to go in any of these directions and create an effective final product.

Review of This American Life Episode #396: "#1 Party School"

This episode of This American Life spoke in-depth about the use of alcohol at Penn State University, voted the #1 party school in the United States this year.  During the episode the interviewers spoke with local residents in State College, PA, students who actively participate in drinking on campus, students who are less interested in drinking, alumni at football games and tailgates, and local business owners. 

Other than the actual context, what I enjoyed the most about the program was the amount of interviews that the crew conducted.  Coming in to this project, I expected the entire podcast to be based around an interview with one person, however this episode proved quite the contrary.  It was interesting not only to hear about the drinking at Penn State, but all of the various opinions and perspectives of the wide range of people affected by this pasttime. 

I liked how the program was divided into chapters and each chapter was seperated by a song.  Not only did the songs generally have something to do with what the chapter was about, but they gave good background sound, rather than just silence. Throughout the entire program, only a very small amount of time was there ever nothing going on in the background.  If it wasn't music, there was some kind of background noise that was natural with the setting in which the interview was taking place, for example, at a frat party you could hear students talking and screaming in the background.  This not only gave a backdrop to the program but allowed the audience to create a mental picture of the setting of the interview.

Another thing that I was curious about was how to incorporate credits to the necessary people in the podcast.  At the end of the podcast the entire crew was mentioned as well as anybody else who was interviewed or assisted in creating the program.  Not only were they credited at the end, but usually after each segment one of the cast members would monotonously say the name of the reporter responsible for the previous clip.  Although the audience does not know exactly who these people are, these announcements gave the podcast an official feel.

The podcast also felt official because the crew incorporated statistics in addition to the interviews.  For each point that was mentioned, they had evidence to back it up.  For example, they had the statistics regarding how many students at PSU drink alcohol, how much they typically drink, and other similar statistics.  These statistics and other general information makes the podcast reliable and seem more professional.

Overall, I think this program is very well-done.  A lot of the aspects that were incorporated into the podcast will positively be aspects that I will attempt to incorporate when making our own podcast.  I especially liked the overall tone and feel of the program, as well as the wide range of perspectives included throughout the piece.

Multiple Choice Test Question

What are some of Murray's examples of elements that result through the use of layering?

• Complexity
• Juxtaposition
• Contradiction
• Depth

Know Your Meme Grade

The "Know Your Meme" video I graded is Christian Bale Rant.  Below is my justification and grade for the video:

Perspective (18 points)
Although the video really only incorporates one head-on camera angle throughout the video, I thought that this angle made the video seem professional and serious.  The video becomes humorous because of the serious nature of the camera angles, while the content is humorous and sometimes even ridiculous.  Instead of using various camera angles, the camera does zoom in and out on the speaker throughout the film, particularly at the end of the video when the speaker's face is zoomed in on which gives the viewer the idea that this part of his script is the most important.  Although the camera angle makes the video feel very serious, and thus makes it funny, the video could have incorporated more camera angles, therefore it doesn't get a perfect score in this category.

Juxtaposition (20 points)
Juxtaposition is incorporated frequently throughout this video, as Christian Bale's "rant" is edited in with other dialogues several times.  This is very effective, as there are numerous dialogues it is used with, and they are very different.  It ranges from president Obama, to the adult animated show Family Guy, to the children's animated show Dora the Explorer.  The vast use of juxtaposition in this video was both effective and humorous.

Layering (16 points)
Layering was not a frequently incorporated element of this video.  Throughout the video, Christian Bale's dialogue is edited together with other dialogue frequently, so the audio was layered, however not once was an actual image of Christian Bale layered along with the other person he was supposed to be speaking with.  I thought it would have been funnier if he had been pictured yelling at the people he was supposed to be talking with rather than his audio just being played along with the still images.  The one time that visual layering took place was when an anteater was imposed into an image from the movie Titanic (while after watching the video 5 times still does not seem to have any relation to the video).  The video still receives points for layering because of the audio layering, however loses points becuase it did not seem to take full advantage of opportunities to layer images.

Unity (19 points)
I thought the unity throughout this video was strong.  The video incorporated several examples in which the "Christian Bale rant" was incorporated and they evolved from political figures, to Youtube videos, to animation.  Each example played long enough to be comprehended, however was short enough to keep the viewer's attention.  There was enough examples to hear t majority of the "rant" but no too many that the viewer got bored.  The only part of ht evideo that ws not completely straight-forward was when the analyst was describing how the video became quickly played out, as his wipe-board was not adequately explained.

Final Grade: 73/80, A-

Autobiography

Hi!  My name is Liz Simpson and I'm a sophomore here at West Chester University.  I am a duel major student studying secondary level special education and English literature.  I am from Springfield, PA (Delaware County) and graduated from Springfield High School in 2009.  I have two brothers, one who is 26 and a contractor, and one who is 17 and a senior in high school.  The photo below shows me with my family.

In addition to my immediate family, I have my grandfather, 8 aunts and uncles, and 17 cousins.

Although I don't work during the school year, during the summer I live in Wildwood Crest, NJ and work at a restaurant called Urie's in Wildwood.  I love traveling, and have been lucky enough to have many travel opportunities- including to Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Australia, Mexico, Hawaii, and all throughout the Caribbean.  I will also be going to London in March.

Currently, I live in Tyson Hall on campus at WCU, however will be moving into a house with 7 roommates in June.  I plan to finish my education at WCU and ideally get a job educating students with disabilities. 

I love listening to all kinds of music, and a few of my favorites are Dispatch, Pearl Jam, and John Mayer.  My favorite color is green.  I have two cats named Socks and Ozzy.  In high school, I worked to raise over $110,000 for pediatric cancer patients through the Four Diamonds Fund, with which I am still heavily involved.  My favorite movie of all time is Stand By Me.  My favorite TV show is The Office.  Something I'm frequently made fun of is for always drinking juice.  And lastly, one of the coolest things I've done was going skydiving on my 18th birthday: