DWRL Lesson Plans - Michael Roberts

Using Twitter for Class Reading and Participation

Roberts — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 23:10:56 +0000

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Brief Assignment Overview:

Instead of required blog posts or reading quizzes, I require my students to interact with each week's reading and each other by "live-tweeting" their reading process. This VERY informal method of participation takes lots of the pressure off of their responses and encourages them to engage more with the class texts.

Type of Assignment:

Homework Assignment

Semester-long Project

Assignment Length:

Semester-long Project

Pedagogical Goals - Literature:

Close Reading

Textual Analysis

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Collaboration

Multimedia

Social Media

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

Class participation, class interaction, promoting discussion.

Media Requirements:

Adaptable For Use Without Classroom Technology

Required Materials:

The participation assignment requires each student to either create a twitter account or to use an exisiting one; to show them how to do this there should be some available computer (ideally with an overhead projector). After the first day, though, most of the technological interaction will take place outside of class.

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Useful Anytime

First Day/Week

Early in the Semester

Full Assignment Description:

On the first day/week of class, I introduced the concept of reading participation, a way to show that every student is reading the course texts and thinking about them. I went through previous attempts to gague the student engagement, including pop quizzes (cue groans). I then announced that this semester I was going to try something different, and require students to live-tweet their reading process. This amounts to each student creating or using a twitter account to post responses to and questions about each week's reading. I explained that although I will read the tweets, my interaction will be minimal; twitter is to be a space for the students to feel free to express whatever, and to interact with each other. I emphasized that it is fine, even encouraged, to express superficial, banal, or even "stupid" reactions to the reading, as long as there are occasional thought-out and perceptive observations. I let them know that I expect around 3 substantial tweets a week (see instructions below), but that they should feel free to do many more. I also emphasized that, if they choose to use a personal account, I have no interest in invading their privacy or reading their personal tweets. To allow for some privacy, I do not follow students, but will instead check the class #hashtag every week. We came up with our class hashtag (ours was #disgustE314), and I told them to make sure to tag every post with it so I could see them all in one feed. Since we were in a compter classroom, I then gave the class a few minutes to log in or set up twitter accounts, encouraging the twitter-experienced students to help out the newbies. I had everyone send their first tweet with the hashtag, and that was that. Since then I have opened class by addressing one or two questions or comments from twitter, to show that I have been reading, and we have occasionally used a twitter question as a discussion starter.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

First, be familiar with twitter and create an instructor account for this class/other professional uses.

Instructions For Students:

Twitter: For participation and preparation for this class you will be expected to use twitteroutside the classroom. To do this you can use your personal twitter or create a new account; to respect your privacy I will not follow anyone. For me to see your tweets, be sure to mention me and/or use the class hashtag. I will expect a general output of around 3 tweets a week for this class; in general one of those tweets should be an interpretive question about the reading, and one should respond to another classmate. I will occasionally use student tweets to begin discussion on the week's reading, so be sure to have something before class begins. I understand that the semester can get very busy, and will allow you to miss a week or so, but expect consistent and engaged participation with the texts and class outside of class. If you choose to "livetweet" your reading process, all the better.

Evaluation Suggestions:

My evaluation thus far has been very general, even abstract. I read the twitter feed at least once a week, and make a few notes of students who are making particularly insightful comments, and also noting anyone who isn't posting. Like most "participation" grades, I expect my process at the end to be very impressionistic and generous to those students who contribute. I also try to give individual students answers or feedback in class to reward more active participation.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

So far I would say that twitter participation has been high and relatively engaged. Since I require students to tweet at each other, I hope to create more of a personal class community in the classroom. This is my first semester using this assignment, though, so it won't be for a while that I see long-term results. I may very well write a blog post about this later in the semester.

Course Type:

Literary Studies Course

Course Description:

In this course we will examine books that have been banned in England and America for "graphic" or "explicit" content. What has offended in these texts is (supposedly) not distasteful political or religious sensibilities, but instead a depiction of that which "should not be shown": usually sex, violence, or depravity. This sort of literature raises interesting questions about the role of disgust (or horror) in literature. Are there acts, events, or cultures that should not be shown? Is disgust purely a negative reaction, or might it yield positive results? Is explicit material worth defending for its own sake (see, for example, the recent controversy over The Human Centipede 2 in Britain), or must it be serving some other artistic, political, or religious purpose? Does what an era finds disgusting reveal something about the culture's changing sensibilities?

Charting violent, sexual, and gory literature from the sixteenth century to today, we will examine both the thematic uses of explicit literature as well as reactions to it. In doing so, we will discuss the disgusting, the horrific, and the graphic as both a literary motif and a point of tension within a culture.

This course will combine close reading of primary sources with the study of secondary critical essays in order to understand how the historical and cultural contexts surrounding these works (and the controversies they sparked) relate to their formal characteristics as literary artifacts. In the process, students will also learn how to use library databases including such as the online Oxford English Dictionary as well as other resources essential to literary study.

Tags:

Participation

Twitter

Social Media

Reading comprehension

Creating OED Word Constellations

Roberts — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:53:24 +0000

Author:

Michael Roberts

Image Credit:

Magnifying Glass by chrisjohnbeckett on flickr

Brief Assignment Overview:

In this assignment students use the Oxford English Dictionary to make individual mindmaps of the multiple definitions of related words, then the class together creates a constellation of meanings surrounding a seemingly simple topic that becomes more and more complex.

Type of Assignment:

In-class Exercise

Assignment Length:

Single Class Period

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Commonplaces

Invention

Kairos

Pedagogical Goals - Literature:

Oxford English Dictionary (OED)

Textual Analysis

Word Choice

Pedagogical Goals - Writing:

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

The main goal of this exercise is to get students familiar with using the OED, and to increase their awareness of the multiple overlapping meanings of words. The secondary goal is to get the students thinking complexly about a seemingly simple concept through an elaboration of the many words associated with that concept. The more they describe and map the intersections relating to a concept, the more complex the concept becomes.

Media Requirements:

Technology-Based Classroom (computers for each student)

Required Materials:

Computer classroom, access to the OED.

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Early in the Semester

Full Assignment Description:

I ran this assignment in my class on the literature of disgust, so we began the assignment right after a reading from a book about the sociology and anthropology of disgust, early in the semester. In general, though, I think this would be best assigned after any reading about one particular concept or word.

At the beginning of class, we began with a discussion of the definition of the word in question (in this case disgust). As a part of this discussion we developed, as a class, a list of synonyms and related words and concepts. I had already prepared a list at home and made sure we got most of the words I thought would be most useful; many of these words also came from the reading. For example, for disgust we also came up with: gross, horror, sloth, terror, fear, loathe/loathing, hate/hatred, nausea, etc. Using the overhead, I then led the class through the basic uses of the OED, using disgust as the example. We talked about the various historical meanings of the word, how you can find examples, and how the different meanings might be in conflict or otherwise related to each other. The opening discussion took about 10 minutes, and the following demo/discussion took about 10 more.

I then split the class into pairs and assigned each a different word from our synonyms list. I showed them the mindmeister mindmapping website, and told the class that they should research their words and each create a mindmap explaining its multiple meanings, being sure to historicize each definition and include the relationship to disgust. The class did this for about 15-20 minutes. We then reconvened and went around the room, with each pair showing and explaining their map to the class. Finally I imported the different maps and created one larger constellation, all related to the one central word. This took the rest of the class.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

It is best to have a relatively full list of words prepared that would be fruitful for the students to research. This means looking up the suggested related words beforehand on the OED. Also come to class with a general idea on how the words might be related or overlap.

Instructions For Students:

Using the OED and mindmeister.com, create a mindmap for your selected word, linking its multiple meanings and explaining their relationships to each other. Be sure to historicize each definition and give examples of its use. Also be sure to relate the meanings to our central word; please use your own words and do not copy/paste. We will later combine these mindmaps to create a larger meaning constellation relating to our central concept; keep that in mind. You have 20 minutes to complete your map with your partner.

Evaluation Suggestions:

This is a research exercise, and doesn't require any explicit participation. The goal is to get the students familiar with the dictionary as well as the multiple meanings of words, so it is best to keep things informal and fun.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

In general this went pretty well, and the students had fun. I think a large portion of the fun came from us "investigating" such fun/gruesome topics, and words that had interesting backgrounds, so I would suggest doing the research before to make sure the assignment goes well. In general, though, I would definitely use this assignment again.

Additional Resources:

http://www.mindmeister.com/

Course Type:

Literary Studies Course

Course Description:

This course was for E314: Banned Books, but could be used in any literature course that emphasizes a historical/complex understanding of key words and teaches the OED

Tags:

OED

Mindmap

Oxford English Dictionary

Research

Literature

Teaching Context (Juxtaposition) with Video Mash

Roberts — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:34:43 +0000

Author:

Michael Roberts

Image Credit:

Screen shot of youtubedoubler.com

Brief Assignment Overview:

By doubling a class text video with another seemingly unrelated video, students learn about how context (or juxtaposition) can affect a text's meaning.

Type of Assignment:

Homework Assignment

Assignment Length:

Partial Class Period

Single Class Period

One-Two Class Periods

Pedagogical Goals - Rhetoric:

Arrangement

Audience

Pedagogical Goals - Literature:

Pedagogical Goals - Digital Literacy:

Open Access Software

Remediation

Video

Additional Pedagogical Goals:

This is a nice icebreaking way to discuss the effect a context can have on the reception and interpretation of a text.

The assignment can also be used to teach more formal devices, such as juxaposition in literature or montage in film.

Media Requirements:

Media Console/Projector

Required Materials:

Computer console to show assignment and then review work the following day.

If you use this as an in-class activity, then the students will all need their own computers.

YouTubeDoubler

Timeline for Optimal Use:

Mid-Semester

Full Assignment Description:

At the end of a class in which you have discussed a short piece of writing (I use a poem, but this could really work with anything that you can find in a video... a speech, scene from a play, etc), pull up a video version of the piece. You could either have shot this, made the students make it, or found it on youtube. Ideally you would have discussed this writing and done a formal reading of it.

Discuss how the reading you had come up with as a class is based on certain contextual elements, such as the history you have been reading, the history of the genre, or the conventions of the Literature/Rhetoric classroom. Ask the students how they might react differently to the text/poem if they encountered it on a billboard, greeting card, horror film, etc. Would they read it? Would they respond to it differently? Would its meaning be different?

Finally, tell the students that their assignment it to try to radically change the meaning of the text/poem by placing it in a different context through juxtaposition. How would it change if set to heavy metal music? Played over a speech by Obama? A speech by Hitler? How would the text be different in World of Warcraft? Encourage students to be creative and find contexts that are relevant or interesting to them. This is their chance to take the academic or esoteric and recontextualize it. (This is especially interesting/worthwhile if you are teaching "old" literature). Show your sample video and how youtube doubler works. Tell them that they need to come in the next week with the videos doubled and an explanation as to how the primary text's meaning changes in the new context.

The next week, take volunteers to show their youtube videos. Most of the assignments will be funny, so indulge in the humor but then ask why the juxtaposition is funny. What does Shakespeare have to do with Katy Perry? What do the two texts say about each other? Why? If you like, you can also examine juxtaposition, quotation, or montages as rhetotical or literary strategies. Ideally you should go through 4+ student examples, taking 1/2 a class to a full class period.

Suggestions for Instructor Preparation:

Make sure you have the video of the primary text ready to show the class... maybe you have been using it already before you give the assignment. It is also helpful to come up with your own youtube doubling, to show them how the website works and give them ideas as to how they might juxtapose the videos. Ideally this should be a funny example to loosen things up.

Instructions For Students:

We have just spent the day discussing the formal elements of [name of text]. But we have been doing so from a particular perspective, as college students considering [x] or looking for [y]. How might you interpret this text differently if you saw it in another context, or compared it to something seemingly . For our next class, I want you to juxtapose the video of this text with another video that makes some commentary on the text's meaning. Youc an select a music video, political speech, anything... just as long as you think it affects the meaning of the primary text in an interesting way. Bring in your own Youtube doubling and be ready to explain to the class why you made the selection that you did. Again, your secondary video can be as close or distant to your primary video as you like, as long as it says something interesting about it. Have fun!

Evaluation Suggestions:

This assignment is so tiny that I use it wholly as a conversation starter. I do make sure that all students have completed the assignment though.

Notes on Reception, Execution, etc.:

Students generally love the assignment because they get to display their proficiency in a technology they all know well: Youtube. Most of them try to be as funny as possible with their juxtaposition, with mixed results. This creates a friendly, open discussion environment, though, which is the primary benefit of the assignment. It is pretty easy to get helpful discussion of context even out of the poorly done assignments. I do think it is important to require them all to use the same first video, though, to keep things grounded.

Course Type:

Introductory Writing Course

Literary Studies Course

Course Description:

I have this in mind for a tech-ready literature (poetry) class, but the assignment is broad enough for any class, really. The relationship between text and context is something to discuss in any literature or rhetoric class.

Tags: