Posts

#8 - And the winner is...

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When we were first assigned to start up our own blog, I felt a bit hesitant at the idea. I think I was under the assumption that blogging would just be an extension of a weekly discussion post, which tend to be dry and lack any level of personality shining through. But as this semester has progressed, I realized I was totally wrong and blogging is actually, maybe, slightly, fun. Although we had prompts to follow and requirements to check off, blogging offered the opportunity to get creative and not focus so heavily on trying to sound correct (however you define that). There was less pressure and I never dreaded having to sit down and write a post, which is a win in my book. Speaking of winning, here are my choices for best post in… Professionalism: Blog Post #1 – The Digital Landscape Seeing as this was my first post, I definitely leaned more into the professional aspect in including sources and evidence and really hitting all the requirements 110%. This acts as the first impres...
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#7 - Eco Narratives

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For this project, I chose a mix of picture books and one novel: One Plastic Bag by Miranda Paul, A Voice for the Everglades by Vicki Conrad, and Hoot by Carl Hiaasen. Responding digitally made engaging with these texts even more enjoyable and pushed me to explore the books while focusing on different features. Especially in the case of picture books where the story relies heavily on the visual aspect, I found myself connecting the sparse text to the vivid images and drawing meaning from the emotions meant to be elicited. I did end up responding by creating a zine in which I review the books and their many themes, but the designing element of a zine and including images related to the books provided a refreshing twist to the typical written response.  Here is a link to the zine review I created: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGBJaZnvds/dwcen310zS_nZIyoDk4aEw/view?utm_content=DAGBJaZnvds&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=editor In terms of amplifying ...
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#5 - How to: Writing Coach

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Upon hearing that I would be working with student writers this semester, I experienced a mixture of anticipation for what type of assignments I would receive and reflection in regard to my own writing skills. I felt excited to have this opportunity to dive into real student writing from the demographic that I hope to teach one day, but I also began to consider what insights I could offer to these young writers. I may be older and have more experience in writing compared to them, but I had only ever provided informal feedback to peers and friends. Before undertaking this role, it was important for me to take into account how I could effectively recognize the writing skills belonging to an unfamiliar set of students, while also identifying areas where they needed improvement. I also wondered about whether my students would want to utilize having a writing coach, but after receiving their initial introduction emails and assignments, I immediately noticed how excited they seemed to be ab...
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#4 - Digital Storytelling (crowd cheers)

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Digital storytelling was a very rare treat presented to me in school. Beyond the standard PowerPoint (or Prezi, if you wanted to get really fancy), there were not many opportunities to explore different modes of storytelling in class until later in high school and only recently in college. Most of my experience is personal from watching video essays and booktalks or creating and designing infographics. Until recently, presenting information for an assignment was strictly completed through research papers (or if you want to get fancy again – short answer questions).   The digital media examples I mentioned above have always appealed to me both as a creator and as a consumer of media. Video essays are informative and insightful while also remaining engaging, and depending on the narrator’s personality, can be humorous as well. Here is a link to a content creator whose video essays I enjoy . The same can be applied to booktalks, which provide a creative spin on book reviews. Infograph...
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#3 - Writing...

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There is no other love-hate relationship than the one between myself and writing. On one end, there is the satisfaction of successfully expressing your thoughts in writing, fully believing you have conquered writer’s block and should begin brainstorming ideas for a future novel. On the other end, the planning and organizing of ideas, the blockages, and the dreaded page count unite and have you seriously second-guessing that novel idea. In saying this, my writing process, and level of stress, depends on the type of writing I am working through.     Academic writing requires the most planning and consideration, usually beginning with a deep, centering breath before I jump in. First, I’ll start with narrowing down my central idea and thesis. This helps me during my next step, which is creating a rough outline of the topics I’ll need to cover. Once I have my main idea and an outline of my paper, I focus on the individual sections of my outline and write down the main points for e...
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#2 - Who I Am

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G rowing up, I did not always consider myself a reader. I never felt pulled toward the material we read in class or the writing assignments we were given. I realized that feeling primarily stemmed from there rarely being room for exploration as a student. It wasn’t until I entered high school that I discovered the vast landscape of the book world and all that it offered to someone like me, who yearned for a place I could escape to (even in my imagination). I found that there was so much more to reading than I thought, with endless genres that I had never even considered. It was a turning point for me and I somewhat owe it all to my English and History teacher. They encouraged students to seek out the topics that interested them most when choosing novels, and more importantly they tried to instill in students a mindset that reminded them that the possibilities are endless. That mindset has shaped my perspective when it comes to reading and writing, especially in terms of how I encoura...
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#1 - The Digital Landscape

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Social media and the internet are commonly discussed in the context of being a double-edged sword. Nearly all young people are on social media , be it Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Snapchat, and while the youth are more connected to the world than ever before, there is a constant debate over whether there is such a thing as being too connected.  Social media platforms have evolved in recent years, shifting from being a way to update friends and followers with bits and pieces of your daily life and into a beast of information sharing. When I was in high school, Twitter and Instagram were the most commonly used platforms but in a way that is vastly different from what we see today. There were notable changes in the way people began to utilize the platforms, but not that many people were even on the apps yet to consider it a significant way to disseminate information beyond your social circle. On the other hand, today’s current events, breaking news, and world conflicts can be sh...
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