I think it is so funny that this article was published in 2011! Even if you read the whole thing and substitute "Facebook" for the word "MySpace," it's still kind of a yawn. Creating a Facebook page for a character from a book is one of the few ways we knew of for using technology with our students before we started this class ("uhh... show them youtube clips... use powerpoints... have them submit essays on google drive and give them feedback that way... have them make a powerpoint for a project... oh! have them make a facebook/twitter/blog from a character's POV!" we said.) The thing I found most surprising in this article is that the teachers used a MySpace page in lieu of an essay, which I would be extremely hesitant about. In addition to, sure. I do think that such an assignment would both engage students and get them thinking about their characters in more complicated ways. It's awesome that Barb and Caitlin noticed that in their students, and this article certainly got me jazzed on the possibilities of such an assignment. I guess the main reason I don't think it's interchangeable with an essay is because I don't assign essays about character analysis. Thinking deeply about characters is certainly an important component of an essay, but essays are for exploring broader themes, and/or author's craft, so in my mind a character profile is not an adequate substitute.
Regardless, here are nuggets I appreciated in addition to the tales of highly engaged students:
-Don't operate under the assumption that everyone is familiar with the social medium in question. You can still do the assignment, but be very explicit about the format (e.g. if I'm asking them to tweet on paper, tell them it has to be 140 characters or less.)
-Choosing '"self-representative' multimedia texts for their webpages (songs, blogs) reveals complexities in communication and representation that surpass print-based composition." I do think this is true, when character analysis is the goal. Doing the networking for your character (figuring out who they would friend, what groups they would join, what their status updates would be and what they would list in their "favorites") is certainly much more complex than, say, making a poster or writing a paragraph about them.
I do think, though, that Barb's point that "contemporary assignments designed to address students' out-of-school new literacies could generate apathy rather than interest" is very likely. I'm glad they addressed the novelty of this assignment in this article, because I do think that contrived-feeling uses of technology often seem disingenuous to students, and this would likely be the case if they had 1-5 "fun! social media projects each year. I think the best thing to take away from this article is that if you can find a way to use technology that will get your students excited, do it! Their interactions with the text will probably (hopefully) be increasingly complex and authentic for it. However, don't take that engagement for granted. Watch to see if it's really taking place.
Regardless, here are nuggets I appreciated in addition to the tales of highly engaged students:
-Don't operate under the assumption that everyone is familiar with the social medium in question. You can still do the assignment, but be very explicit about the format (e.g. if I'm asking them to tweet on paper, tell them it has to be 140 characters or less.)
-Choosing '"self-representative' multimedia texts for their webpages (songs, blogs) reveals complexities in communication and representation that surpass print-based composition." I do think this is true, when character analysis is the goal. Doing the networking for your character (figuring out who they would friend, what groups they would join, what their status updates would be and what they would list in their "favorites") is certainly much more complex than, say, making a poster or writing a paragraph about them.
I do think, though, that Barb's point that "contemporary assignments designed to address students' out-of-school new literacies could generate apathy rather than interest" is very likely. I'm glad they addressed the novelty of this assignment in this article, because I do think that contrived-feeling uses of technology often seem disingenuous to students, and this would likely be the case if they had 1-5 "fun! social media projects each year. I think the best thing to take away from this article is that if you can find a way to use technology that will get your students excited, do it! Their interactions with the text will probably (hopefully) be increasingly complex and authentic for it. However, don't take that engagement for granted. Watch to see if it's really taking place.
Evan,
ReplyDeletePerhaps, because of my Luddite status, I felt somewhat affirmed by this article and the relevance it lent to a Facebook/MySpace character analysis like the one Lewis described, but your criticism has honestly given me a new found appreciation for the limitations of such a project. I, too, am not one to assign essays based on character analysis. Although I do think it is an important component of literacy analysis. So, I suppose for me the lingering allure for me stems from the idea that this project might provide students with a good opportunity to try on a new lens and view the text from another perspective. Still, I agree that it is not sufficient as an end-unit assessment.