Hannah Ferrara

Module three was primarily focused on transforming understanding into picture and comic form. Rather than giving a "boring," writing assignment to show understanding and comprehension of a novel, the readings within this module showed online resources to take comprehension to the next level. Within the first part of the module, we read two pieces of work regarding the transformation of ideas into pictures. The one article that stood out to me was  Comics, the Cannon and the Classroom  by James Bucky Carter, because it focused on making the reading of Cannon classics a little bit easier and more fun. As a student, I can remember dreading my reading assignments from time to time because I found reading old classics a tad boring and disinteresting. In my case, my teachers did not really do much to make the classics more fun to read. All I really remember doing was having an in class discussion about what we read. Although discussions can be very valuable, I found that students...

Within the second unit, the class readings and discussions were primarily based around transforming ideas into different mediums such as drawings or symbols as well as collaboration within the classroom. All of the readings also had the same common theme of keeping assignments interesting to students so that they stay engaged within the classroom.  In our first reading, "I just need to draw," by Kathy G. Short, Gloria Kauffman and Leslie H. Kahn, the idea of transforming understanding into pictures as well as other mediums was portrayed. Students would read a text, have a discussion and create a drawing that reflected their understanding of what they had read. I feel very strongly about this article because every child is not the same and as a future educator, it is our goal to cater to ever student’s needs. One student may be a very strong test taker and not a great public speaker, while another student may be very good at contributing to class discussions and not a ve...

Hi! My name is Hannah Ferrara and I am a sophomore at Slippery Rock University. I was born in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, but as of right now I live in Hershey, Pennsylvania. (Yes, Hershey as in the chocolate bar.) I am currently in the process of changing my major to from Undecided to Secondary English Education and I could not be more excited about it. I created this blog for my Non-Print Media class and I will be posting reflections after every unit about what we learn in class. I have not blogged before nor have I used this blogging site, so bare with me. -Hannah  ✿

Coming into this class, I was not too sure as to what we would be learning about. Right away with the first assignment, I was already excited for this semester in Non-Print Media. This Unit was focused on how we, as future educators, can cater to our students and offer different ways of learning through technology as well as trans mediation. Although I had a good idea as to what the topics were generally about, this unit went into depth and taught me more about how I can use these ideas within the classroom. Within the first two readings, Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age: Inspiration for all levels and literacies  by Mark Gura and Create, Compose, Connect!: Reading, writing, and learning with digital tools by Jeremy Tyler and Troy Hicks,  integrating technology within classrooms was the main topic. There seems to be a strong debate with whether or not classrooms should incorporate technology within lesson plans and day to day schooling. Growing up in the...