✍ Unit Reflection 6 ✍
Unit 6 primarily consisted of using Public Service Announcements (PSA's) among other multimodal assignments within the classroom. Also, the PSA's were used as a pre-writing activity into more formal, argumentative writing pieces.
Within Convince Me! Valuing Multimodal Literacies and Composing Public Service Announcements by Richard J. Selfe and Cynthia L. Selfe, the idea of using PSA's as well as other multimodal assignments is brought up. For kids today, technology is apparent in most classrooms as well as outside the classroom, too. Teachers these days are starting to integrate technology within their classrooms and create assignments that involve technology. Selfe mentions that students learn best when they read and compose in different ways. Therefore, by using different platforms such as videos, podcasts and pictures, students can identify new and effective forms of literacy. Although our world has become more technology dependent, it does not mean that we must forget about simple writing assignments. Technology was not put on this Earth to devalue pencil and paper writing, it was made to enhance our abilities. That is why it is important to have a mix of "this," and "that," within the curriculum, "this," being pencil and paper writing assignments and "that," being multimodal assignments, according to Selfe. We, as future teachers, must realize that our job is to prepare students for the real world by teaching them skills that will make them victorious in the future. Therefore, by integrating technology and using a "this," and "that," curriculum, we will keep students engaged and ensure their success in the future.
With that being said, PSA's are an effective, fun and valuable assignment to do within the classroom. Students get the chance to pick a topic that they feel strong about and create something they can be proud of. They are quick, easy to make and can be very influential even with a simple design. Modalities of communication, such as PSA's, help students understand the world around them. Also, different forms of media, such as videos and podcasts, cater to all types of learners and comfort levels. A child gets the chance to choose a platform that they feel the most comfortable using, therefore, it gives the chance for the student to excel and succeed with the assignment.
In chapter 13 of Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age by Mark Gura, he explained a way to improve his students argumentative writing through blog posts. For the assignment, Gura would propose a controversial topic that most students could discuss and have an opinion on. These topics included the school dress code or even school rules. After proposing the possible topics, Gura's students would create an elaborate post on their point of view on the topic as well as comment on their fellow classmates' posts and have a discussion. Whenever the students had finished their online discussions and completed their own blog posts, Gura would go in and leave constructive criticism on their posts. I find immense value in blog posts and blog discussions because it gives the shy students who otherwise do not participate within the class discussions to have a say within the blog. Blogs, whether for academic or personal purposes, gives everyone a voice and a chance to say everything that they think about a certain topic. Also, since students commented on each other's blog posts, it gave students the chance to elaborate and say everything they wanted to regarding the topic. Activities such as this are incredibly beneficial because the conversation could be never ending and students can see their fellow classmates views on the topic they are discussing. By seeing other sides of the prompt, it opens up a new understanding for the student. Lastly, since Gura could read and distribute constructive criticism, it gave the students time to work on and improve their writing skills before they wrote their final argumentative paper. I find immense value in assignments regarding online discussions because I am a huge fan of every student having a voice. Being able to sit down, sift through your thoughts and create an elaborate, detailed response including everything you wanted to say is more beneficial than an in class discussion. Although in class discussions are important, the mix of in class and online discussions will keep students engaged and interested in the topic the teacher will be teaching.
In Learning Argument Practices through Online Role-Play by Richard Beach and Candance Doerr-Stevens, the importance of argument is portrayed. An important literary practice, is being able to write effective argumentative pieces. Since high school, I have always been told that good writers are able to take a stance on an argument and persuade others to believe what the writer believes. Although it may be hard to get to the argumentative style of writing, this article showed some activities to help collaborate and formulate ideas for an argument piece of writing. For instance, the idea of collaborative arguments was brought up. In order to come to a consensus on an argument, a group of people all share their beliefs and stances on the dispute. By doing this, not only will group members see other sides of the argument, but they will also have an idea of what to say to persuade people to feel the same way they do. Also, by choosing a topic that you feel strongly about, such as sports or something going on at your school, it will be easier to stay engaged and grab others' attention, too. Finding ways to teach argument is hard, but activities like these make it easier. Choosing topics that are controversial and well known create great discussion that can be carried over to writing. I am a huge fan of the activities mentioned in this article!
At the very end of this unit, we took what we had read and learned about and transformed it into our very own PSA assignment. For my own PSA, I chose the topic of underage drunk driving and drunk driving in general. I chose this topic because someone I went to school right across from and knew died while driving drunk. Part of me felt responsible for her death because the night she died, she had been posting Snapchat stories of herself drinking with keys in her hand. The next day, I woke up and found out she had died hours after those Snapchats were posted. Drunk driving is very serious and I feel as though kids and adults these days have the "I'm okay, I drunk drive all the time," attitude. People do not truly understand the consequences until they experience them themselves.
Regarding the layout of my PSA, I chose to create a road sign on a busy highway that listed directions to the local jail, hospital and cemetery. Along with that, I wrote "there are only so many exits for drunk drivers," at the very bottom of the PSA to emphasize the fact that drunk driving will mostly always have a bad consequence such as the ones listed on the sign. I found so much value in this assignment because I was able to create something to raise awareness about a topic I feel strongly about and I also got to take what I had learned and transformed it into a piece of art. I see this assignment being a great pre-write activity for an argumentative paper in the future.
Overall, I really loved this unit because the PSA assignment can be used in multiple ways; as a pre-write activity or the main activity that other assignments can be based off of. Every time I write a reflection, I am always so excited to use whatever I had learned in that unit in my future classroom. In fact, I will most definitely be using a form of the PSA assignment in the future because I truly enjoyed it that much.
Within Convince Me! Valuing Multimodal Literacies and Composing Public Service Announcements by Richard J. Selfe and Cynthia L. Selfe, the idea of using PSA's as well as other multimodal assignments is brought up. For kids today, technology is apparent in most classrooms as well as outside the classroom, too. Teachers these days are starting to integrate technology within their classrooms and create assignments that involve technology. Selfe mentions that students learn best when they read and compose in different ways. Therefore, by using different platforms such as videos, podcasts and pictures, students can identify new and effective forms of literacy. Although our world has become more technology dependent, it does not mean that we must forget about simple writing assignments. Technology was not put on this Earth to devalue pencil and paper writing, it was made to enhance our abilities. That is why it is important to have a mix of "this," and "that," within the curriculum, "this," being pencil and paper writing assignments and "that," being multimodal assignments, according to Selfe. We, as future teachers, must realize that our job is to prepare students for the real world by teaching them skills that will make them victorious in the future. Therefore, by integrating technology and using a "this," and "that," curriculum, we will keep students engaged and ensure their success in the future.
With that being said, PSA's are an effective, fun and valuable assignment to do within the classroom. Students get the chance to pick a topic that they feel strong about and create something they can be proud of. They are quick, easy to make and can be very influential even with a simple design. Modalities of communication, such as PSA's, help students understand the world around them. Also, different forms of media, such as videos and podcasts, cater to all types of learners and comfort levels. A child gets the chance to choose a platform that they feel the most comfortable using, therefore, it gives the chance for the student to excel and succeed with the assignment.
In chapter 13 of Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age by Mark Gura, he explained a way to improve his students argumentative writing through blog posts. For the assignment, Gura would propose a controversial topic that most students could discuss and have an opinion on. These topics included the school dress code or even school rules. After proposing the possible topics, Gura's students would create an elaborate post on their point of view on the topic as well as comment on their fellow classmates' posts and have a discussion. Whenever the students had finished their online discussions and completed their own blog posts, Gura would go in and leave constructive criticism on their posts. I find immense value in blog posts and blog discussions because it gives the shy students who otherwise do not participate within the class discussions to have a say within the blog. Blogs, whether for academic or personal purposes, gives everyone a voice and a chance to say everything that they think about a certain topic. Also, since students commented on each other's blog posts, it gave students the chance to elaborate and say everything they wanted to regarding the topic. Activities such as this are incredibly beneficial because the conversation could be never ending and students can see their fellow classmates views on the topic they are discussing. By seeing other sides of the prompt, it opens up a new understanding for the student. Lastly, since Gura could read and distribute constructive criticism, it gave the students time to work on and improve their writing skills before they wrote their final argumentative paper. I find immense value in assignments regarding online discussions because I am a huge fan of every student having a voice. Being able to sit down, sift through your thoughts and create an elaborate, detailed response including everything you wanted to say is more beneficial than an in class discussion. Although in class discussions are important, the mix of in class and online discussions will keep students engaged and interested in the topic the teacher will be teaching.
In Learning Argument Practices through Online Role-Play by Richard Beach and Candance Doerr-Stevens, the importance of argument is portrayed. An important literary practice, is being able to write effective argumentative pieces. Since high school, I have always been told that good writers are able to take a stance on an argument and persuade others to believe what the writer believes. Although it may be hard to get to the argumentative style of writing, this article showed some activities to help collaborate and formulate ideas for an argument piece of writing. For instance, the idea of collaborative arguments was brought up. In order to come to a consensus on an argument, a group of people all share their beliefs and stances on the dispute. By doing this, not only will group members see other sides of the argument, but they will also have an idea of what to say to persuade people to feel the same way they do. Also, by choosing a topic that you feel strongly about, such as sports or something going on at your school, it will be easier to stay engaged and grab others' attention, too. Finding ways to teach argument is hard, but activities like these make it easier. Choosing topics that are controversial and well known create great discussion that can be carried over to writing. I am a huge fan of the activities mentioned in this article!
At the very end of this unit, we took what we had read and learned about and transformed it into our very own PSA assignment. For my own PSA, I chose the topic of underage drunk driving and drunk driving in general. I chose this topic because someone I went to school right across from and knew died while driving drunk. Part of me felt responsible for her death because the night she died, she had been posting Snapchat stories of herself drinking with keys in her hand. The next day, I woke up and found out she had died hours after those Snapchats were posted. Drunk driving is very serious and I feel as though kids and adults these days have the "I'm okay, I drunk drive all the time," attitude. People do not truly understand the consequences until they experience them themselves.
Regarding the layout of my PSA, I chose to create a road sign on a busy highway that listed directions to the local jail, hospital and cemetery. Along with that, I wrote "there are only so many exits for drunk drivers," at the very bottom of the PSA to emphasize the fact that drunk driving will mostly always have a bad consequence such as the ones listed on the sign. I found so much value in this assignment because I was able to create something to raise awareness about a topic I feel strongly about and I also got to take what I had learned and transformed it into a piece of art. I see this assignment being a great pre-write activity for an argumentative paper in the future.
Overall, I really loved this unit because the PSA assignment can be used in multiple ways; as a pre-write activity or the main activity that other assignments can be based off of. Every time I write a reflection, I am always so excited to use whatever I had learned in that unit in my future classroom. In fact, I will most definitely be using a form of the PSA assignment in the future because I truly enjoyed it that much.
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