Ethan Smith - Non-Print Media Fall 22

 During unit four, my peers and I explored the relationship between non-print media and research. Research was always something that intimidated me in school for I was never truly taught how to conduct it. I do not believe that this unit alongside its readings strengthened my research abilities by much, however, I do believe that they hold some valuable information and ideas.  In the article Through a New Lens: Students as Primary Researchers, we are given a hypothetical of two students writing a report on fad diets. In the hypothetical, one student uses secondary sources, and the second student utilizes primary sources. Through the use of DV (digital video) the second student is able to record and rewatch meetings and interviews that they take part in. These recordings allow the student to absorb much more information from their sources than they would by just taking notes. I believe that students acting as the primary researchers is something that I believe should be encoura...

While social media is a very familiar subject to most students in the United States, integrating it into the classroom is still a very new idea that older educators especially are not yet too comfortable with. I agree with the fact that social media has the ability to be a powerful tool in the education space due to its relatability within the student body, however, I believe that the bad will outweigh the good when integrating social media resulting in an inflated amount of distraction.  During class, we talked about memes and how they could be used as a way to visualize students' thoughts. We compared the content of the article about memes being used to study literature called Memes as Means: Using Popular Culture to Enhance the Study of Literature  and in my opinion, the article discussed the creation of visual aids or representations rather than memes. In my personal experiences, memes have always been humor focused often on the context of the included text within the pict...

Multimodal composition involves compiling a variety of texts in order to communicate an idea to a specific audience. Throughout our unit in class, my peers and I were exposed to a number of strategies to aid us with multimodal composition, however, what stood out to me was the use of drama and stageplay to aid students in learning.  When I watched the documentary  A Touch of Greatness, I saw how well young minds were able to grasp complex topics when presented to them in a way that allowed them to interact and engage in exploration with their peers. Seeing how a class of grade school students was able to portray Julius Ceasar so elegantly proved to me that having the right mindset and attitude will allow any teacher effectively teach their subjects to anyone. Instructional drama is also portrayed in the article A Dramatic Approach to Learning: Teaching in Role. Similar to A Touch of Greatness, this article begins by walking us through an improvised scene consisting of a  ...