Graphic Novel Recommendation Magazine Fall 2010

Open publication - Free publishing - More novel

TED Talks_Education

These are the final two TED Talks that I would have shown in class for our last two weeks together. Due to time constraints I'm going to embed them here for you to browse on your own.

Coraline: The Graphic Novel

Joseph Campbell wrote the bookThe Hero With a Thousand Faces which was a study of world hero myths. Campbell found that all story-telling, consciously or not, follows the ancient patterns of myth, and that all stories, from the crudest jokes to the highest flights of literature, can be understood in terms of the hero myth; the “monomyth” whose principles he lays out in the book.

The theme of the hero myth is universal, occurring in every culture, in every time; it is as infinitely varied as the human race itself; and yet its basic form remains the same, an incredibly tenacious set of elements that spring in endless repetition from the deepest reaches of the mind of man.

The repeating characters of the hero myth such as the young hero, the wise old man or woman, the shape-shifting woman or man, and the shadowy antagonist are identical with the archetypes of the human mind, as revealed in dreams. That’s why myths, and stories constructed on the mythological model, strike us as psychologically true.

This accounts for the universal power of such stories. Stories built on the model of the hero myth have an appeal that can be felt by everyone, because they spring from a universal source in the collective unconscious, and because they reflect universal concerns. They deal with the child-like but universal questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Where will I go when I die? What is good and what is evil? What must I do about it? What will tomorrow be like? Where did yesterday go? Is there anybody else out there?

The idea imbedded in mythology and identified by Campbell in The Hero With a Thousand Faces can be applied to understanding any human problem. The are a great key to life as well as being a major tool for dealing more effectively with a mass audience.

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Please choose only ONE of the following blog's to read on Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey 12 step cycle. These blogs were the most concise versions of the "Hero's Journey" that I could find on the internet. I do not subscribe to these blogs or know anything about these blog authors beyond these two posts.

http://vajrakrishna.wordpress.com/2010/09/07/follow-your-bliss-idiots-guide-to-heros-journey/ (This one is the simple version- I liked it the best)

https://revolutionmagik.wordpress.com/2010/09/07/the-heros-journey/ (The longer & more in-depth version of the 1st blog post)

1. Consider your reading of Coraline in relation to Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey. In what ways do you see intersections and/or connections to some of the stages of Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey?

2. Consider our viewing of Chihiro's journey in the animated movie Spirited Away. What intersections and/or connections, if any, can you make to the graphic novel Coraline?

3. Name one other character from a book, graphic novel, play or movie that comes to your mind when you consider Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey and briefly describe why this character comes to mind for you.

7 Things You Should Know About.....Prezi Links

Please add your Prezi link, educational examples and/or links by posting a comment under this section for your group.

We will utilize this blog site during your partner presentation for efficiency purposes.

Will Eisner Post

Selected quotes from the Forward of Eisner's book:

This work (Eisner's book) is intended to consider and examine the unique aesthetics of sequential art as a means of creative expression, a distinct discipline, an art and literary form that deals with the arrangement of pictures or images and words to narrate a story or dramatize an idea. It is interesting to note that sequential art has only fairly recently emerged as a discernible discipline alongside filmmaking, to which it is truly a frontrunner. 

Comics have undoubtedly enjoyed wide popularity worldwide. However, for reasons having much to do with usage, subject matter and perceived audience, sequential art was for many decades generally ignored as a form worthy of scholarly discussion.  While each of the major integral elements, such as design, drawing and caricature and writing, have separately found academic consideration, this unique combination to a long time to find a place in the literary, art and comparative literature curriculums.  I believe that the reason for slow critical acceptance sat as much on the shoulders of the practitioners as the critics.  

Questions for Blog Response:

As a reader, engaging with Eisner's chapters:

(1) What surprises you?  

(2) What challenges you?

(3) What frustrates you?

(4) What do you appreciate?

Ecoliteracy

Please read all the Ecoliteracy links and essays prior to responding this week and respond to BOTH questions:

1. In addition to environmental knowledge, education for sustainability includes the acquisition of particular skills, values, and vision needed to put that knowledge into practice.  Education for sustainable living cultivates competencies of head, heart, hands, and spirit to enable children to develop toward becoming citizens capable of designing and maintaining sustainable societies.  Which of the competencies listed at http://www.ecoliteracy.org/education/competencies.html would you list as a strength in your current or ideal pedagogy? Why?

2. After reading David W. Orr's essay please respond to ONE of the quotes listed below.  What resonates with you as an educator?

A. Genuine leaders, including those in the media, must summon the people with all of their flaws to a level of extraordinary achievement appropriate to an extraordinarily dangerous time. They must ask people, otherwise highly knowledgeable about the latest foibles of celebrities, to be active citizens again, to know more, think more deeply, take responsibility, participate publicly, and, from time to time sacrifice.

OR

B. Telling the truth requires leaders at all levels to speak clearly about the causes of our failures that have led us to the brink of disaster. If we fail to treat the underlying causes, no small remedies will save us for long. The problems can in one way or another be traced to the irresponsible exercise of power that has excluded the rights of the poor, the disenfranchised, and every generation after our own. 

OR

C. Transformational leadership in the largest crisis humankind has ever faced means summoning people to a higher vision than that of the affluent consumer society. Consider the well-studied but little-noted gap between the stagnant or falling trend line of American happiness in the last half century and that of rising GNP. That gap ought to have reinforced the ancient message that, beyond some point, more is not better.

Visual Literacy

According to Martin Scorcese, "we should make room for film in curriculum. What you are doing is training the eye and the heart of the student to look at film in a different way by asking questions and pointing to different ideas, different concepts. You're training them to think about a story that is told in visual terms in a different way, and to take it seriously.  It is so important, I think, because so much in today's society is communicated visually and even subliminally. Young people have to know that this way of communicating is a very, very powerful tool."

In an ideal educational setting where (a) there were no restrictions on what type of movie you could show students and (b) you are able to facilitate the discussions regarding the movie without constraints, which movie would you recommend that students must view BEFORE they graduate high school?  

Please consider any movie regardless of genre, violence or sexual content.  Why would you recommend that movie?

The Continuum of Self-Efficacy in Educational Technology

Today, the NCTE definition of 21st century literacies makes it clear that further evolution of curriculum, assessment, and teaching practice itself is necessary.

Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy. Because technology has increased the intensity and complexity of literate environments, the twenty-first century demands that a literate person possess a wide range of abilities and competencies, many literacies. These literacies—from reading online newspapers to participating in virtual classrooms—are multiple, dynamic, and malleable. As in the past, they are inextricably linked with particular histories, life possibilities, and social trajectories of individuals and groups. 

Twenty-first century readers and writers need to:

• Develop proficiency with the tools of technology

• Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-culturally

• Design and share information for global communities to meet a variety of purposes

• Manage, analyze, and synthesize multiple streams of simultaneous information

• Create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts

• Attend to the ethical responsibilities required by these complex environments

Question for Blog Response:

Self-efficacy is the belief that one is capable of performing in a certain manner to attain certain goals.  It is a belief that one has the capabilities to execute the courses of actions required to manage prospective situations in the future.  Psychologist Albert Bandura has defined self-efficacy as one's belief in one's ability to succeed in specific situations.  One's sense of self-efficacy can play a major role in how one approaches goals, tasks, and challenges.  According to Bandura's theory (social cognitive), people with high self-efficacy- that is, those who believe they can perform well- are more likely to view difficult tasks as something to be mastered rather than something to be avoided.

Consider the list of skill sets generated above from NCTE that students will need to master before graduating to be considered productive and literate citizens in the 21st century.  In what way(s) is our course shaping your own self-efficacy regarding multiple literacies and your approach to teaching these skills to your own students (current or future)?

Exploring New Technology

1. Please list the strengths and drawbacks of the Google Application you explored this week. (I've emailed you 3 attachments that will support your exploration and use of these Google Applications.)

2. Please list the strengths and drawbacks of the Alternative to Youtube Application you explored this week. (I've sent you a separate email list of 47 Alternatives to using Youtube in a classroom).

Please remember to bring your laptop to class on Tuesday so we can continue our inquiry into educational technology support!

21st Century Educators

1) Any struggles/challenges in completing your Google Presentation powerpoint?

2) What resonated most with you regarding the article you were selected to read this week? The term resonated does not mean that you agree or disagree with the statement but it did have an impact upon you of some kind.

3) Pose one question that you have from your article. Please do not answer it. Just write one question or wondering that may have come up during your reading. Thanks!

Information Literacy

The American Library Association's (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy, Final Report (1989) states, "To be information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information"

Please respond to both of the questions below:

1. As a graduate student what part(s) of the research process that includes obtaining information online are you successful or challenged by in conducting your own research for assignments: (a) recognizing when information is needed, (b) the ability to locate information, (c) evaluating information and/or (d) effectively using the information?

3. In your opinion (and previous experience) which one is most difficult for students (and WHY?): (a) recognizing when information is needed, (b) the ability to locate information, (c) evaluating information or (d) effectively using the information.

Introduction Post- Welcome to Our Community

In your introduction post please include your name, teaching experience and choose ONE of the three questions to respond to in your own blog response:

(1) What is the most interesting trip that you have taken thus far?  Why?

(2) We interviewed the person in your life who knows you the best. What do you believe they listed as your top three attributes as a human being?  What evidence did they provide?

(3) What is a tradition from your own childhood that you believe should be passed on to the next generation?

Working Definition of Multiple Literacies

The term "multiple literacies" refers to the many kinds of texts and literacy practices that are intertwined with contemporary life.  Some examples of text under the term multiple literacies include: classics and postmodern literature, fiction and non-fiction trade books, newspapers, magazines, web pages, PowerPoint, e-mail, IM, cell phones (text), graphic novels, video games, podcasts, video, film, fanfiction, memes, drama and poetry slams.