Last Class/Self Evaluation

I asked everyone in class to post a self-evaluation to reflect on her/his work this semester. It was totally enjoyable to read them, mostly because they were all upbeat, so that boosted my li'l ego. But then I thought I could probably do the same...Evaluate myself and what I'd like to do better next time.

What worked:

1. Group exercises
2. In-class writing assignments
3. Blogs focused on creativity (i.e. the painting + story piece)
4. Snacks
5. Listening to Homecoming and being able to discuss

What needs improvement:

1. Need more shared language or ideas. I feel like I should spend more time in class talking about creative writing specifically, and possibly asking students to read more. We talk a lot about technology and I showed a few videos, but we didn't read any fiction, or poetry, and only one essay, "The Fourth State of Matter."

2. Need more hands-on time with technology. This is difficult, because people are working on different platforms, and I felt like, in the class before this last one, half the students were using the time to focus on the project, but not all were--either because they didn't have what they needed or weren't quite prepared.  I am a control freak, so if someone is even sort of not paying attention, I want to snap them back. Perhaps I can figure out a way to do short projects in class that require technology.

3. I need to practice two things (a). allowing for silence. (b). slowing down and going through assignments. If I even feel like students are restless, I want to shift gears, but that means we don't cover things that may be slightly more "boring." It's hard for both me and for the students to maintain 100 watt energy in a class of this length, so I need to stop trying to be entertaining, and allow for some more absorption of information.

4. I never did watch that dumb movie, even though I said I would try. 

Most memorable moments:

1. Any of the times I got to see class projects. I loved the variation of approaches and the creativity--the use of color or no color, music or silence.  Most especially, I loved Jhimmly's incorporating Sarah McLaughlin into one of his blog videos. 

2. Kalyn bringing in a surprise baby snake in a Dunkin Donuts box.

3. The collaboration between podcast partners--they got into it, and then some of the partners started sitting next to each other. (Note: this is something else I have to remember for next time, to get students working on projects in pairs or teams so they get to know each other faster).

4. "What happened to your face?"

5. Telling the story about how we don't show heart-break by describing someone sobbing, but by hearing the other person go, "Oh, I think of you fondly," and knowing from that moment that the relationship is over.

6. Brielle saying, "You always tell us what not to do."

7. Meeting students one-on-one for conferences and getting to understand project ideas more clearly.

Why Your Story is Needed

Chimamanda Adichie and "The danger of a single story." Why multiple stories are necessary for us to "understand the complexity of humanity."

Short multimedia videos from The New York Times

"Girl Boxer"



"This is What a Refugee Looks Like"

 


 "Midnight Three and Six"

 

Story-boarding and GIF projects

Poetry + Images compilation

Adobe Spark makes it easy to create and share videos that you can make in less than half an hour. This one took about that amount of time and the most complicated part was completing the search for the poem and the artist to go with it. They offer music selections and also allow you to add your own music if you'd like.

 Pros: Free so far. No download required.

Cons: Requires attribution. Slightly confusing to figure out how to download for sharing on YouTube.




 Here is the same idea produced via Giphy.com. This format is best for short gifs--not a lot of words. You can see that the full poem doesn't completely fit here. You also cannot manipulate the sizing of images or add music or narration.

 
via GIPHY

Words and Objects Video Project

I wanted to illustrate that even when you're writing quickly, in class, with no preparation, you might find that what you come up with has a shining sentence or two or three. I chose the sentences from each in class free-write that had the most potential for opening lines or for an intriguing beginning as well as sentences that included emotional resonance.

Process:

1. First, I took photos of each piece of paper and then emailed them to myself.
2. Next, I downloaded the pictures and saved them to a folder on my computer.
3. Then, I opened Windows Movie Maker and pulled in the photos in no particular order.
4. I then choose an animation style that would make the photos look more interesting and applied that style to all.
5. Next, I searched through the transition styles to see what I liked best and also applied to all of the photos.
6. I selected the caption option and found a sentence that worked to include with each picture.
7. It took a while to then adjust the length of the caption to fit the timing.
8. I watched the video a few times to correct spelling mistakes and check for timing.
9. Next, I added a beginning title and end credits.
10.  I saved the project and then published it.
11.  Finally, I uploaded the project to YouTube and published it.

Duration of project time from beginning to end: About 3 hours.

Challenges: I had trouble placing the text properly because the words behind some of the photos got in the way. If I were going to do this again, I would zoom in on the pictures themselves, and email them to myself as a bigger file. That would have made it easier to have the words going over just the images instead of fighting with the text on the page. I also still have not figured out the easiest way to match the caption time and photos so that they flow properly.

Ideas: Music or voice-over narration would have enhanced the quality of the video, though I still like the idea of text over photos for dramatic purposes.