Module 5

In this unit, we discussed using nonprint media to create stories and narratives. This was a very short unit, but I learned some valuable tools and strategies. Curriculum usually focuses on argumentative or informational writing, but it's important that we incorporate narratives as well. I feel that in the middle level, narratives can be more useful for students to get in touch with their own experiences and emotions, and they're a good building block for more advanced writing. Plus, they don't involve much research, and students have the opportunity to embrace their creativity.

In chapter 2, Gura discussed creating online animations to pitch original short stories. For this activity, the students used the online tool Animoto to create videos based on short stories that they write. In this assignment, the students focus on audience and purpose when choosing images and sounds. I feel that it is important that the students write a rationale that justifies their creative actions as well, as we did with our graphic novel assignment. According to Gura, this activity was successful because students were engaged the whole time. Students who might not normally participate stepped up for this, and I feel that has so much value in itself. Gura also mentioned using technology such as Glogster and Prezi to create more interactive ways of sharing something such as a biography, which shows how these online tools can be versatile.

In chapter 3, Hyler also focused on reading and writing narratives through different mediums. I have always felt strongly about the “This I Believe” essay because it was my favorite piece of writing in high school. I know I really took this assignment as an opportunity to dive deep into my values and what I really believe in, and I had a lot of fun writing it. To this day, I’d say that this was the assignment I was most passionate about. The students browse some sample essays online, and then they write their own. Hyler uses Wordle as a brainstorming technique, but I did not see the value of this. The students used Google Drive as a collaboration and peer reviewing tool, which I’ve also used and found successful. Hyler also used the six word memoir activity as a good lead into memoirs. I liked how he linked this to twitter and had the students create a tweet with a hashtag, which I found to be more relevant to the students.

Basically, narratives can be done in a variety of ways. We can take a traditional writing assignment and expand upon it with technology. However, the main problem I see from these example assignments is that teachers sometimes use technology for the sake of using technology.