Troy Hicks book Crafting Digital Writing, published this year is the must have resource for anyone attempting to integrate technology into their classroom. The amount of go to Web 2.0 tools could easily crush the spirit of any digital immigrant just wanting to infuse best practice to technology that student are drawn to like a pint of Ben and Jerry's on a hot day.Hicks breaks down the act into simple but deliberate idea he illustrates in his workshops. MAPS:
1. "Mode: think of the genre of the text."
2. "Media: the form(s) in which text is created."
3. "Audience: the reader, listener, or viewer of the text, both intended and incidental."
4. "Purpose: The actions the author takes, in both an academic and personal sense.
5. " Situation:" the contexts for the writer herself or himself, as well as the demands of the writing task.
This helps the novice breath a sigh of relief that there are some very familiar connections to the craft of teaching non-digital writing projects. Hicks offers suggestions for possible text types that match up better with web-based media. For example: Argument Genres live better on a debate site sich as ProCon.org.
Throughout the book there are QR codes to see student composed examples. This is a game changer for me. I like tangible viewable audible examples. My favorite was in the chapter about crafting audio texts. Students can create book trailers with tools like AudioBoo, Chirtbit, and Sound Cloud. There is a process student must go through to make an audio file similar to any writing: prewriting, editing and publishing, but each of these steps takes on new meaning for audio. For example adding music behind the voice can help the listener understand the genre. For adventure add James Bond type music background, for drama add soft piano lullaby. This is such a great idea I will use it for my eager fourth and fifth graders.
Troy Hicks, former teacher and respected voice of the National Writing Project can be conversed with at his wiki at http://digitalwritingworkshop.wikispaces.com/Crafting_Digital_Writing. Come join the conversation.
Wendy,
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of adding a musical score to a reading. It reminds me of how films are deliberate in the way they attempt to manipulate our feelings, and I think it would be a useful tool to introduce to students. This way, they are being creative and thoughtful, even when the writing they are working with may not be their own. Imagine the different ways the text can be interpreted/presented with different backing music!
Wendy,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, you do such a great job in this post of connecting with the reader--the writing force is strong with you:) I wanted to go right to his website at the end of this!
As for your own application of some of the ideas, love love love them. Adding the musical score, as Emmanuel said, is such a great idea! And imagine how these ideas, paired with those of your other post, could work together to make that mental theatre truly come alive! (as long as we always remember MAPS and intentionality hahaha)
Loved this practical post:)
anne