Author: Carrie Hall

Papers and Projects (Unit 2) Now due by Tuesday, March 26th!

Okay, you guys, I’m extending the deadline to Unit 2 until next Tuesday, March 26th. That said, we won’t be spending any more class time on them. You can meet with me to talk about your project, though, if you feel stuck.

Also, please think more about SPECIFIC  problems that you see in your communities for unit 3– if you are concerned about racism, for example, please think about specific issues that you could work on– racial profiling by the police, lack of diversity in advertising, etc…

ABOUT UNIT TWO– SOME FINAL DETAILS

  • The assignment is posted under “Units” (it’s Unit Two)
  • No matter which option you’ve chosen, your final project should be posted on the OpenLab– it’s a video, please post it using the “add media” link. If you did an image, take a photo, or photos, and post them online
  • The category is “Pop Culture!”
  • For paper-writers: consider posting a link to the artwork you were inspired by– the song, the painting, a clip from the movie or tv show, somewhere in your paper.
  • For creative projects: remember! Especially if you are doing something purely visual (not a video essay or poem, etc) your Artist Statement is a BIG part of your grade. I am grading you, not on your artistic ability (this isn’t a drawing class) but on your thinking– so please explain how the original artwork inspired you to make your own artwork!

For Tuesday

Keep working! We’ll have a little more time to look at rough drafts in class. Creative project people especially, I would like you to bring in something concrete, some version of your final project to get some feedback on!

Everyone, please note that the assignment is under “Units” (it’s unit 2)

I will post some tips here later this weekend for paper writers if you are feeling stuck.

For Thursday!

Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed your unexpected free day. I sure didn’t! I’m so sick.

Anyway, just keep working on your papers/ projects, but ALSO for Thursday, please post the following:

Paper-writers– please write a paragraph of about 250 words about how you were influenced by your Mentor Article. What is this writer doing that you want to do in your own work? What would you like to avoid? Also, how do you see your own article fitting into the publication you’ve chosen– who is the audience? what kind of language and topics do you think will engage that audience?

Creative Project People:  Write about 250 words about how the artwork you’re making is influenced by your pop culture artifact. Explain to viewers, for example, how you got from a TV show to a painting, for example. This is the first draft of your artist statement, which, as you know, is a BIG part of your grade!

Here is a good formula to start with:

Step 1: Explain your vision or idea.

Step 2: Tell what you learned. (HERE WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE POP CULTURE ARTIFACT INFLUENCED YOU)

Step 3: What difficulties did you have? How did it work out for you?

Other ideas to include in your statement:

Title of the Piece – this alone helps the viewer understand the subject or makes him/her think about your work in a different way.Why do you like to make art?
What did you do? (Describe the artwork, including the type of art and what the main idea is.
What happened along the way? (Did anything interesting or unusual happen? Did you solve any problems in the process? Did you change your approach to doing the project? etc.)
Did the project turn out how you expected? Why or why not?
What did you learn through the art project?
What would you do differently next time?

 

For Tuesday

Hi everyone! For Tues we’re going to, among other things, workshop your projects. They’re due on March 21st. I just want to see what you’re doing and help you get some feedback.

Article writers:

  • Please post online and bring in a paper copy of at least 400 words of your rough draft.
  • Also post a link to your mentor article.

Creative project people:

  • Post online: a few sentences about what you are planning to do
  • Bring to class: SOMETHING to show to your peers of the progress of your project. This may be a storyboard (quick stick figure drawings of what you intend to get video of– with a few sentences beneath each drawing describing the action– look it up!) or a sketch of the painting or album cover, the lyrics of the song, a draft of the poem, etc… Just something to discuss. Please take a photo or video and post online. You can do this using the add media button.  For help posting media click HERE

For Tuesday

Hi everyone!  For Tuesday, please read and annotate one or the other (or both!) of these two articles about Beyonce’s LEMONADE:

HILTON ALS or bell hooks 

Please write and post a response of approx 200 words answering some or all of these questions — What is this writer saying about “Lemonade” that you find interesting (or confusing/ annoying?)  What did you learn from their article? And what are they doing in their writing that you would or would not like to do in your own writing?

Category: Pop Culture!

Also, please think about what pop culture artifact you would like to write about (or do a creative project about) for your next paper. This “artifact” can be a song, a video, a book, a tv show, a movie, a youtube channel, a video game,  etc… It does need to deal with social issues, but remember, most music these days does this (drugs, money, gender issues, etc…) and television often does too. Nick also mentioned that he wanted to write about issues of gender inequality in gaming– that’s great! The games he’s dealing with may not be ABOUT gender inequality directly, but he will still be able to discuss social issues– so I will accept it! 

You will need to know your artifact for next Thursday’s homework, but don’t worry about what your final paper or project will be yet. We’ll spend some time figuring those things out in class.

By the way, if you’re interested, a friend of mine just posted this story about something we talked about in class: “why white school districts have so much more money” HERE

For Thursday! (And a few meetings)

Hey everyone– just a reminder that the only homework for Thursday is to fill out the “Collaborative Project Evaluation Form” ONLY IF YOUR GROUP PRESENTED TODAY.

Also– I have meetings scheduled with the following people. My office is in Namm 525. It can be a little tough to find, so please allow yourself some extra time.

  • Weds:
  • 1:15 David
  • 1:30 Waleed

 

  • Thursday:
  • 5:15 Joshua
  • 5:30 Giuseppe
  • 5:45 Santi  

Presentations Tuesday!

Hi everyone! Your presentations are on Tuesday. Remember to email me your slides by noon on Tuesday. (At chall@citytech.cuny.edu) Don’t email me on the OpenLab!

You may post images on the OpenLab if you like. You may also invite me to a google slideshow if you like.

Also– if I asked you to make an appointment with me, please do so! That is David, Josh, Santi, Brianna and Waleed!

For Thursday– and a note on paper grades.

Hey guys, first of all– just a reminder that your homework for Thursday is just to keep working on your presentations for next Tuesday. YOU decide your homework, especially what research needs to be done. If you are arguing against grades, then look up who else has argued against grades (and what they think would work in their place!) If you missed class, you should be in touch with your group to figure out what they would like you to do. Most of you have contacted me about this. If you haven’t, it will affect your grade on the presentation, of course.

Also, I am slowly but surely grading those papers. If I tell you I’d like to talk to you, please set up an appointment with me in class on Thursday or by email. You can find my comments in two places: 1. there will be a link at the end of your paper that has the marginal comments on your paper and 2. there will be a private comment that has more in-depth remarks and the grade itself.

What am I looking for in the presentations?

A week from today, the 26th, you will be doing presentations on education. These will be: 

  • Approx 6-7 minutes 
  • Will refer to the themes of your education narratives– what did you guys bring up in the work you’ve written already? THIS IS KEY!!
  • Will quote from some of your education narratives. 
  • Will incorporate the work of EVERYONE  in your group somehow (you’ll evaluate each other!) 
  • Will have a visual component 
  • Will teach your audience (us!) something
  • Will include new research
  • And will answer one or both of the following questions:
    • What are some of the core problems with education in America?
    • What are some of the first steps we can take to improve the education system?

Please, please please do not oversimplify your answers! I am asking you for “first steps” for a reason– these are big questions, and over-simple answers do not do them justice.  If you’ve proposed solutions in your blog posts for today, that’s fine– but think of those as starting places for your research.

How do you get started? It’s up to you, but here are some ideas if you’re stuck:

  • First of all, look at what you’ve written.  What are some of the themes throughout the group? What can you learn from each other?
  • What topics could you research related to those themes? I like to use the KWL+ rubric for research. That is, I write about what I K(know) about a question or theme, and then what I W (want to know.) Then I do a little bit of internet research, maybe 10 mins or so. Then I write about what I L(learned) from that research and what I (+) Still want to know. This helps me get to some good research.
  • What do you think your audience needs to know? What is the best way to deliver that info in a way that will keep them interested?

Some of you have group members who are gone today.  Both Hend (group 3) and Lenesha (group 4)  have spoken to me about having to miss class. You should give them assignments and we will contact them to let them know what those assignments are.

Here are some of the questions you wrote in class last week. They might help you think about your presentations. Only use them if they help with the assignment above. Don’t let them sway you from keeping to your group’s theme!: 

  • Do you agree with Sir Ken Robinson that the education system should change from pushing a very generalized style of learning to a more individual tailored style?
  • Do you agree with Robinson that the focus on standardized testing keeps students from true learning? What is a better alternative?
  • Is education an anesthetic to young people? Does it have to be?  
  • Sir Ken Robinson claimed contemporary education systems are stuck in the past. Based on your experience with today’s way of teaching, how should we change or “modernize” the American education system?
  • According to Robinson, a college degree doesn’t guarantee a successful future, as it once did. How does this motivate or discourage you as a college student? 

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