Jessica's Blog

  I read the book Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman. I decided to make an info-graphic for my mini multi-modal composition because I wanted to make a timeline of events. I used Visme and here's the link for my project:  https://my.visme.co/view/vdkyprjp-dry-timeline I've done info-graphics in the past and I feel like they are so easy to use and you can create a whole different project every time. This was my first time using the charts and graphs feature. I have mixed emotions about how the project turned out. I wish I would've done the timeline in landscape rather than portrait. I think I would've had more room to work and it wouldn't look so chaotic. Yet, I like the chaos because the whole premise of the novel is frenzied and chaotic on their search for water. So in a way the squished timeline really works. I love the color scheme, because it nearly matches the colors on the book cover and the colors are warm indicating heat and dryness. I think the colors are a ...

I like being a writing coach so far. Although, I've only had one opportunity to look at a student's work. I was really impressed with that student's work. I wish I had the opportunity to look at some other work, but I have high hopes that I will get to look at at least one more assignment this semester. I am really enjoying talking to my students and getting to know them. One of them is a really big Harry Potter fan, as am I, so we have really connected over that. Teachers, writing coaches, and peers all offer different types of feedback that are important in the writing process. I think teachers use a more critical approach in their feedback. They look at the writing with a grading perspective, even in a rough draft, they think about how the writing would be graded if it was a final draft. Additionally, the teacher has to take notes about where each student struggles in their writing; if there's an accumulation of students not understanding something then it will need...

 I don't have much experience in digital storytelling or other forms of multimodal composition. I have done some Flipgrid videos in previous classes, and I've used Canva and Visme. I actually made a virtual poster on Visme last semester for a creative writing course that I'm really proud of. It's a poem I wrote about a murder-suicide based off of a Vincent Van Gogh painting called "The Houses at Auvers." It also includes some true crime stories about family annihilators. Here's the link if anyone is interested: https://my.visme.co/view/6xynqjdg-m3x58k3gxonm5krp I really do like using infographics and I plan to incorporate them in my classroom. I especially like that they can be more than just a digital poster. You can add music, add moving images, and make it interactive. However, at this point I'm really interested in expanded my knowledge of multimodal composition and I'm really interested in creating a PSA. From the examples, I really like the ...

My writing process has changed dramatically over the years. In the Spandel essay, she discusses that most students writing is assessment driven. This is exactly how I started writing. Even my rough drafts, were written to be a "final draft" that only needed some grammatical or formatting corrections. I would write my thesis first and then fill in the rest of my essay. When I went back to College, this assessment style of writing was so ingrained in my head that that is how I continued to write. It was my fool proof sure way of being successful in my writing. It wasn't until one of my professors introduced me to Anne Lamott's "Shitty First Drafts" that my writing style really changed. Similar to what Ballenger suggests, that we teach students to write badly first, Lamott believes in writing a bad first draft, just writing everything down, every thought that comes to mind, not caring about grammar or sentence structure. It's a draft that no one will ever ...

  Hello! My name is Jessica. I am a senior at UWM and I am studying to be a high school English teacher. Although lately, I have been thinking a lot about teaching middle school, I'm still undecided. I have always loved reading. When I was a kid, I remember reading past my bedtime, using the moonlight to see the pages of my book. Now I read with the lights on and enjoy reading classic literature by authors like Charles Dickens or Jane Austen, but I also like to read mysteries and thrillers. My guilty pleasure is reading dystopian novels like the Hunger Games trilogy, but my favorite is the Legend series by Marie Lu.  I like writing to a certain extent. I enjoy writing papers for school, but I am not a big creative writer and I find I have trouble writing about myself or my personal experiences. I've never really done online writing aside from social media posts or tweets, this blog is my first real experience in writing online. I have never tutored anyone in writing, but I h...

In all honesty, I don't have much experience with social media. I mostly use Facebook where I'll occasionally write a post and upload pictures. I have Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter, but I rarely even open these apps. I usually use those apps for if I need extra reward points for shopping or something like that. I know it may be surprising, but I do not own a Tik Tok account! My kids do and sometimes they will show me things on there, but it really doesn't interest me. I've never written a blog, or made videos to upload to You Tube, however, I do enjoy reading blogs and I am subscribed to many different channels on You Tube. Throughout my college experience, I have utilized several different platforms of digital media - this blog being one of them. I've created projects from Visme and Canva, I've done Flipgrid videos, and use Google (docs, slides, etc.) to communicate with classmates and work on projects together. My thoughts on using digital media in urban EL...