Daniel Anderson's blog

Final Portfolio

Posted Thu, 04/09/2009 - 09:25 by Daniel Anderson

Here are the instructions for completing all of the work in the class and submitting it in your final portfolio. Let me start by stressing that the portfolio is the document I will use to review all of your work in the class. It should represent as much as possible the effort, learning, growth, and engagement you have had with the course materials and questions.

Logistically, follow these steps:

  • Go to the Create Content link and select Portfolio. Open the posting that you made for your midterm portfolio and copy the materials, then paste them into the Portfolio posting. You will now be ready to revise/develop the final portfolio.
  • Make links to all of the drafts and revisions for all of your projects. (Your video might not have a revision.)
  • Make links to any blog postings or comments you have made.
  • Compose reflections for each of the projects.
  • Compose a cover letter reflecting on your work and the course as a whole.
  • Polish the composition, making sure everything works and that it reads well.

Portfolio Examples

Posted Tue, 04/07/2009 - 09:55 by Daniel Anderson

Here are some portfolios we can look at as models:

Anna Kim's: http://teachmix.com/litflow/node/99

Anna Winkler's: http://teachmix.com/litflow/node/71

Gabby Gioia's: http://teachmix.com/litflow/node/90

Jill Dwiggens's: http://teachmix.com/litflow/node/117

Video Resources

Posted Tue, 03/31/2009 - 08:31 by Daniel Anderson

Here are some resources that might be of use for the video:

Camtasia--a screen recorder and video editor. It is better than Windows Movie Maker for editing videos and can record youtube videos; you'll need to use the 30 day trial. http://www.techsmith.com/download/camtasiatrial.asp

Camstudio--a free screen recorder http://camstudio.org/

Handbrake--a DVD ripping program--It can take forever, but you may be able to get avi format video that you can then edit http://handbrake.fr/

SnapZPro--a mac screen recorder http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/

IshowU--a cheaper mac screen recorder http://www.shinywhitebox.com/home/home.html

Zamzar--youtube ripper and file convertor http://www.zamzar.com/

Mediacoder--file converter for PC http://mediacoder.sourceforge.net/download.htm

Film Assignment

Posted Thu, 03/26/2009 - 09:50 by Daniel Anderson

This assignment is designed to help you learn to read and write about films. On the reading side, you will explore how to think about films as mediums for telling stories. On the writing side, you will learn to edit bits of film to express your ideas.

There are two main options plus an alternative if you want to push things:

Option 1: Compose a video in which you develop an argument about a film. The reading should do more than simply plot what happens in the film; instead the reading should create an argument about a way of reading and understanding the film. What you argue can vary. You might suggest that, though O' Brother Where Art Thou is based in part on The Odyssey, the best way of understanding the film is through its insights into early 20th-century rural American culture. You could propose that No Country for Old Men makes a philosophical argument about human agency. You could argue that, in terms of the available technologies, Vertigo is the most innovative film of all time. The key is to have an angle that can organize what you compose.

Podcast Highlights

Posted Tue, 03/17/2009 - 09:51 by Daniel Anderson

Here are some podcasts that might be used as models for revision:

Alex's Bon Iver Podcast

Olivia's Bruce Springsteen Podcast

Anna's Music Genome Podcast

There are other strong podcasts, so I would suggest giving several additional pieces a listen.

Sample Images

Posted Thu, 02/26/2009 - 10:35 by Daniel Anderson

Before we get too far along on our collages, I'd like to discuss some aspects of images that might be helpful. We will use some sample images:

Black and White

The Waiting Room

Train Station

Midterm Portfolio

Posted Tue, 02/24/2009 - 08:54 by Daniel Anderson

The mid-term portfolio will be due Friday, March 20th. You may want to
begin working on it early and you can submit it any time.

Here are the instructions for submitting the mid-term portfolio of your
work:

First, a bit about the goals of the portfolio. The portfolio serves two
main purposes: 1.) to drive continued revision of your projects, and 2.)
to promote reflection on what you have learned as a writer and thinker
in the class. To demonstrate your strengths in these areas, you'll need
to compose reflections about all of the materials that you submit.

You will also want to compose something that uses your own creations in order
to say something to your reader about you or your work.To this end, you will write a
cover letter that reflects on the entire body of your work and on your
progression as a thinker and writer for the class. The audience for your
cover letter can be our class or a person from outside of our class that you will
ask to look at your work. For the portfolio letter, you should know that
portfolios work well at demonstrating learning, growth, effort, and
excellence in the final products of your work. Your letter, then, can
serve to educate your reader about the materials you have collected in
terms of these kinds of criteria.

Finally, since the portfolio serves as a hub that leads to a collection

Collage Assignment

Posted Tue, 02/24/2009 - 08:38 by Daniel Anderson

Collage Assignment

You will compose a collage representing the identity of a character from a work of literature--the notion of a character and literature can be flexible; you could do a figure from a film, or perhaps even a profile of someone interesting and related to the creative arts--Toni Morrison, or Bob Dylan. This project will revolve around two major activities: 1.) identifying images and words that make a concrete statement about that character's identity, and 2.) integrating those elements into a composition created using an image editor.

To get started with the first part of the assignment, you will need to select and reflect on the character.

Next, identify images you can use for the collage. You can search on flickr, Fotolog, Ourmedia, or at image sites like the Library of Congress to select images that are made available publicly. You can also use google image search. For each image you select, record citation information and then download a copy of the file to your computer. If you search on google for images, you will need to make decisions about the fair use of any image you discover, recording citation information as well.

Sample Podcasts

Posted Tue, 02/17/2009 - 12:08 by Daniel Anderson

You can find some podcasts from other students at

http://www.teachmix.com/litcast/podcasts

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