Make Cycle 2 Newsletter for 1103

Hi students and more readers,

I want to take a moment to reflect on some really interesting work in our writing classes. This work is mostly framed around a make cycle, in which we try to unravel our understandings of truth, science and literacy.  I am pointing below to some class artifacts that really attend to some of the core values of the class.  These posts and makes have pushed my thinking and hopefully yours!

 Author’s Craft: If you haven’t already, check out the craft involved in RC’sminecraft make.  He made a virtually simulated map of his one page experiences and then narrates us through the space.  As you experience the space and hear RC talk about his process you can pick up on how intentional he was in the small details of craft, from the texture of blocks to the layout to the symbolic expressions in each room.

Process: Many of us really enjoyed David’s ukulele composition during this make cycle.  If you haven’t read his corresponding reflective blog, check it out.  In the first paragraph he tells us how his work connects to a mentor.  In the second paragraph he shares in some detail his process for creating the music.  He explains what he was thinking and what his actions were.  This is the kind of reflection I encourage everyone to try for in make cycle 3.  Put us in the moment(s) of creation with you.

Multiple Drafts: I was really intrigued by Spencer's Lego Make and the accompanying blog.  Not only is this a really great segue into our toyhacking, but you can see in the blog post how Spencer moved from his beginning map to a more fully developed lego map.  We could see both the map and the lego make as drafts here.  They are both interesting but do different things.  I definitely encourage all of us to consider following Spencer’s lead in creating multiple drafts.

Extending thinking: One of the goals of our blogging is to extend thinking began in other places, like in our daybooks, in class discussion, etc.  Henry’s prezi make really does this!  He took the tape badge make and ramped it up and pulled out the threads of ideas with the text and visualizations in prezi.

Reflection and Depth of Thinking:  Kaleb’s midterm reflection is a really great example of complex thinking generally.  Read to see how he digs below the surface to unravel some his ideas by considering his own history and experiences.  I think what makes this post work so well as a reflection is that he is asking real questions about his identity and learning and his position in the world.  He brings the reader into his own experience with examples. 

Voice: Reading Lukas’ blog, particularly this midterm reflection, you can totally hear him talking to you.  This is really what “voice” is in writing: the feeling that you can hear the writer.  Back to our discussion of

Presentation of Self: Check out the revisions Lauren Price has made to her blog.  You can get a feel for who she is as a learner and writer with a few clicks and without having to scroll all the way back to the beginning posts.  Her “about” and “current projects” pages do a big part of this work along with her title and background choice.  How could you tinker with your blog settings to upfront more about who you are as a writer and learner?

Connecting to Others: The conversations in g+ are really showing the connections between ideas in the room.  I hope that more of this shows up in our blogging as we continue.  Particularly, Austin Meyer’s posts seem to generate some great convo!  Here are screenshots from some specific and in depth thinking shared by Kempson, Nhadreik and Briony in response to Austin.

 

~Dylan Miller

And finally, here is a golden line from Dylan’s blog: “I also noticed that in my blog posts that I can sometimes be a bit stiff, and by that I mean I don't really express myself, but more like, I express the assignment I was given. Noticing this made me want to change it of course. I don't want to be a robot, I want to be an alien.”

I am totally inspired to be an alien not a robot, too.  Thanks writers and makers,

Lacy