Dawn's Blog for CUIN 7358

Opinions of linked courses

2008-12-17T09:32:00.000-08:00

I have found the linked courses to be very valuable. While I love the type of content presented in the History of Children's Literature, the digital storytelling course gave me an opportunity to think about it in a different way, particularly how I could share the information with students. Quite honestly it is unlikely I would have taken an IT course if they had not been linked and I would have missed out on so much! It was very economical to have them the same night - both for time and money (gas). I think some of the digital course work could have been done on-line and since we were already there it would be easy to get assistance as needed after the Children's Lit class.
I thought the hands-on activities were very beneficial. It is helpful to me as a learner to try it out and then go back later and do it myself with carefully written directions for support. I could probably just do it with the excellent directions but i like the interaction with others while learning.
The content of the Children's Lit course was dense so any opportunity to revisit it in another format was helpful to learn it. Perhaps having us somehow use the specific content studied for the week might be helpful but it would admittedly be hard to coordinate. I am wondering if somehow the discussion leader could use technology as he/she lead the discussion each week instead of just handing out the outline. Access to images was failrly easy so it could make the material a bit easier to understand.
As mentioned above I think the technology has the potential to make the content easier to understand. since this was the first time these cousrses were linked, it was difficult to know how this could happen with this content.
I am almost finished with my cousework so I won't have the opportunity to take other linked courses although I would certainly consider it if it were earlier in my program. If a doctoral student has intentions on becoming a professor, I would think it is crucial to have some technology background so make yourself marketable.
Overall I really enjoyed the course. It was another way to experience rigor in study yet be creative. As you know I loved my project topic and would probably not have had the oppportunity to explore her life and use the images if I had not taken the course so ata personal level I am very grateful. I am also pleased to have an arsenal of technology tools to use besides Power Point to make digital presentations which is fabulous. Thank you for a great semester!

Creating a CD

2008-12-17T09:23:00.000-08:00

I followed the excellent directions given on the course web site but it was pretty self-explanatory once I opened My Computer. Basically I inserted the blank cd, opened my computer, clicked on my project from my videos, clicked the cd recording and followed the wizard. The wizard makes it pretty easy. I left my burned CD on my desk so I stopped and bounght some more on the way to class. They did not work so I used the free one from the Cite lab which worked perfectly, of course. I then borrowed the black Sharpie and labeled the cd and put it in the sleeve.

Programs Used for my Final Project

2008-12-17T09:16:00.001-08:00

I used the following programs:

Adobe Photoshop to edit images
Picasa to edit images and make collages
Goldwave to edit my audio
Microsoft Office Word 2007 for my script draft and story board
Microsoft Power Point for the title page and references
Windows Media Player to record audio from the interent
Photo Story 3 for Windows to put it all together into my final presentation
Microsoft Office Outlook to e-mail questions, etc.

Assignment 9

2008-11-16T18:58:00.001-08:00

westfall-audmix-Homework-1108

2008-10-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

I am going to use Engines of Ingeuity episode #189 Eiffel's Towers. I chose it because I love the Eiffel Tower, have visisted it a few times, have always wanted to go see the Statue of Liberty, the story is interesting, and I could easily visulize the episode as Dr. Leinhard read it. I can use a variety of images, including my own, to create the digital story. Both are common images in literature so there is a connection to children's literature although admittedly a little weak :)

2008-10-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

I wrote the following for Dr A this past summer and wanted to somehow integrate it into regular Laura Ingalls Wilder biographical information to make the story more personal. I obviously can't use it all so perhaps if you could tell me which sections stood out to you or seem to be the strongest, that would be helpful. Thank you!

How a Little Girl in the Big Woods
Influenced My Life
By Dawn Westfall
June 9, 2008

“I’m sorry but you can’t check that book out. You need to be in second grade before you can start checking out chapter books,” the librarian kindly explained, peering down at me over the top of her glasses.
I already knew that but I really wanted to check out Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder. My mother had read it to me in kindergarten when she was still unable to walk after her car accident. I had listened and followed along with her, completely engrossed in the story of Laura and her family in the big woods of Wisconsin during the late 1800s. I wasn’t sure where she had gotten a copy but I was anxious to get my hands on it again and read it for myself now that I was in first grade and finally allowed to actually go to the school library in the corner of the front office. And I was ready with my reason.
“Oh, it’s not for me. My dad wants to read it. He likes to hunt and fish and thought he could get some ideas from Pa.” I looked at the librarian to see if she believed me.
“I see. Well then I guess it would be fine.” She wrote my name on the card, stamped it, and handed the book to me. I can only imagine the laugh she had later retelling that incident to the office ladies but I naively thought my story had worked and left the library happily carrying my prize.
That day I began my life as a reader. Of course I had read before then; I had been able to read the words for as long as I could remember. I had read the little books in pre-school and kindergarten, the words on the cereal boxes at home, the signs on the streets, and was even able to decipher my mother’s handwriting on the grocery list while shopping with her at Hy-Vee. But it was Little House in the Big Woods that showed me what reading could do. I re-checked the book out for several weeks in a row as I carefully made my way through the story. I studied the beautiful illustrations by Garth Williams and imagined being Laura as I read about her adventure with the bear, the dance at Grandpa’s house, and playing in the attic with the pumpkins. I used a thimble to make designs in the frost on our windows and my mother was not pleased with the mess I made pouring Mrs. Butterworth syrup over snow. I lay awake at night and thought I just might be able to hear a wolf howling at the moon. I reread the book several times that fall and my favorite parts even more, pulling it out after completing the pages in my red reading workbook. I read it before bed each night and long after my mother had turned off my light for the night using the bright light from the street light outside my window.
For Christmas that year I received my own copy of Little House in the Big Woods so I could stop checking out the school library copy. On the inside cover of the book was a list of the other books in the series and I thought I had struck gold. For the next several years I devoured the Little House books and any other pioneer story I could find. In elementary school I probably read the series at least a half dozen times. In second grade I was introduced to the Scholastic book order and the children’s section of the public library. I never looked back. I read at school, in the car, at night in secret, and on the weekends. My make-believe play centered on the books I read and my poor little sister was often forced to play some lowly character in my re-enactments. I slowly began to grow a collection of books of my own and my mother gave me a small book case in which to store them. They were among my prized possessions and I am certainly still a collector of books today. When I think of my childhood, it always includes an image of me curled up with a book in the big, antique, over-stuffed orange chair my grandpa had given us. Books gave this young girl living in a small town in Iowa a view of the world and all its wonders that she could not have experienced any other way. Books showed me there were other ways to think and live, as well as the endless possibilities that existed outside my sheltered life.
As I grew older, I discovered reading could do more than just entertain. Some of my favorite parts of the Little House books were the detailed descriptions of historical events or explanations of how things were made or done. I accidentally found the non-fiction and biography sections of the public library around third grade and eventually discovered how I could search for information about anything I wanted to know. Although the internet has certainly made this task significantly easier, I still love the search for information which has served me well as a student, teacher, and parent.
I began teaching reading about the same time I learned how to read. My dolls and stuffed animals were well-educated and had many stories read to them. Becoming a teacher of reading was probably inevitable and I can’t imagine doing anything else. I believe my love of reading has made me a better teacher. I am convinced that all my students, regardless of their “abilities,” will become readers if I can help them find the right book, just like Little House in the Big Woods was the right book for me. One of my greatest wishes for them is that they are able to find pleasure and fulfillment from reading.
For my birthday this year my mother gave me the chair from the living room in which I spent hours reading as a child. Thankfully it is no longer orange but it is definitely much smaller than I remember. I placed it in a prominent spot in the entry way with a lovely antique table and lamp, the wall behind it displaying old family pictures, reminiscent of my childhood. Shortly afterwards, I came down the steps and found my daughter Emily curled up in the chair, reading.

2008-10-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

Overall I am pretty pleased with my first attempt with PhotoStory. It was very easy to use and any questions I had were answered on the class page directions. I went ahead and added music because it just seems a little dry without it. I am going to look for some 1800s fiddle music for my final project. I have also decided to scan the covers of the book instead of using downloaded images so I have more control over the quality. i can use the books from my childhood so it will add a personal touch. I don't think my slide times are accurate at all- it is hard to tell without having a script. I think I have a pretty good framework started to develop my digital story!

Assignment 4 Wilder #1

2008-10-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Edited Image #2

2008-09-28T22:28:00.001-07:00

This image was originally taken right before dawn on the Ganges river in Varanasi, India. It was a very humid morning so the air was almost foggy. It was edited using Picture2Life by adjusting the brightness to make it lighter without losing the early morning feeling. This made the details clearer such as the boats, water, and background. I particularly like that the water looks brown and dirty which is exactly how it was that morning. A caption was added to give information about the picture.

Original Image #2

2008-09-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

Edited picture #1

2008-09-28T22:00:00.001-07:00

This image was originally taken around mid-day outside. It was edited using Picture2Life. The image was initially cropped, a colored border was added added, and a caption using white lettering was added. It was difficult to find a text color that could be read in the image. The intent was to focus attention on the women in the front yet still be able to see the monks praying behind them.

original picture #1

2008-09-28T21:58:00.001-07:00

2008-09-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

Gulliver's Travels

2008-09-17T16:32:00.000-07:00

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
· First published 1726 under pseudonym of Lemual Gulliver
· Considered Swift’s masterpiece
· Instantly successful
· Four voyages of Lemeul Gulliver, a surgeon
· In part satire of English politics of the time
· Universal satire: things keep getting worse
· Lilliputians: humankinds excessive pride in its own puny existence
· Brobdingnagians: dimension of human existence up close
· Laputans: folly of theoretical knowledge which has no use
· Houyhnhnms: ideal of rational existence
· Yahoos: human beings in their basest form
· Effect on modern language culture, music, theatre, etc.