This week in class, we touched on the topic of generational differences that will impact our future classroom. We will be teaching “Generation Alpha.” This generation grew up surrounded by technology, and is one of the first generations to have grown up with it from birth.
I actually think that this new generation of teachers as a whole has a better understanding of what technology can and can’t do for us, and it’s pros and pitfalls. Although this will be an interesting generation to teach and watch grow up, I feel confident and equipped to do so.
This week I read The Ballad Of The Songbirds and Snakesby Suzanne Collins. This was a very anticipated book for me because I am an avid Hunger Games fan. This novel was particularly interesting because it’s a prequel to the series. I will get started with my likes and dislikes.
My likes for this novel is how well written it is. It is a thought out sequel that has elements that eventually relate to the trilogy. I enjoyed how it made the clear enemy who everyone hates, Coriolanus Snow, a multifaceted character who you almost sympathize with. Yes, I found myself sympathizing with him. Shocking! But Collins does a very good job of making him very dynamic and charming, with an interesting backstory that you can’t help but sigh at.
Now to my dislikes: the plot was slightly dry. A lot of the conflict was internal and had to do with the thoughts and dialogue inside Snow’s mind. Although this was a good view into how his mind worked, it got slightly tiring and dull. I almost craved outside drama to break up the monotony, especially when it’s pages and pages full of his inner dialogue.
I think this is generally quite hard to balance; as you want enough inner dialogue to inform the reader, but not enough to dull and burden them.
In all, though it took me a while, it was a well written and enjoyable read.
MovieFlame provides a good breakdown and review of the novel.
This week we had the privilege of having a guest speaker, Jesse Miller, come to our class. He spoke to us on how to be mindful and careful on the internet, especially in a world where everything is becoming so digitalized. I think it is especially important to know that everything we post on the internet is permanent. Sometimes people, myself included, forgets that everything online, even after you delete it, can still be found.
He showed us several extreme examples of teachers in BC being extremely unprofessional when it comes to social media, including instances of revealing children’s faces and information. Although it was shocking to me and my peers, I realize we are more in touch with social media safety and etiquette because we grew up with it. This is why social media training is important not just for students, but for teachers as well. Many of them overshare, or worse, reveal private information.
Though I already knew some of this safety information, it was a good refresher and reminded me to stay mindful from now on.
The second book I decided to review is Kate Elizabeth Russell’s My Dark Vanessa, a psychological fiction novel portraying a 15 year old girl’s illicit affair with her professor.
I think the way the novel is quite well written – however, there is lot of controversy surrounding the novel. I’ll start with the negatives, or downfalls, of this book. My Dark Vanessa is criticized as romanticizing the abusive and pedophilic relationship that the main character had. A bit of history, too – this novel was published at the height of the me too movement – Russell was worried that her choosing to come out with a novel carrying these themes would come off as opportunistic or tone deaf.
However, I disagree that this novel is romanticizing abuse and pedophilia. Instead, I think that this is the reality that some victims live in – they don’t realize that what they’ve experienced is/was abuse, and may still be under the illusion. I think this novel sheds light on the fact that abuse isn’t always obvious – this character development is the perfect definition of grooming a person into believing that this is ok, and it sheds light to the fact that it isn’t. This novel is awareness for people who need it.
In addition, I have to commend how well written this novel is and the themes the author chose. This is a tough subject but I think the author did it very well.
Our first in-person tech class was held in the MAC lab in Maclaurin. I really enjoyed doing this class in person, I always found in-person class to be more engaging to me.
Our guest speaker Rich McCue joined our class to teach us how to screen record and post a video. We utilized the tool ScreenCast. It was very informative. I think it’ll be useful for me to have as a teacher because I will want to post tutorial videos for subjects on a website if I do end up teacher an older grade.
Welcome back to my blog. This will be my first book review. I will be reviewing Jeff VanderMeer’s novel Annihilation. It is a sci-fi horror novel out of The Southern Reach Trilogy. I will divide this review into three categories: brief summary (no spoilers) , likes, and dislikes.
Summary
Jeff VanderMeer’s Annihilation is set in “Area X”, which is an unspecified location near a coast. It has been closed off to the public due to the strange and deadly biological life that inhibits the terrain. The main characters are team of 4 women, consisting of a psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and a surveyor. Their objective is to go on an expedition exploring Area X and its growth, and to determine what deadly factors caused the members of the previous expeditions to e fraught with disappearances, suicides, disease, and severe mental illness. Over the course of the expedition, the team encounters several problems of their own.
Likes
Right off the bat, what stuck out to me is the rich imagery and complex, beautiful language VanderMeer used in his novel. I am a sucker for poetic and detailed descriptions, even when it’s about deadly plants. The vivid and extreme detail to each plant and biological life in Area X was engrossing, and at the same time disturbing (in the best way.) The storyline and imagery surrounding Annihilation’s Area X reminded me of my own fever dreams – fantastical, disturbing, upsetting, and able to evoke strong emotion.
Here is a quote that I enjoyed – “The effect of this cannot be understood without being there. The beauty of it cannot be understood either, and when you see beauty in desolation it changes something inside you. Desolation tries to colonize you.” (VanderMeer, 5). I think that quote perfectly captures a recurring theme in the novel – desolation and beauty go hand in hand.
Dislikes
The novel, for all its rich imagery and atmosphere – was quite slow paced. I found nothing of great relevance to the plot really occurred until the near end of the novel, where it picked up quite a bit. It took me a while to decipher the plot in the midst of the flowery language. In addition, the story left me with many unanswered questions in the end. It ended on a rather unsatisfying note – although I left with answers regarding the expedition team, there was still much to be desired on the state and workings of Area X.
This week, we learned about the importance of respecting intellectual property (which includes how to deal with copyrighted material and maintaining a clear and honest digital footprint). I think this is very important material to learn; academic integrity is stressed and talked about often when writing papers or quoting sources, but people may forget that it extends to online work as well.
It also got me thinking about my own social media presence – as teachers, our social media can be looked at my future employers or even students. Our ‘digital footprint’ never truly goes away. Even if you delete something, people have ways of recovering or saving it. That is why I try to be careful with what I post, and keep my accounts on private . You never know if you’ll regret posting something that can hinder or damage your reputation.
During my first week of EdTech, I learned a lot. I am not very tech-savvy, but the way the instructions were laid out made it clear and easy to follow. So far, we have set up our WordPress accounts, our websites, and our MatterMost accounts. Though I have never used WordPress or MatterMost, they look like good tools to use, and MatterMost in particular looks like a good platform for professional communication. I think this course will be very interesting and useful, as it will be helpful to know my way around technology in the classroom. I am excited to learn more about technology and blogging as we progress.
Once upon a time, there was a blog. This blog’s protagonist, Annabell, loved books. In fact, she loved it so much that she creating a whole blog documenting the different books she read, and her journey into becoming a better book critic. I suppose it’s time to introduce her.
Hello! I’m Annabell, and I love reading books. In fact, I may have a problem – once I start, I can’t put it down. I get so engrossed in the story, that I invest all my time and energy into the novel. I mean, would you rather be doing math homework or reading The Hunger Games? I thought so. As a teacher, I want my future classroom to include my dream library – a cozy nook with fairy lights full of wonderful novels. I hope to share with my students my love of stories and storytelling, and hope to inspire them with their own love of books.
Although I enjoy a wide variety of literature, my favourite genres in particular include dystopian, science fiction, thrillers, horror, and coming-of-age. The imaginativeness and subtle commentary on society kept me fascinated by dystopians, such as The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury or Delirium by Lauren Oliver. In addition, the rich, vivid descriptiveness and detailing in science horror fiction such as the Annihilation series by Jeff VanderMeer. As well, coming-of-age novels such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky are so touching and moving that you gain a sense of intimacy with the book.
While I very much enjoy reading, oftentimes I find myself with nothing to judge. My only critique after finishing a book consists of; “that was awesome. Ijust wish it was longer”. However, I came to realize that critiquing and analyzing the quality of writing/storytelling is a good skill to have, particularly as I hope to have books of my own published someday. I would have a hard time eyeing the flaws within my own writing, if I can’t find the flaws in other works. In addition, knowing how to critique novels would help me with critical thinking and observation stills. It would be a good skill to pass onto my students, and would help them analyze and critically think for themselves as well.
Therefore, my inquiry project is going to be my own personal, honest reviews of some of the books I’ve read and enjoyed. I consider this to be a personal challenge, as I love raving on and on about the positives of a story, but am often stumped when it comes to criticism. In my reviews I will include the knowledge I will collect about the makings of a good story and story writing.
