Blog 4
Hope Wilson
Progress Report

Monday my computer crashed. I lost approximately two thousand words. It killed my mo jo for two

days. I could not get back to my  mindset of inspirational writing. My story begin reading like a

biography. I am attempting to write a young adult book that will inspire children in poverty to

persevere. Thursday I picked up my iPad and it was back. That inspirational concept where I left off

at Sunday.  Then I had to play catch up. It was great that I was off Thursday. I wrote four thousand

words Thursday and completed my fourth book Friday. Saturday is my girlfriend 50th birthday party

and I want to attend. As promised and according to the class assignment I will continue to write until

Wednesday. I will focus on my introduction, conclusion, and my book dedication.

Good luck guys in your life journeys. Maybe I will see some of you in passing or in class.

Good luck Dr. Zamora!!!

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Blog 3

Hope Wilson

Progress Report

My creative juices are increasingly growing and rapidly flowing. I am completing my books in 

great spirit. Writing these books has improved my spiritual being tremendously when writing. 

This assignment is exactly what my summer needs. This is a great distraction from some of 

my personal worries. Maintaining my one thousand word a day is now effortless. It has 

become a mental escape. It is equivalent to mediating for me. It has been confirmed. A 

couple of my purposes in life are definitely to become  an educator and assist children to 

achieve their purpose in life. Also to write young adult novels providing children a window 

into other children lives. Providing them with different ideologies.

Hey Guys! How is it going? Please feel free to bounce any ideas off me. I am checking my 

emails daily. I am also available to talk. My work hours are flexible.

Hope Wilson
Week 2 

Progress Report

Writing this inspirational children book has opened my creative thoughts in aspects I did not know 

exist. I am attempting to encourage children who are born into poverty and in uncompromising living 

situations. I am also making an effort to advise them of team work and the importance of sharing 

valuable information with other children in similar living conditions. I am attempting to encourage 

children to plan their escape legally with educational means. If this book inspires one child to 

persevere it will be an attribute to my legacy.

Guys I am still doing a lot of editing. This week my writing has began to flow free. Monday I 

began to write 1,000 words a day and it has been working great for me. Although I have 

not gotten use to the goal set forth. I have been meeting the 5,000 words a week. How are you guys 

doing?

Good Luck Guys!!!

Hope Wilson
Weekly Progress Report

First day of class was joy for me. I love learning and it is always a joy to 

meet people. Plus Dr. Zamora always creates a relaxing class environment.When I presented my 

word count in class I did not realize it was for all five books. My first book had consist of two 

thousand words. When I realized that I went into panic mode. I wrote for and hour 

Wednesday night which consist of one thousand words,  two hours Thursday night writing 

another thousand words in addition to editing the entire book, and three hours today which 

brought my word count to thirty five hundred. I will be writing all day Saturday until I reach my 

goal. Sunday I will be editing all of my writings again. I am constantly editing. I can not keep up with 

my thoughts. I am leaving out words and misspelling many words in the rush to reach my goal.  

Writing is fun without the pressure...:) This is definitely a challenge.

Good Luck Guys!!

The Literary, The Humanistic, The Digital: Toward a Research Agenda for Digital Literary Studies

Julia Flanders

What is Digital Humanities and What’s it Doing in English Department?

Mathew G. Kirchenbaum

Hope Wilson

         I have recently began to personally utilizing computers.I actually carry my iPad daily on most days to read and research at my leisure. Just last year I was utilizing computers for school and work related concerns only. I now feel comfortable with my learn knowledge of some applications that I now research, make purchases, and download information when needed. 

       The digital humanity has become a popular concern of many scholars concerning the English department as well as public usage. As soon as I read the first couple of lines I too googled digital humanities and my results where on wikipedia also. The definition is the digital humanities, also known as humanities computing, is a field of study, research, teaching, and invention concerned with the intersection of computing and the disciplines of the humanities. It is methodological by nature and interdisciplinary in scope. It involves investigation, analysis, synthesis and presentation of information in electronic form. It studies how these media affect the disciplines in which they are used, and what these disciplines have to contribute to our knowledge of computing. There are constant concerns of how to reinvent and improve processes like the success of the project of the “developed and tested standards and best practices for archiving and ensuring future access to computer games, interactive fiction, and virtual communities” providing the users with better applications. Digital humanities are encouraging change in the English Department. It provides options on how to research, teach, invent, and compute. The entire methodology of investigating, analyzing and how we present information in electric form have changed. This change will provide enormous amount of access to needed information and research. Although I consider myself to be “old school” I continue to enjoy going to a physical library and holding books in my hand as I read them. I have adjusted to the internet because it has its convenient. I am engaged in progress and inspired by the technical tools that are presently available to students and willing users. Although we must consider “The recession-era push to do more with less provides motivation for both defensive, retreating shifts (such as elimination of specialized departments and increased class size) and opportunistic ones (such as the creation of online educational programs that arguably serve to expand access and increase educational opportunities even while they help reduce costs). But both shifts reduce the visibility of the individual—reduce the proportionality, we might say, of the individual to the system. This is true whether we are considering the teacher (now an intellectual focal point for an expanding set of educational relationships that might number in the hundreds or thousands per course) or the student (now a proportionally smaller participant in larger and larger classrooms or online learning communities). It is important to note that both retreat and opportunity operate in the same way here: they accept the same structural premises, namely that the individual must be placed in ever greater subordination to a system of interconnections and that the efficiency and scale of the educational operation are the primary measures of its success—a developmental direction mapped out and justified by the logic of industrial technology,” may effect the transition of technology. We must also consider how accurate our look up has to be to receive exactly what we are searching. The library system is more convenient in that aspect. Considering the World Wide Web has enormous amount of information available to the seeker who are  knowledgeable of the process of researching information. We use to know exactly what we were getting in books and in the World Wide Web I am not exactly sure.

Hope Wilson

The Activist Learner

Inquiry, Literacy, and Service to Make Learning Matter

By Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Whitney Douglas, and Sara W. Fry

Foreword by Mary Beth Tinker

Afterword by Bruce Novak

      Teaching to the test was never my favorite approach to engage students in classroom assignments.

Students will talk more if they knew their voices matters “From responding with interest when

students are enthusiastic about something like the opportunity to raise a shark, to being incense about

human rights violations, to being an attentive listener to student conversation, teachers can identify

potential topics. Remember that the underlying goal of inquiry is to connect students personally to the

materials of the curriculum and then connect what is learn back to the world in a way that it can be

used,” also increasing their personal growth. When teachers and students are communicating on a

person level it makes a great learning relationship. Service learning projects also improves teachers

relationships “ In addition to having the capacity to help improve service learning projects, work as

thinking partners provides rewarding collegial connections. When challenges arise and seen

overwhelming, thinking partners serve as mentors who see possibilities and remind one another of the

greater purpose of teaching with service learning. Positive collegial connections and support help

teachers remain and thrive in the profession” which may encourage other educator to engage in the

service learning projects. The parents expectations are familiar as they are consider “another site of

resource and support, as they can reinforce and extend at home what students are learning and doing

at school,” as they enhance their relationship with their child, increase their quality time, and

encourage better work ethics.

        
        The Activist Learner concept prepares students for future endeavors and personal relationships.

Service learning will increase students concept on the laws of life as their articulation skills increases.

It will also intensify their community life as it does takes a village to raise a child. 

Principles for Practice

What is Social Action?
Jennie Fleming, Ian Boulton

     I can identify and appreciate this valuable selection. It cleared up my concept on Social Action. I had concerns with the generic term social action,” Social Action is a community development theory base on the simple premise that change is possible. The Social Action approach enables groups of all ages and circumstances to take action and to achieve their collective goals. It offers an easy-to understand, open-ended process that enables people to identify and act on issues that are important to them while a set of principles. For us at the Centre for Social Action, Social Action is a distinctive methodology and should not be confused with the generic term social action, which describes activity aimed at brings about change in society.” engaging people in the necessities of change. Encouraging people to acknowledge their situation and persevered as they interact with their environment and the community.  Life appreciation is also encouraged” Injustice and oppression are complex issues rotted in social policy, the environment, and the economy. Social Action workers understand that people may experience problems as individuals but that these difficulties can be translated into common concerns. We recognize that there are many different problems in individuals’ lives. They may feel overwhelmed and daunted by mean: they may even be responsible for them. Social Action gives people the opportunity to break free from a negative view” which is the greatest approach when encouraging someone.

      Analyzing social change is familiar. Encouraging people to share themselves and work with

others are amazing. Getting people to not focus on being judged of their bad decision instead to focus

on The Social Action Process is awesome. The process is structured and work with everyone that

allows the process to work for them. It must be rewarding for all involved “to be allowed to reach

their conclusion in their own time” which takes away all constraints. When someone life is

unbalanced and then it becomes balanced you get to appreciate the person's soul.

Hope Wilson

Online Fan Fiction, Global Identities, and Imagination

By Rebecca Black

Learning Can Be Fun

        Increasing literacy with untraditional methods is awesome! Considering the “ Theoretical 

constructs within globalization and literacy studies are used to describe the influence of new media and techniques on modern configurations of imagination, identity, communication and writings,” are encouraging amazing imagination creativity for today students. Especially for the students that speak English as their second language. This new era of students who are up to the challenge, considering they were born into the era of the globalization of media, will prove to inspiring for othere. Some of theoretical constructs can use is lessons such as; “media studies, social sciences, education, and the humanities offers rich theoretical and empirical accounts of contemporary issues related to these trans-border flows of cultural, symbolic, and material objects” are impressive. The lessons learn will prove valuable in “exploration of the role of the information technology revolution in the emergence of new social political structures such as the 'network society” (Castells, 2000) that challenge traditional economy and regional configurations of capitalism and nation-state” increasing productivity to progress into this new era of globalization. 

          Fan fiction inspires the creativity in the user. It is an amazing way to observe someone’s creativity skills. As “fans extend story lines, create new narrative threads, develop romantic relationships between characters, and focus on the lives of underdeveloped characters from various media “ motivating fun as students remain attentive. It is great for all that is involved they “ interact with youths from across the globe as they develop new linguistic and technical skills” increasing their learning momentum. 

             Youth's learning deficiencies must be acknowledged on a personal level " Critical literacy teaching begins by problematizing the culture and knowledge " usually begins with a conversation and ends with a resolution. 

       

           

Developing Students Critical Literacy: 

Exploring Identity Construction in Young Adult Fiction

By Thomas W. Bean and Karen Moni

Children need to be able to identify their problems and escape the feeling of being the only one experiencing difficult times. The” issues that are relevant to teens, including racism, pregnancy, divorce, substance abuse, family con-flicts, and political injustice, young adult novels provide a roadmap of sorts for adolescents coping with these issues in real life,” reading about it may encourage a conversation. The world is constantly evolving “ Dramatic world changes, particularly globalization of markets, challenge long-established ideologies and values related to work and family [Langhorne,2001). In a world of constant movement and flow, media images of advertising and commerce seep into our lives and strongly influence identity development” causing some children to begin a path of negative decision making. 

       Children should be encouraged to read young adult literature and have a discussion afterward. Considering the “issues of reader voice, positioning, inclusion of diverse literature, and an expanded lit- erary canon are all important elements in the mes- sages about reading and responding to literature that students take from their school experiences. For example, struggling readers are sometimes in-troduced to less inspiring readings and response tasks that minimize their voices (Agee, 2000;) their connection to young adult literature is as inspiring as other young adults giving them similar take aways.