Facing Electronic Literature

When it comes down to writing a research paper or using electronic literature to create ideas, I would choose electronic literature. I think everyone needs to know and understand how to write a research paper but using electronic literature is more engaging. Being able to create a visual aide for your research is more effective to the learning process. For example, doing this blog was more engaging than writing a research paper about the novel I chose. It was easier for me to show you a visual that represented the novel rather than trying to explain it through words. But we also need to use the research paper in our classrooms. Knowing how to put information together and use quotes is valuable to learning. The research paper will never go away so we might as well know how to construct one.

The down side to using the learning screen is the distractions. I think students will get distracted from the true meaning of literature when using this. We need to let them construct their own thoughts and ideas before turning to the learning screen. Also I think the learning screen needs to be developed more and more teacher friendly first. There is so much out there, I think as teachers we get scared. We like to turn to what we know and I don't see a problem in that. Teachers always tell us to write what we know. That is what teachers are doing in their classrooms.

Overall I think both of these have their downfalls but also positive ideas behind them. I think it depends on the what you are teaching and how you are teaching it. This will decided what is right for your classroom. Exploring new things is great and it will forever change our classrooms. Just don't forget the basics.

If I were to chose a research paper or the learning screen for Identical, I would chose the learning screen. Since the novel is not written traditionally, I would chose I non-traditional project. It would be interesting to see what the kids come up with. I personally loved the trailers made for these books. It was awesome to see kids take in the subject content and create something they understood. Overall I would choose the learning screen over a research paper for this book because it is not a traditional book. I wish there were more books like this because more students would enjoy poetry, like I do.

Identical is told my many different perspectives and that makes it hard to make one visualization for the whole book. The story is told from Kaeleigh, Raeanne, their mom, dad, and their boyfriends point of view. Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical twins but it's easy to tell them apart. The only time we see a different side of each twin is at the end of the book. The end of the book is what gave me the idea for this visual. Each character struggles through out the whole book. We see them fall down and get to their lowest. They all have two sides to them and we see each side multiple times. It's as if these characters have a public side and a private side. This really shows with their mom and dad. Their dad is a judge and the mom is in politics. Each of them have a scary private life that should never be shown in public. This image shows all aspects of Identical. The split personality is true for each character in this book and not just the twins. This image shows a person breaking away from themselves. Trying to become something else but still remain who they are. This is what I see when I read Identical. I didn't want to find anything about twins because we already know what that may look like. This image fits exactly what I want for this book.

The colors also show what this book represents. The book has several characters and they all want us to know our their story. I feel like the colors are telling their stories for us. Each color represents a different character and their story. The end of the book throws a curve ball at us and this image shows that as well. The ending is something we don't see coming and I think this image is kind of like that. Trying to understand this image is exactly how the book unfolds.

I wanted an image to represent the book as a whole and not just the main character. I feel like we tend to praise the main character, instead of the minor ones. This book is different in that aspect because each character gets their own chapter. We get to hear their voice and how they feel. This image does just that. We can see all the minor details and weakness, yet we still keep looking.

Identical is represented in a positive way online. Ellen Hopkins website is a great tool to learn about how Hopkins chose to write Identical. Also this website gives us a page of the novel to read and see her style of writing. Her website gives lots of background information on all her novels and about her personally. The subject matter of Identical is very deep and heavy all the way through. The internet could have easily ripped it apart and made it seem like something we shouldn't read. Check out her website because it is very interesting and gives lots of information.

I also read Hopkins live journal online and she represents all her books on this page. She talks about different aspects of Identical and takes us through it step by step. I read her journal after I read the book to get a deeper understanding. She also posts things about her life and how she writes. I think this is great because we get to see a different side of the author. Usually we just know the authors name and not much else. I find this website to be similar to this blog. She is inventing was of thinking, learning, and exploring what literature means to her and her readers.

I also discovered a video on teachertube about Identical. I think this is a good example of where electronic literature could go. It's a video lead to a book review Web site about Identical by Ellen Hopkins. It gives us a visual of what the book will be like. I think this would be great to do for books your were teaching. Showing a visual is really what electronic literature is about and this was perfect. Here is the link for the video.

The print literature I am going to focus on is titled, Identical by Ellen Hopkins. I choose this particular book because it is not your typical novel. It is written in poetry form and each page can be read different. Some pages are written in columns, you can either read straight across connecting the columns, or read each on individually. This gives the novel a more dynamic read because it is visual and each page has several ways to read. I like Hopkins novels because of this dynamic ability. I like reading each page and getting several different ideas all on one page. I find this type of reading more interactive than regular written novels.

I have read all of Hopkins novels and this is the most recent on I finished. The novel focuses on Kaeleigh and Reanne who have identical DNA. They can see their sister and themselves when they look in the mirror. Both parents are engulfed by their work. Mom is a political candidate always on the campaign trail even if she comes home. Dad is a district court judge with an unhealthy love for Kaeleigh while ignoring Reanne. Readers come to know these two girls through alternating poetry. There is a secret that looms over Reanne and Kaeleigh that when revealed will shock readers. This is an engaging read that will hold onto the reader and take them for a ride to the dramatic end. The twist at the end is just as twisted as the writing style.

My background experience with this novel is simply that I love to read this author. I never look on the website to read about her books before I read them. I always want to enjoy them before I read reviews or a different take on the novel. I love her writing style and that makes this novel very visual. Most students do not like poetry and find it hard to understand. Hopkins takes poetry and makes it her own. She makes a plot and characters out of poetry and not a lot of students know you can do this.

Two sisters
Who are
Identical in every physical feature
Need each other but a
Secret gets in the way

"Connections between events, people, and things in the world." Calvino suggests that multiplicity is a way of connecting us to literature. I think that finding a way to connect with literature is the best way to read. Finding something in a story that relates to your own life makes reading even more enjoyable. Finding multiple ways to connect is what Calvino wants us to know. The concept of multiplicity could simply be said as a connection but I know it's much more deep than that. Calvino tells us that knowledge is the awareness of the incapability of two opposite polarities. I understand this as we find a connect in things that we normally don't find a connection. When I read I am constantly trying to find something to connect to. Some times I visualize the house to be my own just so I have some thing to connect to. Calvino makes multiplicity hard to connect with but it is not impossible to do.

I choose this picture to represent multiplicity because it shows connections between events, people, and things in the world. The newspaper is the perfect print literature to find connections in. This photo is also easy to connect with and that's what I wanted to address. Looking at this picture allows lots of memories and connections to arise. The glasses and the pin can draw lots of connections for me. I also like how there is a circle drawn on the newspaper. To me this shows that a connection has been made with the paper and the events taking place. Having multiple connections with literature it what I think of multiplicity.

"Visibility can give warning of danger. We may be losing a basic human faculty: the power of bringing visions into focus with our eyes shut, of bringing forth forms of colors from lines, of black letters on a white page, and in fact of thinking in terms of images." This is how I learn, in terms of visual images. It's easier for me to visualize things when I read and basically everything in my life. If you show me an example of something, I will jump right into it. Calvino made a statement that we learn to see before we read. This is where simple minded rhyming couplets provide no illuminating information. I think this suggests that we should provide our kids and students with more visual stimulating readings. Being visual is a concept that Calvino suggests because seeing is usually believing. A visual image is a trigger to the brain where as other things do not do as much. Being visual is everything in my mind. Being a visual reader is what Calvino wants us to be.

I choose this image because you are able to bring this vision into focus with your eyes shut. You can visualize the water running and the apples floating in water. If this was described in a piece of literature, you can easily see what it may look like. Calvino says that a visual image can trigger the brain and I think this image does just that. The splashing of the water around the apple triggers the brain and builds connections right away. This image is exactly what visibility represents in my understanding of Calvino.

Calvino says exactitude is, "a well-defined and well-calculated plan by which the text is constructed." Being exact in which a text is planned is what authors do. I think exactitude is the concept of being memorable and clear. I have a problem with flow in my writing sometimes because I have a hard time putting all my thoughts together. Calvino's exactitude gives me perspective on improving my writing. Making my writing memorable and clear is what I need to work on. Calvino's writing was not always clear to me but it was memorable in the sense that I took something away from it. Being exact in our writing is the concept I think Calvino wants us to learn. I found this picture of trees making an X with their shadows and this makes me think of being exact. The X tells us where we need to be and this is where we should go.

I chose this image because it shows X marks the spot. Calvino states that exactitude is a well-defined and well-calculated plan in which a text is constructed. This image shows direction and stability. I think this is what Calvino wants out of literature, he wants a precise plan that shows direction. A focus is what I think of when it comes to exactitude. This image gives us an exact focus. X marks the stop is what I understand from Calvino's exactitude.