Para-Text and Tangible Books

This post was designed and dedicated to Linda and her students. Keep up the great work. @LLumiss 

For Teachers:
Did you ever flip through a book and find a surprising artifact inside? I frequent a really good used bookstore and I often find random and often strange things tucked into books. Imagine, someone in another time, reaching for something to tuck into their books to hold a spot, mark an idea, or just keep something hidden from someone else. Some of my favorite finds are a four-leaf clover, a letter from one person to another about the poet of the book, and pictures tossed as a place holder. 

More than just holding a book and leafing through it is this idea of inserted things. When J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorset set out to make the book S. they took this concept to an extreme. The book is merely the vehicle in which the story is given through inserted things, letters, postcards, margin notes, and other things. For a better understanding of the book, The Story of "S": Talking with J. J. Abrams and Doug Dorst from the New Yorker will give you an insight into the complexity and the focus of this fascinating book. Showing this book to readers in better than just showing them a book, because it shows the mystery and the complexity of what could also be added and inserted into the mix. This is a great book to show to a group of students and let them see all the elements inside. 

This leads to the idea that books are influenced by what surrounds them. Gerard Genette, literary critic, coined the phrase "paratext", he described these around-the-edge-of-a-book elements to influence not only how a book is read, but what expectations might be found there. Paratext includes blurbs, authorial comments, reviews, illustrations, footnotes, endnotes, and more. To dive into that world, check out his book Paratexts: Thresholds of Interpretation, which is worth perusing to understand his vision of thinking. His vision of how text around the main text influence the reader is significant. 

Ideas and Starters for Students 
For some students looking at a book and holding it is not a familiar thing to consider. Book lovers and librarians ruminate about how they adore books, but we are in the minority. 

Part One: Have students look at books and consider all the parts. Books with prefaces, introductions, indexes, endnotes, table of contents, footnotes, and other texts help them see the connectivity. Ask them to identify the different elements of the book and why they think they are important. 

Then ask them what they think of a fiction writer using a footnote in a story that they made up. Why would they do this? Why would this be useful? 

Louis Borges used made up books and connections to make his story seem more applicable and ground some of his more abstract ideas. Other books like the confusing and complex House of Leave by Mark Danielewski also works to confuse matters. 

Part Two: Collect random ephemera, postcards, sticky notes, napkins, little slips of paper, notes to friends, receipts, anything that can be concealed in a book. Have the students flip through the book and consider what the book is about. Then have them take out all the things in that book. Have them write a story of who they think owed the book and what happened according to the found things. 

Part Three: What kind of artifacts would students like to leave in a book? Would this hide a letter, underline the funny words, or make the entire book into a complex cipher. (I don't condone defacing books for the sake of these ideas). Have the students create a statement on an index card that makes a statement or a request from the reader who finds it. What would happen if someone read this card? What would happen if it was found in 100 years?

A cross-over type of social activity would be tapping into BookCrossing where students could read books and then release them in their environments and see where they go. This is a fun way for physical books to be considered in real time as they travel about. 

This would probably entail using donated books and then sharing them back into the community. It is a free resource and it shows that books can have a life of their own and a lot of people who may not have access to books, still love to read. -- # September 2017

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by Ron Samul from We Are the Curriculum
Please send fun classroom feedback, pictures, or general connections to this post to ronsamulwriter@gmail.com / Would love to see what you are doing in the classroom. 
Ron is an expert at the Digital Human Library and connects with teachers all over the world to inspire creativity in writing, books, and critical thinking. 

Unquestioning Writing - When Good Is Good Enough

by Ron Samul 

As writers, we are constantly thinking about the audience and the impact of our writing. It is a fundamental element of teaching, thinking, and writing. It made me think, when I saw this tweet by Maha Bali, when she mentioned this moment. 

This is gonna sound funny, but I think sometimes one can write something that is SO powerful that no one comments. Because it's that good!

— ℳąhą Bąℓi مها بالي (@Bali_Maha) December 15, 2015

This is a complex idea, and from a writing standpoint, it is also a brave idea. Writers as communicators and creative generators always seem to humble and diminish their craft. In this case, Maha is confident and sees that sometimes - no one comments because of the "powerful". I really admire the confidence and the realization that sometimes - that the power of writing can overwhelm. Why? 

Social Media 
The concept of finding something meaningful and important on social media is relevant to me. Online courses, MOOCs, connected learning, creative spaces -- all interact through social media. For me, learning, thinking, and listening to very smart and creative people comes from my interaction with social media. However, not everyone comes to social media to find that kind of connection. 

Some people are connecting with family and friends, some are just passing by while they watch their favorite TV show, some are broadcasting on Periscope as they walk to work. Why people use social media is tailored to each person. The depth of reading and interaction really comes down to the user. And it isn't happening in real time, it is happening along a timeline that could be shifting through time zones and cultures. Sometimes, the most important statements or blog posts don't get the attention I think they deserve, merely because I posted them on a Friday afternoon before a holiday (fail). 

But more importantly, people are looking for an interaction that is quick and reactive on social media. Things that make them stop, think, and experience deeper level thinking, (which relates to selective solitude, pausing, and deep reflection), may not fit into the "Like" or "+1" world of immediate reaction. This has spurred the age of important, meaningful quotes on stunning images. 

In this scan and click age, deep thinking and impactful ideas sometimes need a difference venue. It sometimes needs a blogpost, or some area where things can be expanded and slowly unpacked. And sometimes, the "Like" or the "Share" simply doesn't relate the importance of meaning at that moment. Sometimes, I see an image or a concept and I want to keep it. I want to hold on to it. But where would I keep it? Social media lets you keep it on social media terms. But when something is meaningful, we want to do more than just throw it on our timeline. Perhaps it is merely my personal need to embody ideas, art, and writing in tangible ways. Social media isn't going away and perhaps a thirty-year archive of my Facebook posts will allow me to go back and find that poem I recall so sweetly. But I want to make moments my own - outside of the screen. I want to print them out and save them. I want to fold them up and leave them in a book to discover them in a few years. 

Student Writing 
Being a writing teacher is a complex beast. Following syllabus standards, rubrics, college standards, your own vision, and the student's vision - we create a position where we are looking for the right answer to the assignment. Writing is subjective and I am looking at process, not the right order of words in a sentence. I am looking at critical thinking, how you cite sources, how you can create a document that convinces me. There is some excellent writing that comes by in terms of student writing, but I find that those elements are the product of good thinking, critical research, and planning. It comes from students who engage the learning process. And sometimes, compared to the whole class or the entire writing section, you have to acknowledge excellence as it comes to you. And sometimes, after two or three rewrites and a clear process of thinking and learning - there comes a moment when you don't need it better. They have learned - they have more than met your requirements, and they deserve to stand in that moment and feel the significance of their work. 

Creative Writing 
Creative acts are a different beast. When you apply rubrics and grading schemes to a poem or a short story, it gets awkward and complex. The "powerful" concept that Maha tweets about can be emotional, formative, and change the way we see the world. That is what art does. And sometimes, from a creative writing mentor point-of-view, you have to judge something that isn't vetted through a rubric or a course guide. It comes from emotion, it comes from form and content magically aligning to make a moment (perhaps in time if read or spoken) that matches our time and space with the ideas of someone else. 

I always question my role in interfering with the creative process. It isn't my story to tell, it is my job to make the writer think about making the story better. That is complex. And my suggestions are never - "throw this out and start over," because I would be devastated if someone told me that. But this "powerful" part of writing and speaking is fascinating to me. And there has to be a moment when we realize that expression and time meet you when you need it. There are so many poems, books, and important things written all the time. When I need them (personally), they will be there. I don't always see them now because I am looking at different things that I need now. We are all on different paths and moving in different ways. We find those moments that are "powerful" because we are looking. We need to stop counting "likes" and stats, and imagine that if one person moved forward because of the power of our words, it is always... always worth it. 

I don't think I am done defining Maha's "powerful" because I think there is a lot to the creative elements here. There is an important conversation here in defining the "powerful" in our writing, in our expression, and in our ideas. We need to value them - make an earnest and important effort to value those words and ideas that can change lives. It may not make you famous or popular, but it is a rich and deeply thoughtful life, one without regrets. 

by Ron Samul -- want to know more about me... go here. 

Ron Samul is a writer and educator. For more information or to contact him, go to www.RonSamul.org 


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

QR Codes and Your Syllabus

Syllabus 
Ever feel like your syllabus becomes a major work of contractual obligation, spelling out expectations, clauses for different areas of the college, purpose, and intent? Do you feel like much of your syllabus is based on issues that have come up in the past and need amending? My syllabus feels like a complex governmental document that doesn't always outline the creativity and importance of the course - but just a lot of boilerplate things that the students don't read anyway.

There is a lot of different ways to reinvent a syllabus, but I would like to add a few QR Codes to my syllabus. By adding Quick Response Codes in my syllabus, students have some quick access to me. Here are some ideas.

• By scanning a QR Code - students will be able to load my contact information into their phones with one quick scan, including my phone number, email, and office location. 
• By scanning a QR Code - students will be able to find my office on Google Maps and get there without excuses. 
• By scanning a QR Code - students can link to the course website or upload a copy of the syllabus to their phones or tablets. 

Students are coming into the classroom phones and tablets. These once basic things are now very powerful. Using CR Codes in developing a quick connect to elements in the syllabus might allow students to quickly access information that would take time to enter into their phones. 

This does not mean that we will discard traditional syllabus information and institutional goals and templates. But it does give students Quick Response Codes that will allow them to gather information quickly and have it in their devices. 

For students who are not interested in scanning codes - they still have access to the printed material and information. While it might seem like a novelty - it also can guide them to places like the course website, the login space for a LMS, or even take them to the library homepage for help with subject guides and other resources. 

Assignment Sheets

This concept applies to assignment sheets. When I present an assignment to my class, the first thing I do is pass it out on paper. If there is a QR Code on the top of the assignment sheet - students can then use their phones or devices to access the URL where they can find the electronic versions of the assignment. On that sheet, students might also find QR Codes for library resources and other elements. While I would provide links and other pathways to discovery for non-scanners, this would be an easy why for students to find this information. 

Tutoring centers could develop their own QR Code - a key to signing up for tutoring appointments or schedule. 

Asethetics

I should mention - I really admire the practicality of QR Code boxes, however, I think they look oppressive. I've seen some graphic designed boxes that look cool. I wonder where the line can be draw between funcationaly and looks when it comes to these codes. I annotated a poem using QR Codes and it looked so odd. 

In searching for cool QR Codes I found these and -- they work! Try it! 

Like all technology, we run the risk of putting too much focus on a particular element of technology. In looking at different ways to use these boxes, it has allowed me to study a peice of imprintable media that can be used in a variety of ways. It isn't all very functional. In fact, sometimes, it doesn't work at all. But it is a way for us to help students input, access, and share information on the devices in their hands right now. It has also allowed me to develop and think about how these odd electronic keys might open different opportunities for me and the students in an academic setting. 

Any feedback, ideas, or collaboration on these ideas are always welcome.

Ron Samul is a writer and educator. For more information or to contact him, go to www.RonSamul.org 


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License

QR Code Project on the Ground / Leftovers from #DigiWriMo

Part of #DigiWriMo, I explored the idea of QR Codes and the potential for them to become keys to other information, ideas, and interconnections. Because I can't just leave things in hypothetical, I decided to attempt this in real time.

I asked the students in my Graphic Novel course to write reviews of graphic novels that are in the library. Then we created QR Codes to print on a bookmark that was inserted in the books. When students at the college find these bookmarks in the books, they can scan the code and see what people are saying concerning the book. The students wrote an introduction, a commentary on the artwork, the comparative landscape, and (of course) their own verdict of the graphic novel.  Adding cover art, links and vidoes, the students completed the assignment. The objective of the course was to allow students to create an artifact (bookmarks), while drawing interest to the graphic novel collection in our library. It was the librarians that supported our efforts in creating the design, getting them into a display format, and adding them into the books.

Good Article About the Connections Between Academic Writing and Blogging

A robust article about the connections between academic writing and blogging. It is just a reminder that there is a significant connection between the art of writing every day and the academic practice that sometimes gets pushed aside in the flurry of grading, managing students, and working long hours. 

The other important feature that isn't mentioned in the article (but I will throw it in anyway) is that blogging also gives you space to contribute and write on ideas that you might be drawing in from digital course, mentoring, and other collaborative expereinces. 

Pat Thomson is a Professor of Education in the School of Education, The University of Nottingham.

http://patthomson.net/2015/12/07/blogging-helps-academic-writing/

Reflections On Mentoring / "Only connect..."

This week, I've been thinking about the role of the mentor. I understand my official role as a mentor. But I feel like it has taken me some time to develop what I can do for students who connect. I am not the line editor, although I can pick out places where I think the writing needs work. I am the mentor who connects. Perhaps it is partly from the obsession I have with E. M. Forster's epigraph at the beginning of Howard's End that says simple "Only connect...." and he adds three pesky ellipses that just don't connect. Ugh! That idea is like a hand grenade in my brain. It is such a simple puzzle: elegant, beautiful, and sad. This relates to my mentoring philosophy. I want to find ways to enhance the likelihood of the writer writing. That is my job. 

#DigiWriMo - Cool Graphic To Navigate The Story Jumpers

#DigiWriMo -- Letter to Humanity/ Writing to Things We Cannot See

It started with a writing prompt. And that was inspired by Tom O'Brien (The Things They Carried). He wrote a piece in life magazine - a letter to his son who was an infant. He wanted to say so many things to him that he wouldn't understand, but he might not get to say as an older father. So he wrote his son a letter.

Inspired by the idea of writing to someone who might not be there to read it, I asked my creative class of adults to try it as an inclass writing prompt. The result was amazing. The prompt is to write a letter to someone in the past, present, or future who may or may not read it.

Some people write to realtives that have passed. Some writer to people that they have disconnected with. It simply doesn't matter. One night, I offered the assignment to a class and everyone read. I got to my last sutdent and she read about her father comitting suicide. And half way through her reading, she broke down. And the most amazing moment was when she pounded on the desk, choked back all those emotions and said, "I have to finish this." And she did it. She read the entire letter. When I got done with the class and got out to the car, I sat for a moment. "What are you doing?" I asked myself.

#Rhizo15 / The Humanistic Devotion

In the New York Times Sunday Review there was an interesting article on one of my hot topic issues, atheism. As someone who considers atheism and humanism the only path of understanding our lives, I feel that sometimes, the rhizome learning style is made for nomads, made for people who want proof not a philosophy. Reading that article and opening with the idea of meeting on Sunday with people leading a lecture series is interesting to me. Why Sunday? Why at all. Rhizo15 and the concept of nomadic learning, finding your own way, and taking ownership of your vision knowledge is autonomy and self-reliance made real. I agree with the article that we shouldn't be a political social group that goes after other religions and faiths, but finds common ground with them. I am not opposed to going to church. All of the churches I've been to have been very kind and open to my attendance. 

It brought me back to the series of essays I wrote a few years ago and had one published based on literature and religion have areas of overlap which are intriguing and complex. In my study of literature and the art of fiction, it is no surprise that the stories in the bible and the complexities of religious language feels something like good storytelling. I understand the issue with calling the bible fiction, but it should and is often examined with the same tools and understanding that any book or piece of world literature would be considered. Hence the beauty of thinking about these stories on their face value, and as allegory and metaphors of understanding. 

So, what is my point. My point is that religion for me is like everything else in my world of learning and inquiry. However, it also comes preloaded with political and social contexts and conditions that one had to be understanding and sometimes careful with. My faith is in us, and we have all contributed to this understanding of the world. And that is powerful and enlightening in and of itself. I might move back into that series. And talk openly why and how I think we should value a discussion about religious stories, how they are told, and why they are important. And if readers want to find divinity in those ideas, that is their choice. And I will be looking at the humanistic perspective of how we continue to define our purpose and our thinking. 

Faith and Art: willing suspension of disbelief  

If anyone has like-minded projects, read books, or just has an opinion on this topic, I would love to hear your ideas and work. I am happy to share some of the other writings that have come from this idea. Be well. Long live #rhizo15! (until #Rhizo16). 

“There are two types of people in this world. Those who want to know and those who want to believe” – F. Nietzsche