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It's hard to say for certain from this particular photo, but the troll's noggin could use a few dark moves. Tonally it seems too similar to the rocks and castle that are way off in the distance - in fact if I look away from the painting then look back my eye bounces back and forth from these two masses (similar size too now that I notice it) then it settles on the key. Then again, it could just be this particular photo.

Great work!

Interesting!!

Interesting, looking forward to seeing whats next!

Steve! I was going through my blog links and was surprised that your blog was gone. You're a hard guy to find! what happened with the other blog?

Hey! The other blog was dumped...well...over a year ago, which would make you just a wee bit slow on the uptake. ;)

Actually I got rid of it because some of the stuff I was writing about was actually doing more harm than good to my career, so I closed up shop.

I really just use this new one as a promotional tool for my illustration. The stories are a lot less interesting, much fewer in number, and a whole lot more family friendly. ;)

Nice to hear from you again!

Steve

This recording did not play well. It sounded very distorted. Please update it so that I can utilize it in my online courses. What is more, try not to use excessive music. It serves as only a distracter. Check out Clark (2003), Building Expertise. She clearly states that too much music distracts learning.
Food for thought,
Anitra

Thanks for your thoughts Anitra and I’m glad you have been able to use CLIP in your courses. This episode was actually a listener/student submission where the author used synthesized his voice as part of his MFEdoomcator persona.

I do have a transcript of his entire audio which is accessible by clicking on the word ‘more’ in the show notes. It’s a very good text so I would recommend having a read.

Thanks

As a student in Vivian’s EDU 619 Critical Literacy Class, I always felt very unsure of myself. I always felt that I really did not understand what critical literacy was. Often timid, I never could muster up the courage to actually say what I was thinking or feeling about a number of issues that we talked about. Yesterday during our last class, my group decided to use one of the strategies that we talked about throughout the course entitled “Graffiti”. Our group had a hard time deciding what we wanted to put on the white paper. We all had very different ideas of what we thought the class was about (or so we thought we did!) I realized then that there was no “right” answer to critical literacy. In fact, we were all saying the same things, we just internalized them and talked about them differently. I was very interested in listening to this podcast because again, I wanted to know if the same things that I was thinking were being said through someone who may be a bit more articulate than I am. So thank you again for this podcast. It reaffirmed my own beliefs ( reading between the lines of spoken word, creating relationships with the world, etc) yet it was said in such a way that I don’t think that I could have done critical literacy justice.

Critical literacy means enlightening adults and children about the world around them. This is helpful because it educates about how others are different and how some of us who think no one is like us that there are others like us. Without critical literacy the world is seen as black or white as opposed to sometimes grey. I believe it is great for adults and children to read books and be a part of book talks to discuss what they thought and how they feel about the topic that they read about. I agree that having critical knowledge is diffinately needed for adults and children to be successful in the world.

Hi Vivian,

A student of yours for about 5 or 6 years now, I still find myself re-defining and exploring my definition of Critical Literacy. Our initial Bailey’s study group continually said how CL is not something you “do” but something you “live”. I notice the gradual changes in my classroom practices along with my pedgogical changes because of how the CL theory is now embedded in my work. In other words, my teaching and “my being” cannot escape the heightened awareness that comes with a having a more critical lens on life and the world.

I appreciate how Tamara said that there is not “right” answer to what CL is and it took me a long time to be comfortable with that –and I still have days where I “don’t get it” and find myself re-negotiating my personal definition. I also agree with what you and Steph say about how having a critical lens on what we do as citizens of the world leads to a more heightened awareness of the injustices and reasons for success in the world.

Thank you for this show, Vivian. I think I will print it out

Hi all,

As the author of the mentioned podcast… I just wanted to state that there definitely can’t be one true definition for critical literacy. I see it more as a philosophy, a perspective, and a most enlightening opportunity for our students if we consider it into our everyday teaching. Critical literacy is what you make it in your classroom and it should enpower our students to see things beyond the obvious.

The most profound idea that I took away from Vivian’s class is the idea that each of my classes should invoke a common theme for students to leave with. I don’t like the idea of my students thinking that my Algebra class was just about graphing lines and solving equations. I hope that my students can walk away from my Algebra class knowing ways to use their newly aquired math skills to model the world around them… there are just too many people with math phobias and shut it out because they can’t simply see the value in it.

-Will

Hi Will,

I am so sorry for my mistake. I only read the show this week and didn’t follow exactly what I needed to. I truly appreciate your thoughts and now that I have a better understanding of your background and work, I have to say I appreciate your words even more. Math never looked this appetizing to me and yes, I have math phobias especially when the material goes into Algebra that I was not shown as relevant to the world around me. Many thanks for your efforts and teaching and I look forward to hearing more about your work.

Carol

Thanks for the very informative and engaging exchange of thoughts and ideas everyone!!! Your comments are much appreciated. Let’s keep this CL conversation going!

vivian