Welcome

Hi everyone, welcome to my blog.
This blog is being written for my senior seminar English 495ESM Multigenre Literacy in a Global Context class. I am really looking forward to this class and assignment. I think technology has become a crucial part of our lives and it's wonderful to show that it can be used to make an impact and bring people together.

I love literature and I think technology allows people all around the globe to share their passion and reach an audience on a scale that would, at one point, have seemed impossible. This is a lesson I hope to teach my students when I become a high school teacher. Literature is not about writing a masterpiece, but expressing ones ideas and hopefully reaching someone in the process; with technology, doing that is easier than ever. Even Moodle and other such programs have made it easier for teachers to connect better with their students as well as Moodle forums allowing students to connect with other students. Through experience and with a little creativity, technology can be used to better connect with newer generation students and to teach them in a way that would actually fuel their passion for the subject.

Having never written a blog, this will be a nice way for me to be creative and share the lessons I learn this semester with others.
- Harjot K.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike...

A couple of weeks ago, I had an opportunity to go see Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, directed by David Hyde Pierce, at the Mark Taper Forum in downtown Los Angeles. The show is very funny and the performances are excellent. This is the first high production and most professional play I have ever seen so it was just an overall wonderful experience. The interesting thing about the show that the ending of the play shows an outburst of the lead
characters, Vanya, as he becomes frustrated with technology. In the play, Vanya puts on a play but is consistently interrupted by Spike, who keeps texting or playing on his phone. This leads to an outburst by Vanya, who then delivers a powerful monologue about the problems with technology. Technology is great and has brought a lot of people together, as well as made our day to day tasks and lives either. However, there are still people out there who are so plugged in all the time that they tune out reality, which is a mistake. It is always wise, if not polite, to be aware of ones sorrounding to know what is right or wrong. I think this play ties in really well with English 495ESM. Although many people have negative perceptions of technology and media, this class is showing as well as teaching how technology can be useful in learning and teaching. People can learn many ways to use technology to better their lives and that of others. It is just important that people learn how to use the tools at their disposal, and use them properly, instead of just as a distraction or a way of killing time.
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