Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Photo Essay


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Calvin & Hobbes

Calvin has a point. Fluffing up your writing to take up space until you can get just one word onto that last page in order to get the credit for turning in a 5 page paper, or 4 pages + one word depending on how you look at it. The creative aspect of writing should not rest in the inflating and obscuring your writing. 
However, it should consist of more creative writing assignments using digital technology! Early this semester we created a photo essay. This is just like any other essay except instead of the regular rules of 12 pt font, Times New Roman, 3 pages with 1" margins, the rules consist of creating a sequence of photos with subtitles to create their essay. Digital writing is taking over, and the traditinal essay will be left behind if it does not conform. I can write you a bunch of black and white words about the Great Depression, and I can occasionally add a picture or two when I feel like breaking it up, but check out this photo essay on the Great Depression. Using it strategic structure, the author aligns the photos to deepen her thesis and create a stronger emotional rresponse for the reader. Voice is not lost in this format as the author riddles the subtitles with vivid adjectives and small quips that show the author's opinions
We need to open our lesson plans and classrooms to a new ideas, and we can start with a simple Photo Essay.  

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