As I completed Dr.Lucas’s English Page & Screen course, I have learned countless new things. I have learned new writing styles, studied different types of literature, and improved my own writing techniques. I’ve improved my vocabulary and spelling through our weekly wordplay days of Scrabble. Learning how to collaborate with my peers and think methodically are life-long skills that this class has given me. These skills are beneficial inmy present college experience and will be helpful in the future. Dr. Lucas’s English 1103 section 23 class has not only taught me new writing skills but has also increased my proficiency in other areas.
Along with learning writing skills, I also discovered detective and analysis skills through our Check, Please! lessons. Via the five Check, Please! lessons we completed at the beginning of the semester, I acquired the knowledge of how to search and identify credible sources. Check, Please!, by Mike Caulfield, Director of Blended and Networking at Washington State University, introduced the S.I.F.T. acronym to help one sift out reliable sources at a basic level. Check, Please! also suggests one should find trusted coverage and multiple sources to fact-check your research. Similar to Check, Please!, Writing Analytically, by David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen, provides great points about finding a reliable source. “Consistently evaluate the reliability of the source you select in order to detect its potential bias or agenda.” (Writing Analytically, 8th edition, Wadsworth/Cengage, 2019. pp. 242) All of these key points are aids that will not only help me in my academic life but, also my personal and professional life. Check, Please! taught me a new approach and way of thinking. This new way of thinking and future-developed critical thinking skills were all applied during our Analysis Assignment, where I chose Tom Junod’s piece “The Falling Man”.
“The Falling Man” literacy narrative forced me to look beyond the words on the page and gain a deeper understanding of the writing and image that went along with it. The story of “The Falling Man” by Tom Junod, found in Esquire Magazine, vol 140, tells a captivating and truthful story of one man’s demise on a day that changed America’s history forever. The photographic image, “The Falling Man”, by AP photographer Richard Drew, was taken on September 11th, 2001 at 9:41 a.m. EST. When writing my analysis of this piece I was forced to critically think about the deeper message conveyed by the artist. The message conveyed in Tom Junod’s piece could have been intercepted in two different ways. Some people saw Junod’s work as an invasion of privacy and distasteful but others including myself saw his work as capturing a monumental time in history. Junod was also known for his photography of the Robert Kennedy assassination. He “shot pictures of Kennedy’s open and ebbing eyes, and then of Ethel Kennedy crouching over her husband and begging photographers… not to take pictures.” (Junod) Interpretation is a key aspect you need to take into consideration when writing. Even though I had interpreted Junod’s piece in a certain way, I wanted to challenge myself to think about it from other’s perspectives to better understand the piece as a whole and have a deeper appreciation for it. Beforehand, I didn’t realize how important good analysis skills were and how necessary it is to take interpretation into account.
Analysis skills are critical to becoming a better writer. Constantly throughout this course, I practiced my analysis skills during my research for theannotated bibliography we did during the middle of the semester. My group and I connected the class theme of paper and screen to the positives and negatives of having technology in the classroom. “Technology must be applied with careful consideration to maximize its benefits and minimize the potential for harmful distractions.” (Olsen, et al.) Just as we did in our class we had a mix of technology and no technology in the classroom. Sometimes we write long hand papers in our notebooks but we also kept online blogs throughout the semester.
Without this class, I wouldn’t have been able to depict the differences between reliable and non-reliable sources or have the ability to become a critical and cognitive thinker. The Page & Screen curriculum has shaped my classmates and I into better writers and better people. I now know how to better analyze, collaborate, and write.
Work Cited
Junod, Tom. “The Falling Man.” Esquire, vol 140, no. 3 Sept 2003, pp. 176+ Gale Academic
By: Shelby Scott, Rosalie Olsen, Kelly Samz,, and Ethan Webber
New digital tools and technologies are being applied to educational learning each and every day. In 1963, The Vocational Education Act funded the usage of technology in schools. From then on, technology has only improved and has been incorporated more and more into school settings. As COVID-19 spread throughout the world, school settings were impacted forever. Online learning has transformed the lives of many students and there has been a higher demand for technology since then. Technology in education has the ability to enhance learning processes and broaden access to academic resources for students and teachers. Distance learning was a huge outcome of the pandemic and it has transformed the need for technology in home settings and not just educational buildings. Furthermore, with all of the change from the pandemic, it has sparked opposing sides to whether or not technology is beneficial or harmful in education. Overall, there are so many intricate connections between technology and the education system. A huge controversy stands on if technology is more beneficial in education or more harmful.
Using technology in education has a lot of good effects. One of the biggest effects is that it helped learning become more accessible. During the pandemic, when everyone had to isolate themselves from the world, distance learning became the new norm. Being able to learn on an online platform became accessible to everyone, even those that were from a low income household. Those that were from a low income household were given a laptop temporarily so they would be able to complete their school work. In doing all of this, it pushed more responsibilities on to the students. They were held responsible for their work and if they were caught cheating, there would be consequences. When everyone was able to go back to in-pearson schooling, blended learning became the new norm. This blended online instruction and in-person instruction, thus creating a new environment that everyone had to get used to again. Incorporating technology can be very helpful for students with disabilities, as it can provide a way for those students to access their courses more easily. There are many different ways that platforms online can be more accessible, such as adding video captions, descriptions of video and images, for people with mobility issues, give them an aid to help them. While the ADA does “prohibit the exclusion of otherwise qualified students to equal education and access,” some teachers, schools, and even some online platforms are not as accessible as they can be. There are some very simple tools that teachers and platforms can add to their online courses to make it more accessible, proving the idea of technology incorporation in education.
Our research is centered around looking to find if technology in education has a good effect on student learning. The main reason why technology was brought into the classroom was to decrease the education gap and help underserved students. Although, technology almost did the opposite. Kids in low-funded school districts have just fallen through the cracks more. A lot of the underfunded school districts happen to be in minority group communities. Even when supplied with laptops and tablets, many students don’t have the infrastructure to get the benefits of technology. A big challenge many underserved students face is having the support at home to use this technology. Not all students know where they are staying for the night, and finding applicable internet is not their biggest concern. Other downsides of technology in the classroom would be as students are less challenged. Now as we shift away from a traditional style of learning it’s easier for students to cheat or misuse the many resources they have at their accessibility. While technology does promote collaboration it does take away from individual things. While it is good to learn how to work in a group it’s also just as important to learn how to work alone.
Technology must be applied with careful consideration to maximize its benefits and minimize the potential for harmful distractions. Despite the many viewpoints, technology is beneficial in education, with blended and distance learning, to a certain extent. Technology allows students and teachers to connect through many levels while teaching responsibility in life skills. Although there are many benefits to technology, over usage of technology in the wrong way can be detrimental to learning processes. A clear compromise should be outlined when schools use technology and all factors should be considered. Using technology is very beneficial in education, as long as it is in moderation.
Annotated Bibliography
“TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM.” Age [Melbourne, Australia], 14 Aug. 2002, p. 11.
Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A286817215/OVIC?u=hpu_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=594254e2. Accessed 3 Nov. 2022.
Cecilia Leung with Fairfax Media wrote about Technology in the Classroom. As of the21st century, the US spends roughly $13.2 billion to fund school districts with technology a year. Technology allows students and teachers to remain connected, no matter their distance apart. Connection from home to the classroom is made in a matter of seconds, and days lost because external factors can be practically eliminated. Even though, on paper, this is easy, it requires teachers and students to learn and adjust to new technology. Parents can now easily contact teachers and vice versa. This new technology allows teachers to monitor students as they work to help prevent cheating and dishonesty. As new technology is implemented, it requires a learning period for everyone involved. Technology allows teachers to view students’ past records and mark them accordingly.
Cecilia Leung, a well-experienced content director, has a history of working in the broadcast media industry. She is skilled in programming, sales, acquisitions, management, media productions, and operations. Working for companies such as Paramount as a Senior Director, ViacomCBS Networks as a director and digital content distribution, and LYNK global. Cecilia has a very well rounded resume making her a credible source.
“How Has Technology Changed Education?” Purdue University Online, Purdue University West
The article argued technology in the classroom has changed the way one learns. Before technology was so prevalent in classrooms, there was a bigger focus on individual learning. In today’s classrooms, technology calls for the class to communicate and gives us the ability to work collaboratively at once. Technology allows for education to be greatly explainsive for all. It provides for more education to be accessible but the quality of that education didn’t reach the intended target. Technology in education was designed to help the underserved. Technology did help the education system overall, but it didn’t really reach its intended target group. Purdue’s writing allowed us to refocus our research onto the way technology in education has impacted certain minority groups. Towards the end of the article the writers mention the differences of learning styles technology in education provides. With technology in the class, students can be more creative, but it can also cause students to be less disciplined. With all of the resources technology gives students access to it can make it easier for them to cheat.
Purdue University Online is a credible and reliable academic source. Purdue University Online was established in 2018 as a branch of Purdue University located in West Lafayette Indiana. One can find Purdue a credible source with well-respected authors in their field of study.
Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection “Technology and Education” Gale, part of
The article, “Technology and Education” by the Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, offers a profound insight into the extensive pros and cons of the progressing integration of technology into education. The first paragraph delves into the depths of the current extent that technology has been introduced into the classroom. The internet and computers are being further utilized at an exponential rate, and although this yields great educational benefits for all of those who have access, it is a major problem for those who are not fortunate enough to have these resources available. This creates a larger difference in the availability of quality education and makes it dependent on finances. The second paragraph goes into the increasing availability of online courses, and its consequences on education. Undoubtedly, there are vast benefits to this increasing availability such as providing education remotely in such circumstances as the pandemic. However, studies show that the testing proficiency of the kids in a purely online environment is far less than those who participated in a mixed or traditional environment. Finally, the third paragraph talks of the countless possibilities opened up by technology for the disabled. Text-to-speech offers new avenues of learning for the visually impaired and closed captioning as well as adjustable audio levels can aid the deaf or auditorily deficient. However, these resources are greatly expensive and not accessible to all communities.
The Gale Opposing Viewpoints Collection is a university-approved resource for students of High Point University. It contains numerous academic works that are utilized constantly as class material.
Gornitsky, Marcelle. “Distance education: accessibility for students with disabilities.” Distance
Learning, vol. 8, no. 3, Aug. 2011, pp. 47+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A284016056/OVIC?u=hpu_main&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=e62526b7. Accessed 26 Oct. 2022.
In “Distance education: accessibility for students with disabilities” Marcelle
Gornitsky outlines and explains how different disabilities can be accommodated in the ‘classroom’ during distance learning. While distance education and distance learning can provide great opportunities and access, they can also provide barriers to students with disabilities, many of which take online courses to provide some flexibility and convenience to their lives. The ADA, Americans Disabilities Act, “prohibits the exclusion of otherwise qualified students to equal education and access,” but many online courses, tools, and documents are not set up to support people with disabilities and there are laws that all instructors should be aware of so that their courses can be accessible. In addition to the ADA, there is the Rehabilitation Act, specifically section 504. This calls for the inclusion of all students that have disabilities and for them to have reasonable accommodations. Different disabilities have different needs for accommodations, such as the hearing impaired needing captions, and the vision impaired needing screen magnifiers, screen readers, or alternate text for images. The physically impaired might need a physical aid for navigation and people with cognitive disabilities might need different learning structures and/or styles. To help students, instructors could change the format of content and how it is delivered. Different platforms have various accessibility checks and powerpoints should also be accessible. This can be achieved by text transcripts for videos and using a tool like the virtual 508 Accessible Wizard. Collaboration tools, such as synchronous chat sessions, can also pose a problem for the disabled, and there are different platforms that can help with this. Accessibility has gotten better over the last few years, but there will always be more that people can do to provide accessible learning to all, especially in this online era.
Gale In Context, Opposing Viewpoints is approved by High Point University as a credible resource. Students can use this as a resource to research more on a topic.
The story of “The Falling Man” by Tom Junod, found in Esquire Magazine, vol 140, tells a captivating and truthful story of one man’s demise on a day that changed America’s history forever. The photographic image, “The Falling Man”, by AP photographer, Richard Drew was taken on September 11th, 2001 at 9:41 a.m. EST exactly one hour and five seconds after a plane hit the North Tower of the World Trade Center. . 9/11 was and still is a devastating memory for Americans that has been burned into our history forever as it marked the first terrorist attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. Tom’s article, “The Falling Man” refers to the iconic photo showing a person falling to their death. As the man tumbles from the skyscraper in hope of finding a quick end, this still photo is taken freezing him in time along with this monumental day.
Following this image, Tom Junod released an article going along with this mind-boggling photo. This image was displayed all over the news, attracting worldwide attention. Just as shocking as the image, Junod’s article raised a lot of eyebrows. Is this photo unfair? He is capturing the horrific death of an American trailblazer who decided to have a quick death rather than wait for the building to burn or completely collapse. Is there a better way to pay tribute to these fallen heroes? As described in the article, Drew was criticized for his photographic work. Early in Drew’scareer, he was known for taking photos of Senator Robert Kennedy’s assassination. “[H]e jumped on the table and shot pictures of Kennedy’s open and ebbing eyes, and then of Ethel Kennedy crouching over her husband and begging photographers… not to take pictures.” Was this an invasion of privacy or large historical teaching? Media photographers and paparazzi may go above and beyond for an image but without these depictions, Americans would risk missing out on the full impact of American history.
Drew’s iconic photo became the impetus for Junod’s story. “The Falling Man” photo and article focus on three main elements: similes, truth, and details. While the article’s main focus is the man peering at his supposed death, one doesn’t know if the person in the image is a man or woman. There is a lot of mystery in this photo. We don’t know who this person is, even with today’s technology, the man is still known as John Doe. The article even says “his white shirt or jacket, or frock is billowing free of his pants” Junod list possible articles of clothing that the man could be wearing to emphasize the fact that nothing is for certain. In reality, we don’t know what the man is wearing. On that very day, millions of people didn’t know what was happening. Most of the media initially covered the plane crash as an accident, not an act of terrorism. Americans assumed it was a foggy day and the pilot couldn’t see. This is a huge contrast from the truth. The author is also very particular about his word choice. For example, his usage of the word “billowing” emphasizes imagery related to clouds and freedom. It depicts the illusion that the man is one with the sky and is finding truth and peace in his final decision. As if the man is a superhero who is swelling outward through the New York sky.
Throughout Junod’s entire article he repeatedly compares and contrasts, specifically the man’s motivations. At the start of the article, he says that “if he were not falling he might very well be flying.” The difference between one soaring through the air in a perhaps mystical way versus falling to your deceitful demise isn’t something that is usually connected. The author’s play on words illustrates to the reader that reality is slightly distorted. Junod may make one think the man is just falling casually as if he had some sort of cape or parachute. Is “The Falling Man” a victim or hero? The man is a victim of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, yet a hero of American history. He is a permanent reminder and tribute to the countless lives lost that day.
Another apparent contradiction is the innocence of the photo. The image captures and very dark and horrifying time in American history yet it still portrays innocence. The man still has his shoes on as he leaps “as though he were a missile, a spear, bent on attaining his own end”. It’s seen as innocence because just like every other day, he and the other business professionals who worked in the Towers got up and prepared for another Tuesday. They were very innocent and naive to think that the day would go on ordinarily. Different from others who jumped, the man in this photo appears relaxed and fulfilled by his final decision. For most, they would be frantic and scared of what’s next, but for our subject, that’s not the case. “Some of them are shirtless; their shoes fly off as they flail and fall; they look confused, as though trying to swim down the side of a mountain. The man in the picture, by contrast, is perfectly vertical, and so is in accord with the lines of the building behind him.” Junod’s work captures this confliction perfectly between self-preservation and fate. As the man comes to terms with his fate he aligns with the building further emphasizing his apparent decision to jump.
The photo first appears to be simple. Drew seemed to be capturing a random photo in the face of chaos. The freeze frame was taken over a decade ago, against the glare of countless skyscrapers in the heart of New York City, yet the image still shows a lot more detail and meaning than the naked eye first realizes. The image may be denounced and seen as inconsiderate though, but it does visually remind us about this pinnacle moment in history. Relating to a previous point regarding the fact that some despise media photographers and paparazzi, “The Falling Man” and Robert Kennedy’s assassination photo wasn’t disrespectful. As the man falls to his fate and disappears from the still-frozen frame, he’ll never disappear from America’s history. We have to pay tribute to Richard Drew and other photographers like him for opening the eyes of Americans.
The best way to learn is by trying. Sitting on the sidelines and observing from afar doesn’t teach you new life-long skills; the only way for one to succeed is by trying again and again. As a small-framed fifth-grader, who’d only played one sport since birth I was excited to try a new sport.
Image by: Big Stock, 2018.
Due to the fact that I was tall for my age, my parents suggested that I try to play volleyball, basketball, and/or track. My older sister ran track in high school, but it wasn’t something I was interested in. In gym class, my class played basketball during the winter months because it was too cold to go outside. While I liked the concept of the sport, I often jammed my fingers against the hard ball. My last option was volleyball. At my elementary school, only fifth and sixth graders were allowed to play volleyball. I thought that this would be a great time to learn. All of my friends were just starting volleyball too so we’d all be at the same level, or so I thought. After I signed up, my mom took me to a sporting goods store to get shorts, knee pads, tank tops, and gym shoes. My mom was the captain of her high school volleyball team so I thought she would be a great person to help me.
Photo by: Christine Mergen, 2021
As our first practice approached, I was very excited. All of my friends were on my team, and I was glad to be starting a new journey with them. It was the day of our first practice and our teacher, Mr. Miller, was one of our coaches. All of the other sixth-graders were a lot better than I anticipated, and it was only their second year of the sport. Everyone in my family is generally athletic, and I assumed I would pick up the sport quickly. The first drill my team did was a passing drill. As our coach went down the line, everyone’s passes were not the best but, at least the ball was going forwards. As my coach threw the ball to my friends, their passes went back towards our coach. When it was my turn, I slightly bent my knees and crouched over a bit in a ready stance, which my mom taught me previously. I then moved to pass the ball back to my coach, but to my surprise, my ball didn’t go forward. Unlike everyone else, my ball went skyrocketing behind me in the complete opposite direction of my intended target. All around me I heard faint giggles. I felt my face turning hot and my palms starting to sweat. It was so embarrassing.
After the first practice was over, I never wanted to return. I couldn’t even do the simple task of passing a ball. Passing was the biggest fundamental skill in the sport and it was something that was going to be essential for me to learn. Right then and there I wanted to give up, but deep down I knew that wasn’t an option. While my coaches and parents said that this was normal, it still didn’t ease my embarrassment. In the days following, I finally mustered up the courage to go back. As in our first practice, my team did the same passing drill. My coach, Mr. Miller, went down the line one by one tossing the ball to each player. This time we all called the ball out saying “mine” over and over again. The sixth-grade girls passed the ball back to Mr. Miller with ease and looked very comfortable doing it. As my turn approached, I felt my palms starting to sweat again and a nervous feeling in my stomach. I pushed through these feelings and went on. This time my pass was even worse than before. Not only did the ball go sky-rocking behind me, but it also hit the top of the ceiling and came ricocheting down with great force. I heard those same giggles as before. The light soft voices of gossip wisped by my ears. This time I didn’t feel embarrassed, but rather outraged.
Photo by: Christine Mergen, 2022
When I went home that evening, I knew I wanted something to change. Rather than feeling bad for myself, I felt a new fire. I didn’t want this to be the moment where I gave up, I wanted it to be the moment where I persevered. I knew I would need help if I wanted to get better. Putting my ego aside, I enlisted help. My mom worked with me after school in our backyard almost every day. She would toss me the ball time and time again. She did try to give me suggestions to help improve my passing, but I wasn’t necessarily listening to her. Each time the ball would go sprawling in different directions. Just like clockwork, after I passed the ball in the wrong direction, my mom would make me run after it. This made me dread practicing with my mom. After a while of this, I got really tired of passing and running. So then, resentfully, I started to listen to her. What she was saying was right. When I actually took the time to listen to my mom’s suggestions, my passes were right on target.
Photo by: Christine Mergen, 2021.
After weeks of practicing with my mom, I finally felt confident in my passing. As my team did every practice, we all lined up in a straight line as our coach threw us the ball. All of the other girls passed very nicely as usual. As I stepped up for my turn, I heard that same whisper of gossip. I hadn’t even passed the ball yet and they were already talking about me. I closed my eyes and worked to ignore them. I went up and passed the ball right back to my coach’s arms. As I turned around to walk back to my spot, I saw the look of astonishment across all of their faces. Not only did I surprise them, but I also surprised myself.
Not only did I try something new, but I also persisted when my journey got tough. I learned truly what it means to go above and beyond and work for something that doesn’t come naturally. I put myself out there and learned new things about myself. Life is full of challenges, and without grit and persistence, you won’t get very far in life.
Shelby Scott's Blog 