Curiouser and Curiouser

Blogs and digital video offer an innovative method for compiling research, collaborating, communicating, visually expressing ideas, and publishing information.

With thoughtful planning, and the integration of video, still images, written messages, spoken words, and music, we have the capability of creating content and information flow that powerfully tell stories.

This semester I am leading a seminar in the Honors Program at Marquette University. Enrolled in the seminar are ten freshmen honor students with diverse majors. Each of the students in the seminar is working on creating a unique vlog (Video Blog).

They will go through the process of project planning, research, organization, and utilizing digital video technology to design a unique DV presentation.

The students in the seminar have been asked to create a unique multimedia biography of a historically relevant individual they value. Whether it's Jane Austin, Frederick Douglass, Bob Dylan, or Gandhi, each student will learn to use DV technology to document the significant events, achievements, and relationships that define an individual's lifetime.

To publish and share their work, each student will created a Vlog. Student's vlogs can be accessed directly from the links on this vlog.

The students are utilizing resources available in Marquette University's Center for Teaching and Learning located in the Raynor Memorial Library. Without the assistance of the Center's staff, this adventure down the rabbit hole would not be possible.

Carroll and The Real Alice

In addition to leading this seminar, I am also participating. Creating a project with the students keeps my skills fresh and I learn so much from them. They are constantly teaching me different and better ways of using technology to create.

The name of my vlog should have given you a clue who the individual, or should I say individuals, will be the subject of my story.

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass are two of my very favorite books. Years ago I decided to learn more about author Lewis Carroll and the heroine of his stories when I discovered there was indeed a "real Alice."

The more I learned about Carroll, the real Alice, and their relationship the more fascinated I became with the intricacies and meaning behind Alice's adventures and the outlandish, nonsensical, often absurd characters she meets.

Image courtesy of www.guiascostarica.com/alicia/content.htm

Student Blogs

The following are links to my students blogs. I am very excited because we are off to a great start!

Lauren M.: Mitch Hedberg
Sarah S.: Final Fantasy
Caroline K.: Charile Chaplin
Megan J.: Friends
Brian P.: Johnny Cash
Matthew W.: Simon & Garfunkel
Cory B.: Silent Hill/Matrix