Writing Across the Modes CollectionECI 509, Integrating Writing and Technology

Student Name:

Instructions: Throughout the course, students should insert their various pieces of writing into this template, until all of the required pieces of writing are complete. Students may embed any images onto the template that go with a given piece of writing. At the beginning of the course, students will create an Issuu account, upload this document into their account, then embed the Issuu document on their Weebly portfolio page. Throughout the course as new pieces of writing are added to the template (in Word), students will need to reload this Word doc into their Issuu account, then the updates will automatically be reflected on their Weebly page.

Part I. Expository Writing

Jane Austen

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a writer in possession of great skill

expounds on not what he does not know but on what he knows.

Jane Austen is one of those writers who wrote about the familiar. From her witty

and head strong characters to the setting among the country gentry, Jane Austen wrote

about what was near and dear to her.

Jane Austen’s nineteenth century writing gives us a look into Regency England;

a time where one’s life did not go much beyond one’s village and a mother’s priority was

to secure a husband for her daughter.  

In December of 1775, Jane Austen was born in Stephenton, England to a close-

knit family of eight children. Her father was a rector in the Anglican Church and although

the family was not wealthy, they were still considered to be apart of the comfortable

country gentry. She began her writing career, not to please the readers of England but

to bring entertainment to her family. Eliot Engel expands on this in his book A Dab of

Dickens and a Touch of Twain, “she lived amid a remarkable family that loved to be

entertained by such exercises of the mind as conversation and reading aloud to one

another. Jane took up writing at a young age to contribute to the family entertainment.”

(Pg. 51)  Given these life circumstances, it is no wonder that Jane Austen produced the

kind of writing she did!

Country balls, walks to town, and house calls to gossip with friends are common

scenes of Regency England portrayed in Austen’s novels. Jane was able to write about

these everyday occurrences so accurately because she experienced them herself living

in a small town setting. Engel states, “ In her novels Pride and Prejudice, Emma and

Sense and Sensibility, she never writes about any other class at length but the country

gentry, which she knew so well” (pg. 51). In fact, her village of Stephenton was such an

inspiration to her writing, when her father announced they would be moving to the posh

city of Bath, Jane fainted dead away at the news. She took the news so hard because

she was comfortable with her small town and she had her niche in society there.

Another similarity between her life and her novels can be found in character

relationships. In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennett has a close bond with her sister

Jane; in life Austen was extremely close with her only sister Cassandra. It is said that

Jane had an exceptional bond with her father, many of Jane Austen’s female

characters, such as Elizabeth Bennett and Emma Woodhouse, have the similar rapport

with their fathers. For example in Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Bennett comes to his favorite

daughter’s aid when the odious Mr. Collins bestows an unwanted proposal on Elizabeth.

Even though the match would guarantee security to Elizabeth and the family once he is

dead, Mr. Bennett decides it is more important to support his daughter’s decision to wait

and marry for love. He respects his daughter’s thoughts and feelings and does not push

her into a loveless marriage.

Austen often wrote about independent, headstrong women who were well

educated and could stand on their own; this is a trait that Jane also embodied herself.

She lived in a time when a woman’s duty was to marry and run a household. Several of

Austen’s characters declare that they will only marry for love and do not accept

proposals just because it would give them comfortable lifestyles. Although she was

engaged for a mere twenty-four hours, Austen herself decided against the security of

marriage to pursue her writing career.

Through characters and setting, Jane Austen mirrors her life and what she knows best

in her writing. Her first hand experiences and knowledge of Regency England create

memorable stories that are still read time and time again to this day.

My 1-2 Page Reflection About Expository Writing

For me personally, Expository writing was one of the more difficult modes to write in. I have never been comfortable in this mode and the Essay at the beginning of class brought back bad memories of writing papers in undergrad and graduate school. When I wrote the scribe report, I chose to write a poem because it was more comfortable for me to write in versus a traditional report. I enjoyed the “one sentence summary” and the summary pyramid activities and will be using something similar with my students. I like that explicit instructions were given with those. I found it very hard to complete the extra Expository Writing piece, I chose to do a compare and contrast piece (and I included a technology aspect using Pixlr) but I am not sure if I did it correctly or in-depth enough. I would have like more specific directions for the extra Expository pieces.

My Scribe Report

June 29th by Laura Jacobs 

After a lunch of salad, sandwiches and chips,We were given some valuable advice from the previous trip.

If the thought of dirty clothes gives you're a fright,Have no fear, there is a laundry room on site.

But doing laundry is not as simple as one might think,the steps you must take, might cause you to go to the pub for a drink.A video was made to help those who want to go through the trouble,

but don’t worry, no judgments will be passed if during the trip your clothes never see a soap bubble.

From Megan we learned about Google FormsIt can be used to collect student info easier than the pencil/paper norm.

Creating the Forms is as easy as 1,2,3with the added benefit of not killing trees.

Sara taught us about pixlr.com next A cool site where your story is told through pictures and text.

There are 3 main editing options for you to enjoy Pixlr-omatic (like instagram), Editor (advanced), Express (efficient), what a

cool new toy!

With Express you can create your photo strip onlinePhotos from your computer or Google work just fine!

For our project choose “collage” for layout, From 5 picture vertical arrangement your story will sprout!

The “plus” button allows you to add the picture you want,With the paintbrush you can edit and even add font. When your photo strip is complete, save your work

No account needed, one less password to drive you berserk

If an example is what you seek,Go to Kevin’s weebly page for a peek.

You will see the story of an annoyed dog awoken from rest and another where a gnome is how Kevin is dressed.

Next Sara shared an amusing newspaper clipping, about a “Heatwave” in England, to them 75 gets your sweat dripping!

Some entertaining videos from the last trip were shown,the readiness to be in England has grown!

Ruie answered some last minute trip questions.  Arriving with converted money is her suggestion.

Where is the best place to exchange money once we are there? The Post Office, will give you a rate that is fair.

On a grand adventure we are about to embark,especially since lately the best transportation around Raleigh is an ark.

The morning of July 18th, in England we will finally arrive, Through the class sessions and day trips our knowledge of writing and

technology will thrive!

One-Sentence Summary

The early morning train whisked us across the country- side, first to Winchester to visit with Jane and then to salty sea air of Portsmouth to end our day with dipping our toes in the English Channel.

Summary Paragraph

Room 5

Building 65 in University Court

University of Surrey

Guildford

United Kingdom

1st Additional Expository Writing (see Moodle for description of additional expository writings)

Blog Post: Royal Baby Stalking 7/23

Our plan was to stop by St. Mary’s Hospital, take a peek at the excitement and get a few pictures, then we would head to the Tower of

London to get a video of the 41 gun salute and then end our royal baby tour with a stop at Westminster Abbey for the ringing of the bells. When we arrived at St. Mary’s at 10:30am we found that getting a good spot would be easier than we thought, so our well thought our plan was thrown out the window.

with our friends from BBCRachel and I decided that we would stay till 1 and then move on to the other events. From other crowd goers we found out that the word on the street was they would appear around 6pm or not until the next morning. After we heard this we decided it wouldn’t be toooooo bad if we stayed until 4:30.

Around noon our handy news friends told us that at 3:30pm either William was going to come out and make a statement or someone was coming to visit. If there was a possibility of seeing Prince William, we were not going to leave! We killed the time by making friends with our fellow baby stalkers. We meet a very tall South African named Vota who was in town with his girlfriend. They were staying with there friend who lived down the street and had been in the crowd when the birth and sex of the baby were announced the night before. We had an interesting conversation with Vota’s friend and learned that the Brits are as obsessed with us as we are with them. They consider America their “good friend” and they do not consider themselves connected with the rest of Europe. He said that England was trying to leave Europe and would be cutting ties with the next four years. We also made friends the police officer, Constable Marchant, who was making sure the crowd didn’t get too rowdy. He was intrigued why two Americans would spend their time in London outside a hospital when we could be seeing the sights.

It wouldn’t be England if it didn’t rain and we experienced a quick downpour. This did not end well for Rachel, since she was wearing a white shirt and did not bring her raincoat (she did not forget that raincoat the rest of the trip).  Luckily for her, the sun arrived and it was hot enough for her clothes to dry quickly. Lucky for us the rain scared people away (and it should’ve scared us away), so we were able to move up in spots (Constable Marchant was impressed).

The press was getting restless, so they began walking around the crowd doing interviews. A reporter from ITN (according to Vota’s friend this guy was a big deal) came over and interviewed Vota and Rachel. We later found out that the piece aired at 1pm news.

At 3:30 a taxi pulled up and the Middletons stepped out. After the Middletons went inside, I saw a girl in front of my texting her friend “It was just the Commoner’s parents”.  I think she was joking, but if not…are the Brits not as enamored with the Duchess as we are?Kate’s parents stayed for an hour, they then came out and made a statement about how darling their new grandson was. At this point we

had missed the bells and the 41 gun salute, and our energy and excitement was rejuvenated, so we decided to stay and see what else would unfolded.

Soon after the press secretary came out and there was a news huddle, the microphones were set back up and the press seemed to be on edge. One of our news friends predicted that someone else was coming to visit and it was then confirmed that Charles was coming to visit at 5pm. 

The Middletons While waiting for Charles, we made yet another friend. Constable Marchant was talking to an older gentleman, we suddenly heard “You see those two girls over there?? They are American historians!” This of course took the gentleman’s attention off of him and on to us. The little 85 year old man looked to us and said “You’re American?!? I was almost American once, but I’m not..I’m British!” I asked him how this came to be and he told us his interesting tale. He was born in Germany and was 10 years old when Kristallnacht happened, he says he could remember his mother being terrified that they were going to come take his father away. He remembers seeing the SS men with their guns when they came and knocked on the door. They left his father alone when he showed them his war medal from WWI. His parents decided to send him to England through

Kindertransport and he went to stay with his Aunt. His parents were taken to Terezin (the camp that was used for show when the red cross came to visit). His mother unfortunately did not survive but his father did. He remarried after the war and moved to Miami, FL. He was given the option to move to America with his father and new mother but he decided that he wanted to stay in England since he had already built a life there. He recently went to a Kindertransport reunion and Prince Charles was there.

Charles and Camilla Around 5, members of the hospital staff were lined up in front of the steps of the Lindo Wing. We were told that when Prince Philip was in the hospital, the staff was lined up for the Queen to shake hands with when she came to visit. Around 5:20, a helicopter began to fly around overhead and shortly after Charles and his wife pulled up. They reappeared after a half an hour, Charles did not make a statement but when asked if Will and Kate would be leaving today he answer “You will have to wait and see”.

Since both sets of parents had just visited them, we weren’t sure if this meant they would be staying another night.  We got excited when we noticed that the hospital staff had not moved from their posts in front of the Lindo Wing and there seemed to be another press huddle happening. Our suspicions were confirmed when our German news friends got a call from their station, Will and Kate would be coming out within the half hour, they would take the traditional picture on the steps then make a statement. They would then go back inside and pack the prince up and take him home.

We had some how made our way up to the very front of the barrier, we were in the perfect spot to see Will, Kate and the baby. Just like clockwork, a half an hour later they appeared on the steps of the Lindo Wing. We had the perfect view of them walking down the steps and taking their first public picture as a family, unfortunately the security car and Will’s car were parked right in front of us, so we were unable to get a good view of them speaking with the press. Thankfully while they were packing up to go home, the cars were moved up and we had a better view for when they left. Will came out holding the car seat and gave us a wave before putting his son in the car. Our news friends said that if we yelled/made noise they would look in our direction, my first instinct was to yell “America” (don't know why), when that didn’t work I yelled “Kate! Your hair looks great!!”, she turned in our direction and waved. I’d like to think that this was because of my compliment but it probably was because our section was for the general public. Before we knew it they were gone, driving off into the sunset to begin their new life.

Kate waving at us! Rachel and I were both asked to do interviews about what we saw and why as Americans are we obsessed with the royals. When one interview ended, the next crew was right behind them waiting for their turn. I spoke with our German news friends, a Swedish radio station, and two British TV stations. I had several people ask me if they could pictures of the picture I took on my phone. We were just as sought after as Will and Kate themselves. After 10 hours of standing, two downpours and no meal since breakfast , we finally left our spots at the Lindo Wing at 8pm.The proclamation of the birth was only outside of Buckingham Palace for 24 hours, we had 45 minutes before it was to be taken down so we rushed to get there. When we got there we found a pretty long line, when we got to the end of it a guard told us that they were not allowing anyone else in line since it was nearing time for the proclamation to be taken down. We once again had to use our stalker skills and we took a few pictures from far away.

Beer in honor of the Prince We realized that it has been 11 hours since we ate, went to the bathroom or sat down, so we went in search of a pub so we could rest our weary bodies. 

Proclamation at Buckingham 

2nd Additional Expository Writing (see Moodle for description of additional expository writings)Compare and Contrast

While in Edinburgh, I went on a free ‘Harry Potter Walking Tour’, the tour highlighted spots that have connections to J.K Rowling and the Harry Potter series. We were shown places that gave J.K Rowling ideas while writing her famous series. We saw the Edinburgh castle which sits on top of a rock and the private school locked behind a large gate, which combined create Hogwarts School. When seeing both of these sights, I could immediately picture the wide shot angles of the school in the movie. We were taken to the curvy street with shops (including a Joke Shop), which Diagon Alley is based on. While in the movie the street is curvy and filled with shops, it is more zany and bright. We also viewed Tom Riddell’s grave, which is said to be what J.K Rowling based Tom Riddle (Lord Voldermort) on. The movie statue of Tom Riddle’s grave is more outlandish and gives the feeling of real evil with the grim reeper statue.

(PIXLR: Left side “real” compared to Right side “studio”)

Part II. Poetic Writing

My 1-2 Page Reflection About Poetics Writing From a young age I have preferred writing poetry; instead of emails with paragraphs of daily occurrences my grandmother and I have exchanged ones in the format of lines and stanzas. I feel more comfortable writing poetry because of the freedom the genre allows you. Poetry does not require you to stick to any rules or have perfect conventions and grammar. I enjoyed the poetry assignments that we had for this class, and plan on using them in my own classroom. Sometimes I have difficulty writing prose because I do not know how to structure my writing, with templates like the ‘Where I am From’ and ‘Bio Poem’ helped give me direction.

Where I’m From Poem

Where I’m From 4/20/13

I am from bits of fabric and thread That can be found in every nook and crannyFrom camera and video equipment Set aside from Dad’s long day at work

I m from tall oaks that shade the hammock Grandpa’s favorite spot for a napFrom the childhood swing set, still set upwaiting for those old competitions of who can swing higher

I am from sun-up to sun down at Wildwood manor poolWhere everybody knows your name From the backyard of our Nation’s Capital Just a 20 minute metro ride

I am from “W of A” **days with Mimaw a monthly gathering of cousins to work on master piecesFrom every drawing, poem, sculpture out of knick knacksBelongs in the Louvre

I am from better get some Latkes and matzo ball soup fast because with Mom’s cooking, there are no leftoversFrom Nana’s peach piethat makes it hard to smell a peach without thinking of her

I am from the swimming medals and treasures Stored in the missal trunk Dad brought back from Desert Storm From photo albums and film reel videos learning about those I never met

I am from love that is strongand can be felt even though we are many miles apart From appreciating that life experiences; good and badMake me who I am today.

Poems Created in Class with Dr. Buckner

“Mom” Fabricand a needle sitting on the living room couch creating her next quiltto keep someone safe and warm.

“Opposite Poems” Winter things are beautifulice glistening on the roof hot chocolate piled high with marshmallows snowmen waving hello along the streetsleeping in because school has been canceled

Summer things are beautiful the water glistens in the pooldrinks ice cold and frozenlounging on the pool deck waving hello to friendssleeping in because school is done!

“Framework Poem”If I were to seeher from a mile awayI’d know so quicklythat it would be her.The straw hat with the fake flowersthe hands widdling wood making her latest creation.If I felt hands on my headI’d know that those were her handsweathered from years on this earthblackened with ink from the stories she has written If I hearda voicecoming from a rock,I’d know and her words

would take root inside melike a tree or a vine winding around the fence.

Bio Poem About Self

Laura Friendly, energetic, sarcastic, and loyal

First born child of Phil and Marney; sister of Alex and Sam Lover of the written word, and the touch, feel and smell of century old books.

Who feels anxious and excited for the future Who needs a pay raise to fund the travel and book addictions

Who gives love and caring to othersWho fears gluten-ous and nut laden foods, and a world without paperbacks

Who would like to see Hogwarts, Pemberley, and WonderlandResident of Apex, Anterbury Drive

Jacobs

1st Additional Poetic Writing (see Moodle for description of additional poetic writings)

Literature Character Bio Poem

Harry Modest, loyal, determined, strong Character in J.K Rowling’s story

Lover of quidditch, Gryffindor and those dear to himWho feels worried that he won’t find all 7 horcuxes in time

Who fears fear itself Who would like to see the demise of Voldermort and the restoration of good.

Major character in “Harry Potter” seriesPotter

2nd Additional Poetic Writing (see Moodle for description of additional poetic writings)

Where do plants go to beat the heat In this rare English heat waveSweltering in the bright sunshine Leaves try to provide shade Even plants wish for ACYahoo! Is that a rain cloud?

Part III. Expressive Writing

My 1-2 Page Reflection About Expressive Writing

I really liked several of the assignment that we completed for the Expressive Writing Mode. I enjoyed the “Impressions of England” assignment, as well as the Postcards home. I really enjoyed making the Pixlr for a “Day in the life”. I found Pixlr to be a great tool and have used for many things outside of ECI 509. I also really enjoyed making a Toondoo, I think this was a fun way to show what happened without writing about it in the traditional sense. I feel more comfortable writing expressively now because I have seen that it does not just have to be in paragraphs, you can express your thoughts and feelings in other ways.

All About Me

Not sure what this was, cannot find on Moodle.

Design A Room

Soft sunlight streams through the curtains draping the tall windows. The walls are lined with floor to ceiling bookshelves, overflowing with the written word. Books old and new, leather bound, paper and hard back, fat and thin are piled high. A rolling ladder rest on one side, waiting to help readers reach the highest shelves. Three plush overstuffed couches make a U-shape in the middle of the room, facing a roaring fire. There is a basket of soft fleece blankets

for those who want to get cozy. On the left side of the room there is an elevated loft that acts as an oversized window seat. Floor pillows cover the loft, making the perfect place to curl up and read a book while watching the snow fall, hidden from the world.

Impressions of England

Post Cards Home

Standing in the crowds on the streets of London,Time ticking by .

Maybe we will catch a glimpse of the prince?Aching feet are yellingReally?!?! You’re still here?!?!Yet our patience rewards us once we Saw the new family appear on the steps.

A Day in the Life

See weebly page for this expressed in the pixlr format, “England we SEE you, do you SEE us? A day in the life of sneaky hiding”. This is in response to the pixlr we made in class “Best hiding spots in Poe Hall”

1st Additional Expressive Writing (see Moodle for description of additional expressive writings)

Blog Post: London Free Day, Part 2 7/26

Not wanting to stay in the hostel any longer than we had to, we decided to start our 2nd free day in London on the early side.  Spencer deserted us for a bike ride around London, so Jill, Rachel, Lauren and I decided to go on an early morning walk in Hyde Park. Our goal was to find the large statue of Darcy (from Pride and Prejudice) that had appeared in one of the lakes in the park, much to our dismay the statue had been taken down and was currently making appearances in several different lakes across the country. 

Kensington Gardens 

Since it was a nice morning and we did not have far to go, we decided to walk to Kensington Palace through the gardens. Even though it was an overcast day, it was still a magnificent sight to see! Lauren, Rachel and I took a tour of the Palace, while Jill explored the Palace gardens. Since it is going to be the primary residence of Will, Kate and George, visitors are only allowed in certain wings of the Palace. Even though it was very cool knowing I was in their house, the public wings focused on past residences of the house. There is a gorgeous display of dresses formally worn by Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth and Lady Diana. The rest of the rooms share the history of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. I personally would have been happy seeing Kate’s hair dryer and George’s nursery but maybe that happen at the next visit.

with my BFF Kate After leaving our friend’s home we decided to go back into the heart of London. We fought the crowds to take in the sights of Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey. We were able to pinpoint the spot where our beloved Kate was dropped off and made her grand entrance on her wedding day.

We ended our 2nd London day by seeing Macbeth at the Globe theater and what an experience! The Globe has been restored to what it was when Shakespeare’s company performed plays there in 1599. The Globe was destroyed by fire in 1613 and rebuilt in 1614. The Globe was closed in 1642, after a modern reconstruction it reopened in 1997. When we purchased tickets in June, the only ones left were the “groundling” tickets, but at $5 pounds  (as opposed to the $65 pound seats) we were ok with this!

With groundling tickets you stand in the pit area, under the stage. There is nowhere to lean up against and you aren't allowed to sit on the ground (several people got yelled at by ushers). You had to stay alert, because the actors entered scenes from here and you had to move out of their way.  After standing for 10 hours for Prince George, you would think that this would be no problem at all…..wrong. It was super hot (thank you English heat wave!) and we were in direct sunlight. There were several people who left because they were about to faint.

During the first few acts I could not place where I had heard Banquo’s voice before, after a good hard stare Rachel and I realized that it was Billy Boyd who played Pippin in the Lord of the Rings movies. We were super excited (Rachel especially because she is a HUGE fan). He brushed passed me several times when coming into a scene, so basically I am now even more famous because I have seen Prince George and touched Billy Boyd. Best. Trip. Ever.

At the intermission Rachel asked one of the ushers if the actors came out and signed autographs after the play, he said no since there is little turn around time between shows (there was also a 7pm show that night). Disappointed we accepted the fact that we were not going to be able to meet Billy Boyd.  After the play we were looking around the Globe gift shop, Chelsea came running over that she had just seen Billy Boy and Dominic Monaghan who plays Merry in LOTR (also from ‘Lost’). She got a stalker side shot of them walking away from the theater. Merry had come to see Pippin perform in the play! It was cool to see that they were not only best friends in the movie but in real life as well!!

 

Being good English teachers and using our inferencing skills, we decided that they must be going to dinner before Billy’s next show. With one look from Rachel, I knew what was coming next. We then took a causal walk down the river walk and what do you know we happened to come upon Billy and Dominic having dinner two restaurant’s down from the Globe. We decided it would be rude to walk into the restaurant and ask for a picture, so we were going to have to use our waiting skills once again. While discussing what we were going to do, Billy walked out to take a phone call. At that time I just happened to be taking some pictures of Rachel with the Thames in the background and he photobombed all of the photos…the nerve of the man!  Rachel was determined to get a picture with both Merry and Pippin, so having a photo with him in the background was not going to cut it. Luckily we did not have to wait much longer and Rachel got her picture. Once again we proved that patience and perseverance are the key in getting your celebrity photos. 

Success! She got her picture! 

2nd Additional Expressive Writing (see Moodle for description of additional expressive writings)

Toondoo of conversation we had with our Taxi drive Tony in Scotland. We asked him where we should go for breakfast the next morning. He told us that Snax was the best place in town but then would mention other places to go, he would keep coming back around to Snax.