Shakespeare Post Four

      From watching all three of the videos from different time periods it is easy to determine why one is so much better than the others. For me personally the film made in 1996, is the better of the three. This would be because it is much more modern and entertaining. I have watched the full movie of the one made in 1996 and enjoyed it which I’m sure I cannot say for the other two movies. The one in 1996 is more sexualized and involves concepts that are too controversial for the other two movies such as the use of drugs and drag queens. The oldest movie made in 1954 keeps this scene very “PG” in comparison to the version made in 1996. This is a reason as to why the newest version is better because the audience is captivated and excited during the scene. 

      As well, in the party scene that we watched for all three of the movies, this is the only one that uses digital audio.  This music gives the scene a much more up-beat and engaging scene versus the other two.  This makes the characters in the 1996 version seem more fun and endearing, which draws the audience into the play.  The language used is the same however they “modernized” it and give enthusiasm to it. By this I mean the older movie versions seem monotone and extremely dull, to say the least. The 1996 version gives excitement, fear and suspense to its viewers. 

    

       As well, the costumes used in the 1996 version are much more bright and colourful, which is very different than the traditional clothing used in the two other movies. This adds flare to the movie and keeps the audience’s attention, especially in the party scene. Therefore, I believe the version made in 1996 is the better of the three due to the fact it is actually entertaining, suspenseful and engaging. 

 Scene from the "better" version

Shakespeare Presentation

Night School English on Prezi

Shakespeare Post Three

        The discussion we had on twitter I thought was a really interesting and new way to conduct an in-class discussion. I have never found Shakespeare enjoyable to read and from this discussion I have found out neither do most students in my class. This is largely due to the fact that teachers in high school are teaching Shakespeare in the wrong way. This is evident in our discussion when we answered the question: Why do students hate studying Shakespeare? My response for this question is because it is confusing and not the easiest to read, which was similar to the responses from my classmates. Teachers expect us to be able to read an entire act of Shakespeare in one class and understand everything he is saying-which is almost impossible! As one of my classmates pointed out, language is evolving everyday, even if we like it or not. I agreed with this statement and had never thought of that being a reason. Teachers must understand that students today have placed a stigma on Shakespeare and the way it is written. We do not understand almost all the things he is saying and trying to read along with the cassette playing in the background of the classroom is horrible.
   
      This relates to the second question we were asked: What is your worst memory of studying a play of Shakespeare? I can relate to almost all the answers given by my classmates as I have had to read Shakespeare in three of the four years I was in high school. I have had to listen to cassettes, read on my own, read aloud with the class and watch movies. Watching movies however was the simplest way to understand the play and I'm glad that is how we are doing it in this class. As well, one of my classmates stated her worst memory of Shakespeare was having to read it aloud to her class which I can relate to. I remember having to stand in front of my class and read part of an act with a group of people. That was one of the worst assignments I was given as I had literally no clue what I was saying. Having this prejudice against Shakespeare is something almost all students have even though we know we are going to have to study it.
   
      Therefore to overcome this barrier I believe students should discuss with their teachers the difficulties they are having with it. I know this helped me greatly one year because I asked my teacher if there was anything else I could read or watch that would help me understand the play we were studying. She suggested buying a "no fear Shakespeare" book which in the end helped me substantially. Therefore Shakespeare only has to be as bad as you make it, there are a vast number of other sources that help students get a better understanding of his plays and make this chore of reading become somewhat enjoyable.

Shakespeare Post Two

       Wikipedia is something I find extremely useful even though the information is not always true. You get the basic facts about whatever you are searching and leave with an understanding of what you were questioning. When I came upon the Twelfth Night page on Wikipedia I found no information to be false exactly but it was however not as informative as I thought it would be. 
     
     They give a great summary of the plot and identify who the main characters are which is helpful if someone has never read this play. They do however have a large section of the summary dedicated to Malvolio and the events that occurred to him which I believe are important, but not as important as Wikipedia made them out to be. Regarding the main character of my play, Viola, all the facts they state are true however if someone who had never heard of this play searched it, Wikipedia did not make Viola's character seem that important. They described how she was relevant to the play and how she turns into the character Cesario but other than that they ramble on about the other characters more. Therefore that is something misleading as the play is greatly affected by what Viola does and does not do.
    
       Wikipedia also only gives the ending of the play a mere conclusion which I believe is a huge part of the play where everything is revealed. Something I found very interesting that I did not know before is the importance of this play being set in Illyria. According to Wikipedia; Illyria, the setting of Twelfth Night, is important to the play's romantic atmosphere. Illyria was an ancient region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea covering parts of modern Albania, Croatia, and Montenegro, and the city state of Ragusa has been proposed as the setting. Illyria may have been suggested by the Roman comedy Menæchmi, the plot of which also involves a pair of twins who are mistaken for each other. I found that interesting because I never thought twice about the setting of the play but now I know of its importance. That is why I believe Wikipedia is so useful because even though not all the information is legitimate, you know more about your topic than you did before when you are done with it. 

Shakespeare Post One

TWELFTH NIGHT 


         The play I decided to study is Twelfth Night. Since no one else in the class will be reading this play with me, I have found multiple sources which will help me understand what this play is about. The following links are the ones I will be using and I will give a brief explanation for each and also share the information I have learned.  The first source of information I decided to find was a movie. Luckily, I found one that was made in 1996 which is not too long ago. I want to do much more research on my play before I watch the movie so I can have a better understanding of this play before I try to understand the movie.

 Movie: 

As well, when searching for videos, I forgot that one of my favourite movies, Shes the Man, is based on this play. Therefore already owning this video I can also watch this to give me more information even though it is only similar regarding the plot.

 Helpful Spark Notes

This link is from sparknotes and gives me a well detailed explanation for my play without having to read the whole play. Here I can find out details about the plot, characters and each act which will benefit me greatly. So far this is what I have learned from this site:

Plot: One stormy day, Violar washed up on the shores of Illyria after an awful shipwreck. She believed her twin brother Sebastian had died and with the help of the ship captain, recieved work under the Duke Orsino. The only way she can do this however is to dress and act like a man, therefore taking on the name Cesario. It is revealed that the duke is madly inlove with Lady Olivia whom wants nothing to do with the Duke. The Duke then makes Cesario his page and sends him to Lady Olivia to give her love messages from the Duke. However Lady Olivia begins to fall in love with Cesario who at the same time is falling in love with the Duke. We meet other important characters that add to this play such as Malvolio, Sir Toby, Sir Andrew but I believe for now to give just a quick plot summary, identifying the love triangle is the main importance. Then Viola's (Cesario) brother who she thought was dead turns up in Illyria. Lady Olivia sees Sebastian, thinking it is Cesario, and asks him to marry her. Eventually, Viola (still disguised as Cesario) and Orsino make their way to Olivia’s house, where Olivia welcomes Cesario as her new husband, thinking him to be Sebastian, whom she has just married. Orsino is furious, but then Sebastian himself appears on the scene, and all is revealed.

Main Characters:  Viola (Cesario)

                                 Duke Orsino

                                 Lady Olivia

                                 Sebastian

                                 Malvolio

                                 Feste

 Entire Play

This link has the entire play where I can read it if I want too. I doubt I will read the entire play but I feel this link will be good to reference back on.

EBSCOhost

On EBSCOhost I found the entire play as well but they modernized it and made it much easier to read. I read the whole play on this because it was much more simple so this gave me much more information regarding my play. This made me realize how this play is a comedy since they put it into today's speech making it easier to understand. Therefore I believe with the knowledge I have learned so far from my research I am prepared to embark on the next step of this assignment.

10 Tech Skills Every Student Should Have

I believe out of the ten important skills students need, I have basic knowledge on all of them, however have much more to learn. Before I took this class I knew how to do a simple internet search but now I know how to do a better one. Reading the link; “how to use google”, I was taught how to do a semi-advanced search which would help me find more accurate results. Therefore, I believe I am knowledgable about internet searches. However, I am not that good with office suite skills. I know how to use word and powerpoint well but not excel and other business programs. That is something I want to improve on. 
     
     The self-help and where to go for help I think I am knowledgable on but I’m sure I have much more to learn. I use my help menu on my computer countless times but some instructions do confuse me. Therefore that is something I would like to improve on. Typing is an aspect I can fully say I am good at. In elementary school and younger grades in high school we learned about typing and that has benefited me greatly now. Social media sites are something I believe I am knowledgable on however I do not use them to their full potential.
     
      As well I want to know more about privacy settings and ensuring my security. Netiquette is also something I believe I am decent at and making sure I keep certain things private. Security and safety are something I need to learn much more about as well as hardware basics and troubleshooting. The technical aspects of technology is something I need to learn a lot more about. Also, back-up data is something I want to learn more about since I just recently had a technical problem in which I didn’t back-up anything. On my phone and computer now I have a lot of apps but I’m sure there is much more useful and informative apps that I do not know about. Therefore I have a lot more to learn about the tech skills every student should have. 

How to use google

PLN assignment

1)      PLN is a personal learning network. It is designed for the sharing of knowledge through people and creating connections. Examples of personal learning networks are Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger.

2)      The following are three possible elements for a good PLN:

a.       Updating your site regularly to ensure key information and knowledge is being spread. Ensuring other people are visiting your site frequently and learning new knowledge is necessary for a PLN to be successful.

b.      Making sure your PLN is easily accessible and not confusing for the people that in your network. As well, having an eye-catching design could attract more people, but make sure to not over do the design of your PLN by making it look chaotic.

c.       Try to avoid stating personal opinions that are not relevant to what your PLN is focused on because conflict from other people could arise.

3)      In post-secondary I will have an edge on my fellow classmates because I have been able to explore and attain information from countless networks, which has expanded my range of knowledge.  As well, I am familiar with many networks that I was not before and that will benefit me greatly in post-secondary with assignments and tutorials where I am required to have secondary data from outside sources.  

4)      I believe in today’s society the use of the internet has become a necessity, therefore I believe in the future employers will most definitely be intrigued by an applicant having an online portfolio. It shows you are able to use the internet successfully, creatively and proficiently while still maintaining appropriate work ethic.

5)      I believe my current online footprint is in no way employer friendly. This is because I do not watch the choice of words I use over the internet or the photos that I upload.  I do however make sure all of my PLN’s have proper security and are private. In the future however I can improve my online footprint by being more responsible with what I publish and ensuring that nothing I do publish could harm my job.

Sky Gilbert Presentation