Geeks Person Essay Exam, Poem Project; Quicktime Film Review: Hidden Figures: Day 1

Lab:

There are 3 ongoing tasks to begin work on today. The first is a personal essay response to the book Geeks by Jonathan Katz. This assignment will count as an open-book test score. It is due at the end of class today.

If you finish before the end of this class, please move on to the other two tasks. These are not due today, but will be due Thursday.

Task 1 (Geeks essay test)

• Answer the following test question as a personal essay draft. 
• Use textual evidence from the book where appropriate to support or refer to during your essay.
• The question: After reading Geeks how did the book affect you? Some supporting questions might be: "Where does the sense of being the 'other' begin? Where did it begin for you?"; "How has the internet helped our society come to accept geeks of all types and ages?"; "How does social media or technology help or hinder geeks since this book was written (2000)?"; "Reflect on your own geekdom--or how you resent or hate geeks and why, if you are a bully"; "What is being a geek all about for you?"; "Is there an age limit or cultural restriction to being a geek in your opinion?"; "What did you learn about yourself by reading this book?"

Task 2 (Geeks poem draft)

• Please read Langston Hughes' poem "Theme for English B"
• Please read Jessie's poem response to the University of Chicago on pages 110-112 of Geeks
• Just like the instructions from the University of Chicago's Office of Admissions, write a truthful poem about yourself, beginning where Hughes begins: "I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem./I went to school there, then Durham, then here/to this college on the hill above Harlem./I am the only colored student in my class." That is to say, each of us is at a certain stage of life and has a history. Each of us has lived somewhere and gone to school. We each are what we feel and see and hear, as the poem goes on to say. Begin there and see what happens.
• Write a draft of your poem.
• Add your poem draft to your blog. Send your poem through Facebook or some other form of social media that you commonly use (Twitter may not be the best choice depending on length...).
• See who responds to your poem. Print out this response and turn it in with a copy of your poem draft by Thursday (first deadline) or Monday, Oct. 16 (second deadline)  

Task 3 (video review of Hidden Figures)

Create a short quicktime video or movie reviewing the film Hidden Figures. Reflect on the film.

• Briefly summarize the plot of the film and who plays which major roles (you can find most of this information at IMDB.com.) 
• Review the film. What issues did the film raise that you feel are important?
• Review actors & director. How well do you think the actors in the film portrayed their role? How effective do you think the director was? Give a few reasons why you think this. [You can use your film vocabulary sheet and notes to help you]
• What makes the film important (or not important) to watch for a general audience? Would you recommend this film (to whom?) and why? Give a few reasons for your answer.

Directions for Submitting Video Files

So you created a video for your class and you want to submit it for a grade? Here are the steps you need to follow:

Record on your Smartphone

QuickTime Player can record a movie from your camera, or record the screen of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. It can also record audio from a microphone or record the screen of your Mac. 

Record a movie

Movie recording works with your built-in camera and many external cameras. If you're using OS X Yosemite or later, you can also record the screen of any iOS device (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch) with a Lightning port and iOS 8 or later. 

1. Choose File > New Movie Recording.
2. To change the recording settings, click the arrow next to the Record button. Then choose your camera or iOS device, microphone, and recording quality.
3. To monitor audio while it's being recorded, use the volume slider. 
4. Click the Record button  to start recording. Click it again to stop recording. 

Share

1. After saving your movie, you can share it by Mail, Messages, AirDrop, YouTube, and other methods:
   • Open the file in QuickTime Player, then choose File > Share.
   • Or open file in QuickTime Player, then click Share  in the playback controls.
   • Or Control-click the file in the Finder, then choose Share from the shortcut menu.

After sharing, upload your film review as a blog post on your blog. This project is due Thursday (first deadline) or Monday, Oct. 16 (second deadline).

Please turn in your personal essay test today by the end of class. This counts as a "test" grade.

HOMEWORK: Work on Tasks 2 & 3 if needed. When you no longer need it, please return the Geeks to the library (or me).