Romancing Your Computer

While 12 of my Honors American Literature students were in Hawaii, I decided do to a little experiment with the somewhat grumpy students who were left behind. I gave them the following objective: Develop your own understanding of American Romantic poetry based on the resources in your book; select and incorporate at least one extension, such as Romantic art, Romantic music, British Romantic poetry, or your own, original Romantic poetry. Use Photostory to present your findings.

I showed them how to use Photostory, helped them individually with interpreting tough poems, and then just gave them time. The results were impressive, and discussing the poems in small groups with individual attention was much more effective and engaging than discussing the poems with the whole class.

When we shared the Photostories in class, students voted on the following categories: Most Deeply Analytical, Most Sublime, and Most Creative and Entertaining. The winners are worth taking a few minutes to enjoy if you have time:

Kelm/Prado
Wilcox/Hunt
Crellin
Parietti/Lueders
Pullara/Harden