LOL Realizing Meaningful Interactions Online Through OER Cartoons

? ! : ) LOL Realizing Meaningful Interactions Online Through OER Cartoons and Prompts Terry Pollard Assistant Professor Director of Instructional Development and Distance Learning University of Mississippi Medical Center Jackson, MS

Presentation Objectives We aim to: • • • recognize the rise in contemporary culture of comics--through medical narratives published online, traditional graphic novels, or the webcomic. recognize the careful attention needed to craft the discussion prompt parse meaning from student responses to webcomics--as a means to better understand student deficiencies and idiosyncrasies

Face to Face TEACHER Online ILLUSTRATOR CONSULTANT / TRAINER STORYTELLER SPEAKER WRITER COMPUTER GEEK BLACKBOARD SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR MARKET RESEARCHER

Child Tween Juvenile Adult

“Graphic novels are the most frequently requested material in our Ivy League request system. ” Karen Green, librarian for ancient and medieval history and graphic novel selector at Columbia University. Source: http: //www. publishersweekly. com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/57093 -how-graphic-novels-became-the-hottest-section-in-thelibrary. html

Parents/Siblings Work/Class Balance Financial Aid Course Load STUDENTS Relationships Major/Minor Graduation $$$ Study Habits

Communication Computers and Technology MLA ENTERING FRESHMAN (taking Comp I) Writing Habits Online Learning Essay Organization Attending College

As a healthcare professional the realization of this comic is spot on. Many are obtaining degrees only to graduate and not be able to find a job. My initial reaction to the cartoon was that she may be on to something there. Because if we all had good karma there would not be an unemployment rate.

Student initiative lacking STUDENT RESPONSES Astute Teacher-student communication

Astute In the second panel the student Student confidence lacking appears to realize the need for coming up with some ideas, but at the last minute he/she makes the I think that the student writes a decision that a two-word response two-word "essay" because she is concise, dramatic, and revelatory is not inspired to write about enough. The student gave up. To anything. me, the instructions were clear Teacher-student communication The teacher didn't give any details such as the topic, font or anything so I probably would of wrote I'm confused for my essay. enough. There wasn't [sic] enough details like how long or how many pages the essay should be, should the student use MLA or APA, should it be informing or entertaining.

Student confidence lacking I think that the student writes a Where do ideas come from? two-word "essay" because she As writers, what process can is not inspired to write about we follow throughout the week anything. to improve the writing process?

Teacher-student communication The teacher didn't give any details such as the Do you tend to point out errors topic, font or anything so to the professor when you are I probably would of wrote I'm confused for my essay. confused about something? If not, why not?

REFLECTION ESSAYS Did not discuss cartoons 7 Did discuss cartoons 12

I even like the comic he gave us every week because that …the comics were amazingly drawn and was a thinking process for me taught us to not only too. It was a way to just stop read words, but to focusing on one thing and think about many things at the same time. read images…. They made us use our they were all relatable things. . . [they] were things that the students only thought about saying or doing. brains. …comics were very interesting. …they had great significance not just for the class, but for everyday life. Another comic that struck close to me was about "unfriending" someone on a social internet site. I thought about Throughout the course I that comic hard before I wrote something that evaluated comics and week. I analyzed all the times that I have different little articles. I actually loved this class believe it or not. 'unfriended' someone on Facebook, Twitter, and even My. Space. I learned from this that nothing is going to come out of unfriending them and that it doesn't matter. Through that comic I did actually delete my Facebook, because when it comes down to it, it just causes problems in general.

This Type of Online Class-Bottom Up Teacher 0 0 Typical Online Class-Top Down 270 Students

Extemporaneous Writing Icebreakers (both discussionbased and webconference based REFLECTION Reflective Writing Journaling

Prompt Suggestions • • What was your first reaction to the comic? When do you laugh? At whom did you laugh? Does the comic strike you as true? Are you unsympathetic toward any of the characters? What might that suggest about you? On what device does the comic depend? irony? satire? suspended disbelief? fantasy? simile or metaphor? Does something meaningful happen between the “gutters” or between two comics?

To Return to My Childhood. . .

My Goals for Online U • • • To make the comic available to anyone in the world for use in their online class To continue developing storylines that are pertinent to student and faculty experiences To present and share the ideas of the collective online community to anyone eager to improve student-teacher dialogue

Course Begins! comic emailed comic emailed comic emailed comic emailed

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Activity Subscribe Online | onlineucomic. com I am available for webconference training with your faculty Get in touch! Terry Pollard tpollard@umc. edu 601 -815 -8308

Activity • Comics Handout - Complete the Caption Subscribe Online | onlineucomic. com I am available for webconference training with your faculty Get in touch! Terry Pollard tpollard@umc. edu 601 -815 -8308