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2012 Gift Guide for Pop Culture Geeks and Media Mavens
All year long we’ve been taking a look at the wild and interesting places where pop culture from various media intersect. Well, in the gift suggestions that follow those popular media products not...
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50 Years of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ on Film: A Chat with Documentarian Mary...
Exactly fifty years ago today the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird opened in Los Angeles. Thus began one of those rare occasions in which a film acquired the same classic status as its source...
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Comics Creation & Critical Thinking: From Doctor Who to Bitstrips
Like so many insights in life, this one was prompted by Doctor Who. To be specific, in early 2011 I wrote a couple of photonovels based upon S5 episodes—oh, and what episodes they were. Anyway, I...
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Comics Creation Tools: Thoughts From ‘The Graphic Classroom’
First off, thanks for checking out the first post in this series, in which I launched things by reflecting on my experience scripting Doctor Who photonovels. (And if you haven’t read it, here you go.)...
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Comics Generators and Literacy: Edtech and Nontech Insights from Bill Zimmerman
Hope you enjoyed the conversation with Chris Wilson. In fact, by way of introduction to today’s expert in comics creation tools, you can read Mr. Wilson’s piece on the benefits of the site that my...
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Exploring Common Core’s Informational Text… with Violent Video Games
Admittedly, Black Ops II and CCSS might make for an odd pairing, almost as if I wanted to create my own little perfect storm of controversy: there are already plenty of librarians and teachers anxious...
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Teaching Transmedia with Comics: A Conversation with Tyler Weaver
When I first heard about Tyler Weaver’s book that places comics squarely at the center of transmedia, I thought it was too good to be true (I’ve long argued for giving comics a more central role in...
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Transmedia in Schools and Libraries: Thoughts and Strategies from Tyler Weaver
In the first part of my conversation with Tyler Weaver we discussed the many benefits of teaching with, and making, comics as well as the role of the school librarian when it comes to transmedia… here...
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Giveaway: Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack of BULLY
It’s one of those kid-focused, school-centered docs that even if you don’t have kids or haven’t set foot in a school since graduating, you know about it. I’m referring, of course, to Lee Hirsch’s...
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Visual Literacy and Media Literacy QuickLink: Brutally Honest Oscar Posters
You may have missed this gallery of reimagined posters for the Best Picture Oscar nominees when College Humor debuted it last month–but even if you didn’t, it’s clever enough to revisit, especially...
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MTV’s Andrew Jenks on Storytelling, Media Literacy, Baseball’s Bobby V, and...
Jenks, at left, in his breakthrough HBO doc “Andrew Jenks, Room 335″ If you’re unfamiliar with the television work of Andrew Jenks, please read why I think it’s important, especially in terms of the...
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Learning About the Holocaust Through ‘Schindler’s List’ and IWitness
For those who may have simply arrived here fortuitously, please know that this is third in a series of pieces related to the USC Foundation and the 20th anniversary Blu-ray release of Schindler’s...
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Book Giveaway: ‘Doctor Who FAQ’
By no means a quick cash-in on the surge in popularity of the BBC series, Dave Thompson’s impressive new book on Doctor Who is clearly the work of both a scholar-historian and a long-time fan. It’s...
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Expanding a Book’s Universe
Guest Post by Laura Fleming 21st Century readers seek information that goes beyond traditional books. Every day, I see my own students looking for opportunities to interact with the stories they love...
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Sparking Visual and Cultural Literacy with ‘Reimagined’ Movies
Art by Peter Stults Every once in a while I like to talk about movie posters here, and so far each time the topic has been “imaginary” posters… either for films that have have existed… or for “brutally...
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Teaching Genre Conventions From a Fan’s Perspective
Archetypes… or Clichés? Here’s a question that I rarely see asked at SLJ or in any of the circles in which I travel: are genres ultimately limiting to both creators and readers? Why or why not? If...
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5 Reasons ‘Blancanieves’ is the Most Thrilling ‘Snow White’ Ever
People like me probably tend to overuse the term “Disneyfication.” After all, Disney isn’t the only media publisher who alters content to make it more palatable to younger demos and modern audiences....
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Book Giveaway… Les Misérables: From Stage to Screen
I’ll cut to the chase: just how good—how interesting, comprehensive, and visually appealing—is this new book from Applause? Well, it covers, in its last few chapters, a movie that I really didn’t care...
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With ‘42’ in Theaters, Here’s a Free Movie Starring Jackie Robinson
This weekend a new movie about Jackie Robinson opens in the U.S., and you may find that it prompts discussion and renewed interest in the life of this extraordinary person and athlete. Some educators...
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Why ‘Marble Season’ is My Favorite Book of 2013 (So Far)
“Here, Chavo. Let me show you how to understand comic books. Ok, here’s a comic about a super team that are kind of like monsters. This guy here who looks the most like a monster is actually a good...
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