Dry-Interactive Timeline
I
knew very quickly once I began reading Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman
that I wanted to create an interactive timeline for this book. The events in
the book take place over a very short period of time and there are some major
events. I also knew that I wanted civic engagement to be a component of my
timeline since Dry is a cli-fi novel.
Rather than incorporate images and videos that might have told the story of the book, I chose to use videos, images, and websites that would educate people on climate change while also highlighting the importance of water and how the world could potentially run dry one day. I used the dates from the novel with a short synopsis of what was occurring on that day and then included different media on climate change and water. I really enjoyed the process of creating a multimodal response, maybe a little more than I thought I would.
When I started to think about the types of media I wanted to include in my timeline I wasn't really sure of where to begin. I also struggled with whether or not the information I chose to include would work in the story's timeline; I wasn't sure it would make sense. I think Jenkins' comments on appropriation gave me a little more confidence in that area when he says that, "Art does not emerge whole cloth from individual imaginations...Artists build on, are inspired by, appropriate and transform other artists' work," (Jenkins 32). I don't consider myself an artist nor do I consider my timeline a work of art, but I do feel like I've created something that uses other people's creations to tell a story and hopefully inspire change.
As I previously mentioned, the goals of my timeline were to make people want to read the book while educating them on climate change. I decided to only include the first two days of the book since this was a "mini response". I tried to select video and websites that were relevant to what was happening in the book but factual, so even though you're reading a timeline based on a fictional book you can see that what's actually occurring is not based on fictional scenarios.
For me, the novel really chose what types of information would or should be included. There are so many different ways that you can tackle climate issues but since the characters in the novel are in a drought, it only made sense to include information on droughts and the necessity of water in general.
I think any book that deals with social issues should really be used in a way that promotes civic engagement, I feel like Dry was especially easy to do this with but a similar response could be created for any book. Learning is amplified when creating these responses because it encourages thinking outside the box, research, and forces readers to really look at the deeper meanings within a text for issues and solutions that are applicable to the real world.
I thought this was an interesting video on art appropriation:
Hey Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your timeline. It was really informative and fun to read! I also really liked the quote you used from Jenkins about art, "Artists build on, are inspired by, appropriate and transform other artists' work" (Jenkins, 32). I also felt it when you said you're not artist or that your timeline was art, but I disagree. The timeline is really creative and it did help inspire me a bit.
Kelly,
ReplyDeleteI thought your timeline was an awesome use of multiple modes of media and the way they each tied together to form a better understanding of your book. I really enjoyed clicking through the videos and images, and the way you incorporated more interactive aspects -- like quizzes -- was really engaging. - Casey
HI Kelly.
ReplyDeleteI know that I already shared this elsewhere, but you do a very nice job of weaving together both the facts on the issue of water security as well as the fictional narrative of the characters involved. I wonder how we might ask our students to do a similar weaving of elements to further humanize and become knowledgable about some of these issues.