When we write, we have to decide the tone and perspective for the piece of writing that we are creating. We have to explain to our students that they may write in first, second, or third person. We know the differences, as they are quite obvious. Therefore, we will ask them to write the pieces of writing in first person. They can do this by imagining that they are one of the characters in the different stories proposed for each recipe.
In this chapter, we are going to insert many techniques for future writers in our Moodle course using a virtual classroom. We will also insert several resources available in Web 2.0, as they should prove attractive to our students. The students are going to carry out the activities along with technology. They will narrate a piece of fiction that already exists from the first person's point of view. They are going to immerse themselves in the story by becoming the character. They can choose any character—either a main character or a secondary one.
In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:
- How to become a well-known character
- Understanding secondary characters
- Adding technology to a story
- Statues can think
- Changing an adventure
- Old age versus childhood
- Beauty versus ugliness
- Curious characters
In this chapter, you will be able to help your students set their imagination free. You will learn how to apply different techniques to incorporate classical literature by combining Web 2.0 tools, iPod's, iPad's, and iPhone's free software with Moodle. Your students will have to work with eight different books or plays. In case that they have not read them, we will link a website retelling the summary of the story, as they will have to read the entire book to know the plot otherwise. Another possibility is that students read the stories in their iPhones, iPads, or iPods. The books and plays that I propose are classics. So they might have already read them or will be reading them in literature classes.
In this virtual classroom, we are going to enrich the vocabulary of our students and make them read before writing. I always repeat this several times to my students because we learn many things and enhance our vocabulary by reading excellent books. Another important feature to mention is the use of notes and comments on different books or plays. We don't understand everything when reading a book, so we can link to a website that allows us to use free notes on books. They can gather more information to write their activities.
Some of these stories have also been Hollywood successes—so, students can watch the film. This will help them to understand that a book or a story can also be seen from different points of view. This shows how a story changes when it is a film—as in the case of Romeo and Juliet. A recent version of Romeo and Juliet is set in Miami, and has a mixture of old English and technology, while the main characters are kept in the past.
As stated previously, you can use the ideas and change the stories according to books that your students have read, are reading, or are going to read in the near future. Adding a personal touch to an activity is always productive. I hope that you have read the books or plays that I proposed. If not, you have some homework. Let's Moodle it!