_The_Odyssey_ & Social Media (9th Grade Honors ELA) by Steve Tetreault https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey Social media has quickly become a major facet of our society. Roughly one third of the entire population of Earth has a Facebook account; approximately one in five people in the US, and one in twenty people in the world, have a Twitter account; one in ten people in the world uses Instagram; and one in forty people use Snapchat. Social media has become an important way for people to connect and share their daily experiences. And we can learn a lot from the first-hand knowledge they make available. If The Odyssey was taking place today, the characters would undoubtedly be posting about it online. en-us 2018-09-30 13:17:30 UTC 2025-12-10 12:19:27 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Bigthunderstorm.png Hashtags (#) DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287319663 When it comes to finding what you're looking for in social media, it's hard to beat the hashtag. These are often clear, sometimes clever, often popular, sometimes original words or phrases appended to a social media post. Users can search for a particular hashtagged phrase to see all the posts in which it is included, from across a wide variety of users' accounts.

In Slack, do the following:

First, identify and analyze some popular and/or useful current hashtags. What are they used for? Why are they popular? What does they tell us about the people who use them and/or the society in which they were created?

Once you have analyzed some current hashtags, think about The Odyssey and propose some hashtags the characters might use. Be sure to include which character(s) might use the tags, and if they're not obvious, take a second to explain what they mean. ]]> 2018-09-30 13:22:03 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287319663 Images DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287320103 As the old saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." Much of the social media sphere is focused on images. While each image is different, there are some broad categories that images tend to fall into - selfies, food, pets, events, etc. Different types of people post different types of images.

Take a few minutes to evaluate the images posted to well-known (and/or your favorite) social media icons - what do their images convey? What is the message being sent? Discuss your thoughts in Slack.

After analyzing and evaluating the use of images in social media, make a group decision in Slack: Pick two characters from The Odyssey. Then propose images each would include in their social media accounts. Explain why each character would include those images - how does it reflect either the character's personality or the situation(s) from The Odyssey?.  ]]> 2018-09-30 13:25:25 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287320103 Text DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287320696 No matter what type of social media one views, there tends to be text involved, in one way or another. These text elements tend to be fairly short, and reveal the thoughts and feelings of the person posting as they make their way through a typical (or non-typical) day. These text posts are usually intended to show their "audience" of followers how clever they can be, how well or poorly their day is going, or to "show off" in some way.

As a group, discuss (via Slack) some ways two different characters might paraphrase their experiences of or responses to the events of The Odyssey. ]]> 2018-09-30 13:29:46 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287320696 Social Media DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287320732 Social media has quickly become a major facet of our society. Roughly one third of the entire population of Earth has a Facebook account;  approximately one in five people in the US, and one in twenty people in the world, have a Twitter account;  one in ten people in the world uses Instagram; and one in forty people use Snapchat.

Social media has become an important way for people to connect and share their daily experiences. And we can learn a lot from the first-hand knowledge they make available.

If The Odyssey was taking place today, the characters would undoubtedly be posting about it online! So you're going to help them do just that... ]]> 2018-09-30 13:30:00 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287320732 How do you use social media? DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287323279 1) Take a minute to think about your personal uses of, and reactions to, social media in general. Then hold a conversation in Slack about your personal thoughts about and experiences with social media.

2) Then, in Slack, have a group conversation about what different types of social media say about the users - what type of person is more likely to use Facebook rather than Snapchat? Or favor Instagram over Twitter? 

One person in the group should then summarize your group's thoughts on these two topics and add them in a post in the "SM: Student Reactions" column.]]> 2018-09-30 13:51:01 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287323279 Using this Padlet DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287324064 1) This is intended as a self-guided lesson. You will work in groups assigned by Dr. T to complete this project. You will have two class blocks to complete this project; and you are welcome to work on it online outside of class. You will work on the reflection after those two class blocks have been completed.

2) Start here (top left), then work your way down each column, then to the right. 

3) Each column has its own scroll bar - use it to see all the way down the column. Make sure you see everything in each column!

4) Use the scroll bar at the bottom of the screen to view all the columns!

5) Dr. T is going to invite you to join a Slack chat where you and your team will discuss your thoughts and ideas for this project. Every member of the team should provide some POSITIVE contributions to the work for this lesson. You will get a participation grade. Your group's Slack conversation should utilize the prompts provided for each topic.

6) Add your own thoughts in the "Student" column by adding a post. Click the + at the bottom of a column to create a new response box, and add your info and ideas! The posts are moderated, so Dr. T will look them over before they get posted here. 

7) MAKE SURE you include your TEAM NAME with your posts so you get credit for your work! 


]]> 2018-09-30 13:57:03 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287324064 Example DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287328245 1) After talking it over, we realized we generally don't post much on social media, but there are lots of interesting people out there who do. Although we tend to shy away from social media, it can be a great way to find out information from authorities and important people. 

We also think there are folks who spend WAY too much time thinking about - and interacting with - social 
media. 

2) It seems like the type of people using Twitter are...]]> 2018-09-30 14:29:51 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287328245 Help Homer sell The Odyssey DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287335834 Alternative assignment: Come up with a social media campaign consisting of several posts that Homer could use to sell The Odyssey to a modern audience. Consider themes, messages, and lessons that are particularly relevant to the text, and come up with a way to engage the audience via social media. Utilize text, hashtags, and images to compose your posts. You will need to address either multiple audiences, or multiple social media services, or both

Begin by discussing in Slack who the target audience would be, and which social media services would be most appropriate to those audiences. Also consider in Slack how your message should be altered to fit your target audience(s) and social media service(s).

You MUST include the ORIGINAL source of your images! You should use Creative Commons' Beta Search, as we learned about in our previous lesson on fair use, copyright, and attribution. CC Beta Search will provide you with attributions that you can copy-and-paste right into your work. Because the selection is somewhat limited, you will have to be creative (and maybe humorous) as you choose images!

OPTIONAL: If you want to be "fancy", you could use a tool like StoryBoardThat, Canva, or Google Drawings to make a look-alike for your favorite type of social media, filling in the relevant parts with your  group's text, images, and/or hashtags. Or you might capture a screenshot of a social media post with a tool like the Lightshot extension (or even your phone), then edit the image as necessary. ]]> 2018-09-30 15:27:26 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287335834 Example DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287362064 Image by Victoria Tucker in "The Odyssey Tweets", https://youtu.be/OFZ2u1dw20k, 1:18]]> 2018-09-30 18:27:15 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/287362064 Posts DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/299190962 A completed social media post usually incorporates text elements, images, and/or hashtags. Working with your group, discuss how you will combine some of your elements to create a series of posts from at least two different characters from The Odyssey.

Begin by discussing in Slack which social media service(s) your chosen characters would use. Then your team will create a series of social media posts from two different characters that captures their reactions from different points in the The Odyssey. Consider in Slack how their reactions might be different at the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Your posts should create a timeline that fits with the characters' experiences within The Odyssey.

Each group will create a Google product (Doc, Slides, etc.) that can be inserted into a shared class folder in Drive. Products will be reviewed and evaluated by classmates via these criteria.

You MUST include the ORIGINAL source of your images! You should use Creative Commons' Beta Search, as we learned about in our previous lesson on fair use, copyright, and attribution. CC Beta Search will provide you with attributions that you can copy-and-paste right into your work. Because the selection is somewhat limited, you will have to be creative (and maybe humorous) as you choose images!

OPTIONAL: If you want to be "fancy", you could use a tool like StoryBoardThat, Canva, or Google Drawings to make a look-alike for your favorite type of social media, filling in the relevant parts with your  group's text, images, and/or hashtags. Or you might capture a screenshot of a social media post with a tool like the Lightshot extension (or even your phone), then edit the image as necessary. ]]> 2018-10-31 21:46:25 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/299190962 Example 2 (Created by Dr. T's students: Isabella C., Nicole G., Carlee B., and Serena T.) DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/299192984 "Man on beach flying kite" by Larry & Teddy Page is licensed under CC BY 2.0


Hottie rolled up on the beach today #donttelldad #hottiewithabody #mancrushmonday
]]> 2018-10-31 22:02:18 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/299192984 Post-Project Reflection DrSteve https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/299203842 *NOTE: You will have time to complete this after the two blocks assigned for the completion of your products. 

Once you have finished your products and reviewed the peer and teacher feedback, review your Slack conversations and your materials, then record a brief reflection in the class FlipGrid. Consider what you enjoyed (or didn't), what you learned, and how you might use the skills or knowledge you gained through this process in the future.]]> 2018-10-31 23:41:36 UTC https://padlet.com/DrSteve/Odyssey/wish/299203842