Classical Play Project Redux / 2017 – Text Debate

So the Classical Play Project is back. You might remember “The Michaels” (links / entries are not necessarily in chronological order), the modern adaptation of Plautus’ Menaechmi that my Classical Lit class worked on last year. One of the big questions was whether or not we would do it again this year.

But this year’s class is on board, so off we go. This year, though, with a twist. The class has elected to pen and perform a play for the elementary schools. More to come on all of that but we had a pleasantly spirited debate about the text / subject matter in class and I managed to video some of it which I include below. (And the lapel-camera quality is me getting used to a new lens I got for the iPad.)

And, as these things often go, despite what the video suggests, we ultimately did not decide on Hercules but rather (back to) Pyramus and Thisbe.

ScreenFlow from Ed DeHoratius on Vimeo.

The Swivl Expand Lens

As a Swivl Pioneer, I received a set of Swivl Expand lenses for use in classroom and group-work observations. I’ve not had a chance to pilot them yet in full flower, so to speak, but did a get-to-know-you session with one of the lenses yesterday in class. Pretty cool, I must say. I’ve pasted below some screenshots from the Swivl Expand website that illustrates and explains what they are and what they’re for, and below that I’ve embedded a quick video from my class that shows it with and without the lens. Full disclosure, I’m using the lens without the Swivl case, which includes a stabilizer for the lens, which explains some of the choppiness, but I’m excited to use them and I’ll let you know how it goes.

ScreenFlow from Ed DeHoratius on Vimeo.

Latin Movie Trailers

At long last, the Latin Movie Trailers. Here they are in all of their glory (or lack thereof). In no particular order (except I did put Rogue One (Furcifer Unus) first because I believe the BluRay comes out today or hereabouts). Enjoy.

Rogue One

Inception

 

Despicable Me

 

Toy Story 3

 

Song of the Sea

Baby Boss

My Movie – Small from Ed DeHoratius on Vimeo.

Slumdog Millionaire

FCB2A039-8796-48FD-B413-4808E570CBE0_HQ from Ed DeHoratius on Vimeo.

Sleeping Beauty

Movie Trailer from Ed DeHoratius on Vimeo.

Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast Latin from Ed DeHoratius on Vimeo.

Jungle Book

Latin Movie Project (1) from Ed DeHoratius on Vimeo.

Wall-E

WALL-E Latin Project from Ed DeHoratius on Vimeo.

To Kill A Mockingbird

Latin Movie Project-1 from Ed DeHoratius on Vimeo.

Wallace and Grommit

Beauty and the Beast (a different one)

Princess Mononoke

Grand Budapest Hotel

Apple Distinguished Educator Denial

I had applied to be an ADE this time around and just found out yesterday that I was not chosen. A bummer, to be certain, but not entirely surprising; it is a difficult admission to achieve and I wasn’t entirely confident in my video. With that said, as I made the video, going through old materials, reviewing my own career with technology, I will admit that I felt more confident as the process went along than when I decided to apply.

I write this really for two reasons. One, for the simple act of transparency. I did it. It didn’t work out. Here it is. Two, a bit more tricky. Here is Apple’s email:

Perhaps I’m being a bit sensitive here, but, as a humanities teacher and believer, I find the primacy of ‘Everyone Can Code’ in the opportunities-to-engage-with-Apple suggestions a bit disconcerting. I understand too that the code movement is not entirely a STEM phenomenon and that the humanities in many ways have been at the vanguard of technology expansion and exploration. I’m also not saying that I wasn’t chosen because of my humanities interest and teaching.

With all of that said, however, assuming that there are plenty of humanities teachers who applied and were denied, it does seem a touch tone-deaf to lead with something so antithetical to their training and day-to-day work (however much Apple may want us to expand our horizons), especially in this era of STEM-dominance and humanities-survival (or lack thereof).

Am I bitter? I’m not sure that’s quite the right word, but I will reluctantly admit that I am on that spectrum. I guess I’m just concerned that everyone has forgotten how many STEM advancements were made with the simple yet powerful training that the humanities provide (and, lest we forget, science and math and their offshoots are part of the humanities) and, as we move farther and farther away from that training, I wonder what we will lose as we gain other things.

Sed de hoc satis. On to the video. I’ve embedded it below. I thought it was a bit rushed (I was hoping they’d hit the pause button a few times) and I suspect it focused a bit too much on me and not enough on my students and the impact of (Apple) technology on them. That’s my utterly anecdotal assessment.

ADE Video from Ed DeHoratius on Vimeo.