Shakespeare Magazine ~ Summer 2003

Shakespeare
Volume 7, Issue 2
SUMMER 2003

Teaching with
Technology

A Brave New World:
Teaching Shakespeare Online
Katherine Wright tells us why "Shakespeare is a natural subject for online teaching" in this article about her undergraduate class at Northern Illinois University.

Untangling the Web: Threaded Discussions and Teaching Shakespeare
Bryon Grigsby explains how "threaded discussions provide a chance to communicate ideas more freely in a less formal form."

Glossing Hamlet with a SMART Board
Carl Buchanan takes the traditional classroom blackboard into the 21st century as he tells how his class glosses Hamlet with a SMART Board.

Related Link: SMART Board Site

Shakespeare for Kids
Julie Kachniasz, Festivals Project Coordinator at the Folger Library, describes its "Shakespeare for Kids" Web site.

Related Link: The Folger's Shakekespeare for Kids Site

The Play's the Thing: Teaching Shakespeare with Performance
Chris Shamburg reviews Ted Tibbetts' interactive CD-ROM and explains why it "should be a part of every English teacher's library."

On-line Bonus: An Interview with Ted Tibbetts

Related Link: Ted Tibbetts' Mainely Shakespeare Site

The Seven WebQuests of Man
Josephine Libassi demonstrates how her students create WebQuests to connect Shakespeare's characters to others they have come across in their reading.

Related Link: Learn more at the WebQuest Site

NEWS ON THE RIALTO
A compendium of courses, conferences, and theatre performances around the world.

Shakespeare Magazine ~ Volume 7, Issue 2
Kathryn Hunter plays the title role in an all-female production of
Richard III at Shakespeare's Globe. Photo by Donald Cooper.

FEATURE ARTICLE
Virtual High School:
It Doesn't Matter What You Wear
Mary Ciccone describes her experiences in teaching a "Shakespeare in Film" course through the Virtual High School.

[T]his course is called "Shakespeare in Film," so where does the film com in, especially for an online course? Students receive video clips of various scenes from the plays we study. One lesson had us watching Olivier's and Branagh's St. Crispin's Day speech from Henry V to study persuasive speaking techniques and leadership. Another lesson had the students view the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet from three versions to study perspective and interpretation. Andy, a junior from Hudson, MA, when discussing sound effects and voice explained that "in Zeffirelli...all the actors did well with their voice inflections. Romeo's volume fluctuated throughout the scene and it helped stress the instability he was feeling. I like that he cried, not just whimpered. I think this works well because it reminds us of his very young age and that he really sounded upset."

The last two weeks of the course we study Shakespeare in pop culture by viewing video clips of such TV shows as "The Simpson's" spoof on Macbeth, Bette Midler's rendition of Hamlet form her show, "Bette," and "Moonlighting's" version of Taming of the Shrew. In addition, students choose from an extensive list of other movies of Shakespeare's plays or loose adaptations (which they research through the Internet) and watch these in full. This list includes various versions of the plays as well as Shakespeare in Love, Ten Things I Hate About You, West Side Story, Looking for Richard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, to name a few. Students view these to analyze the universality of Shakespeare's works and to further study film technique and language, especially parallel montages, motifs, metaphors, and point of view.

Learning online is not for every high school student (or for every high school teacher). First, a student must be disciplined and self-motivated. For this class, he or she also needs to have a love for Shakespeare and his plays. But the rewards can be significant...

ONLINE BONUS ARTICLES

The Shakespearean Dozen: Web Sites You Don't Want to Miss
Amy Ulen takes us on a Web field trip of the top twelve Shakespeare sites.
I Want My Shakespeare TV: Ten Feature- packed DVDs
Tanya Gough, Poor Yorick proprietor, shares her choice of top ten Shakespearean DVDs.

Shakespeare Magazine Navigation

Shakespeare Archives

Shakespeare Home