Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project, or CASP, is a very ambitious project. For any student studying Shakespeare, the applications which CASP is creating are an absolute treasure trove of information and study tools. The CASP project itself, more generally, is a fantastic resource for teachers. With pre-made lesson plans in the Learning Commons section of the website, free access to scholarly articles and essays, and many other teaching tools, CASP is a project which English teachers should not overlook. This being said, CASP goes beyond supplying practical teaching aids, offering an innovative pedagogical approach to the study of Shakespearean plays more generally. With the “‘Speare” arcade game, CASP is working on projects which utilize visual, tactile, and auditory learning styles using a recreational medium to help youth learn. With free content, community engagement, and a generally outward and interactive approach, CASP is a truly innovative and, according to Dr. Daniel Fischlin, an effective approach as well.
This being said, some elements of the CASP project cause me some degree of skepticism in terms of its employment as a class room learning tool. Firstly, the CASP Itunes application for Romeo and Juliet provides scholarly commentary, critiques, and interviews. What makes me reluctant about this is limiting opinion on Shakespeare’s works. I think that the application and future applications should have the capacity for updates, if they do not already have it, to include emerging work on Shakespeare and to broaden the spectrum of opinion available on the application. Additionally, CASP claims that their project will help enhance readers’ understanding of Shakespearean vocabulary by having explanations and translations of particular words available to the user. I question whether such a resource would enhance or detract a user’s understanding of the material they are working with, primarily because it eliminates the necessity of memory if, throughout the work, explanations and translations are immediately available. As we discussed earlier in class, availability of information through electronic devices can fundamentally change how we think. Whether this is positive or negative change, I suppose, is subjective. In terms of the application’s effects on studying, I would be concerned that, with interpretations of Shakespeare’s works, summaries, and other information so readily available, these sources of information may detract from study of the text itself. CASP also claims to enhance comprehension skills, but would it not detract from comprehension skills by comprehending for students through the “Plot” and “Character” sections on the Romeo and Juliet application? These criticisms could be the result of bias or misunderstanding of the project and application, but they nonetheless came to mind when I was reading.
The second component of my blog for this week is on Code Academy’s Learn to Code program. This was a fantastic resource in terms of establishing a step-by-step, easy to follow process to learn how to make a website. In terms of my final project, one of the biggest concerns I had and still have to a lesser degree is making a website. This program eased my concerns somewhat by introducing me to the basics of coding and the language, if you will of the internet. I feel that now that I have the basics down, I am much better prepared to make a website to host my final project.
Spencer's HIST*4170 Blog 