LEEROY JENKINS: “Let’s Do This!!!” Virtual worlds, the Internet, and the ELA classroom
Monday, April 12
YouTube link to the video we’ll be discussing in class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU
Background:
Virtual worlds are a place where many of us spend most of our time. From MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) such as World of Warcraft or O-Game to virtual world simulations such as The Sims or Second Life, virtual worlds have proliferated on the Internet and taken on a life of their own, adopting their own virtual economies and currencies, vocabularies, strategies and social interactions. Many people spend hours a day on these games, and for some, it is a major part of their life.
World Of Warcraft is one of the best-known MMORPG games. Millions of people log on every day; in addition to the user fees to play, many spend money on game items, even trading them online. Many players join clans, groups of players cooperating to achieve their goals.
The Leeroy Jenkins video we’re viewing today in class covers a battle one clan engaged in, which ended in epic disaster. The video one member took went viral, and has been viewed millions of times, lampooned on talk shows and in commercials, and resulted in minor celebrity status for Ben Schultz, the WoW player who created the Leeroy Jenkins character.
Essentially, while his clan held a strategy session for entering a dungeon and killing the monsters within, “Leeroy Jenkins” left his computer for a snack. Upon sitting back down at his computer, “Leeroy” assumed the others were ready to attack and charged headlong into the dungeon, totally disregarding the group strategy. His clan was massacred in the resulting battle.
Questions for thought and discussion:
In our class, we’ve discussed the nature of fame and celebrity in our society, especially in our unit on dystopian literature as relates to such works as Hunger Games and Brave New World. How does fame and celebrity in a virtual world translate to our own?
How does communication play a key role in the virtual world as well as the real world?
As you can see, this is a game, something that the players do for fun. Yet, it’s obvious from the video that many of the skills one learns in school become critically important in a virtual game setting. What are some of the things the players discuss that relate back to the classroom?
In what ways does the dual identities that one can have in a virtual world versus the real world make for interesting writing possibilities? How does one’s virtual identity and real identity affect/shape each other?
Writing Assignment for Portfolio:
This assignment will be your writing assignment for the week and may also be included in your final portfolio. Your final portfolio must include, as you know, examples of the following types of writing: Fiction, poetry, expository writing, persuasive writing, poetry, literary analysis of both fiction and poetry, and a how-to paper. This assignment will provide a writing assignment for your portfolio. You are free to use any one of these genres, but keep in mind your portfolio must include examples of all of these types.
Possible writing prompts:
Fiction: Write a short piece of fiction (1000-2500 words) relating to a virtual world in some way. You may choose to focus on a character in a virtual world, the effects of a virtual world on the real life of a person, write from the perspective of a computer-generated character,or many other options. This is a great opportunity to explore writing from different and unusual points of view.
How-to guide: Write a paper explaining how you interact in a virtual environment that you participate in.
Poetry: Feel free to submit to me a proposal on the class wiki for a poem you’d like to do inspired by this topic.
Expository: Choose some aspect of virtual worlds and write a paper on it. Should you choose that option, I’ll expect you to have a thesis statement crafted by the next class period so we can go over it together.
I will expect a first draft to be uploaded to the class wiki by Sunday night; we’ll have peer sharing in groups on Monday of next week. By Wednesday of next week, you will have a final draft and will share it with the rest of the class.
Rubric:
This assignment is worth 22 points toward your weekly writing grade.
Correctness:
9-10 points: Outstanding. Grammar, usage, and mechanics are superb. Paper is neatly typed and formatted correctly with proper margins, the paper has been adequately proofread, and care has been taken to present a final product free of errors. Citations and works cited were used where appropriate.
7-8 points: Good. Grammar, usage and mechanics are good. Paper is formatted mostly correctly. Effort has been made to remove errors, but some errors remain. Final product is adequate for the grade level, but needs work to be truly flawless. Citations and works cited were used and were mostly correct.
5-6 points: Marginal. Grammar, usage and mechanics are marginal. Paper is formatted improperly or handwritten and little care was taken to proofread and present a product that the student can be proud of. There was an effort made to cite sources where appropriate, but they were incorrect.
0-4 points: Do-over. Paper has gross errors throughout. No effort was made to turn in an adequate product. Sources may not have been cited where appropriate .
Flow and content:
9-10 points: Outstanding. Genre selected fits the material. Conventions of that genre are either followed or broken well. Where appropriate, a thesis statement si used and supported well. The final product enlightens, entertains and/or educates its audience.
7-8 points: Good. Genre selected is appropriate for the material. Conventions of the genre are mostly followed and supporting evidence is used adequately where appropriate. The final product isadequate to its audience and purpose.
5-6 points: Marginal. Genre selected does not fit the material. Conventions of the genre are not adequately followed. Where appropriate, supporting evidence is either used inappropriately or not present. The final product does not engage its audience or accomplish its purpose.
0-4 points: Do-over: Paper does not cover the material at all. Flow is broken, content is incomplete or unrelated to the topic at hand. The final product is not written for the audience or purpose for which it is intended.
Deadlines:
2 Points: All deadlines met on time.
1 point: First draft or final draft one day late.
0 points: Either draft more than one day late or both drafts late.
Wow Factor:
0-2 Points: Final product was above and beyond expectations as follows:
As always, if you choose this piece as part of your final portfolio, that will be a separate grade that will reflect any improvements you make to it between now and then.
The behind-the-scenes thought behind the assignment:
I envisioned this as part of a tenth-grade English class when I came up with it; I intend to use portfolios to grade student writing and want to have interesting, engaging prompts for student writing. This seemed appropriate. Linking it to the dystopian literature unit my digital project is designed for allows me to ponder identity and fame as it relates to Katniss in Hunger Games.
I thought it might be useful for students to do a writing assignment that explores identities; both their own and the identities they might create for themselves. I know many teenagers are attracted to virtual worlds because they are still searching for their sense of identity, and virtual worlds allow them to construct and discard identities with the ease of a mouse click.
I’m still exploring how I want to do portfolios, but I was strongly influenced by Dr. Levy’s ENGL 3391 class and the idea of giving students many routes to the same goal. So the assignment is very open-ended; my idea is that they will be able to write in a variety of genres as long as they’ve received practice and proficiency with all of the genres I want them to become proficient in over the course of the school year. It’s challenging to write a rubric that covers this and I struggled with it, but I hope the general idea of what I’m trying to accomplish comes through.
As far as challenges, it may be hard for some students to find traction with the assignment, but it is a funny video and my hope is that it will spark student writing in a variety of different directions. One student might write from the perspective of one of the computer-controlled monsters in the video. Another might write a persuasive paper on the value of exploring one’s identity in an online setting. Another student might compose a research paper on some aspect of World of Warcraft or another virtual world. The idea is to give them a jumping off point and see where they take it.
GPS standards: ELA10W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout, and signals closure. ELA10W2 The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres. ELA10W4 The student practices both timed and process writing and, when applicable, uses the writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing.
The assignment page as students would see it:
LEEROY JENKINS: “Let’s Do This!!!”
Virtual worlds, the Internet, and the ELA classroom
Monday, April 12
YouTube link to the video we’ll be discussing in class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU
Background:
Virtual worlds are a place where many of us spend most of our time. From MMORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) such as World of Warcraft or O-Game to virtual world simulations such as The Sims or Second Life, virtual worlds have proliferated on the Internet and taken on a life of their own, adopting their own virtual economies and currencies, vocabularies, strategies and social interactions. Many people spend hours a day on these games, and for some, it is a major part of their life.
World Of Warcraft is one of the best-known MMORPG games. Millions of people log on every day; in addition to the user fees to play, many spend money on game items, even trading them online. Many players join clans, groups of players cooperating to achieve their goals.
The Leeroy Jenkins video we’re viewing today in class covers a battle one clan engaged in, which ended in epic disaster. The video one member took went viral, and has been viewed millions of times, lampooned on talk shows and in commercials, and resulted in minor celebrity status for Ben Schultz, the WoW player who created the Leeroy Jenkins character.
Essentially, while his clan held a strategy session for entering a dungeon and killing the monsters within, “Leeroy Jenkins” left his computer for a snack. Upon sitting back down at his computer, “Leeroy” assumed the others were ready to attack and charged headlong into the dungeon, totally disregarding the group strategy. His clan was massacred in the resulting battle.
Questions for thought and discussion:
In our class, we’ve discussed the nature of fame and celebrity in our society, especially in our unit on dystopian literature as relates to such works as Hunger Games and Brave New World. How does fame and celebrity in a virtual world translate to our own?
How does communication play a key role in the virtual world as well as the real world?
As you can see, this is a game, something that the players do for fun. Yet, it’s obvious from the video that many of the skills one learns in school become critically important in a virtual game setting. What are some of the things the players discuss that relate back to the classroom?
In what ways does the dual identities that one can have in a virtual world versus the real world make for interesting writing possibilities? How does one’s virtual identity and real identity affect/shape each other?
Writing Assignment for Portfolio:
This assignment will be your writing assignment for the week and may also be included in your final portfolio. Your final portfolio must include, as you know, examples of the following types of writing: Fiction, poetry, expository writing, persuasive writing, poetry, literary analysis of both fiction and poetry, and a how-to paper. This assignment will provide a writing assignment for your portfolio. You are free to use any one of these genres, but keep in mind your portfolio must include examples of all of these types.
Possible writing prompts:
Fiction: Write a short piece of fiction (1000-2500 words) relating to a virtual world in some way. You may choose to focus on a character in a virtual world, the effects of a virtual world on the real life of a person, write from the perspective of a computer-generated character,or many other options. This is a great opportunity to explore writing from different and unusual points of view.
How-to guide: Write a paper explaining how you interact in a virtual environment that you participate in.
Poetry: Feel free to submit to me a proposal on the class wiki for a poem you’d like to do inspired by this topic.
Expository: Choose some aspect of virtual worlds and write a paper on it. Should you choose that option, I’ll expect you to have a thesis statement crafted by the next class period so we can go over it together.
I will expect a first draft to be uploaded to the class wiki by Sunday night; we’ll have peer sharing in groups on Monday of next week. By Wednesday of next week, you will have a final draft and will share it with the rest of the class.
Rubric:
This assignment is worth 22 points toward your weekly writing grade.
Correctness:
9-10 points: Outstanding. Grammar, usage, and mechanics are superb. Paper is neatly typed and formatted correctly with proper margins, the paper has been adequately proofread, and care has been taken to present a final product free of errors. Citations and works cited were used where appropriate.
7-8 points: Good. Grammar, usage and mechanics are good. Paper is formatted mostly correctly. Effort has been made to remove errors, but some errors remain. Final product is adequate for the grade level, but needs work to be truly flawless. Citations and works cited were used and were mostly correct.
5-6 points: Marginal. Grammar, usage and mechanics are marginal. Paper is formatted improperly or handwritten and little care was taken to proofread and present a product that the student can be proud of. There was an effort made to cite sources where appropriate, but they were incorrect.
0-4 points: Do-over. Paper has gross errors throughout. No effort was made to turn in an adequate product. Sources may not have been cited where appropriate .
Flow and content:
9-10 points: Outstanding. Genre selected fits the material. Conventions of that genre are either followed or broken well. Where appropriate, a thesis statement si used and supported well. The final product enlightens, entertains and/or educates its audience.
7-8 points: Good. Genre selected is appropriate for the material. Conventions of the genre are mostly followed and supporting evidence is used adequately where appropriate. The final product isadequate to its audience and purpose.
5-6 points: Marginal. Genre selected does not fit the material. Conventions of the genre are not adequately followed. Where appropriate, supporting evidence is either used inappropriately or not present. The final product does not engage its audience or accomplish its purpose.
0-4 points: Do-over: Paper does not cover the material at all. Flow is broken, content is incomplete or unrelated to the topic at hand. The final product is not written for the audience or purpose for which it is intended.
Deadlines:
2 Points: All deadlines met on time.
1 point: First draft or final draft one day late.
0 points: Either draft more than one day late or both drafts late.
Wow Factor:
0-2 Points: Final product was above and beyond expectations as follows:
As always, if you choose this piece as part of your final portfolio, that will be a separate grade that will reflect any improvements you make to it between now and then.
The behind-the-scenes thought behind the assignment:
I envisioned this as part of a tenth-grade English class when I came up with it; I intend to use portfolios to grade student writing and want to have interesting, engaging prompts for student writing. This seemed appropriate. Linking it to the dystopian literature unit my digital project is designed for allows me to ponder identity and fame as it relates to Katniss in Hunger Games.
I thought it might be useful for students to do a writing assignment that explores identities; both their own and the identities they might create for themselves. I know many teenagers are attracted to virtual worlds because they are still searching for their sense of identity, and virtual worlds allow them to construct and discard identities with the ease of a mouse click.
I’m still exploring how I want to do portfolios, but I was strongly influenced by Dr. Levy’s ENGL 3391 class and the idea of giving students many routes to the same goal. So the assignment is very open-ended; my idea is that they will be able to write in a variety of genres as long as they’ve received practice and proficiency with all of the genres I want them to become proficient in over the course of the school year. It’s challenging to write a rubric that covers this and I struggled with it, but I hope the general idea of what I’m trying to accomplish comes through.
As far as challenges, it may be hard for some students to find traction with the assignment, but it is a funny video and my hope is that it will spark student writing in a variety of different directions. One student might write from the perspective of one of the computer-controlled monsters in the video. Another might write a persuasive paper on the value of exploring one’s identity in an online setting. Another student might compose a research paper on some aspect of World of Warcraft or another virtual world. The idea is to give them a jumping off point and see where they take it.
GPS standards:
ELA10W1 The student produces writing that establishes an appropriate organizational structure, sets a context and engages the reader, maintains a coherent focus throughout, and signals closure.
ELA10W2 The student demonstrates competence in a variety of genres.
ELA10W4 The student practices both timed and process writing and, when applicable, uses the writing process to develop, revise, and evaluate writing.