Option Pathways: Project Assignment

Presentation Project Introduction Video


PowToon Clip

Presentations should be at 3 minutes in length (Not the video length), which will allow for an introduction of your topic. Grading will follow the rubrics in the handout for both the presentation and the exit slip.

Final Project: Critical Media Literacy

My PowToon Final Project:



  The links below are aids to supplement the final PowToon. Their length prohibited me from entering them directly into the PowToon, but are well worth the time to view. Each of these concepts bulid upon the ideas and themes presented by Hobbs, but left room for me to use these examples to expound on those themes and ideas.

Debate


  Persuasion



This Video offers the idea of asking questions... Socratic questions...

Finding True Meaning

Final Project: A Draft

My PowToon tries to encompass the learning goals and how I progressed through the class activities. The idea that you first learn, try to understand, and then create is the epitome of what education should be like. I do not mean duplicating information as the "create" segment I mean build your own idea of the understanding. I have been teaching math this semester, which may not seem like much to some (mathematicians), but I'm a math student not a math teacher... case in point the "common core standards" seem like a wild idea to some people and on some levels I could agree, but when you look at the steps from a differentiated view it begins to make sense. If I asked you how you learned to add numbers (an abstract idea) you may remember first learning with manipulative's (concrete objects) and I'm 100% sure that not everyone in the USA used the same objects, yet they all served the same purpose. I say all of that to offer this view about media literacy and my progression through the course... every activity in this class had a learning goal... and every learning goal had many different ways to achieve the goal... media literacy isn't so much about what the answer may be, but the journey you take trying to find IT. Learning skills you need for the journey is what students need... they do not need the ANSWERS.

Module 7: PBL's

This post is to provide a link to the Module 7 product I made to demonstrate what a group might do to present thier understanding of the task.

Intro to Political Cartoons


Intro to political cartoons by rjsnell82 on GoAnimate

Either link should work to connect you to the product. I should note that this is a very short sample of what type of creative visual essay the group could produce.

This picture is the political cartoon being used in the LOC Lesson plan as the opening issue. This issue provides a segway into the more relevant topic of the current events in the nation and else where in the world. Much of the issue still revolves around the separate but equal doctrine that ended with the Brown v Topeka case.

Works Cited

Boehm, R. G. (2003). Our World Today. People, Places, and issues. NewYork: Glencoe McGraw-Hill.

Gredler, M. (2012). Understanding Vygotsky for the Classroom: Is It Too Late? Educational Psychology Review, 113-131.

Henslin, J. (2011). Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach Ninth Edition. Boston: Pearson Higher Education.

Jones, W. P. (2006). Understanding Research. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.

Kaupler, D. (2014, 11 28). TL Advisor Blog. Retrieved from Tech and Learning: http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=3962

McDevitt, T. M. (2010). Child Development and Education. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.

Teachers. (2014, 11 28). It's No Laughing Matter. Retrieved from Library of Congress: http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/activities/political-cartoon/cag.html

Critical Digital Media: Lessons for Critical Thinking

To learn more about the who what when where and why of understanding and critical thinking, students need to be equipped with tools for decoding information. The very idea of this skill is basic and fundemental, for example letters are merely constructed symbols until you learn they have disticnt attributes. You then build upon that learning by combining those attributes to form various words, which leads to learning a new skill... so on and so on until a proficient reader has emerged. Spoken words are or can be so different from written words or to better illustrate... we learn to speak long before we have any idea that the words coming from our mouths exist in a written (symbolic) form. When we learn the current rules for symbolic representations (I use current as a way to represent that languages are generally growing, morphing, and changing as learning changes) we also learn to use a wide array of different combinations of those symbols to present our thoughts and ideas. A good example of this would be the contributions Shakespeare made to the English language (some 1700 word changes) to better represent his creative thoughts.

This idea leads to my first lesson for student learning: Cartoon Analysis  This is a link to a lesson found on the LOC website and the actual cartoon is titled "Inch by Inch" and was first published in 1960 to raise awareness about segregation in education. By using cartoons students learn to develop a whole new symbolic language and can also begin to learn that there are NO errant pen strokes... everything the artist drew has a purpose. Identifying this purpose can lead to deeper understanding and the true motive for the creation.

Lesson number two will follow the same theme, but change the media venue to be analyzed and will also introduce a new tool for presenting information (infographics)... Video Analysis
This lesson plan is located on the PBS website and presents another topic that could have a current event connection to "profiling" and how that may or may not be an infringement on Constitutional rights. This also follows a thematic question I have been developing with my students about what crosses the line, by introducing a topic that could potentially impact them it brings instant relevance to the topic, but it also provides a venue to further investigate the potential producer bias... "why is only one side of the topic being presented" what types of persuasive tactics are being used. This lesson would then have the students create an infographic report using PiktoChart

Lesson three will focus on the creative tools available to demonstrate understanding or creating for the purpose of presenting your understanding to others. The main idea of this lesson will be to offer students a list of good resources ( Best Web 2.0 Websites ) and let them choose the site that will best represent their learning and if students already have a venue they prefer to use that's okay too (this is not a ploy to influence students to a particular option, but encouraging them to find the most suitable venue for their topic).

These lesson plans are the ideas that closely mirror the quotes and themes I pulled from the reading and activities this semester. Below is a short example of what students may produce.


Persuasion short by rjsnell82 on GoAnimate


GoAnimate is free for 30 second videos and the even have a secure school component for whole classrooms at a small cost.

Citations:
GoAnimate.com
Library of Congress.org
PBS.org
PiktoChart.com
Techlearning.com

Week 12 Reading: Top 5?

The reading and subsequent questions asks me to rank my motivation for digital and media literacy, which seems to parallel the same type of motivation for becoming a teacher. I have been and done a lot of different things in my life, while many may have difficulty making the connection to teaching, I can see that I have on some level always been a teacher. To understand this ideology I need to offer my definition of what teaching means to me... a teacher is someone that facilitates greater learning, while at the same time increasing their own knowledge base (not just content knowledge but also strategies, modification to content activities, self reflection...). This helps me to bring the top five list into context and focus on the true goals of education. The old adage of "is it ignorance or apathy? followed by the answer... I do not know and I do not care!" could be the reason many people do not get involved in raising awareness to issues that can and do change the world. Teaching critical digital and media literacy has been a necessity since the masses learned to read, not since the development of the written word because during that time the elitists spread their ideology without opposition from the masses. The world in which we now live demands critical thinking skills and a strong foundation in digital and media literacy.

My #1can and does have a broad interpretation: "to build students' ability to be active, thoughtful "readers" or interpreters of media messages in their cultural environment." This builds on the theme I have been talking about for a large part of the class... underlying motives, crossing the line, and the ability to form your own opinion. I hear on a daily basis students regurgitate someone elses views as their own, but when they are asked to think about what they just said or defend their position they are at a loss for words... why because when you parrot the ideas of others you can only say the words you have been taught and no words of your own. If you can build a student's ability to "think critically" then they can find their own words (no longer ignorant) amidst all the rhetoric, which calls them into action rather than remaining passive (apathetic).

The Second on the list closely follows the first: "to strengthen discrimination skills in distinguishing between high-quality and low-quality messages." This does not revert all the way back to the opening week and Neil Postman's speech, but has a certain BS alarm or detector attached to the skill. This company has made this idea a very profitable company in that they will help you market your web content to advertisers.

Number #3 " to use their own voices for advocacy and social change." This also continues to build on the first two quotes in that once students' start to gain the skills of being active thoughtful readers and discerning high vs low quality messages the logical third step is for them to start advocating change or promoting social awareness like the PSAs or ReelWorks projects we have already experienced. I learned a very valuable lesson from my parents (mostly my dad) understanding that I have always been fiercely independent, which was "the best helping hand you'll ever find is at the end of your own arm," to which they added, "use it to help yourself and others." I recognize that if you learn how to learn with the goal of turning that learning into thinking (meta-cognition) then you go beyond content to possibilities and with possibilities comes the ability to affect change. Rushkoff in his book, "Program or be Programmed" put forth the idea that one needed to be educated in the realm of "code writing" in order to write programs lest you become one who gets programmed. If you can enable student to see the value in critical thinking skills they will become advocates of change.

The last #4 and #5 are two that closely deal with the actual tools or skill needed for digital education..."improve writing and communication skills .... and develop student skills in using technology tools." the empowering of creativity was in the running, but lost out to the actual tools because I really felt that if you possess the skills than you will access your creative side and create. The idea is also a further exploration of the many different registers we use depending on the audience we are addressing. The in-formal vs formal and which is more appropriate for the situation also offers the many different types of media to best convey your point... from a 6 second "VINE" to a 140 character "Tweet" at #hmuigotstufftosay (not a real address). The possibilities of media types is growing everyday and sometimes, an old school essay will work, but music videos have revolutionized the way we listen to music (for those of you old enough can remember the idea of adding lights to music as a visual cue). Students need basic instruction on how to use technology in their everyday world.


Citation:

Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

PSA: Crossing the Line

The idea about what crosses the line from being funny to being offensive. There are many different approaches to comedy and raising awareness to sensitive issues. The power of laughter often becomes the venue for broaching the subject. Sarcasm is a great tool as long as the viewer knows you are being sarcastic, the same can be said about dark humor... when its soooooo over the top people must realize you are not being serious, but many times this type of an approach is insensitive and offensive. These types of rhetoric can also cost the initiator of the comments their jobs... people like Jimmy the Greek, Don Imus, Athony Cumia, ... and others... make no mistake I'm not defending their remarks, nor am I trying to minize the consequences, but rather pointing out that most of these individuals did not set out to ruin their careers or viciously attack anyone. They simply crossed the line. The ReelWorks.org is a venue for young people to create short videos about issues that are important to them to try and build effective change in culture. The tactics should always appeal to the target audience in this case anyone that interacts with anyone else, but mainly those that interact with students. This is to try to bring about awareness to social issues that allow or condone the perpetuating of stereotypical bigotry.

My PSA



Citation:

Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Week 11: Authentic Learning Opportunities

What are authentic learning opportunities? How does a student engage them self in these learning opportunities? How does a teacher present such opportunities or do they even come from teachers? these are the questions that I had while pondering the reading and posting requirements. The overwhelming thought that kept recurring to me was the Gardner's model of interest driven learning. This coupled with Montessori's model of exploratory education seems to answer the questions, but you have to be willing to search for them a little bit. Case in point at the root of the first question there is the implication that all learning may Not be a good authentic experience (meaning to me), yet learning occurs. To further expound... an authentic learning experience has great value and builds interest to further investigate or find deeper meaning. This is the basis for the scientific method... all things start with curiosity, followed by a question, followed by a possible answer, followed by the what do I do to find the answer, which leads to an authentic learning experience (opportunity).

The second question is much harder to answer because of the many different variables that exist when faced with what interest students or drives student learning. This is closely related to so many different things like culture, SES, location, age, maturity... the list expands, yet the root is interest and if you are interested enough then very little will stand in your way on the road to accomplishment. The young lady in the video talked about possibilities, but not once did she dwell on the limitations to achievement. This is what excites me about education... the freedom to do whatever you choose to become if you are willing and determined to put the time and effort into it. As a teacher I want to offer students tools and encouragement to pursue their goals, but also reassuring them that there are NO unimportant jobs. If you choose to do this or that the rest of your life that is 100% okay! I just do not want you to wake up one morning and think, "this is all I have." This is something I can and do attest too, because I haven't completely settled on my career yet... I'm still a work in progress....

The dreaded third question that haunted me for this posting is the role the educator plays in this authentic learning... maybe its the word teacher, educator, professor, mentor... that's the problem and maybe I could use the ideals Vygotsky presented in his learning theory... ZPD (zone of proximal development and Scaffolding. The idea is that when you are presented with a new concept there is an optimal time (ZPD) for learning to take place and if someone that already has that knowledge is present and helps (scaffolds) us then we learn that new concept and now have the ability to help others. This says to me we all are teachers, while we are all also learners, which when you think about it authentic learning opportunities are those that present themselves as a chance for you learn while you teach and vice versa.

All of this helps me connect the theme of the chapter 8 reading in that we are surrounded by choices of what to attend to and what to ignore, what competes for our time and how we spend the time we have. All choices have consequences (not going to debate good or bad) and with these consequences come opportunities for us to learn or teach. This reminds me of an adage from yore... "life's too short to make all the mistakes yourself... learn from others"... discerning what that learning is may be a good place to start. The media source puts forth their story with their observational bias, from their viewpoint, with their editing, the learning (authentic learning) is what are they really wanting me to know about this topic. Like the TedxRainier, what did the storyteller (Sarah) really want me to take from her story... was it possibilities? ... was how she and her friends changed the world? ...  was it to challenge the people of Seattle to support her initiative? ... or did she want to challenge me to be anything I wanted to be? ... maybe she was guiding the listener into realizing that to change the world you need to start with yourself and your community by getting involved (civics 101), which changes the world even if its just your little part of it.

Citation:

Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Tedx Rainier: Sarah Stuteville; Journalism Revived

Customized Learning

The idea of unlocking the  power of creativity for students to express their understanding of a topic or present information can be an awesome activity. I researched my topic and selected relevant images from a free open source (google images) to create my presentation. I chose the "Padlet" frame to display my work because it allows others to comment and add content. The customized learning allows the student to also insert audio links into the images or links to interactive websites. I included an interactive map game and short video to explain the difference between Great Britain and The United Kingdom. The targeted learner is a middle school social studies student at this level, but could easily be adapted to high school students as well.

Created with Padlet

I also have researched other sites as possible venues for future activities like PiktoChart, Prezi, MovieMaker, and iMovie.

Citation:
All Images contain "source" links specifically and were accessed from Google Images

Game Link: Sheppardsoftware.com

Video: You Tube

Public Service Annoucement: Crossing the Line

The topic I want to explore more for a PSA is when Reality TV or Transgressive Humor crosses the line of what's humor to what's illegal, unethical, or harmful to society in general. There will be many different angles and venues to explore in the Reality TV genre like MTV's "BuckWild" or Discovery Channel's "Moonshiners" like the clip below.



This really causes me to wonder about the ethical position of the Discovery Channel producers not the behavior of the "moonshiners." I mean the first thing you see is a disclaimer about the illegality of moonshining... so why then would you decide to not only condone it by glamorizing it, but pay the individuals to film them in this illegal endeavor. Or are other topics like this week's SNL Clip does it cross the line? The idea of "Transgressive Humor" to bring attention to topics runs the risk of offending rather building support for change... the question then becomes how far is too far.


The audience will be directed toward students as they try their hand at creating videos to share like vines, YouTube, instagrams... and also teachers and the responsibility they have to educate students about the ethics of representation.

There are copyright infringements and defamation misrepresentations that occur without malicious intent, but that doesn't change the fact that its wrong. Getting permission requires diligence and runs the risk of being told No, but the consequences could be very expensive. The You Tube Statistics page outlines the potential that exists for material to reach intended and unintended audiences. The ACLU outlines the rights individuals have with regards to Making a video or an Audio recording.



Citation:

ACLU: aclupa.org; 2014

Image Credits DCI
Copyright © 2014 Discovery Communications, LLC. The World’s #1 Nonfiction Media Company.

MTV.com  MTV BuckWild 2012


SNL NBC.com 11/1/2014

Week 10: Online Life?

The quote that got everything started for this reading comes from page 126... "to help students acquire the competencies of digital citizenship, we have to do more than make students sign an acceptable use policy..." This sparked a conversation I had several months ago with a professor at Fairmont State University (whose initials are Dr. Price) about the very topic of digital natives vs digital immigrants. I then opened my online subscription to EdWeek on October 29, 2014 to read this article... What Digital Literacy Looks Like in the Classroom the timing could not have been better. I then recalled an article I worked on with two classmates in another call several semesters ago about Maine's integration of technology tools (Laptops) to EVERY middle school student in the entire state, but failed to recognize that very few school districts were equipped for such an integration. Most school districts did not have broadband connections (NO Wireless) or very limited Internet service; nor did they have a faculty that was ready to use the technology in the classroom. The idea of giving every student a laptop to use everyday in the classroom is great idea, but there are several questions that must be addressed first... like where will they store and charge the laptops, can they take the laptops home... but the most important and overlooked problem to this type of integration was assuming the students knew all about how to use the laptops. It seems so obvious in the world we live today to just assume that because computers exist all around you that somehow you would acquire this knowledge without being taught; in fact a new common phrase is "I'm sure your child knows more about a computer than you do." I may even have been guilty of saying that to a parent, but worse than that I have made the assumption that students come into my classroom with skills they have yet to learn. Students need explicit instruction (I do), with some scaffolding instruction (we do) followed up with practice or application (you do) in order to develop proficient skills through authentic learning activities. If the learning goal is developing a blog then students need to create a blog and learn blogging etiquette, not place a "blog styled" writing assignment in a "teacher in box."

Quote 2 comes from deeper in the chapter but follows a theme around the discussions that I have been trying to have on a regular basis with my students... "How do parents and teachers open up a respectful and safe conversational space to examine ethical and social issues associated with controversial online content?" (Page 129)  Like the author points out in the reading and the experience I have had with my students many teens down play the significance of controversial material as nothing when asked directly about the content, so I follow-up with the question of then... "why do you try to hide it?" I spend a great deal of time trying to get to know my students and where they are in their lives (not prying but needing to understand where they stand according to hierarchy of needs). The time spent building a rapport also builds trust and respect, which can lead to a safe place to talk about real issues, I try very hard to provide a learning environment that students can embrace difference as difference not different right / good or wrong / bad. I then help them connect this to how "transgressive humor" affects them or what it may be like when they are the "victims" of this type of humor. In a real way this opens the conversation to other hard to discuss topics because now they have become the initiators of topics and I get to reply with just more questions or listen to them talk about the issues... they do not know how big I'm smiling (and shouting YES YES YES) on the inside when this happens.

Quote 3 comes from the sub-section "the ethics of representation" on page 136... "When exploring social power the "Golden Rule" can be used to initiate meaningful conversation about social and ethical issues." This leads to a great teachable moment into what different students believe the "Golden Rule" to be... I usually start with something like, "He who has the gold makes the rule" or "He who has the gold keeps the gold and then splits," which is usually met with some mixed laughter and a lot of correcting to the actual "Golden Rule," but I have to explore further into what does that really mean???? Another great segway into conversations about sensitive topics and the impact they have on you and others. Much of this really surrounds the ideology of cultures grow and change from what was once taboo and deviant to becoming a norm or folkway, which is a generational changing mechanism as acceptance to the blurred lines. The converse of this is equally true in that in the blurring of the lines calls for action rather than apathetic change (at least that's how I understand Picasso's aphorism..."Art is the lie that tells the truth.") Parody can be a powerful tool reign in the radical issues, but students need strong understanding of what crosses the line of ethics and what it means to misrepresent someone in any form especially digital formats like videos or recordings without permission.





Citation:

EdWeek: Online publication

Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Week 9 Reading: Protection and Empowerment

After getting a little carried away on the 2 deconstruction examples I found a great deal more to think about in the Chapter 6 reading for this week. My first quote reminded of how this class began with a clip of Cameron Russell talking about her life. This led me to this, "Kids lose out in this culture... a cramped vision of girlhood that enshrines sexual allure as the best or only form of power and esteem," which echoed the words of Russell and her struggle with self-esteem issues. Carol Dweck, talks about this phenomena (in her book Mindset) that occurs with (middle school aged) boys and girls as it relates to achievement. In a study, that found a segregated all girls math class compared to an all boys math class revealed the girls were markedly higher achieving. Yet, when they combined the classes to a higher male to female ratio the girls fell behind and began performing below their previous levels and even below the boys level. Why? What variables could so influence the girls that they began falling behind... social norms? Smart girls won't be popular? Girls aren't suppose to be smarter than boys if they want boys to like them? How do social norms have that much control? Remarkably they found that when the girls were separated from the boys they returned to their previous coed achievement levels, which seems to suggest that when social sexuality norms are not in the equation girls excel in academic achievement.

The second quote is really not a quote, but a Venn Diagram found on (page 109).
I like visual prompts that can offer good details to assessing a contrast and compare style data set. In this case Mrs. Jenkins was using the Venn diagram as tool to help student's with an essay writing activity. The reason I chose the Venn diagram was not because I like Venn diagrams, but rather the content of the diagram and why that content might have been chosen for this publication. The follow-up on the following page (110) offers explicit instructions for the activity that students in a pair-share group needed in order to complete the process. It starts with 2 famous people, which takes me back to why the author might have chosen the US President and Tiger Woods. What the men share is very small compared to differences, yet on some levels they fit very nicely when trying to get students to think, analyze, and write critically.

The third quote comes as I was having a surprisingly timely conversation with a hand full of my students this past Friday. The conversation with like this after I over heard some students sharing a comedic video clip that seemingly perpetuates stereotypes (what it was exactly is not relevant) which prompted my question, "in the name of comedy... what crosses the line?" I had to further clarify my question by offering pop culture examples like "South Park", "SNL" and others as to what crosses the line from being funny to being racially hurtful. What a great opportunity I had to have a "real" discussion with these students about culturally accepted media crossing the line and the idea of creative freedom. This led me to this excerpt from the reading, "Media companies are in the business of selling human attention, ..., and other characteristics of the audience," which completely aligns with what the general consensus of the students, as to what crosses the line... "if you are watching a comedy show then everything within that show is comedy and should only be seen as comedy and very little crosses the line." When I offered an example about an event that portrayed West Virginians has dumb hicks during halftime at a football game, they were incensed and angry. The quote I chose really emphasizes the need for strong critical media skills to be taught to all students, especially at a very early age.




Citations:

Dweck, C. (2012). Mindset. London: Robinson.

Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Cameron Russell: Published on Jan 16, 2013

Cameron Russell admits she won "a genetic lottery": she's tall, pretty and an underwear model. But don't judge her by her looks. In this fearless talk, she takes a wry look at the industry that had her looking highly seductive at barely 16-years-old. (Filmed at TEDxMidAtlantic.) Cameron on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CameronCRussell 

Pre-Packaged Deconstruction?

I like the idea of reading or viewing someone else's deconstruction, but not until after I have had a chance to think about it myself. I'm going to offer a viewpoint about this subject and I really want you to keep an open mind while I'm sharing my thought. I'm not bashing Hollywood or Disney, I'm just making a observation. The premise is that there is a vast majority within the most recent generation that have lost their ability to really use their imagination. This is what I meant when I said, "I like to have a chance to ponder or think about a topic prior to hearing or viewing someone else's POV" because now their thoughts become yours or at least in some ways bias yours. This is also the point about the loss of imagination... many of the students I know and work with are so accustom to having the visual provided that they almost refuse to imagine what the scene looks like in their mind. Case in point I set the stage for an activity that involved a historic piece of audio (a radio drama that forever changed radio regulations) by telling the students the customs of the era (circa  late 1930's) and the lack of TV, some cinemas were starting to show "talkies," but radio or live entertainment dominated the "American Lifestyle." I further described what they were about to hear was not presented as one of the normal radio dramas, but rather it was being portrayed as live orchestra entertainment. Orson Wells' presentation of the "War of the Worlds," in its unedited original October 30, 1938 version, which failed to generate any excitement in fact it was met with several "I don't get it" remarks. This caused me to really quiz the students on how they really think about stories when they read or what they're thinking about when listening to others tell a story. The general consensus seemed to be they don't read and they don't listen to stories. Moreover they cited the most recent remake from Hollywood as the visual cues for what was really going on and would never have believed that what they were listening to could scare anyone much less cause panic. I know this seems so far off topic, yet I would ask a simple question in relation to the Qwest / Alltel videos, "how many of the details discussed did you pick out?" be truthful. This is the point when media dominates the visual texts and overrules the power of imagination then what happens to original thoughts. Is our ideology compromised because our only understanding comes from some elses' vision, like when you hear the word princess... do you conjure the visual of one of Disney's young maidens? or do you have your own original vision?
I find that after watching and reading I could offer a response, but my response is filled with the bias of what the deconstructions offered. I might even say that the Alltel deconstruction seemed to slant the deconstruction in light of her own biases, which either garner support for her viewpoint or build animosity to refute her points. Either way, I feel an observational bias, which I also believe is a contrived motive designed to win support. So, I could easily agree with the commercials and everything in the deconstructions, but that's not what keeps coming to mind.
In the beginning of this class we talked about and read Neil Postman's speech calling for the education system to equip students with a BS detector (mine is alarming quite loudly), which was a good segway into introducing us to this great educator. I had already been introduced to Mr. Postman in two books... "The End of Education" and "Teaching as a Subversive Act" both are great reads, but the "End of Education" offers the premise that generations of today (written 1996) have lost the intrinsic value to education. The computer was entering the home and schools, which gave way to greater access to information with less of a need to learn and carry that learning everywhere you went never knowing when it was going to be useful, but knowing you had it when you needed it. This sounds somewhat hokie, but in the information age in which we live most students today argue that if I need to do math I'll have a calculator and no need to learn how to do math, just how to input data (sound familiar). There's no need for me to learn this or that I'll ask "Siri" and she'll tell the answer. There's no need for me to read the book and let my imagination wander where the author is leading me... I'll wait for the movie. I know it sounds cynical, maybe even surreal, yet I believe that as a facilitator of education I can and do make a difference by trying to instill the need to seek the "rest of the story," in my students. The endeavor is to equip students with the tools they need to become thinkers and learners for a lifetime.

Week 8 Reading: Creating... Unlocking the Power of Understanding

Before I read and re-read "Mindset" by Carol Dweck I would have easily been one of those individuals that exclaimed, "I'm a terrible artist and could not ever draw wonderful beautiful images that are in my head, but refuse to come out the end of my pencil." I still cannot draw or paint like an accomplished artist, but my mindset of that skill has changed and the ways that I could represent those images has changed too. Because the power of creating a representation of your own unique understanding of a topic is very empowering and just as malleable as any other learning construct.

This led me to this statement in the reading, "Today, every teacher needs to be a media composition teacher." What a powerful statement! when I read this I was instantly reminded of a learning project I did with students in 20/21st century US History about WWII. The chapters were dense and filled with a great deal of information (which reminded me of Post War by Tony Judt nearly 900 pages of reminding), on the battles, casualties, and the Holocaust, which I separated out. I assigned the students the task of creating a visual essay about their understanding of the Holocaust. The activity included a grading rubric and the requirement to cite their sources (including pictures), but gave them the freedom to create original works of art, PPT presentations, Prezi presentations, or any other media form. I was not fully prepared for the work the students created and their excitement about sharing their work with not only me, but with their classmates as well. By setting very few restrictions on this activity students were empowered to create and construct their understanding that could never be achieved by standard multiple choice style assessment. The rich details of an original drawing or the careful selections of photos for presentation were filled with emotion and life; I was wonderfully surprised by their efforts, so much so I included this work in my Showcase Portfolio (follow the link and explore WVPTS #1).

Quote number 2 struck the chord that slaps me in the face more and more these days, while trying to deal with my frustrations in a required class. This says so much to me as a new educator, "I've never been satisfied with those who simply use technology for technology's sake." Technology is a tool like a strategy is a tool. When I said I cannot adequately draw the representations in my head that I want to convey, I do not yet possess those skills, but I can use technology to bridge the gap. This would be an example of using technology to accomplish the goal. This is also somewhat limiting because now I have to conform my vision into someone elses creation (and give credit where credit is due), but through a sequencing and editing process I can (with help from technology) create an original work. When I was creating my digital story I was enlightened to the extensive amount of time it takes to really plan, select images, sequence, narrate, edit, and publish, which doesn't include the time spent learning how to utilize different tech tools needed to complete the project. This is where the real learning takes place, during the process. The students mentioned above had to analyze their understanding, construct a plan, build a narrative (even if it remains in their mind), and create their project, which leads to the final product a representation of part of the learning. Yet I'm convinced that the true authentic learning occurred during the process and will continue beyond the product as you reflect on and add to that learning.

The last quote comes from the last paragraph in the reading..." When these challenges are addressed...students in the process of deep engagement and exploration of ideas." summarizing the chapter this way embodies the philosophy that I hold as my understanding of what student learning goals should be; in  that students should be learning how to think about and reflect upon their learning. Knowing the answer to the question about "what happened on this date" is good and sometimes fun, but knowing why it happened unlocks the power of curiosity to explore and build new meanings... a construct I would call authentic learning. When looking back on the some of the great theorist like Piaget, Vygotsky, and Erikson along with some great psychologists like Maslow, Adler, and Rogers I'm reminded that we are always building and modifying our understanding (schema) through many different venues (reflection, adversity, ZDP), which takes place over a lifetime not just a few moments in time. Creating multimedia presentations is just another venue available for us to better tell our stories and demonstrate our understanding, which will also change as we grow and change. It is not enough to just correctly blacken in the bubble on an answer sheet, but rather to really ponder the deeper meanings of those answers.



Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

The Common Core: A Different Look?

My interpretation of the activity is built upon the ideas presented in a previous post "The Common Core: I'm No Expert" While I used the subtlety or polysemous language to further convey my stance I also tried to use  coorelation between a sport that employes a set of well defined rules to accomplish the goal. The means in which the goal is accomplished is very indiviualistic right down to the uniform and equipment. The science and math behind the sport are pretty straight forward, but used differently depending on multiple variables like; technique, equipment, height, weight, strength, singles, doubles.... which parallels the idea that assessing strategies should somehow be part of assessing outcomes, which seems farfetched to me. The parody (Tennis and Common Core) will not be obvious to some, but most people should make the connection of teaching to coaching, that one racquet doesn't fit every person, or that Newton's Laws and Geometry (while key tenets of tennis) are not the only keys to winning a tennis match. That the standards by which players are compared and measured are usually by wins and losses, which rarely encompass the question of (how), but rather just how many? Which leaves the question should every student be judged and compared to every other student based on the outcome of one test?





Images used in the above "Magazine Cover" were recovered from GOOGLE Images with the sole purpose to illustrate an educational idea.

The Common Core: I'm No Expert

I really like the idea of demanding rigorous standards for our State School Systems and those standards must closely align for general state to comparison with regard to what defines a High School Diploma. If the High School Diploma is a benchmark for minimum prerequisite for entry into higher education, the military, and some employment opportunities then all states should meet that standard and that standard should be clearly defined. I remember back in the day that nearly every student in the nation took the SAT-9 (Stanford Achievement Test - Series 9) a standardized test given at grade level to measure grade level benchmarks. The test ranked students by state and national percentile rankings, which meant all students that took the test in one state could be compared to every other state because they all took the same test (A or B same test but questions in different order). This seemed like a good way of comparing "apples to apples," but then came the ESEA re-authorization in 2001 known as NCLB (No Child Left Behind), which mandated states to create there own test or continue to use the SAT.  Since a new component of ESEA was AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) and that was going to be how school systems would continue to receive Federal Funding; systems had to decide whether to create their own test (content driven, criterion based) rather than standardized. Most States chose to create their tests, which led to state standards known as CSO's (Content Standards and Objectives). This was not necessarily a bad thing, but it no longer allowed for a good State to State comparison of students. Criterion referenced tests (if Valid) assess student achievement compared to the various CSO's for that subject and yield (if Reliable) consistent data year to year, but rarely do these tests align with what other State require in that subject.

We now have the Common Core Standards, which seeks to align every state to a certain benchmark level, at each grade, in Math and ELA (English/Language Arts). I found an article that may help to clarify or muddy the water even further,  Study of the SAT - 10   (Note: the address bar when you go to this site). The study is generated by a large textbook company and test developer, which may mean observational bias when analyzing and reporting data outcomes. There is familiar name dropping and the idea presented that this new series test will align with Common Core Standards... "Overall, 100 percent of the Stanford 10 English Language Arts items align to the Common Core State Standards." Statements like this lead the reader into a confident state of mind that they have found the assessment tool necessary to meet their needs. I agree the need to strengthen student vocabulary is critical especially for college bound students, but not all students need to go to college (nor should they be made to feel like that college is the only road to success). Increasing vocabulary to read informational text is vitally important, adding literacy standards to social studies is good, adding literacy standards to math and science make sense as well, but then would the shift of content skills also shift from being able to do math to also being able to read and understand how to do math.... Literacy is something that must happen across curriculum, but do you really need to write that into a standard in order to force teachers to do it. Every textbook (even math textbooks) I have ever opened have printed text in them, so does making a literacy standard somehow ensure that I read that text?  

The directions for this activity say to take a stand and I'm willing to do that, but my opinion is a work in progress and I reserve the right to modify and alter my opinion as I learn more. There are large parts of my teaching philosophy that Do Not align with standardized anything! I believe that students are individuals and there is no "single" way to measure student achievement. A student that cannot demonstrate mastery on a written assessment may be able to demonstrate mastery level understanding through a constructed representation or lengthy oral argument. I also fall on the different side of the fence when talking about content knowledge... I know content knowledge is important, but regurgitating rote facts about content is such a small part of overall learning. I would rather have students build on their understanding of those rote facts and make connections to other past or current events / problems. However, I can see a need to have some level of comparison among students at grade level, most particularly the minimum for high school diploma; only because of the expectations that perspective employers have when reviewing potential employees. I think a more balanced approached is where assessments should be going and shifting tests from multiple choice to constructed responses may be step in the right direction, but then how subjective are the responses going to be judged and is spelling going to be an issue. I'll leave you with a few example questions of what I mean (please answer this question in your comments)... Define the word Present, Lead, Wind, and Minute (you must use the most correct definition): Good luck

Deconstructiong: What Does That Really Mean?

The Title brings several different connotations to mind... The obvious fire... the Not so obvious "smoking" (as in let's go "blaze" one)... the even more Not so obvious is a connection I thought of "Fahrenheit 451." The ideas presented when you look very close at the details are directly pointed toward bringing attention (inflammatory attention: pun intended) to the topic of "Common Core Standards" This work was produced in May of 2014, but the topic has been an ongoing discussion since the Adoption of the Common Core Standards. The target audience and underlying motive is a bit trickier to ferret out, but it is fair to say that subjects like this are going to fierce supporters and equally so protesters. The sound pedagogy of teaching students different strategies that appeal to the many different learning styles in the inclusion classroom of today is vitally important. However, the idea that you should incorporate the implementation of the strategy as part of the learning goal assessment is problem for me and others (research into understanding the Common Core). A teaching style that only acknowledges one correct way to get the correct answer doesn't seem reasonable to me; the idea of teaching multiple ways to solve a problem does. The questions then become why do you only want me to learn one way to solve a problem if there are in fact many ways, which then leads to more questions about underlying motives. It seems "inflammatory" to talk about the collective end to freedom, yet I'm reminded of the adage of "how to capture wild hogs" (if you do not know this adage leave a comment and I'll expound).
The targeted audience really seems directed at opponents (building support for opponents) of the Common Core and the other topics hot home for many as well... like the Nuclear Power issue... we are taught to fear it just like snakes... it true it is very clean energy (once you answer the waste issue), but it does nothing to solve the real problem which isn't dirty energy... it's over consumption ( the 1st step to solving a problem is defining the problem not finding other solutions). If we had access to cleaner energy then we will likely start consuming even more energy because after all it's "clean."
When it comes to persuasive techniques used in this cover there are many, yet each is designed to be the hook to get the reader. The fear factor will on some, but not others, which is why there is an explicit claim. The more persuasive techniques utilized the better the odds you'll hold the reader attention. This cover has a total of 17 out of the 40 recognized persuasive techniques represented on this single magazine cover. The graphics immediately draw your attention to the branding logo and students thinking independently, but all going to the same cloud (cloud thinking is that intentional in this Internet era where we send everything to the cloud? In fact are the very thoughts of our students being exported to the cloud?) There are so many subtle hints you begin to wonder if you are just exaggerating what you see or if it really meant that way (now you are truly hooked by the creator).
Political cartoonists have been pulling this off for years and make No mistake about it every stroke of the pen was purposeful.
Check out The Blaze but just for comparison you should also visit The Huffington Post

Life's Moments: A Digital Story

My Digital Story sharing the wonder of a beautiful Friendship filled with LOVE! Life's Moments are filled those that take your breathe and some that give you the courage to breathe.

Digital Story Draft

This is a Google Drive link to my draft:  Life's Moments
It is still in PPT form and some of the slides will have further narration.

This is a Voice Thread Link :  Life's Moments


I will likely finish this product as full youtube video and welcome comments on what you are missing in this story. I need to fininsh the dialogue for the final slides that bring my project full circle, but tell me what else I'm missing. Thanks!

Wk 6 Reading: Critical Questions and Close Reading

Why critical questions and what is exactly a critical question, the root definition for critical (expressing or involving an analysis of the merits and faults of a work) coupled with the basic (who what when why and maybe how?). Does this mean that the answer to questions are not on the surface like the material you get when you only skim or scan a text for obvious answers. All of this led me back to the idea of underlying meaning and motives, which leads right in to my quote from the reading. Henry Jenkins named it the "Transparency problem," when talking about how the "media are actively involved in processes of constructing or representing 'reality' rather than simply transmitting or reflecting it." I found this to be essence of why we need to think critically and teach critical thinking skills. The basic beginning of the scientific process starts with curiosity to explore a question deeper. Teachers should be guiding students in this approach about all the subjects (even life), meaning that there is always more than meets the eye to be discovered. This led me to a blast from the past Milli Vanilli a duo that pulled off one of the greatest spoofs ever and even won a Grammy. They fooled everyone even some of the greatest so-called experts serving on the judging panel that hand out the music industry's most prestigious awards, the Grammy's not to mention selling millions of records.
This elaborate scheme to fool the world plays right into the "Five Critical Questions" from various angles. The true singers were not the true authors of the scandal, the lip syncing duo Milli Vanilli were not the true authors, so searching for the true author and the purpose or motivation becomes a vital question to know the answer to.
The creativity was pure genius and captured the attention of the world. The different messages and mixed reactions were not fully known until the duo became the scandal of the decade. This led to audience's questioning a lot of other groups and their potential for not performing live or actually performing as themselves.
The lifestyles and values are the ideas of what some people may be willing to risk in order to gain notoriety and fortune (because the true motive behind this scheme was money).
The Omission beyond the obvious was the turmoil and destruction the scandal left the two front men for the group lives. While it's true they willingly participated in the scandal, I'm not sure they were prepared for the fallout if their deception was discovered.


The truth
The True Milli Vanilli





 Citations:

Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Published on Feb 14, 2014

Music video by Milli Vanilli performing Girl You Know It's True. (C) 1994 BMG Berlin Musik GmbH

Story Board: The 7 Elements

The 7 Elements play a key role in helping to outline and plan your proposed digital story.

1. POV: This story will be told from my point of view, even though I like stories that capture a third person viewpoint, but that isn't the best option for this story.

2. Dramatic ?: I was given some good questions to reflect upon as I was searching for that crafty way of hooking the viewer. It seems odd how we can so easily be swayed by a title or a sentence. I wonder how many wonderful things I have missed in my life simply because the title or first sentence did not capture my interest. So, the dramatic question has the greatest task in that it will determine the "watch or skip"... "I was forty-six when my education began, yet so much learning had already occurred..." or "The dirt in which I am made of literally changed my life" or "Life's Moments... some take your breathe away, others give you courage to breathe"

3. Emotional Content: When talking about life and death the emotional content comes from the experience the producer had and more importantly the experiences and perceptions the viewer with the topic. My life has changed, but many of the experiences I have had shaped me into who I really am!

4. Narration: This element allows the voice of the story to be heard. My story seems like so many others and yet filled with unique characteristics that are truly my own. My grandmother Snell left school in the 8th grade because that was the norm, she raised her children (6= 3 boys and 3 girls) and decided she wanted her high school diploma. Due to graduate in 1968 she was diagnosed with terminal cancer with 6 months or less to live, undetered she graduated. She also made sure her daughters had a college degree so they could by their choosing live independently and self relient....

5. Soundtract: Like great movie soundtracts this element is designed to enhance the story not be a focal point, background sounds can elevate the viewer's emotion and connection to the story.
The mixing will be the challenge because some of the story is a heavy and much of the story is bright and filled with a positive message. Like this (link) Original Classical      or possibly b minor folk country  on the otherhand well know music can tell an underlying story like Classic Themes


6. Economy:Too much and story cannot keep the viewer's attention and too little doesn't give the viewer a clear picture. The psychology term is "flow"... that dynamic tension between to hard and too easy... the story changes that into too long or too short, it needs the "Goldilocks" approval stamp. Still assessing photos

7. Pacing: This is the element that ensures the choosen images maximize their impact on the viewer, to much of a pause loses interest too short loses content. The power point option will likely work best for me since PPT suits movie maker well.

Teaching: "A Note Card Confessional"

My Note Card Confessional:


Teaching a note card confession

Just saying it aloud brings the connotation of a hidden secret about to be revealed. This week's reading is filled with wonderful ways to connect learning and make it relevant to the social classroom of today. Students need to understand how their learning is connected to the world in which they currently live. The quotes I chose for my "note card confessional" were...

David Buckingham has explained, " very different conceptions of morality and very different cultural traditions exist side-by-side." (Hobbs pg. 29) This powerful quote explains the cultural diversity teachers and students face everyday in the learning environment. I immediately thought of the sociology side of "in-groups" and "out-groups" of "social norms" and "folkways" and "socialization" in general with the thought that educators are not just purveyors of content, but teachers of life skills and social awareness. Helping students make connections from content to real world experiences and vice a versa produces the greatest of "ah ha" moments (teachers live for these moments).

"Reality TV is just a new type of drama, blurring fact and fiction in ways that keep audiences psychologically involved in the lives and experiences of the characters." (Hobbs pg. 32) is the second quote I chose to illustrate another point I found very interesting. Back in the day, I mean way back, the reality TV of the time were "Greek Tragedies" and like reality TV of today the audience had to have some real connection to the characters. While I must admit I do not readily have anything in common with "Snookie," I do recognize the connection to choices and consequences. On a very deep and even somewhat subconscious level "reality TV (Greek Tragedy)" is designed for us to self-reflect on our lives and how we exist in our local / global community.
.
"students in Mr. Fisher's class began to see how Arthur Miller's dramatization of American history was similar to the dramatization of daily life that we see on reality TV shows," (Hobbs pg 32) was my third quote. This is the "ah ha" moment I was talking about earlier. I believe in the interest driven model of education, knowing that many students will inherently try to learn more about subjects that interest them. Therefore, the educator must find ways to turn interest driven learning into interesting relevant connected learning (try saying that 5 times fast). I understand that not every student will like the content you are teaching, but I also know that No student lives in a vacuum. Connecting the social envirnoment the student lives in to the content provides a chance for an authentic learning experience, which will Not occur in a self-guide packet. Try and remember just how much you hated "busy work" in your own education, things have Not changed, students today hate it too!












Buckingham, D. (2003). Media education: Literacy, learning, and contemporary culture. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press ;.

Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Digital Story Brainstorming

I have so many rich experiences that many people may describe as life defining moments both good and not so good (I hate to use bad, because I learned from those experiences too and that was good). This brainstorming post is about reflecting on events or memories that help define parts of your character and the journey of life. The aspects of defining positive and negative events, seems so harsh when thinking about so many different memories. I can remember the worse whipping I ever received at the hands of my dad. The evening was a typical evening except we had dinner guests. My mom always fixed such great meals for us to eat and we usually had desert, so when we had guest for dinner it was great treat for them, but supper as usual for us (that's the way I remember supper at my house, Yes supper the evening meal! we ate breakfast, lunch, and supper except for Sunday when we on special occasions had breakfast, Sunday dinner, and supper). The evening was as I remember filled with mostly grown-up talk and it was time for the "boys" to get ready for bed, which meant bath and teeth brushed then off to bed. Unsupervised bath time for young boys (age 2 or 3 to 5 or 6) could be a bit rowdy; it must have been pretty over the top that night. I remember being told, "settle down! get your bath! knock off the grab ass! and get to bed!" This didn't happen fast enough for dad that as he came up the stairs with loud thundering steps, threw the bathroom door wide open, and yelled I said enough!!! He then ripped the belt from his pants and one by one pulled the three of us from the tub, I remember that night well.

 The positive times are harder to narrow down, not because of scarcity, but rather the opposite. Many of these experiences are rooted in learning how to work and work ethic or learning how to be resourceful. I will try, over the next few weeks, to pick a few really good examples. The one that comes to mind had a not so positive long-term outcome, but was a great learning experience. Milking the milk cows we kept and tending to their calves. We milk twice a day, which is what the cow requires not the other way around, early morning before school and just after 5 or so in the evening. We only milked three teats on each cow and let the calf have one, which usually meant trying them all before finding the right one (it was never the same teat so the cow wouldn't get sore). The collected milk was then strained through cheese cloth filter, separated with a cream separator, and sold. We sold most all the cream milk, which left a watery substance affectionately refer to as "bluejack." The bluejack was so thin mom had to add Carnation Powdered Milk to the bluejack so it would more closely resemble milk for drinking. I can to this day do many things with regard to tending to a cow, but I will not drink milk!

 The teen years are filled with many different events as well from feeding 220 calves before and after school from November to May to joining the Navy and going to "boot camp." I remember getting my driver's license so I could start driving legal, going to the World's Fair, and so much more some of which are really hard to share even today so many years later.

 As an adult, the choices aren't any easier, but the one single event I'm most aware of led to some really great things happening in my life. The greatest of those great things was meeting and marrying my wife Jan. The event happened in September of 2005, I met Jan in October of 2008, and we were married in July of 2010. She has inspired me to pursue my dreams, to get a college degree and teach others what I have learned along the way. My life changed on a day that nearly took it. After being badgered by my uncle to take my grandmother some topsoil from a jobsite I was developing; I loaded the dump truck and headed out. It was suppose to be an early day as I was going to travel to Harrisonburg and meet my brothers for our annual golf outing. My uncle promised to come and put the dirt into grandma's flowerbeds if hauled it over to her. I loaded the dump truck (late 60's early 70's model Ford single axle with a 2-speed rear end. The D-66 Komatsu track loader has a 2 1/5 cubic yard bucket, so I put one extra full bucket and a second small bucket on the truck. I pulled out confident that the trip would only take about an hour, since it was hardly 3 miles away across the "knob." The knob road started with a steep grade followed by as steep of downhill, then back up another grade with some sharp turns and a flat area before descending a 9% grade for a 1/4 mile ending with a double 15 MPH switchback (you know the arrow squiggly sign). It was the turn at the top of the grade when I found out that I had no brakes (no brakes means none nada zilch). I thought about many things, but I'm about to die was Not one them. I made a plan (old school... plan your work then work your plan) put the truck in the ditch on the right side around the first turn and ride the ditch to the bottom of the grade and then out into the farmer's field until I got stopped. In the mean time, try to find a way to slow down the truck if possible. I reached behind the seat to pull the emergency brake, no help, release emergency brake tighten then reapply, still no real help, pump main brakes, tighten emergency brake reapply (worried I was going to ruin emergency brake). Long story short I didn't make the first turn and jumped the dump truck down through the woods over the guard rail until I stopped; parked straight up sitting on the tailgate between three trees. I walked away with a cut on my head and a few bruises, but with a completely changed outlook on life. There is more to this story....

Reflecting on our Love/Hate Relationship with Media

The Love Hate relationship with Media takes many turns through out lives. For instances as young 1st and 2nd grader I began learning reading words and found that I could identify the words and say them aloud. I'm not sure about then, but sure do like how some words roll off the tongue and learning those words is a great joy. The love relationship is words and their meanings, but the hate relationship runs a much deeper vein. It may not have been hard for me to learn to read words, but it was really difficult for me to understand what they meant when they formed thoughts or ideas that were not my thoughts or ideas. I remember well the meeting my beloved 2nd grade teacher had with my mother and me near the end of the school term. "Betty" she said, in a stern but caring tone, "this boy can't understand a thing he reads and the way I see it we have two choices. We can either hold him back in the 2nd grade or send him to the reading lab." Held back I thought... I knew what that meant... failing the second grade, I sure didn't think that was an option... How embarrassing I thought! My Mother said send him to the reading lab, what a relief fell over me as I knew I wouldn't be failing the second grade. All of this was really quite a surprise to me anyway because I had not received failing grades on my report cards. That's my hate relationship... print media and the comprehension curse! I'm not the only one that suffered this dreaded curse then and many still do today. I thankfully went to the reading lab and spent some time with some great ladies that taught me great reading strategies that didn't just catch me up with my peers, but allowed me excel. My hate relationship print media is better now, but in the course of that journey I developed a great dislike for "English" in general because it lacked rules. Sure there are rules about this and that, but they all exceptions to the rule. This in a very practical way soon meant to me that these "rules" were really just suggestions and you shouldn't be punished for getting a suggestion wrong. What would happen if math had suggestions instead of rules or rules with exceptions?

6810 Wk 3 Reading Post

This could be a great activity for students of all ages in all subjects!



  What I learned by RJay

This reading offered a great deal to contemplate especially when designing lesson plans and thematic units. In the ideas of problem based or inquiry based learning teachers and administrators need to communicate with each other and more importantly with parents and stakeholders. This is not about every little detail of the classroom, but more about when you ask deep thought provoking questions you may get inquiries into areas you didn't plan for, give students credit they may be thinking more than you thought (pun intended). When you are going to ask students to create a project have the discussion about what is appropriate for the venue in which they will be presenting their projects. This is not about stifling creativity, but about making them aware of the potential ways their projects may be viewed a offensive. When I asked students to create a "visual essay" of the Holocaust I reminded them that many of the photos would be very graphic and keep in mind this thought when choosing, "is this a picture I really need to tell my story." I conceded that it may very well be what you need, but you had better be well prepared to defend your selection.
The focus of my BUBBLR was the program discussed by Moore, Powerful Voices for Kids, the idea many students have about why it's okay to use their phones in the classroom, the idea of navigating the classroom folkways / norms, and most importantly learning how to ask the right questions will lead to greater understanding and even more desire for new discoveries. When students learn the skill of asking good questions they have already started the discovery of the answer. When I teach students the SQ3R strategy I always tell them good answers contain elements of the question, which helps them keep information organized. Essential questions really just lead us to the tip of the "Iceberg."



Moore, D. (2011). Asking Questions First: Navigating Popular Culture and Transgression in an Inquiry-Based Media Literacy Classroom. Action in Teacher Education, 33, 219-230. (2011, January 1). Retrieved September 2, 2014, from Mediaeducationlab.com.

6810 Wk 3 Post 3

Three great stories with much to teach and help one to reflect on their own journeys and families. I can identify with some aspect of each of these stories in my own childhood as well as in some of the things I have done as a parent and adult. The stories utilized the 7 elements very well all transitioned very well and author's voice seemed calm and soothing (just telling a story). In one of the stories the narration was to be read by the viewer and that seemed appropriate for the  style and topic offered, while all the stories had great photograph choices. These are three well made digital stories!

6810 Wk 3 Post 2

Deep Water: A great and compelling story about Trust it seems like fear at first and fear is talked about quite a bit, but the story is about trust in the relationship between mother and daughter. When we are in a relationship with someone we realize that even in our fears (and theirs) we can count on them to be there for us (and us them). A powerful story!!! with a powerful lesson!!!


7th Word: A young bot learning the Lakota language made this very astute and profound statement, " the bus was the classroom... well actually the world is a classroom." I really like this because learning happens everywhere even when we do not ask to be taught.





First Impression





 This Story really caught my attention, mainly because of the title. I constantly remind students that you only get one chance to make a first impression. I really thought that I was trying to help them, but after hours of reflection will have to reconsider my views about this topic. While you only ever get one chance to make that FIRST impression there is so much more to be discovered. The way this series of still shots were woven together and the voice of the author narrating you through the story of her imperfections lands squarely on your heart when she says, " and after he finished with the picture he said, I was beautiful, that night when I looked in the mirror I was perfect." Then the greatest wisdom of the story comes when she asks the viewer to share in the possibility of seeing things differently, Not differently bad or differently good, just differently. We should all be teaching others that different is just that and try to remove all the judgment that comes from assigning the moniker of good or bad.



BlackBear, T. (2012, April 2). 7th Word: A digital story. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://youtu.be/dB58Z85J70Q?list=PL40FE28CF7CC65EC0

Fisher, L. (2012, April 2). First Impression: A digital story. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://youtu.be/ER_jE51g6II?list=PL40FE28CF7CC65EC0

Lollar, C. (2012, April 2). Deep Water: A digital story. Retrieved September 6, 2014, from http://youtu.be/VeXhmIT2LhM?list=PL40FE28CF7CC65EC0

The Seven Elements

The 7 elements of a digital story are not that different from old school oral tradition story telling. The Elements: 1 - Point of View (POV); 2 - Dramatic Question; 3 - Emotional Content; 4 - Your Voice; 5 - Sound Track; 6 - Economy; 7 - Pacing. These elements of a digital story really only substitute a carefully chosen image or video clip rather than relying on the viewer / listeners imagination. I do not make this comparison to minimize the digital story media, but rather to add that the previous experiences the viewer has with the images or similar images evokes a greater response by the viewer. That is not say that oral tradition stories lack impact or emotional response by the consumer, but rather these stories (oral tradition) lack the ability to control what consumer is seeing.

In element #1 regardless of the specific content the producer of the story is trying to educate or at least offer a glimpse into the life or culture of the producer. I do not mean to minimize the content, but rather offer that the content seems to me to play a secondary role; in that the content itself had some sort or impact on the producer of the story that compelled them to share that experience. In this way the need to share or educate is the driving force behind the story.

Element #2 presented me with the idea of... how similar a dramatic question and essential question are in what they mean to the viewer. The dramatic questions seem to solicit an emotional response or connection to the story and producer, while teachers use the essential questions a guide for learner goals. I think both have the same goal in mind a connection to learning beyond mere content, which Piaget termed "concrete to abstract." In many ways the goals seem to ask the viewer (consumer) to insert himself/herself into the story by self reflected questions like "how does this apply to me?" or "how does this make me feel?"

Element #3 identifies that we all make some sort of emotional connection to stories whether we recognize it or not. At first glance a story about how to make salt or a sustainable greenhouse seem to not evoke a great deal of emotion on the surface, but when we dig deeper we can make connections to things like poverty, organic farming, "farm to table"... and many more, which challenge our views and stance on those issues. Believe me this issues can elicit strong emotional responses (keep in mind the idea that critical media literacy seeks to educate on the underlying motive for what your are being presented with and the best ways to provoke change are by appealing to the emotions, fear is an emotion).

In element #4 we hear the voice of the story (not always the producer), which changes the picture. Imaging yourself walking through the Metropolitan Art Museum looking at the great works or art... now imagine that every time you paused to study a piece a bit longer the creator of the piece appeared by your side to offer insight that led to the creation of that work. In many ways this is what the voice of the digital story offers and in that you can detect many different things about the author and if being narrated you may even detect emotional response of the narrator.

In element #5 we yet another appeal to our senses to help connect us to the story. The soundtrack releases previous experiences connected with that music and can either distract or enrich the digital story. Because music has such a deep connection to the range of emotions experienced by an individual the soundtrack, while usually playing in the background can have a profound impact on the consumer.

In element #6 we discover the new theme of our fast paced culture that seems to be getting faster. Meaning that the producer needs to provide the consumer with the necessary details that leave little ambiguity, but not overwrought with details that the message gets lost.

The last element #7 speaks to the flow of the story and whether the producer allows sufficient time for the consumer to "see & read" or "see the details" necessary to convey the learning goals.

Many of the videos I watched in this section and the "Reel Works" met their targeted goal, but I found some of them offered too much background noise (soundtrack) or made transitional changes (economy) that effected the delivery of the story. Yet all that being said, I in some believe the creation of the digital story has more value to the creator than the consumer, which means the elements of the story align more closely to producer's experiential learning and what it truly means to them.





 

6810 Wk 2 Reading and Comments

Digital storytelling, when you first hear the words what you think of is likely directly related to your experiences or lack there of with digital storytelling. While new to the digital aspect of storytelling I'm well versed in spinning a yarn. Any and everyone that knows me knows that I love to tell a story and can be quite passionate and emotional about said story. I like the subtle changes in volume and emphasis on words or phrases and like John Wayne (famous actor that talked slow because back in the day actors got paid for "screen" time, slower talk = more screen time = more pay) I like to add back-story details (takes longer), which equate to better story understanding (more payoff). My wife now interrupts with... wait wait wait is this a true story or a tale? she has a great ?? detector, which leads to one of the reasons we tell stories... pure entertainment. The other reason is to convey information about events or issues. In the Oral tradition stories were the media that provided new generations with history and important familial information. The goal has not changed in digital story telling only the venue. We now have things like "vine" so we can emit an emotional response to mere seconds of an event that loops over and over or snapchats that begin the countdown once you press the button to start the reveal, we have "twitter" at #writeconcise or be deleted (pun intended), we also have  stories like those found on "Reel Works" that seek to engage the consumer into an awareness / understanding role. While many of the videos I watched sought to provide a deeper understanding to a topic, which they did the videos themselves were a cathartic exercise for the producers of the video material. Its true the video provided insight to the viewer and even educated the viewer, but the education was really a creative expression of what the "digital storyteller" had learned or experienced, which led to wanting to produce the work. The video I chose as my favorite (so far) is

Swinging for the Fences

This video is a great example of what is going on around me right now ( and the students I interact with daily). I have been reading and rereading "Mindset" by Dr. Carol Dweck and working with students from varied backgrounds with unique skills and needs. In watching this video you see a young boy learning and wanting to play baseball that experienced an injury that transformed his life. The overall content or topic of the video is Not where the powerful learning comes from it comes from the ideas about self-worth, relationships, socio-emotional experiences, in-groups, out-groups... the list goes on, it really offers a glimpse into the complexity of the life of a developing child. As an educator (new as I may be), I can see the real benefit to developing an understanding of where your students "live" Herb Kohl talked about this in his book "Discipline of Hope." When we talk about the "whole" child  and equipping them with the tools for success, I find that if you can help someone unlock the principle of self-reflection and provide them with a tool to express that reflection and the encouragement to pursue it; then they will find the connections to prior and future learning. The young man in the video found a venue to tell his dad that he couldn't play baseball any more because it hurt his arm too much (many will wonder why he just didn't say, "my arm hurts"), yet ended up conveying so much more. This idea of learning how to process information at much deeper level is an aid in problem solving because problem solving starts with defining the problem (the process most overlooked) and seeks to identify all the possible solutions. Everything that happens before the first shot in a digital story ever happens is this problem defining process, which is where the producer learns. The product itself is where the viewer learns and hopefully the viewer will add to the learning by conveying their perspective. Here is another place for me to insert a "Mindset" endorsement, most people believe that creativity is naturally endowed trait, yet all of the tools used in creating something require learned skills. One could and should hypothesize that if creating something requires learned skills in order to create it, then it (creativity) is itself a skill that can be learned. Digital tools are great way to help students unlock and tap their creative self. I think these type of learning activities are greater assessment tools than standard question / answer tests; they at least require a higher level of Bloom's to complete and often provide better insight into exactly what the student learned.

Digital storytelling is a venue that can address or bring awareness to social issues or even offer a glimpse into historic social issues. The idea that the producer can select many different medians in one form of media seeks to engage the viewer on many different levels (ethos, pathos, and logos). If one truly believes a picture is worth a thousand words then a digital story could easily be textbook or novel worth of material in 5 minutes or less. The "video time" is such a small fraction of the overall time dedicated to creating the work, which is something students learn very quickly. When they develop their idea and set about creating a digital story, students tap into many different types of prior knowledge and learn even more as they work through the project. Many students are very aware of social and cultural issues within their communities and the world, which have an impact on them and how they live their lives. That said, they have a lot to say about it and 21st Century Tech Tools (digital storytelling) provide great way for them to express themselves.

Link to Reel Works