Pecha Kucha: Learning It's A Thinking Thing

This is my Pecha Kucha for Curriculum In The New Media Age

Digital Immigrants vs. Natives: Dispelling the Myths

The forward and first three chapters... WOW! Yet, I'm left feeling like someone  had been stealing my thoughts... how could that be possible I had not yet read this book and still so many words that seemed like thoughts and conversations I have already had. Maybe Honest Abe was right, "Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't that new at all." the first quote from the forward goes like this..."The problem here is not with the natives themselves, but rather with the rest of us, the "Digital Immigrants"who remain obstinately tied to older media, and who are failing to catch up with  the times."(Buckingham, pg xi) Though I don't feel like I am holding on to the old media I sure know a lot of people my age that are, and I should clarify by my age I mean people who still remember phones attached to the wall and black and white TV, and that's all I have to say about that.
My quote form Chapter 1 comes by way of the closing paragraph..."In addressing the digital literacy skills and the evolution of new forms of pedagogy, educators have to be wary of adopting conveniently dichotomized modes of thinking" (Thomas, pg 9) This quote contains an entire post in itself, but I'll offer this tidbit, which goes back to a theme I have been voicing for some time in that... sound educational practices and pedagogy is not changed on a whim and tools and strategies are just that tools and strategies, Not pedagogical practices. Understanding that trends or fads are, well, trends and fads, technology is a tool and like all tools it requires learning how to use it. Reading is a learned skill, teaching students how to read is the pedagogical practice of teaching students how to use various tools and strategies in order to become a reader. The key here is learn "how to" the same is true of technology and the "Digital Natives," they must learn how to use the tools just like the "Digital Immigrants."
In Chapter 2 the author wants to offer the intent of coining the phrase that was taken so literal that the intent was lost and even morphed into a beast that has grown to epic proportions. When reflecting on this reading, I thought about the monk that coined the terms BC and AD, which how now become the universal BCE and CE (for political correctness). While he wasn't searching for a metaphor to name a phenomenon, he was searching for a way to discern the old and the new as a break in time. Such is the case here, but with a different reaction... in that with the BC and AD no presumptive power was automatically given to the new ADers, they were still the same people they now living in a new era. So it goes, with the "Digital Natives," they are Not born with the innate skills required to use technology, but their exposure to new technology lends itself to learning it at a much earlier age... even the "Speak n Say" is more sophisticated today than 25 years ago when I bought my son his, which is far beyond mine... my mother reading a "Golden Rule" book that went like this... "The cow says, moooooo" and she made the sounds. The quote, "I'm shocked at how many supposedly well-educated, thinking people just "can't take a metaphor."" (Prensky, pg 15)
Chapter 3 caught me in the "Collaborative Learning" subtitled section in that I just read a article about what students think about collaborative learning... Student Led Discussions and Learning
Which is one side of the narrative, but also points back to the theme I explored in Chapter 1, just because it's trendy does mean that the classroom facilitator can sit back and push the proverbial "GO" button and students will engage in deep and meaningful conversations that lead to a greater DOK. No what it means it that facilitator must plan more carefully, outline learning goals, objectives more comprehensively, and then interact with the learning groups providing the support each group needs, which means some groups will need different strategies and tools, but all groups need the primary information and tools. The quote, "The traditional method of teaching suggested in this contrast with collaboration was the direct transfer of knowledge from the tutor or lecturer by a largely one-way transmission,"(Jones, pg 35) which when coupled with my constructivist approach leads me to... students learning how to think about what they are learning by questioning and collaborating with others learners.

Student led presentations with various tech tools available to support their presentation, note the pens and "Post-it" notes as well as the poster sheets taped to the table with student created visuals... a treu MultiModal Presentation??? Imagine that..

 Thomas, M. (2011). Deconstructing digital natives: Young people, technology, and the new literacies. New York: Routledge. 

Txt and MXmodal

I have watched and shared this assignment Ted Talk many times to others. Many of the different things I have learned from talks this are more like conformation for my own thoughts or conversations about educational philosophy I have had with others. John McWhorter goes into great deal explaining the developments of texting as a spoken language that happens to appear in the form of written symbols, but it is Not writing. This all ties very well with the readings this week as well in that reading is reading and writing today has some of the same problems that have existed since writing was created. To me the only people that are really have a problem with the changes are the people that hold themselves in the power elite... as a way of denying access to the common person. As if to say that you aren't really reading if what you are reading isn't recognized as a classic novel or other approved academic resource. This would apply to writing (or texting) if you do Not use the adopted formal constructs then you are ruining the written language. Fact is MLA didn't even exist until the 1980's and APA formatting in the 1970's, so who's rules were you to follow before that? I think it easy for those that do Not fully understand something to condemn it and or blame for ruining something. There are still people that rip wikipedia as an un-trusted source, yet its proven to be as reliable as Britannica. I guess, what I'm really trying to say is ... change is always occurring... morphing, growing, evolving... sometimes good and sometimes Not, but it should be understood for what it truly is before it is judged... which leads me to my true problem... most of the people that should know better are the very ones judging the harshest... shame on you!

The Written Word

An opening quote to help ponder the question... Is digital technology ruining the art of writing?... Now the quote...“There never was a golden age where everybody could write well,” says Lunsford. “Writing is hard.”(Karp, 2010).  Writing is the hardest thing students have to learn how to do, in my opinion, because so much happens between the time the thought leaves the brain and tries to come out the pencil or keyboard. When you are speaking, even when choosing your words carefully, you don't worry if they are spelled correctly... you just say them and if you say it wrong you just correct yourself or clarify. Yet when you are writing the grammar rules and spelling rules are a constant clamor, all while you are trying to think of clever things to say, since you will Not have the chance for instant clarification. Having the conversation in your head and trying to think about all the possible word choices, their usage, and proper spelling and then forcing them down to the end of a pencil can be an exhausting task for many students. So, formal writing takes practice on that we all agree... almost all of us agree that finding better and quicker ways to accomplish the task of practicing is good for students too. For those of you that disagree with me about that consider this thought... are you reading this post on an electronic device? If you reply will you do so using a keyboard? If you answered yes (and you most likely did) then you are using an updated method that is supposedly ruining writing...Hell let's go back to quill and ink to write on parchment if we feel like we must maintain writing in its purity... untainted form the likes of advancements... and yes that means throwing Shakespeare's work out too because he invented words, used nouns as verbs and vice versa. Ridiculous Right????  It like demanding handwriting be taught, but not keyboarding... I learned handwriting when I was in elementary, but sure wish I had better typing skills now. Education has changed! The way we communicate has changed! The arrogance of some educators thinking that teaching from a purist point of view ill prepares students for the world they will live in beyond school. We do Not need to fix the current education system... we need to build a new system that adequately prepares students for the world they will live in, Not the world of the 20th Century, but the 21st Century and beyond!

The second article yielded this quote..."Books aren't out the picture, but they're only one way of experiencing information in the world today"... This says it all to me... in a world that many want to see as only this way or that, (black or white), or I'm right and you're wrong... books have their place, but so does every other form of media. I could expound upon this idea and thought for hours and even add the ideas of Zachary Sims as he relates his understanding of this topic, but I would rather ask this question and know the answer before I proceed. Because the answer to the question will have a great deal of bearing on the direction I would take the conversation... Answers to this question will provide the fodder for an up-dated post.

What do think is a person's most valuable resource?

References:

Karp, J. (2010, January 01). Does Digital Media Make Us Bad Writiers. Retrieved May/June, 2016, from http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/does-digital-media-make-us-bad-writers

Rich, Motoko. "Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading." June-July 2008. Web. May-June 2016.

Just Call Me Ish.... I Mean Rafe

By way of introduction... My Name is Raphael "Rafe" Snell. I currently teach for Harrison County Schools in the Option Pathways Program. I currently hold a WV Teaching Certification in the following: 5-Adult... English, General Science, and Social Studies, as well as K-Adult MI/BD, and an Option Pathways endorsement. I'm originally from Petersburg, WV, but now call Shinnston, home. I will complete my Digital Media New Literacies and Learning, Master's this summer. I always look forward to the diverse ideas and thoughts others have to share when reading and learning basically the same material... new and refined insight that leads to greater understanding is my primary goal for this class.




The image I chose has a similar type of view;

References:

Published on Oct 17, 2014

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Jesse is the founder ofhttps://www.schoolofthought.org an online fully immersive learning environment that will be free for students, teachers and universities all over the world. He believes the key to engaging future generations is to 

teach them how, and not what, to think.

Google Images

Disruption: Visualizing the Future... No Text Needed?

Hologram or Holographic images was my first thought because the idea of having an image that speaks is... well like the coolest thing ever... in that stories (Books) could be told by the author with all the inflection the author originally intended. Then I read the passage and begin think there is some much more than a thousand words contained in a single image that when used in context needs No explanation. I have to reflect on the past as I look forward and assess modern communication as they might offer a glimpse into what communication will be like tomorrow... The SyFy (new) or Sci-Fi (old) has always offered that fanciful look into what the world will look like tomorrow, but even more fascinating than that are the words of Nikola Tesla, about wireless communication in 1926...

"When wireless is perfectly applied the whole earth will be converted into a huge brain, which in fact it is, all things being particles of a real and rhythmic whole. We shall be able to communicate with one another instantly, irrespective of distance. Not only this, but through television and telephony we shall see and hear one another as perfectly as though we were face to face, despite intervening distances of thousands of miles; and the instruments through which we shall be able to do his will be amazingly simple compared with our present telephone. A man will be able to carry one in his vest pocket."

This idea of communication led me to connecting why the written word was developed to begin with... as an economic device in a universal language, which is easy enough to "see" that images are in fact fairly universal. Then symbols became more complex and further developed into alphabets, which quickly morphed into sophisticated languages as specific forms of communication. These new forms of communication require(d) extensive learning, encoding, and decoding skills in order to understand... the simple universal trade language had been replaced in just a few hundreds years. So the rest of my post will rely on visual communication only... if you have questions or need clarification leave a comment.

Possibilities?

"What's more, there are no language barriers with images."

References:

Bilton, N. (2013, June 30). Disruptions: Social Media Images Form a New Language Online. Retrieved May 23, 2016, from New York Times: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/disruptions-social-media-images-form-a-new-language-online/?_r=1

Clever Prototypes LLC. (2016, January 1). Photos for Class. Retrieved May 23, 2016, from Photos for Class: http://www.photosforclass.com/  (Each Photo has a Specific Citation Attached)

Novak, M. (2015, January 5). Nikola Tesla's Incredible Predictions For Our Connected World. Retrieved May 25, 2016, from Paleofuture: http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/nikola-teslas-incredible-predictions-for-our-connected-1661107313

New Literacies

When confronted with the ideas of literacy many people have their go to definition of what that means... so if you add the word "new" what or how do you now define literacy?
I have over the course of the past 20 years been slowly introduced into the educational system... that is to say... when my son first began kindergarten I like most parents started to get involved in school organizations like PTA and met with teachers during parent teacher conferences. Because I can be a little opinionated (I'm sure an understatement according to some) i soon became involved in the Local School Improvement Council (LSIC) and because my son was diagnosed with a Learning Disability (LD) I soon found myself on the Special Education Advising Council (which later became the SPED Steering Committee), which all led to a 4-year term on the County Board of Education. It was not long after that term that I really began to think about education differently... and nearly 13 years after it began I found my self in a college classroom in pursuit of an education degree. The goal of earning a degree was realized so the natural progression was to earn a Master's... A bit unsure of what I exactly wanted in a Master's led me down a road where if I didn't know exactly where I was going it would at least be comforting in going with people I already knew. The people I knew came by way of professors I had undergrad classes and were teaching Master's classes... it was a connection to a passage I read in my 75-hr clinical class and book assigned by a professor, Dr. Lindstrom, called Digital and Media Literacy, by Renee Hobbs, that I began to really understand my new working definition of literacy. Along that 13 year journey, when I did Not have formal education credentials, many of my ideas and opinions about education were dismissed by those in education or those possessing degrees. Not in an open or derogatory fashion, but dismissed none the less, as well as many times being told about how sites like wikipedia was ruining research paper writing.  And how texting and removing required handwriting classes was ruining the generation's of today ability to write properly. Which all turns out to be more about the ability to recognize and support new literacies than this or that ruining education... because many of these past educators only see things the way they were taught to see them... and when they became the "power class" they condemn what they do Not understand. A willingness to recognize and seeking to understand new literacies as new generations add to their own understandings and interactions with the world in which they live is what I would call... "wisdom at work!" I include this TedTalk by John McWhorter as an example of understanding New Literacies



Connecting learning to practice!