6810 Wk 1 Reading and Comments

How many chances do you get to make a first impression?  What does it take to refine and change that impression?  Did you get to decide what your cannon of beauty looks like?  How have you come to know and believe all the things you hold to be true?  All these questions have answers that are rooted in experiences... some are your own and some are instilled in us by others. What are the risks in learning to think and ask critical questions about these experiences. I hesitated to start off so philosophical, but after learning and reading a few things like Epistemology, The Critique of Pure Reason, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and many others led me to the thought about what it really means to think critically about the motive of what others are creating. The Kellner and Share article offered some insight and guidelines for better understanding the constructs of media and the motives behind their construction. The article also serves as call to action to educators to not only develop and hone their own understandings or the types of media literacies, but also the need for teaching students how to think critically about all forms of media.

The video of the Tedx Talk given by Cameron Russell talks about the power of the social constructs. She shares her story of becoming a professional model as the lucky winner of the genetic lottery. She had to (in her mind) transform herself on stage in order to make her "talk" more credible because as long as she looked the part of a professional model people would be unable to listen to words and take her serious. She also (without knowing) also made very strong references to Dweck's "Mindset" when she was speaking about self-esteem and insecurity. The idea that -"what she was" - is a construct of others designed to solicit a certain predetermined response sounded like she had being tricked into soliciting others with the fake facade she had become. A sense that innocence had been stolen and replaced with a master seductress (scantly clad and exuding sexuality) all in the desire to sell an image or a product. If educators do not arm students with the tools to understand the power of media then we all risk the loss of "freedom of thought."

Neil Postman's Speech, serves as candid and straightforward reminder that students need tools, real tools, to navigate the complexities of communication. I truly believe the better an educator prepares students to learn how to learn and ultimately to learn how to think then the world is a much better place. The need to teach students these strategies is even greater in this new "information age." A good case in point is a "wiki" like wikipedia, which may contain factual information about an event or person, it may also contain unsupported or unverified information. This statement also applies to "time honored" resources like "Britannica," yet their social status offers them instant credibility. Postman in 1969 realized that there was great need for educators to teach students how to discern what the true message of what was being said is and what the potential risks were if they did not. I think in today's world Postman would be banging the drum for media literacy education even louder than before.

Google Doc Evidence


Citation:
Kellner, D., & Share, J. (2005). Discourse: Studies in the cultural politics of education. Toward Critical Media Literacy: Core Concepts, Debates, Organizations, and Policy, 26(3), 369-386.

Postman, N. (2007, July 22). Neil Postman – Bullshit and the Art of Crap-Detection. Retrieved August 23, 2014, from http://criticalsnips.wordpress.com/2007/07/22/neil-postman-bullshit-and-the-art-of-crap-detection/

Russell, C. (2013, January 16). Cameron Russell: Looks aren't everything. Believe me, I'm a model. Retrieved August 23, 2014, from http://youtu.be/KM4Xe6Dlp0Y

Animoto Intro

6810 Intro

My name is Raphael, but I have always gone by Rafe.The best thing about this "Animoto" tool is that you must choose your words wisely because of the character limitations. I was tempted to purchase the expanded offering of longer videos, but I also like the idea of trying to summarize yourself and philosophy in 30 seconds or less. Like a "thank you" speech at the Oscars there will be many things you will have wished to have said, but everyone knows there is more to you than a 30 second sound byte. This made me also think just how Powerful a 30 second sound byte Can Be and Is in our everyday digital world. While the average age of a graduate student is getting closer to mine I'm still well above average, but this journey in my life is happening at exactly the right time for me. I have had many rich and wonderful experiences that have better prepared me to embark on the journey and joys of teaching. I'm currently working at a local high school with a great group of students, while I continue my educational endeavors. I'm from Petersburg, WV and now reside in Shinnston, WV with my wonderful wife, Jan. My Digital Story tells a little more about where I'm from.

I really want to learn more about how to teach students how to think critically about media (all media... books, cartoons, video, ads,...). I can really see how important it is for students to learn about what or who is really "driving the bus" and what or where are the true motives. The Rushkoff book "Program or be Programmed" raises this same ideology about the need to think critically about media.
Most all assignments are due by midnight Sunday at the end of the week and late work will be less than full credit with prior notification. Gmail is the preferred method of correspondence with questions or concerns. It is a good idea to check with the professor prior to working ahead as assignment requirements may change.

Wordle Tutorial

This is a tutorial on how to create a Wordle using the VoiceThread technology.

Struggling vs. Not Struggling

The title says it all, some students struggle while others do not. I should point out that effort is not saying the same thing, many students that struggle / don't struggle put forth a great deal of effort, while some of the students that struggle / don't struggle put forth little or no effort. The focus of the topic for this blog is not effort, but whether or not a student struggles beyond the average with learning concepts. I had the occasion to observe multiple students that were at varying levels of learning. The common thread shared by most that were observed is that they all seemed to have a positive outlook on life in general and liked school. That said there were observable differences in learning styles and overall achievement. In most cases the high achieving learner was able to grasp new concepts relatively easy. It was also worth noting that these students generally asked different questions from the same prompts, which suggests that their learning experiences were and are quite different from students at lower levels of achievement. Students in general want to learn more about their environment and possible future professions or vocations, but approach the this learning from different perspectives. It is likely that experience opportunities have played a key role in defining those perspectives. Even if all students were given the exact same experience opportunities it is likely that there will still be disparity between perspectives because how an individual experiences the "experience" is largely determined by temperament and socialization. Both of these characteristics are completely individual in nature and constantly in a state of "flux" or development. Each new experience reinforces or alters the current stage of development, while I agree this process could become more stable and less influential over time. In students, under the age of 25, overall mental, physical, and emotional development is changing and evolving at high rates. What I am really trying to state in a positive way is that even struggling students learn and are part of this development path that one day may cease to be as big of a struggle for them as they finally find the connections that have eluded them in the past. The goal is is to provide meaningful relevant learning experiences to all students.

Flow

This is a great little game, very simple and sometimes multiple ways to solve the puzzle and sometimes there is only one way to solve the puzzle. Try it!! The free version has plenty to offer before you have to buy an up-grade pack. It is great tool to help kids learn problem solving skills and in order to earn a perfect score all the boxes in the grid must be filled and dots connected using the least number moves.


You can free play or see how many solve in the "time trials." The 5 X 5 are the easiest progress through to 9 X 9, which are harder.

Artfully Intelligent Design

Artfully Intelligent Design is a concept that combines function and aesthetics. A ThinkQuest competition winner is Fusion of Form and Function takes an in depth look at the "Art We Live In." For centuries we, as a people, have not been satisfied with simple functional shelters and have sought elaborate ways to embellish the structure's facade or embellish the structural supports themselves. I would design lessons in my classroom to address many different questions... why? what? how? when? are the easy questions and then start with more abstract questions of purpose? choice of media? did it accomplish its goal? how does it influence today's art? culture? architecture? The class would also explore how some structures built solely from a functional perspective became iconic art. The main focus is not just appreciation of the ideas of art form and functionality, but also the awesome creative power within "man" and the tools and technology "he" used to create, in his time period.

Teaching is an Art Form

Teaching is an Art form... not like a form of art, but an art form. Artist create through many different forms of media. The very definition of artist is...somebody who does something skillfully and creatively, that is exactly what I mean when I say, "teaching is an art form." When teachers engage students in their learning environment with guided, goal directed, and meaningful activities the learning process is transformed into an art form and not just memorizing rote facts for a test or quiz. Thus the teacher is an Artist, skillfully and creatively unlocking the mysteries of learning.

This link to "Preparing Tomorrow's Leaders" is good look into the ideology of "best practices."
I chose this blog out of the four possible to choose from because of the title, you never know what the students in your class will go on to do in life, so as a teacher, you must prepare them, ALL of them. Then I read the article and was somewhat surprised by the content, as if there was going to be some secret formula for teaching and preparing students. The article begins by the author explaining that she didn't want to be the "boring" teacher and recognized that students may not have learned all they could have. Then she became an Expeditionary Learning (EL) teacher and now the lessons were designed to prepare learners for the future by having them learn and practice problem solving now.

Some of the greatest problems learners face are verbal skills (reading, writing, vocabulary), especially in content areas that seem to speak and write in a different language. Science is one of the content areas that has a very distinct set of vocabulary terms and style for writing (reporting) your results. This teacher used a variety of approaches to literacy instruction to ensure the different learning styles of her students would be met. In a way the methods she used were in fact a formula for success. This teacher also realized the "Common Core State Standards" were not a deterrence to student achievement, but a tool to guide her toward student achievement. The literacy focus enabled the students to not only become better readers, but also helped them to shift from persuasive writing to report writing. Recognizing the need to make shifts in styles, like report writing in science, helps students to make the connection to style shifts and vocabulary context in other areas. Having muliple frames of reference can enable students to approach problem solving from muliple ponts of view and that's how you prepare the leaders of tomorrow.