Week 14: Reading and Discussion

Quote: "The obvious thing to say about digital stories and other kinds of signification that are mediated by new information technologies is that they offer distinctive contrasts to the primarily alphabetic texts and the forms of textual reasoning that predominate in schools and universities."

I totally agree with this quote. New information technologies have changed the way that students can provide information to courses. Through the submission of school work through non-traditional means and media, students can approach the kinds of work that they will do when they are out of formal instruction. I believe that this goal is more important than the memorization of facts and figures that will always be available in a real world environment. The know-how to accomplish a project that is not based just off of facts and data is the highlight of study in any discipline. 

I found a great link for media education at: http://mediaeducationlab.com/ This website and its related articles are supported by the University of Rhode Island.

1. How does digital storytelling support academic literacies?

Digital storytelling supports academic literacies through the use of technology in the place of traditional text based literacy. Rather than a reader needing to guess at the unknowns of a story, their eyes can pick up on more cues than their imagination. 

2. Now that you have created your own digital story, do you think that using images, words and music to create a message is simplistic compared to traditional alphabetic print based argumentation?

I think that using digital media is more simplistic because of the potential upside on the results on the time spent. I believe that much more depth can be provided to a digital story in less time than that could be provided by traditional alphabetic print based argumentation. The expression that a picture says a thousand words is completely accurate in the power of a video documentary has in creating understanding.

3. After creating your own digital story, do you see how digital storytelling can help develop a stronger sense of agency in their own lives? Do you think this might have a positive impact on students academic lives? How? Why?

Digital storytelling can help develop a stronger sense of agency in their own lives because of the need for students to look at themselves as other see them. This will have a positive impact on students academic lives because collaborated efforts are mostly better than the work of an individual. Working through projects as part of a team is a critical skill for all students. 

Week 13: Story Draft/Reading and Discussion

Above is a draft of my story with just the pictures and a sound check:

A quote that I agree with in the text: "We suggest that a critical digital literacies framework, used in conjunction with TPACK, may serve to bring a critical, reflective lens to technology use within personal and professional contexts." (Avila & Pandya, 143) I believe that my knowledge of technology grouped with this course has better prepared me to teach with technology than had I taken a course on TPACK. Teachers need to see critical digital literacies in their studies in order to in turn teach their students. So I strongly agree with the authors and believe that critical digital literacies should be part of any education majors' curriculum.

http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/what-is-tpack/

This link gives more information into the background of tpack.

1. Why do the authors of this chapter chose to use the term "critical digital literacies" rather than just "digital literacies"

Per the text, "we employ the specific term "critical digital literacies" to de-emphasize the relative importance of technology skills, and emphasize the critical understanding of and engagement with functional technology skills within the broader contexts of technology use." (Avila, 134-5) Digital literacy means less than the skill-set that the authors want students to have.

2. How well did our own teacher education program prepare you to use technology in your teaching practices? Was it more tools based or literacy based?

I have only practiced in the Masters of Education program, but it has prepared me well along with the technology skills I already have. I have learned more tools based skills from my classes.

3. What should  teachers be thinking about when they engage in critical thinking as it relates to technology use in school?

Teachers need to have their students understand that the author of any material has an agenda in their writing and it needs to be solved along with the reading of their work.

4. On page 149, it is stated that students have certain rights with respect to "critical digital literacies." Do students in your teaching context have these rights? Give an example or non-example of at least one of these rights.

Students in my teaching context have these rights because I will be teaching technology skills. In K-12 classrooms, I believe that students will still have rules to follow in exploring and experimenting in their own digital space that needs to be there for safety and to keep students on task.

Reference:

Avila, JuliAnna, Pandya, Jessica Zacher.(2013)Critical Digital Literacies as Social 
   Praxis. Peter Lang Publishing: New York, New York.

Week 12: Creating a Storyboard for my Digital Story

I am working on a story board for the tutoring group I am conducting with my Navy shipmate that started at WVU for my Math for Struggling Learners course because he is having trouble in Trig at 30 years old.

Here is my take on Addressing the seven Elements of Digital Storytelling:

• Point of View: The story will be told from my point of view as the tutor. It will be an example for other tutors to use in helping others to study in a group. 
• Dramatic Question: The dramatic question of my story will be "How can a friend help another in tutoring for a course they are struggling to complete?"
• Emotional Content: This story is about old friends working together again and that will be the level of emotion within the story.
• Voice: I will be providing the voice and keeping it at a good pace and tone.
• Soundtrack: I have decided to have an upbeat tone to this story so it follows with the other elements.
• Economy: I won't have the project completed in time for the story to be told so it shouldn't be to difficult to keep the script brief but to the point.
• Pacing: I will only have a dozen or so pictures so there will be a good medium of change but without going too fast.

Brief storyboard of Andrew Labdik's Digital Story, A New Study Buddy for Trig.

I am working on a story board for the tutoring group I am conducting with my Navy shipmate that started at WVU for my Math for Struggling Learners course because he is having trouble in Trig at 30 years old.

This is a picture of me. I am a graduate student at FSU studying Education.

This is Jessey. We served together in the Navy in the same work center and he started up at WVU this semester. He has Trig and I have a Math education class so I would tutor him for credit in my class while helping him complete his class.

This is an example of the material that Jessey is studying. I have helped him to recognize the important parts of his text and what material is going into too much depth in the chapters. Having other set of eyes to review material has shed some light on his text.

I jokingly used this rum a motivation tool. If we got Jessey's studying completed we could have a few drinks and joke about the bad old days in the Navy.

Week 12: Reading and Discussion

Quote from Chapter 6: "Too often I hear my teaching colleagues and administrators pass off mobile media as a novelty at best, and - more often - a significant distraction to learning." I disagree with the author on this quote. I believe that the context of the author teaching at an urban high school has influenced the judgment of the teacher. I believe that, in general, education is supporting the use of mobile media more so than the teacher is exposed to seeing. I read and see in the news of where more and more classrooms are using mobile media to aid in teaching. Mobile media has done wonderful things in aiding in the instruction of students with learning disabilities across all walls of life. I found an article supporting this at: http://www.edudemic.com/mobile-devices-in-the-classroom/

This article is about all of the pros of using mobile media in the classroom and they make some solid arguments for its use.

1. How did the Ask Anansi game support critical literacies?

 The Ask Anansi game supported critical literacies because the students had to read between the lines of clues and figure out how they could get information that would lead them to the badges. A good example is the clue for the Malcolm X book badge.

2. How did the Ask Anansi game support academic literacies?

The Ask Anansi game supported academic literacies because of the amount of writing that the students had to do to participate in the game. The exchanges between the teacher and students were just like any other types of work that is completed in the classroom.

3. How did the Ask Anansi game support digital literacies?

 The Ask Anansi game supported digital literacies through the use of the mobile media devices and the tools that were available to the students. The students used these tools and gained in understanding digitally.

4. What is meant by the term "reading the word and reading the world and writing the world"? Give an example from the chapter.

 The term "reading the word and reading the world and writing the world" means that a reader has to read the work, see how it relates to the world and then response on how it fits in their world. The example in the chapter is when the students wrote onto their school's Wikipedia page. They put in information about how the school operates on top of the basic information of facts.

Reference:

Avila, JuliAnna, Pandya, Jessica Zacher.(2013)Critical Digital Literacies as Social 

   Praxis. Peter Lang Publishing: New York, New York.

Week 11: Brainstorming my Digital Story

1. Describe a positive scene from childhood in detail.  What led up to this event? When and where did it happen?  Who was involved?  What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact did it have on you?

For my birthday when I was in 1st grade, I got a bicycle. I had learned to ride off of my friend's bikes. I was natural at riding, but didn't ask about the brakes until I hit a wall the first time. . My older sisters also had bikes that were styled for gals so I would use theirs until that day. It was probably the happiest day of my youth because I could now bike around my neighborhood in style.

2. Describe a negative scene from childhood in detail.  What led up to this event? When and where did it happen?  Who was involved?   What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact did it have on you?

This negative event involves the same bicycle. I believe that this happened a few months after the birthday. I was out riding with my neighbor for a few hours and we were mostly having a normal day. I wanted to get out of traffic so I rode onto a sidewalk. Through some poor luck on everyone involved, a lady was helping her elderly mother to their car and didn't see me from a wall facing the sidewalk. I collided with the ladies and got up in fear and started to ride away. My neighbor thought that we should just leave, but I went back to check up on the ladies and tell them that I hadn't intended for the accident. The mother had to go to the hospital and my parents took me to visit her. I later delivered papers to her and I am glad that I did the best I could in a tough situation.

3. Describe a particular event from your teen-aged years that stands out in your memory today.  This can be positive or negative. What led up to the event?  What happened?  Where and when?  Who was involved?   What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact did the event have on you.

I will stick the bicycling adventures. In high school, my best friend and I were cross-training freaks over the summers. We swam for a local swim team, ran a few newspaper routes and went on biking adventures through different neighborhoods of Clarksburg. Our most ambitious ride was from our neighborhood to the Meadowbrook Mall through some back roads, probably a good 10 miles. We stopped and visited my grandmother on the way and took some tall hills and the relaxing rides down the other side. It was an important event to me because we had a pretty wild plan and were able to get it done. We saw friends that drive to the mall and they were impressed with our adventure. My buddy and I can still talk pleasantly about that day.

4. Describe a vivid or important memory from any time in your adult years.  Again, this can be positive or negative.  It can be about anything – family, work, whatever.  The scene stands out in your mind today as being especially vivid or important.  Please describe what led up to the event.  Then describe the scene in detail.  What happened?  Where and when?  Who was involved?  What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact has the event had on you?

This is one of my last times on a bicycle. I had my ten speed for my freshman year in Morgantown and would ride it in a pinch from Towers on Evansdale campus to Downtown for classes over University Ave. I made great time because I was still in good shape at 18. On a weekend I went just out for a ride. At the top of the bend by the Business School was bike path besides a stairwell that led to a jump over the walkway that used to be there connecting the campus to Sunnyside. This was before the Health Sciences building was built. I thought that since there was a bike trail that I could take it at full speed. So I came roaring down the hill and hit the jump. Low and behold, I rocketed into the air. I remember looking down and thought how the heck did I get ten feet high and how am I going to land? I ended up just busting my butt good on the landing and laughing hard because I was really scared mid-flight. This event was a turning point on trusting my eyes to get me through a new situation and I was more cautious after this in trying out new stunts. I always have had this scene in the back of my mind when I have done other risky maneuvers, be it on a bike, in a car or any mode of travel.

 5. In looking back on your life, you may be able to identify particular “turning points” – episodes through which you experienced an important change in your life.  Please choose one key turning point scene and describe it in detail.  If you feel your life story contains no clear turning points, then describe a particular episode in your life that comes closer than any other to qualifying for a turning point – a scene where you changed in some way.  Again, please describe what led up to the event, what happened in the event, where and when it happened, who was involved, what you were thinking and feeling, and so on.  Also, please tell me how you think you changed as a result of this event and why you consider this event to be an important scene in your life story today.

The biggest turning point in my life was when I enlisted into the Navy. I had looked well at the job and career that I would have while in the service, but I had a life changing experience when I took the oath and started my enlistment. I enlisted the the Pittsburgh Federal Building on July 15, 2002. At that point I was committed to the defense of the United States and would accept the risks that it entailed. I felt like a new man after taking the oath and will always live up to it.

Week 11: Reading and Discussion

 In a blog posting, copy and paste a quote from the text that have moved you... Then find an article, video, podcast, blog posting, image related to what you have read...

I liked this quote from the author's closing remarks, "school can play an important role in introducing students to technology, in contextualizing, scaffolding, and practicing critical awareness and constructive, perhaps even disruptive, ways of using tools for digital literacy." (Avila & Pandya, 104) I am a proponent of technology and see that the major pros of using technology in the classroom are here. The author also hints that technology can be disruptive. I disagree because there have always been disruptions in the classroom. They have just changed from paper airplanes to internet jokes. I really liked that the teacher learned to take her students away from their computers when they had to have group time I feel that this is a good way to ensure that the technology doesn't interrupt important instructions.

I found interesting teaching aids at http://classroom-aid.com/educational-resources/digital-literacy/. This site has a collection of teaching aids for completing searches in literacy.

1. What is the difference between an "essentialist" "traditionalist" or "autonomous" "perspective of technology and literacy and a New Literacy Studies of "ideological" perspective on technology and literacy? Which perspective do you adhere to? Why?

The "essentialist" view is on the medium or technology itself without its educational settings. The "traditionalist" view is on reading and writing without technology. The "autonomous" perspective is based upon a person's literacy skill set. A New Literacy Studies of "ideological" perspective on technology and literacy combines these into a single perspective. I am a techie myself so I have an "essentialist" perspective. (Avila, 88)

2. Give three concrete examples of how the teacher in the chapter supported "new literacy" or "critical digital literacies" practices with blogging.

The teacher of this chapter supported "new literacy" or "critical digital literacies" practices with blogging because she had the students reading each others work regularly, motivated the students differently by having them work with their blogs, and the blogs would help her students to organize their knowledge in their own way. (Avila, 96)

Reference:

Avila, JuliAnna, Pandya, Jessica Zacher.(2013)Critical Digital Literacies as Social 
   Praxis. Peter Lang Publishing: New York, New York.