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.

Week 10

Activity 1

Element #1: Take a look at the two examples and see if you can identify the purpose behind each story. What is the point of view in each? Whose voice do you hear?

First I watched the example, Making Salt. It was made to show this activity by a child that helps with the process and I could tell from the voice. The second example I watched was fish tank. It was a science project to create a fish farm off of sustainable resources. The voice is that of a teacher that helped with the project and the point of view is that of an adult in charge of the project.

Element #2: See if you can find a dramatic question in the examples for this section. Is the question resolved in each movie or are you left without a resolution?

I watched the example, Are We Making Guam Ugly?, for a dramatic question. The question is resolved by the movie because it showed children piling up trash. Since Guam is overpopulated I can see that trash would be a problem on the island.

Element #3: See if you can identify the emotional paradigms behind these stories.The emotional paradigms behind these stories are based upon a call to action to fix a problem that is addressed. This is especially true for the story on teen depression. It flashes a bunch of scenes where teens are emotional. They are either really sad or angry. The call to action is to help a teen in need or get help through hotlines.

Element #4: What impact that the voice plays on the overall effect of the story.

Voice plays an important role in personalizing a story to its author. It can add weight to the story being told.

Element #5: What impact does the music have on the emotional content or purpose of the story?The impact that music has on the emotional content of the story is that it can drive home the emotional situation of the story. It can also show off some local music that was wrote in dealing with a problem.

Element #6: Look at the examples in this section and consider the decisions the authors made about length of clips, types of transitions and sequence of events. Are you able (as a viewer) to fill in the missing pieces? Give an example?

A good example of filling in the missing pieces is in the Fish tank video. Most of the video was just a collection of photos, so I had to picture the actions that were taken in this story with my imagination.

Element #7: How does the narrator use their voice to pace the story? Give a specific example.

The narrator in Fish Tank also did a good job of pacing the story. He explained new parts of the project as the photos were added into the video.

Activity 2

I picked this digital story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOSrdXRBQiM&list=UUKLPPDaG0bCj1Yqy6PlcouQ

Choose your favorite digital story and embed it in your blog and answer the following questions:

Point of View. What is the point of view in each? Whose voice do you hear?

The voice in this digital story is that of the author. She reads her story to photos.

Dramatic Question. What is the dramatic question? 

She explains how she wanted to be a cat owner but not for 1 cat over 15 years. So she explains how she became a cat foster owner for a local humane society.

Emotional Content. What is the emotional content of the story? How or why do you relate to it?

The emotional content is that the author wanted a pet but not from adoption to the end of the pet's life. The solution to be a cat foster owner makes the experience of pet ownership different for her, with smaller ups and downs rather than a long experience with a single pet.

Week 10 Reading and Discussion

1. How has social media changed reading and writing processes in the digital age?

Social media has changed reading and writing processes in the digital age because people that participate in on different social media sites leave feedback after reading something. Thus there are more people editing and reviewing work than before.

2. Explain "cosmopolitan practice" in relation to digital literacy and it means for learning in school.

The "cosmopolitan practice" that the authors define is that there is a growing understanding between cultures and languages of how to interact digitally. The school experience becomes more universal when classrooms across traditional boundaries can interact with each other.

3. How did the cosmopolitan conversation video challenge support critical media literacy?

The cosmopolitan conversation video challenge supports critical media literacy because students had to make judgments on the videos of two different cultures.

4. How does this quote from the text, "In this digital age, traditional content creation such as book reports, unit projects and essays, cannot be merely digitized and regulated to the end of the unit as capstone demonstrations of content mastery," make you think about how digital technologies should be used to support learning in school?

I believe that digital technologies should be used to support learning in school because nearly all office work in the digital age is produced on PCs. Therefore, I think that working with system that the student will ultimately be using in their professional career is good practice.

5. How do the digital stories you watch this week support the concept of cosmopolitanism?

The digital stories I watched this week support the concept of cosmopolitanism because I was able to relate in many ways to the stories that I watched. People have many common experiences and reactions to them.

6.  In a blog posting, copy and paste a quote from the text that have moved you in some way with a link.

I agree with the authors thoughts on cosmopolitan digital experiences: "With colleagues and participants from India, South Africa, Norway, Great Britain and Australia, as well as U.S. sites in California and New Jersey, they described how youthful exchanges on this network are mediated through  a developing cosmopolitan ethic - a growing common understanding of how to effectively interact and exchange meanings and artifacts across linguistic, worldview and geographic boundaries." (Avila, 64) The standards of digital behavior become drawn along the lines of the participants on a social media platform. Each entry builds upon the same assumptions that the prior work on the platform defines either formally or informally. I did an internet search and found this website about this subject: http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2011/cosmopolitan-digital-experience/ It builds upon the idea of  cosmopolitan digital experiences for the media at large.



Reference:

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

Week 9: Digital Storytelling and Reel Works

The digital storytelling that I related most to was:  http://www.reelworks.org/rw/watch/identity/#ripple

1.What do you like about the digital story?

I like that this digital story focused on civil rights. It is a subject that is still relevant in today's world because we have the first black president in office and many in the country are still against him based purely along racial lines. Racial profiling is still the norm in too many places. I served in the military with people of all kinds of different backgrounds and made friends without any worry of their background.

2.What did you learn from the digital story?

How much the election of President Obama has effected the civil rights movement. I believe that even more will be accomplished after his successful presidency and he is able to enact more change from outside of the Oval Office.

3.What surprised you about the digital story?

I was surprised by how many of the interviewees thought that they wouldn't see a black president in their lifetime. I personally believed that he was a candidate that couldn't lose after the troubled last few years of the Bush administration.

4.How did the digital story provide an example of how digital storytelling can build self esteem, help young people voice an opposition to social problems,  or create an alternative to stereotypes of adolescents typically portrayed in mainstream media?

This digital story allowed its teen age author to tackle a very polarizing subject and provide another look at it through the different people that were interviewed. I believe that there cannot be too many calls for diversity because the subject is still lost in too many.

Week 9 Discussion

A quote that I found powerful was: "Digital storytelling has the potential to provide youth with opportunities for new sense-making of who they are, using digital stories that incorporate images, text, and sound." (Avila & Pandya, 42-3) I believe that the authors remarks ring true and I agree with them. The diversity of the modern classroom is nearly limitless with students having differences in ethnicity, socioeconomic status, learning abilities and even languages. Yet I believe that this diversity can be an aid in teaching the tolerance that is needed as an adult to students as they age. Digital storytelling can be another avenue that technology can aid in the diversification of our society because it allows for students to tell of themselves to others.

I found a good digital storytelling website at: http://www.inms.umn.edu/elements/

The author of this site breaks down all the components of  digital storytelling and it would be a good reference for a teacher that is looking to add  digital storytelling to their curriculum.

Reference:

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

Week #8 PSA

I had trouble getting my original to load so I used tech that I knew would work with Photostory 3. I wrote the scripted pictures with Paint and took the photos that transition between the quotes from internet stock pictures.

I used serious music to add to the quotes that I used from the class. The quotes speak on the troubles that students and teachers have with the lack of training. The persuasive technique was added at the end with a call for action to support the teaching of critical media literacy to change the tone of the PSA to something different.

Week #7 PSA ideas

Name: Call for action

Title of PSA: Media training call

Intended Audience: Parents

Describe your Hook: I would show facts for teens needing Critical Media Literary.