Change Project

Final Digital Literacy Change Project

550 DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY

Professor Bogad

Summer II 2019

Parents are Children's First Teachers

by Ana Lina Barros

Who am I?  

Who am I?  A powerful question that makes me reflect and ask this repetitive question to myself.  Who am I?  A native from an island (Cape Verde Island) on the west coast Africa, an immigrant, a traveler, a child deprived of her parents for a year, a single mother, a sister, an aunt, an ELL, an educator and a lifelong learner.  Coming from a family of eight with both parent’s illiterate and traveling to America for that American Dream for their children.  This is my story and it is my "Why?"  One thing that has been instill in my brothers and sisters until this day, is how powerful education is and how far it can take you.  No matter who you are and where you come from, education will take you far.  If you have the motivation, strive, and a strong family support the possibilities are endless.  As Wesch quoted "Learning is the hallmark of humanity.  We are all cut out for learning".  My mother has never dumb down education.  She always thought it was too late for her but encouraged us that this was the way for a better future.  The grandmother effect was my mother.   Sugat Mitra believe encouragement is all you need to keep you motivated to learn. My mother’s believe was that learning was significant.  While Michael Wesch's believe students are struggling to find meaning and significance in education. 

What you don't know about me is before becoming an educator I was a creative designer.  One blank sheet of sketch paper transformed into this authentic and unique piece of artwork. This is how I view every student who enters my classroom.  A unique individual.   They start to unravel before your eyes just like technology.  Prensky warns of this unraveling of the today's youth and their brain and how we need to keep up with the digital because of their different way of learning and becoming more of a digital native.  As technology unravel terminology emerges to help us identify the difference between Digital Native and Digital immigrant.  As Prensky describes users of the Digital Media, I find myself identifying more so with a Digital Immigrant.  I am more of a step by step person and prefer completing a task before diving into something else which also places me as a standalone verse being connective.  Even though Prensky's terminology describe two ways of identifying yourself, the negative aspect of the terminology can be interpreted as offensive to someone like myself.  If I didn't understand his reasoning behind it.  As Boyd question the terminology, he expresses how word choice like immigrant and native has a negative connotation base on the history.    Unfortunately, technology was not present in our household.   As technology evolves, as an educator  I have to figure out which of the Scott Noon's  4 tiers of tech  (preliterate, Technocrat, Technotraditionalist and Technoconstuctivist) would I fall into based on each characteristics, I find myself to be between Technotraditionalist.  Since I use it for creating lessons, worksheets, exit tickets, and Google Classroom , however, my goal is to become more of a Techno-constuctivist in creating more online virtual projects.  Even though technology was not present in my adolescent.  

 My Philosophy 

My teaching philosophy is to provide an environment that allows students the opportunity to speak openly without any fear of being wrong or misunderstood.  As Sherry Turkle points out devices have taken over the human quality of knowing one another and understanding each other.  Digital Media can lead to misunderstanding.  Therefore, I dedicate myself in providing students with the necessary skills and passion to learn and achieve their goals, through conversations and digital media.  For students to set forth goals for themselves and strive to achieve it.  And continue to teach with enthusiasm, creativity, and with versatility.  Also, search for the new ways of teaching and understanding the needs of all students, regardless of socioeconomic or ethnic background and share new ideas with colleagues.  Michael Wesch believes, changing the learning environment is critical in engaging students to ask creative and critical thinking questions.   In addition to being open minded when it comes to new and old ideas.  Furthermore, to always challenge myself and my students in every way possible to reach their full potential.  

Change Project

For a change project, I focused on homework tracking and parent communication.  Over the years the one issue that seems relevant to parents besides grades is homework.  Managing homework check-in in the beginning of the year is manageable.  However further into the school year it becomes cumbersome. My goal is for students to be more accountable for their homework through a check in using Digital Media and to encourage for more proactive parent communication through a digital platform.  Homework is controversial.   Therefore, it made me rethink and ask myself two questions.  How important is this change to my classroom?  and Is it relevant to the students, parents, and me?  After researching and reading The case for (Quality) Homework by Janine Bempechat and other articles, There were several concerning factors about homework.  First you have parents that are for and those against homework.  Secondly, there are teachers who are against or limit the amount of homework and others who disregard homework all together similar to some schools.  Thirdly, does it benefit students in improving grades or test scores.  Finally, how long should it take a child to complete their homework assignment

After researching, there were both pros and cons and solutions. What does homework support look like in social classes?   Parents of low-income family and immigrant family value homework.  It is a critical piece of connection to their child's education, since they are unable to participate in other aspect of their child's schooling (working odd hours, two jobs or overtime), they use homework routine as a way to manage their time and provide structure (quiet place for learning) even if they do not understand the assignment and have limited resources.   In this household, the siblings provide the extra support.  This was a mirror image of my household.  However, affluent families have the resources and their focus is to succeed.  The downside is that these students  parents have  high demand  for their child to be accepted into these ivy league colleges that are looking not only  for exceptional grades but a well-rounded candidate, has lead students to heightened stress, anxiety, physical complaints and sleep disturbance.  Many of these students participate in extracurricular activities and can only complete the homework after the activities, which then lead to physical and mental health problems.   On the other hand, Etta Kralovec and John Buell writers of The End of Homework feel that homework punishes the poor because of the lack of resources available, financial resources for computers, tutoring, and language barriers.  They also argue that parental involvement with homework is not necessary for a child to succeed. 

For teachers, homework is relevant.  Teachers believe that homework fosters academic achievement and that it promotes responsibilities and it also serves as a review and practice on targeted skills.  A teacher views homework as a way of keeping parents connected and informed with their child’s education.  If the homework is high quality that promotes learning it is work assigning, those are the homework associated with higher achievement.  Students also find homework relevant especially those at the high school level value high quality homework. 

Homework completion is relevant especially in middle to high school.  Based on research it is associated with high achievement for upper level  At the lower level based on a small number of study the results showed that students that did receive homework  compare to those that did not receive homework achieve at a higher level.  Also, homework does lead to positive learning, it teaches responsibility, organization skills, and self-regulation. It does contribute to learning so homework is relevant.  Which leads us to the question how much time a child should spend on homework.

In the article, the suggestion for homework after decades of study is 10 minute per grade level beginning with 1st grade.  For middle school the suggestions are 90 minutes and high school between 90 minutes to 2 hours and half.  If students are spending more than 90 to 2 and half hour, then it is not contributing to their learning.  Based on a survey conducted by the National Household Education the 70 to 83 percent believe that the amount of time child is spending on homework is right.  Unfortunately, there is no one straight answer when it comes to homework. Unfortunately, there is no one straight answer when it comes to homework.  However, homework is relevant regardless of socioeconomic status.  

Now that my question was answered, my first step was to find a digital platform.  After analyzing the different platform, I decided to use ClassDojo and Remind.  Class Dojo provides parents with quick access and receive notification through, cellphones, tablets, and laptop.   In addition, messages can be translated in other languages and students can also access and converse with each other. In addition,

ClassDojo keeps track of student’s homework and generates reports with break downs into different components for parents.  Remind app is more immediate and parents receive information directly to their phone.  Pictures can be uploaded.  Parents can also communicate back and can also use emoji to respond or to acknowledge receiving the message.  For these digital tools to be successful, I would need to designate a set time and day to send a Remind message weekly to keep parents informed.

 ClassDojo Avatars

ClassDojo Avatar

              

     


                                                

Positive Points

Work in Progress Points

                                                                                                                                                                                                             
                                                        

Self- Assessment Rubric

The Written Assignment Rubric

 Final Digital Literacy Presentation Rubric

Pecha Kucha 1

Pecha Kucha 1

Pecha Kucha

Pecha Kucha

Wesch and Turkle Media and Technology

Michael Wesch and Sherry Turkle Allies or Opponents

Anti-Teaching: Confronting The crisis of Significance by Michael Wesch  focus on the word significance (the quality of being worthy of attention; importance) other synonyms weight, substance, seriousness, magnitude, and noteworthiness to name a few.  A very powerful word in itself.  His dilemma is the lack of significance students are feeling relating to their education.  Students are not valuing their education their not invested in their learning.  Learning has become more irrelevant because of the administrative side.  After surveying many students prior to his project, he question students about their involvement and engagement in learning.  the outcome of his survey was that student never read all the required material after spending hundred dollars on books, others don't even attempt to open the text or attend the class. 

The pressure of today's society on standardized testing and being accepted into Ivy League colleges (movie stars, designers, politicians, and people in predominant positions paying millions to billions of dollars to manipulate the system in order for their children to attend) have made students eager to make the grade and their main focus is administrative questions. For example, How long is the test?, What should we focus on?  How many pages should this paper be?  How can students find learning meaningful and significant when the stakes are this high.  Michael Wesch wants to change this ideology and make learning significant and in order to do so not only the administrative questions need to be replaced with good questions the generate critical thinking and creative thinking but also the environment for learning plays a critical part in making the students engaged in generating good questions that drive critical and creative thinking.  His point is that we need to focus less on reciting, being savvy test taker and more on creating lifelong learners.  In doing so he created a different leaning environment where he was more of a facilitator and having the learning be relevant to the students aware that they are part of the changing the future they are more invested in their learning,  By changing a lecture environment  into more student center, more hands on approach allowing students to generate good question by changing format of teaching and environment utilizing media.

On the other hand, Sherry Turkle  The Flight from Conversation focus on the loss of the quality of conversation has been sacrificed for connection through media.  She discuss how technology has changed who we are and what we do.  These devices have taken over the human quality of knowing one another and understanding each other. In addition the new habits of utilizing technology has made us as she indicated dumb down not only our important conversation but also asking simple questions.  One example, which I can relate and have observed in this 21st century is that you could be out to dinner with friend and family and even though your their to connect with each other and everyone is on their cell phone.  I observe this time and again in various places.  Even at home, if you do not make the time for conversation without the digital devices our children and their children will never learn the value of conversation which is so critical in today's society with all the inequality and injustice going on.  Children are thought at a very early age to learn to role play to learn socialization skills, if that becomes replace with a technological devices how are they ever going to know how to socialize, eye contact, patience, and learn other conversation edicts.

Turkle and Wesch both want learning to be authentic and significant either through conversation or good questioning for critical thinking and creative thinking.  However I believe their views of technology are similar.  In my opinion, I believe they are allies.  Based on the reading, they would prefer technology to be utilize as tool for learning.

Text Overview

June 28, 2019

Text Overview

Canva

June 27, 2019

Canva 

Canva is an on line a graphic design tool found in 2012 used for any user whether your a novice or a professional it turns your work into a power appealing finish product. Canva provides many features to create a unique design. The platform tool can be utilized as web base and print media using a drag and drop format.  It can be used individually or as a collaborative team making decisions on designs, pictures and content.  Canva is a free digital tool with many design, photographs, vectors, graphic and fonts.  However, there is the option to upgrade to a premium version which will provide more templates, more design features, and create many folders. It has many template choices and background features.  Schools can also personalize it to represent their school motto or mascot.  

How can Canva be utilized in the classroom?

• Monthly Newsletter
• Class project
• Welcome letter with classroom expectations and homework guidelines
• Invitation for writing celebration

The process of creating a Canva:

Step 1.  Log on to Canva

Step 2. Choose an icon (teacher, student, small business, large business,  and non-profit).

Step 3.  There are three ways to sign up

1. Sign up using your Facebook account
2. Sign up using your Google account
3. Sign up using your E-mail

Step 4. Verify your E-mail

Step 5.Choose create a design and choose design format to use based on your purpose.  There are varieties of options even though you don't have a premium account.

Step 6. Now you have the option to embed your own photos, illustrations, and text into the template.  In addition, you have the option to add pages.

Finish Product

 Canva can be user friendly after several attempts and if your more experience with this format and dragging and dropping then this format is manageable.  The unique piece about Canva is that you don't have to be a professional designer to create because its all done for you and all you have to do is add your own sense of style and uniqueness to make it yours.

Looking for the Girls

Looking for the Girls

by Andrea Brown-Thirston

After reading Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us Critiquing fairy tales and cartoons by Linda Christensen, I notice an eye catching title Looking for the Girls and an illustration truly unique with curiosity.  Therefore, it capture my interest in diving into this text and figuring out what is behind the title and the illustration that intrigued my interest into to reading this particular text from Rethinking Popular Culture and Media Second Edition by Elizabeth Marshall and Ozlem Sensoy.  Looking for the Girls is written by an African American female educator whose curiosity about what her students watch once they have left her classroom and head home.  To further her interest and curiosity she spent an entire day watching both R & B and Hip Hop music videos.

Basically Looking for the Girls focus on the exploitation of women of colors in music videos by African American male artist and African American female artist.  The music video is  hypersexualizing Black Women and women of color in their videos.  For example,  music title "What do you want?" by DMX and "How many licks?" by Little Kim.  In both videos females are half naked and making sexual gestures.  For example laying on a car with legs spread open and in Little Kim's video her backup dancers are using hand gestures cupping their crotches.   

 She discussed how the negative effect of these imagery have on the young youth of today both male and female but also the effect on our African American community. 

What do you want?

What is the effect of portraying women in video?

• Black girls internalizing the image and having this believe they can only accept the role of a sex object
• Teaches black women  they can aspire to be a trophy
• African American male believe more money equals power and a beautiful women
• Does not portray a healthy, respectful, and equal relationship between a man an a women

In these music videos, women are portrayed as props an object with minimal to no contribution to the video except for the physical attributes (big breast and butt).  Andrea indicates, "This lifestyle does not just dominate music videos; much of the "curriculum" in mainstream media focuses on this lifestyle as the essence of the American dream".  The life style she is referring to is that if you have money and power, you can have this beautiful, sexy and seductive women.  As Christensen  indicated,  "Our society's culture industry colonizes their mind and teaches them how to act, live, and dream" (pg. 175). 

Exploitation of other Genre