Thursday, July 23, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practices
Chapter 7: "By investigating their digital practices, the study investigated the way that pre-service teachers experience their use of digital texts and the value they and others place on their use."
I thought this was an interesting investigation and got me thinking about my own experiences as a pre-service teacher, since it wasn't that long ago and technically still where I am in the process. The results were a bit surprising because I did not see myself doing what they did. Everyone does things differently I guess.
Chapter 8: "The ‘multi’ prefix was designed to signify two key dimensions of the changing contexts for literacy education: the multiple ways of being in the world according to (sub) culture, language, place, and so on; and multiple modes of representation available, especially by virtue of new and emerging digital technologies."
This is an interesting break down of the prefix and broadens it's meaning so much. There are tons of ways of being in the world and they grow each day. Though they might go under the same categories as other, there are new venues for being in the world that arise every day. The different modes go with the ways of being because they are connected to each other and intermingle. This was a very enlightening quote.
Chapter 9: "Storyboarding, in this view, is to a visual story what outlining is to a print story – a parallel sequence of images, voiceover text, notes on the soundtrack, transitions and effects, somewhat akin to a comic strip (Lambert, 2002; and Figures 9.4, 9.5 and 9.6)."
I remember doing a few storyboards for classes and most were Denis Lindstrom. I always enjoy doing these because it is an efficient way to tell a story and is more engaging than other forms. Finding pictures to tell your story is much more fun than trying to figure a way to word what you want to say.
I thought this was an interesting investigation and got me thinking about my own experiences as a pre-service teacher, since it wasn't that long ago and technically still where I am in the process. The results were a bit surprising because I did not see myself doing what they did. Everyone does things differently I guess.
Chapter 8: "The ‘multi’ prefix was designed to signify two key dimensions of the changing contexts for literacy education: the multiple ways of being in the world according to (sub) culture, language, place, and so on; and multiple modes of representation available, especially by virtue of new and emerging digital technologies."
This is an interesting break down of the prefix and broadens it's meaning so much. There are tons of ways of being in the world and they grow each day. Though they might go under the same categories as other, there are new venues for being in the world that arise every day. The different modes go with the ways of being because they are connected to each other and intermingle. This was a very enlightening quote.
Chapter 9: "Storyboarding, in this view, is to a visual story what outlining is to a print story – a parallel sequence of images, voiceover text, notes on the soundtrack, transitions and effects, somewhat akin to a comic strip (Lambert, 2002; and Figures 9.4, 9.5 and 9.6)."
I remember doing a few storyboards for classes and most were Denis Lindstrom. I always enjoy doing these because it is an efficient way to tell a story and is more engaging than other forms. Finding pictures to tell your story is much more fun than trying to figure a way to word what you want to say.
Friday, July 17, 2015
Digital Texts in and Out of School
Chapter 4: "In each of these articles, Wikipedia is represented as an inferior source of information and its use is linked to a perceived deficit in the young: they are not achieving; they are lazy; they are not critical; and they do not appreciate the significance of traditional forms of knowledge."
What this sounds like to me is a bunch of grumpy old people who are jealous that they did not have access to this source when they were going through school. Though Wikipedia can be changed by anyone on the internet it is easy to be swayed as an unreliable source. Wikipedia is monitored by people who are hired to do just that and by the community that uses it. Even if you think what you read might not be true, there are usually sources at the bottom that can be clicked on so that the viewer can see exactly where the information came from and determine if that is a reliable source. If used correctly, Wikipedia can be a powerful tool for research.
Chapter 5: "As we have seen from our initial exploration, the blog format offers a range of interactive and collaborative possibilities for individuals and groups."
Well this is a familiar sight; I am sure that we are all aware of how power a tool blogging is by now. Being able to collaborate and interact with other people and share ideas is a great way to start a project and get feedback on it. Seeing the views of others on the same subject can help the blogger have a deeper understanding of the content because they can now see it from multiple angles.
Chapter 6: "Arrangements had been put in place to design a 3D virtual world in which pupils would be engaged in purposeful interaction and communication."
So this sentence blew my mind! I have seen some stuff with the Oculus Rift Virtual Reality technology and this reminds me of just that. It also reminds me of an anime I watched called Sword Art Online where the players put on nerve gear that actually puts them in the game; of course the sensors for pain are disabled and abnormal human strength is gained like in most video games. Pulling that into the classroom would be some exciting technology, but maybe not to the extent of the anime. In the anime someone deactivates the pain override and players are stuck in the game where their lives are at risk because they cannot re-spawn.
What this sounds like to me is a bunch of grumpy old people who are jealous that they did not have access to this source when they were going through school. Though Wikipedia can be changed by anyone on the internet it is easy to be swayed as an unreliable source. Wikipedia is monitored by people who are hired to do just that and by the community that uses it. Even if you think what you read might not be true, there are usually sources at the bottom that can be clicked on so that the viewer can see exactly where the information came from and determine if that is a reliable source. If used correctly, Wikipedia can be a powerful tool for research.
Chapter 5: "As we have seen from our initial exploration, the blog format offers a range of interactive and collaborative possibilities for individuals and groups."
Well this is a familiar sight; I am sure that we are all aware of how power a tool blogging is by now. Being able to collaborate and interact with other people and share ideas is a great way to start a project and get feedback on it. Seeing the views of others on the same subject can help the blogger have a deeper understanding of the content because they can now see it from multiple angles.
Chapter 6: "Arrangements had been put in place to design a 3D virtual world in which pupils would be engaged in purposeful interaction and communication."
So this sentence blew my mind! I have seen some stuff with the Oculus Rift Virtual Reality technology and this reminds me of just that. It also reminds me of an anime I watched called Sword Art Online where the players put on nerve gear that actually puts them in the game; of course the sensors for pain are disabled and abnormal human strength is gained like in most video games. Pulling that into the classroom would be some exciting technology, but maybe not to the extent of the anime. In the anime someone deactivates the pain override and players are stuck in the game where their lives are at risk because they cannot re-spawn.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Step #2 Analyze Interview
For this interview I sent these questions to my cousin Sarah who is 18 and has just graduated High School in Kentucky.
Questions for Interviewing a young person:
Ask your young person to choose a pseudonym for you to use in the writing of your case.
1) Do you have a computer /iPod/MPC playerWii/ ect....?
2) What kinds of things do you use the computer for?
3) What is your favorite thing to do on the computer?
4) How did you learn to do that?
5) What are some other things you use the computer for?
6) What is your favorite game? Why?
7) Do you know other people who do this?
8) How do you use the computer at school?
9) How would you like to use the computer at school?
10) Do you think teachers would let you use the computer to do those things? Why? Why not?
Anything else you would like to tell me?
1) MacBook/ iPad/ iPhone
2) Research/ typing papers/ other homework/ listen to music/ YouTube/ online shopping/ watch Netflix/ email/ blackboard/ communicate with others/ photos/ social media
3)Netflix
4)self explanatory
5)already listed all of it
6)I don't play it anymore but sims because I got to create people and houses
7) lol no
8.) I don't
9) ...
10) I hate online classes and homework and test... Computers aren't always reliable- some times the website doesn't want to work or you don't put the answer in the way the computer wants and it counts it all wrong. Or you have to send your paper into your professor and your email decides not to work. I honestly hate computers for school reason except research and typing.
Title: computer this or computer that
Hanging Out: How did your young person's use of computers reflect friendship driven practices and facilitate social interaction between their peers? Give concrete examples.
Messing Around: How did your young person's use of computers provide them with informal learning opportunities to develop tech savvy skill sets? Give concrete examples.
Geeking Out: Has your young person developed a particular interest or highly specialized skill sets as a result of their use of computers at home and school? Describe?
Schooling: Does your young person talk about use of traditional literacy practices like using correct spelling vs text messaging lingo? Reading books over use of the computer? Writing in traditional genres like poetry or essays? Conducting research for personal or school related purposes?
Questions for Interviewing a young person:
Ask your young person to choose a pseudonym for you to use in the writing of your case.
1) Do you have a computer /iPod/MPC playerWii/ ect....?
2) What kinds of things do you use the computer for?
3) What is your favorite thing to do on the computer?
4) How did you learn to do that?
5) What are some other things you use the computer for?
6) What is your favorite game? Why?
7) Do you know other people who do this?
8) How do you use the computer at school?
9) How would you like to use the computer at school?
10) Do you think teachers would let you use the computer to do those things? Why? Why not?
Anything else you would like to tell me?
1) MacBook/ iPad/ iPhone
2) Research/ typing papers/ other homework/ listen to music/ YouTube/ online shopping/ watch Netflix/ email/ blackboard/ communicate with others/ photos/ social media
3)Netflix
4)self explanatory
5)already listed all of it
6)I don't play it anymore but sims because I got to create people and houses
7) lol no
8.) I don't
9) ...
10) I hate online classes and homework and test... Computers aren't always reliable- some times the website doesn't want to work or you don't put the answer in the way the computer wants and it counts it all wrong. Or you have to send your paper into your professor and your email decides not to work. I honestly hate computers for school reason except research and typing.
Title: computer this or computer that
Analysis:
Hanging Out: How did your young person's use of computers reflect friendship driven practices and facilitate social interaction between their peers? Give concrete examples.
The only thing mentioned in the interview that is a concrete example would be social media. This is not specific, but I know she uses snapchat, facebook, and I'm pretty sure twitter and instagram.
Messing Around: How did your young person's use of computers provide them with informal learning opportunities to develop tech savvy skill sets? Give concrete examples.
The biggest thing that lead to informal learning opportunities would be research on the internet and youtube. Netflix could provide learning opportunities if she watched a documentary, but I know she doesn't watch them.
Geeking Out: Has your young person developed a particular interest or highly specialized skill sets as a result of their use of computers at home and school? Describe?
Sarah has not developed a particular interest or highly specialized skill set as a result of their computer use. She mostly uses it for Netflix and avoids it otherwise. She has developed some researching skills, but I wouldn't put that under either category.
Schooling: Does your young person talk about use of traditional literacy practices like using correct spelling vs text messaging lingo? Reading books over use of the computer? Writing in traditional genres like poetry or essays? Conducting research for personal or school related purposes?
She talks briefly on the school related computer use. She states that computer use for school has always been a problem for her, except for typing and researching.
Saturday, July 11, 2015
Digital Texts in and Out of School
Introduction: "Students are required to shift from a world replete with multimodal text, remixing and mashing, and fluid novice– expert relations, to a relatively unidimensional formalized context centred upon only one form of static text and structured by particular adult– child authority and knowledge hierarchies."
It took me several times of rereading this sentence until I fully grasped what it was talking about. It speaks of the shift from learning outside the classroom that is filled with new technologies to the way most school system present their education in the form of textbooks and other more outdated ways. This is not always because the teacher feels more comfortable with that style, but they might not have the funds to facilitate that type of learning. The interactions are also completely different; in the classroom there is a certain hierarchy that is maintained, while the outside learning place can have roles reversed. I remember one time I was looking up how to reformat a hard drive and the educator in the video was a boy around the age 8. At that age he knew more about computers than I did and I appreciated that he would post a video to help others through the process.
Chapter 1: "For Jacob, motivation to produce a movie about skateboarding comes partly from the fact that it is a subject with high status in his peer culture and that it is familiar to him as a consumer (he said he had watched ‘millions’ of skateboarding videos)."
Expertise of the learner is a large portion of education. If the student is interested in the subject and has experience with it they are much more likely to readily participate in the assignments. Concepts from every discipline can be taught with a degree of freedom in subject. The challenge is correlating the two, but that is a process the student needs to participate in that will ultimately lead them to a critical thinking activity about the concept and the subject they chose.
Chapter 2: "Literacy is not just about decoding marks on a page; it is also about performing social acts of meaning, where meanings and practices vary according to context (Barton and Hamilton, 1998; Street, 1997)."
This sheds new light on how I see literacy. I have not thought about it in this way, but this makes sense. Literacy varies when applied to different things, it does not remain constant through it's application. Not sure there is much more I can say about this quote, except that it makes you wonder.
Chapter 3: "From a critical digital literacy perspective, the creation of a profile page is clearly socially motivated behaviour, where the power relations that exist around the text are explored, unpicked and possibly transformed."
In a profile page it more about framing for the editor because this frame is their way of giving the viewer perspective. Though everyone has different perspectives on things, it is the job of the editor to guide your way of thinking. In a way it is like selling a product, just the product is the editor.
Explain the readings are changing or reinforcing the ways you think about technology in your classroom. What are the barriers/challenges to integrating technology in the ways the reading are promoting? How do you see the literacies practices identified in the readings as promoting the kinds of academic literacy practices we want young people to develop through schooling?
It took me several times of rereading this sentence until I fully grasped what it was talking about. It speaks of the shift from learning outside the classroom that is filled with new technologies to the way most school system present their education in the form of textbooks and other more outdated ways. This is not always because the teacher feels more comfortable with that style, but they might not have the funds to facilitate that type of learning. The interactions are also completely different; in the classroom there is a certain hierarchy that is maintained, while the outside learning place can have roles reversed. I remember one time I was looking up how to reformat a hard drive and the educator in the video was a boy around the age 8. At that age he knew more about computers than I did and I appreciated that he would post a video to help others through the process.
Chapter 1: "For Jacob, motivation to produce a movie about skateboarding comes partly from the fact that it is a subject with high status in his peer culture and that it is familiar to him as a consumer (he said he had watched ‘millions’ of skateboarding videos)."
Expertise of the learner is a large portion of education. If the student is interested in the subject and has experience with it they are much more likely to readily participate in the assignments. Concepts from every discipline can be taught with a degree of freedom in subject. The challenge is correlating the two, but that is a process the student needs to participate in that will ultimately lead them to a critical thinking activity about the concept and the subject they chose.
Chapter 2: "Literacy is not just about decoding marks on a page; it is also about performing social acts of meaning, where meanings and practices vary according to context (Barton and Hamilton, 1998; Street, 1997)."
This sheds new light on how I see literacy. I have not thought about it in this way, but this makes sense. Literacy varies when applied to different things, it does not remain constant through it's application. Not sure there is much more I can say about this quote, except that it makes you wonder.
Chapter 3: "From a critical digital literacy perspective, the creation of a profile page is clearly socially motivated behaviour, where the power relations that exist around the text are explored, unpicked and possibly transformed."
In a profile page it more about framing for the editor because this frame is their way of giving the viewer perspective. Though everyone has different perspectives on things, it is the job of the editor to guide your way of thinking. In a way it is like selling a product, just the product is the editor.
Explain the readings are changing or reinforcing the ways you think about technology in your classroom. What are the barriers/challenges to integrating technology in the ways the reading are promoting? How do you see the literacies practices identified in the readings as promoting the kinds of academic literacy practices we want young people to develop through schooling?
I think the largest struggle, especially where we are, is access to the technology to integrate it. Funds are low and overall wealth of the state are sub-par. This leads to the better and more successful technology integrations out of reach. The literacy practices seem to be promising with the correct integration. As we move forward with education we see a lot more third party opportunities for students to help with the integration. Colleges and government offices are helping public schools enhance their capabilities at a reasonable cost.
Friday, July 10, 2015
Media Ecology and Learning Case
For this interview I sent these questions to my cousin Sarah who is 18 and has just graduated High School in Kentucky.
Ask your young person to choose a pseudonym for you to use in the writing of your case.
1) Do you have a computer /iPod/MPC playerWii/ ect....?
2) What kinds of things do you use the computer for?
3) What is your favorite thing to do on the computer?
4) How did you learn to do that?
5) What are some other things you use the computer for?
6) What is your favorite game? Why?
7) Do you know other people who do this?
8) How do you use the computer at school?
9) How would you like to use the computer at school?
10) Do you think teachers would let you use the computer to do those things? Why? Why not?
Anything else you would like to tell me?
2) Research/ typing papers/ other homework/ listen to music/ YouTube/ online shopping/ watch Netflix/ email/ blackboard/ communicate with others/ photos/ social media
3)Netflix
4)self explanatory
5)already listed all of it
6)I don't play it anymore but sims because I got to create people and houses
7) lol no
8.) I don't
9) ...
10) I hate online classes and homework and test... Computers aren't always reliable- some times the website doesn't want to work or you don't put the answer in the way the computer wants and it counts it all wrong. Or you have to send your paper into your professor and your email decides not to work. I honestly hate computers for school reason except research and typing.
Title: computer this or computer that
Connections to Course Text
"And yet, in many classrooms these devices and the texts produced with them are still perceived to be irrelevant, and even dangerous, in relation to children’s learning and their development of powerful practices with text."
"We believe that new teachers must be prepared to teach in schools that are embedded in a world where technologies, particularly portable digital technologies, are changing the ways in which we make meanings and engage with each other."
"It is time our classrooms became places where digital and print literacies come together to allow children opportunities to develop the skills and attitudes they will need to navigate complex urban sites and social forms."
"Drawing on classroom research, she argues learners require guidance in reading multimodal texts and that we need to ‘redefine the work of the reader’ (Jewitt, 2005, p. 329)."
Title: computer this or computer that
Connections to Course Text
"And yet, in many classrooms these devices and the texts produced with them are still perceived to be irrelevant, and even dangerous, in relation to children’s learning and their development of powerful practices with text."
"We believe that new teachers must be prepared to teach in schools that are embedded in a world where technologies, particularly portable digital technologies, are changing the ways in which we make meanings and engage with each other."
"It is time our classrooms became places where digital and print literacies come together to allow children opportunities to develop the skills and attitudes they will need to navigate complex urban sites and social forms."
"Drawing on classroom research, she argues learners require guidance in reading multimodal texts and that we need to ‘redefine the work of the reader’ (Jewitt, 2005, p. 329)."
Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Beyond Digital Natives
Chapter 10: "However, even among the small cohort discussed in this chapter, it was clear that the children had different responses to digital technology, especially in relation to its perceived place within the school discourse."
Though the three students that were being examined were born slightly more technologically advanced due to their environment, it does not change their responses to digital technology. How digital technology is used is "in the eyes of the beholder". It all has to with what it means to the user; in some cases it can be a means to an end or a way of self-expression. Some can see it as a punishment an educator gives or as an opportunity for them to do something spectacular.
Chapter 11: "The clear disparity between the confidence with which claims about a new generation of “Digital Native” students have been made and the lack of empirical evidence to support such claims raises the question of why they have gained such currency."
This statement I found very interesting because it addresses a large problem that has always been. The acceptance of information without evidence of it being true or false. This is why you can't believe everything you read on the internet. Not that this problem started with the internet, but it is more easily spread; of course this also makes it more easily dis-proven because of how fast information spreads.
Chapter 12: "With the help of our children and our students, we can design and craft a much better information environment not just for today's youth, but for society at large and for future generations."
It might be a bit cliche to use the last line in a book, but I think that the final statement is the most powerful of the entire book. It is the answer we have been waiting for the entire novel. For this book the message is clear and hopeful. There is a mission to be taken up in this statement and the responsibility is ours.
Though the three students that were being examined were born slightly more technologically advanced due to their environment, it does not change their responses to digital technology. How digital technology is used is "in the eyes of the beholder". It all has to with what it means to the user; in some cases it can be a means to an end or a way of self-expression. Some can see it as a punishment an educator gives or as an opportunity for them to do something spectacular.
Chapter 11: "The clear disparity between the confidence with which claims about a new generation of “Digital Native” students have been made and the lack of empirical evidence to support such claims raises the question of why they have gained such currency."
This statement I found very interesting because it addresses a large problem that has always been. The acceptance of information without evidence of it being true or false. This is why you can't believe everything you read on the internet. Not that this problem started with the internet, but it is more easily spread; of course this also makes it more easily dis-proven because of how fast information spreads.
Chapter 12: "With the help of our children and our students, we can design and craft a much better information environment not just for today's youth, but for society at large and for future generations."
It might be a bit cliche to use the last line in a book, but I think that the final statement is the most powerful of the entire book. It is the answer we have been waiting for the entire novel. For this book the message is clear and hopeful. There is a mission to be taken up in this statement and the responsibility is ours.
It is amazing that formal schooling does not explicitly teach digital literacy when most have a computer science class that student are required to take. Making this class more into a digital literacy would be much more effective than just working with typing and Microsoft Office.
Stand Alone Presentation
This presentation takes key concepts from Deconstructing Digital Natives: Young People, Technology and The New Literacies. The concepts are in chronological order from the first chapter to the last. Each chapter has 1-2 slides that convey their message. What the story shows is that world is split into Digital Natives, people born in 1980 or after, and Digital Immigrants, people born before 1980. This concept is quickly examined and concluded that this is not a good method for discerning different levels of digital literacy skills. Digital literacy is more likely determined by the amount of interest a person shows and not some inherent ability. Taking what we see as Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants and transforming their image. Also, being more specific in the terminology that is used when analyzing the data collected. Having more defined terms can give the data more specific meaning, which can lead to more tangible results. Even taking the terminology we already have and reclaiming it to give it a better definition could give the data more meaning. This book is about giving these terms more meaning, how digital literacy affects the population, and what determines an individual's digital literacy. One that can be certain is that if someone has an interest in a subject then they tend to do better at it than a person who does not show interest. This is the same in all areas of life, no matter the age.
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