Friday, May 25, 2012
Weekly reading #1- Print Culture
The article defines print culture as “embodies all forms of printed text and other printed forms of visual communication.” To me this description means that everything we read whether it is the alphabetic form of letters or character writing such as Chinese writing, is considered to be part of the print culture as long as it is printed. I am still confused as to what they are referring to as scribal culture, my assumption is that this is anything written but not printed, such as words or drawings written in caves or on paper not mass produced. Oral culture is simply information or communication passed on by word of mouth. The benefits of print culture is that more people are exposed to the information and the information is more accurate because once it is written it is simply copied and printed again. This prevents confusion of history and other important pieces of information. Print culture’s effects on society is amazing, information is able to be spread very quickly and can continue to be spread as long as the information is still accurate. In current situations people in New York can be privileged to the same information as those in California without much difficulty at all. As far as how technology is changing print culture, we are more quickly exposed to information through the internet so therefore the actual use of a printing press or even a printer are things that are becoming part of the past. The digital technology age is fantastic for the spread of information however I wonder how it will be to keep historic issues. Another issue is the assumption that all written work is credible and not copied, it is true we have copyright laws to try to protect these problems however it does not always work that way. Holding a paper or reading a paper book are things that aren’t destroyed easily, books have been around for hundreds of years and have great value in present day and history. Our students should be able to have exposure to all forms of literacy including paper. They may not understand completely how books could have been manufactured by a printing press but if they had a book made from paper at least they would be able to see hands on how difficult this process was.
Activity #2/ 3
Bible, New International Version 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7, 13
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
So What!
Pink
“So, so what
I'm still a rock star,
I got my rock moves,
And I don't need you,
And guess what,
I'm having more fun,
And now that we’re done,
I'm gonna show you tonight,
I'm alright,
I'm just fine,
And you're a tool,
So, so what,
I am a rock star,
I got my rock moves,
And I don't want you tonight.”
The chorus to this song is so encouraging. Whenever I have a bad day or start to feel down on myself I remember these words and almost immediately feel better about myself. The idea is to just get over how other people affect your life and live for you. In this particular song she is talking about getting over a relationship, but in my life it goes for all bad situations.
Activity #2/ 1
Because You Loved Me
Celine Dion
For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I’ll be forever thankful baby
You’re the one who help me up and never let me fall
You’re the one who saw me through, through it all
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ‘cuz you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me
You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by m and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all
I’m grateful for each day you gave me
Maybe I don’t know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was love by you
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ‘cuz you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me
You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You’ve been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you
You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn’t speak
You were my eyes when I couldn’t see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn’t reach
You gave me faith ‘cuz you believed
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me
I’m everything I am
Because you loved me.
Step 3. An Introductory Post
I am from a rural community in Central WV that values the importance of a simple life while being completely engulfed in a fast paced busy world. I am a teacher, a coach, and an assistant manager at a clothing store. I hope to gain more ideas to use in my classroom from this class. The simple definition for being literate is to be able to read and write. I feel that literacy is slightly different than this though, with this concept you should be able to comprehend all aspects of how to read and write. By reading texts written by different authors you should be able to understand the meaning of their article without ever talking to the individual, likewise you should be able to write this way also. The video I chose doesn’t necessarily define literacy but instead shows different example of how to incorporate literacy and 21st Century Learning Skills. I found this video to be very informative and quite interesting for a variety of different reasons starting with the basic facts listed in the beginning. She then walks us through different aspects of literacy and technology and how the two can be intertwined.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3kbwfaMEKY
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Week 2
When discussing understanding media literacy it is basically like reading a book or is it? Media Literacy is sort of like a 3-D book, several ideas are displayed for you at the same time. The media uses different characters, songs, sounds, colors, etc... to influence a person's opinion on a certain subject. Even when the media is in magazine form, more is being presented than what meets the eye. As stated in the article: "Critical media literacy involves cultivating skills in analyzing media codes and conventions, abilities to criticize stereotypes, dominant values, and ideologies, and competencies to interpret the multiple meanings and messages generated by media texts. Media literacy helps people to use media intelligently, to
discriminate and evaluate media content, to critically dissect media forms, to investigate media effects and uses, and to construct alternative media." Basically by studying media literacy critically we can try to understand the entire message presented in whatever form given. We have to look not only at what is being presented but by what is being said by not being said. The picture being the simple part of the message while the subliminal message being the real meaning and the audience to be affected."The media has a huge effect on popular culture. Television programs underscore stereotypes of various groups of people. By looking at the media critically, students develop an awareness of the messages that are portrayed through the media." (readwritethink.org)
Week 11~ Justifying uses of Digital Tools
The main idea of this article is how to justify using digital media in the classroom. Most classrooms are crunching minutes to get in all the content they are required to teach every day, the addition of media literacy to the curriculum seems almost impossible. Professor Beach feels that we can somewhat combine regular print reading/ writing and media reading/writing to enhance both literacies at the same time. He states: “Given the marginalization of media literacy standards/curriculum in American schools, teachers need to be able to justify the inclusion of digital tools for teaching both print and digital literacies in their classrooms. It is therefore important that teachers, particularly new preservice teachers entering the profession, learn to formulate purposes for use of digital tools to teach print and digital literacies. As teachers increasingly find that employing digital tools in their classrooms does enhance students’ use of both print and digital literacies, they will have the evidence to push for further inclusion of digital tools for teaching media literacies in American schools.” He also states within this comment that new teachers need to formulate purpose of digital tools. He is saying that new teachers have less of a routine and therefore adding something new into their lessons will be easier from the very beginning. According to the article Media Literacy Across the Curriculum, by David Considine, PhD: “In reality, teachers, librarians, school media specialists, and students need a common set of skills that will enable them to access, analyze, and evaluate information in any form. Teaching young people to think critically about the Internet is only part of the picture. Those skills need to be applied to all their sources of information, including newspapers, magazines, radio, television, advertising, and film. These media are all part of the communication culture we live in – a fact understood by most English teachers, who now recognize that the term text, once restricted to print media, today includes numerous non-print formats.” Both articles tie in the idea that digital media and media literacy is important in the classroom but in today’s classroom in the “21st Century” we still have to be clever with when and how we teach it. We have to teach the standards they require but we also need to teach the current life skills to our students using media and digital literacies.
Week 10-The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling
There are several different definitions of Digital Storytelling found within this article. The author not only explains how to use digital storytelling but he also defines exactly what digital storytelling is. He states: “There are many different definitions of “Digital Storytelling,” but in general, they all revolve around the idea of combining the art of telling stories with a variety of digital multimedia, such as images, audio, and video. Just about all digital stories bring together some mixture of digital graphics, text, recorded audio narration, video and music to present information on a specific topic. As is the case with traditional storytelling, digital
stories revolve around a chosen theme and often contain a particular viewpoint. The stories are typically just a few minutes long and have a variety of uses, including the telling of personal tales, the recounting of historical events, or as a means to inform or instruct on a particular topic.” With this explanation you can gather that digital storytelling is basically telling a story but using different media to make it better. When we create a digital story, we add different aspects to make our story stand out and get the audience’s attention. If a student was to give a lesson on a president, they might use digital storytelling to add in personal opinions of the president, pictures, artifacts, music, etc. Basically they have created their own short movie to show their class. Reports are interesting when using different items to share along with words but with a digital story you can use every resource available to make the presentation better. “Digital Storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling. Digital stories derive their power by weaving images, music, narrative and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, experiences, and insights. Tell your story now digitally.” As stated by Leslie Rule, of the Digital Storytelling Association, (http://electronicportfolios.com/digistory/). Digital Storytelling is a fantastic resource to help students learn, it uses many different types of media to enhance the story being told and has the potential to be a very influential learning/ teaching tool.
Week 8~ Are you Hip to This?
This article describes some of the issues with teaching media literacy in schools. It begins by demonstrating examples of how some teachers have tried to integrate media literacy into their classrooms. The different grade levels were able to pick out different ideas that were important to the commercials. These ideas were different for everyone involved thus showing the complexity of media literacy. I found one of the most interesting thoughts within the article had nothing to do with the way media literacy is used in the classroom but instead, how it is intended to be used and not carried through that way. “It's not surprising that in an educational environment which values product over process, media production classes (in both print and video) become playgrounds for creative grownups who make all the really important decisions about the construction of the school newspaper or class video project, then set young people on the task of finishing the scut work.” This quote demonstrates how sometimes teachers have control issues when it comes to creativity. Media is a creative process from the very beginning and students should be encouraged to tap into their own creativity to make the finished product. A rubric or guideline is a must for media projects that outline the do’s and don’ts for each project. Being a teacher I can see how it is hard to “let go” and “let them be” but if we want to see a project from our students we must relax and let them do the project. I could not find a quote per say that would back up my theory to let the students experiment and be creative but I found the youthmediaproject.org site that provides an entire website to showcase student/ youth work. This website is entirely donated to the presentation of student work, written by students and produced by the students.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
The Pedagogy of Digital Storytelling
“According to Leslie Rule’s oft-quoted definition, ‘Digital storytelling is the modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling. Digital stories derive their power by weaving images, music, narrative and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, experiences, and insights.” I enjoy this quote. I feel that this quote describes how I understand the definition of Digital Storytelling to be. They are simply stories told in a more modern way. Stories that were once given life by drawing pictures are now given life in a way that used to be saved only for the movies. We add music, pictures and first account information to our stories to help the audiences believe what we are trying to portray. I strongly agree with this quote from Leslie Rule.
“According to the definition of media literacy provided by one of the two national media literacy organizations, The Alliance for a Media Literate America, “media literacy is seen to consist of a series of communication competencies, including the ability to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE, and COMMUNICATE.” This approach attempts to expand the notion of literacy to include popular culture and multiple forms of media (music, video, internet, advertising, etc.) while still working within a print literacy tradition.”
I compare these two quotes by looking at the expansion of media literacy into popular culture. They both agree that digital storytelling is a modern expression of storytelling, so therefore one article verifies the other articles opinion. The reading discusses the importance of digital storytelling pedagogy in the college classroom. These two quotes from both articles tell us the importance and re-affirm the idea that we are simply making regular stories more interesting and appealing to all audiences. These are two fantastic reasons to add them in our curriculum.
Topic and Link for my Digital Story
1. Identify a topic for your story.
Hardship story: Divorce and Custody issues
2. Then identify a dramatic/critical question that will be answered by the end of the story. Post that question to your blog.
My Mother is a great woman, at what expense has the successes in my life and her life had on her own personal life throughout the years?
PSA Bibliography
Visualphotos.com
I chose the 4 students in the library and the two children laying on the floor reading from this sites selection of photos. The library photo shows the students completely involved in their stories, while the other photo shows children laughing and having fun while reading.
This photo shows 3 children sitting on a bench enjoying their books. I thought the group of them together brought about the idea of enjoying a good book even while being with friends. The site itself talks about what our children are reading. They talk about the importance of meaningful reading, or reading for a purpose.
hsu.edu
The picture of all the children sitting on the floor reading shows how all students no matter what their reading level can read.
superstock.co.uk
The photo of the family reading is a stock photo from this site however the description says that the family is reading the bible as a family. Family reading is good for everyone involved. Everyone is active in the story so it is easy to concentrate.
education.more4kids.info
Mothers and babies reading is both a bonding time for them but also a learning time for baby. The site this photo is from is about the benefits of reading to your children. It talks about the fact that most people remember the first book they ever read or had read to them. “There is nothing more worthwhile than reading to your children. Even as babies; the sounds and connotations in your voice can calm and soothe them. More importantly, even before your child is born, research has suggested that your children tend to have a higher degree of understanding and learning. What a wonderful gift to give to your children.” This is a fantastic site to talk about the importance of reading to new parents.
The mother reading with her child again comes from a site discussing the importance of reading with your children, and children reading to their parents. This site uses pictures for impact instead of a more formal written article.
I simply used this site for the picture of the baby reading The Executive Baby book.
1photos.com
I found a picture of a little girl reading and thought it would be a good addition to my presentation. It shows how a child can sit down at any time and read.
The photo of a child laying down with a book on its head, comes from a site talking about the importance of reading everything in an article.
Choose books with fun themes for children, they will learn to love to read through stories they love. The mother and her little girl are reading a fun book or so it seems by the smiles on their faces.
painetworks.com
The old black and white photo, is a stock photo. The photo, shows us that even when we weren’t so concerned about test scores teachers still were focused on teaching to the whole class.
k12reader.com
Guided reading is also helpful for students to begin reading. The photo with the teacher sitting in her student circle helping them read comes from this site. They talk about how to efficiently use guided reading.
rayitodesol.org
The picture that has diverse student races comes from a site about teaching Spanish. Even though the teacher’s main focus is Spanish she is still using circle reading time to help them learn. This shows us that no matter what the situation, reading literacy is important.
columbiamissourian.com
The photo taken outside, is of a world record competition for the most people reading at the same time. Reading can be fun, it can even be a competition.
The Literacy site gives helpful information for literacy problems in multi subject areas. I found it helpful to search for literacy foundations in a certain area. The site also gives information on key literacy issues, and how to improve your literacy as both an adult and a child.
Story Map
One Fantastic Momma
Main Characters: My Mother, Brenda Setting: Relaxed conversation atmosphere
Problem of the Story:
The problem of the story is rough times throughout her life, mainly focused
around my parents’ divorce.
A Story Event:
The first major event in my mother’s story is the abrupt announcement from
my father stating that he wanted a divorce.
A Story Event:
An arrival of several supportive friends, helping my mother believe that yes she could.
How The Problem is Solved:
The problem was solved when my mother’s friend, smacked her up beside the head, and gave her the confidence that my father had so quickly diminished.
The Ending:
The ending is the conclusion that she has managed to make it. She kept me
and didn’t give up on life and her love for her daughter just because times
got rough. Perseverance is the ending and the message behind my story.
Title of Digital Story: One Fantastic Momma
Picture | Description |
 | Introduction- Snapshot view of my mother. |
 | This is where my mother was raised. This photo shows us the quiet surrounding she had growing up. |
 | My mother was 29 when I was born. My mother and I had that “Mother/ Daughter bond,” since shortly after I was born. |
   | These three pictures are shown to give examples of the importance of family in mine and my mother’s life. They also show how close she and I always have been, and things she wanted to make sure she could afford to do for me. |
 | This is one of the few pictures, I have showing my dad and step-mom. The divorce was the beginning of my mother’s confidence failing. |
Here I have inserted the short video I have of my mother, telling about the rough times she had following the divorce. | |
   | Mom mentions a few people in her life that helped make her more confident in her decisions of life these are a few pictures of them. |
   | “Even though she had a difficult time, while I grew up… We till kept smiles on our faces.” These pictures were all taken after the divorce, when my mother really showed just how strong she was. By smiling around me and continuing to make our lives happy and full of life. |
 | “Friends that were there for her in time of need… Are still with her, in their presence and in her heart.” One of her close supportive friends has since perished, this statement recognizes their constant support in her life by saying they are still in her heart. The other friend has continued to be close to mother and has supported me throughout my life. |
 | “We may have had rough times but we had many good times too!” This photo shows a collage of events from my life. Most all of the pictures my mother took. She was always there to support me. Coincidently she also helped me create this collage for a project earlier in my life. |
 | The end photo is one of the most recent professional shots my mother and I have had taken. This Is to show we are still close and her hard work to succeed and be a good mom is appreciated. |
Week Nine
I am going to interview my mother, Brenda. The two major questions I am planning to ask her are: 1. Describe a vivid or important memory from any time in your adult years. This can be positive or negative, and about anything. 2. In looking back on your life, you may be able to identify particular "turning points"- episodes through which you experienced and important change in your life. Describe these episodes and why are they important.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Week Ten
Conduct a 30-60 minute interview. You can link me to the full audio or video file or write a summary of the Interview highlighting events that will shape your digital story
Interview with my mother
I asked my mother a combination of two different questions suggested. The first question I asked was, “describe a vivid or important memory from any time in your adult years.” I followed up with the question, “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.” She started the immediate thought wheels rolling. She came up with several different options but in the end she had managed to rope all the ideas into one story. She originally started with the birth of me as a big turning point in her life, however my birth was both easy to discuss and complicated. When I was five my father, finally told my mother that he was in love with someone else and wanted a divorce, therefore creating another huge turning point in her life. She was worried about me, if she had enough in her to make me have a successful life, or if she should consider sending me to live with my father. My father and step-mother challenged my mother’s confidence for several years and made her wobble her decisions on my life. Many of my mother’s friends began to notice her lack of self confidence and stepped in to help her. They helped her realize that she had family, friends, and faith, all on her side backing her up. She became a strong woman and knew the last thing she ever wanted to do was to get rid of me. She had waited for quite a while to have me and would fight with everything she had to keep me. Her friends and family have continued to support her throughout her life and now also help to support me. My story is about my mother’s strength as a person and how wonderful of a mother she has been even though we have had our challenges.
Week Eight
Justice grew up in the predominantly Caribbean neighborhood of East Flatbush. He noticed an overwhelming sense of homophobia in his community and journeyed out to find the reason why.What do you like about the digital story?I enjoyed the personal involvement in the story being told. He introduced the segment by telling us why he wanted to research this subject. He started by telling a short story about talking to a friend and a comment he made. “Why did I associate being stupid with being gay? I realized it was because of my surroundings.” He stated that he lived a Caribbean neighborhood and that he was taught that it was bad to be gay. He wanted to know if the rest of the people in his hometown felt this way and why the stereotype was so excluded in his culture. He went to regular everyday places such as the side of the street and the barber shop to get the information he was looking for. The barber made this comment when answering the question on how he feels about homophobia, ”You are mentally not there, there is something missing up stairs.” Through the different opinions of his interviewers he came up with the idea that the homophobic attitude came from their religion. The Caribbean community is closely associated with the Catholic religion, which is mostly against the idea of homosexuality, therefore creating the base for homophobia in their community. The curiosity and the drive to formulate an answer is one of the reasons why I like this story the best. What did you learn from the digital story?I learned that by putting a personal touch to your topic people will relate more easily and identify more directly to your feelings and opinions. The idea of going to everyday places and asking common people for their opinions really helped everyone relate to the subject of the story.How can digital storytelling promote critical media literacy? I encourage you to Google digital storytelling and critical media literacy to answer this question. According to the Alliance for a Media Literate America, “media literacy is seen to consist of a series of communication competencies, including the ability to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE, and COMMUNICATE.” By creating digital stories, you are more aware of the concept of how simple it is to change media to fit your certain situation. When one creates their own digital story they can promote items however they feel. If they are to use the competencies stated above then they should be able to promote critical media literacy for all to understand. Site visited:http://ucla.academia.edu/JeffShare/Papers/124672/Critical_Media_Literacy_is_Not_an_Option
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