Chp. 9 Thoughts

Leadership and vision are critical components of the process of bringing digital and media literacy into secondary education.

I agree with this statement 100%. Digital media and literacy can only go as far as a teacher wants it to go in their classroom. If a teacher does not wish to incorporate such subjects and advances in his or her classroom it’s just that simple..it’s not going to happen. The vision and leadership role in incorporating such forms of learning are key. A teacher must want to push the limits in their classroom and that involves work, and in my recent experiences time.

Some programs reach only the best and brightest students in a school district.

I agree with this statement, but I also disagree with the truth it holds. It is true that many programs only reach the best and brightest students. Although these select students may express more potential to take part in learning experiences such as digital media, it is something that ALL and EVERY student can benefit from. Digital media programs will only be used to their full potential when every student has the opportunity to experience them. The educational world is only hurting itself by setting limits to these program offerings and benefits to students.

Much of the best work in digital and media literacy occurs as a result of productive collaboration between classroom teachers, media specialists, and library media professionals.

In my personal experience I can agree with this statement. Many of the best classroom integration's of digital media have come from collaborations, and, or, conversations with my peers. Also, many of times our school system schedules meetings with media specialist to come in and train the staff on new media technology and resources that teachers can use in the classroom. I for one try to take advantage of these meetings. As the text states, most  of the best work comes from collaboration. 

Aspects of Life

Describe a positive scene from your childhood.

Sundays- Every Sunday without fail I would attend church with my grandparents. My grandma was very involved with the church and therefore had to be there very early. She taught Sunday school, was the choir director, and also was a trustee and founder of the church we attended. I never was a fan of getting up early; fortunately neither was my grandfather. Therefore, every Sunday morning consisted of a routine that I will never forget. My grandfather would wake me up, fix us breakfast, and we would watch Sunday cartoons before heading to church for the regular service.

Describe a negative scene from childhood.

My grandfather was my absolute best friend growing up. He taught me to hunt, fish, cut grass, love, and how to be a genuine all around good person. When I was six he was diagnosed with cancer…twice a week I would attend his chemotherapy treatments with him. Two years later, he passed. The cancer took his life. Not only did I lose my grandfather, but I lost my best friend.

Describe a particular event from your teenage years.

Describe a particular turning point in your life.

Making the basketball team—I had always been involved in youth sports growing up. Little did I know that after my grandfather died sports would be my saving grace.. In middle school I tried out for the basketball team and remarkably made it. With making that team, I made a family. The impact of this would turn out to be a crucial turning point and milestone in my life.

Describe an important memory from anytime during your adult years.

Landing my first teaching job-- I have never been more excited, yet nervous for absolutely anything in my life. This is and was something that I have wanted and have been striving for my whole life. I had studied for five years in college, been through student teaching, and now I was going to walk into my own classroom and actually be responsible for students... it was surreal.

Chp. 8 and Journalism Revived TED Video

Even as a Physical Education instructor, my co-teacher and I use a current event (almost) every day prior to the start of class. The drug problem in our area has become an epidemic. Therefore, every day we read the drug arrests and court cases from the local newspaper to our students and have a brief discussion about decision making.

As our book says “news makes the unknown known”.  Many students today are unaware of what is going on or happening around them. For example, many of my students were unaware that drugs existed in their area; let alone did they know that they were being sold in their neighborhoods, playgrounds, and even within their schools. Therefore, simply reading one article of the newspaper each day has opened student’s eyes to a WHOLE new world and world outlook.

Students how now become motivated with the news and the drug arrests/drug problem. At the beginning of the school year students were waiting for us to read them the articles or tell them what the latest news was on that particular day. Now, students are coming to us. Students are now taking time and reading the newspaper for themselves. We have students that watch the news and follow the local newsfeeds on social media to keep up. They are taking pride in being aware and informed about what is happening around them.

Students are also now reading newspaper articles and following feeds from other counties within our state to track their drug issues, as well as, what they are doing to help stop the problem. Students are coming to class and sharing the news and issue thoughts on a daily basis. We started the year off allotting five minutes for our teacher led current event and we have now progressed to a fifteen-minute student lead current event discussion.

Place-based education, authentic learning, newsworthy, and most definitely student motivation can all be seen and have taken place numerous times in this evolved start to Physical Education class.

7 Elements of Digital Storytelling

•  What is the point of view in each?

The point of view is told in first person and at times near the end, 3^rd person.

•  Whose voice do you hear?

            The actual voice of the author. The author of this story is also the narrator.

       

· Dramatic Question

“I am a footballer, which attracts the ladies.”

· Emotional paradigms

Personally, the emotional content which kept me intrigued is related to my background in Health education. As a health educator I know how important this subject is and yet, how difficult it can be and often is for educators and parents to provide the youth with sexual education/awareness.

· What impact did the voice of this story hold?

The voice in this story played a crucial role in the emotional appeal as well as, the “realness” of this story. By including the authors actual voice (speaking in his native language) in the narration it made the story extremely personable and that much more realistic; leaving a huge and somewhat shockingly scary impact on the viewer. 

· Soundtrack

The background music in this story is soft and faint. I feel that it adds to the personality of the video by allowing it to flow nicely through each image.

· Pacing

The narrator keeps you hanging on to each sentence by pausing briefly, but also just long enough to give you time to think about what he is going to say next. 

For example, when explaining his encounter with an older woman, the narrator says:

“"She prepared food and then asked for me to join her.” In between this sentence and the following sentence there is a distinct 7 second pause... the narrator then goes on to say “Then she started romancing me, touching me..”

Chp. 6: Reflection and Empowerment

Three things I learned about story telling are:

1. 1.     Tell exactly how/what happened.
2. 2.     Be your own critic, at times.
3. 3.     Do not have a single story.

“Media superpeers shape young teens perception of what’s normal and appropriate when it come to the growing up process.”

I strongly agree with this quote from the text; especially when referring the subjects of self-esteem, self-concept, and self-image. As a health educator, I know all too well about the superpeer powers that can “tranqualize” young adolescent girls. Therefore, every semester in middle school health we take three weeks and cover these topics. Teens, more often than not, teen girls to be exact struggle with an eating disorder during their adolescent years; many of these disorders being triggered by a magazine picture or celebrity photo that they have seen. This is a perfect example of one of the many negative effects media has on today’s society.

“They’re at an age where they’re dealing with these issues in their everyday lives..”

Referring to celebrity culture and the topic of decision making and risk taking.. I couldn’t agree more with this quote. Students are living in an age where the same decisions that they see in the tabloids could be effecting or making an appearance in their lives soon. By bringing these messages into the classroom for students to analyze and discuss as teachers we can have a huge impact. For example, if you bring in Taylor Swift’s risky decision for students to analyze and draw conclusions from it will for one, increase class participation, two, give students something to recall and pair with the subject, and three, they will be more apt to discuss and point out flaws in another’s life/decisions rather than their own.

“I know that I have been influenced by the TV shows, films, books, and films that I have experienced in both positive and negative ways.”

As I read this I found myself pondering over it a bit. Interested as to how true this actually is. If you think about it long enough, I’m sure that we all have been influenced by these things in life; some of which, have made and shaped us into who we are. My thoughts then lead to, if I was influenced by one of these things, such as a film, did that influence lead me to another influence of that kind? For example, if I watched a Disney movie and liked it, did that lead me into watching another Disney movie; or multiple Disney movies? How did they influence my life? Well, almost every Disney movie has a moral to the story. Beauty and the Beast, don’t judge based on appearance. When you start to think back and analyze there are numerous influences that make us who we are, even something as small as a movie you watched when you were eight.

The Power of Story Telling

The caption of this video captured my attention "takes us into a dream", as well as the surreal opening image of the piece.  

http://reelworks.org/videos/a-film-by-jasmin-ortiz/

This choice was definitely based on the caption.. i love poetry!! The emotional appeal of the title drew me in as well.

http://reelworks.org/videos/dancing-alone/

Once again, the caption drew me in. With all that is happening in the world today, I was intrigued to watch this video and experience another's viewpoint. 

http://reelworks.org/videos/double-standard/

This caption interested me due to the "realness" of the situation. Becoming an adult kind of hits you quickly.. I'm sure many can relate to this. 

http://reelworks.org/videos/forever-young/

This was obviously a "no brainer" for me, as it involved sports!

• I like this digital story because it involved sports, but also because it involved an athlete. A regular student athlete. Not a professional or college superstar, but your every day ordinary high school baseball player.

• This digital story taught me to not be restricted by constrictions. If you want something, go get it.

• It surprised me that after watching, this story was not intended or made just strictly for athletes. This story is for anyone who is wanting to chase a dream that seems out of reach.

• The social problem addressed in this story is a crucial one. In society today people try to put “restrictions on dreams”.  They try to form categories for what people can and cannot or should and should not try or strive to do and achieve. Forget that! If you want something in life, go after it!

• This story is an excellent example of how digital story telling can play a huge influence in lives and social problems. Seeing that it is not just “me” and that other people are experiencing the same problems can be a huge relief and motivator.

• The story provides evidence that the creator is involved involved in the analysis of his own culture because he points out and “calls out” society on its restrictions. On it’s stereotypes and labeling.

• These stories provide respect and healthy respect for healthy multiculturalism because they are not “targeting” anyone or anything, but they are expressing their own experiences and feelings in an appropriate manner. I myself think that these pieces are excellent and can be beneficial to many adolescents living and experiencing today’s society and culture.