Week 10 Reading and Discussion

1.  People are no longer just reading but can interact with the text. They can open pictures, related stories, click on links, read and comment on the text. With this age, anyone can access what you have written. Conversely if you are a writer you can share what you are writing with others.  You can get immediate feedback on how well you are writing and if people are enjoying the stories you are telling.

 

2. It means to have children build relationships and to learn to solve problems collaboratively taking into account cultural differences.  They would then be able to share information for not just their communities but throughout all communities to help meet the needs of those communities.  Schools can then supply kids with a different learning environment that opens them up to such a larger picture of the world.  In many cases children do not have the opportunity for multicultural learning, but with digital learning the possibilities for them to learn these things are endless.
 

3. The kids were interacting with people who were not from the same culture and environment than themselves. They came from different backgrounds, and had different values and points of view. All the children viewed the videos and were able to give feedback on the differences they could see and what kind changes they could make after hearing each others ideas.

 

 

4.  Children should now be able to use technology to create new experiences.  They should be able to use technology in ways that will enhance what they are learning from the more traditional classroom experience or ways to make the traditional classroom more integrative and hands on.   

 

5. We can connect with anyone.  It is not just the people in our small communities.  We can reach out to people all across the world.  The only people who are not able to be a part of this are those who are not apart of the digital communities.  Here in West Virginia that is still a  problem as many families either do not have internet access or do not have the financial means to purchase the technology.  But once connected they can share, respond and be a part of this global community.

 

6.  "In a sense, he authored a "serious" self--as a critical composer who can speak to a range of distant others" 

 

This means to me that as children begin to be a part of a more global community they must understand they are not just talking to themselves.  Many times when children are posting on the internet they believe they are just talking about themselves but so many others can see what they are saying.  Millions of people can see what you are writing each and every day.  In the same fashion these kids can share their talents and ideas with the world.  It is important that teachers help children understand the importance of knowing that when they hit send they are talking to millions of people not just themselves.

 

 

References:

Avila, J., & Pandya, J. (2013). Critical digital literacies as social praxis. (pp. 63-80). New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing.

Module 10 - Activity 2

The three videos that I watched were:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKuGpBaWqQk&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL47B77396AAEEF956

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CW1cPm3b7g&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL47B77396AAEEF956

The final is the one I chose: Damon - A digital Story

 

I chose the video about Damon as the video to answer the questions about.

Point of View. The point of view is in the first person as he is speaking about his experience of adopting this child from a mother who was a drub abuser.

Dramatic Question. The question is simple, " will they get to keep their son or will they have to give the child back to the mother who had to give him away due to her drug use"

Emotional Content. This about building the bonds of a parent and child, dealing with the issues children face who are born to drug addicted parents, the possible loss of the child after falling in love with him, and having to give the child back to the mother and how this father built his bonds with his son. 

Week 9 Reading and Discussion

"Of the total digital stories selected to analyze, which were representative of the body of digital storytelling work done at Las Redes, 80 percent of the girls wrote about their family and personal life aspirations, and 80 percent of the boys created fictional tales of adventure." (Avila pg 47)

I chose this quote simply because I have two small children and when I think about them and the decisions I make that will shape who they become it can be extremely stressful.  I know that as a parent I don’t want to tell my daughters they can’t do something because “only boys” can do that.  However, I am realistic and know that as girls there are some things they can’t do, and of course there are many things they can do boys can’t.  I want them to become confident, caring and intelligent adults and it starts with them knowing who they are and who they want to be early on. 

The YouTube video I found that I think kind of shows these differences

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A74IP6x319U

This simply shows how boys and girls see things differently.  I think the fact that the young man could not do the skate board challenge demonstrates my point about how I do not want my two little girls to feel like they cannot do what boys can do as she did so much better than he did with that part of the challenge. 

Avila, J. & Pandya J. Z. (2012). Critical Digital Literacies as Social Praxis: Intersections and Challenges. Peter Lang: New York.

Reel Works

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90b7pJIpnnM&feature=player_embedded

I found this video on the Reel Works page. 

1.What do you like about the digital story?

 

I enjoyed that it was about a topic I found interesting.  I have always wondered how people kept dogs in a place like New York city.  I have three dogs and live on a 25 acre farm so I know that my dogs have plenty of room to roam.  I just felt like the person did a wonderful job showing many sides of how people get dogs in the city and how important shelters are in the city.

 

2.What did you learn from the digital story?

 

I learned that there are more dog parks in the city than I originally thought.  I also learned that many people volunteer to help dogs in shelters. 

 

3.What surprised you about the digital story?

 

I didn't find anything surprising with the exception of the pet store owner having access for so many dogs to sell.   With so many puppy mills being stopped and so many peple being prosecuted for hoarding animals that he can still obtain so many animals to sell.

 

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?

 

I think this showed how many people see children getting a pet and not taking care of it.  In many cases with puppies a kid will get the dog and parents end up taking care of it or taking it to the shelter.  The young lady talks about how she was distraught that something happened to her dog and that she felt the city was not the right place to own a dog.  She was showing a different level of maturity.

Week 7 Discussion Post

Discussion #1

One of the first things I would use will be the amount of time that children have increased their time spent on daily media usage.  The text not only mentions how this amount of time has increase by nearly 3 and 1/2 hours over a 10 year time frame from 1999 to 2009 but also the decrease in the amount of written text that they see.

I would include that new teaching standards or Common Core, incorporate more information around digital literacy, particularly in using digital books and not the traditional printed books that everyone is used too.

Finally, I think everyone should know just how digital media instruction will improve literacies across the board.  When examining these media literacies it can impact numerous other areas that parents, teachers and administrators feel are important to a child's development.

Discussion #2

I utilized the article presented on our course website as I am pressed for time.  However, I found it to be very informative.  I learned mostly that there are many different ways to get children excited about math and to work on math without the old, "drill and kill" methods traditionally used.  I love math and am teaching it currently and have been attempting as many different ways possible to get children excited about math.  I was impressed to see how they incorporated information about socially relevant topics.  The example about minimum wage is excellent.  My biggest concern as was the person's who completed the project is just how much time to devote to it.  School administrators and state administrators expect that you will touch on and educate children on all common core standards and time with children is limited at best.