Media Ecology and Learning Case Final

Media Ecology and Learning Case Final

Media Ecology and Learning Case Rough Draft

Media Ecology and Learning Case

Changing Literacie; Changing Pedagogies

Chapter 7:

From this perspective, it may be that the new generation of teachers is well placed to develop innovative uses of new technology in the classroom.-Cathy Burnett (Carrington & Robinson, 2009, p. 115)

This is talking about how immersion in digital environments may lead to new ways of thinking and using texts in the new generation of teachers. I definitely agree with this idea that someone who has grown up with digital technology is more apt to bring it to their classroom. (On the other hand, however, I do believe that an older teacher can also bring new technologies into their classroom. They may have to work a bit hard or spend a little more time learning the new ways, though.)


Chapter 8:

Literacy teachers and teacher-educators must develop their own flexible and expanding digital literacies to support classroom integration of such literacies.- Rosie Kerin (Carrington & Robinson, 2009, p. 145)

I could not agree more with this! I believe that teachers and teacher-educators must absolutely have their own skills that change, adapt, and evolve over time. Having a solid set of fluid skills are necessary in this rapidly changing world of technology. If a teacher is 'old-school' and refuses to learn new technologies to present in their classroom, they are doing the student a mighty injustice.


Chapter 9:

Are such practices a distraction to literacy education, or are they a part of literacy itself? - Kevin Leander (Carrington & Robinson, 2009, p. 147)

This line is referring to popular visual texts, including video gaming, web surfing, and uploading short films, among young people. This is the million dollar question. This is what we are trying to decide and trying to learn new ways to teach these new practices. There are situations in which these  visual texts can be a distraction to education. Looking at the bigger picture, however, I think that they are part of literacy, but to what extent, appears to remain unknown.




How can I use digital technologies that reflect digital practices used in the world outside of school? That is a good question! I'm not 100% sure. With teaching college Math, there isn't a lot of wiggle room when it actually comes to trying new things during class. I would have to incorporate a new technology into the lesson so that the students work on it out of class. Realistically, a blog or a wiki sounds doable and I would love to try to make one, or both of these, a part of my fall semester. (if anyone reading this has ANY suggestions, please feel free to share!!) I don't feel prepared at all to do this yet; however, if I could come up with a plan soon, I would give myself several weeks to familiarize myself with either a blog or wiki and feel confident that when the fall semester started, I would be ready to go!






References:

Carrington, V., & Robinson, M. (Eds.). (2009). Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practices. London, United Kingom: SAGE Publications.



Changing Literacies

Chapter 4:

The skills and attitudes that provide young people with opportunities to participate effectively in this world are often not the skills and attitudes rewarded in our school system - Victoria Carrington (Carrington & Robinson, 2009, p. 76)

I like this quote as it makes me think deeper about the skills of our younger folks. From my experience, I can say that a lot of my schooling (pre college) did not involve a lot of technology. In my non-school life, I used the internet a lot and for different things. The fact that I could navigate around the web, search for things, and  had the ability to teach myself something by watching a YouTube video or reading and article, seemed irrelevant when I walked through the school doors. I'm not saying that students should text all through class and Facebook and SnapChat their friends every five minutes, but there needs to be a way for them to show their technological skills in a school setting.


Chapter 5:

Depending on one's point of view, this can be seen as a fascinating diversity of human experience or a confusion of unfiltered information and opinion. - J. Davis & M. Merchant (Carrington & Robinson, 2009, p. 84)

(This quote is referring to blogs) I relate to this quote. When I first started this class, I had no idea what a blog really was, never mind how it worked or how to make one. I struggled through the first assignment and had a lot of trial and error as I taught myself how to make this blog. Once I got the hang of it and was satisfied with what I had done so far, it began to be fun. I like this quote because I am proof that a student can start out with no opinion of blogs and then actually learn how to make/work one and come out on the other side as having learned something.


Chapter 6:

What are the implications of working in an environment in which some pupils are more experienced or confident than the teacher? As in many other applications of new technology, children tend to be more experienced and more adaptable. Although this is not always the case, teachers do need to be prepared to learn from pupils and to value their experimentation.- Guy Merchant (Carrington & Robinson, 2009, p. 108)

This bulleted point out of chapter 6 makes an excellent point. The lack of technologies used in the classroom might catch up to our teachers, especially our veteran teachers. I have had classes in the past that the  teachers literally only taught out of a book. There needs to be balance so that the students don't surpass the teacher in the knowledge that is used in a certain class.




Making Connections to the Text:
The reading is continuing to open my eyes to new thoughts and new possibilities of using technology in my classroom. Even though I teach math, there are still some ways that I can incorporate these ideas in way class. For example, I could have a blog where I post the daily assignments and homework and require students to comment their ideas or questions. Or, as a class, we could have a create and update regularly a wiki based  on the topics that we are studying. With lower level math, there is a lot of wiggle room for fun projects and activities and it would be great to incorporate more technology as I go!

 

For my illuminated text, I chose this quote from chapter 4:

The skills and attitudes that provide young people with opportunities to participate effectively in this world are often not the skills and attitudes rewarded in our school system 

References:

Carrington, V., & Robinson, M. (Eds.). (2009). Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practices. London, United Kingom: SAGE Publications.

Analyzing The Interview

Analyzing the Interview


Hanging Out:

John doesn’t use the computer to “hang out” with his friends. He does use social media, such as Facebook, but he does that on his iPhone. He says that his friends and some family also use the types of technologies that he uses.

Messing Around:

John uses the computer to “mess around” on YouTube. He watches music videos and videos of ATV racing. He learned about YouTube in school, even though the site is blocked from students. He observed his teacher showing a video in class, and from that little bit of exposure, he taught himself have to navigate it effectively.

Geeking Out:

John participates in GNCC ATV racing and uses technology to “Geek Out” by making videos, on an app on his iPhone, of himself and his friends from pictures of their race. He uses still photos and adds music and effects to them to produce these videos, which he uploads to Facebook. He found and taught himself how to use this app.

Schooling:

John uses the computer in a school setting to mostly practice typing and take standardized tests. All social media sites are blocked in the Marion County School system, as well as YouTube (available to teachers only), Pinterest, and some online game sites. When he is allowed to use the computer for leisure activities, John likes to go to www.mostfungames.com and play racing games.

 

Connections to the Text

Some quotes from the text that I liked and may consider using in my case study final are as follows: (all as cited in Carrington & Robinson, 2009)

The skills and attitudes that provide young people with opportunities to participate effectively in this world are often not the skills and attitudes rewarded in our school system. p.76

They will need to understand and work with information in ways that are appropriate to the time in which they live. p 77

Digital texts are frequent multimodal and thus readers need to be. p 80

References:

 Carrington, V., & Robinson, M. (Eds.). (2009). Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practices. London, United Kingom: SAGE Publications.

Interview with a Young Person

For this case study, I interviewed "John", an 11 year old boy from my town of Mannington, WV . He is about to enter 6th grade in the fall. His use of technology is heavy in the form of entertainment, and he seems to really only use an actual computer at school for practice/tests. He stated before the interview that he felt nervous to do it. I believe that his short answers show that.

 

 

For this interview, you get to choose a fake name. What would you like it to be? Anything that you want.
*thinking*….. John.

John…are you sure?
Yes.

Ok, John…Do you have a computer?
Yes. But I don't really use it a lot.

 

Will you please tell me all the different types of technologies that you have and use?
X box 360, PlayStation 4,… iPad,.. iPhone,…. Wii, TV….. and that’s it.

What kinds of things do you use the computer for?
YouTube…and games.

What is your favorite thing to do on the computer?
Probably to watch videos on YouTube.

How did you learn to do that?
School.

What are some other things that you use the computer for?(besides YouTube and games?)
Tests at school.

What is your favorite game? Why?
Basketball on the PlayStation 4. Because you get to play basketball and that’s my favorite sport. You get to be the character.

Do you know other people who do this?
my friends…my cousin

How do you use the computer at school?
tests, umm….. Appropriately. Typing game.

How would you like to use the computer at school?
uh……games.

Do you think teachers would let you use the computer to do those things? Why? Why not?
Maybe, if you get an award.

Anything else that you would like to tell me?
I’d rather come outside and play than stay inside and play video games all day.

What if you had a friend over and you had the choice to stay inside and play PlayStation together, l or anything, x-box, whatever, or go outside and swim. Which would you pick and why?
Go outside and swim. Because I like it.

*** “John” also had his iPhone in his pocket during the interview and when I asked him if there was anything else that he would like to tell me, after answering,  he got his phone out and showed me an app. It is an app that allows the user to use their pictures to create videos. “John” chooses the pictures he wants, the music, and some effects, and the app turns it into a video. He uses this to make videos focused on his ATV racing. He did not know the name of this app.

Connections to the Text

Some quotes from the text that I liked and may consider using in my case study final are as follows: (all as cited in Carrington & Robinson, 2009)

"Online practices are often exploratory, improvised, and bound up with people's social and cultural lives, seen as some as inappropriate for the classroom setting" (Lambirth, 2005) p. 31


"Digital texts are frequently multimodal and thus readers need to be aware of how images can represent 'reality' in different ways." p. 41


"Rather, as educators, we need to see what young people are already doing, so that we can build on their existing practices and knowledge, and identify barriers and enables to new media literacies.." p. 21

"In-school and out-of-school practices are clearly not mutually exclusive..." p. 30




References:
Carrington, V., & Robinson, M. (Eds.). (2009). Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practices. London, United Kingom: SAGE Publications.
 

Digital Texts in and Out of School

Introduction:

To this day there remains a belief, entrenched in curricula and policy, that children and their learning should be quarantined from engagement with these texts and technologies, and should instead be taught and evaluated against a curriculum focused on print.(Carrington & Robinson, 2009, p. 2)

This quote definitely has truth to it, but I don't agree 100%. I do think that in a school setting, there are certain expectations that students are held accountable to (example- no cell phones in class, no Facebook/twitter/social media while in a computer lab). However, I do feel that teachers are growing, along with technology, and integrating more and more (as much as their school limitations allow them) technology into their classroom. I is happening with me in my own classes, as well.


Chapter 1:

For educators, an example of learning such as this can be intriguing, and we might ask ourselves how the kinds of learning Jacob is doing in his home environment complement or connect with the kinds of learning he is doing inside schools.- R. Willett (Carrington & Robinson, 2009, p. 14)

I like this quote and it definitely made me think. The boys in this chapter didn't have any formal schooling on the topics that they were creating. Some of their fathers helped them and passed along their knowledge. I find it fascinating that kids, as well as adults, are able to pick up a new technology and just run with it. Are the things they are learning at school enabling them to be more critical thinkers and to be able to learn on their own and figure new technology out? Or, are they ways they are learning on their own, trial and error and intuition, helping them do better in a school setting? It's hard to say for certain one way or the other. I like to think there is nice balance and that it is all tied together in their learning.


Chapter 2:

Indeed, if we can talk about a 'digital divide', it resides within, as well as across, generations - a fact that those in education need to be wary of. - Julia Davies (Carrington & Robinson, 2009, p. 32)

I love this quote! I could not agree more. I've talked previously about the digital divide and I think that this quote is correct. Just because someone is a 'digital native', does not mean that they know or even want to know all about technology. As the text continues, it says there are many young people  who are uninvolved or have problems with access/usage. Educators definitely need to be aware of this and when planning activities/lessons, need to take that into consideration so that they can reach the whole class, and not just those who are up to date with the technologies being presented. The trick is finding balance and actually making sure that we (as educators) are able to help/reach all our students.


Chapter 3:

Equally, therefore, Clare and Tom can be described as children of the new digital age (Marsh, 2005); children who, as long as they can remember, have been surrounded by ever-evolving digital technologies and practices that impact on their daily existence, and the textual landscapes that they occupy (Carrington, 2005). As sited in (Carrington & Robinson, 2009, p. 50)

 

I really like the phrase 'children of the new digital age' and I think that it is a nice replacement for 'digital native'. This phrase brings new meaning to someone born after 1980. It recognizes that not everyone that age can or wants to navigate through all the new technologies. It simply states that some people were born into such an age that the want/ability to know all this information is a possibility. Each person has the choice to participate or not.

     _________________________________________________________________________________________


The reading definitely made me think of the technologies that I use in my classroom. When I was in college, none of the math classes that I took had anything to do with anything online. Now, just 6 years later, the college algebra course that I am teaching is built around and integrated into an online program in which students can do homework, tests, quizzes, and practice problems. It is an important part of their learning process for the class, and the work they do in that program is a part of their final grade.

A major barrier that exist limitations. When I subbed in the Marion Co school system, some classes of kids only had the chance to use the school computer lab for 40 minutes a week, and that was in a good week. Not all schools are equipped with enough technology for all students to have adequate time to practice on and learn these new ideas. And it's not fair for teacher to assign all of this learning as homework because not all kids have high speed internet and computers at home. Even here at FSU, I only have available to me 15 iPads at a time. I have sometimes more than 25 students in a class. So, that makes it difficult for us to do a lesson using the iPads in class.

 



For my illuminated text, I chose the quote from chapter 2

Indeed, if we can talk about a 'digital divide', it resides within, as well as across, generations - a fact that those in education need to be wary of.

 

 

References:

Carrington, V., & Robinson, M. (Eds.). (2009). Digital Literacies: Social Learning and Classroom Practices. London, United Kingom: SAGE Publications.

Beyond Digital Natives

Chapter 10:

"There is no doubt that ICT and digital media have had a major impact on the ways in which young children today learn, play, work, and socialize."- Rachel Levy (Thomas, 2011, p.151)

This quote could be the summation of the whole book in a single line. I like this and with out a doubt I agree with it to the nth degree. I also feel this applies to young adults, as well as older generations. Technology has proved it is here to stay and if a person doesn't want to get left behind, they better just accept it and learn to love it.


Chapter 11:

"These results support the notion that technology is highly assessable and therefore potentially well-integrated into young people's lives."-S. Bennett & K. Maton (Thomas, 2011, p.171)

This line is talking about research that was done on digital natives previously mentioned in chapter 11. It is very easy to just look at a young person and think "yep, a digital native who knows all about this new form of technology" simply because they are young and because that seems to be the norm. There are many more factors that contribute to the digital native argument, including an individuals ease of access to and their want to use technology. I agree that there is the potential of technology being well integrated, but that is not always the case.


Chapter 12:

"Among other things, it is not enough to be born on a certain date in history and merely to have access to technology"- J. Palfrey & U. Gasser (Thomas, 2011, p. 189)

Again, I think this hits the nail on the head with how people make the assumption a person is a digital native based solely on their year of birth. Just because someone is born after a certain date and has access to what seems like endless information at their fingertips, that does not mean that they know all about it and utilize it to it's maximum potential. It's not true nor fair to just put that label on all young people.




In the reading, it mentions that 'digital natives' is a subgroup of the population, not an entire generation. I  agree with that statement. All people are different, all people learn differently, all people have different likes, and all people utilize the tools that they have in different ways. It wouldn't be fair to an entire generation to lump them together and call them one thing, and it wouldn't be wise for someone to assume it's ok to do so. 

The True Meaning

 

I choose to make this meme because after reading the text in it's entirety, I believe that you can't just simply label someone a digital native because of their age. It is easy for all of us to just make assumptions here and there based loosely on half facts. We just need to remember that we need to know the whole story. And with the term 'digital natives', there is more than what meets the eye.



Resources:
Thomas, M. (Ed.). (2011). Deconstruction Digital Natives: Young People, Technology and the New Literacies. New York, NY: Routledge.

Deconstructing Digital Natives Presentation

 

 

In my presentation, I take a closer look at the term 'digital native' and try to gain a better understanding of exactly what it means and who it is. Throughout the text, there are a few definitions and interpretations given of what 'digital native' means. The main thing that I took from this book, and that I hope to show through my presentation, is that there is no one exact definition that spans the entire population and fits every person who could be considered a digital native.

In the first few slides, I want to portray how technology is changing rapidly. Children are on the cutting edge of all these new technologies that didn't exist as little as five years ago. They don't even realize it, either. It's such a normal part of their lives now days, some children can't even remember a time before they know how to use the internet or mom/dad's iPhone.

Several studies that the book shows us brings to my attention that all over the world, people use technology for different things and in different ways. However, in the bigger picture, we are all humans, and I feel confident in saying that we all have similar uses for technology. Teenagers and young adults seems to use the internet more for communication and entertainment. This particular fact was true for the USA as well as the folks in Japan and the Nordic countries.

Another major point I discuss is learning. Everyone does it differently. There is no template that fits each and every one of us when it comes to learning. Factors in our lives also play a part in the way we learn, especially the way we learn and interact with technology. If a child is introduced at an earlier age, I do believe that they have a little leg up when it comes to learning and accepting new technologies. I also believe that a child can come from no technology in the home and excel when introduced to it later in life.

As far as technology and education goes, I don't think that there is one right answer. I do think that teachers should teach children how to use the technologies that they are expected to use in school. I also think that some of the responsibility has to be on the student to want to learn and better themselves so that they aren't left behind in this ever-changing, rapidly growing world of technology.

I liked the idea behind "moral panic"; but I truly believe that what you see is not always what you get. Just because a person fits the stereotype or the profile of a digital native, doesn't mean that they are a computer/ technology genius. It all has to do with what each person knows, what they want to know, and how much effort they put into knowing/learning. No one is just born knowing how to use Facebook or how to created a 20 slide PowerPoint presentation using two different programs.

To wrap it up, I do believe that you just can't that every person born after 1980 is a digital native. The text gives plenty of examples where someone born before that is just as, if not more, technologically inclined than me (by birth year alone, defined as a digital native) and plenty more of a so called digital native not living up to their name. It's unfair to everyone to label an entire generation as one thing and not take into account all our differences.

My last slide is easily my favorite. It reminds us to keep an open mind; and with that, we all can have hope and opportunities for a brighter future.

Digital Natives: Navigating Literate Worlds

Chapter 7:

"Not all young people are digitally competent, nor are they all interested in every aspect of the new media"-Ola Erstad (Livingstone, 2009 as cited in Thomas, 2011 p.99)

I agree with both parts of this line. Not all young people/students have the same opportunities so how can we expect them to all be digitally competent? Technically, I am a digital native, yet there are many apps and forms of technology and digital/social media that I know nothing about, nor do I have the desire (at least right now) to learn about them.


Chapter 8:

"It [the Internet] has fundamentally changed the ways in which activities and exchanges are carried out across sectors as divers and important as commerce and banking, entertainment, the arts, and education." -G. Kennedy and T. Judd (Thomas, 2011 p122)

This is true for my life, so I am sure that it is true for many other people as well. On-line banking has changed my life! As stated in a previous chapter, thanks to technology, we have changed the way we view television, movies, and music. In my Math class, more aspects than not are on blackboard and MyLabsPlus program, both online.


Chapter 9:

 "In Sweden more than half of five year olds are using the Internet and there are almost no non-users among teenagers and young adults." (Findahl & Zimic, 2008 as cited in Thomas, 2011 p.137)

This quote really surprised me. I have no knowledge of people in other countries use of technology, so to think that almost everyone (teens and young adults) in the entire country uses the internet was shocking. I think of people in America, and even just the people that I know... Not even close to all of us have or even use the internet.



Teachers & Digital Literacies:
The text mentions that "it is important to stress that digital literacy is related to situational embedding, that is, that use of technology with life situations" (Thomas, 2011, p.106). This seems to be especially true in my opinion. If a student's parents are able to provide them with technology at home at a younger age, then their life situation allows for them to be more acclimated to learning new things. If a student doesn't have this particular life situation, then perhaps they aren't introduced to any new technology until they make it to elementary school.

So to answer the question should teachers be responsible for developing digital literacies, I think both yes and no. Yes, because for some students, a teacher is the first person to introduce technology to them. So I do feel it is the teachers' responsibility to make sure that the students have the opportunity and the knowledge they need to be up to par with the technology used in their classroom for their grade level. I don't, however, think that it is up to teachers to teach students how to use Facebook, or Snap chat, or whatever the latest app happens to be.

I do think that developments in digital literacies can support the development of reading practices. Since not all reading is done via a text book, students can pick what they read based on their interests. This has the possibility to make students want to be a better reader because they are interesting in what they are reading. When it comes to writing, I feel that nothing is really going to beat the  practice of actually writing to improve. Practice makes perfect, and this especially holds true when it comes to writing.

 

I chose to make this meme because this recently happened for me. I had never heard of, let alone used, Google Docs or Google Slides. I think that this represents how the role of formal schooling plays in the development in digital literacies. Up until right now in my schooling, I did not need either of these applications of Google, but when I did, it was through Taskstream and YouTube that I learned how to use them.




 Resources:
Thomas, M. (Ed.). (2011). Deconstruction Digital Natives: Young People, Technology and the New Literacies. New York, NY: Routledge.

The Civic, Social and Multi Modal Lives of Digital Natives

Chapter 4:

"Digital Natives are used to receiving information really fast. They like to parallel process and multi-task. They prefer their graphics before their text rather than the opposite. They prefer random access (like hypertext). They function best when networked. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to 'serious' work." (Prensky, 2001a, p.2 as sited in Thomas, 2011, p.50)

I don't necessarily completely agree with this. There are several assumptions being made about digital natives in this quote. I think of myself and my friends my age, and I can't be think that some of these assumption just don't apply. There are issues when slapping all of these assumptions on to a group of people just because they have a particular thing (birth year) in common. Yes, I am used to and like receiving my information quickly. And, yes, I like to multi-task. But neither of these two likes means that I 'thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards' nor that I 'prefer games to "serious" work'. I don't really like how digital natives are thought of in this manner.


Chapter 5:

"They shift time and space from the hitherto domesticized viewing context into their everyday context while also selecting people for co-viewing."- Toshie Takahashi(Thomas, 2011, p.75)

Out of this chapter, there were a few things that I found interesting and considered elaborating on. This line, however, caught my attention and I agreed with it immediately after reading it. I can related to it on SO many levels. On my TV, I have On-Demand. I have an app on my kindle that allows me to watch any TV program any time I want. I no longer have to be home and sitting in from of my TV Thursday night from 8-9 to watch Grey's Anatomy! Like the author says, I have the freedom to decide what to watch, when to watch it, where to watch it, and whom I watch it with.


Chapter 6:

"Characterizing young learners as a homogeneous group through the use of terms such as "Digital Natives" is problematic for a number of reasons, but the main one is that through a broad generalization such terms gloss over the need to identify and recognize difference." - Levy & Michael (Thomas, 2011, p. 94)

I chose this quote because I think that it is absolutely true. To label an entire generation, and all that come after it, as one group and assume that they all have the same characteristics just seems unreasonable. Obviously, when dealing with such a large group of people, there are bound to be differences. Someone just making the assumption that, because I was born after 1980 and am considered a digital native, I know everything there is to know about all the different types of technology that are available is simply incorrect. There is plenty that I don't know and that I probably will never know.

HATE TO WAIT

I chose to make this meme because I believe that it accurately reflects on digital natives. We live in a time now where all this information is at our fingertips WHENEVER we want it. Because of that, digital natives, myself included, have developed a sense of urgency when it comes to texting people and receiving a reply. It seems that people always have their cell phone and are almost always available to reach by text; so when it takes more than five minutes for a reply, different scenarios play out in our head about why this particular person hasn't responded. Digital immigrants (my parents) automatically assume I am, and I quote, 'dead in a ditch'.




Resources; Thomas, M. (Ed.). (2011). Deconstruction Digital Natives: Young People, Technology and the New Literacies. New York, NY: Routledge.

Digital Natives: Reflecting on the Myth

Forward:

"The idea of a technological or media-related generation gap is by no means new."-Professor David Buckingham (Thomas, 2011, p. ix)

This particular line stuck out to me because, honestly, it is something that I have never given any thought. With all this 'new' digital media out now, it is easy to forget that there has always been 'the next big thing' that the younger generation embraced while the older generation didn't necessarily. This progression can be traced back (even further) than to the invention of the television. There is constantly some type of new media that is evolving and a generation that is accepting it with open arms and a generation that is clinging to the past.

 

 

Chapter 1:

"The current generation of young people will reinvent the work place, and the society they live in. We have to get used to it, accept that the flow of knowledge moves both ways and do our best to make sure that no on is left behind."(Green & Hannon, 2007 n.p. as cited in Thomas, 2011, p.3)

This quote is particularly interesting to me because it nicely sums up exactly what is happening in our society today. My generation has changed so much from the one before it, and not just in the use of digital media, but in beliefs, in work ethic, and much more. The change that we see in the generation that comes after mine will be even greater I believe. I am interested to see how (if that is even possible) we, as a society, can work to make sure that no one is left behind in this whirlwind of change.


Chapter 2:

"Technology alone will not replace intuition, good judgment, problem-solving abilities, and a clear moral compass."-Marc Prensky (Thomas, 2011, p.18)

This quote grabbed my attention instantly because it is something that I preach from the front of the classroom, it seems, almost weekly! I continue to stress to my students the importance of having your own problem-solving skills, as well as the intuition and judgment on when/how to make your own decisions. I tell them a calculator, their cell phone, or even the Internet will not be responsible for them learning the material. Technology needs to be an aid in their learning, not the main essence of their education.



Chapter 3:

"A really big discontinuity has taken place. One might even call it a "singularity"- an event which change things so fundamentally that there is absolutely no going back" (Prensky, 2001a, p.1 as cited in Thomas, 2011, p 32)

I agree with this quote, a thousand times over. I truly believe that we have reached a 'point of no return' with our technology. We have made such great advances and expect it to be there and waiting for us at any given moment, that if we were forced to take one step back, most people would be lost. The internet connection goes out momentarily and some of us lose our minds! If a teenager is being disciplined, they aren't grounded anymore; they get their cell phone taken away. If you look on popular social media sites, it is common to see picture mocking what we do when the Internet is taken away from us. In our society today, I believe, that we couldn't function without it.



Has my thinking changed:

Has my thinking about the effects of technology on young peoples' abilities to think, learn, and socialize changed? Not necessarily. My thoughts have not so much changed as just built on the foundation that I already had. I thought from day one that technology is 'taking over and there is no turning back', so especially after reading the text, there is no way that I can say I have changed my stance. I don't think that technology is changing our ability to think, learn, and socialize; I think that it is changing our expectations of how we think, learn, and socialize. I can also say that I have increased my depth of knowledge in the realm of technology. For example, Digital Natives. I have learned this new term and have now given thought to a concept that I didn't even know existed.

    Digital Generation Gap

My visual metaphor represents what it means to be a digital native by illustrating the digital generation gap. A young couple (digital natives) with cell phones in hand, and an older gentleman (a digital immigrant) with a hard copy of a newspaper. The difference of this gap is evident in almost every public setting. If you see an older couple out to dinner, they are most likely just eating and talking. But, if you see a younger couple, or a group of teenagers out, it is almost a given that at least one of them will be on some type of digital device.




Resources:
Thomas, M. (Ed.). (2011). Deconstruction Digital Natives: Young People, Technology and the New Literacies. New York, NY: Routledge.

Digital Media Effects on Conventional Reading and Writing Practices

From Does Digital Media Make Us Bad Writers?

Writing, she says, is “a plastic art.  Writing always changes given the context. It molds itself to the changes.”-Andrea Abernethy Lunsford (Karp)

I could not agree more with this quote. I feel like it really applies to me. In my life time, I have seen the changes in writing firsthand. I wrote before there were text messages, then I adjusted and learned how to text (something I fought at first), and now I am picking up on and using the new ways of writing and communication via texting. As our society has changed over the years, so has writing. And just like the quote says, it has kept up with our progression and molded itself to fit our needs.



From Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?

“It’s not on call at the touch of the finger. Learning is acquired mainly from books, and most readily from great books.”-David McCullough (Rich)

I disagree with this particular view on learning. I believe that it is possible to learn from other sources, digital sources including, instead of just a text book. I know that I've looked up a lot of stuff on line that I wanted to know, and now I know it. I taught myself how to change the oil in my vehicle and play harmonica by researching it online. I didn't have a book. And now those skills will be with me forever. Another example is this  Master's Degree we are all seeking. Yes, we have books to read from, but a lot of the information seems to be (so far) online articles, videos, and interacting with our colleagues via discussion board.



I see points and ideas that I agree and disagree with from both sides of the digital medial continuum. But, if I absolutely had to choose, I would say that I relate more closely to the Web Evangelist in the ways that I view digital media. I really do believe that our society is heading in the direction of being more and more technologically driven and it’s important that our students are able to keep up.

“There never was a golden age where everybody could write well,” says Lunsford. “Writing is hard.” (Karp) 

This quote helps my stance in showing that this new age of digital media isn't destroying our ability to read and write. The writing problem isn't something that just happened recently in the wake of all this new digital media; that problem has been around a long time.

From the second article, I pull this statistic and quote to back up my stance.

The simplest argument for why children should read in their leisure time is that it makes them better readers. According to federal statistics, students who say they read for fun once a day score significantly higher on reading tests than those who say they never do.

“Reading opens up doors to places that you probably will never get to visit in your lifetime, to cultures, to worlds, to people,”-Debroah Konyk    (Rich)

Both of these sayings are about reading. Neither of them refer strictly to a book in hand. Reading certainty does open doors to people, places, and things that a student might never actually see, so why limit that learning to just what is contained in one book at a time? Why not give them almost endless information about anything they could possible want to know? Digital media can take them to more places and they can see more people/things in a shorter amount of time.

I think that a nice balance between digital media and traditional books in education is a good thing for our students today.

                                                                                                               
The Continuous Progression of Writing


This picture represents where I think that writing and reading are headed. This is a picture of an ipad screen where Handwriting is an app. I think that we will continue to shy away from the traditional paper/pencil/paper book for 100% of learning.

I don't think that digital media will negativity effect young people's abilities to read and write. I think that young people will change the way that we read and write by their use digital media.













Resources:

Karp, J. (2010, January 26). Does Digital Media Make Us Bad Writers? | Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning. Retrieved June 6, 2015, from http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/does-digital-media-make-us-bad-writers


Rich, M. (2008, July 26). Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading? Retrieved June 6, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/27/books/27reading.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Texting and Multi-modal Texts

After watch the TED talk above about the relationship between texting and language, I have a better understanding of both sides of the argument "is texting killing language?" I tend to lean more on the side of texting is taking away from communication, not necessarily language. I enjoyed the talk and I think that the video makes some excellent points that I have definitely not given any thought to.

The important things I learned from the video are

• the idea that texting is the decline of the writing ability  of young people is not true,
• that texting, called finger speech, allows us to write like we speak
• and that a new structure of language is coming out of our texting habits

But the most important thing that I learned is that texting is actually allowing an expansion of our linguistic repertoire.

 

I teach college math, so a way that I might use Blabberize to support learning in my classroom would be to use it for a topic that many students don't like. For example, logarithms. It would be entertaining to use a Blabbeize to show the steps used when solving log problems. With the less serious presentation of the log information, perhaps it would stick in the students head better. Hopefully they won't think of logs and cringe.

Disruption: The role of image in communication

From Disruptions: Social Media Images Form a New Language Online

“This is a watershed time where we are moving away from photography as a way of recording and storing a past moment,” said Robin Kelsey, a professor of photography at Harvard, and we are “turning photography into a communication medium.” (Bliton)

I think that this is absolutely correct. We live in a society today where so much emphasis is put on social media. Facebook, for example, holds all of my photos from the last decade. Social networking companies are spending all this money to gain members and are making it easier and more convenient for us users to share our entire life in pictures and 140 characters or less.

I can remember as a child, taking photos with friends and family, mailing them out, waiting a week to get them back to see how they turned out and enjoy them. They were put in frames and scattered about the house or walls and tables. Now, we take 100 pictures with 100 different poses just to get THE PERFECT ONE (deleting the unflattering ones, of course) to post on Facebook in hopes of likes and comments.

I recently upgraded phones. Now I can upload pictures directly from my phone to Facebook. Someone said to me "welcome to the 21st century". I laughed, but it's true! In the blog post, it mentions simply sending a photo, completely omitting words, to tell someone where you are or what you're doing. This is common in my own life among my friends and family. It is easier to send one photo rather than type out exactly where you are and what you're doing.

Just in my lifetime I have seen an enormous swing in the way we communicate with one another regarding texting, pictures, and social media. And while sometimes I miss a good phone conversation or picture in a frame hanging on my wall, I keep up with the current technologies.

Is it fair to say that this new trend is making us lazy? Insulting our intelligence? Mocking the English language?... I don't know. But I do know that each time I discover something new, I can't understand how I did without for so long!

    Talking Without Saying a Word

In this visual metaphor, I am comparing this common child's tin can phone to the way in which we communicate today. Supposedly, this 'phone' will allow you to communicate with someone whom you can't see. I personally was never successful at this. I never heard the voice on the other end of the line. I believe that this represents communication today; we have the all the necessary devices, but it's frustrating and it's lengthy and it doesn't always work the way it's supposed to. Let's skip all that hassle and send a picture. Besides, isn't  a picture is worth a thousands words?

Resources:

Bilton, N. (2013, June 30). Disruptions: Social Media Images Form a New Language Online. Retrieved May 29, 2015, from http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/disruptions-social-media-images-form-a-new-language-online/?_r=1 





Introductory Post

Hello all! My name is Amanda Smith and I live in Mannington, WV. I am currently an adjunct in the Math department here at Fairmont State. This is my third semester teaching, and to date, I’ve taught College Algebra, College Algebra Support, Tech Math Lab, and Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics. In the fall, I plan to add pre-College Algebra to my repertoire.

I graduated from FSU in May 2009 with a BS in Mathematics/minor in Office Administration. Since then, my career path has been all over the place! I worked at a car auction, I was the transfer specialist in Enrollment Services here at FSU, I was a substitute teacher in Marion County for a year, and had a very brief stint at a bank. In July of 2014 I was asked to become an adjunct for FSU and I have finally found my calling! I enjoy teaching math, working with adults, the environment of higher education, and the freedom and ability to make each class my own.

I’m pursing a Master’s in Education with a concentration in Digital Media, New Literacies and Learning. This is my first semester in the grad program, so I expect to finish my degree in the spring of 2017. With my degree, I plan to become a full-time Mathematics professor (perhaps at FSU).

I would like to walk away from this class with the ability to bring new ideas and methods involving technology into my classroom. Teaching Math is sometimes very black and white on a chalk board, so I would like to discover new and exciting way to present the material that makes learning fun and efficient!

YouTube Video-- Literacy is Like Velcro