Brainstorming my Media Literacy Autobiography

BRAINSTORMING!

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My relationship with media has pretty much been the same throughout my life. As a kid, I didn't spend a lot of time emerged in different types of media. I didn't get sucked into advertisements and want things because I saw them on TV. As a teen, much the same can be said. As an adult, I'm even more disconnected from certain media like television and radio. I do watch TV shows and a lot of football. None of the shows that I watch have an effect on my real life. I watch them then I go on about my business. I mean, it’s fake. There is no room in my life to be worrying about fictional characters/plots. I mute commercials during TV programs and I listen to Sirius radio to avoid adds and commercials. I am much, much more involved in using social media as an adult, mainly Facebook, but it doesn't sway me one way or the other. I don't let it have an impact on my life at all. I take it for its face value, and usually don't think any deeper than what I can see. This class, obviously, is not the case. I have had to deconstruct images, something that I found to be very tricky simply because it’s something that I have never had to do before. It has made me realize that there is a lot more meaning behind images and text than what just meets my eyes immediately. I have since tried to look at something and think of a few different points of view about it. Honestly, I still have a hard time deconstruction images and don’t really spend much time doing it. But, as far as using media in the classroom, I am completely on board! I am constantly looking for new ways for me to implement technology and media in my math classes. I think that this is something that I will always be working on as the technology use from students increases and we as educators are bringing more and more into our classrooms.

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What are your earliest recollections of watching television, going to the movies or listening to the radio? 
The earliest memory of going to the movies was in 1993 when I went to see Homeward Bound. I think that I remember that so much because I cried and hated the movie because it was too sad for my 6 year old heart to handle!

What commercials or advertisements do still remember from your childhood?
Honestly, as a kid, I just didn't watch a lot of TV. Nothing that I can think of made a lasting impression on me. I watched Nickelodeon more than anything. We lived in the middle of the woods and when the weather was nice, we were outside. I didn't have a TV in my room, so when I did watch TV, 98% of the time it was what my parents were watching.

Do you remember desperately wanting to buy something as a child based on an advertisement? What was it? Why did you want it?
The only thing that I can remember wanting solely off of advertisement was the PC game The Sims. I wanted it because I thought it looked cool and that it would be a fun game!

What are your earliest recollections of using social media?
AIM messenger all the way! I would say I was in middle school when we first got a desktop computer and it came with AOL. I had a few friends that I would regularly communicate on AIM with.

Describe a negative experience with social media?
The negative thing, for me, about social media is just the thoughtless posts that people make. I did my PSA about stopping, thinking, and then posting. I stand by this that wish that people would just THINK how their actions could hurt others.

Describe a positive experience with social media?
For me, the best thing about social media is being able to keep in touch with friends and family that I don't get to see often. Even my grandma has a facebook!

Describe your current media viewing habits (binge watching Netflix shows on iPad).
WHEN I do watch Netflix, I tend to watch 3-4 episodes at a time. I share an account with my sister (an we are cheap-o's so we opted for our account to only let one TV use it at a time) so sometimes I don't have access to it because she is using it. I have a kindle, which I use to surf the web, and rarely read a book. I also have a laptop, which I use for school and online shopping.

Do you have a favorite commercial or advertisement? 
No, I don't. I find commercials extremely annoying and almost ALWAYS just press mute until my program comes back on.

Have you bought something recently because of an advertisement? 
No. Maybe I'm crazy, but I am just not swayed by commercials. I buy something IF I want it, regardless of the advertisement I see for it.

What have you read or heard recently on the radio, TV or Internet that has caused you to have a strong reaction? Describe and explain.
Sadly, the attacks in Paris was the last thing that happened that had me glued to my TV. Obviously, it is a terrible event and I just gobbled up all the info I could from the news on it.

What role has media played in your life?
Not a large role at all. More as a child, but as a teen and adult, not significant at all. I watch TV, movies, and things like that, but I just take it for what it is. It's just a TV show, it's JUST a movie. I don't like fake things have real impacts on my life. If a major character is killed of, I just kinda think "OK, should be interesting to see how this plays out" where as some people think the show is ruined and the vow never to watch it again. Basically, I feel like this: I watch Grey's Anatomy for an hour and then it's over and I'm like "ok, watch you again in a week" then I go about my business. Media does not rule my life, I'm not glued to the TV or my phone, and when I don't have WiFi, it's most certainly NOT the end of the world!

Has your relationship with media changed over time?
As I have aged and matured, I am more removed from media. I have a Facebook, but I pay little attention to the stupid, rude, mean, ignorant posts that I see. I don't react on social media. That's not to say that I agree with or don't have an opinion about something. I just feel Facebook is no place to have an argument, or try to reason with people. I watch


Why is it important to incorporate media literacy into your current or future teaching practices?
It's important because it is the future. If we do not bring it into our classes, students will be less engaged and they will not have the chance to learn how to behave in the digital world.

How will you incorporate media literacy into your future teaching practices?
This is a tough one. Teaching math, I have struggled with this. I have incorporated some BB discussions into my class, as well as a few Ted Talks this semester. This is a good start, and I will always be looking for more ways to use media in my classes.

My Digital Story

My Digital Story (no revisions made)


I would like to thank you all for the positive remarks and the kinds words about the quality of my video. Thank you again!



Summary: 
This is a story of both the greatest thing in my life and the worst thing in my life combined. It's they story of how my family thrived and then dissipated. I know that there are a lot of people (children and adults) that go through similar experiences; all of which are different in their own way but all similar. This is mine.




Describe how your digital story might be used to do at least one of the following things:

1. Raise awareness- Divorce is all around us. People sometimes push it under the rug like its not a big deal. But it IS a big deal. Your life completely changes and sometimes it's just not an easy thing to "get over". I think that by bring this story to light I can connect people who feel the same or have had similar experiences and show them that they are not alone and that it is OK for adults to feel sad about their childhood family and home being ruined.

2. Build self-esteem- I like to think that if I can get through something like this, other people can, too. I hope that someone struggling like I did might see this as a little hope and make them feel like they will be alright in the end.

3. Create an alternative to a stereotype typically portrayed in mainstream media- I feel like in the media, divorce isn't properly shown. There is more to it than just a room at moms and a room at dads and twice as many presents! On TV divorced parents get along and sometimes both parents remarry and all the parents and the kids are just one big happy family. This is no always the case, and I'd like to see a little more true representation in the media.

4. Provide support for others- Again, I hope that anyone who sees this and is feeling alone or sad just knows that there are more people out there dealing with this than you may know.




Explain how digital storytelling can help individuals develop critical media literacy:

I think that by making our own digital stories, we have a better sense of critical media literacy. In order to make my story, I had to download and learn to navigate Windows Movie Maker, a program that I'd never heard of and definitely hadn't worked with. I gained new skills from this. I also feel that by watching other peoples videos, we are able to sharpen our viewing and responding skills. We now can watch with a purpose, and think about sights/sounds in a new way. Now I am able to take apart different types or media and think about with the images and sounds represent. I am able to provide positive reinforcement and give critiques based on a rubric. Basically, by being involved in digital storytelling, I think that people gain a deeper understanding of both what is actually being said and shown, and what is hiding between the lines.

Digital Story Rough Draft

Here is the link to my digital story on YouTube:

Digital Story

Storyboard for Digital Story

Link to my Storyboard.

Chapter 9: Infusing Digital and Media Literacy Across the Curriculum

Chapter 9: Infusing Digital and Media Literacy Across the Curriculum

Connecting to others and participating in a shared dialog helps us to continue to learn- whether that be in formal or informal  situations, in face-to-face interactions, or through email, Twitter, Facebook, or blogs. (p. 168)

I definitely agree with this line. I've not had a lot of classes where I work with others closely more often than not. In this class, even though we all don't physically SEE each other, or even know each other personally for that matter, we spend so much time reading about each other and learning from one another. We know intimate details about each other from our recent stories, and we get an idea about how each other think based on our opinions and blog comments. I wish that I could somehow get my students more involved with each other like this. People in my class don't know each other's names, even though they work together frequently.

When a topic, issue, or skill is supposed to be developed across the curriculum, it may end up invisible. (p. 172)

This line stuck out to me majorly! I'm not sure exactly what the author means here. I wish she would elaborate some. I even looked up her Seven Great Debates in the Media Literacy Movement that is mentioned the the text, and she just says the same thing. Perhaps she means that if Media Literacy is "being taught" in each subject, that maybe it's really not, and students are missing out.

Over time, the ratings system has changed as depictions of sexuality and violence have become more normative. Films that were rated R in the 1980s would be unlikely to receive that rating today. (p 181)

This line leaves me a little confused. Does this mean that now we are so used to the violence and sexuality that our films are getting lower ratings because we EXPECT to see it? and so it's not that big of a deal? I think that it is unfortunate that teachers sometimes aren't able to pick what they want to show in their classrooms. But, I do understand the reasoning behind it.






Hobbs, R. (1998). The seven great debates in the media literacy movement. Journal of Communication, 48(1):16-32


Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Chapter 8 - What in the World: Teaching With Current Events

After watching the video Journalism Revived by Sarah Stuteville and reading chapter 8 in the text book:

What is newsworthy?

News has many purposes: to inform, to persuade, to entertain. News makes the unknown known, and unfortunately, bad news is good for business. To determine what is actually newsworthy, you must consider timeliness, proximity, relevance, conflict, and human interest all while aiming for fairness, accuracy, and balance. 

Student motivation:
The text describes a class that did projects on flash mobs. They were motivated because they were interested in the topic. They worked hard and were proud of their work.  After seeing how the news crew presented their story, flaws and all, they had a much better understanding of how news works and how news can give a specific idea about a certain topic, even if that isn't what really happened.

Sarah and her two friends were motivated to change their situations based on what was happening in the world. Their chosen majors were "dead", so they motivated themselves to do what they really wanted to do. They were quite successful and definitely have an inspiring story to tell!

Authentic learning:

"refers to a wide variety of educational and instructional techniques focused on connecting what students are taught in school to real-world issues, problems, and applications"

Back to the students who studied flash mobs... This topic was very relevant to these kids. They had some knowledge but maybe didn't know all there was to know. Buy incorporating this real word issue into school, Mr. Landis made an awesome lesson, including a lot of digital tools along the way. It helped the kids become more informed in fun, hands on way, not just a lecture.

Sarah and her group were literally dropped into different parts of the world and were learning first hand how other people in other parts of the world live and the issues they are faced with and how different they are from what we deal with. They were extremely unprepared and had to just learn about and deal with these problems on the fly.



Place-based education:

"seeks to help communities through employing students and school staff in solving community problems"

According to the text, " the internet and digital technologies can turn people from passive spectators to active citizens, where people generate ideas that are relevant to their own communities." (p 154) 

It also tells us that sometimes it can be risky to develop activities that allow students to take action, and even states that most classes don't even try to offer these activities. Based on this, it could seem as though not a lot of school's are calling their students to be involved in community problems. I'm not in the public schools, so I don't know what teachers around our area are doing.

In the video, Sarah mentions The Common Language Project that she was working with. This project had people involved who WANTED to help their community. They want to write for her project, and publish information in their newspapers, and put them on the radio, and also to help them have a fundraiser. This is real community involvement and helps to get people from different walks of life involved for a common cause. 

http://edglossary.org/authentic-learning/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Place-based_education
Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.

Brainstorming my Digital Story

I actually have a REALLY good idea how my story is going to play out and I'm excited to bring it to life.

1. Describe a positive scene from childhood in detail. What led up to this event? When and where did it happen? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact did it have on you?

A positive event from my childhood was when my family built our new house. What lead up to this event was that my father got a job transfer from Northern Virginia to Fairmont, West Virginia. This happened in October 1993. I was 5 years old, and had just started 1st grade. My sister was three months shy of 2 years old. We rented a house for some time, then they decided to build their own. So in the fall of 1998, the new house was stated. I was feeling over the moon! I was so happy to "help" and watch this house be build and I couldn't wait to have my own room! and just a BRAND. NEW. HOUSE. It's an important event because it ultimately shaped who I became as I grew up.

2. Describe a negative scene from childhood in detail. What led up to this event? When and where did it happen? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact did it have on you?

A negative scene from my childhood was Christmas Eve, 1996. I was in fourth grade and my dad and I were heading to the store to get some last minute items for a Christmas party. (Before I continue, a bit of a backstory... I am my dad's oldest kid, and since he didn't have a son, we did EVERYTHING together for a long time. I was definitely daddy's little girl. We lived out in the middle of nowhere and so while it seems extreme that a 9 year old was allowed and able to drive a 4 wheeler and lawnmower, that was the case for me. Remember, it was the 90s.) Anyway, as we were heading out, he tossed me the keys and told me to start the truck, something that I had done many times before. While I was doing that, he went into the garage to get the checkbook out of the parked car inside. So I start the truck, it was a standard and unfortunately when I started it up, it lurched forward, directly into the garage door, pushing the parked car forward, trapping him between the parked car and the workbench, breaking his leg. Now, was it stupid for a grown man to give a 9 year old car keys?? YES. But it is what it is and it was a freak accident. I had to call 911. The ambulance came, and he had to be life-lighted to Ruby Memorial. This is something that I will NEVER forget. It terrified me and for a long time after, I felt incredibly guilty. 

3. Describe a particular event from your teen-aged years that stands out in your memory today. This can be positive or negative. What led up to the event? What happened? Where and when? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact did the event have on you.

Honestly, I can't think of anything that really stands out from my teenage years. The only major event that happened was that I graduated high school, and so many other things have happened to me since then, that I don't even count that as anything. I mainly just went to school and did homework as a teenager. Since I already know that my video will not pull from my teenage years, I'm just going to leave it as this.




4. Describe a vivid or important memory from any time in your adult years. Again, this can be positive or negative. It can be about anything – family, work, whatever. The scene stands out in your mind today as being especially vivid or important. Please describe what led up to the event. Then describe the scene in detail. What happened? Where and when? Who was involved? What were you thinking and feeling? Why is it an important event? What impact has the event had on you?

So far in my adult like, the event that sticks out to me most was when my parents separated in the spring of 2010. To make a very long story short, my dad has a drinking problem and was guilty of an affair; my sister and I found out in a terrible way, in the middle of the night after another fight between mom and dad. He left that night, and was MIA for a few days, then came back to get some of his stuff. I was feeling that my family  was being torn apart. I was mad at him for tearing it apart. Then I didn't know the whole story, so I just couldn't understand WHY this was happening. Yes, I was an adult, and very mature for my age. But this single event threw me for a loop. It demanded that I grow up even more even faster. I was the oldest, it was my job to hold my mother and sister together. Honestly, I can't even begin to tell you all the ways this has impacted me. My parents were married for almost 25 years, I never thought this would happen. Even today, over 5 years later, my family still struggles to deal with this, and my dad scarcely makes an appearance in mine and my sister's lives. 

5. 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. Please choose one key turning point scene and describe it in detail. If you feel your life story contains no clear turning points, then describe a particular episode in your life that comes closer than any other to qualifying for a turning point – a scene where you changed in some way. Again, please describe what led up to the event, what happened in the event, where and when it happened, who was involved, what you were thinking and feeling, and so on. Also, please tell me how you think you changed as a result of this event and why you consider this event to be an important scene in your life story today.

Graduating college was a turning point for me. But the scenario that I described above has been the biggest turning point in my entire life. It threw my entire world off kilter. It has taught me patience, understanding beyond belief, and empathy. I'm slow to anger, and I never want to make anyone feel as small and helpless as I have felt numerous times in the past 5 years. I know now that I will never be in a relationship with someone who chooses money or alcohol over their family or me. It's not worth it, and in my opinion, it just asking for heartache. I went through it and I watched my mother go through it, and I refuse to let myself do that again or to put this in a child.