Week #5 Interview Highlights

I found McKenzye to be more knowledgeable about technology than I thought she would be at the ripe ol' age of 10.  Here are some of the highlights from my interview.

Me: What’s your favorite technology?

McKenzye: The IPAD

Me: Do you use your mom’s computer?

McKenzye: Yes.

Me: What kinds of things do you use the computer for?

McKenzye: Uhmm, I use it to go on websites.

Me: What websites do you like to visit?

McKenzye: My school website.

Me: Tell me about your school website.

McKenzye: We have like these things where we can go to ask our teacher questions about homework, and I have a student email.  The principal looks over the emails.  We can email friends but can’t give any personal information so that it’s appropriate.  Well, we can give our favorite color.  It’s exactly like email with a list of friends.  We can paperclip links and PowerPoints.  We can write notes and send links to friends that we think they might like.

Weekly Reading #5

I grew up in an age with few technologies and no social media that I know of (I was pretty sheltered).  As social media first came on the scene, I was constantly hearing about young people who were "tricked" into giving personal information or "hacked" to the same result and was ultimately assaulted, kidnapped, or even killed by the strangers that befriended them.  These are things that I heard from all of the adults around me.  Many adults feared the Internet and the use of social media for our youth.  I have to say that I was one of them because of all of the horror stories that I heard.  I now know that the danger of meeting strangers online is not as frequent of an occurrence than I thought (pg. 91, p2), however, I think the majority of change in my beliefs comes primarily from getting familiar with some of the sites.   As I read the chapters, I did read some interesting facts that I had never thought about.

First, one survey suggests that social media helps develop less homogenous connections (p. 89, p 1).  I think that meeting others who have different interests and backgrounds are great.  It can lead to a more well-rounded individual and open doors that otherwise wouldn't have even been knocked on, especially if those that they meet are from different cultures and backgrounds than their own.   It gives them a different point of view.

Second, in the Making Friends section, I learned that, in general, there is a stigma associated with “meeting” friends online, and that many teens find it “weird” and label those people who do as “freaks” (pg. 91).  However, on the other hand, teens that are “marginalized” and/or “ostracized” often connect with strangers for the simple fact that they are strangers (pg.89-90, p4).  I can totally relate to this.  Social media allows them to search and find people with many of the same beliefs and/or interests and gain support when they need it and are (maybe) unable to get it from the people around them.

Finally, Melanie, explained that “Facebook makes it easier to talk to people at school that you may not see a lot or know very well” (pg. 89, p 3).  I never really thought about that, but it has actually happened to me.  My son ran track this past year and I met the parent of another runner and we spoke some and worked in the concession stand a couple of times.  I logged into my Facebook account one day to find that she had sent me a friend request.  Of course I confirmed her because I did not want to be rude, and we have become good friends.  It makes perfect sense that this would happen with our youth.  I imagine that knowing more people might help kids feel more like they fit in a little better.  It’s like being in a room of 100 with two friends, or being in that same room with twenty-five friends.  I think that most would choose the latter.

Overall, I think that the assigned chapters counter what many adults think about social media being destructive and frivolous.  There is a lot of good that can come out of our youth “hanging out” with their friends online.  One implication for learning in school is the developmental advantages.  Children come to school to learn academics, but also to learn how to socialize and act according to the norm.  Using social media forces them to make important choices about many different aspects of their lives and how to interact with others, whether it’s face-to-face or not.

Just an extra note:

I always have to have noise when I work on homework, so the television was on and the news started.  Oddly enough, the first story was about the FBI arresting a woman, who posed as a man on a social media network to elicit sexual relations with a minor.  WOW!  Ironic.

Weekly Reading #4

I found the article A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Using Visual Images to Improve Comprehension for Middle School Struggling Readers very interesting.  I have heard the old adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” in my lifetime more times than I care to count, but had never really thought about what it means.  I now have a better understanding of the saying.  One simple picture may be the difference between a struggling reader understanding words or not understanding words. 

“Research on mental imagery demonstrates that comprehension of text is enhanced when students are prompted or taught to use mental imagery” (Hibbing &Rankin-Erickson, 2003).  In completing the Illuminated text assignment, animations and/or images were used to show an understanding of the text.  I used mental imagery to create a vision in my mind of what the words were actually saying.   I then tried to use things that would help students to understand.  In the end, I found that even I gained a better understanding of the text after animating it. 

The article also states that “a student’s failure to produce complete or accurate drawings can reveal comprehension gaps at an early stage in the learning process” (Hibbing & Rankin-Erickson, 2003).  I saw this first hand during this past school year.  As a class, we read the story The Sign-maker’s Assistant.  In the story, the assistant decides to make some silly signs as a joke.  Unfortunately, the townspeople took the signs literally and followed them, creating some silly and aggravating situations.  The assignment for my class was to create a picture with a “silly” sign that would create a similar situation as in the book.  I found that my struggling readers could not do it.  The assignment showed me the lack of comprehension with several students.

One strategy that I would like to try is the Watch-Read-Watch-Read (W-R-W-R) cycle for reading a novel, but instead of a novel, I would like to use an Illuminated text and poetry.  The Illuminated text could act as the movie and the actual poetry as the novel.  Every sixth week of instruction, I take a break from the regular reading book and do something different; poetry, folk tales, play, etc.  Using an Illuminated text might ensure better understanding of the text.  Maybe students could even try to animate a word or two themselves.  Great technology lesson.

Hibbing, A. N., & Rankin-Erickson, J. L. (2003). A picture is worth a thousand words:

            Using visual images to improve comprehension for middle school struggling

readers. The Reading Teacher, 56(8), 758-770. Retrieved from

http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.fairmontstate.edu/ehost/delivery?sid=0faa481f-fb63-4e27-a8df-d0a0ec094717@sessionmgr112&vid=7&hid=107

Media Ecology Case Study

The young person that I decided to interview is my 11 year old niece, "McKenzye".  She is a fourth grader and makes the honor roll every grading period.  She has a 3 year old brother and both of her parents have a Doctorate Degree and are college professors.  I know that she uses some technology on a regular basis outside of school, but I have no information about her use in school.  She does not have a cell phone, but has access to her mother's iPhone.  Some technology devices that she uses are iPod, Ipad, laptop, and a Wii game system.  She has even placed some of her favorite game apps on my iPhone.  I am interested in finding out how "McKenzye" uses technology in school and also how familiar she is with the Internet.  Some of the questions that I intend on asking her are as follows:

• What kinds of things do you use a computer for?
• What is your favorite thing to do on a computer?
• Do you surf the Internet?  What are some things that you look for?
• How do you use a computer at school?  Who taught you?

Weekly Reading #3

1. What findings in the Media Ecologies: Quantitative Perspectives surprised you the most? How does the finding change the way you think about young people, technology and learning?  What surprised me the most was that the Kaiser report found "that media engagement does not crowd out time spent with parents, pursuing hobbies, or doing physical activity."  This tells me one of two things. 1) It's just not an accurate statement or finding, or 2) Our young people are proficiently effective at integrating media use in their daily lives.  Even me, as an adult.  I have to have noise.  When I am completing my on-line homework, I also have the television on, or I am listening to music.  Way back when I was in high school, I had to have complete silence to do homework.  Times are definitely changing. 

 I saw a commercial several years ago that intrigued me.  The gist of it was how people are constantly multitasking when it comes to media.  The commercial actually coined the term "tele-visa-phona-netting" (not sure about spelling), which my family still uses at home.  When I call for my children, they often say to me, "Just a second, I'm tele-visa-phona-netting".  When they say this, I know that they are probably playing an Internet game, while watching television and talking to a friend on speaker phone.  

2. What are the benefits to a genre-based approach to understanding youth engagement with digital media over a categorical-based approach?  When trying to understand youth engagement with digital media, the Genre-based approach takes into account the whole picture.  It allows us to view how an individual uses many different digital media together and steers us away from wanting to view how the individual uses each individual media separately; television, computer, music, etc.

3. What aspects of Michelle's (Box 1.2) computer use at home have implications for computer use at school?  Michelle has some good experience using a computer with Internet access at home.  Although her time appears to be limited due to mom's fears, she is able to use it to play some games and help with her homework, an area that will benefit her with her schooling.  Her experiences at home seem to be somewhat oven-ended whereas her experiences at school appear to be more teacher-driven.  It sounds as though, the teacher-driven activities are more difficult for her because she considers them boring.  One thing that I found great was that her experiences at home made it possible for her to help her friends (many not having access at home) at school.  This has to be good for her morale.  

4. As you read about Clarissa (Box 1.3) consider the affordances of digital technologies that help Clarissa shape her identity and the role they play in literacy engagement. Do you think there are positive implications for these affordance in school-based literacy instruction? If so, what are they. If not, what are your concerns?   I do think that there are positive implications in school-based literacy.  As a teacher, I try to allow for creativity, but the constraints of school curriculum makes it harder than I ever thought it would be.  In my classroom, we have writing stations with writing prompts and we do different writing activities in which I instruct students to "imagine" and write about things they would like to be or do, and then we share.  It would be great to create a public classroom journal in which students could type entries and read the entries of their classmates and make comments on the writing.  "Our Classroom Blog."

5. In the section titled Messing Around we read about the sophisticated and creative technology practices young people are developing on their own outside of school. Do you think it is important for teachers to know about and understand these practices? Why?  I, myself, love to "mess around" on the computer.  It's a stress free environment and it allows the freedom of looking and finding interesting information that's specific to me.  Not my kids.  Not my husband.  Not my students.  Just me.  Everyone needs a little freedom to find themselves.  I think that it is terribly important to know about and understand how our students are interacting with technology.   First, it allows us to see just who they are and gain a little insight in how they think technologically.  Second, it allows us to find ways to engage them in school using means that they will enjoy and be interested in.  If they are interested and engaged, they learn.  One thing that bothers me about technology and school is that many teachers (especially the veteran ones) do not know about and use different technologies.  As a non-traditional student, I did not grow up using much technology at all.  It is a struggle for me to try to "catch up" let along "keep up" with what's new.  Listening to my students and having two teenage sons helps.

6. Should schools support students' in "geeking out"? What are the educational and ethical implications of "geeking out"?   Schools should support students in "geeking out" within the restraints of the rules.  I believe that it creates individuals and shows them for who they are.  The ethical implications are just that, ethical.  One of the definitions of ethical is "being in accordance with the rules or standards for right conduct or practice."  This should be no different in the school setting.  All students must sign a "usage agreement" for the privilege to use school computers at the beginning of the year.   In my classroom, I go over that agreement with my students when I hand them out, and we discuss it.  The rules of the agreement need to be followed or the privilege is lost to the student.

7. The young people studied for this book lived in urban settings in California or New York City. Do you think young people in West Virginia behave in similar ways and develop the same kinds of digital literacies? Provide examples from your own experiences with young people in West Vriginia.   I think that young people in West Virginia behave in similar ways and develop many of the same kinds of digital literacies.  My nephew, a mere two years old, can already use an Iphone, IPod, and IPad to look at pictures and start a game for his 10 year old sister.  It's the wildest thing to watch.  That little finger swipes to change from picture to picture, and when he comes to a video, he pushes the arrow to watch.  It's incredible.  He's only two!!!  I have 10 nieces and 3 nephews in all, and we all live in different cities.  They range from 2  - 25 years in age, and I am happy to say that they help to keep me up to speed.  We have a family Facebook page to keep in touch, as well as texting, and sending recent pictures in a metter of seconds.  We are all very close and technology actually allows us to feel very involved with one another even when we can't see one another.  Just this year, I had 14 of my students (some past students) that sent me a friend request (declined).  They are only in grade school.  I have also had several students that talk about cheat codes and even shopping with mom online.  One of students this year was always talking about Skyping with her family that lives out of state.  What a great way to be able to watch her grow up without actually being able to see her in person.  The world is definitely getting smaller.

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