Metacognitive Final Reflection

“The distinctive contribution of the approach to literacy as social practice lies in the ways in which it involves careful and sensitive attention to what people do with texts, how they make sense of them and use them to further their own purposes in their own learning lives” (Gillen and Barton, 2010, p. 9).

            My very first blog post started out with this quote featured above, and consequently it is the first and last thing I will take away from this course. Above all, I see New Media and New Literacies as more or less useless unless one can take the information and skills embedded within it and apply it to their own life to derive true meaning from it.

            Throughout this course, whether we were learning about Henry Jenkin’s core media literacy skills of the 21^st century, participatory culture, digital natives/digital immigrants, transliteracy or information literacy, we had opportunities to apply this information to our every-day life in an effort to make the most sense of it. In doing so, I have learned a great deal. For example, I learned that “play” is one of the 21^st century core media literacy skills and is of the utmost important. I then was able to make better sense of it as I made the connection to my personal life- in college I had one professor who before every new math lesson would empty out a bunch of math manipulatives on the table and give us college students the chance to actually PLAY with the blocks etc. What did it teach me? It taught me that this skill gets all individuals interested in what is going to be taught and that once our initial curiosities are catered to, my attention span is longer. How did I make the connection to my work life? Well, as a teacher I now ALWAYS give my students the opportunity to play and test out any new materials I am introducing, that way they are engaged and excited but then ready to focus when the lecture begins.

            I also gained understanding on the concept of participatory culture. I learned participatory culture is a media driven culture in which people are constantly consumers and producers, shifting away from individual work into a community of expression- a community that shares and explores others expression. How did I apply this to my life to make it meaningful? One word- Instagram. Instagram is an example of something I use in my everyday life that falls under this category of participatory culture. Instagram is a way for you, your friends, your relatives, celebrities, and people all over the whole to look at and share pictures they have taken/that have been taken. The pictures take on all kinds of creative forms- no picture is exactly alike because every person has the option to edit his/her image taken.            

            In addition, I learned about everything that falls under the category of growing up digital. I learned about digital natives and digital immigrants- making the connection by identifying myself as a digital native, however, taking into account that my audience/learners cannot simply be classified under this measure thanks to Bennett and Maton’s 2010 article entitled “ Beyond the digital natives debate: Towards a more nuanced understanding of students’ technology experiences” I was able to make connections to another course in MALET program where I learned the definitions of a digital native and digital immigrant and apply it to this article that taught me although these terms will always be an important general measure of classifying people in terms of technology expertise, I now understand and see how qualitative methods are truly critical to acquire in depth insights into our individual learners. 

            Can you see where I’m going with this?! Every topic learned in this course deepened my understanding of new media and new literacy because right from the start I was exposed to and reminded of the importance of taking information and making it real-world applicable- making the information meaningful to YOU through generating those crucial connections.

             New Media and New Literacies is a course that has truly broadened and deepened my understanding when it comes to how I now see and define emerging literacy and media, especially in terms of technology. This course has already impacted me in terms of my education and my personal life (I.e., work life.) This course will go on to impact the work I intend to accomplish throughout this MALET program as I have not only gained a plethora of resources to reference in future papers and exposure to specific tools/software/programs to use in future projects but because I have gained a solid foundational understanding of what counts as emerging technologies and what makes up new media and new literacies. I am educated and will continued to be educated on both the positive and negative effects of learning and emerging technologies, which will make me one well-rounded socially aware lifelong learner!

Literacy Guide

Learner Population- Elementary &Secondary Learners (Grades 4+)

Overview:

            Information literacy is essential for lifelong learning. Information literacy refers to the ability to “recognize the extent and nature of an information need” and then to locate, access, evaluate and effectively use the needed information (Plattsburgh State Information and Computer Literacy Task Force, 2001.) In addition, when computer technology skills are taught within the framework of information literacy skills, students are set up in an environment to achieve their upmost potential (Plumas Lake Elementary School District). 

Components:           

            For student learners, they are many components that make up information literacy.  Students, regardless of the subject content area, must first recognize and/or develop a solid question that can be supported by selecting credible sources. Next, learners must search for the information amongst books in the library and search engines online and then begin evaluating the information discovered by citing resources and ultimately creating a product reflecting their findings to the intended audience.

Model and Support Resources:

            There are many models one can follow in terms of creating information literate learners and programs. The Big6 Skills is a process model that shows problem-solving encompassing six stages.  

1. Task Definition

1.1 Define the information problem

            “What am I supposed to do?”

            “What problem am I trying to solve?”

                        Strategies:

                                    - Read the assignment carefully using highlighters

                                    - Ask clarifying questions

1.2 Identify information needed

            “What do I need to know?”

            “What kind of information do I gather?”

                        Strategies:

                                    - KWL chart

                                    -Concept Map for organization

Resources:

http://www.peterussell.com/mindmaps/mindmap.html

This website uses mind maps to help advance note taking skills and linking information together.

http://www.inspiration.com/  

This program allows students to create a concept web/map which is then transformed into an outline. software program helps the user develop a concept map or web, which can be transformed into an outline.

GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

http://www.graphic.org/

A solid list of different online tools, with examples, to graphically organize ideas.

2. Information Seeking Strategies

2.1 Determine all possible sources

            - locate information from a variety of sources for best results

2.2 Select the best sources

            - based on the specific topic

3. Location and Access

3.1 Locate sources

            - Indexes and catalogues in the library

            - Search engines on the web

            * Each source is arranged in specific order (I.e., alphabetically, chronological, etc)

3.2 Find information within sources

            - Table of contents and index- find specific information without reading entire source

Resource:

http://www.schrockguide.net/critical-evaluation.html

This website can be used by elementary and middle school students as it includes evaluation sheets for students to fill out while browsing different information sources.

4. Use of Information

4.1 Engage (e.g., read, hear, view, touch)

4.2 Extract relevant information

5. Synthesis

5.1 Organize from multiple sources

5.2 Present the information

Resource:

http://www.kidport.com/Grade4/TAL/G4-TAL-Ordering.htm

This website helps students organize their information, in particular grade 4 students.

http://www.electricteacher.com/

This website has a lot of examples of project- centered applications for students.

6. Evaluation

6.1 Judge the product (effectiveness)

6.2 Judge the process (efficiency)

My Literacy Guide Paper Personal References:

http://www.schrockguide.net/information-literacy.html

http://aasl.ala.org/essentiallinks/index.php?title=Information_Literacy

http://www.plusd.org/Schools/Libraries/Information-Literacy/index.html

Facebook Reflection

How do you see a Facebook page as adding value to the learning environment that you are creating?  

            Creating a Facebook page will definitely be yet another resource/tool to help increase the value of the learning environment I am creating. For starters, it gives my learners (digital natives AND digital immigrants) a platform they are already familiar with- most likely.  My digital native learners may have a Facebook to keep in touch with friends and post pictures etc where as my digital immigrant learners may have a Facebook to keep in touch with family members far away, old friends or they may just simply heard about it from their students, grandkids, nieces, nephews etc.  Because of the familiarity, they may feel less anxious when I create a Facebook page simply for the teacher workshop in creating learning how to create a safe teacher website. This page will be an organized resource so that all of my learners have just one place to go when they need to find relevant You tube videos I have posted, helpful links, as well as be able to ask questions, engage in discussion and comment and share on their peers progress. Such social media networks allow opportunities to incorporate video, photos, audio files, blogs etc (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2009.)

Given that you would use private pages for internal postings, are there ways that you would try to encourage an ongoing community or commitment through the Facebook venue? 

           

            There are definitely ways I would try to encourage an ongoing community or commitment through the Facebook venue. I actually think I have already begun to do so unintentionally. For example, keeping every post relevant and keeping up with ongoing discussion. In addition, I have stuck to the focus of the issue at hand on my page in terms of being a resource for creating a teacher website (for teachers) however I have extended my page to also post any interesting, helpful, funny, etc links relating to teachers. By doing so, this can give my members an outlet for the project at hand and simply take a break by finding humor in teacher pictures posted, or finding inspiration in the teacher quotes uploaded, etc.

How would you plan on maintaining such an outward-facing social presence?   Would you maintain this yourself or share the responsibilities with the learners in your environment?  

            I would definitely share the responsibilities with the learners in my environment- because we ALL (myself as the teacher included) can learn from one another.  My page isn’t intended to simply spit out information at my learners, the goal is to be a support for my learners and an outlet- a means for getting advice, having questions asked and answered, giving advice, etc.  I would still take on the responsibility of posting, updating, adding to the Facebook page but I would also have the learners receive the opportunity to contribute whenever they may like.

Adolescent Technology Interview

I chose to interview my female cousin who is in the 7^th grade. I asked her 4 questions:

1-     What forms of social media do you use?

2-     On a scale of 1-10 (1 being you hate and 10 being you love), how do you feel about technology in general? Can technology ever be “too much?”

3-     If you were moving and could only take one item from your house with you- what would you take?

4-     What would you do for the day if Mom and Dad took away your Ipad, Computer, Laptop, Ipod, and Iphone?

            When I asked my cousin what forms of social media she uses, I was very surprised when she had a one-word response “Instagram.” She did mention how she browses for videos a lot on You Tube but doesn’t have an account herself. I would have definitely assumed that my cousin used at least three- four social media sites. Because of this- I asked her if she is interested in any other forms she replied that my Aunt and Uncle will not let her make a Facebook- even though she really wants one. “My Mom and Dad say “You’re too young Katie!” I was very happy to learn that her parents are being very Internet aware and pro-active about her Internet safety!

            For the second question regarding her feelings for technology, my cousin said “No way there can never be too much technology, I’d be like SO bored without it. Since there is nothing bad about it and only good…10 DUH!” At this point in the interview I was not surprised at all that my cousin voted on loving technology because I know just how much technology she uses on a daily basis (which is a lot!) I also wasn’t surprised she didn’t see anything bad about technology- because she is at that age where its her way or the highway, her thinking hasn’t quite evolved or matured yet to think of the bigger picture and impact it can and is having on people (the negative effects.)

            After asking Katie what the one item or belonging she would with her if she was moving she immediately (without ANY hesitation) replied “ MY IPHONE 5!” I was a bit surprised to hear how her parents allowed her to have the latest Iphone, however, I wasn’t surprised her phone was the one thing she would take away with her.  Being that typical teenage girl- she is glued to that thing always!!

            The best part of our interview came from me asking her what she would do for the day if Mom and Dad took away all of her technology like her Ipad, Computer, Laptop, and Iphone? Katie answered “Oh my god, maybe like go to a friends house so I can use her Ipad for the Internet?” She seemed completely dumfounded and at a loss when I then had to tell her she couldn’t borrow anyone else’s technology. She then responded “I guess I would do what I usually do just without my phone like play lacrosse outside or go to the mall. I just wouldn’t Instagram what I did that day like my Lacrosse jersey or if I went to Starbucks in the Mall.  The day wouldn’t be a big deal I don’t think cause’ I’ve forgotten to take my phone places before. The night time when I’m at home or in bed would just stink cause’ then when it’s dark I’d be bored.”  At this point in time I learned that my cousin, being so active in sports, first thought not having her phone would be the biggest deal ever but then when she thought about it she realized she is so busy that she has left her phone at home before and survived just fine! I also learned that it’s a night where she uses the most technology- because this is when she is typically unable to be active outside (involved in sport activities or friends.) I can definitely agree and even relate to her comment because similar to myself, I'm using technology most at night when I have finished my work/activities for the day in the comfort of my own time at home.

Marshall McLuhan

            After reviewing the readings and video clips, there is one particular video clip that still (after a week of reviewing) I find so incredibly fascinating due to it’s oddness, bluntness, yet ability to make perfect sense. In “Marshall McLuhan Speaks” the video entitled “My reading habits” from 1967 completely captivated me. Marshall discusses how after years of reading and reading experience he eventually began to read on the right hand pages of what he considers to be serious books. However, if the book is as he notes “relaxing” or fun, he will read every word of the book.

            Marshall explains how he only reads on the right hand side of such serious books because of how much redundancy he has discovered in these well-written books. By simply reading just the right hand pages he is left feeling captivated rather than bored if he were to be reading both pages that tend to repeat aspects over and over again (McLuhan, 1967.) When reading, I would assume Marshall was following Green’s Model in terms of operational or common literacy practices where he used the text to decode and encode the information presented. However, I also think after his revelation that Marshall began using Green’s model in terms of cultural or specific literacy practices because he was using such operational strategies to then receive/transit meaning from the text to develop his own understanding of the context. Although at first I found this video clip and his overall statement to be very humorous, the more I thought about it the more I realized just how right he truly is. When I am reading a lengthy novel, I find myself getting bored and even sleepy because of how much the plot or characters are repeated in an unnecessary fashion. I never once considered that If I simply read one side of the page I would be able to remain engaged while really looking deep into my own creative and imagination to put the pieces of information I may have missed from the other page. In general, this would make reading so much more fun for me as I will be intellectually and creatively stimulated.

            Although this video clip was very short, I think it really says so much about the person and learner Marshall was. He was a man who wasn’t afraid to dig deep within himself and let his mind and imagination take over and piece together the information in the way it was most interesting and made the most sense to him internally, when the information may not have been presenting itself the way in which he wanted or needed. To me, that is a truly creative soul.  Based on this clip alone, I’m truly inspired by Marshall. He was this incredibly intelligence man who wasn’t afraid to be blunt about not only how he admits to reading only the right side pages of a book but in doing so how he can truly explain his reasoning enough for it to seem less weird and make total and complete sense! 

 

http://marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/understanding-me/1967-my-reading-habits.php

Video Deconstruction

            I chose to deconstruct the “Allstate Good Life Anthem” commercial/ video advertisement.  This video highlights the good that exists in people's everyday lives while encouraging them to not let their fears prevent them from doing the things they love with the ones they love most.

            After watching the video for the first time, the first key words that came to my mind was genuine, heart-warming, inspiring, wholesome, powerful and yet incredibly humbling.  I then analyzed all of the people featured in this video, which was my absolute favorite part. The individuals in this video ranged from young children, teenagers, young adults, to middle-aged adults. The individuals represented people of different races and ethnicities as well as gender. The video featured the common people- those who make up our world and there was absolutely nothing superficial about any of them. Throughout the video, the camera zoomed in and out on the activities that the common people were indulging in. This feature truly helped to captivate and lure in the viewers. For example, as a young man was mud sliding the video clip zoomed out so the viewers were able to see the entire setting and then zoomed in very close on the man’s face as he was sliding in the mud which gave the viewers a real sense of the genuine emotion of excitement and pure happiness that the man embodied.

            Each segment in the video features a video clip portraying people living life to the fullest despite the scary statistic the particular event holds.  For example, it shows a man swimming in the ocean (how people still swim in the ocean) while the little girl’s narration exclaims “there are man eating sharks in every ocean but we still swim..” followed by another man cliff jumping so freely into the water.  

            After all of these precise observations, the product being sold was Allstate insurance. I found the product VERY appealing and would definitely use this insurance simply because it took a different selling approach. Allstate wasn’t overbearing like many other people are when trying to sell you a product, they didn’t constantly discuss their name, motto, etc and never once even mentioned all of the “great” aspects their insurance company holds. In addition, they weren’t demeaning like many other brands are in terms of bringing down other companies by comparing facts (I.e., Well Allstate is more financially affordable than Aetna etc.”) Overall, the ad is trying to make people feel as if they can and should live life to its’ fullest and feel safe and comforted in doing so because they are supported- by Allstate.           

            This video, in my opinion, was definitely created to not have or feature any assumptions. However, after truly going through the deconstruction process I learned that even the most genuine, wholesome and inspiring video advertisements make assumptions even if they don’t intentionally mean to. In terms of gender, the boys/men in this video were featured doing the more dangerous and thrill-seeking activities whether it be hunting for snakes in a jungle, cliff-jumping, sliding through mud, driving the convertible, driving dirt bikes, riding a bike, riding a skateboard and playing football. The girls/women in this video were featured doing more feminine associated activities like dancing in the rain, catching rain drops, being the passenger in the convertible, using the keys to open up their home, romantically holding their man as they sit in the mud, and dancing in the back seat of a car. In terms of race/wealth, the video showed three white boys riding their bikes in what appeared a very safe neighborhood as they rode directly into their garage (rather than black boys who are stereotypically not from nice areas and cant afford bikes/don’t ride them as safely). I could also see how the majority of African Americans were featured on the football team segment in the video rather than anywhere else, and that white people were featured doing activities that cost money like swimming in the open sea and cliff jumping on vacation, partaking in a mud competition and driving a convertible.  In addition, the young African American narrating this video who was shown at the end appeared to be in a more impoverished and rural setting (in comparison to the neighborhood the white boys riding bikes were). The house that the little girl ran out of appeared to be small as seen by the narrow walkway front entrance as well as the lack of a yard and grass. The house across the street looked very tiny too, and the fence that surrounded the little girl’s house appeared to be wooden and a bit worn down.

            Overall, the company's campaign connects Allstate's core values of customer service and what it means to put people in Good Hands.  The motto “Good Hands for the Good Life" and the video shows how Allstate wants to show viewers they are there for there customers day in and day out, rather than just when the bad stuff happens. The overall truthful life lesson being conveyed is that all the bad things that happen in life can’t and won’t stop us from making our lives good.

 *If you haven't seen this video commercial,  I highly suggest you watch it!!

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI1bKm22Up0

More or Less Democracy in the Internet Age?

More or Less Democracy in the Internet Age?

by Mark E. Kann

           I found it incredibly interesting how Mark Kann discusses the growth of the Internet in terms of the democratic imagination in the book “Networked Publics.”

            I agree with Kann in the sense that the Internet’s advancement has enabled a new context to online citizen interaction in terms of political deliberation, debate, decision-making, petitioning, protesting, etc (Kann, 2005.) Similar to how people share their opinions on the streets through local protests, asking you to sign a petition they may have, debates in the Town Hall etc- people have another means to share their ideas and opinions freely which is via online for anyone to see.  I myself have used the Internet to sign petitions and to vote in opinion-based polls. For example, just yesterday I signed a wildlife petition and a few weeks ago I voted in a poll on who I want to win the upcoming election in my town in terms of a new Board of Education member.

            In addition the Internet made aspects like elections and polling inexpensive and widely accessible which is a point Kann mentions that I had not ever even considered before. Kann also brings about the point that there are in fact clear features as to what works well on the Internet and what doesn’t. In what I found to be a very appropriate and realistic explanation, Kann highlights where each of the opposing ideas lie. For example, features like chat rooms, blogs, wikkies, etc provide users with the opportunity for discussion-- but that discussion is generally “undisciplined” rather than deliberative (Kann,2005.) In terms of my own personal experience, when I am reading blog pots and blog comments from other individual’s I always question what I am reading and do further research on my own because people can say just about anything they want on the internet- regardless of its validity.  In addition, in the chat rooms I have been exposed to people tend to have a language all of there own. Conversation isn’t something that is structured in terms of asking specific questions and having others answer each of those questions- it is a lot more free-spirited with no rules. With that being said, I agree with Kann (2005) when he says that such undisciplined talk can be a great way to tap into the public’s opinions via polls, etc. This aspect of undisciplined talk works well in terms of the Internet. It is facilitated talk supported by facts deems more suitable for in-person presentations, debates, discussions etc whether it be in the congress hall or the “halls of the Ivy League Universities” (Kann,2005.) When having a heated political debate, it helps to be in-person so that the facilitator can get right to the point in receiving the answers the public needs to hear- there is no room for the candidate’s to avoid a question by getting sidetracked in a discussion that is heading off-topic. If the debate was over the internet where candidates clearly have more freedom and less restriction, it would be a lot more easy for readers to not only misinterpret what he/she is saying but also for the candidate to talk over questions and/or not address specific ones appropriately.

            Overall in terms of politics, I truly agree that undisciplined talk is best suited for aspects like tapping into the opinions of the public in terms of questionnaires and polls via the Internet where as facilitated talk should occur in terms of in-person meetings, discussions, debates, etc.

           

http://networkedpublics.org/digital_democracy/more_or_less_democracy_in_the_internet_age