Reading week 10

Reading week #10
1. What is the main argument being made by the speaker?
Yong Zhau’s main argument revolves around standardized test scores and how they squash the creativity and confidence of our youth. He made some very interesting points regarding America’s education and the ‘horse’ race to the top. But like Zhau, to the top of what? He also argued that although China may have the highest test scores, they have stifled the creativity of their youth. They are now looking for the next Steve Jobs.
  2. Do agree or disagree with his argument?
 I definitely agree with Zhau’s arguments. America’s educational system is stuck in a rut with no definitive solution. I agree that literacy is very important but not enough to set as a national goal. As Zhau said, it should be the floor not the ceiling. Meaning it should be the base of building a curriculum. Our text has a good point on page 342 by stating ‘While standards of literacy are constantly under negotiation in any community of practice, we do believe that relative newness…where values, norms, and literacy are particularly flexible.” The 1950s, ‘60s through 2007 the US claimed that our education was bad because our test scores were not top of the world. Politicians kept making edicts to improve test scores when they should have been improving the educational system. According to Zhau pushing for higher tests scores damage the student’s confidence. With today’s digital generation and globalization we must realize the other countries are not our competitors, but collaborators, investors and consumers. Our test states on page 342 “ We do not believe that educators and parents need to bear down on kids with complicated rules and restrictions and heavy –handed norms, but(on page 343) Parents need to begin with an appreciation of the importance of youth’s social interaction with their peers and recognize that children are knowledgeable experts on their own peer practices.” In conclusion I agree that test scores do not reflect or predict the student’s ability or the quality of our teachers. The schools must get involved to help every child to meet their potential. Page 532 of our text states in part “ Rather that thinking of public education as a burden that schools must shoulder on their own,…(page 353) it should think of education as a process of guiding kids participation in public life that includes social, recreational and civic engagement.”

Disaster Preparedness example

The end product does not need to be 'Oscar' worthy, but a fun and imaginative way to prepare for any kind of disaster.

Final webquest

The final quest enjoy. Final webquest

Zombie Apocalypse 2012

This was a pretty cool assignment. I will probably use a version of it in my Resp Class. Enjoy
Zombie Apocalypse 2012

Reading Week #9

Chapter 7: Work

1. How do educators in youth media programs differ from the orientation of classroom teachers in terms of preparing students for using digital media for work related purposes?

   The educators in youth media programs view their roles in terms of vocational training. They tie media production directly to the hope of employment in a creative class jobs. The educators struggle to instill ethic of professionalism in the production process. Whereas the educators of the standard classroom see media production as a way to keep them engaged in school.

2. With some important exceptions, how are lower income youth marginalized from using digital media in ways that might provide them with economic empowerment?

   The sad reality is, that in our capitalistic country, those who have the money get all the toys and the best education, while those who are at the low end of the economic scale are forced to deal with what is at hand. However, there are those that use their street smarts for economical gains.

3. In 2005 the CEO of IBM announced that if we wanted know what business leadership looks like in the 21 century look at what is going on in MMORPG's. After reading Box 7.4 does this make sense?

  I’m not exactly sure if what  IBM said is a good thing or bad. As I am not entirely familiar with what a MMORGP is.  However, after reading the assignment .  is their comment ,  because the gamers are working together as a team to crush the dragon, Or is because they spend so much time gaming and inventing alternative worlds and people

  Are you impressed by the levels of commitment and collaboration it takes players to be successful in a these games? I really can’t give an honest opinion, because I don’t know how much actual time they spend gaming. What else could they be doing?

 Do you have new respect for gamers? Sadly, not really

4. How do school need to change to become learning environments that cultivate the same kind of enthusiasm and commitment from young people like NeoPets did for Eddie?

   It all boils down to funding. I’m sure every school in the whole world would love to have the ability to equip every child with the equipment and means and educational experience to tap the unexplored talent .Also all the teachers need to be on board with digital media as a way to enhance the students’ creative juices, instead of just keeping them in school.

How can digital media play a role in the creation of these kinds of environments?

   It can play a role in relationships among public engagement, cultural exchange , and economic participation.

Reading week #8

Chapter 6: Creative Production
1.What impressed you most about young people's engagement with creative production?
    I think what impresses me the most is the vast amount of untapped talent there is out in this world. Because kids are free to express themselves without criticism, they are free to experiment in all genres and all media. Does the name Justin Beiber ring a bell? That’s where he got his start.  
2. What concerns do you have about young people posting content online?
   My concerns , I think, are pretty universal and that is the violation of privacy and posting inappropriate pictures and videos. I don’t think that the youth realize that once something is posted, it is out there forever. Lives have been ruined and people have committed suicide over inappropriate postings. I teach non-traditional students who will be searching for jobs in the healthcare field, I tell them over and over to be careful what they post on social media. Employers are looking at that now and innocent pictures can and are construed as inappropriate. They the students, laugh at me. I just don’t think they get it.
3. Do you think most school policy toward student use of the Internet is reactionary or a necessary evil?
     It is absolutely necessary, but not evil. There has to be rules and set guidelines. Responsibility must be encouraged and penalties quick and justified. This is the kids playground and without rules to play nice, there would be mayhem.
4. How might teachers' capitalize on student's interest in creative production with digital media?
     I wish all teachers could jump on this bandwagon, but I think in creative writing classes and media classes is where these talents can be developed, by teachers who have the capabilities to appreciate their talents and expand with them.
5. Link to a online lesson plan, article, blog post video or podcast that is an example of student engagement in creative production with digital media for school related purposes.
Creative Youth Media Blogspot.

Comments on the case studies

After reading my colleagues case studies, the one thing I noticed is that gaming , social media and surfing the net seem to be prevalent. This is a universal phenomenon and will vary between socioeconomic classes. I don't think our youth are any different that any other child in the world. The young are usually monitored closely and the older kids get more freedom. I think that our youth  are a little more responsible than we give them credit. I think our teachers would be thrilled to be able to use technology in the classroom, with the proper funding for instruction and equipment. I think that is the biggest limiting factor.

Webquest introduction

I really like this Webquest thing. I think because it pulls together a lot of medias in one place. It also looks to be rather user friendly.

I can't settle on just one role. I am a hybrid of two. The affiliator and the altiudinist( I think that one is a made up term). The affiliator likes the group scenarios where students must work together , collaborate and discuss. This is imperative in the health care field, where the teams must be able to work together, collaborate and discuss. I am also an altitudinist, I believe higher level education is very important but not the only thing. I also believe that technology is justified in schools but not the only reason. My students must use their brains for critical thinking not just memorization. They also need to know what resources are available to them.

Of the 5 webquests, I felt that Ancient Egypt was the best because it was a group activity and required everyone to participate on the end result. I also liked John Wilkes Booth, a lot of research which adds to higher learning, but only peer interactivity. Not as a group.I liked Poetry of War but not as well as the other two. It didn't make my worst list. Because of the out of the box thinking about poetry and digital technology. But I didn't care for the dark red and there was no evaluation tool.
The worst to me was Creative Encounters. Too many bad colors, very distracting. I couldn't get past the introduction.

My webquest

I really like everything about this webquest,because it is a fun way to explain disaster preparedness.It met all the accomplished points on the rubric. The thing that I would change would be to make it a group activity, for collaberation and teamwork. In the healthcare field, we are the front line of defense and will need what to do in case of an emergency. I was at a teaching seminar where one of the teachers presented a similar scenario only with a plane crash.It was actually fun to do. My webquest

Reading Week # 7

Reading Week 7: Gaming

1.             What surprised you, concerned you, or intrigued about students' engagement with gaming?

What intrigues me the most is the research showing that our youth are not turning into mindless blobs sitting in front of the TV or other gaming devices.  Because I don’t have children in this media age, I, like many of the senior population ( AARP says 55 and older) are swayed by the TV hype. Ever since the TV was invented it was used for killing time. Cartoons on Saturday mornings, ‘prime’ time sitcoms, brain numbing talk shows are just a few examples .I would take books and crossword puzzles to doctors’ offices, I’m sure if I had some sort of mobile device, I would be doing that and when GameBoy® came out, my kids played that .As stated in out text      “The dominant discourse of this form of gaming is about boredom and killing time. Digital games are used to pass the time when traveling on a bus car or in other situations when there is little else to do.” ( pg 203 paragraph 1) The mobile devices of today allow for killing time to be everywhere and since different people have down time at different places and time it looks like that is all that is going on. I found that to be enlightening and I will not judge people so harshly. Again, as said before, this is an age old problem is between parents and children and setting rules.

2.     What aspects of your own gaming experiences were reflected in the case studies? 

My gaming experiences revolve around bowling alleys and roller rinks where pinball machines existed this is where we socialized and made everlasting friendships My kids had the arcades where every conceivable arcade game existed. As in the case study ( Box.5.3 Learning and collaborating in Final Fantasy XI )  is about a social game, where friends gather and develop lasting relationships. All the malls and restaurants had arcades for the kids and adults, which I have noticed have gone the way of the dinosaur. But before home game modules, there were the public arcades. All the things that this case described are not really new, just a different venue.

3.   . Do you agree or disagree with the comparison between sports and gaming and the benefits they offer children in terms of learning.

 I agree with the fact that both teach rules, regulations and sportsmanship. Competition is also very prevalent. But what concerned me was the author stated “ ...  that the most important benefits of gaming---if they are to be had….” Don’t they believe that there are benefits?  I agree after reading these chapters that the benefits of gaming lie in the ecology of parents, siblings and peers.

My Case Study

I had such fun interviewing these kids. They kept me laughing the whole time.  My Case Study