Tech is here...deal with it!

Why are people still trying to promote technology for education? 

This should be a given in this day and age. Our learners should be able to use Google and Social Media for learning. 

Technology is literacy! 

Technology should not be feared but made to be seen as empowerment. Kids are engaged and empowered. Isn't that the goal of learning? As an educator we don't want to limit our student's creativity and the opportunities.
We have to take advantage of what we have now and what we can look forward to. 

Our young people are innovators and it's our job to hone their talents and coach them to explore and think critically. 

It's time we replace fear with curiosity. 

...for not only better students but better people!

Changing Technology

As I continue to use technology in my classes, along with social media, I have realized that like with the actual technology my students' interests have also changed. 

When I began my journey of advocating the use of social media for class assignments, Facebook was not really used (even though most of my students have an account), they did not use it daily. They had it from when it was "cool," but once mom, dad, and even grandma got in...they got off. 

Today they are using Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter daily. I am now developing ways to incorporate the use of these apps in my lesson planning. Social media is about sharing and as my students continue to share their lives on social media with their friends, I want them to see how much their education is also a factor and should also be shown in their snaps, IG, and tweets. 

Example:

I now assign video homework. Students must show 30 or more seconds of them practicing the dance outside of class. The have to use the appropriate hashtags and for those that are private on social media they just have to show a recording on their phone. 

Luckily, all my students have smartphones this year. All 186 of them! That's insane but it is what it is. 

Let's find meaningful ways to make use of the little computers in their pockets while also encouraging them to do their best work to post online. 

Winter Break Blues

I always get excited for a break but then I have to think about what is to come, I call this the Winter Break Blues. 

The holidays always brings a new wind beneath your wings that will carry you through finals. Then the break comes and you are relieved but can't relax because you have to travel, deal with shopping & wrapping gifts. 

Then the tree comes down and then you are faced with the reality of the second semester. I have to deal with travel with the kids, costumes, and putting on a show. Yikes! I need to relax but still work because I have tons to do. 

Digital Natives

Need CML

"The more I grasp the pervasive influence of media on our children, the more I worry 
about the media literacy gap in our nation’s educational curriculum.  We need a sustained K-12 media literacy program—something to teach kids not only how to use the media but how the media uses them.  Kids need to know how particular messages get crafted and why, what devices are used to hold their attention and what ideas are left out.  In a culture where media is pervasive and invasive, kids need to think critically about what they see, hear and read.  No child’s education can be complete without this."

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps (prepared remarks at June 2006 event)

CML- Critical Media Literacy

I have always thought about the need for tech education but now really looking at what it can offer students in connecting with their everyday lives I am intrigued. I want to offer opportunities for students to think critically at what they are looking at and using everyday. It is important for young people to look at what the media offers them as a society and if they accept it.

 I grew up looking at my grandmother's fashion magazines full of white models, playing with white barbies, and cutting out white women from the Sear's Catalog. I firmly believe that during my young and growing days, that affected my worth as a young black girl in a white society. If I had the tools to critically evaluate what the media was telling me was beautiful and not comparing that to what I saw in the mirror I think I would have had a different experience in my adolescent years. 

We must remain informed and stay inquisitive. Always asking who, why, and how. Engage in popular culture and connect to our students with what they are interested in. Bringing these ideas to the classroom along with CML is what we need for our new digital learners in our digital age. 

Organizing reading for Review

After careful reflection I have come to an understanding that the way I was organizing my information was not good and I should have done things differently. While reading my literature journals I should have made notes about what I was reading and dropped each idea or thought in to categories. This would include the author and year at the top so that I can easily identify the source for referencing it in my paper. 

Right now I feel extremely confused and bogged down by the information and it's really frustrating me to no end. Having words all over the place and notes that I took in my notebook should have been more strategic. Now I am suffering the consequences of not starting out with a more meticulous arrangement for my reading. 

Youth and Digital Media

This cartoon cracked me up when I first saw this on Huffpost. Today I finished all my reading for my "YOUTH AND DIGITAL MEDIA" class and then this was on my twitter feed. This is supposed to describe today's youth but I'm really not ashamed to see this is ME too. 

How funny is that rabbit! ROFL....LMAO!!!! 

I'll be posting more as I got a few really good ones about today's kids and their digital lives.