Families

 

It is sometimes challenging to think of technology as a whole.  When I think of technology space at home I think of the computer, but having read through the text I am working to adjust my way of thinking.  Technology is more than a computer.  As I think about the various technologies that my children were exposed to in the home I am not surprised that we no longer think of technology as something new and scary in my family.

 

The very first computer in my home was in the living room.  My 5 year old son proudly showed me that he knew where the "oops" button was.  It was a basic dos coloring program and he had found the undo button.  Today, at 23 he is married, with a plethera of technology at his fingertips.  He and his wife own 2 tablets, 1 laptop, 3 Ipods, 4 gaming systems, 2 cameras, and only 1 TV.  I expect the TV situation will change soon as they are moving into an apartment off base and will have more than one room to live in.

 

During their high school years my children shared a computer with me.  It was in the dining room and generally saw more action than the dining room table.  My son had two gaming systems in his room which kept him and his friends entertained.  My daughter was into her music and saved a long time to buy her first Ipod.

 

Today my daughters household consists of 1 old desktop with simple games for her two small sons.  Two IPads, two IPods, and two smart phones and one laptop.  It is not unusual to walk into her house and find three or four people playing on laptop, tablets, and smartphones.  Its great fun to pull the 2 and 4 year old in on the action and let them play games on the tablets.  The family swaps equipment, offers advice on games and interacts.  My older grandson recently taught me to play Ninja Baker. 

 

My daughter uses the game apps on the Ipad to entertain her younger son while he takes breathing treatments on his inhaler.  It helps him relax and ignore the mask.

 

My technology rules were very relaxed, my kids had MySpace accounts as teens and I did not monitor them closely.  I suspect in todays world I would probably be more aware of what they are up to.

 

I believe there is value for educators in this chapter.  It helps demonstrate that not all families are the same.  Children come from all walks of life and have various resources available to them.  The case study of the Garcia family which starts on page 158 could easily translate into an underprivledge Appalachian family living in substandard housing.  There is relevance to the way students live in our culture.

 

I can also connect the conversation with Miguel about interaction with his father and family through World of Warcraft in a very local context. At my sons wedding, one month ago today, the brides family was talking about WOW.  It seems that the extended family which is spread out over 4 states gathers nightly to play online.  Those that are available play, and while not everyone shows up everynight they have created their own world where there interact in technology.  My daughter-in-law plays from her new digs in Hawaii.

 

I think this goes to show that technology goes a long way to creating new bonds.

Friendship & Intimacy

Like many adults I worry about the role of social media in the lives of todays youth.  My children came of age at a time when the term "social media" was not yet coined.  They were of the early MySpace generation and the waters were untested as to interaction with adults and parental supervision.  Facebook has become a staple in familial communication for all generations.  I was recently delighted to see that my youngest great niece, she's 13, commenting on her Aunts college graduation.  What a great way for everyone to stay in touch.

On page 89, 3rd paragraph the authors state, "While the dominant and normative social media usage pattern is to connect with friends, family, and acquaintances, ...."  I have see this demonstrated in my own family circle and in the lives of my children and their friends.  Often younger siblings of my children's friends will comment on something in their lives and it is interesting to see their accomplishments. 

My children have remained on friendly terms with many friends who know live in another state, simply because of the use of social media.  My daughter-in-law, who is only 18, remains in regular contact with her "besties" even though she now lives 4,000 miles away.  The authors note (page 91, paragrah 3) "While social media have the potential to radically alter friendship making processes, most teens use these tools to maintain preexisting connections,..."  and "Social media offer a platform for teens to take frienships to a new level."

There is concern about developing connections with strangers.  The quote from above continues "...there are some teens who use social media to develop connections with strangers."  And that is probably the largest fear of social media with adults.  What are we exposing our children to?  However, I could comfortably counter that fear with the assertation that we are unknowingly exposing our children to a variety of evils in traditional settings.  One only has to look at recent national news stories to see the truth in this.

I was not surprised in the readings on Intimacy.  As a new MIL (mother in law) of a relationship that rose and crashed multiple times through social media I have watched this intimacy phenomena from a front seat.  I strongly agree with the statement on pg 129, par 4, "You do emotional work to maintain a relationship through digitized med......youth demonstrate affection through private and public media channels.

As an interested party in this courtship I could tell how my son was getting along by the nature of his public posts to and from Carly.  His devastating change of his FB status from "in a relationship" to "single" was enough to make me be very concerned for his wellbeing.  I was further concerned when her public posts to those who inquired, "what happened?" was, "IDK".  The use of social media in their relationship has created opportunity and challenges.  They were able to communicate regularly while he was deployed and yet he was sometimes hurt and/or felt left out as he saw her photos and comments about her life in the real world. 

As I have watched the evolution of social media in the lives of my children, I cannot help but wonder what it will be like for my grandchildren.  My oldest grandson is almost 4, he can turn on the computer, pull up Skype and call Uncle Carly (his pet names for my son and his wife) without his mothers help.  He can use her phone to call me without assistance and he often Skypes with his father when he is traveling.  Nicky has been skyping since he was 6 mo old, he will never know anything else.  I on the other hand, remember when Jane Jetson would hide behind a paper mask while talking to a screen.  I did not even know the term "video" at that age.

workshop

This week I had the chance to participate in a Social Media workshop sponsored by the Marion County, CVB.  Presented by Digital Relativity of Fayetteville, WV  http://www.digitalrelativity.com/ they focused on the role of social media in business development.

This included looking at Facebook, Pinterest, Tweeting, and a couple of other smaller sites.  A component looked at Flickr as a social media site.  We were also introduced to Hootsuite which serves as a facilitator for social media. 

It was fun to participate in the workshop and as information was reviewed I access the various apps via my Android Phone.  During the course of the day I set up both a Twitter and a Hootsuite account.

I walked away from the workshop with several important pieces of information including, Facebook is no longer "cool" for the younger generation.  "That's where old ladies go" was the quote that was provided.  So just as MySpace peaked, so too will Facebook (if it hasn't already).

I had never considered Pinterest and Flickr as social media and as such did not consider the possibilities.  My utilizing both to not only show images of your business/interests with photos or images of your own, one can also share photos of similar content and thus, hopefully, drive people to your own website.

There was discussion on the use of google+ and its options, but the presenter felt that it was not living up to its potential.

All in all it was a great session, and I was fortunate to get to attend.

Interview with Annette

It has been fun talking with Annette.  Having known her for several years it has been fun to have the opportunity to chat. 

She spent her high school years living in rural West Virginia.  That brought many technology challenges.  Internet access was limited and easily lost.  In the last couple of years it has improved significantly, but can still present challenges for cellular service.

As the oldest of four children she has had access to a variety of gadgets, including an IPod and Cell Phone.  However, her cell phone, until recently could not send or receive photos.  She had to share her IPod with her younger siblings until they finally got their own.  Her youngest brother, who is 9 still does not have an IPod.  She is thinking about handing down her IPod to him when she gets a new one.

The family had only 1 computer for a long time.  Annette did not get a computer of her own until her boyfriend purchased her a tablet.  They found it frustrating to communicate with her sitting in the living room with the family gathered around.

Annette was in an on and off relationship with a young man (my son) who was in the Army.  After basic training he was stationed in Schoefield Barracks, HI and then did a 1 year deployment in Afghanistan.

Annette and I have talked at some length about the role of technology in her courtship and the pros and cons of a long distance relationship. 

She has given me permission to share this image.  She is a very talented artist, with limited training.  She is anxious to explore her art using technology. 

From picture book to story...

Students, of all ages, learn in a variety of ways.  While some people are clearly auditory learners and others are visual learners, there is the potential for varying degrees of both.  While some people may read a simple sentence such as, “The sky is blue,” a picture a summer sky of azure blue others will be so caught up in wondering what shade of blue that they will lose the intent of the paragraph that contains the sentence.  For those that are challenged by color blindness the sentence has an entirely different meaning.  Using a combination of colors, images, and text through there is the opportunity to provide information to a more diversified group of studnts.

Everyone has a set of information filters that resided within their brain.  It is their knowledge base that helps them interpret not only the written word, but also the images, sounds,  and experience.  And even the author’s choice of words will add another potential filter layer.  For example, to say “The elephant roared” has a different connotation that “The elephant trumpeted.” 

In my illustrated text I addressed the loss of physical structure in a school yet created an analogy to the growth of former students through its current state.  Without the relationship of the actual images of the school the text could be interpreted in a totally different way.  The article refers to “students cannot create a picture in the mind due to lack of background knowledge or the complexity of the text.”  In this particular example students would most likely not envision the school as portrayed in the images, they very well could picture the abandoned school with windows boarded up that sits on the street down the from their home.  Perhaps they might imagine a lonely building, overgrown with weeds sitting in a vacant lot, or even a vacant lot.  Without the descriptive in the text to indicate height, color, and texture of the building there is not sufficient clues in the piece to define it accurately in the mind for most people.

“Finding the Way” was written specifically for this assignment.  The author was inspired by the photos of the school, as it stands today, which I provided to her.  She did not need to provide the detailed description as she knew that the imagery was going to be used.  However, without those photos, the piece has a much broader interpretation.  In theory, the author, used a “picture book”, a digital album of images with only limited text in my email, to write her interpretation.  Just as the students in the classroom were asked to interpret images to create their impression so too did my author.

As a young reader, and I have always been a voracious reader, I often selected books by the cover.  I chose the pretty, colorful covers.  Those covers gave me an insight into the content of the book and I was disappointed if the characters were not portrayed correctly just as students in the study noted.  There is an edition of “Kiss of Kin” by Mary Lee Settle that has an image on the front cover of 2 males kissing.  That image brings to mind that the content will be non-traditional, however, the content has absolutely nothing to do with homosexual love.  Imagery can be good, but it can also be detrimental.

The match of illustration to text is crucial.  In my presentation I wanted to use a slide of Coalwood School as it was that would then fade into what it is today.  When I was not able to locate a photograph I did the next best thing.  The first slide of the piece starts out at full color and as the second slide appears and the text states “Coalwood School is SILENT now,” the background image fades away just as the structure of the building has faded away. 

To apply this article into a curriculum setting that is applicable specifically to my teaching situation, it would be interesting to provide a series of images of a particular place and give a few basic facts about the images.  Who, what, when, where, and possible even why the images are significant.  In doing this I would be creating a virtual picture book that students could then interpret into a textual sense.  The final step in the process would be the creation of a multi-media piece such as an illuminated text to bring the assignment together.

The "Subject"

I realized that I do not know many 8-18 year olds.  There are a couple that come to mind, but after consideration I realized that I have an excellent young person to work with.

"Annette" is a recent high school graduate.  She was raised in a suburban area near Akron, Ohio until the age of 12.  Her family, which consists of her mother, father, two brothers and a sister (all younger), relocated to rural Lewis County, WV.

I first met Annette a few months after she turned 15.  She struck me as a sweet, innocent, farm girl with a deep love for her horses.  Today, she is a mature young woman who is embarking on a great adventure.  On May 25 she graduated from high school and on May 27 she married the love of her life (my son).  Today, June 11 they are settling into a new life together at Schofield Barracks, HI.

I will be interviewing Annette via Skype and Facebook messenger.  She will be accessing both interview modes from both a traditional laptop and her IPhone.

Annette is a very talented artist.  She has God given talent that allows her to create pictures from her mind and nature on paper and canvas.  Her portraiture is phenomenal and she hopes to learn to work with Photoshop and other graphics programs to develop her artwork further.  She understands that while she is fortunate in her talent, she needs to be comfortable with technology as well.

During their courtship, the couple faced challenges of distance as he was stationed in HI and did a one year deployment in Afghanistan.  It was a vast array of electronics that enabled them to stay in touch.  Their technology use was challenged from a variety of ways including technology black outs and computers being damaged during a bombing.

The easy access to social media created a set of challenges for the young couple and I plan to discuss the pros and cons of social media both in a academic and social setting.  Annette, as the oldest, is very close to her mother, and it will be interesting to get feedback on how she is using social media and other technologies to remain connected to her family.

She will begin college coursework in the fall at AP, which is an online school for military personnel and dependents.  She will rely totally on technology to complete her coursework.

I hope to be able to record a portion of our Skype interview and include it in a future post.

First Dance

May 27, 2012.

Illuminated Text - FINALLY!

Well, Murphy's Law says......

A variety of last minute challenges including computer issue, internet issue, and why won't it upload?  It has been a frustrating couple of hours, but here it is.....finally.

Fingers are crossed that it plays correctly.  If not, well there is always the am.
http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/loomyladi-1441332-gilchrist-finding-the-way2/

Media Ecologies

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? 

I was surprised to learn that there are only 1.5 computers per household.  This number is significantly less than other types of technology.  This, to me, represents a lack of information and educational opportunities.  Many middle and upper class income homes have multiple computers, or that would be my presumption, so therefore that number is averaged to such an insignificant number because of low income households.  Technology is important, but quality technology is not.

2. What are the benefits to a genre-based approach to understanding youth engagement with digital media over a categorical-based approach?  All studies must be placed within a contextual frame.  With the study of media technology there  in one variable that was difficult to quantify, that was the level of engagement or use.  This variable does not fit neatly into categories, so by developing a genre based marker the study was able to contextual the results.

3. What aspects of Michelle's (Box 1.2) computer use at home have implications for computer use at school?  Michelle has an advantage over many of her friends by having a computer at home.  This extra exposure, though limited allows her to gain a level of comfort with technology that others might not.  This comfort level not only decreases the amount of time Michelle will need to learn new technologies, but will also aid in building her self-esteem and confidence level as she has advanced communication skills.

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?  There is immense potential for school-based literacy instruction in a variety of avenues, but specifically in creative writing.  With the development of an interactive environment through a school based systems students could be encouraged to utilize the work that they are creating for fun for class assignments.  People, of all ages, are more engaged when involved in a project that is important to them.  While it is important to study the classics and learn the basics of literature, so too is creative writing.  Technology is an excellent way to combine the two.

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?  It has always been important for teachers to be connected to their students both in and out of the classroom.  Just as teachers in pre-technology days, tried to find ways to engage students by using community events such as elections, ball games, etc.  teachers of today are challenged to know what the students are “in to” and what is important to them. 

If teachers have a common base of reference with their students in technology it allows the teachers to become students and vica versa.  I believe it is extremely important to empower students to excel and by leveling the technology playing field students have just such the opportunity.  Additionally, with a common area of technology the teachers can focus on the teaching of the content in a format that is comfortable for the students.

6. Should schools support students' in "geeking out"? What are the educational and ethical implications of "geeking out"?  “Geeking out” is not for everyone, but neither is playing football.  Some students excel in reading and others in science.  Some students apply themselves to learning and interacting within technology because that is there comfort level.  The level of commitment and the capacity to learn new technology relatively independently  are actually excellent qualities in young people who geek out.  It is unfortunate that often those traits are not used in a positive light. 

From the educational standpoint the traits found in those who are geeking out  are wonderful.  They provide opportunities for interesting engangement and interaction on a whole new level.  It is probably that students who engage in this manner would be resist to the traditional modes of communication, such as handwritten assignments and even peer to peer interaction.  It is important to get students to identify and interact within “the norm,” but it is also important to integrate independence in thought and deed. 

The ethical concerns are a separate issue.  Unfortunately with the increased level of technology available so too does the exposure to illicit and undocumented activities  In fact, illegal downlaoads are a major problem for all host sites.  How that issue is handled is a matter that is best left addressed by the School Board and policy makers on a school by school basis.

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 Virginia.  Absolutely!  My son and his friends are gamers and have immense libraries of “tunes.”  Access to technology is a challenge in rural West Virginia not only because of the availability of the hardware in certain economic situations, but also in terms of the logistics of providing rural internet access.  I have noticed however, that young people with access to technology will act like young people all across the country.  They will locate resources that are important to THEM and establish their own identity.  Children have been doing the same things for centuries, just today, they are doing it with technology.

Multi-modal connection

It is interesting to look at the many ways that multi-modal literacy can be used in education.  Ironically enough a question from last weeks assignment has me seriously thinking about the entire multi-modal concept.  What are the challenges of integration?  TIME!  It takes time, energy, and creative to plan, develop, and create multi-modal pieces. 

I have a library science background so I was intrigued with this presentation developed by the Alberta Library Association.  The piece dates to 2005 and much of what it address is still relevant, but it also expresses the importance of timeliness.

With multi-modal interaction, the days of a teacher creating a lesson and pulling it out of the filing cabinet year after year is gone.  It is not possible to retain the same lesson in exactly the same format for many years, technology changes will not allow an educator to relax and rely on past projects.

http://www.slav.schools.net.au/downloads/08pastpapers/13think/mutimodal.ppt

Multi-modal literacy

Multi-Modal Literacy

Literacy has traditionally been the ability to read and write.  This basic definition of literacy amounts to the ability to communicate in a non-verbal way.  Today literacy is about so much more than reading and writing.  There are a variety of non-traditional ways to communicate through the use of technology.  For many years my resume included the statement, “I am computer literate.”  Today, that statement in and of itself is no longer sufficient to express ones literacy as literacy has expanded beyond the basics of communication.

I raised my children during a time when children were classified as either auditory or visual learners.  There was an accepted pedagogy that if instruction was targeted to the manner in which a child learned best that they would meet and exceed standards that were set for them.  The concept of multimodal reading and writing being an accepted pedagogical format reinforces this theory, “multimodal literacies instruction is a philosophical orientation that holds that children (and adults) learn best when engaged in complex, socially constructed, personally relevant, creative composition and interpretation of texts….” (Sanders, 4)  Basically, in layman’s terms, teach them in a manner that they can relate to and interests them and they will learn.  Like the definition of literacy, so too has the concept of auditory and visual learning evolved.

In developing multimodal literacies there are a variety of choices to consider.  Learning to read and write was once a basic skill that was taught by repetition.  Reading was taught by example and sharing, in the early 1800’s that was usually with a familial reading of one text, the Bible.  Writing was a very concise, structured lesson of repetition, repetition, repetition.  The skill was not applied to real life scenarios, it was simply an instructional tool used in the educational setting.  In the 21^st Century however, we have expanded that basic instructional technique to include the theory and meaning of experience.  Education has evolved to the point where practical and real life experience and used in the creation of lessons and in practice.  This concept is further being expanded upon through the arts, .”…leads to informed or critical talk by positioning learners as active viewers and perceivers, while providing more precise and imaginative language to eludicate a deeper perception of the everyday world.” (Sanders, 6)

Multi-modal learning also benefits the student by taking them beyond the confines of their physical space.  For instance, where it was once a difficult and complicated process to organize a class “pen pal” by integrating with a classroom in another city or state and the framework of that interaction required a complicated series of written communication between teachers, before a student was even introduced to the concept, one can now create an environment for virtual “pen pals” in schools and communities around the world with only basic preliminary arrangement.  The authors share this concept with us, “….creates space for us to move beyond mere technologizing; that is we do not include technology because we should, but because it allows for greater participation, collaboration, and distribution of knowledge that has not been possible with our previous uses of technology (Sanders, 11). 

I was recently asked to assist the Rivesville Elementary Project Issaac Program with developing digital storytelling.  I was intrigued by the invitation.  I was, unfortunately, not able to take on the project due to time restrictions and my lack of knowledge on the technical aspects of the process.  I was comfortable in helping students create and tell their stories, I am a storyteller and love working with children.  The concept of Digital Video Composing as 21^st Century Literacy is an important tool to be used in the continuation of traditional storytelling.  I do not believe that technology will ever complete replace face to face interaction, but through the integration of multi-modal technologies we can grow and change.

Adults, even professionals, tend to be resistant to change.  While many educators are quick to grasp onto new pedagogy, thought processes, and technologies others are simply not interested in changing what they do.  It is this inability to grow, to change that will present a major challenge in multi-modal literacy.  I work with seasoned educators on a regular basis who are resistant to utilizing the basic features of FSU Blackboard to contact students and post grades, how can multi-modal literacy become a part of the classroom if the educators are not willing to learn, experience, and contribute to the process?

My illuminated text.  An interesting project, I've not used PowerPoint much in the past.  I typically find it routine and mundane.  A really good PP takes planning and alot of time.  This assignment was fun!  Finding the Way