Final Project

A few years ago, my principal asked the math and science teachers if we would be willing to spend four weeks in the summer learning about technology in the classroom. The bonus was that we would receive computers for our classrooms. I will do pretty much anything to get free stuff for my students so I readily agreed along with all the other teachers. I was happy to commit to the four weeks but I was so out of my comfort zone. I knew nothing about computers and technology, but the promise of thirteen new computers in my classroom was too good to pass up. I have gotten much better since that summer but not nearly where I should be. Technology is something that I am uncomfortable using as a teacher. I do use it, and so do my students but I have not embraced it, until this year in graduate school. My first class in graduate school I had to create a blog. I had never even been on a blog let alone create one. I immediately felt inferior to the other teachers in the room. My fears were unfounded however. I found myself surrounded by people who were willing to help me. I gained some confidence. Through out the year I have had to blog in other classes, take an online class, and learned to use excel as an assessment tool. I have gained both knowledge and confidence along the way. However this class has actually changed the way that I think about technology. For the first time I feel convicted to change the way that I teach. The first time I watched Mike Wesch's YouTube video, "A Vision of Students Today" was during a family dinner. One of my daughters showed the video after dinner one night and we had a lively conversation about it's message.I had a different reaction however when I watched it recently.When Wesch is writing on the chalkboard at the end of the video, I saw myself. I really don't write on a chalkboard but sometimes I want things to go back to the "chalkboard" times. They were easier for me. I was confident teaching on a chalkboard. But that is not what is best for my students.

                                                              

I teach in a school that over 80% of students receive free or reduced lunch. Many students do not speak English at home. Some of my kids do not even have a home at all. They certainly are not digital natives.  When I read Danah Boyd's article, I clearly saw myself as a digital immigrant but because of the circumstances that my students live in I know that they are digital immigrants as well. The responsibility is on me to lead the way for these children to become competitive with the students from higher income neighborhoods and schools. Patrick Finn would argue that, these kids are not able to get the knowledge and support that they need at home or at school. It is my job to try and level that playing field for their future success. Wesch's message is clear. Technology is coming fast and hard and I need to make my students ready to receive it.
We were all asked the question, what does media literacy look like? There have been so many different things that I have learned these past two weeks it is going to take me a long time to go through it all, but this is the first time that I am looking forward to doing just that.
One aspect of media literacy that my students are pretty good at is in the realm of social media. They are constantly engaged in different forms of social media. They are secretly texting in school or they are on Facebook, Snap Chat, and Twitter till all hours of the night. They are even communicating on X Box with each other. The term friend has a new meaning, one I don't really understand. One thing I do understand is that I am staring to believe that we as educators and administrators need to rethink the use of smart phones in the classroom. I am starting to agree with our guest speaker Dr. Josh Stenger, when he suggests why not let the students use their phones in the classroom for learning purposes?  As I stated in an earlier Blog, I allowed my students to use their phones to go on Pinterest and to search the web to decorate for the eighth grade dance. The results were amazing.
 I am  also aware of the dangers of too much social media. Sherry Turkle makes a valid point when she states that social media has made conversation a lost skill. This spring we took the whole school to Mystic Aquarium. The principal told the kids that they had to leave their phones and other electronic devices at school, nothing on the bus. Some of my students brought this up in class and asked if I would intervene. I said no. One student asked how long the ride was and I informed him that it was about an hour ride. Another kid asked me what was he supposed to do for an hour with no phone. I told him to talk to his friend. Other students chimed in that was boring.
A few years ago the city of Cranston decided to use the DANA center out of the University of Texas at Austin to develop a new science curriculum. There are many opinions whether or not this was a wise choice but the bottom line is that it is what I have to follow. One of the results was that we were left with no textbooks. At first we all thought that this was a good thing. Science textbooks become out of date so rapidly anyway, and we were always criticizing how poorly put together the textbooks were. We did not think that we would miss having a textbook at all. We were wrong. For the population of students that we have, textbooks are necessary. Students need them at home to help them study, to go over things that they learned in class. The science departments in all three middle schools asked for books but we were turned down.
Another part of the picture is that Cranston is piloting a new ELL model for the state.All sheltered ELL learners will be in a classroom with both a content teacher and an ELL teacher. I have been asked to be a part of this new initiative.
My dilemma  for textbooks got more complicated. Until two weeks ago when Flexbooks were introduced to me. For the past four or five days I have spent hours investigating the Flexbook site. There is so much information. The beauty of it is that I never have to really complete it, I can just keep adding to it and modifying it to meet the needs of my students.
I am in completely new territory. I have no idea what my classroom is going to look like. I am also teaching 7th and 8th grade next year so I will also be learning the 7th grade curriculum. Flexbooks will make this easier for me. There will be so many resources that I can choose from. So far I have modified two chapters on the metric system. I have looked at some interactive assessments and some labs which I plan on using. I will be able to put my classes into groups which will be helpful. They can work with each other online at home or maybe even with me. Many of my students are unable to stay after school for extra help because they have to take care of a younger sibling. I am thinking that I might have a set time for a group chat. I have peer tutoring after school. It might be possible for this to occur on line as well. Another feature of this program that I am excited about is that when I modified my Flexbook, I could press a button and it could be translated into many different languages. So far there are five different languages spoken in my new class next year. All of those languages are on the Flexbook site. I asked a friend to check the Spanish translation and she told me that all my modifications were translated. I am psyched about this. Science concepts are pretty universal. This might make it possible for some of the parents of my students to help their kids with their homework. Finally, the book can be used online or it can be printed for kids who have no technology resources at home.
I am not implying that this site will be the end to all of my problems  and I am positive that I am going to make many mistakes this year, but I am excited to get started. I think that my ELL teachers will be excited as well. I am going to complete the metric unit in the next few weeks and then meet with my team to see what they think. If they like what I have done I will move on to another topic. My goal is to have two units done for both 7th and 8th grades by Christmas break.....we'll see!
When I was creating my Pecha Kucha, I stared to reflect on what a journey this year has been for me especially with technology. Ken Robinson, states in one of his TED talks that "if you are afraid to be wrong you will never come up with anything original." I think that is one of the most important things that I have learned on this process. I tell my students that all the time that the best inventions have been made from mistakes. I am beginning to take my own advice. This is my favorite Ken Robinson TED talk, "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" My goal this year is to get my students to focus on the process, not just the product.



                                                              

                                                             




                                                         

Turkle vs Wesch

After reading Sherry Turkle's article, "The Flight from Conversation," and watching Wesch's TED talk it is my opinion that they have opposing points of view. I happen to agree with both of them. It is an all too often occurrence see people sitting at a restaurant on their cell phones, texting. It makes me sad when I see families sitting together and there is no conversation, just texting going on. I have been at family gatherings where some of the younger family members are present and they never engage any conversation, they spend the entire time on their devices pretty much oblivious to those around them.
When I was growing up family gatherings were such special times for me. I loved to listen to the stories the adults told and then when I was old enough, taking part in the conversations and debates with my aunts and uncles. I feel that this was an important part of my development. Those experiences and conversations helped to shape the person who I am today. I know that my own children also experienced this growing up and they have fond memories of family gatherings as well.
I agree with Turkle when she states that we "have sacrificed conversation for connection." It is  healthy to experience the "messiness" of relationships. The successes and failures of conversing with an actual person.
On the other hand, I am always inspired by Wesch. As an educator I know that it is my responsibility to teach my students in a different environment from the one that I was taught. Wesch talks about how technology opens the lines of communication and there is such power in that. The example of the "Free Hugs" video going viral was amazing. Also the effect the Rainforest ad had on the makers of Dove products is significant. I can see how the proper use of media can empower students. I would like to be a part of this experience.
In my opinion the point of view of both authors is equally important.

Looking for the Girls

A few years ago some of my students asked me if I liked Chris Brown. This was in February 2009, right after He had been arrested for beating Rihanna to a pulp. I told them that even if I did like his music I would never listen to him again. They were surprised at my response. I told them that I could never listen or support someone who beat women. This opened up a rather alarming conversation. First of all it was the girls that were coming to his defense, the boys were pretty quiet. A few of the girls said that they knew what he did was wrong but that he was so cute and so hot they would still be fans and listen to his music and watch his videos. Some of them said that it probably only happened that one time and he was sorry and he would never hit Rihanna again. The most disturbing remark came from one girl who said that we didn't know what Rihanna had done to provoke the beating. Some of it might be her fault. I asked her if she was saying that Rihanna deserved the beating; she shrugged her shoulders and replied that we didn't know Chris Brown's side. We had a pretty intense conversation about respect and how women should be treated. We talked about how women are portrayed in most of the songs and music videos that they watch. Sadly, I really didn't change their minds.

When I read Looking  for the Girls by Andrea Brown Thirston, I thought of that conversation with mt students. I looked up some of Chris Brown's videos on Youtube and even after the Rihanna incident and even doing some jail time, Chris Brown is still the same. Much of what he is singing about is still demeaning to women. This is a dangerous message we are sending to our youth.

                                                                    

In the article Thurston, an African American women herself spent a day watching music videos to get an idea of what young people are watching on a daily basis. What were the messages and images being conveyed? She was particularly interested in the way that African American women were being portrayed. Thurston makes some rather disturbing discoveries. She writes about the potential effects that these videos are having on black youth and the African American community as a whole.
The videos are promoting a lifestyle of extreme material wealth and with that comes power, respect and beautiful women. Healthy respectful relationships between men and women are not evident. Thurston writes "Young black women are present more as ornaments and objects than human beings. They are often in the background and virtually never have anything to contribute besides big breasts and butts." These images were consistently portrayed though out every video that Thurston watched. I also spent a few hours watching the videos last night and found the same thing. 
She writes that this is sending a message to black males that money can buy you sexy black females. The reason that these women were attracted to these men was not because of their intelligence and humor, but because of their wealth. If you have money you can take whatever and whomever you want.
The videos are teaching young women that it is acceptable to be thought of as sex objects, trophies of wealthy men. They show women who are willing to anything for money. They are not showing healthy relationships with men where there is mutual respect.
Thurston warns that these messages are especially dangerous to the black culture. She writes about the "racist, classist, and sexist" nature of our society. As a result it is a strong possibility that black youth will try to achieve the goal of material wealth by ant means necessary even illegally.  
It is up to all of us to rectify this problem. First of all we need to accept how powerful these images are. I think about my students who were willing to overlook the beating that Rihanna took because of the strong appeal of Chris Brown and the acceptance of that lifestyle. It is up to us as parents and educators, society as a whole to show that the good life is not about achieving material wealth and the collection of things. True power comes from within.

 


 

The Disney Phenomenon

       

I have watched almost every Disney movie ever made. When I was a little girl, it was Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. I loved them all. However, I never wanted to be them. When I read The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson  I remember thinking that I didn't understand why she wanted to leave the ocean...I had always wanted to be a mermaid.
My parents took my sisters and I to all the Disney movies and every Sunday night we all sat down and watched the Wonderful World of Disney on TV.
The tradition was continued when I had my first son. It wasn't until I had my daughters that I began to rethink my views on Disney. I think that it was The Little Mermaid that first started to make me uncomfortable showing this to my daughters, then it was Belle in Beauty and the Beast and others. The messages were clear; wait for your "prince." A man will make you happy and complete. A man will save you. The heroine was always beautiful and the princes were always handsome so beauty belongs with beauty. This is not the type of women my husband and I were raising our daughters to be. This was not the message we wanted our sons to hear either. Even though I disagreed with the messages that were conveyed in these movies, I still let my kids watch them....I even bought them.  I didn't go overboard with the Disney thing but they did watch them all the same.
My husband and I took our kids to Disney World one year. It was interesting, my kids liked Disney for a few days but they enjoyed the water parks more and the other excursions that we took along the Gulf Coast way outside of the Disney influence.We never even finished using up our tickets. When we asked our kids if they had a good time they said yes but once was enough. They would rather not go back. For myself, the Disney experience left me again with mixed feelings.
Now that I am older and my children are pretty much grown, my kids and I have had discussions on the Disney Phenomenon. They see the wrong messages given in many of the movies. Other messages are communicated as well such as how ugly people are bad. Many of the movies are racially biased like Linda Christensen points out. I also agree with Christensen when she points out these problems to her students and she encourages them to do something about it.
Today I watched Brave for the first time and I was surprised and encouraged by what I saw. This was a different Disney movie. Merida is a different type princess. She is not waiting for her prince to come and save her, she is happy with who she is. I found it refreshing that Merida was kind of messy and disheveled. I also liked the fact that this was a conflict between mother and daughter....and they worked it out. I was hoping that they were not going to pull out a handsome prince at the last minute and ruin the whole thing. I am still not a Disney fan but Brave was a step in the right direction.