Flight n' Crisis

The Flight from conversation by Turkle and The Crisis of Significance by Wesch share a theme evolving around how technology has impacted human interaction.   The flight leads to the disconnection felt with one another in any environment whether social, or academic.  The crisis begins when the search for meaning and inspiration remains unfulfilled for periods of time which may seem an eternity. 

In Flight from Conversation, Turkle claims conversations are sacrificed for mere connections when families and friends sit together, text.  This new art of “being alone together” has enabled us to be with one another and also elsewhere. Consequently, we end up hiding from one another as we connect to one another.  The author points out how technology is advancing to  look for ways to make artificial intelligence with more human like qualities.  This reminds me of a movie, Her  2013, based on a main character, Theodore who is recently divorced and finds himslef alone.  He invests in the latest technology,  a program for an Operating System designed specifically for him.   Eventually, he becomes emotionally and intellectually attached to Samantha, the operating system and its human like qualities.  However, the intellectual stimulus is no longer sufficient to satisfy Theodore.  He needs more.  Theodore needs companionship in the way that Samantha could not provide.  In our rush to connect, Turkle asserts we flee from solitude, but fail to experience people as they are.  

In Crisis of Significance, Wesch states that the physical structure of the classroom does not inspire dialogue and critical thinking.  His focus is on managing the environment.  He describes his auditorium-like class, as a sterile environment of neatly lined-up seats all facing a massive stage.  The podium, housed a computer with him as the focal point instead of the students.  

As the ad states, let's disconnect to reconnect. 

Let's Make Stuff Workshop

In class, we had a guest speaker who talked about the benefits of having students make stuff in class.  It holds students accountable for their learning in a way that simultaneously engages them.

 The implications for teaching and learning is to think outside of the "box" and allow time for creativity to flow.  We should not leave it up to the media to teach our children but guide them through thought-provoking conversations around the images we see.

Grammar Saves Lives

How to Use Grammarly

Using Grammarly can be broken down into simple step-by-step instructions.

First, you must sign in using a google account, Facebook or simply log in.

Once you are signed in, you will need to install the application.  

After the application is installed, you can begin using the features immediately.  On the home page, type or upload a new document.

Remember to set your goals.  This would prove helpful in the end for insightful tips for improvement.

Click the green button on the upper-right hand corner for checking assistance.

Underlined words will automatically appear on the document.  As you place the mouse over each highlighted word, options to correct, dismiss, flag and/or detailed explanations with specific examples will appear.  

In the end, insights will rank your writing in comparison to other users based on vocabulary and readability.  

Media Violence

Write about your chapter on your blog in a way that will help teach it to the rest of us who have not read it.  Include major argument (thesis) and any supporting examples the author uses to explain his or her point.

I chose to read the article Examining Media Violence: How can we help students to think about the relationship between media images and violence by Bakari Chavanu.  The setting begins in the classroom where an English teacher has to deliver a nine-week unit to his 11th graders on violence in society.  The author uses a resource entitled Beyond Blame produced by the Center for Media Literacy in Los Angeles. 

The major argument is that the media is not the sole cause for violence in society, but that the media plays a major role in reinforcing the myths, images and even attitudes that support a culture of violence.  Just as the media shifted around smoking, cholesterol, and buckling your seat belt, it can do the same to encourage choices about violent behaviors. 

One particular exercise the teacher uses with the students is “Damsels in Distress: Women and violence.  Student set the purpose before watching video clips by having to circle descriptive words that describe how men and women are depicted in music videos.  The first part of the activity served to help the students recognize the differences in gender.  After this activity students watched a selection of videos first with sound and second without sound.   The students quickly realized that the music served as a distractor and they were able to see more without the sound. 

Another activity the teacher includes from the resource is entitled Media Heroes, Real Heroes.  Students had to call out descriptive words used to describe actions of a typical hero. Then students had to describe people in real life who they could describe as heroes or heroines.  The point of this exercise was to help them see the contrast between media and real-life heroes.

The teacher finally ended with a segment special Kids Killing Kids and a discussion about non-violent solutions. One student was quoted as saying, " Without violence, TV would be boring." What do you think?

Animated Culture

What is your relationship to Disney and animated children’s culture?  What role did these texts play in your life as a child, if any? In that of any children you share time with? How do your memories challenge or reflect Christensen’s claims? How does Frozen meet or challenge your memories of princess culture? 

In unlearning the myths that bind us by Linda Christensen, the “secret education” refers to the indoctrination of young children through books and movies.  This wouldn’t be so dreadful if it were not for the fact that the marginalized remained voiceless and invisible.  

Because most of our early information about how others live does not come from first hand experience, our cultural stereotypes are shaped and distorted by what is seen in the media.  

For me personally, being in the minority of the minority, Hollywood and media images portrayed did not represent me.  The images of the Latina in the ‘novelas’ were always fair-skinned or white as this is what is valued in the Latin culture due to colonized mindset. Whenever, I would see the images depicting Latina that are upheld as a standard of beauty.  I was not celebrated, as I did not see my reflection in them.  My image was not mirrored within the dominance of the minority culture. This absence is an aspect of the oppression I felt.  The indoctrination left behind by the colonizers runs deep in the blood of my people that the ideologies are accepted and the vicious cycle of negation is perpetuated.  The negation of who we are to who we think we must be.   

How has this affected me in my adulthood?  Accepting the notion, that I could not play the damsel in distress as I lacked the characteristics of beauty as portrayed by the media, I came to a resolve that strength and intellect would be my innate qualities.  These same qualities have been my driving force and kept me motivated to push past and redefining for myself what is beauty. 

Frozen the Disney movie challenges my memories of princess culture, because she chooses her love for her sister to teach her how to control her powers.  Even though she is locked away and isolated in a castle, it was by choice.  A choice made from desperation and lack of guidance.   In the end, she no longer had to hide and suppress who she is.  Embracing her true self, and understanding her love for her sister lead to her happily ever after. 

Media Literacy

What do you make of the (divergent) positions of Boyd and Prensky (per our discussion in class and/or per the article above?)  Where do you stand on the “digital native” terminology?

To assume that the youth are native to technology ignores the fact that not all teens are technologically savvy or that they know what to do with the experiences.  I agree with the statement that digital immigrants can support them by helping turn their experience into knowledge.  Together the digital natives and digital immigrants have something the other needs.   It is interesting to see that with the wide spread of social media, false news is on the rise.  So teaching critical-thinking skills to our youth is of upmost important.  To have the ability to discern fact from opinion through various fact-checking techniques is a skill the digital natives would need now more than ever to protect themselves from lies, and manipulations.  The digital era opens doors and puts information at your finger tips, but one should be weary of the falsifications be presented as facts.   It was hilarious hearing the term immigrant and native used with reference to technology for the first time in class.  While trying to understood the culture of technology in terms of first culture and first language, I was able to see parallels in my upbringing to that of my parents.   However, I did not attribute the way I process information differently than my son, to the  technology gap between our generations.  No matter how we process information or use technology, immigrant or native, we both need technology.  

Digital Native or Digital Immigrant?

I definitely consider myself to be a "digital immigrant."Digital Immigrant cannot become a digital native
according to some who argue this point.  I work really hard and make a conscious effort towards integrating technology into my daily life to access information more efficiently.  This work of integration unlike a "digital native" is not effortless and ingrained as I was not born with technology in hand.  In the process of this integration, my hesitation towards technology exhibits my accent.  The initial uncomfortable feeling I get when I have to learn something new.  For instance, I have yet to be technology savvy to create a google classroom account.  This may be my next professional growth goal so I can integrate technology meaningfully with my students.  Although I have welcomed blended learning with the use of Lexia, and Dreambox, I do so with hesitation as we're asked to assign individual assignments based on student need, which should be monitored.  It feels like more work! So I step into the digital age (information is at your finger tips) where my conventional speed of teaching and learning is not engaging enough to my twitch speed learners.

My summer Digital Media Literacy

 Who am I?  I am many things, as this is a loaded question.  I identify across many different areas on many different levels in my lifetime.  I am female. I am Black.  I am Latina.  I am a speaker of another language other than English.  I am native born to the U.S. from immigrant parents.  I am a culmination of different cultures in one universe trying to make it make sense in a changing world.  With a mindset for growth I accept challenges sometimes knowingly and others subconscious that I have internally struggle with to overcome.