Thinkfinity

One of the most interesting resources listed on the Georgia standards website is the Thinkfinity link.  This website contains a very intuitive search database that allows you to search for lesson plans on a variety of subjects.  Websites like Thinkfinity and Ning are a calming reminder to up and coming teachers, that they don’t have to reinvent the wheel when they start teaching.  There are tons of resources out there on a variety of subjects: the real challenge to teachers is in the implementation of the ideas, and creative application toward developing life-long skills in their students.

It’s also worth mentioning that Verizon sponsors the Thinkfinity site, further evidence of the progressive use of technology in classrooms.

However…
It would be kinda fun to reinvent the wheel (or tire), wouldn’t it?

Media Literacy

Literacy, as I loosely define it, is based on our capacity to send and receive information.  For the longest time, I’ve considered myself a traditionalist, that reading and writing the printed word is the backbone of English Ed. and that nothing can shake it as the foundation of literacy.

While I’d like to cling to my archaic ways, it’s a simple fact that times have changed.  The article on media literacy put a lot of things in perspective for me.

Some key points I find relevant from the article:

1.  Since the information age is upon us, and children can easily access information on their own, schools no longer need to serve as a “bank” that children must attend to collect knowledge.  Instead schools must adapt their curriculum to ‘condition’ students to be critical thinkers, to function efficiently and effectivly process the vast amounts of information at their fingertips.

2.  The vast amounts of media brought about by the information age offers a huge menu of subjects for analysis.  At first, I used to think all this “media spam” was counter intuitive to my fundamentalist ‘reading&writing’ only approach.  However, after thinking about it, the vast amount of media can serve as a giant menu of items which students can use to build critical thinking skills.  Because there is so much out there, there is a high chance there is something any student will be able to latch onto, and really engage with, further reinforcing the expaning range of media literacy in education.

3.   I particularly liked the section on what media literacy -is not-.
Media ‘bashing’ is NOT media literacy, however media literacy often involves
criticizing the media.

Merely producing media is NOT media literacy, although media literacy should include media production and interactive activities and projects.

Just bringing videos, the internet or other mediated content into the classroom is  NOT media literacy; one must also explore the nature and influence of media and media messages in our culture.

Simply looking for political agendas, stereotypes or misrepresentations is NOT media literacy; there should also be an exploration of the systems making them appear “normal.”

Looking at a media message or experience from just one perspective is NOT media • literacy because media should be examined from multiple positions.

Media literacy does NOT mean “don’t watch;” it means “watch carefully, think
critically; participate actively.”

In conclusion, I still think that you can’t eliminate the foundation of reading text and writing, however, I do think the new forms of media serve as good starting points for creative thought and critical analysis.  Starting at these points will lead into the basics: close reading of “texts” (albeit a different format than traditional books), and writing and organization of thought.

Meh, if all else fails, I’ll stick to mine and Homer’s version of “media literacy”.

Comparing Wikis to Encyclopedias

There is apparently a change going on with the mediums with which information is presented and constructed.  The change is occurring due to the information age, the Internet, and the ways in which information is received and transmitted.

In the past, information was transmitted, stored, collected, etc. via. typewritten paper.  Now, computers store the same (more) amount of information as an encyclopedia.  Enter, the wiki.  Now, not only is information stored in technological form, it is also constructed and updated in real time, by anyone.

While the accessibility of wikis has created a very holistic sense of information, and the ways in which it is received and transmitted, there is still a question of authority versus traditional means such as an encyclopedia.

Most importantly, the changing of the times and the ways of information is bringing about a lot of philosophical detours into the norms of conventional education.  More to come…

Wikikikikikikiikikikikikiiiiiiiiiiii

That was fun.

Onto the serious topic about Wikis.  My experience with wikis at UTK was a humbling one.  Wikis were 100% off limits, not just in terms of a source, but you weren’t even allowed to LOOK at wikis.

Okay.  Maybe UTK wasn’t exactly like 1940′s Germany, but it was pretty close as far as attitudes about wikis go.

Coming to KSU, and experiencing a much more… progressive attitude from a certain special professor toward technology in general (wikis included) has come as a refreshing change of mindset from that which I was used to.

I mean, don’t get me wrong.  You’ve gotta take wikis with a grain of salt.  Anyone who has spent HOURS pouring over a research paper, making sure authoritative sources were correctly cited KNOWS has blasphemous a wiki page can be:  who do these people think they are? Only smart people can possess and divulge smart things, right?

This presents two interesting arguments when discussing the validation of wikis in academia:

1. The positive point:  Holistically speaking, wikis are a great way to get lots of information from a great variation of contributing sources.  That, and as long as you don’t try to write a PH.D dissertation using nothing but wikipedia, it’s a great, quick way to get information (as long as you take it with a grain of salt).

2. The negative point: Most people are idiots, and the fact that an outlet exists in which any idiot can contribute anything they want, with millions of OTHER idiots using it as a factual source, scares the hell out of me:

Click me:  ↓

Cause I’m such a nice guy, and don’t view the rest of humanity as a bunch of monkeys chained to typewriters,  I’m leaning my hopes and aspirations as a future teacher toward the positive point.

It seems to be a growing trend in secondary schools, toward a much more holistic, connected academic experience: mixing mathematics courses so that Algebra and Geometry are taught simultaneously, encouraging of individual thought in science via. the invention of new experiments, English texts from a variety of perspectives (rather than the citizenship-indoctrinating Brit Lit./American Lit. canon), etc.

So, I have a lot of hope for wikis, even if the spellchecker doesn’t recognize it as a word yet.

Episode 2: Blogging about Blogging

It’s as exciting as it sounds.

I’ve been mulling over ideas for implementing blogs in a classroom the past few days as I’ve been reading through Will Richardson’s book, Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts. I must say that technology such as this presents a philosophical & moral dilemma for me, as a teacher.

First: as a purist of literature, I feel that in many ways, technology is one of the evils of the world of literacy.  This isn’t to say that there isn’t anything good to read on a wiki, or watch on television.  It’s just that with technology, the amount of useless spam that bombards our senses on a daily basis far outweighs anything good that might be seeping in between the latest erectile dysfunction commercial, or random facebook advertisement reminding me of how to get a six-pack.  Thus, I feel that by encouraging my students to use outlets such as wikis or blogs, that they’ll use my own endorsement of technology as a means to say, “I didn’t have time to read a chapter of my book last night, I was too busy blogging.”

As a purist of literature, I also feel that there is something primordial about simply picking up a book and reading it.  Reading is the -first- step in writing, and while I feel that blogs are a great avenue to write and express yourself, they must never take the precedent over reading.

Well, what about reading blogs?  A good point, but only if the blog has good, insightful points, and is well written.

I’ve never followed any blogs myself, but a friend of mine directed me to a fairly popular blog in her Boston network:  blognigger.

Such a blog is a good read for more advanced students, capable of reading the author’s elevated, sarcastic prose (evident in the title of the blog), as well as the higher level issues he discusses in his posts, such as race, religion, politics, etc.

So, what do I feel about blogging and technology in the classroom after 2 days of studying about it?  Skeptical, but warming to the idea of it.

Goodie Gumdrops

I’m now a blogger.

I always swore I’d never do one of these.  I’ve met far too many of my overopinionated, self-absorbed peers in higher education that do blogs, and am annoyed by the constant linking to their sites, and the incessant desire for debate-mongering.

I also feel that online social mediation, such as Facebook, Myspace, and blogs violate a sense of privacy I like to keep exclusive to myself.  It’s not that I don’t like expressing my ideas, it’s just that I don’t like sharing them in a public (or semi-public) forum.

All the old folks say if you can’t beat em’, join em’.   So here I am.

I’ll be keeping this updated with my insights into education, literature, and the other high-philosophy of the world.   I hope everyone is as excited about reading my spam as I am about writing it,so talk to everyone soon.

Z~

My current attitude toward education: