Breakaway SA

For this post I chose an  interactive game called Breakaway that was designed in Hebron and Palestine in 2012.  to promote gender equality. It uses soccer, or the concept of team to promote making healthy decisions, dealing with real life challenges like peer pressure and develops leaderships skills. It uses what known as a culturally sensitive approach. Research done in 2013 proves that Breakaway is an effective "transformative" tool to address the problem of violence against women and girls. The mission statement says something to the effect that this interactive simulation uses soccer as a "global" language to educate boys and girls worldwide on gender equality. It can be translated in four languages, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

Actually playing the game is something else entirely.  Maybe because I am not video game savvy, I found it extremely difficult to navigate.  I was able to pass and shoot but moving on defense of offense was very challenging.  I appreciated the story lines which had different scenarios based on responses and I can see where this can be used to teach diversity, and assist with complex decision making.  I can also see, after reading the facilitators guide how useful this can be as tool to deter violence against women, teach elements of cultural acceptance and competency and foster and develop leadership skills.

Having training experience I can definitely see myself  facilitating this training as long as I didn't have to actually play the game...

Interview SA

For this assignment I interviewed PK, a 16 year old tenth grader who the daughter of a family friend. My first question was how old  was she when she started using a computer.  I was surprised when she replied 2 years of age.  She recounted how she would sit on her mother's lap while her mother was on the desktop and that was how she learned to navigate a computer.  She has had her own cell phone since the  age of 12 and presently has a iphone.  She stated that she spends anyway from 4-5 hours a day on her laptop, and constantly texts or responds to text.

The purpose for her online activity in her words, "to stay connected to my friends, and have fun".She has profiles on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and she had a MySpace page when she was 10.  She showed me her pages and I must say they are very impressive wth the graphics.  She also plays video games and her favorite in NBA Y2K.  I asked her what she would do in the event she ever lost her phone and the look on her face was priceless.

I asked her how often does she actually call her friends and she basically said it's all about "texting".  I took this to me that she would rather text then talk.  She is a big fan of "selfies" and her and her friends post new "selfies" on a daily basis and even have a "selfie" stick.  As for school, she says she uses the internet at school for research purposes and there is software on the school computers that dont allow for social media sites.  In her room she has a flat screen TV, laptop and a kindle that she uses for reading books.  She says she is always on her phone, texting or posting on her social media sites.

The only thing I was really surprised at was the age she started but in retrospect there is nothing for me to surprised about.  This is the digital age and children start at very young ages.  She was very forthcoming and seemed to enjoy being interviewed about her digital uses.

Final Project Prep SA

For my final project I have chosen to research “Participatory Culture”.  Why did I chose this?  Well to start I grew up in a time when participatory culture  meant something totally different does it means now.  The Boy Scouts, playing intramural teams sports, bowling leagues, etc.. are all examples of the participatory culture that I grew up with.   Today however, it means according to Wikipedia, “a neologism in reference to but opposite to a culture in which private person's act not only as consumers but contributors and producers as well.  Participatory culture is further defined as a culture with low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement and strong support for creating and sharing one's creation (Jenkins et al. 2009).  I find this topic very intriguing and look forward to thoroughly researching it further.

Annotated Bibliography



 User generated content, You Tube and participatory culture on the Web: Music learning and teaching in two contrasting online communities.

1.  Waldron, Janice. Music Education Research, Sep2013, Vol. 15 Issue 3, p257-274, 18p; DOI: 10.80/14613808.2013.772131, Database: Education Source

This article uses  information from New Media researchers to show how user generated content (UGC) can be used for music learning and teaching in on and off line settings and it does this by comparing two different online music communities.  I will use this in my research for my final paper because it focuses on using media as a teaching tool and it incorporates elements of participatory culture.

2. Learner Generated Designs in Participatory Cultures: What They are and  How They are Shaping Learning
:Kim, Beaumie; Tan, Lynde; Bielaczyc, Katerine. Interactive Learning Environments.Oct2015, Vol. 23 Issue 5, p545-555. 11p. DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2015.1067974.

This article discusses the validity of giving learners control of their learning postulating that an emerging culture exists where the focus is on how  the learners doing, knowing,  and identifying experiences are integral to how they actually learn.  This article uses the intersect of social identity and experiences.  I am using this article in my research because I believe that this type of learning design is important when trying to understand how participatory culture works.

3. The Civic and Political significance of Online Participatory Cultures Among Youth Transitioning to Adulthood
: Kahne, Joseph; Lee, Nam-Jin; Feezell, Jessica T.Journal of Information Technology & Politics.Jan-Mar2013, Vol. 10 Issue 1

This article uses a broad based study to support the contention that there is a direct link between online participatory cultures and the development of civic and political interaction.  This is significant to me because my proposed project is based in part on youth becoming more and politically and civic minded by becoming more active in their communities.  I will most assuredly use this article for my final paper.

4. The Proverbial Rock and Hard Place: The Realities and Risks of Teaching in a world of Multiliteracies, Participatory Culture and Mandates

Jacobs, Gloria E. . Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Oct2012, Vol. 56 Issue 2, p98-102, 5p, 1 Diagram; DOI: 10.1002/JAAL.00109, Database: Education Source

This article discusses challenges that educators face today because of top down teaching, or instructions from people who live in Ivory towers, testing mandates, or standardized tests that many argue are not standardized at all and the diversity of the student population and how Multiliteracies participatory culture may help to alleviate some of these challenges.  I will use this in my research.



5. Reading Moby-Dick in a Participatory Culture: Organizing  Assessment  for Engagement in A  New Media Area

Hickey, Daniel T.; McWilliams, Jenna; Honeyford, Michelle A. Journal of Educational Computing Research.2011, Vol. 45 Issue 2, p247-263.

This article uses research on an assessment framework called participatory assessment to design a tool for knowledge building and a social model of learning guided by the following questions:
How to leverage skills and the mindset the youth already have using new media technologies as an enhancement to their use of traditional texts
How can innovative practices be used given the realities of classroom and school
I will use this article in my research because I believe it germane to my topic of participatory culture.

Engaging Students Outside of the Classroom

"The creative practices of youth are a part of their everyday life (Gustavon pg. 102).  This statement means to me that youth spend only a very small part of their day in a classroom, so to find ways to engage them outside of the classroom is essential to their growth and development, especially with activities that they have already expressed an interest in.  The story of "Gil" bought back memories for me of a science teacher I had in the 6th or 7th grade who used "my story" for his thesis on the Bureau of Child Welfare , now known as Administration for Children's Services.  His ability to engage me outside of the classroom had a significant impact on my behavior in the classroom.  Another significant point made by Gustavon is that educators best educate when they lead by example, by modeling behavior and exhibiting   a genuine concern for the welfare of the  youth they serve.  In my opinion educators are first and foremost of service to youth. Teachers need to be working with their students (Gustavon pg. 119.

Engaging Urban Youth through digital story telling struck a chord in me,  Story telling has been a staple in Black communities for centuries.  It was a way to share the family history before the advent of any digital media.  The family history was passed down from generation to generation.  For many of the youth today it's all about digital media, from iphones, ipads, social media and the internet, so using this media to engage youth in meaningful dialogue is perhaps an idea way to go.  Digital story telling has the potential to provide youth with opportunities for new sense making of who they are (Nixon pg 124).  I have worked extensively with  youth, specifically those deemed "at risk" and have found that they are receptive to anything where they feel connected and empowered.

Although Chpater 7 left me with more questions then answers, all of the readings in this module left an impression on me as to the importance of tapping into the natural resources of youth and the significance in engaging them outside of the classroom.

Technology Refusal- SA

After reading chapter 3, I was left with very little understanding of what “technology refusal” actually meant. My first idea was that it meant schools refuse to use the new existing technology except for basic things like research. Then I found an essay written by Steven Hodas in 1993 entitled “Technology Refusal and the Organizational Culture of Schools” where it was defined as a set of behaviors rooted in the increasingly archaic purposes of schooling. Hodas writes "They (schools) are systems for preserving and transmitting information and authority, for inculcating certain values and practices while minimizing or eliminating others . . . " Technologies which support these purposes (intercoms, overhead projectors, chalk boards, CAI and ILSs) are welcomed and embraced while others are shunned, isolated or bent to fit the outmoded purposes (Hodas 1993).

So my next thought was how much has changed since this essay was written in 1993? The case of Ridgeview, where the young ladies was not allowed to use the internet because of access to inappropriate content hardly seems germane today because of all the filter software used by places like the Public Library and even some agencies that disallow access to social media sites as well as sites deemed pornographic in content, so what might be a reason for technology refusal today?? Since I have no formal teaching experience I am at a lost. From the readings, I gather that it's a systemic issue that evolves around the attention span of the students. There was also much written on the “culture of education”. Hodas writes, school practice and teaching structure has remained unchanged for seven hundred years (Hodas 1993). So the present system is based on a structure from the year 1315 or better yet, a structure that started before the United States was born. This to me explains why there is technology refusal. The system of teaching or rather the culture is based on very old ideas and concepts and has yet to catch up to the advantages that technology has brought. Technology is described as a curricular topic, like math or science rather then a set of social practices (Leander pg 61).

Slam Poetry in my opinion is a form of expression much like rap, only without musical accompaniment. Having grown up in the era of the 60's and 70's I dont see it as new. I remember the Last Poet's and Gil Scott Heron. I also remember spoken word contests much like the free style rap of today. I agree with Vasdevan who writes that educational spaces must become spaces that readily accommodate and encourage literacy experimentation, exploration and discovery (Vasdevan 2009).  Technology refusal is an impediment for allowing this.....

Journal post #3

I found this weeks readings very informative and thought provoking. I was struck by several things but was most struck by the passage that read, reading and writing have always been multimodal because it requires the interpretation and design of visual marks, space, color, font, style and other modes of representation and communication ( Jewitt pg. 315). I remember reading as a child and how I was able to interpret the words and form visuals. I was also impressed with the passage that read, a multimodal approach allows educators and researchers to attend to all of the resources involved in composing which educators, caregivers, and policy makers must take seriously the ways in which “new media forms have altered how youth socialize and learn” (Ho et al 2008 pg.2).This to me would be an example of the operational dimension of Green's approach to literacy.

The readings defined Digital Literacy as the the extent to which citizens have necessary competence to take advantage of the possibilities given by new technologies in different settings, yet Livingstone writes of a study conducted that shows youth gain most of their competence in using digital technologies outside of the formal institutions of learning (Livingstone 2002, Buckingham 2003). Yes, this study was cited in 2002 and 2003, but if it holds any validity today, it would be very disheartening because it would infer that there needs to be a shift in the educational paradigm that would include competency in the current digital landscape. Educational spaces must become spaces that readily accommodate and encourage literacy experimentation, exploration and discovery (Vasdevan 2009).

The readings about remixing was at first confusing to me, but after reading it over again, with special attention to Case #2, Challenging Prejudices, it became clearer. I found an article written by Lankshear and Knobel entitled Remix: the Art and Craft of Endless Hybridization where it stated that digital remix provides an educatonally useful lens on culture and cultural production as well as on literacy and literacy education. I believe that Case #2 is a prime illustration of a cultural example of Greens approach to literacy. The fact that students from different cultural backgrounds interpreted and shared information from different perspectives was very interesting.  I agree wholeheartedly that education today must make use of the new digital media and incorporate this into the curriculum because to do otherwise would not, in my opinion, teach to a strength already possessed by our youth, that is the ability to utilize, and navigate the ever emerging technological advances of today... 

Journal post #2

As a child I read anything I could find, books, magazines, cereal boxes, billboards, in short, anything that had words.  I remember vividly the phrase "reading is fundamental".  Today however, things are quite different.  This is the digital age where there are different mediums  from which one can read.  One can even read books digitally through e-readers.  Does this mean that one gains more from reading books as opposed to reading digitally?  I don't believe so.

  In my opinion, reading is reading and words are words. The article "Are u really reading" was interesting on its face but in my mind there was nothing to convince me that reading a book has more value then reading digitally, or internet reading, especially since in this digital age "books" can be found online.  This course is taught entirely online and although we utilize a text, most of the information is gained online to include the article "R U Really Reading".

As I stated earlier, words are words and reading is reading, whether on the internet or in books.  There was a point made about the validity of information found on the internet and the same can be said about the validity of books.  I remember several books that taught that Columbus discovered America.  I believe in this digital age, it is of the utmost importance to be "digitally" savvy and be able to navigate this new landscape.  Yes, there is something to be said for the value of a "book"  but that doesn't make   digital reading any less valuable.....