Blog posting for Sept. 30

Friday, September 30, 2011

Quote:

“Explicit teaching of 21^st-century literacy metaskills can position students to analyze and evaluate news reporting in today’s visually drenched world” (Abilock, 30).

Reaction:

I feel that Abilock (2003) establishes a strong stand from the beginning of this article by suggesting that 21^st-century literacy metaskills are an excellent foundation in order to help students to navigate through the bombardment of visual media that they encounter.  Followers of John Dewey’s philosophy would agree that the main goal is to develop a democratic society of educated and aware citizens.  This article provides seven ways to effectively accomplish that goal.  I do agree with Abilock’s statement, “Visual literacy is a learned ‘reading’ of images” (32).  In order to understand the visual images, it is very important to understand the role that semiotics plays in visual literacy within the realm of communication.  I feel Lens #5 makes a very powerful statement.  In order to understand the big picture, one must first choose to attack reason from the inside and challenge what they see and hear.  Then, one can make an informed decision and decide on what you think is the true meaning.  In this article it is suggested that one should investigate and deconstruct the credibility of the reporter of the story.  I feel that this article is a very good resource to help guide students through the process of developing visual literacy.

Reference:

Abilock, Debbie. “A Seven-Power Lens On 21^st-Century Literacy: Instilling

     Cross-Disciplinary Visual, News Media, and Information-Literacy Skills.”

     MultiMedia Schools November/December (2003): 30-35. Web. 30 Sept. 2011.

Related Resource: 

I found a YouTube video that I think that gives a good example of how one can deconstruct a visual message.  It is a very short video and I think that you will enjoy watching it.  This is a video that looks at a place to “create, share, and explore great visualizations”.  This is a way to begin the process of truly thinking about how visual literacy impacts our lives.   Here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiVKfNeRbPQ

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=AiVKfNeRbPQ

Posting #2 Again

 

 

 

 

People	Objects	Activities
President Obama	Background (either books or trees in a yard)	Sitting down

Three things I feel that you could infer from the picture located above, which was in the Washington Post include the following comments:

·         I feel that according to the photo, President Obama looks very serious;

·         I also feel that President Obama looks very concerned and unsure of a situation because the wrinkles on his forehead are very obvious in the photo; and

·         I feel that President Obama looks as if something is troubling him.

After reading the caption, I asked myself, “Does the president look so concerned because he feels that he is overwhelmed with the oil spill in the Gulf or is he just concerned about what this will do to his chances for re-election?”  It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but when there is a caption involved with a picture, then I feel that the words influence your final decision on how you feel about the picture.  

Reference: “Oil Spill: BP Gulf leak could strain President Obama like Iran Hostage crisis destroyed Jimmy

     Carter.” Washington Post 15 June 2010. Print.

Posting #1 Again

People                        Objects                                     Activities
President Obama         Ferry/ American flag                 Walking/Smiling

two men on the         storage container                     Walking
right of President
Obama

officials on
the ferry                   ferry/ American flag                 Looking down on
                                                                                   President Obama
men on the
left side of
President Obama                                                         Walking/Talking

Three things I feel that you could infer from the picture located above, which was in the Washington Post include the following comments:

·         I feel that according to the photo, President Obama looks very serious;

·         I also feel that President Obama looks very concerned and unsure of a situation because the wrinkles on his forehead are very obvious in the photo; and

·         I feel that President Obama looks as if something is troubling him.

After reading the caption, I asked myself, “Does the president look so concerned because he feels that he is overwhelmed with the oil spill in the Gulf or is he just concerned about what this will do to his chances for re-election?”  It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but when there is a caption involved with a picture, then I feel that the words influence your final decision on how you feel about the picture.  

Reference: “Oil Spill: BP Gulf leak could strain President Obama like Iran Hostage

Photo #2 Post

Three things I feel that you could infer from the picture located above, which was in the Washington Post include the following comments:

·         I feel that according to the photo, President Obama looks very serious;

·         I also feel that President Obama looks very concerned and unsure of a situation because the wrinkles on his forehead are very obvious in the photo; and

·         I feel that President Obama looks as if something is troubling him.

After reading the caption, I asked myself, “Does the president look so concerned because he feels that he is overwhelmed with the oil spill in the Gulf or is he just concerned about what this will do to his chances for re-election?”  It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but when there is a caption involved with a picture, then I feel that the words influence your final decision on how you feel about the picture.  

Reference: “Oil Spill: BP Gulf leak could strain President Obama like Iran Hostage crisis destroyed Jimmy

     Carter.” Washington Post 15 June 2010. Print.

Photo #1 Post

Three things I feel that you could infer from the picture located above, which was in the New York Daily News include the following comments:

·         President Obama looks pleased with his current situation and what is taking place around him;

·         From the caption, my best estimate is that a drug shipment has possibly been successfully confiscated; and

·         When people walk with the President of the United States, no one walks ahead of him – only beside or behind him.

Two questions come to mind when I see this photo.  The two questions are: “Why does everyone look so pleased since Obama’s overall approval rating has fallen?” and “What exactly has just taken place that has pleased President Obama and the others in the photo?”

Of the two pictures, the picture from the New York Daily News is the one that makes me feel the most confident about President Obama.  I say this because I feel the president’s body language in this picture gives the reader a sense that he has accomplished his goal.  Also, the individuals that President Obama has surrounded himself with for this “photo op” look pleased with the events that have just taken place. 

Reference:  “White House: Obama ready to seize claims process.” New York Daily News 15 June

      2010. Print.

Blog Posting for Week of September 19 again

Blog posting for the Week of September 19, 2011

Quote:

“Media literacy education can only flourish with a robust understanding of fair use” (The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, 3).

Reaction to the Questions:

1. Can students upload their multimedia projects to YouTube?

ANSWER:  Yes, students can upload their multimedia projects to YouTube and this is supported in The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education. In The Code, Principle #5 supports this practice by noting “Educators should work with learners to make a reasoned decision about distribution that reflects sound pedagogy and ethical values.  In some cases, widespread distribution of students’ work (via the Internet, for example) is appropriate.  If student work that incorporates, modifies, and re-presents existing media content meets the transformativeness standard, it can be distributed to wide audiences under the doctrine of fair use” (13).

2. Are there limitations to the amount of pictures or length of music or video that can be used in a multimedia project?

ANSWER:  The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education notes that a “rule of proportionality needs to be considered.  The Code further notes, “Educators’ and students’ fair use rights extend to the portions of copyrighted works that they need to accomplish their educational goals - and sometimes even to small or short works in their entirety” (10).  According to Copyright in an Electronic Environment accessed from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/copyright1.htm, the following fair use guidelines should be implemented for multimedia:

·         music – up to 10% of a copyrighted musical composition, but no more than 30 seconds/up to 10% of a body of sound recording, but no more than 30 seconds;

·         video – (motion media) up to 10% of a copyrighted work or three minutes, which ever is less/clip cannot be altered in any way; and

·         pictures – a photograph or illustration may be used in its entirety/no more than five images of an artist’s or photographer’s work/when using a collection, no more than 10% or no more than 15 images, whichever is less.

3. Do you need to request permission from the original creator in order to use copyrighted material in multimedia project for school related assignment?

ANSWER:  According to The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, Principle #4 states “Students strengthen media literacy skills by creating messages and using such symbolic forms as language, images, sound, music, and digital media to express and share meaning” (12).  The Code suggests that students should properly attribute material by giving full bibliographic information when available.  In addition, the Copyright Act addresses uses such as educational issues that add important pedagogical value to referenced media objects.  The key to this issue is the “transformativeness” of the new work that was created.  

References:

http://www.ncpublicschools.org/copyright1.html

http://mediaeducationlab.com/sites/mediaeducationlab.com/files/CodeofBestPracticesinFairUse_0.pdf

Related Resource:

I found a YouTube video that is approximately 5 minutes in length that details fair use and appropriate ways to use information that you find that does not infringe upon copyright laws.  This video gives many examples that are very helpful in understanding fair use of various types of multimedia.

The link to the video Fair Use & Copyrights is:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GidwzOYiPl0

Digital Video for Week of Sept. 19

Blog Posting for the week of Sept. 19

Blog posting for the Week of September 19, 2011

1. Can students upload their multimedia projects to YouTube?

ANSWER:  Yes, students can upload their multimedia projects to YouTube and this is supported in The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education. In The Code, Principle #5 supports this practice by noting “Educators should work with learners to make a reasoned decision about distribution that reflects sound pedagogy and ethical values.  In some cases, widespread distribution of students’ work (via the Internet, for example) is appropriate.  If student work that incorporates, modifies, and re-presents existing media content meets the transformativeness standard, it can be distributed to wide audiences under the doctrine of fair use” (13).

2. Are there limitations to the amount of pictures or length of music or video that can be used in a multimedia project?

ANSWER:  The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education notes that a “rule of proportionality needs to be considered.  The Code further notes, “Educators’ and students’ fair use rights extend to the portions of copyrighted works that they need to accomplish their educational goals - and sometimes even to small or short works in their entirety” (10).  According to Copyright in an Electronic Environment accessed from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/copyright1.htm, the following fair use guidelines should be implemented for multimedia:

·        music – up to 10% of a copyrighted musical composition, but no more than 30 seconds/up to 10% of a body of sound recording, but no more than 30 seconds;

·        video – (motion media) up to 10% of a copyrighted work or three minutes, which ever is less/clip cannot be altered in any way; and

·        pictures – a photograph or illustration may be used in its entirety/no more than five images of an artist’s or photographer’s work/when using a collection, no more than 10% or no more than 15 images, whichever is less.

3. Do you need to request permission from the original creator in order to use copyrighted material in multimedia project for school related assignment?

ANSWER:  According to The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, Principle #4 states “Students strengthen media literacy skills by creating messages and using such symbolic forms as language, images, sound, music, and digital media to express and share meaning” (12).  The Code suggests that students should properly attribute material by giving full bibliographic information when available.  In addition, the Copyright Act addresses uses such as educational issues that add important pedagogical value to referenced media objects.  The key to this issue is the “transformativeness” of the new work that was created.  

Teacher Video

http://www.youtube.com/user/11BRIDGEPORT?feature=mhsn

The World of Digital Storytelling

Monday, September 12, 2011

Quote:

“The important question for educators to ask is, ‘What does digital storytelling offer education?’ The answer is a great deal, if we do two things: focus on the story first and the digital medium later...” (Ohler, December, 2005).  

Reaction:

To answer the question posed by Jason Ohler, I would say that digital storytelling can be a valuable teaching tool in the classroom.  Ohler tells us that if teachers would begin to use digital storytelling in their classrooms, students would find that they have been given an “authentic voice” and a creative way to build critical thinking skills.  Another very valid point that Ohler makes is that “such technologies give voice to a number of otherwise quiet students and to students whose skills don’t fit the usual academic mold” (45). 

I found Ohler’s article very informative and helpful in understanding how to begin the process of creating a digital story.  I can certainly see the value in creating digital stories tied to the curriculum.  I feel that students would gain so much in the area of problem-solving through the creation of digital stories.  If students are allowed to create their own digital stories, they will be able to assume active roles in the education process rather than remain passive within the classroom setting. 

Reference:

Ohler, Jason (2005, December). The World of Digital Storytelling.  Retrieved from

     http://www.jasonohler.com/pdfs/digitalStorytellingArticle1-2006.pdf

Related Resource:

I found a short you tube video that discusses the reasons why using digital storytelling in the classroom is a valuable tool.  I have pasted the link.  Take a look; I think you will agree…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIkJnwD8OxE&feature=related

Comic about Digital Media

Alex and I decided to combine the language of text messages with a situation of a historical person giving a speech to an audience.  The historical person is unable to translate the message that was left by the audience. Thus, the historical person is left wondering the meaning of the message.

Comic about Digital Media

Friday September 9, 2011

Quote:

“Alan Mole, the president of the American Literary Council, when asked if his group had ever considered allying itself with the texters, said that it had not, although he added that text messaging ‘does serve the purpose of raising consciousness’ about the fact ‘that there are different ways of making people spell’.”

Reaction:

According to Ammon (2010), there are many words that we deal with on a daily basis that are quite confusing as far as sounding out the word when we spell that word.  We deal with many words that have the same ending letters, but sound completely different when we say them.  This reminded me of the days of “

Open Court

”, which is a reading series that teaches young children to read phonetically.  For example, if a young child looked at a picture of an elephant and wrote “elefant”, the teacher would praise the child for doing a good job.  Alan Mole, president of the American Literary Council made a very good point by saying that texting “raises the consciousness” of individuals by allowing alternative ways to communicate a message. Using abbreviations or spelling phonetically can certainly get your point across.  Text messages are a perfect example.  But just think about the last time you were in hurry and jotted down your grocery list…  

Reference:

Shea, Ammon. (2010, January 22). The keypad solution. Retrieved from http://

     www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/magazine/24FOB-onlanguage-t.html

Related Resources:  I found a Wordle of confusing words that I wanted to share with everyone who takes the time to look at my Blog.  I thought that this Wordle was a perfect way to show how we use words that we spell a certain way, but would look different if we would spell them the way they sound.  The link is located below:

This is the code to link to this Wordle

<a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2808518/Confusing_Words." 

          title="Wordle: Confusing Words."><img

          src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/2808518/Confusing_Words."

          alt="Wordle: Confusing Words."

          style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd"></a>

   

VARK Questionaire

The VARK Questionnaire Results

I learned that my learning style is mostly in the read/write category.  The second highest category was kinesthetic.  The categories of visual and aural tied for last place.

Your scores were:

• Visual: 4
• Aural: 4
• Read/Write: 12
• Kinesthetic: 6

You have a strong Read/Write learning preference.

Some of the strategies that were suggested included writing out the words multiple times, writing exam questions, and arranging the words into hierarchies and points.  Other suggestions included rewriting ideas and principles into other words, reading notes silently multiple times, and organizing information into lists and headings.

I think that I am a very visual learner, so I do not feel that the test was extremely accurate.  However, I do learn well when given examples and demonstrations. 

VARK

Wordle

Wordle is a tool that takes the text that you provide and generates a visual “word cloud” or summary from the words provided.  The word cloud gives you a visual that gives greater prominence to words that appear more frequently.  Several things that are very unique include:  changing the font, changing the layout, and changing the color scheme.  This is a very creative way to introduce concepts to students.  There were two assignments that required use of this tool.  One involved a list of ten words that describes the characteristics of the teacher each student wishes to become and the responses from the student's poll.

Poll Everywhere is an interesting way to collect information about a question that you pose.  Poll Everywhere changes learning from being passive to active through engaging students in questions and responses.  This is a tool that meets the needs of today’s generation of students instead of providing paper and pencil tasks and lectures.  An assignment required the creation of a poll question.  After the question was created, the link was copied and pasted into the student's blog.

Linking Wordle and Poll Everywhere in today’s classrooms is a great way to incorporate the ISTE standards.  Today’s students are no longer linear learners and using these two tools they can access information and learn at the same time.  Today’s students learn through using technology.  Through the incorporation of these tools in your classroom, students can not only create but think and react to situations.  Also, this is a great way to introduce concepts to visual learners.  Since I want to be a Librarian, I was thinking that a lesson plan I could use that would incorporate both of these technology tools could be the following:  poll students on their favorite book and then create a Wordle.  There are so many creative ways to use Wordle and Poll Everywhere as teaching tools… just use your imagination.