Image and Sound Overview Reflections

I think the internet definitely increases the need for visual literacy in the curriculum. In the "old" standard course of study (not sure about Common Core) for ELA, visual literacy rarely shows up. I know there is some limited standards for visual literacy in English 3 because I've taught a lesson set based on understanding the differences between texts and images using graphic novels, but it was just a tiny sub-set of the curriculum.
I like the idea of changing the focus of media literacy from protection to preparation. That's something I've really begun to notice in the schools I work in and something I suspect I will be advocating for for a long time.
A question I would add to the comparison section, particularly for students just beginning to explore images (that are used to a text based curriculum) would be to compare how image and text convey the same ideas in different ways. How does this image convey mood compared to how this text conveys mood?
I think that schools currently are doing a disservice to our children by being so logocentric and technology avoidant. We are no longer preparing them for the real world with our text based curriculum. We're not teaching them how to find problems, or safely navigate the maze of the digital world, or create very much at all.
I also feel as though we, as teachers, are not using nearly enough sound in the classroom. If the music habits of our kids are anything to go by, sound is potentially one of the best ways to reach them, but we don't make use of it. Occasionally teachers will play music in the background, but it doesn't relate to the activity. Sometimes we encourage kids to write songs for projects, but we don't give them the resources to put sound to the words. Students connect so well through sound and music and we just aren't using it.

My Teacher Websites

My graduate level teacher website can be found at Web Class - Ms. Rice
This one is in the early stages of development.

My undergraduate teacher website can be found at UNCA Student Teaching Website
Could use some updates with content from my student teaching experience but is generally up to date.

Elements of the Digital Palette

Though images, video, and sound are the most common forms on the palette, I find myself continually surprised at how many students do not have a good conceptual understanding of how to find, use, or create in this media form. I offered an enrichment course at the afterschool I work at on stop motion animation and photography, and I was really surprised at how few of the kids understood more than the most basic, "Push this button something happens and I get a picture." I think teachers have a responsibility to emphasize a deeper form of learning in this media than we have previously. Some of that also includes teaching more specifically on copyright laws.

The idea of the Gutenberg parenthesis is one I was unfamiliar with but that makes perfect sense. I write in the margins of my books all the time, but it never occurred to me that in another setting those annotations would be a conversation rather than stray thoughts. I suppose that's something I am used to though because when I purchase used books I leaf through them to check for pages that are generally free from the thoughts and notes of other people. I think reader input is one of the aspects of the digital literacy that requires adjustment for individuals who have not grown up using the web. It is a unique and sometimes disconcerting feeling to think about how many people can see, edit, or discuss everything you post, whether it is something trivial like a facebook status or something significant like an essay. I am really interested in continuing to explore the idea of second life as an educational tool with its variety of interactive opportunities.

Linking

The introduction to the chapter on web design is one I find fascinating. Linking has always been something I'm interested in, though previously it has manifested in my researching habits and reading more than in my web habits. My bachelor's degree is in Literature and nearly all of my professors were intent upon teaching us to build connections not only between works as we explored allusions, but also between writing and the author, between a text and ourselves, between history and literature. That aspect of my degree was and is one of my favorite parts. I love being able to read a book and say "oh! The author is referring to a book by this other author!" It helps me to feel more connected to what I'm reading. I thinking that is the true nature of linking, it's the emphasis on connectivity, on demonstrating how the world and the individual fit together.

I was really intrigued by the biological linking, particularly those discussing the brain linking to technology in the literal sense. I am continually reminded of a young adult fiction novel I read titled The Feed by M.T. Anderson in which humans are bodily connected to technology through a consistent feed of information. Everything we have externally now on our computers, phones, and the like is internalized. It strikes me as being the kind of book that is more predictive than imaginative. I feel as though the links we have now are merely the beginning and quotes such as "Some reports have indicated that the quantity of data flowing through the 'Net doubles about every 100 days" serve to emphasize that train of thought.

Exploring Chapter One - The concept of pages in literacy

I noticed a lot of interesting things in chapter one, one of the things I found most concerning was the idea that we are skipping over problem finding and framing in education and opting to only prepare our students for problem solving. I am curious to learn ways to help students work on those skills in the language arts classroom.


The thing I found most fascinating was the discussion of the changing nature of "pages" in literacy. I was amused because right as I read that section I realized I wasn't sure what was meant in our assignments tab by read the first 11 pages of a scrolling web page. I actually engaged several of my co-workers, and anyone willing to listen really, over the course of the week in conversations about pages and defining digital literacy and really enjoyed that. Personally, I think the idea of a page is much broader and more significant than we are currently defining it as, and I'm continually frustrated by the way so many teachers and administrators would rather ignore the digital world than teach our kids to be safe, responsible, digital citizens.

Blogging for Digital Literacy Class

Cool grad school things will follow.