For my Digital Storytelling class, I was asked to record a video of myself doing one of my favorite things. I like to play guitar, so, without further adieu, I present..... ROCKING OUT!
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In Chapter Seven of New Literacies: Everyday Practices and Social Learning, Lankshear argues that traditional brick and mortar universities are transmitting knowledge in a static vacuum that does not prepare students to think in the creative ways necessary to solve in-context (i.e. on the job) problems. Since this is the case, teachers need to transition from the “push” method of teaching to a “pull” method. Simply put, the push method of teaching occurs when a teacher or institution anticipates needs and then allocates resources to address those needs. Conversely, the pull method of teaching involves providing agents with the tools necessary to solve unanticipated needs. It is much less dictatorial than the push method and allows for a more creative approach towards problems solving. The pull method is comprised of three different components: Access, Attract, and Achieve. In a pull model, participants can access, at any time, the people and resources necessary to solve problems. Furthermore, by attracting the resources and methods necessary, the pull method helps agents “reach within themselves” to achieve their goals. The ultimate goal of a pull model is to enable participants to not only learn, but to innovate in their chosen fields. As a teacher, I find the pull model attractive. I am very committed to helping my students find their passions and then trying to design my lessons around those passions. For instance, in my writing class, I have decided to create a classroom publishing firm. We will have writers, editors, researchers, and illustrators. The entire class is going to write one story with all students contributing in some fashion. The students chose the genre, horror. I am hoping that, by choosing a genre they are passionate about, my students will be able to produce equally passionate writing. Obviously, creative writing requires the ability to respond to unanticipated needs, which the pull model directly addresses. While I am not going to explicitly teach the Access, Attract, Achieve components of the pull method, I am going to attempt to design this project so that these components will be present. It should be an interesting journey! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below. In a PBS Blank on Blank interview from 1958, Aldous Huxley speaks about a future world where "impersonal forces....are pushing in the direction of less and less freedom." Among these forces he counts overpopulation, mind-controlling drugs, propaganda, and, most pertinent to this blog, technology.
"All technology is in itself moral and neutral. These are just powers which can either be used well or ill..." -Aldous Huxley Many important technologies were created in the 1950s including microchips, the first computers, modems, and credit cards. The previous decade saw the Atomic Bomb. Many viewed technology as the new frontier, the means by which we could level the playing field and make the American Dream attainable for all. According to Huxley, there is just one issue with this line of thought: human intention. Huxley postulates that humans use technology to acquire power. When he gave this interview, TV had just entered the picture. Huxley saw TV as the best means for disseminating propaganda. Indeed, history has shown his assertion to be correct. It would be incredibly interesting to hear Huxley's take on Social Media. While most of what is shared on Social Media is not technically propaganda, it certainly represents a particular person's opinion of current events, life, and the world in general. Thus, it is quite easy to use Social Media to influence others. A perfect example of Social Media's ability to be used for propaganda occurred when, according to a May 13, 2014 article published on the website truthout, the Syrian Electronic Army used Social Media to make "their way from message board to message board spreading a pro-Bashar message. They insisted the rebels were terrorists, that this was opposed by most of the Syrian people. That they appreciated Bashar al Assad’s policies on religion and ethnicity." Given that al Assad has killed anywhere from 300,000 to 470,000 of his own citizens, it is safe to say that most of them do not appreciate "Bashar al Assad’s policies on religion and ethnicity." I found this particular episode of Blank on Blank fascinating. Using Jason Ohler’s Digital Storytelling Assessment Traits, I decided to review this story using the following criteria: Story, Content Understanding, and Presentation and Performance. Story This was a pretty easy category for the story's creators (David Gerlach, Patrick Smith, Amy Drozdowska, and Jennifer Yoo) to score high marks in. Huxley's take on the future world is, quite frankly, astonishing in its prescience. In fact, it would not surprise me if groups such as Anonymous had adopted them as central tenets of their platform. Huxley is quite obviously brilliant and his interview is riveting. The story's creators use animation to portray Huxley's view of the future as being a world ruled by megalomaniacal dictators. Content Understanding Based on the animation choices made, it is obvious that the story's creators understand the content that Huxley is disseminating. Images such as the one that I chose to use above convey the nightmarish, totalitarian world that he envisioned. For some, Huxley's views may border on paranoia. However, in light of the current presidential election race, they seem more and more accurate. The story's creators seem to understand this and employ their animation to highlight it. Presentation and Performance The animation used in the story is quite arresting. The images are jarring and drawn in an anime fashion. I found this choice of style to be perfectly suited for Huxley's vision. At times, it seems like we are living in a comic-book world where opinions, facts, and, increasingly, lies, reside on society's peripheral edges. As a society, we seem to be fleeing the middle. This story's images perfectly illustrates this. This was one of my favorite digital stories to critique. If you choose to view it, I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did. Comments? Questions? Concerns? Irrelevant asides? Please feel free to leave them below. In her article, "The Art of Digital Storytelling," Bernajean Porter provides a brief description of what Digital Storytelling is, which I am not going to recount in this blog. What I would like to address are the elements that Porter claims are essential for creating an effective Digital Story: Living in the Story and Unfolding a Lesson Learned. When she says that an author needs to "live" in his or her story, Porter is simply reminding Digital Storytellers that it's the story that matters the most, not the technology used to tell it. Stories need to resonate with their readers / viewers on a personal level. Good storytellers create this resonance by recounting their experiences and universalizing them so that we can see ourselves in the tale. We can taste the freshly grown tomatoes. We can smell the brine wafting off the tide pools at low tide. Creating these sensory details pulls us in. Without them, we do not have a frame of reference in which we can access the storyteller's intended lesson, which is the second element that Porter feels is necessary for crafting a memorable Digital Story. At some point, in almost every story, we are going to ask ourselves, "Why am I reading this?" Or, "Why am I watching this?" If our answer is, "I don't know," than we have a pretty strong indicator that the storyteller has failed to include a lesson in their narrative. Failing to finish a book or movie once bothered me a great deal. Now that I am a bit older (and wiser?), I have no issue setting aside a story that is not teaching me something. Even if I am learning something I already know, I will continue to engage with a story if it satisfies Porter's Living in the Story element. So, Bernajean Porter, thank you for reminding us Digital Storytellers that if our story is not personally engaging or fails to teach a lesson or, gasp, does not do either, it is a story that is not worth telling. Opinions? Thoughts? Please feel free to leave them below. Digital Critique In "A Struggle Within Reach," Jacinta tells the story of Lucha Alcanzable, an indigenous Mayan woman living in Peru. Lucha’s father believes that she should discontinue her schooling so that she can get married, have children, and take care of her family. However, Lucha has plans of her own. She wants to continue learning so that she can help others in her community. Through hard work and dedication, Lucha eventually earns her college degree. Using Jason Ohler’s Digital Storytelling Assessment Traits, I decided to review this story using the following criteria: Story, Project Planning, and Sense of Audience. STORY I thought this story was well told and engaging. Not only did Lucha need to overcome poverty and her father’s lack of support, she also had to transcend cultural expectations of a woman’s role in society. The ending was quite satisfying. Lucha tells women “that we have equal rights. Start your struggle today for a better future!” I think this story would be inspiring for anyone striving to overcome adversity and continue their education. PROJECT PLANNING This project showed the proper amount of project planning. Jacinta culled a lot of photos from various stages of Lucha’s life (childhood, adolescence, etc.). She shot additional footage of Lucha, which combined well with more recent photos to give the audience a sense of Lucha in the present-day. Jacinta also chose to use Mayan music in the soundtrack, which lent the video a sense of authenticity that might have been lost had she chosen to use a more western style of music. My only criticism would be the ratio of photos to video. This story is very photo heavy. I think some video of Lucha teaching would help the viewer connect to her in a more personal way. SENSE OF AUDIENCE This video was categorized in the “Education” section on StoryCenter’s website. Thus, its primary audience seems to be teachers. A story detailing one woman’s struggle to earn her college degree is sure to resonate with teachers. Jacinta was wise to detail how Lucha is using her education to benefit others in her community. Such philanthropy lies at the heart of teaching, a point that the audience will no doubt appreciate. Overall, I think “A Struggle Within Reach” is a well made video that tells a story worth hearing. Its intended audience, teachers, always appreciates an “underdog” story of a person overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds in order to continue their education. I believe that anyone, especially teachers, can find something in this story that will speak to them. |
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February 2017
AuthorI am a Special Education teacher currently pursuing his Master of Arts in Information & Learning Technologies (Option: K-12) at CU Denver. I work at Boulder High School in Boulder, CO. Here you will find my thoughts on education. Categories |