“Some see the format and process of remix itself as ideological in nature and part of a larger cultural critique of ideas and assumptions about authorship or the ownership of art. For this reason, reworking parts of the existing music canon (e.g., a Beatles song, a Beethoven symphony) and re-envisioning it is seen as a political act.”
-Erik Jacobson Music Remix in the Classroom, p. 31
This week, I was asked to read and respond to Chapters 2 & 3 of Digital Literacies: Concepts, Policies and Practices. While I read both, I am very much the kind of person who experiences great difficulty writing about topics that do not interest me. So it was with Chapter 3, which addressed podcasting. I’m sorry, but podcasting does absolutely nothing for me. That’s not to say that I doubt its capability to deliver diverse points of view to all corners of the world. I don’t. I also would not deny that the practice of podcasting can be extremely useful in classrooms. In fact, I wholeheartedly agree with Shamburg’s assertion that “with podcasting, students can create original content as they ethically and effectively collect and remix the work of others and become participants in culture, politics, and society” (p. 68).
It’s just that, well, I’m a music guy. I listen to music when I drive to work. I listen to music while I work. In fact, I am listening to music as I type these words (John Fahey’s The Great Santa Barbara Oil Slick, in case you are wondering). Thus, I found Chapter 2, Erik Jacobson’s Music Remix in the Classroom, absolutely fascinating and am choosing to respond to it alone. In his Chapter, Jacobson argues that the community that has gathered itself around the act of remixing music practices a method of artistic creation that is just as valid as the one employed by authors, playwrights, painters, and musicians. Remixing music is the act of appropriating someone else’s work to create your own. Jacobson argues that such appropriation is directly related to two important ideas that we hold about art. “First, it supports the idea that no work of art is created ex nihilo or “out of nothing.” Second, appropriation understood as a creative response to other work exemplifies the kind of conversations we see happening in other art forms. Art implies, either explicitly or implicitly, a commentary on other art (and the world)” (p.44). For lovers of hip-hop, remixing is a familiar and beloved pastime. Skilled hip-hop DJs are even able to remix live via a technique known as "beat juggling." Simply put, beat juggling is when a DJ manipulates two copies of the same record in such a manner that he or she creates a new beat. Here is an example (DJ Babu juggling Blind Alley by The Emotions; juggle begins at 0:58): “Awesome, totally awesome!” -Jeff Spicoli, Fast Times at Ridgemont High In all seriousness, though, I find Jacobson’s claim that remixing is an ideological, political act extremely important. In fact, I think that remixing as an ideology can be extended to the music industry itself. While record executives and a small minority of grossly overpaid musicians viewed the downfall of the traditional music industry as tragic, many independent musicians saw it as liberating. No more kowtowing to men in suits, many of whom couldn’t distinguish a B♭from an H ♯ (trick statement, the musical scale does not contain an H note). No more “selling out” to meet the demands of a fickle buying public. With the advent of social media and other web-based outlets, musicians can now independently distribute their music to their fans. They have turned the music industry on its ear, in effect, remixing it. For someone who came of age in the “anti-establishment” 1990s, I find the democratization of music, whether it be in how it is created or how it is distributed, to be incredibly exciting. I also think that it is important to teach our students that they can now create their own music, via remixing or other means, and distribute it to the world at large. Music industry politics no longer matter (well, not as much). Their songs can be heard. Who knows? The next (fill in the blank with whatever musician you think is “hot” right now) may be sitting in your classroom. Comments? Questions? Hot tips on new DJ mix tapes? Feel free to leave them below.
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"I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2,000 step process." -Thomas Edison Background:
In her digital story, posted on Storycorps, Eileen Kushner recounts how she was able to learn how to add by using McDonald's containers. During her entire scholastic career, Eileen experienced difficulty adding and writing. When she was in her mid-thirties, she was diagnosed with a processing disorder. Eileen describes the disorder as a "door in my brain (that) would drop and....(not) allow me to process any of the information." As a result of her disorder, Eileen avoided working. She married Larry Kushner and, together, they had three children. Since Larry was a bank teller, the family had a difficult time making ends meet. When finances became so tight that there was not enough food in the refrigerator, Eileen decided that she would need to enter the workforce. She procured a job at McDonald's and, for a time, all was well. She enjoyed the work and did so well that her boss decided to promote her. To the cash register. Eileen was terrified. Back then (1960s), there were no automated cash registers. McDonald's employees had to manually total the bill and return the correct amount of change. Fearing that her employer would discover that she could not add, Eileen told Larry that she was going to quit. Larry decided that he was going to help Eileen learn to add. So, he came home from work one day holding a wad of cash, mostly fives, ones, and coins. A few days later, Eileen brought home some fry, burger, and drink containers. The two then "played McDonald's." Larry would place orders and Eileen would calculate the totals and return the change. After enough practice, Eileen felt confident enough to take the promotion. She continued to rise up in the ranks and, eventually, Eileen and Larry owned and operated five McDonald's restaurants. When asked if she saw herself differently after achieving so much, Eileen cited the famous Edison quote, "I never failed once. It just happened to be a 2,000 step process." Critique: Using Ohler's Digital Storytelling Assessment Traits, I chose to critique this story on the following traits: Story, Economy, and Flow.
All in all, this was an inspiring story about one woman's will to overcome her lifelong math disability. I would recommend it to anyone who works with students with disabilities or likes a good underdog story. Please feel free to leave your comments below. DIGITAL STORYTELLING IN THE SPECIAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM In their case study, "Digital Storytelling in the Middle Childhood Special Education Classroom: A Teacher’s Story of Adaptations," Paige Michalski, Dodi Hodges, and Savilla Banister recount Michalski's mission to use Digital Storytelling as a means to help her Special Education students improve their writing. With adequate planning, appropriate scaffolding and a heaping dose of energy, Michalski's efforts came to fruition. Her students created personal stories that far outstripped their previous writings. As detailed in the study, Michalski's students have IQs ranging from 55 to 70. Writing is a daily struggle for them. Their grammar is poor, vocabulary limited, and sentence structure unvaried. Compounding matters, many of Michalski's students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Some even suffer physical and sexual abuse. As a result, these students are understandably discouraged; they give up easily and do not glean much joy from the act of writing. A veteran Special Education teacher of fifteen years, Michalski decided to try something different. With the aid of some members of the Center for Digital Storytelling (headquartered in Berkeley, California), Michalski's students used PowerPoint and digital video editing software to create stories about their homes, pets, neighborhoods, and favorite rooms. Though the road was sometimes rocky, the students were able to craft final products that showcased improved writing skills across the board. Michalski even commented that she was convinced that one of her poorest writers could not have possibly produced the work that she did (she, of course, did). Since the students were going to share their works amongst themselves, thus going "public," they took extra care when revising and editing their writing. They even approached the formerly tortuous act of writing with something akin to joy. They were eager to share and help each other. They were proud of their finished products. Michalski was elated. As a Special Education teacher myself, this study rings true. I, too, teach a Special Education Language Arts class. Most of my students do not like to write. Many of them come from impoverished backgrounds. I have met most of their parents and they are all wonderful people. However, most of them possess, at most, a high school diploma. Some of them do not. Thus, the only time many of my students write, or are exposed to writing, is when they are with me. Suffice to say, writing is not something that they always willingly engage in. Much like Michalski, I am now looking to use Digital Storytelling to both improve my students' writing abilities and their attitude towards writing. Last week, my students began using WeVideo to create their own stories. They chose their own topics. My only requirements for their final product are that the contain the common story elements (plot, character, setting, theme, etc.). They will present tomorrow. Fingers crossed! "When I first got into show business, my step-father bought me a wild shirt which....said more about what he thought show business was than what I thought it was." Known as one of the most interesting interviewees around, Tom Waits delivers the goods in his PBS Blank on Blank interview, "Everything and Nothing." Though he is only asked four questions, Tom still manages to speak for over five minutes on topics varying from why moles are awarded prizes for burrowing under rivers to the never-ending surreality of New York City. Much like Waits' music, the interview is an insightful, funny stream of consciousness ramble that seems to have emanated from some garbage strewn Los Angeles back alley. For any Waits fan, the interview is yet another spoken word jewel that he seems to be capable of summoning at will. Rather than recording a conventional interview, the creators of "Everything and Nothing," David Gerlach, Patrick Smith, and Amy Drozdowska, have fashioned an animated short film that transforms Waits' words into scenes. This decision breathes even more life into Waits' vivid words and transforms an already entertaining interview into a fully realized vision. Though this digital story would score well in almost all of Jason Ohler's Digital Story Assessment Traits, I have chosen to critique it using the Story, Media Application, and Media Grammar traits. STORY This interview is not so much a story as it is a series of Waits' observations about topics that interest him. For instance, when he is asked where he would like to go, Tom answers "Stonehenge," and then details the number of moles currently living under the monoliths, as well as why moles award each other for burrowing under rivers. The film animates all of this. Without the animated visuals, such an aside would seem quite non-sensical. With the film, Waits' observations, which venture into some even stranger territories, somehow coalesce into what feels like an actual story. Well, it at least has good story bones. MEDIA APPLICATION I feel that the creators of "Everything and Nothing" were wise to choose animation as the visual medium to support the Waits interview. A more cinema verite approach would be antithetical to Waits' fantastical and "out there" observations. The animations are well drawn and considered. The animator, Patrick Smith, does not illustrate all of Waits' meanderings, only the more bizarre ones, which makes the film visually stimulating. MEDIA GRAMMAR This "story" definitely has its fair share of bumps. It's rambling, non-linear, and does not seem to have a central theme. However, when interviewing Tom Waits, such considerations go out the window. Waits' musical sensibilities are firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. Thus, spontaneous improvisation is the norm. He practices this tradition not only in his music, but in his interviews as well. While matching Waits' words to images, Smith necessarily goes "off course," which, when viewed through the lens of Media Grammar, could be judged as being "wrong." However, in this case, I think such criticism would be misguided. Listening to or viewing a Tom Waits interview is meant to be disorienting. It's supposed to violate the rules of Media Grammar. That's what Waits is all about. All in all, "Everything and Nothing" is a well-done, entertaining interview conducted with a master of the form. I would recommend it to anyone. Your comments are always welcome. Please feel free to leave them below. A Digital Story Critique in Three Parts First, the background: In her moving account of her life as a Special Education student (published via Storycorps), Kaylynn details the shame she felt as she progressed through grammar, middle, and high schools. For her, having an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), was a traumatic experience that seems to have brought her more sorrow than help. For those new to the world of Special Education, an IEP is a lengthy document detailing a student's learning disability, along with teaching strategies designed to help these students access the school curriculum in the same manner as their peers. Included in an IEP are:
An IEP contains a number of other components, but, for the purposes of this blog entry, we do not need to go into any further detail. I just wanted to give a quick overview of what an IEP is since Kaylynn speaks of feeling burdened by having one. Second, the critique: For this particular story, I chose to focus on the following Digitial Assessment Story traits (taken from Jason Ohler): Media Application, Economy, and Writing. Media Application: To tell her story, Kaylynn chose to record her voice. Her story was then uploaded in print from to the StoryCorps website. I found her choice of media to be apt. Simply recording and writing her story conveyed her message in an effective manner. However, I wonder if the reason it works for me is because I am a Special Education teacher. I know this story. I see it every day. For someone unfamiliar to the world of Special Education, a more visually oriented presentation would have been more instructive and powerful. Economy: Kaylynn told her story in a very abbreviated fashion. She did not deviate from her narrative's main thrust: that having an IEP for most of her scholastic career was a traumatizing experience. When she recounted how she used to wait until all the other students were in their classes before she would go to her Special Education class, I instantly thought of my students. There are a handful of them that come in late every day. I wonder if they feel the same way that Kaylynn does. For me, this story resonates. However, Kaylynn's story would have been more powerful for non-teachers if she had included a few other instances of the shame that she felt as a Special Education teacher. I would have also liked to see at least one example of a positive experience that she had as a Special Education student. Writing: Kaylynn's writing served the purpose of her story. To my eyes, it did not show any signs of having been extensively edited; it seemed like her first draft was the one she chose to publish. However, I am not familiar with Kaylynn's writing ability, so this may not be a valid criticism. Other than that, I found her writing to be insightful and precise. Now, the letter: Dear Kaylynn, One of the biggest challenges any Special Education teacher faces is helping their students regain their sense of worth. This is especially true at the high school level. I completely empathize with you. If a student has had an IEP since grammar school, by the time they reach high school, they often feel beaten down. Due to their learning disability, they have faced potential failure over and over again. But, these students fight every day. They fight to "beat" their school work. They fight to defy others' sometimes low expectations of them. Unfortunately, they sometimes even have to fight against other teachers who do not understand how their disability affects them. HOWEVER, THEY, NOR YOU, EVER NEED TO FIGHT TO GAIN MY ADMIRATION. I have worked with many students who, just like you, work hard every day and achieve great things despite their learning disabilities. Like you, Kaylynn, some of them are able to transition off of an IEP. Some of them don't. Regardless, some of the most resilient, kind, understanding, hard-working people I have ever met are the students with learning disabilities that I work with every day. I would not even consider working with any other group of students. I have experienced first hand the joy that a student feels if they are able to transition from an IEP. When this happens, I share the jubilation that the student and their family feels. However, I am also sad. Sad that I will no longer be able to work with this extraordinary person. Sad that I will not get to see them every day and listen to their views, their passions, and their hopes for the future. Alas, I have to tell myself that I, hopefully, helped them accomplish their goals. That's enough for me. Kaylynn, I hope that your experience in Special Education was not entirely sad. Regardless, your accomplishment is a great one. Well done! Sincerely, Andrew Polson |
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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 |