Bragging a little...

as most of you know, i teach sixth graders social studies. with each new unit (this usually coincides with a new continent to study), i assign a "country report" where students find information about a certain country in the region. the presentation method is up to them. we've had brief tutorials on powerpoint, audacity (sound engineering), and movie maker. students have a list of 20 items that have to be research and presented. items include fashion, food, gdp, a flag, and a significant figure from their country. about 3/4 of my students choose powerpoint as their means to present. of that number, about 10 percent are what i would consider exemplary. but, i have one student is blowing the doors off technology. he has even pointed me in the right direction for learning how to use adobe. his first project was built completely from adobe flash and resembled a powerpoint with buttons activated, pictures to coincide, and general information animated. today, he turned in his project for his study of italy. it was still in flash, but his progress has gone off the charts. he is a young man that we will be asking for a job or even manipulating the convergence of culture in ten years. take a look at what he's done...

Jenkins - Convergence

i've began following Jenkins' blog that is somewhat of a continuation of his book. many of his points are elaborated and reordered with new insight. one particular quote stood out to me was Jenkins stated "in order to become spreadable, the content has to be able to create worth." for us as teachers, i definitely think this applies more than even. one media might be novelty and another might be historical, but it is the duty of the educator to establish worth in that particular media. this video is completely random with the gorilla, but somehow strikes a note in the advertising world because of its appeal to grab attention. for educators, presentation of media is equally as important to the establishment of worth in the chosen media. why are my kids making powerpoints right now about specific european countries? they are refining a new technology skill, filtering their own media (mostly pictures), and showing others what is important about the region.

In Limbo

well, i've made some headway into the different media tutorials provided for us this month and still feel a bit overwhelmed. i still need direction for my media project and still want to find a more defined direction for the use of all this media in my career. there are spurts and stagnancy, but i'm still working on putting it all together. i feel it; i can theorize, but i don't know exactly what it looks like yet. i guess you should say "in due time."

Joe Bustillos posted something in my blog about helping the younger generation sort through the chaos known as media today and to come. i drew a sharp metaphor to this phenomenon when my father sent me this picture of myself and my son. when i look into the eyes and minds of the young people i work with, i'm fearful of the things they are overstimulated by. the list seems endless and media plays the largest role in it. the difference is they solicit more of it and my job as an educator has become not only filter, but to also direct them towards intellectual pathways. i had a student ask to site "Google" during a recent research project. the problem is that he is mesmerized by the number entries that appear when he searches, but he does not understand that countless amounts of those entries are also unreliable. i got the same face from him that i got in the picture of my son and me...awestruck, disbelief, and trying to make sense of the world as he encounters it. in regards to my student, i directed him to the CIA's World Fact Book for the majority of his research. Though it may not be as glamorous, he now has an outlet use later in school. it truly is surreal to think of yourself as having a young mind in your hands and they self-recognition that comes from helping a student down the right path...

Wk1 Show Me What You Know Project

Pole Vault

i somewhat proud of myself. i problem-solved using my new-found knowledge of technology this week. i coach at a middle school in the north texas area and we just began track season. i have the daunting task of coaching pole vault and before you ask, NO, i have not ever tried the sport. so, you can imagine what day one of 'tryouts' must look like when i have 40 seventh and eighth grade boys/girls staring at me trying to explain something that's been described as one of the 10 most challenging feats on the planet. this year i decided to show a few videos as a precursor to our workouts. i successfully uploaded youtube videos to a page that i created on our track website. most of my kids (except for the ones who weren't allowed to download quicktime) viewed the video with success, and this allowed me to whittle down my numbers after some became a little more realistic (frightened) about what pole vault really was. my second task came today when i was spontaneously informed that i had to present a video to girls athletics in tandem with the other female coaches who'd planned an impromptu session of videos in the computer lab. i decided to cut-up a training video that i found on youtube with a brief narration by my voice. the video was extremely long and was outdated. i used some of the basics i could find to create my own 5-minute video. i uploaded the video to youtube and sent the link to the female coach in charge of the video session tomorrow. problem solved. girls get to view what i want them to and i can have the entire period to work the boys out on the pole vault pit. chaos successfully managed...

here is the original link on youtube that i used for video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq9IQ_HQi9U&feature=related

Holden's World

the other night, i watched in fascination as my newborn son, Holden Michael, stared aimlessly at my computer screen as i worked. i began to wonder what he could see and what kept his attention. according to our pediatrician, he can only see outlines of objects that resemble shadows. however, we know that he is getting his vision in right now because he returns a smile when you smile at him. in reference to his first computer interaction, i could only imagine what these colors and movements might seem like to an unassuming brain. do they stimulate or do they overwhelm? do they add illumination to his formative stages or do they blind him from connecting meaning? what will the world of technology have to offer him when he is old enough to handle a macbook?

all these questions are easily translated for so many digital natives that are making their first jump into the digital realm. as media designers and technology gurus, we have an obligation to view them in the same way that an infant views the new visual world. there is so much in this realm we refer to as media that more attention should be paid to helping young people and digital natives organize this digital realm instead of teaching more methods to communicate and express themselves. communication is great, but it is aimless unless newcomers have some sense of how to use it and can apply the right program/application to the right environment...

Week One - Wimba

Week One in the Wimba Session was predominantly dedicated to a course overview. Most things that were outlined in the syllabus, but each item was discussed in detail over the entire hour. The most important information discussed in the session was the laying out of the blog. The idea would be for the blog to be completed over the course of the week with 5 entries per week. There is no penalty for not finishing the work in that week, but it does create more later if the blogs are not finished. Most of the class should be dedicated to exploring what medium we will choose to execute our media project later in the program.

One piece of information I found intriguing was that Mr. Bustillos is working on his doctorate in Educational Technology. I did not know that doctoral programs existed yet in this field. I curious to find out more about this field and to see some research coming from this side of academia.

Inauguaral Address

that's it. i've been avoiding it for years, but now it looks as though i have no choice. my words will officially go on the record for you to read. initially, they will serve my pursuits academically, but most likely will evolve to more. so here it goes...

in an effort to get the ball rolling, i figured i would discuss something that bothers me. powerpoint. in particular, educational powerpoints. do i use and make them? yes. have i felt like they were effective? sometimes.

my main question, though, is why do i feel like teachers think they are the only option? i think most teachers who don't put quality time into preparation, collaboration, and execution want to rely on a script. powerpoint is your answer. but why not more?

i remember one of the first examples of media i focused on at Full Sail was a clip that showed the differences in presentation between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Gates' presentation was full of visual media, graphics, and stimulating fonts that displayed while he regurgitated information. i was impressed, but didn't really retain anything substantial other than saying, "wow, that looked cool." Jobs, on the other, crafted his presentation through the art visual storytelling. i remember few slides that precisely illustrated the core of his presented information. it was very calculated, rehearsed (in the good way), and full of depth. i wonder which one helped me more as a learner.

i think educators can benefit from this model. make your classroom tell a story. turn your curriculum into a song or a sonnet. record your voice. make music. edit a movie. at the same time, help your students try to do the same...