Hello everyone,
We live in a society saturated by media messages. There is a logo representing a commercial interest wherever we look. When a new animated movie production comes out, for example, it comes with a marketing campaign that offers toys, cups, napkins, clothes, lunch boxes, book bags, pencils, bed covers, youtube videos, tv commercials and anything else that can be fed into our lives. This presence makes us look at the product everyday. Knowing the effects that environment has in human development then it is only logical to think that our children, the young learners, are being influenced by the environment previously defined. The question then is, Do they understand these inputs?
I work as a Staff Developer in New York City. I meet several times a week with educators, administrators and policy makers from the Department of Education. My specialization is Digital Media Production, and my passion is Media Literacy. Recently we were discussing the design and implementation of a Digital Media Residency for 43 schools. One of the participants presented the argument that students do not need further exposition to media in school because they get plenty of that at home. I responded with the argument that they also get plenty of words at home and that does not make us think that we should stop teaching vocabulary. On the contrary, vocabulary becomes important so that they can understand how to communicate effectively. Communication skills, so essential, also include multimedia.
The power of multimedia is enormous. Not only is it important to become wise consumers but producers as well. The media is full of great examples of responsible production but in general it is biased. Commercial interests drive it, traditionally to manipulate humans into a particular interest. Today's tools make anyone with a simple device and internet access an instant producer. As educators we must consider this an opportunity to help a generation understand that they can produce responsibly. Instead of recording the fight that happened outside in the yard they could produce a video that addresses the reasons driving so many students to consider violence as an option; or maybe interview those who want to fight or already did to find out what is provoking their anger.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Monday, December 14, 2009
Educational Technology Conferences are a big part of professional growth in our field. Whenever I get the chance to meet with others who, like me, are true believers and advocate for the increasing use of new technologies in the classroom I feel empowered, not alone. As opposed to school buildings, where most of the educators are still not subscribing to the implementation and use of digital resources and initiatives, these conferences offer a chance to meet, discuss and share effective strategies and promising practices that bring about student success.ISTE (formerly NECC) is one of the biggest Educational Technology Conferences held in the United States. From their website I found an advertisement to register made with a Text to Movie application. As a bilingual education activist and Media Literacy advocate I think this technology is one of the most powerful tools today. As students learn a new language it becomes important for them to see it as a way to improve not only academically but also socially. Second language learning, and subsequent language learning, is more effective when there is a tangible product that can be shared with others and that elevates academic and social participation in the immediate environment. Being able to create a digital media production from speech is engaging, creates a memorable moment and addresses various aspects of language learning: writing, reading, speaking & listening. As they make these movies they will want to practice the way they pronounce new words in order to make it sound better. Needless to say, doing this also enhances their media literacy skills, their information literacy skills, they lose the fear of using technology and most importantly they share their understanding in a way that is appealing to them and their audience.
Another Conference held every year in the United States is the Florida Educational Technology Conference. From their website, under the Workshops for 2010 section, I found one geared towards the use of Digital Curriculum, sponsored by Discovery Education. This workshop explores the trend of replacing textbooks with digital content, particularly from the standpoint of Discovery which offers not just video but also images, documents, lesson plans, crossword puzzles, word searches and a whole variety of digital resources that enhance student understanding. Some of these resources are ready to use, others are template-based, giving educators the opportunity to create their own content. The use of such resources can only benefit all parts involved, making it easy for educators to adopt them as the content is already there with citations for digital content, templates to personalize and examples to follow while making delivery of concepts and ideas interesting and engaging for all types of learners.
Another conference, which I attended recently, is the TECH Forum, sponsored by Tech & Learning. From this conference I found a presentation on Social Networking in the Classroom to be very powerful. As our learners go through our learning institutions we try to find effective ways to communicate with them. Currently, based mostly on absence of control and fear, most school districts have blocked access to social media sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, just to mention the most commonly used ones. Finding ways to effectively use these tools in the classroom can open up a new way of communicating school content and exchanging information between learners and educators, possibly more effective than simply using pen and paper or even other web 1.0 tools such as email. Learners learn best when they feel comfortable and when they feel they can control how and when to access information. It is worth trying to come up with ways that can include all learners and that provide a platform to use technology in new ways. We know the power of social media has been proven outside schools, providing a fast and reliable means of communicating around the world. It is time now to prove its power in learning, taking it beyond the sharing and into the creating unique and original contributions to the body of knowledge. This defense does not mean that schools should accept the use of social media as it is, there are still privacy concerns and legal limitations to its implementation; but perhaps schools can figure out how to develop their own social media type initiatives and promote their use beyond the classroom.
Educational technology is at a good moment in history. Governments are interested in developing digital literacy, mindful that it will be essential for 21st century citizenry; and most importantly for their purposes the new economy will require a set of skills that is to be addressed now. It is us as educational technology specialists who have to push for the resources needed and for the development of increasingly engaging and useful tools to guarantee that our students can not only survive in the new society but that they are successful in doing so.
I have to agree with the assessment of primary barriers, at least in essence. Schools have, for the most part, access to resources, but these resources are not used effectively. Educators are faced with the dilemma of having to learn new ways to deliver content and assess understanding. Sometimes these new ways represent a total change from what they traditionally did. These human barriers, or ‘people barriers’ as Dr. Dede calls them, can represent a real impediment for change. Learners might have access to these educational technology initiatives sporadically through their academic life but there is no consistency among classrooms in their adoption. Whenever the mindset of educators becomes commonly geared towards the incorporation of such initiatives, we will start to see more effectiveness in their use and the real transformation will be noticeable.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Theories...
To me, coming upon the book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” By Paulo Freire early on during my development as an educator meant understanding the importance that critical questioning and constant reflection, as well as involvement and commitment with individuals and their communities have in the classroom and in student’s performance. The idea that education can be liberating is powerful, to me representing a real chance to help many who otherwise are set to fail by a system that doesn’t represent or meet any of their challenges.
Freire presents an understanding of national education from the perspective that matters the most, the one that is affected the most by its promotion of inequalities and injustice. National education, in Brazil or anywhere else in the world, has traditionally failed to promote social equality. Freire goes further, proposing a revolution in the field that starts serving the purpose of liberating those who have been traditionally socially and economically oppressed. In his words, the transformation wouldn’t be easy, “It would be a contradiction in terms if the oppressors not only defended but actually implemented a liberating” (Ch.1) but still absolutely necessary for the advancement of education and of humanity as a whole.
Freire defines the dominant current form of education saying In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to acknowledge men and women as historical beings; problem-posing theory and practice take the people's historicity as their starting point. Connected with life the learner feels that the process in which he or she is involved is a meaningful one, in which all ideas and points of view are considered and respected. Learning doesn’t simply take place from the top down, we are all learners in the classroom, each with particular points of view that can enrich the creation of knowledge.
Another theory that has impacted me greatly is that of social and emotional learning. From Rotter’s “Social Learning and Clinical Psychology” (1954) to Bandura’s “Social Learning Theory” (1977) this work explains learning emphasizing in the social context. Learning occurs in front of society, with others influencing us and being part of who we become. Social life reigns in human development according to this theory, where everything we do is in a search for acceptance and belonging. Much more complicated than simple stimuli-response the individual is an active participant, shaping his environment while being in turn shaped by it.
Although it has been criticized by some as being a mere neo-behaviorist approach, the complexities of human development are undeniably affected by our surroundings, being of biological or of social origins. We are social beings, distinguished from other living things precisely because of the complexities of our social lives. Social influences are an intrinsic part of who we are, for a social and emotional aspect of learning must be take into consideration for true understanding of education and to try to find solutions to improve its quality and effectiveness.
It is of particular interest to me as a researcher to improve and advance living conditions for all members of society, convinced that if people of all social and economical classes can continuously improve the way they live we would all benefit. If schools work to promote life long learning experiences that are meaningful and that have an impact in the immediate future of student’s lives, their continuation as academic institutions may continue. Schools must understand that the rapid and constant changes in the way humans communicate, how they access information, how they can transform that information in more than one way and how they can share new ideas are not to be taken lightly. Students are participating actively in many activities that schools continue to neglect while not offering alternatives that have a comparable level of engagement. The students feel alienated, receiving as a model of life a set of behaviors that do not correspond to what they see outside of school. Life is becoming an increasingly interactive experience with all sorts of mobile devices. The classroom offers a model designed over one century ago where the center of attention is rarely the student, or the strategies to meet their needs, or even the inquisitiveness to question the established understandings and wonder how to make things better.
Educational theories are important; they set the ground for who we are in front of students. But education is holistic and individual. There cannot be one correct way to understand how to best serve the needs of any particular students, or a group of them for that matter. Every learner has a particular learning style. It becomes more important in our times to learn where to find the resources we need and how to decompose and perform critical analysis of the information and resources at hand. There is more value in this than in other traditionally over emphasized areas in our classrooms.
Finally, the most important aspect of all these theories are that when put in practice they must be equally accessible to all learners. If we push for the use of technology in a project based learning environment then every learner should have the same amount of exposure to prove its effectiveness. If future citizenry will rely heavily in access and presence in the virtual world then all students in school now should be receiving similar exposure to develop the necessary skills that will allow a better enjoyment of the human experience as adults. This is why I believe that a bilingual multimedia program would have an enormous impact in inner city schools. Students would have a chance to participate in something meaningful, which would elevate their participation in classroom activities to a product that not only makes them feel proud but also improves immediately their experience in school and the understanding of their environment. Looking at students holistically each school must become a particular learning community, focused on the strengths of its members, both the staff and the learners, to provide the best possible settings with the best strategies. Many learning environments would together be part of the learning community, with learners and educators acting together to solve the immediate issues that affect them. Of course, to accomplish all this education must be inclusive, accepting and promoting the constant reflection and exchange of ideas amongst all its members. The benefit of accomplishing such conditions go beyond the learning community, improving the quality of life of the entire community as its members come out ready to transform their lives and help others overcome their obstacles by putting into practice what started as young learners.
Freire presents an understanding of national education from the perspective that matters the most, the one that is affected the most by its promotion of inequalities and injustice. National education, in Brazil or anywhere else in the world, has traditionally failed to promote social equality. Freire goes further, proposing a revolution in the field that starts serving the purpose of liberating those who have been traditionally socially and economically oppressed. In his words, the transformation wouldn’t be easy, “It would be a contradiction in terms if the oppressors not only defended but actually implemented a liberating” (Ch.1) but still absolutely necessary for the advancement of education and of humanity as a whole.
Freire defines the dominant current form of education saying In sum: banking theory and practice, as immobilizing and fixating forces, fail to acknowledge men and women as historical beings; problem-posing theory and practice take the people's historicity as their starting point. Connected with life the learner feels that the process in which he or she is involved is a meaningful one, in which all ideas and points of view are considered and respected. Learning doesn’t simply take place from the top down, we are all learners in the classroom, each with particular points of view that can enrich the creation of knowledge.
Another theory that has impacted me greatly is that of social and emotional learning. From Rotter’s “Social Learning and Clinical Psychology” (1954) to Bandura’s “Social Learning Theory” (1977) this work explains learning emphasizing in the social context. Learning occurs in front of society, with others influencing us and being part of who we become. Social life reigns in human development according to this theory, where everything we do is in a search for acceptance and belonging. Much more complicated than simple stimuli-response the individual is an active participant, shaping his environment while being in turn shaped by it.
Although it has been criticized by some as being a mere neo-behaviorist approach, the complexities of human development are undeniably affected by our surroundings, being of biological or of social origins. We are social beings, distinguished from other living things precisely because of the complexities of our social lives. Social influences are an intrinsic part of who we are, for a social and emotional aspect of learning must be take into consideration for true understanding of education and to try to find solutions to improve its quality and effectiveness.
It is of particular interest to me as a researcher to improve and advance living conditions for all members of society, convinced that if people of all social and economical classes can continuously improve the way they live we would all benefit. If schools work to promote life long learning experiences that are meaningful and that have an impact in the immediate future of student’s lives, their continuation as academic institutions may continue. Schools must understand that the rapid and constant changes in the way humans communicate, how they access information, how they can transform that information in more than one way and how they can share new ideas are not to be taken lightly. Students are participating actively in many activities that schools continue to neglect while not offering alternatives that have a comparable level of engagement. The students feel alienated, receiving as a model of life a set of behaviors that do not correspond to what they see outside of school. Life is becoming an increasingly interactive experience with all sorts of mobile devices. The classroom offers a model designed over one century ago where the center of attention is rarely the student, or the strategies to meet their needs, or even the inquisitiveness to question the established understandings and wonder how to make things better.
Educational theories are important; they set the ground for who we are in front of students. But education is holistic and individual. There cannot be one correct way to understand how to best serve the needs of any particular students, or a group of them for that matter. Every learner has a particular learning style. It becomes more important in our times to learn where to find the resources we need and how to decompose and perform critical analysis of the information and resources at hand. There is more value in this than in other traditionally over emphasized areas in our classrooms.
Finally, the most important aspect of all these theories are that when put in practice they must be equally accessible to all learners. If we push for the use of technology in a project based learning environment then every learner should have the same amount of exposure to prove its effectiveness. If future citizenry will rely heavily in access and presence in the virtual world then all students in school now should be receiving similar exposure to develop the necessary skills that will allow a better enjoyment of the human experience as adults. This is why I believe that a bilingual multimedia program would have an enormous impact in inner city schools. Students would have a chance to participate in something meaningful, which would elevate their participation in classroom activities to a product that not only makes them feel proud but also improves immediately their experience in school and the understanding of their environment. Looking at students holistically each school must become a particular learning community, focused on the strengths of its members, both the staff and the learners, to provide the best possible settings with the best strategies. Many learning environments would together be part of the learning community, with learners and educators acting together to solve the immediate issues that affect them. Of course, to accomplish all this education must be inclusive, accepting and promoting the constant reflection and exchange of ideas amongst all its members. The benefit of accomplishing such conditions go beyond the learning community, improving the quality of life of the entire community as its members come out ready to transform their lives and help others overcome their obstacles by putting into practice what started as young learners.
Proposal for Study Overview: Draft 1
Education in the 21st century is full of challenges at all levels. New ways of accessing, analyzing, critiquing, transforming, creating and sharing information require a systematic transformation of schools, focusing on skills more than knowledge. This, coupled with a growing multilingual and multicultural population, particularly in inner cities in the United States, presents a new social problem: how can students whose primary language at home is other than English come to understand the society they’re living in and become active participants of the 21st century citizenry while maintaining their own cultural integrity?
Countless students at all levels of education are facing this problem today. While it is imperative that they learn English, which is the language of power in the United States, it is also important that they hold their own identity, strengthening it in front of their new reality. To tackle this it is important to understand the kind of society they are and will be part of. Inner city life, as we know, is permeated by media messages that, in most cases, are not well understood by our growing citizens. The bombardment of advertisements, TV shows, movies, music, billboards, flashy signs and other media with commericial purposes manipulates and brands them to the point that they adopt new ways of living without being ready. Are they understanding what it means to dress in a particular way, or what the economical implications of getting the latest gadgets/fashion/music player mean? Are they fully aware of where these products are made, or how the process of manufacturing them affect the country where they or their relatives originally came from? It is very important that they come to understand all this so they can make the best decisions at the time of consuming goods.
I propose a study titled Bilingual Media Literacy that takes aim at answering all these questions in the classroom, where students can make critical analysis of media messages and decompose them, finding the true intentions of each. This literacy is engaging, meaningful and transformative. When students start to understand how we are manipulated into consumption they develop skills to confront media messages, empowering them to make better decisions and produce responsibly. A high level of social responsibility that can ensure the continuation and continuous improvement of our way of life must accompany future citizenry. Social change must begin in the classroom, where memorable experiences will help create a more responsible and aware citizen.
Countless students at all levels of education are facing this problem today. While it is imperative that they learn English, which is the language of power in the United States, it is also important that they hold their own identity, strengthening it in front of their new reality. To tackle this it is important to understand the kind of society they are and will be part of. Inner city life, as we know, is permeated by media messages that, in most cases, are not well understood by our growing citizens. The bombardment of advertisements, TV shows, movies, music, billboards, flashy signs and other media with commericial purposes manipulates and brands them to the point that they adopt new ways of living without being ready. Are they understanding what it means to dress in a particular way, or what the economical implications of getting the latest gadgets/fashion/music player mean? Are they fully aware of where these products are made, or how the process of manufacturing them affect the country where they or their relatives originally came from? It is very important that they come to understand all this so they can make the best decisions at the time of consuming goods.
I propose a study titled Bilingual Media Literacy that takes aim at answering all these questions in the classroom, where students can make critical analysis of media messages and decompose them, finding the true intentions of each. This literacy is engaging, meaningful and transformative. When students start to understand how we are manipulated into consumption they develop skills to confront media messages, empowering them to make better decisions and produce responsibly. A high level of social responsibility that can ensure the continuation and continuous improvement of our way of life must accompany future citizenry. Social change must begin in the classroom, where memorable experiences will help create a more responsible and aware citizen.
As A Researcher...
Research is one of the most important aspects of the scientific paradigm. As we know, it validates scientific thinking and 'creates' scientific knowledge. But what exactly is research? What is 'good research'? For years I have considered these questions while working with other researchers. There are different types of research, different fields to perform research on, and differences in the quality of this research.
Let's start by trying to define what research is and should be. First off, researchers come in different types. There are some that, to keep comparisons simple, are biased and don’t mind it, and there are some who try not to be biased. With objectivity being probably the most important aspect of research this becomes then a big issue, potentially being the main reason to determine if a particular research study is 'good', or valid, or not so. Researchers should try to be objective and fair, a task that is nearly impossible since we all have our particular ways of seeing life the way we have come to see it through our development into adults. It is important for all researchers then to find strategies that limit our biases and judgments to a minimum. Even though we all see through our own eyes, we know that if we wear glasses with designs in the lenses things will look very different since our perception is altered. Similar thing may happen with research: even though our perception on a given topic is determined by what we've come to accept and understand throughout our upbringing as acceptable, normal or expected, we can put on our 'researcher's glasses' and see beyond our preconceptions. How? By using strategies that provide more than one point of view, or collecting data from various sources, or having different populations in our studies, or any other strategy that has been proven to bring objectivity to the top of our priorities; by triangulating; by having others review our work; by working in collaboration with researchers who not necessarily share our view of the world; by making sure that all efforts are aimed at accomplishing valid results that push forward the creation of knowledge for the advancement of humanity. By being honest, open, transparent, and reflective at the time of conducting the research. By being honest again at the time of delivering results even if they don't benefit us. In all, by being as close to the 'truth' as possible, as we understand it, we as researchers can guarantee that our contribution to the field of knowledge we are working on is solid and can advance, as others would use it as a foundation for their own research, the improvement of our quality of life.
Research is fascinating. The ability to put out a thought, make it real in front of others, share my vision of how to ‘understand’ a social problem is what keeps me hooked, particularly to action research. Being able to say ‘it might work if we try this under these conditions’ and give it a try in real life leaves me with the biggest sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. It is also potentially dangerous, especially when research is in the fields of living things, where the quality of the study and the veracity of the results can potentially lead a human group to make big changes in the way they conduct social life. Here is where bias is present, when particular interests influence the researcher’s work. The process of research, as mentioned before, must be transparent so it can be truly validated. Manipulated results, which we unfortunately see so often, can lead people to believe that a particular is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. In the field of education, for example, we have seen how even in the area of technology the competition between products and strategies can have an impact in the way we design future learning environments. Therefore, if a particular researcher is hired by a particular company to validate their product and the researcher doesn’t protect the integrity of the study, then a product that not necessarily would be the best option may end up being favored by the system to receive the much desired national contract and shape the future of our students. Think standardized testing, is it really the best option or is it ruining schools as some say?
The considerations of a researcher are many. What is important to me is that the results or findings of the research provokes me to question critically something close to my life. A researcher is effectively fulfilling its purpose when it tackles the norm, even if it ends up validating what is was questioning. Research should challenge conventionality. The established ways of doing things are failing us in schools, the students are leaving and the ones staying are not as interested as they should be. The answers to why they’re leaving are there in those who quit because they have no place in the system. Good research in this field is important for the future of our students. More than one million students drop out of high school every year. They continue to be part of the city that failed them, or of the town that couldn’t accommodate them as learners, but their place is generally under strenuous conditions, affecting the quality of life of them and of all other members. It is more than just the fact that their income will not be as that of someone with a college degree, but as a human the access to enjoy the benefits of our social life are diminished. There is no fairness in not finding a way urgently to incorporate all learners into the creation of knowledge.
Let's start by trying to define what research is and should be. First off, researchers come in different types. There are some that, to keep comparisons simple, are biased and don’t mind it, and there are some who try not to be biased. With objectivity being probably the most important aspect of research this becomes then a big issue, potentially being the main reason to determine if a particular research study is 'good', or valid, or not so. Researchers should try to be objective and fair, a task that is nearly impossible since we all have our particular ways of seeing life the way we have come to see it through our development into adults. It is important for all researchers then to find strategies that limit our biases and judgments to a minimum. Even though we all see through our own eyes, we know that if we wear glasses with designs in the lenses things will look very different since our perception is altered. Similar thing may happen with research: even though our perception on a given topic is determined by what we've come to accept and understand throughout our upbringing as acceptable, normal or expected, we can put on our 'researcher's glasses' and see beyond our preconceptions. How? By using strategies that provide more than one point of view, or collecting data from various sources, or having different populations in our studies, or any other strategy that has been proven to bring objectivity to the top of our priorities; by triangulating; by having others review our work; by working in collaboration with researchers who not necessarily share our view of the world; by making sure that all efforts are aimed at accomplishing valid results that push forward the creation of knowledge for the advancement of humanity. By being honest, open, transparent, and reflective at the time of conducting the research. By being honest again at the time of delivering results even if they don't benefit us. In all, by being as close to the 'truth' as possible, as we understand it, we as researchers can guarantee that our contribution to the field of knowledge we are working on is solid and can advance, as others would use it as a foundation for their own research, the improvement of our quality of life.
Research is fascinating. The ability to put out a thought, make it real in front of others, share my vision of how to ‘understand’ a social problem is what keeps me hooked, particularly to action research. Being able to say ‘it might work if we try this under these conditions’ and give it a try in real life leaves me with the biggest sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. It is also potentially dangerous, especially when research is in the fields of living things, where the quality of the study and the veracity of the results can potentially lead a human group to make big changes in the way they conduct social life. Here is where bias is present, when particular interests influence the researcher’s work. The process of research, as mentioned before, must be transparent so it can be truly validated. Manipulated results, which we unfortunately see so often, can lead people to believe that a particular is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. In the field of education, for example, we have seen how even in the area of technology the competition between products and strategies can have an impact in the way we design future learning environments. Therefore, if a particular researcher is hired by a particular company to validate their product and the researcher doesn’t protect the integrity of the study, then a product that not necessarily would be the best option may end up being favored by the system to receive the much desired national contract and shape the future of our students. Think standardized testing, is it really the best option or is it ruining schools as some say?
The considerations of a researcher are many. What is important to me is that the results or findings of the research provokes me to question critically something close to my life. A researcher is effectively fulfilling its purpose when it tackles the norm, even if it ends up validating what is was questioning. Research should challenge conventionality. The established ways of doing things are failing us in schools, the students are leaving and the ones staying are not as interested as they should be. The answers to why they’re leaving are there in those who quit because they have no place in the system. Good research in this field is important for the future of our students. More than one million students drop out of high school every year. They continue to be part of the city that failed them, or of the town that couldn’t accommodate them as learners, but their place is generally under strenuous conditions, affecting the quality of life of them and of all other members. It is more than just the fact that their income will not be as that of someone with a college degree, but as a human the access to enjoy the benefits of our social life are diminished. There is no fairness in not finding a way urgently to incorporate all learners into the creation of knowledge.
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