Final Project

When I began thinking about my final project I tried to identify an area where technology would make a positive impact and improve my practice. I found that I was struggling a bit with effective parent communication, including gathering their input and ideas and receiving feedback. Parent involvement is one of the most important and valued aspects of the Head Start program. Not only has it shown to improve a child’s school experience but it also equals money for the program. As part of this, I send home a questionnaire each month asking parents for curriculum ideas and what they would like their child to work on. Since many of my students take the bus, it is difficult to know when a paper makes it home (I rarely receive my questionnaires back). After watching the presentations in class on all of the digital tools, I thought Survey Monkey would be a great way to gather and document this information more effectively. After thinking about it further, I realized that I could convey even more information to parents by creating a digital newsletter as well. I thought that Glogster would be a fun and creative way to make a newsletter that could also incorporate the parent survey.

To get started, I created accounts on both Glogster and Survey Monkey. I had never used either before so I did a bit of exploring on each site before deciding what each would look like. I found both sites to be very user friendly and I can see myself using them for my monthly newsletter. I may also look into Google forms and experiment with their surveys since I found some of their features to be more appealing. In my newsletter, I included various sections for reminders, what’s happening in our classroom, important dates, resources for parents and kids, and my contact information. I was also able to embed a hyperlink to my parent survey. I would like to send the same survey on a monthly basis but also include other surveys as necessary. This could include a survey to gather feedback at the end of the school year. In addition to hyperlinks, Glogster also allows you to embed videos. I hope to use this feature in a future newsletter.

My plan is to gather the e-mail addresses of all parents at the beginning of the school year. I will explain that I will send out a monthly newsletter where I will ask for their opinions as well as keep them informed about what is happening in school. I will also need to translate my newsletter and survey into Spanish as there is large population of Spanish speaking families in our school community. If a parent does not have an e-mail address or Internet access they will be able to use computers at the school. This year we will have a room set up with computers that parents will have access to. Here they can create an e-mail address and check the newsletter. In a case where this is also not possible, I can print the newsletter and survey to send home.

Although my project was based on digital tools to use with parents I will still look for ways to also use some of these tools, when appropriate, with my students. Today’s kids are growing up completely immersed in technology, making them what Marc Prensky calls “digital natives.” This challenges us as teachers, especially if we are “digital immigrants,” to adapt to the changing needs of our students. In class, we discussed the many ways in which technology influences today’s world. As technology grows and becomes more and more advanced, we need to find ways to incorporate it into our classroom. I feel as though it is important to give students opportunities to have these experiences in school, especially if they would not otherwise have them. As Sugata Mitra explained in “School in the Clouds,” children will learn and excel if the technology and time is available to them.

As we discussed in class, there are also some downsides to the growing use of technology. Sherry Turkle discussed the idea of being “alone together.” Children grow up with texting and social media as the norm in terms of communication. There is a lack of face-to-face communication and therefore the ability to hold a conversation suffers. Children and even adults feel as if they cannot be without their smart devices for the fear that they might miss something. There is a constant desire to be “connected,” to texting or social media, even in a room full of people. This illustrates the important role that parents and teachers have to set limits with the technology that kids are using. Another issue revolves around media and digital culture. Messages about what kids should look like, have, and do are sent through TV, films, advertising, and music, among others. These messages have the power to shape children’s ideas about the world. It is important that parents and educators are informed and aware of what kids are exposed to. They must then teach them to think critically about what they are seeing. Although there are so many benefits of technology in the lives of kids, these are just some examples of how it still must be monitored.

I can see how all of the technology introduced in this class, including tools and resources, could be extremely useful for students and teachers. Although my students now may be too young to use some of them, I definitely have put them all into my technology toolbox. When I began this course I felt as if I was straddling the line that separates a digital native from a digital immigrant. After all of our class discussions and learning about the various digital tools available I can see that I may be leaning more on the side of digital immigrant. But as Dr. Susan Patterson discussed, I am cautiously optimistic about the newfound skills and tools I have acquired for my personal and professional life.

"The Flight from Conversation"

In today’s world it seems as if people are more concerned with reading e-mails, sending text messages, and updating their Facebook status rather than conversing and interacting with another person. In the article “The Flight from Conversation” Sherry Turkle discusses how there is a new trend of being “alone together.” She explains that no matter where we are or who we are with, we have a constant desire to be “connected.” Technology today allows us to be present in one place while being anywhere else we want to be (digitally) at the same time.

As Mike Wesch proclaimed the need to embrace technology, especially in the classroom, Turkle expresses the need to maintain the human connection. I don’t necessarily think that Turkle is challenging Wesch’s ideas but rather shedding light on a darker side of the technology revolution. It is just as important for students to be digitally literate as it is for them to have the ability to communicate and interact with others.

Technology is growing and becoming more advanced so rapidly however I don’t think it will or should ever take the place of human interactions. I agree with many of the points Turkle made in her piece. Kids today are growing up with these devices as the norm. As we discussed in class, research has shown that the brains of children who grow up fully immersed in technology are actually changing to adapt to the world around them. Does this mean that they will loose the critical piece of social interaction? I hope not. So often I see children, even adults, who are glued to their digital devices. It is important that parents and families set limits and make the time for genuine interactions – device free.

The following YouTube video is a TED Talk from Sherry Turkle where she further illustrates her point.

Prezi

The digital tool that I chose to explore was Prezi. I think it's a great alternative to a typical powerpoint presentation and would recommend it to anyone looking to do something fresh and creative. I was able to make a short, little Prezi illustrating the basics of creating your own. Enjoy!

"Seventeen, Self Image, and Stereotypes"

The article “Seventeen, Self Image, and Stereotypes” by Bakari Chavanu really struck a chord with me. In it, Chavanu discusses the effects of commercial advertising on children and teenagers, including the perpetuation of stereotypes and standards of beauty. It is amazing to think about the amount of advertising that we are constantly exposed to. Between TV, radio, Internet, magazines, and other print materials, these messages are all around us. According to the article, a child will have seen 350,000 television commercials by the time they are 17. And this is just through television! These advertisements are extremely influential and are shaping children’s ideas about what they should look like, have, and do.

Chavanu goes on to explain how he handled these issues in his class where he taught a media literacy unit on advertising. He had his students critically examine various forms of advertising including TV commercials and print ads in teen magazines. Students were able to clearly see advertising tactics (such as adding upbeat music or enhancing the coloring of photos) as well as point out how certain racial groups and women were being portrayed. In addition, they discussed how images and ads shape our values. This quote from the article pretty much sums it up - "Not only do they sell products; they also sell ideas about romance, sex, success, beauty, and power."

I see the effects these messages have first hand on the children in my life. My two younger cousins, 10 and 13 year old boys, are already concerned about “getting fat” (they are both no where near overweight). They are scarily aware of their body image, watching what they eat and even “working out” (beyond typical child’s play). When I was young those thoughts never crossed my mind but of course the culture was different back then. It is sad to see how advertisements and portrayals of what is considered acceptable have negatively impacted today’s kids.

I also see the influence of advertisements in my classroom. Even in Pre-K, children are already aware of the latest and greatest toys and clothing, especially those related to TV and movie characters (now that’s another story!). I even have girls who come to school wearing costume jewelry and carrying tubes of lip balm that they call their “lipstick.” These ideas of what is cool and how one should look are coming from somewhere, and it’s clear to see that advertising plays a major role. As the article says, it is important to teach kids to be critically conscious rather than manipulated consumers and both parents and teachers should work together to support this.

The Influence of Disney and Animated Children's Culture on Children

I was definitely brought up with Disney and animated children’s culture all around me. I watched and owned almost all Disney movies and watched many different cartoons on television. I owned various Disney and cartoon character memorabilia such as toys, pajamas, cups, towels, and much more. I also went on family vacations to both Disney World and Disney Land.

I also see this culture reflected in the lives of the children I teach. Many of the girls in my classroom know and love Disney princess characters and often talk about their favorites. Many of the boys, in particular, often discuss how they watch Sponge Bob Square Pants and other cartoons at home and are even able to recite lines and story plots.

As a child, I am not quite sure that I was aware of the messages and stereotypes that animated cartoon themes and characters portrayed. However, as an adult I can definitely make these connections. Chistensen claims that children’s cartoons shape the ideology of a child’s world. They embed stereotypes about gender, race, class, and ability. When analyzing popular animated children’s films (especially Disney) and television shows many of these stereotypes becomes apparent. I feel that I was able to separate fantasy from reality, as I never read too deeply into the media I was consuming. However, I can see how these factors can have an unconscious influence on younger generations. 

Wesch and 21st Century Kids

The world is changing around us and according to Mike Wesch this calls us to question, “What are basic literacy skills today and how will students best learn them?” As culture and technology are changing, schools are not necessarily keeping up to meet the needs of our 21^st century kids. Wesch compares today’s society with a post Vietnam War era, a time when there’s a struggling economy making it difficult to implement large-scale change. However, he points out that many of the resources available to us are free and right at our fingertips.

Wesch makes a valid point about the changing needs of kids and the need to implement new technology and approaches in today’s schools. Although teachers face many constraints in the classroom, it is important to try to integrate as much of this as possible. Knowing that our students are “digital natives” we need to make that connection to make learning more meaningful in the classroom. Unfortunately, we may not see a large-scale change in our schools in the near future, but as teachers we must be advocates and do what we can to supplement the curriculum with technology.