EDUC 6816 - Final Draft Citizen Journalism Project

Final Citizen Journalism Project report:
Pocahontas County: Season to Season

Final Track star:
The effects of a tourism economy on employment in Pocahontas County

EDUC 6816 - Weekly Reading #10

DeforestACTION, New Literacies and Authentic Research

In What Wikipedia can teach us about New Media Literacies, Henry Jenkins outlines four skills necessary to New Literacies, which he calls “a set of cultural competencies and social skills which young people need as they confront the new media landscape.” Of these skills he outlines four of particular importance:

Collective Intelligence — the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others towards a common goal.

Judgment — the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information source.

Networking — the ability to search for, synthesize and disseminate information.

Negotiation — the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative sets of norms. 

This video describes a global student collaborative research and action project from DeforestACTION to stop illegal deforestation happening in Borneo.




This project relates to Mr. Jenkins’ four skills required for new literacy in the following ways:

Collective Intelligence — students in remote schools across the globe collectively monitored the Satellite images of Borneo to identify illegal timbering which triggered local, democratic, action when illegal logging was observed.

Judgment — Reliability and credibility were questions that needed answered as the students learned about deforestation, its effects on the environment and the local people, while also learning about corporate interests and governmental corruption that contributes to it.

Networking — Students were allocated plots of land to monitor for changes and disturbances. They compiled and compared these changes with other students across the globe and then disseminated that information to the eco-warriors “on-the-ground.”

Negotiation — As students digitally monitored the satelitte images of the forest, they were able to act as the eyes and ears of the local Borneo people. To do this effectively required student knowledge of the cultural, environmental and social reality of the people. Those locals, armed with the images and information possible by 21st century technology, were then free to physically confront and stop the illegal encroachment that was happening.

Real World Research Practices

"Proficiency at effectively using the new literacies of networked information technologies has become critical to our students’ success in the workplace and in their daily lives." (International Reading Association, 2009).

This project is consistent with the kind of research people might encounter in the workplace. For one, it is authentic. Students aren’t just reading about deforestation and its effects and then writing a report about it, they are using 21st century technology to learn about a problem, and then taking action to solve the problem.

The direct link between learning about a problem and taking action to solve it is an example of the types of research necessary in a business or service workplace, for example. In an innovation-economy, identifying problems, finding solutions, and putting those solutions into production is the information research required of its workers.

In that way this project is an example of that:

Identifying Problems - Illegal logging that creates deforestation.

Finding Solutions -  Using Satellite images to monitor illegal encroachment.

Solutions to Action - Alerting “on-the-ground” locals to protest the activity.

The connection between 21st century technology, global citizenship and action is a strong example of authentic research for the students. I particularly liked the direct change the students could see/experience (for example, when they triggered the alarm that illegal encroachment was happening they could visually see it stopping).

I think this has more implications than just teaching students how to research in the workplace. I think it can be a powerful motivating factor for democratic participation. Many times, I think people want to help when they see a wrong-doing, but too often they feel powerless to influence real change. This example shows a straight line between observing wrong-doing and taking action that leads directly to change. This shows students both the VALUE they have in the global world and, for educational engagement purposes, the VALUE of their learning experiences.

Sources:

Jenkins , H. What wikipedia can teach us about the new media literacies (part one) [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2007/06/what_wikipedia_can_teach_us_ab.html

International Reading Association (2009). New Literacies and 21st Century Technologies. Retrieved from http://www.reading.org/Libraries/position-statements-and-resolutions/ps1067_NewLiteracies21stCentury.pdf

DeforestACTION. Retrieved from: http://dfa.tigweb.org/

EDUC 6809 - Learning Adventure Rubric

 Here's the link to the rubric I created for my Learning Adventure Product:

Exploring the Constitution Through Photography

I choose to use "Platinum," "Gold," "Silver," and "Bronze" instead of numbers. These designations reflect the scale that WorkKeys uses. Workkeys is a work-based certification test my students must take.

EDUC 6809 - Weekly Reading 10

This post is written in response to the ISTE 2012 Tuesday Keynote featuring Dr. Yong Zhao


(Dr. Zhao takes the stage around the 24 minute mark)

His Argument

“Test Scores are seductive but don’t lead to real education”

- Dr. Yong Zhao

Dr. Yong Zhao argues that standardized curriculum and national assessments stifle creativity and entrepreneurship, which he believes to be the engine that drives economical growth and innovation. He uses China, and the rest of Asia, as an (convincing) example. His presentation makes a powerful case that those countries may be winning the assessment/standardization battle but losing the business/innovation war.

Do I agree?

Dr. Zhao states that technology has been misused as a way to improve test scores and this is because the focus of education reform has been place on assessment standards. I agree with his argument.  I believe with less focus on high stakes assessments, students would be better prepared for the 21st Century workplace. With a new focus, technology could then be better utilized and the potential for creativity, critical thinking and innovation could exponentially increase.

 I think technology is currently being over-emphasized but under-utilized. There has been a lot of emphasis on technology in education lately, unfortunately, the education system is still struggling to figure out what to do with it. As evidenced by the case studies I and my fellow students created this semester, in-school technology use is limited at best. My fellow student, Abigail Hayhurst writes about in-school computer use in her case study about 14 year-old “Jane:”

“The computers are used for traditional assignments. Students take benchmark assessments and conduct research for writing papers.” 

Abigail concludes, as I do, that “There is nothing innovative of 21st century about these practices.” (Hayhurst, 2013).

"Know where you are going"

- Dr. Yong Zhao

Dr. Zhao uses the example of China (to good effect) to illustrate the folly of assessment tests. He speaks of the Chinese economic transformation from “cheap labor to knowledge driven, innovation driven” and uses statements from Chinese leaders to claim “they don’t think their system can do it.” Dr. Zhao believes that China’s rigorous, standards driven, educational system stifles the skills necessary for innovation and entrepreneurship. The implication is: an increase in standardization will result in a similar stifled environment that would be detrimental to the future of our students (and our world!).

In the U.S, focus on standards have been increased. This is true even in the college admissions programs. A Policy Research brief produced by the National Council of Teachers of English, called Writing Now (2008), states:

“research shows that these high-stakes timed-writing samples are often ineffective or incomplete indicators of student ability and capability for college work. Misuse and misunderstanding of the results of standardized tests of writing is common, which may lead to inequalities in admission to colleges and graduate programs, especially for traditionally underrepresented groups.”

Assessments really don’t tell you anything about the success of students in the workplace either. If that was the case, Chinese and other Asian students would be better represented in the business field. According to the information presented in Dr. Zhao’s presentation, Asian students represent 15 - 25% of Ivy League students, but only account for 2% of the total board seats of Fortune 500 companies.

A similar comparison can be made in the paper "Reading by Design: Two Case Studies of Digital Reading Practices" (2009) about the students who were extremely capable of creating out-of-school writing, but didn’t do well on assessments. Take, for example, “Peter” who was a capable student when it came to new literacy practices while reading the digital text "Naruto", but performed poorly in traditional, print-based, school reading assessments:

Jennifer (the researcher) was impressed with his advanced vocabulary and in-depth appreciation of content in the series and found it difficult to reconcile his poor reading scores with Peter’s knowledge and understanding of Naruto’s storyline and plot.” (Rowsell & Burke, 2009).

"Creativity can’t be taught but can be killed”
-Dr. Yong Zhao

As evidenced by China, focusing on standardization is a main determent to innovation and creativity. In “Multimodal Literacies: An Introduction” the connection between creativity and innovation is further explored.

"We know that when people are actively engaged with inquiry, have a desire to learn new things, and try out different digital, visual, musical, spatial, dramatic (and so on) tools and techniques, they have the potential to say and do things that we have never before imagined."

This goes hand in hand with Dr. Zhao’s final thoughts about student autonomy. One way he contends to increase this crucial component is to enhance student strengths and talents.

“Every Talent is useful.” 

- Dr. Zhao

The policy research brief “Adolescent Literacy” (2007), promotes a student-centered classroom environment to engage learners:

“Providing student choice and responsive classroom environments with connections to “real life” experiences helps adolescents build confidence and stay engaged

Furthermore, the brief goes on to say:

“Teachers often devalue, ignore or censor adolescents’ extracurricular literacies, assuming that these literacies are morally suspect, raise controversial issues, or distract adolescents from more important work. This means that some adolescents’ literacy abilities remain largely invisible in the classroom.” 

I suspect the “more important work” this may refer to has to do with the pressure to raise test scores. Talent comes in many forms, and it typically manifests itself in out-of-school activities. Providing student choice and responsive classroom environments with connections to “real life” experiences helps adolescents build confidence, creativity, critical thinking and engagement - which lead to student autonomy.

"A real good education is one that helps every individual child to maximize their potential." 

- Dr. Yong Zhao

Technology should be utilized to enhance student strengths, foster individual talents and build confidence in a student. Using technology to teach new literacy skills and as tools for students to create multi-modal products that showcase their learning is one way to do this. These skills, paired with internet technology allows students to participate in a global dialogue. In this way, technology can truly be used to grow creativity, critical thinking, innovation and global participation required for the 21st Century.

Sources:

Hayhurst, A. (2013). Media ecology case study: Jane (the social bug). Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZCynN5JiPaqasztPAvWPdCRHLTXmgD26E5e57rUB2Fo/edit

National Council of Teachers of English. (2008). Writing Now. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Magazine/Chron0908Policy_Writing_Now.pdf

National Council of Teachers of English (2007). Adolescent Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEfiles/Resources/Magazine/Chron0907AdLitBrief.pdf

Rowsell, J., & Burke, A. (2009). Reading by design: Two case studies of digital reading practices. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy ,53(2), 106-118. doi: 10.1598

Sanders, Jennifer and Albers, Peggy. Multimodal Literacies: An Introduction. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:ZnRBedCgj_IJ:https://secure.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Books/Sample/32142Intro_x.pdf+are+literacies+and+Discourses+used+interchanably&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESjE9pBd2JmN_g_xuDVosAj01ImYkr6u-oyjriG0tREXG8fzwbyeuhcmDw0rrbTA1rug-bgizHwuiUlocJcQwdvcCiPOxZYWVExNgQ8BmulksyeRUcUX4LJmfxLlw7e8UTdG2TuT&sig=AHIEtbSZ7RHTNL_Rfe2bglUQRg9zzCD2JA

ISTE 2012 Tuesday Keynote Featuring Yong Zhao (Video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKXeNKsjoMI

EDUC 6809 - Learning Adventure Product

I'm not sure if this will work or not. The project is meant to be interactive, with hyperlinks within the project & to outside sources. I couldn't upload it that way, but it gives a general idea of what I was going for.

EDUC 6816 - Citizen Journalism Project - Rough Draft

I was intending to create a radio story, but I realized that what I really envisioned was a "documentary style" radio report. However, without conducting actual interviews this was not possible (and, I think would distract me). So, instead, I created a website.... which, I  think uses a lot more New Literacies than just a research report masquerading as a radio piece. Please feel free to leave comments for me. And, if you have any ideas - please post them to the Forum on the website!


Pocahontas County WV - Season to Season

EDUC 6809 - Weekly Reading #9

This is written in response to Responding & Assessing by Sonya C. Borton & Brian Huot

Quote:

"Similarly, an important assessment criteria for a multimodal text might be whether a student has taken advantage of the specific affordances, or capabilities, of each modality." (Borton & Huot)

Official seal of the
U.S. Senate

I am really trying to take advantage of the visual image in the learning adventure example I'm creating this week. I don't know if I'll use this in my project, but here's a story for you:

I get easily distracted when I research.... I tend to ask myself lots of questions and follow those answers even when I know it won't be useful to my project. This happened while I was trying to find the seal of each house of Congress.

Alternative seal of the
U.S. Senate

I kept finding "alternative seals" and not the "official" seal - which seemed weird to me. It turns out the Senate uses their "official" seal only rarely - mostly to ratify treaties and on impeachment papers! As a result, an "alternative seal" was created for common use. The same is true for the House of Representatives, except I couldn't find a visual for the "official" seal. According to Wikipedia "The official seal depicts the House side of the Capitol building, but is not used as a visual symbol." Fascinating!


Questions

1. What should the assessments of multimodal text provide for students?
An expectation of what a multimodal text should include and a framework for understanding the rhetorical nature of the final product. Multimodal texts are even more important to have an assessment for (than traditional texts) because students and teachers have less experience in "authoring, designing and thinking rhetorically about multimodal texts."

2. What are the benefits to using formative assessment when asking students to compose multimodal texts?
Creating a formal assessment becomes part of the learning experience. Learning to create a formal assessment (via a rubric or other form) of their own work (and the work of others) helps students make decisions about the effectiveness of their own texts. It emphasizes the process of creating the text vs. just getting the project done. It provides the students with a greater understanding of what the process is and what goes into the creation of it.

3.How do you feel about collaboratively constructing rubrics or assessment criteria with students?
I think this is a great way to reinforce key concepts and to put the responsibility of learning onto the student. I have had success with creating assessment criteria in the past - although I've never called it such (I don't give grades so the language is different). For example, we do a "Career Awareness" activity in the first few days of my SPOKES class. Part of the activity is creating a powerpoint about a chosen career.  I show a sample one and then we make a list of what criteria/research is needed to complete the project. I have, however, never included an image or sound criteria list but I see that it is needed. Looking back (especially after reading this article) I can understand now why some students just created a "word" powerpoint and I always had to encourage them to go and add photos and transitions. The problem was that I didn't emphasize that part of the criteria. That's going to change moving forward.

Additional Resource

Creating Rubrics Through Negotiable Contracting and Assessment

This is an article with both practical advice and real world examples of teachers finding success in putting student-created rubrics to work in the classroom.

Sources
Borton, S & Huot, B; Responding and assessing, Multimodal composition: Resources for teachers, 99-111, 2007.