Educ 6810 - Brainstorming my Digital Story

1. Describe a positive scene from childhood in detail.  What led up to this event? When and where did it happen?  Who was involved?  What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact did it have on you?

The scene I remember the most is actually a scene that I appreciate more today as an adult. It's actually many scenes. When I was younger, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were the best days in my life. I did not appreciate them then, but I do now. Now that it is not the same. 

Every Christmas Eve we would meet at my Mammaw's and Pappaw's house. Everyone - my aunts, uncles, cousins, sister, mom and dad. We would eat dinner and then get ready for Christmas Eve service at church.  Normally I was singing in the choir at the time, so it would feel great to get to sing for my whole family. Then we would return and we would get to open up our Christmas pajamas!  We would of course pose for like a million pictures with our new PJs, and then we would eat nuts, veggies, crackers, and chocolate while playing games all night.  Then, when it was time, we would all go home and get ready for Santa in the morning.

The next day my sister and I would wake up.  I would normally wake up extra early.  We would all meet in the living room - mom, dad, my sister, and myself, and we would listen to Christmas music while we opened up our stocking and presents.  We would have a huge breakfast and end it with cinnamon rolls. =) Of course, my sister and I would fight over who got the middle one.  Mom finally started making two so that we would have two middle ones.  =)

After we would play with our gifts, we would all get ready to head over to Mammaw and Pappaw's house.  Then we would all return for Christmas dinner and presents with each other. We would go youngest to oldest for the order in which we opened presents.  I was the second to youngest; therefore, I always liked this rule!  We would play games and just enjoy the holiday. I never realized how much I would miss those days.  Now that we are all older, some of the 'kids' from back then have their own kids, some of the family members have to split the holiday's with their spouses' family, and not everyone is there to enjoy the time with.  It is still a great holiday - but there are times that I wish I could just go back and appreciate what I never really appreciated before.

2. Describe a negative scene from childhood in detail.  What led up to this event? When and where did it happen?  Who was involved?   What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact did it have on you?

I will not lie, this particular scene from my life has left my memories. Some days I will think about it and think - why was that such a hard time? This is because most of those horrible memories have left my head.  For obvious reasons.  Then there are times that I feel those feelings again, I remember why I had a hard time this part of my life and I think - wow, I have moved on just fine in life.  Things just made me stronger.  I will try to explain; however, I cannot promise that it will be in great detail. 

When I was in the sixth grade, there were only 13 girls in my entire class. 13 girls.  That really is not a lot.  All through grade school there were the catty, mean girls. It got so bad, that the counselor had to come and give us 'talks' about bullying.  It never worked, the 'mean girls' would just laugh and giggle.   It was a little insane; however, nothing will beat my sixth grade year.  

I was still in elementary school for sixth grade.  There was a " Queen Bee" that ran everything.  This Queen Bee was in charge, meaning everyone did as she said. If they didn't, life was going to be rough. If the Queen Bee did not like someone, the rest of us did not like that person. That is just how it was. I hated that I was a follower, but it was better to follow than to have no one like you.  

One day, I was the person that she did not like. Along with one other girl. This was the worst time of my life. These girls did some messed up things to me and to anyone else they were mad at. I was a victim of harsh, horrible bullying. This all took place inside of school. I could not imagine what it would be like if it were on the internet. If I could, I would sit here and type up all the bad things that these girls did to me.  Calling me names, making fun of what I wore, doing horrible things to my clothes, making fun of my hair, saying nasty things that really hurt.  But I do not want to relive any of that.  It made me a stronger person today.  

I had a diary in the sixth grade.  It was a purple fuzzy one with a monkey on the front.  I wrote in it every day about the horrible things that these girls did to me.  However, three years later there was a flood.  My house was flooded, and I lost that notebook.  At times it upsets me, because I would love to see how my life has changed.  But on second thought, I love that it is gone.  I no longer have the memories written down; therefore, I do not have to relive those moments.

This helped me make friends in junior high school because I knew I did not want anything to do with those other girls. The moments in sixth grade still upset me; however, they made me much stronger today. 

3. Describe a particular event from your teen-aged years that stands out in your memory 
today.  This can be positive or negative. What led up to the event?  What happened?  Where and when?  Who was involved?   What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact did the event have on you.

There are so many events that stick out in my mind. The teen age years were a hard couple to handle.  Some of them were very, very personal that I do not feel that I can talk about. One that I feel I can discuss is an event that happened when was 17 years old. 

One weekend, a friend of ours came back from visiting his mother in Tennessee. We were bowling on a Friday night and he and his friends came to say hi.  We were all so happy to see him back.  We didn't have school on Monday, so we planned a homecoming party for him on 
Sunday night. He would spend Saturday night with his boys then Sunday night with everyone. Now, this boy and I were not the best of friends.  I barely knew him.  However, he was great friends with my great friends, so we were acquaintances. 

Sunday morning after church I received a phone call. My parents and I were on our way to the mall to go shopping.  I answered the phone and my dad instantly turned around when he heard my voice. It was my friend Jami. She was crying. She told me that our friend did not wake up that morning. There was alcohol involved with their party and he didn't wake up. We didn't know if it was from his intake or if he choked on his vomit. I did not believe it - she had to tell me over and over.  My friends and I spent the entire two days together in the dark just hurt.

The next week was horrible. I was not that close to him I was closer to his friends. But I still went to the funeral home every night with my friends. It was the first funeral and burial I had ever been to. We were all so strong together, but when the slightest things happened, it broke us all down.  I will never forget that week - it was very hard to handle.  However, I could never imagine if it had been one of my close friends.  I hated seeing my friends like that.

4. Describe a vivid or important memory from any time in your adult years.  Again, this can be positive or negative.  It can be about anything – family, work, whatever.  The scene stands 
out in your mind today as being especially vivid or important.  Please describe what led up to the event.  Then describe the scene in detail.  What happened?  Where and when?  Who was involved?  What were you thinking and feeling?  Why is it an important event?  What impact has the event had on you?

Even though I mentioned above about a death, I barely knew the boy. I knew him enough to talk to him. However, once again in my adult years, I have had many many heart breaking and personal experiences that I do not want to talk about. The one event I will talk about, I call it my first death. 

I was only 19 years old, in college when I found out my Pappaw had leukemia. It was in November. The doctors gave him 2 months. However, he lasted 14. That's my Pappaw, though.   He 
didn't go by what other people say, he did his own thing. 

It was December 13th, 2010. My second to last exam for that semester. I finished and looked at my phone. My dad had called. I called him back to tell him that I aced that exam. He said he was proud but he had some news. Pappaw didn't make it... 

I knew it was coming just not yet. I wasn't ready. But then again, would I have ever been ready?  I had to sit down on a bench and collect myself before driving back to my house off of campus. I was greeted by all my roommates and the boy I liked. They were all waiting just to be there for me. It was so great to know I had friends like that.

I packed my things and headed for home. It was bittersweet to see all my family. It was like I wanted to see them, just not like that. The viewing and the funeral were the hardest things I had to ever deal with. However, I did with my family by my side. I still miss him so much. 
But I know he is looking down on me so proud. 

 5. In looking back on your life, you may be able to identify particular “turning points” – episodes through which you experienced an important change in your life.  Please choose one key turning point scene and describe it in detail.  If you feel your life story contains no clear turning points, then describe a particular episode in your life that comes closer than any other to qualifying for a turning point – a scene where you changed in some way.  Again, please describe what led up to the event, what happened in the event, where and when it happened, who was involved, what you were thinking and feeling, and so on.  Also, please tell me how you think you changed as a result of this event and why you consider this event to be an important scene in your life story today.

The most life changing event was actually the most recent event in my life. However, it was a few months of getting where I am that need to be brought up.

I graduated college with my Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education - specialized in math grades 5-9 in December of this year.  I then began to substitute teach in Marion Co.  So many events happened to me in the months after graduation, it was unreal.

I was invited by an amazing professor  to attend and speak at a National Teachers Conference in New Orleans, LA. It was an amazing experience; one that I will never forget.  Also, later that month, I attended a State Conference where I saw Dr. Lindstrom :) present and talk about this Masters Program. Therefore, I decided to give it a try.  Here I am!

I thought that I was on top of the world with all of this happening.  However, I was not.  I was not on top of the world until my home county - Marshall county - was putting up new bids for the school year 2013-2014.  I knew that I had to give it a try.  I was actually on my lunch break at a school in which I was subbing when my mother called to tell me about the bids.  When I saw that there was an opening for a middle school math teacher at my old middle school - I was so excited to put that as my first bid.  I actually placed my bids the day I was leaving for New Orleans as I was walking in the Atlanta, GA airport.

After the National Teacher Conference, I received that call that I was selected for the interview for the job! I was so excited! Yet, very nervous.  I met so many great people at the state conference that talked me up for getting the interview, gave me advice on how to prepare, gave me advice for while I was in the interview, and wished me so much luck.  I am so thankful for that conference because of the people that were behind me.

Once I walked into the office for the interview, I immediately got cold feet.  Am I going to be good enough? Am I going to be better than the people that already interviewed? Do I have enough experience for them? Do I have what they are looking for?  It was a hard five minutes in that office - but they called my name in and I did the BEST that I could do.  I knew that if I was not chosen, that I did the best that I could.

Two days later, I received a phone call.  "Emily, this is Mrs. Porter the principal from Sherrard Middle School.  How are you?"  I was so nervous.  Why is she calling? Is she telling me to start looking for more jobs? Is she telling me that I was not good enough? Is she letting me know that I did not get the job? Will she at least let me know what I did wrong?  "I was just calling to let you know that you can stop looking for jobs, and maybe cancel any interviews you may have.  We have selected you as the candidate for our Sixth Grade/Mathematics teacher here at Sherrard Middle School. "

Holy Moly! I did it!! I am now in my tenth week of my first job as a teacher in my own classroom.  I could not have done it without the experience that I was given, the teachers and professors along the way, and the support of family and friends.  This is by far the most life changing event in all of my life.

Educ 6810 - Week Ten Activities 1&2

Activity#1

Element #1: Take a look at the two examples and see if you can identify the purpose behind each story. What is the point of view in each? Whose voice do you hear?

Video #1 shows the audience how to make salt. There are children talking in this video. 

Video #2 shows that solar power can make energy. The voice sounds to be a male; however, we hear music as we'll. 

Element #2: See if you can find a dramatic question in the examples for this section. Is the question resolved in each movie or are you left without a resolution?

Video #1 Why are they making a beautiful island ugly? It isn't resolved. 
Video #2 This is about wasting food. The solution is a water pool. 

Element #3: See if you can identify the emotional paradigms behind these stories.

Video #1 Teenage depression and suicide. 
Video #2 Loss of a grandparent. 
Video #3 Danger of strangers to children. 

Element #4: What impact that the voice plays on the overall effect of the story.

Video #1 a woman's voice is answering a question. 
Video #2 beautiful voices of little children. 


Element #5: What impact does the music have on the emotional content or purpose of the story? 

Video #1 Sounds to be some sort of chanting from their culture.

Element #6: Look at the examples in this section and consider the decisions the authors made about length of clips, types of transitions and sequence of events. Are you able (as a viewer) to fill in the missing pieces? Give an example?

The videos had the same purpose. 

Video #1 It is short; however , we can fill I the blanks that the child got a room. 

Video #2. This is longer but we now know it's because of an uncle. We transition better. 

Video #3 much longer. This May have lasted too long. Some pictures did not add to the story. 

Element #7: How does the narrator use their voice to pace the story? Give a specific example.

Video #1 was a bit too fast. If I needed answers in this bit of information i would have to watch it many times. 

Video #2 this one hay a better pace. I enjoyed the humor of it. 

Activity #2

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9X6brtJBMCs


Point of view:
The point of view is the granddaughter. This young woman is Karen Haney. This is in first person because she is describing points of her own experience with her grandmother.

Dramatic Question:
I feel that the dramatic question is when she says that her grandmother moves to Kansas City. However, they do not live together like she wanted them to.

Emotional Content:
The emotional content is that the speaker loves her grandmother and always wanted to hear her exciting stories. However, it tug on our heart strings when we hear about her Alzheimer's Disease. We realize that Karen can no longer have those conversations with her grandmother.

Educ 6810 - Week Ten Reading

How has social media changed reading and writing processes in the digital age?

When it comes to social media we are forced to read, write, hear, see and create text. We are reading and writing and the importance of theses skills is equally important. With social media it makes it much easier to converse with others by commenting and even clicking simple links. Also, with using digital media, it is easy to edit text, comment on text, and share text. 


Explain "cosmopolitan practice" in relation to digital literacies and it means for learning in school.

We need to be citizens in this new digital world. We must take part in world wide issues via digital media and social.media. Being digitally literate is a key component o living in this digital world. It helps to get better involved. Students may never leave this area, but they can talk to anyone around the world.


How did the cosmopolitan conversation video challenge support critical media literacy?

Students were able to communicate by voicing their own opinions. They were able to talk to others and get their information and opinions the same topics. They. Eed


4. How does this quote from the text, "In this digital age, traditional content creation such as book reports, unit projects and essays, cannot be merely digitized and regulated to the end of the unit as capstone demonstrations of content mastery," make you think about how digital technologies should 

be used to support learning in school?

Because of the 21st century skills, students need to master so much more than the projects and essays provided by and expected by teachers.  We need to do more than just type and view pictures on the computer. There is so much more that we can utilize in the classroom and we need to use it to its full potential. It is available to us. It is necessary to use it and teach it.

How do the digital stories you watch this week support the concept of cosmopolitanism?

Watching the digital stories this week support the concept of cosmopolitanism by letting me watch other people at I did not even know. This made it easy to watch videos dealing with issues around the world form around the world. Anyone can upload these videos and comment on them as well. 





6.  In a blog posting, copy and paste a quote from the text that have moved you in some way (i.e. surprised, confused, disagree, strongly agree) and in about 100-150 words state why you have selected the quote. Then find an article, video, podcast, blog posting, image related to what you have read and link to it or embed it in your Blog. Describe the resources and a brief explanation of how it is connected to the reading. 

"Through social media outlets, more people of diverse ages, nationalities, genders, and socioeconomic positions produce news, comment on social issues, and even stage revolutions."

I chose this quote because social media has become the most insane thing to hit peoples'


entertainment. With Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.  it has become the greatest thing for people.  So many people around the world can talk to anyone.  It is amazing the friends people can make through these sites.



Retrieved from
http://www.edudemic.com/teach-students-about-social-media/

I feel that this shows that social media can be seen and felt around the world. People are creating media, stories, and moments all around the world and it is bringing people together.


Avila, J. , Pandya ,J.(2013). Critical digital literacies as social praxis. NY, New York: Peter Lang.

Educ 6810 - Reading #9

"The tools of digital storytelling, as well as the social relations that this type of activity promoted, provided the space and opportunity for youth to engage in meaningful practices to represent and extend their understandings of complex issues with which they grappled personally and intellectually." (Nixon, 57)

I chose this text because this is how I felt about the digital story that I watched on Reel.  I agree whole heartedly with this quote.  Digital storytelling is definitely a way for youth to let out their personal problems and feelings.  They also have a great opportunity to speak out for others.  These tools let them  spill out their hearts and souls and tell their story - through media.  It is a great way for youth to not only allow their inner selves to come through, but it also lets them use the same tools that they enjoy to use.

I chose this image because it is everything that digital storytelling is.  I love that it shows that digital learning is student engagement.  It is engaging students in so much more than they even know.  Also, they are able to reflect on their thoughts and feelings.  The technology integration is an obvious part; however, it is a great way to bring technology instruction into the classroom.  This is a must.  Lastly, the Project-Based Learning.  This is a great way to assess project based learning activities.

Source:
Avila, J., & Pandya, J. (2013). Critical digital literacies as social praxis. (Vol. 54). New York: NY: Peter Lang Publishing Inc.

Image retrieved Borchardt Elementary Library - from http://borchardtlibrary.edublogs.org/digital-storytelling/

Educ 6810 - Digital Story and Reel Works

No Cinderella Story

1.What do you like about the digital story?

At first, I saw that it was called No Cinderella Story - so I was interest.  Then I realized it was all about sex so I almost turned it off.  But then I realized that it was so true.  Sex to young people is nothing anymore and there are more and more middle school and high school girls that become pregnant and are usually unfit for the pregnancy of motherhood. 

Another part of this video talks about how instead of just hanging out, kids are drinking, smoking, and then having sex.  

2.What did you learn from the digital story?

I have learned that they have sex because they are bored.  Also - they drink and smoke; therefore, they want to have sex.  Another great thing that these kids said was that because their parents were divorced.  They feel that that has an influence on their decisions. 

3.What surprised you about the digital story?

It did not surprise me so much that young kids are having sex; however, I learned that kids do know that they are either in the wrong or that they need to calm down.  Instead of thinking that there is no romance in the world - they are realizing that they need to trust romance and love and not just have sex to get a 'name' for themselves. 

4.How did the digital story provide an example of how digital storytelling can build self esteem, help young people voice an opposition to social problems, or create an alternative to stereotypes of adolescents typically portrayed in mainstream media?

I loved this video because not only are some of the kids reaching out and saying what is on their minds, but other kids can see this and know that sex is not something that needs tossed around.  They need to know that there is time for that and the time is not now.  I also feel that it went along with the stereotypes; however, they can see that they need to wizen up about this topic.  Kids need to be kids and not hurry up to be adults.  I liked that the digital stories were informal and I enjoyed the videos that I watched.

Educ 6810 - PSA

I created my PSA for teachers.  Basically I say exactly what I needed to say - we, as educators, need to realize the generation that these children are growing up in.  We need to make sure that we are making their time at school worth while and we need to teach them the critical skills of media - they need to be aware of the good and the bad. I used the plain folk technique as well as rhetorical questions.  I start off with a question for teachers to understand the critical areas of the media that we need to be teaching as well as keeping up in our lessons.

Educ 6810 - Story Board

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1a0bWD2OCo1B67OxpV3X3NLNDey1iwYauODcAE5yzNtw/edit?usp=sharing