Sunday, August 31, 2014
Reading and Discussion #2
Digital Storytelling is new to me and I feel rather old saying that. However, thanks to friends and professors I have been shown the wisdom in using them. Thankfully, most technology is user friendly and if I can do it, ANYONE can! One of my new favorite apps is iMovie- I can not wait to let my students use this app to create a trailer about themselves or whatever topic they choose. My step-son creates youtube videos all the time with his friends. There are just so many venues and their generation communicates this way all the time. My son sends pictures to his friends using instagram and facebook. These digital stories and images gives them a voice in a sense. I did not even know about Reel Works until this assignment.... no I take that back we watched "A Girl Like Me" while in class. This videos are filmed in such a way that the viewer is self-reflective while watching. At least the ones that I watched had a deeper meaning than I first thought when I clicked on them.
One of my favorite videos so far is...
Temporary Home
This video is sad but awakening to another world we don't always see...or want to see. I think the creator was brave for sharing her journey of living in a shelter with her mom and her sister. She was conflicted in her emotions about blaming her mom but also being understanding. She explained that living in a shelter did make her grow up earlier than most and that she treasured everything she had. Isn't this different than what we live everyday. I am often thankful for what I have but do I treasure everything? Doubtful, most of the time, I am growling under my breath that I have so much "stuff" that I have to organize and clean around. How selfish of me to not treasure each thing in my life. One of the more interesting quotes in the video to me was when she stated that one day she hoped to have a better life- and went on to say that she would not say she would have a good life someday because that will never happen. But it could be better. While I liked her somewhat positive statement it made me sad that she already put that boundary around her possibilities.
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I too feel that digital technology helps students to identify a "voice" in learning. Even the most introverted students can be successful using social media and technology.
ReplyDeleteI'll be showing Temporary Home in class next Tuesday. It does a great job of providing teachers an understanding of the kinds of stress some parents children are under in their lives outside of school.
ReplyDeleteThe video that you chose surprised me and definitely exposed my naivety of homeless shelters. My image of shelters are based on what has been portrayed in movies, television, and books. Part of that image that I have is the temporariness of the situation; I was very surprised to learn that the family had been staying in the shelter(s) for about two years. I was also taken aback to learn that not only was paperwork involved, it could mean the difference between having a place to stay or not.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found inspiring is that despite being a self proclaimed "emo kid," isolated, and depressed, she still looked for positives in her situation. She felt that living in a shelter had made her more responsible and she had some hope for the future (although she seemed hesitate and had a tendency to limit it).
By providing a personalized account of her experience, the storyteller provides insight to an issue that many of us (like myself) know little about and perhaps turn a blind eye to.
What do you like about the video?
ReplyDeleteThis video is raw. It hard to watch but it is something that an educator needs to understand as students struggle in the classroom. It makes me wonder how many of my students who were falling asleep in class or are having a bad day may have experienced the evening that the narrator experienced in the beginning of the video.
What did you learn from the video?
No matter the circumstance the narrator felt that school was important. I wonder how she did in school the next day?
How do you think the video support a healthy respect for multiculturalism?
It is a true experience by a student that could be in any of our classes. I think that it is one step closer to understanding various situations that affect student behavior.