Week 10 Blog Post: Technology

My personal learning has been heavily impacted by the use of technology through both secondary and tertiary education.

Firstly, in the classroom, my learning has been informed particularly through physical technologies such as computers, smart phones and tablets. University portals such as BlackBoard LMS, online databases and PDF textbooks are made specifically for use on technological devices, making access to resources effortless and convenient.

Secondly, outside the classroom (Gamfi.cat, 2013), social media has influenced my personal learning. Whilst large social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are generally for social use, smaller sites, such as Flickr and TripAdvisor, have allowed me to ‘tap into’ smaller affinity spaces and engage in learning outside the classroom. Having these online “niche social communities” (Boyd and Ellison, 2007) allows for connectedness and expanded learning through forms such as feedback.

Finally, the Internet is an incredible source for information, responsible for global interconnectivity (Black,2009); whether that be through blogs, web pages, news sites or affinity spaces, the use of internet has definitely impacted on my ability to learn. In today’s day and age, the Internet is the common source for all knowledge, and in reality none of the above technologies would be possible without the presence of the internet.

References:

Black, R. W. (2009). English language learners, fan communities, and 21st-centuries skills. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(8), 688–697. Access http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au/search~S4?/redgu1002/redgu1002/1,1,1,B/frameset~4977953&FF=redgu1002&1,1,

Boyd, D., & Ellison, N. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210–230. Access http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au/search~S4?/redgu1002/redgu1002/1,1,1,B/frameset~4977938&FF=redgu1002&1,1,

Gamifi.cat (Nov 18, 2013). 6 2 Technology Inside versus Outside of Classrooms Rich Halverson. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2LnT6v0lrQ

Week 8 Blog Post: Remixing

Remixing is described as a creative skill which involves taking parts of existing music, literature and art and manipulating such to create a new piece of work (Knobel & Lankshear, 2008). Remixing is considered a form of new literacy (Lankshear & Knobel, 2012), and is incredibly popular in contemporary youth culture.

Some examples of the different genres of remixing include anime (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8hgSgkkckU), machinima (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYSxN4ezhO4), and viral (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFEoMO0pc7k).

In our tutorial this week, I experimented with making my own personal remix in music form. To do this, I used an iPad application called Groove Maker, which allowed me to layer sounds together to create a musical track.

In my personal opinion, remixing as an art form is relatively easy, provided an individual has a preconceived idea of what they wish to remix and an adequate knowledge of how to use remixing tools (Knobel & Lankshear, 2008). In contemporary society, remixing is becoming more accessible as a result of many technological programs, such as Photoshop, GarageBand and other applications. From my experience in the tutorial, remixing is often a learning process (Knobel & Lankshear, 2008), as one must learn how to use remixing software before they can engage in crafting their own work. Remixing is a powerful way of expressing creativity, and whilst an individual may be using the work of others, there is an incredible amount of detail which must go into the editing and syncing of remixes (Knobel & Lankshear, 2008).

Despite remixing itself being easy, there still is a difficult element related to remixing; the question of media ownership and legal rights must always be considered when engaging in any type of remixing (NFB, 2008).

References:

Knobel, M., & Lankshear, C. (2008). Remix: The Art and Craft of Endless Hybridization. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(1), 22-33.

NFB- National Film Board of Canada (Producer). (2008). RiP: a remix manifesto. [Online video] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdwN6rRU0Xk

Week 7: Games

In this week’s tutorial, we were creating our own “old school”  board games in groups, themed on current popular culture issues. The game my group created was based around the issue of global warming, and had an underwater setting. Players of the game rolled dice and moved their jellyfish tokens from the start to end point on the board, according to the number on the dice. To move forward, players had to answer questions correctly, and there was the possibly of picking up a “chance” card which could be anything from “go back to the start” to “move forward 10 spaces”. To win the game, players must make it to the end point first.

The board game questions were simple, and on the topic of global warming. However, if time permitted, I would develop the game in terms of integrating open-ended questions about the issue of global warming; questions such as “how can we stop global warming?” and “What are the impacts of global warming?” would provoke thought amongst players and there would be a chance for discussion. Games are about more than just the physical motions of playing (Gee, 2012); open-ended questions in the board game would stimulate interactive learning (Educause, 2014), and give the players room to come up with more in-depth answers to harder questions about serious environmental issues. With open-ended questions, it is also okay to not know the answer; there might be several answers, or if fact none at all as of yet.

References:

Educause (2014). 7 Things You Should Know About  Games and Learning. 2014(October). Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-know-about-games-and-learning

Edutopia (Producer) (2012). James Paul Gee on Learning with Video Games. Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnEN2Sm4IIQ

Retrieved fromhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnEN2Sm4IIQ

Week 5 Blog Post: Film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIzbwV7on6Q

The movie trailer I have chosen which is of significance to me is the 2009 award-winning Slumdog Millionaire, directed by Danny Boyle. I have selected this particular movie because it evokes strong personal emotions of my time living in India.

Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of Jamal Malik, a native of the Mumbai slums in India. The movie follows his journey on the Indian version of the television show ‘Who Wants To Be a Millionaire’, where Malik’s life experiences help him answer all the questions correctly, defying all odds to win the show.

The most significant element of the movie, as mentioned above, is its ability to express and evoke emotions, which is highlighted by Bailey (2011) as a key component of film as a new literacy. The movie’s use of colourful and traditional Indian dress, local music, and words such as chai vividly reflect Indian culture, which is familiar to me personally and re-emphasises how film makes an impact when in connects to personal experiences (Bailey 2011) .

Another important feature is the underlying game show setting for the movie, which serves the purpose of being relatable to the audience (Bailey 2011) and transforms the content from a sentimental documentary to a thrilling blockbuster. The game show also acts as a visual metaphor for life being a game, full of unexpected gambles. Other themes such as resilience and familial struggle help contribute to the relatable nature of the film, as audiences can sympathised with these notions despite having no knowledge of Indian culture.

References:
Bailey, B. (2011). “When I make a film, it’s out of my head”: Expressing emotion and healing through digital filmmaking in the classroom. Digital Culture & Education, 3(2), 76-97.  Retrieved from http://www.digitalcultureandeducation.com/uncategorized/dce1056_bailey_2011_html/

Week 3 Blog Post: New Literacies

Most contemporary new literacies, including those mentioned below, are of the “web 2.0” (Lankshear and Knobel, 2012) format, which allow for communal interaction and contribution.

Tumblr, a customisable blogging website, is a popular new literacy, particularly within youth culture. Singer Taylor Swift’s Tumblr page (http://taylorswift.tumblr.com) is an example of an effective blog which encourages public involvement. Whilst fans of Swift “like” and share content posted on the singer’s blog, Swift also reciprocates the communication under the blog page “Tumblr Radar”, where she reposts fans’ pictures and quotes of interest. This new literacy is much more personal then a standard celebrity website; the two-way communication with fans is far more engaging for both parties.

Another new literacy which has contributed to the breakdown of barriers between the media and the public is Twitter. In the case of news.com.au’s account (https://twitter.com/newscomauhq), Twitter gives ordinary citizens the chance to ‘tweet’ personal footage and voice their opinions in regards to news in a public forum, making it an engaging medium for communication.

Wikipedia pages, such as (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Is_the_New_Black) allows users to edit articles, and even write new ones, meaning that the websites content is constantly evolving. It is an effective new literacy primarily because of its ability to be up to date in terms of content relevance and the website’s welcoming of the community contribution; Wikipedia is an excellent example of engaging participatory culture.

Pottermore (https://www.pottermore.com) is an example of an interactive fan fiction affinity space. This form of new literacy gives users the ability to publish their own writing as well as receive peer feedback, although such fan fiction website are only engaging if you have an interest in the particular subject which the affinity space is based on.

As technology progresses, Tumblr, Twitter, Wikipedia and Pottermore will inevitably become outdated, replaced by newer literacies. However, as said by Lankshear and Knobel (2012), “new literacies may come and go quickly…[But] Despite their short lives, they are nonetheless identifiable as new literacies.”

References:

Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2012). ‘New’literacies: technologies and values. Teknokultura. Revista de Cultura Digital y Movimientos Sociales, 9(1), 45-71.  Retrieved from http://everydayliteracies.net/files/RemixTeknokulturaEnglish.pdf