A12.4: Participation Memo

Deidra Darst

11/11/07

Aims and Objectives:

 My personal goals with regard to this course were to help my classmates Megan and Kelli by proofreading and commenting on their I-Search drafts, completing a bit more research on my own topic, and to tweak my I-Search paper.  I needed to spend alot of time on my own paper because my draft was far from where I want my final version to be on the due date!  I went out of town this weekend, and knew that I could not spend any time working on my paper on Friday or Saturday.  I have an Aural Rehabilitation exam this coming Thursday, and I need to devote much of my time in the coming week to studying for it. 

Declarative Knowledge:

I learned about socio-emotional literacy this week.  I found a few articles discussing this type of digital literacy, and considered its implications in today’s educational curricula.  My study into this topic also showed me that sociology and psychology have found their way into literally every facet of my life!  I also learned more about bilingualism and reading skills during the completion of my I-Search Paper.  I found that learning to read is a daunting task for young children, and bilingual children have an even greater challenge ahead of them.  The more research I do on this topic, the more I realize that I don’t know much it!

Procedural Knowledge:

On Monday night we had a class meeting in a computer lab on campus.  We watched two Movie Maker presentations.  Afterwards, we looked at the program and talked about how it works.  I fiddled with the program for a few minutes, and while this did not really teach me how to use it, I did learn the basics of it.  I learned that by clicking and dragging pictures I can add visual components to my presentation.  I also learned how to add transitions from one “slide” to another.  Movie Maker is a fairly straightforward program that our class has affectionately dubbed “a jacked-up PowerPoint.” 

Conditional Knowledge:

The knowledge and skills that I gained this week will undoubtedly be helpful in the coming weeks of this course.  I will be using my knowledge about bilingualism and reading skills will aid me in writing my I-Search paper.  My prodedural knowledge about Movie Maker will come into play when I begin to summarize my I-Search paper in a 150-300 word, 3-5 minute-long presentation as a requirement for this course.  In completing this project, I have gained knowledge that could one day aid me in clinical situations.  I have learned a great deal about the bilingual population and of their particular hardships when it comes to reading.  As I have stated in numerous participation memos this semester, this information has added to my “well-roundedness.”  I am learning about the world around me, issues concerning other populations, and becoming a well-informed citizen. 

 

A12.1: Socio-Emotional Literacy

Deidra Darst

11/7/07

What [do you know/can you find out] about socio-emotional literacy skills?

 Socio-emotional literacy skills are concerned with the sociological and psychological aspects of digital communication (Alkali & Hamburger, 2004).  Individuals who possess socio-emotional literacy skills are able to share information with other users, and obtain information from other users.  Aphek (2007) states that this type of literacy entails users’ abilities to discern “good from bad and right from wrong.”  Digitally literate individuals must understand how to conduct themselves in the public places of the World Wide Web.  While digital interactions may not be face-to-face encounters users still must conduct themselves in an appropriate manner.  The socio-emotional literate individual can also judge others’ conduct and behaviors as right or wrong.   With Internet scams as prevalent as they are today, one must be able to identify them.  Socio-emotional literacy ultimately deals with two issues:  proper (and mature) conduct, and safety.  Users should conduct themselves in a professional manner and be able to protect themselves from the possible dangers of the digital world. 

What are your reactions to the idea that there are such skills?

Of Alkali and Hamburgers five types of digital literacy, I am probably the most familiar with socio-emotional literacy skills.  As with all aspects of life’s interactions, sociology and psychology play a role.  How do people interact with one another?  How does each individual handle the situation at hand?  The digital world is no different – the inner workings of individuals are important, as well as the interactions amongst groups of people.  Socio-emotional literacy skills are often the topic of newspaper articles, the news, and debates.  Children, who are yet to develop high levels of socio-emotional skills, often fall prey to the “bad” and “wrong” aspects of the Internet.  Online predators and scam artists often take advantage of the more immature Internet users; this has even led to shows such as Dateline’s To Catch a Predator. 

How do you think this “new” literacy will change education/schooling?

This “new” type of literacy will likely play a bigger role in today’s education curricula.  Students need to be educated about the good and bad, rights and wrongs, and does and don’ts of the digital world.  The youth of the 21st century seem to ”grow up” much faster than even my generation (and I’m a 90s kid!)  Everything is literally at their fingertips or just a mouse-click away.  They need to be educated about proper online conduct and should be aware of the possible dangers that the Internet holds.  The tools of the Internet can provide great opportunities for education, but students of today must know how to conduct themselves and how to judge the conduct of others. 
  

Aphek, E. (2007). Digital, highly connected children: Implications for education. Retrieved October 27, 2007, from http://www.creativityatwork.com/articlesContent/aphek/digital-literacy.html

Eshet-Alkai, Y. (2004).  Digital literacy: A conceptual framework for survival skills in the digital era.  Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 13(1), 93-106. 

Eshet-Alkali, Y., & Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (2004, August).  Experiments in digital literacy.  Cyberpsychology and Behavior, 7(4), 421-429.   

Mean Girls

Deidra Darst

11/5/07

 

We watched a video during our class meeting tonight.  It was a woman telling a story about the animal-like behaviors of young girls.  How girls act like beasts, attacking their victims.  Singling out a few chosen “unworthy” individuals, and following the pack whenever deemed necessary.   She told her story about following the crowd, singling out a particular girl to victimize.  At the end of the video she asked for forgiveness from one of her victims.  She stated that she needed forgiveness from her because she could not forgive herself.  Her presentation was effective in conveying her story.   She used slow, meloncholy music as the backdrop to the flowing pictures of pop culture’s representations of the phenomenon known as “the mean girl.”  The music set the tone for the drama that unfolded; the pictures provided visual stimuli that provokedmental images of the “mean girl” image in today’s society. 

 I started watching the video and thought, “Um…what?  How does this relate to literacy?!”  I soon realized that the creator had used this medium to tell a digital story.  My second thought was, “I bet the images used are copyrighted.  Peanuts characters, Mean Girls – did the creator seek permission?”  Now I am wondering what my classmates are still writing about…I hear the keyboards clicking all around me, but I’m finished!!