Sample Assignment

Continuing my fictional geography teacher-self, I have created a "Cultural Image" project. Below is the assignment write up that would be given to the students. It lacks a certain amount of specifics because it would need to be relevent to today's topics, but the general concept and assignement stucture is there.

Cultural Image

We’ve all seen the clips: “Wildfires rage in California…” “Thousands feared dead in Indonesian earthquake…” “Four feet of snow blankets Buffalo…” “Palestinian militants bomb Israeli outposts…” Each of these stories gets their 30 to 90 seconds of coverage with dramatic images brought to us on the TV or webpage we are viewing. We are shocked, saddened, surprised…and then it’s over. The story bleeds into another story and new images fill the screen. But what is going on just off screen? Have you ever been misrepresented? Only had a part of your story told? Somewhere in the middle of all these questions is where the study of media and geography collide with cultural portrayals.

Goals: Analyze how the media portrays world cultures and events. Consider the media’s motivations and how our understanding of places and cultures is shaped in relation to these portrayals. Then, create a portrayal that is complete. You will tell the story of a PEOPLE and a PLACE—not an event.

Project: Create a multi-media presentation with images (pictures or video) with no text or spoken audio. Your project may take whatever form you prefer (use whatever program you wish), and must be a fair and accurate representation of a culture residing in a specific geographic area. Your final piece will be a ‘modern song’ (not older than 10 years) that will accompany your images.

Project Steps (Each will be checked for completion)
1. Choose a major world event not older than 1 year
2. Watch 3 to 5 clips of that event from the internet or TV media
3. Write 10 words that describe the CULTURE, the PEOPLE , and the GEOGRAPHY as portrayed
4. Research the region to find out “the rest of the story”
5. List 10 words that describe the CULTURE, the PEOPLE, and the GEOGRAPHY as you now know it
6. Collect Images and create your multimedia document that represent those 10 words
7. Create your multimedia document with the images (total of 2-4 minutes)
8. Select a modern song as the soundtrack and layer it into the document

On presentation day, you will show us one clip of the world event. We will list 3 words (as you did in step 3). Without introduction, we will then watch your presentation and write down 3 words at its completion. Discussion will follow.

A reflective paper will be due at the completion of this project, but it will not be assigned until all the presentations have taken place.

This Term Will "Pop!"

The tone for this blog is a brief persuasive letter regarding the use of Pop Culture in the classroom. I have decided to be a fictional geography teacher writing to my students' parents. Here is a letter I would send home early in the term.

Dear Parents:

I am excited to have your daughter/son in my Geography class this year. We will be learning many things this term through many different activities and experiences. Central to geography and our studies will be the use of “popular culture.” There is rich depth to be explored in an area many think is too shallow to merit attention. By using aspects of popular culture, students will be asked not only to consider the course content but to analyze it in relation to events and people they are familiar with. Learning is brought to vivid reality and is engaging for students in a way inaccessible through a textbook. It is impossible to know what events will occur that may find their way into the classroom, but below are some examples of how popular culture may be used to focus on certain areas of study during the term.

Focus Area: Mapping
The most basic concept in Geography: where are countries, rivers, continents, etc located? Students will learn the basics of the world layout then will select a style of music or musician. They will follow that style from its roots, through its influences, and finally to its present form. If they select a musician/group, they will study their tour stops, their routes/movements, as well as the scheduling of events. By plotting a subject that is interesting to them, they will be interacting with the map in a way that is meaningful and expands their current understanding. Additionally, we would also work on mapping distribution and supply chains for major merchandise (like Coke, GAP clothing, etc) in an effort to understand mapping as well as consumerism and global markets.

Focus Area: Cultural Image
We will spend a great deal of time analyzing cultures. This area of ‘cultural studies’ is rapidly changing in the face of media and technological advances. One project that will incorporate popular culture and media texts will be the ‘Cultural Image’ project. The primary analytical consideration for this project is how the media’s ‘spotlight’ approach causes distorted concepts of an area. To analyze and combat the effects of these short clips that they are bombarded with, students will be asked to create a multi-media presentation with no written text that conveys the richness of a location and its relationship with the geographical and culturally specific aspects unique to it. They will need to select a ‘modern’ song to be the soundtrack to their images. By balancing their selection of images (picking photos requires a high level of analyzing) as well as having the ability to communicate in a medium that is fresh and creative, students will be challenged to learn about a place and its culture in an in depth way while considering the media’s presentation of these areas and their cultures.

Focus Area: Mapping Technologies
Creating maps and studying where people live are key areas for geographers. While studying these techniques, students will be utilizing popular culture tools and events to study and map people and events. Using GoogleEarth, looking at Census techniques all around the world, website counters, demographic collection techniques they experience, and the uses for this data students will study a process they are already a part of. Because they are actively involved in these processes already, they will have a higher investment in understanding the process and be more engaged.

As you can see, popular culture doesn’t always mean the study of tattoos and the latest trends in rock bands. There are aspects of students’ everyday lives that are ‘popular culture’ and should be brought into the classroom as a way of learning applicable knowledge in a meaningful and engaging way. I encourage you to question your student often about their engagement in this course, challenge them with questions about current world events, and be in contact with me should you have thoughts or questions on the course content.

Thank you for sharing your student with me this term!
~Mrs. Holton

Digital People??

This week I will focus on the use of ‘digital conversation agents’ or ‘avatars’ or ‘talking heads’ or… you get the idea. There has been a lot of progress in this area since I last checked—ala the 80s’ Max Headroom. I had no idea that so much discussion and study had been focused on the use of this technology. Here are a few thoughts after doing the reading assignments for this week.

In the Veletsianos article, I was surprised by several things: “students converse with agents” was a statement that caught me off guard. They are able to CONVERSE with a digital agent, really? I’ve had minimal exposure to these “pedagogical agents” in online help tools. The idea that I would be able to freely interact with this ‘being’ is interesting and a bit scary. The way students interacted with this agent is shocking! Their language and lack of appropriate conversation does not seem within the realm of normal interactions. I believe Veletsianos is on the right track in acknowledging the lack of inhibitions that tend to happen when students are using digital platforms to communicate, but that isn’t enough. I believe there are also factors including the teen/student wish to push the limits to see what the ‘machine’ is capable of. That is not an excuse, however, for the behavior and conversations these students were trying to have with the avatars. It is a sad commentary on our culture---alas, that is for another post.

Another piece of the Velentsianos article that got me thinking was how the researchers mentioned how there MAY be a human/machine power differential. Really?! How couldn’t there be a difference in power? By pointing that out, I became aware of my own assumption ‘against’ computers. I am of the belief that machines will never have the complexity and master the unpredictability that is inherent in human-human interaction.

With that in mind, I read the Doering, et al, article. I have had Aaron as a professor, and I enjoyed his style. This article was much more ‘approachable’ and the study more useful because it was well developed and focused on a population that is likely to be patient and appropriate. I found it very interesting that this article used the term “Conversational Agent” as opposed to “Pedagogical Agent.” I think Conversational Agent is a more appropriate term than the dry ‘pedagogical’ approach taken by the Velentsianos research.

While reading Doering, I kept picturing my experience last week. I was on the phone trying to get help with an insurance question. There was a digital gatekeeper before I could get to my account information. The question was simple, what is your ID number? I answered it 8 times..EIGHT TIMES and it still didn’t understand me. My frustration level was palpable! With that in mind, I understand what the students were referring to when they tried rewording or restructuring their questions and the conversation agent still didn’t understand what they were talking about. That exemplifies the limitations of the ‘machine’ answering questions even with the best algorithm guiding the response. (then again, I’m still FLOORED that the agent in the Velentsianos article knew to respond to the inappropriate questions).

How would I apply this to my classroom? I don’t think I would. I played around with making a digital version of myself, and it was silly. I didn’t have much fun with that particular program, and I don’t see it being useful with my students. If I work with deaf/hard of hearing students, the inaccessibility would make it pretty useless. If I were working with hearing students, the interaction of a ‘moving’ person who seems to be active and knows what is going on could keep their interest, but I’m not certain they would learn that much more.

Another thought as it pertains to this class—I always felt that “pop culture” were those things that we shared (somehow) with another person (online, texting, in person, etc). Why would someone use an informational/glorified ‘tour guide’ as a chat buddy for popular topics? Isn’t the draw of these topics that you get a human response that is unique to that human? I’m not sure these ‘people’ have a place beyond an interactive FAQ approach. We shouldn’t be in a hurry to push humanity out of learning and living.

Let's Play!

This post will focus on gaming (in all fashions) and its link to learning, living, and a bit on the classroom.

Lessons from the “Halo” King

I met a student three years ago when he was a freshman in my English class. I made it a point to get to know all of my students on that ‘what do you like to do? what makes you tick?’ level, and I learned early on that ‘Billy’ (name changed) was a huge fan of video games—specifically Halo. He was in my first period class, and I noticed that he would enter the room almost every day with a guy friend or two from class talking about their latest conquests or failures playing Halo the night before. He was an easy going student but would light up when talking about game playing. He would then seemingly resign himself to class and limited participation. Needless to say, this bothered me a great deal, so I set out to learn a bit more about Halo. I learned that it is a first-person shooter game that has team work ties to accomplish galactic-style missions after the ‘world’ has been destroyed (obviously that’s an incomplete description—sorry gamers). Armed with this knowledge and other ‘teacher motives,’ I started a ‘what is critical thinking?’ discussion in class one day. We were all over the map with the discussion, but after some agreed upon terminology came out, (thinking, balancing ideas, wondering, looking beyond the obvious, being creative, etc) I brought up the idea of video games. I would love to say that Billy sprang to life and joined in right away, but that wasn’t the case. He was reluctant and doubtful of the connection between something ‘school’ and his beloved video games. We started a new list: what is great about video games? Why are they addicting? What kinds of skills are needed to be successful? And wouldn’t you know it; a lot of the same ideas as listed above came up! By the end of the discussion, Billy was leading the comparisons. After that great discussion, I started to see there may be something to gaming and how it can be tapped for use in the classroom without actually playing the game. “Think Critically” became a mantra in the class, and the students were able to conceptualize what that meant because they had something tangible to hang it on. It didn’t work for everyone, but it was a powerful way to hook the guys, and with Billy being the class expert, I was able to capitalize on a better group dynamic as well.

Generalizations

I share that story not to say I already knew games/gaming were great tools but to make a point about generalizing. We take for granted students’ ability to take concepts from one area of their lives and apply it to another. This is not an innate skill; far from it, in fact. How many times have we tried to connect a concept from our neighboring classroom and recognize that students seem to leave understanding in compartmentalized zones? I may ask, “How is Mr. Truto’s unit about free speech related to what we’re talking about?” And I get the classic blank stare—like the knowledge from his subject is only activated within his classroom walls. This is, in all ways, contrary to our goal as educators to encourage and prepare students to question and grow outside of school.

To me, this is where ‘pop culture in the classroom’ usually falls a bit flat. When I brought up video games, the students, especially Billy, looked at me like I was throwing an unrelated theme into the mix of a ‘school’ discussion. It wasn’t until I made the first few links between gaming and critical thinking that they started to see the parallels. It is not enough to bring something ‘hip’ into the classroom and say “Why is this important? How does this connect to___?” We have to be more purposeful than that. Recognizing the things that are popular and an everyday part of their lives is the first step; doing the teacher-thing and identifying how that event/concept/person is a key to bigger picture learning and growth is why we are the teachers and not just discussion leaders. We have to lay the ground work, especially in the beginning, that will allow students to gain traction and develop the skills leading to a point where critical analysis and higher order thinking is par for the course rather than a fleeting moment.

This was evident in Henry Jenkins “Labyrinth” article as well. The game development and concept sound really fantastic, but the connections between the game and the real world and classroom applications are still teacher-led. It is vital to remember this: games are useful for educational purposes, but we must illuminate the tethers between them if students are to benefit from the application of gaming as pop culture in the classroom.

One of my favorite sites Teen Checkup ran an article about gaming and teens not too long ago. It’s a good site that is worth checking out.

The BIG-M of Gaming

Gaming for students is a major part of their youthful identities. Many are involved in video games, sure, but the Americanized image of a ‘classic’ high school student centers around sports. Sadly, it seems that there are many students who are either athletes or video game people—this isn’t a hard dichotomy, of course, but there are genres of gaming that are not ‘suitable’ for the respectable varsity athlete. What a sad way to categorize people. Board game companies are also focusing on a return to family-centered gaming as a way to reconnect. I didn’t have to think very hard to see a strong connection between all three types of gaming that explains their appeal to youth and to families.

As an undergrad, I had the privilege to attend Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD. As a SD school, Augie has aspects which remain close to Native roots. In our education program, the foundation of a healthy child and classroom is focused on the Circle of Courage. Early-on in the program, you are forced to memorize the four parts and be able to discuss their basic applications. Someone long before me came up with the BIG-M as an mnemonic device. The four aspects are Belonging, Independence, Generosity, and Mastery. As my studies at Augie explored greater depths, I came to realize there may be no more perfect model of ‘wholeness’ in a person or classroom. In short, the Circle suggests that for a person to be whole and in a state of contentment for learning and growing, they must have balance in these four parts of their life.

Gaming fits into this structure, and in that way it is no surprise to me that students find comfort and satisfaction in enjoying games. To play a game with family, a team, or even virtually, you are part of a community. As a member of that community (participant or spectator), you have specific knowledge and a sense of BELONGING as you work together to achieve goals. Even without your community around you at all times, you experience the feeling that your presence makes a positive difference. All games require a certain amount of skill and knowledge. As you participate in those games with your family, with friends, or with your teammates, you are demonstrating and increasing your MASTERY of skill. Everyone has pride in something, and when you play and succeed (or even when you have just improved on something), there is power in feeling as though you have talent and a sense of mastery. In games, we often talk about sportsmanship—the attitude of recognizing others’ contributions as well as approaching the ‘game’ with the best intentions to play a fair and honest game. Those qualities resemble the quality of GENEROSITY in the Circle of Courage. When we come to an experience where we give of ourselves and recognize the ‘giving’ of others, we value each other and the experience in a new way. Finally, when gaming, we don’t have anyone holding our hand—what we accomplish is singularly satisfying. Even though we may be part of a ‘team’ or community (physical or virtual), we are an individual bringing our unique set of mastered skills to the group; in other cases, we are on our very own doing something that makes us feel good as one person. Our INDEPENDENCE shines when we are able to stand alone with the confidence gained by the other areas and feel as though as an individual, we have something to offer to a community when the time comes.



Some people might think those connections are a bit farfetched, but if you take apart an unsuccessful classroom, a struggling student, or even your own personal life, you will likely see that one area is lacking. So what does this mean in the classroom with gaming? To me it means don’t be afraid to bring games in, but even more so, don’t be afraid to analyze what gaming brings to their lives. Give them some background structure and opportunities to really take a look at why they do things and what motivates them. I think you’ll find that the BIG-M structure of the Circle of Courage is the underlying foundation for why people play games and why they are such a satisfying and addicting part of our culture both as participants and spectators.