What is learning?

Learning is . . . a sense of wonder, experiential, personal, empowering, and never-ending. It is the openness to making mistakes and taking risks, tapping into passions and interests, advocating understanding and initiating growth. “Learning isn’t linear it is diverse, it’s exciting, it’s curious.”

For me learning is the ongoing adaptation and growth to the things around you, accepting challenges and inspiring passions.

The learning process in creating a digital story has taught me many lessons. Here are the top ten:

1. It must contain a beginning, middle, and end.
2. It is not a one-step process. It requires constant revision.
3. It needs to be visually, audibly, and experientially appealing.
4. The storyboarding process makes ideas ‘tangible.’
5. Peer feedback is incredibly beneficial.
6. It should not be overwhelming, but inviting and intriguing.
7. Music is an important director of mood.
8. Planning needs to be flexible because you create new ideas as you go.
9. It is a public expression of a personal story (This is often the case.).
10. It must catch and hold your attention and create a lasting impression.

Technology can aid in the learning process, both collaboratively and individually, but it can also distract from the wealth of learning that comes from conversation and tangible, face-to-face experiences.

We need to “use what we learn in the virtual world, about selves and identity, to better ourselves in the literal world” (Sherry Turkle).

Sherry Turkle: Connected but Alone? (TED)

My Teaching Horoscope

Although greatly generalized, horoscopes typically give an interesting take on personality traits, possible success, and potential romantic matches based on the time of your birth.

Wouldn't it be fun to find out your teaching horoscope?

Based on the questions answered in an online quiz, this digital horoscope summarizes personal approaches to learning and the importance of teaching media to students. It finalizes this summary with a label that describes the kind of teacher you are.

This is my horoscope:

I am a "Spirit Guide dedicated to students' social and emotional well-being and understand that media is one crucial facet of their identity and sense of self-worth." Even though my entire teaching identity cannot possibly be defined in one test and will take years of practice to perfect, I can appreciate where my values place me in accordance to my care for student learning and achievement in today's classroom.

Advertise Yourself

Advertising is very much tailored towards audience. It is used as a way to persuade people or to sell to them. Typically, when thinking of advertising, we think of radio or television commercials as well as magazine ads. In order to understand the concept of advertising we can divide its entirety into the "Five P's": product being pitched, potential purchaser, persuasive techniques, location of the pitch, and the way it is presented (Frank Baker). 

Although advertising should be considered critically, it can be used educationally. Most advertisements serve a purpose that can be challenged or critiqued in writing. Within any form of published media, authorship and audience need to be considered. Through the study of advertising, teachers and students can address the do's and don'ts of media text construction and consumption.

I have learned just how easy it is to advertise the identity you want to create for yourself. Let's take a look at my magazine cover, for example:

If anything, I would like to tweak the final product, but the platform for creation (BigHugeLabs) is very user-friendly. So much of my existence (emotional and spiritual connections) can be understood through my appreciation of nature, and this is a side of myself I feel comfortable advertising.



It is so important to claim ownership of your media presence and understand that this 'identity' is your personal creation.

                         

Let's take this knowledge into the classroom!

How does your identity impact those around you?

When exploring Animoto I wanted to emphasize the connection between values and influence. This is a linear version of some of my values but, in general, I think it is important to acknowledge our personal values as attributes of our character and trademarks of the impression we leave on others.

                            

"One of the greatest motivations in being the best you, is knowing that there are always impressionable eyes on you." ~ Tenley Molzahn

Media Literacy and A Top Ten Skill Set

Looking specifically at the Ontario Language Curriculum, media literacy "focuses on the construction of meaning through the combination of several media 'languages'" as opposed to simply understanding words through the traditional model of literacy (13). Both students and teachers should possess a variety of skills to properly use and create media texts.

Here is a snapshot of the essential skills needed for media literacy, demonstrated on one possible media platform: