Blog #2 Multimedia Montage Project Step 1

As I started to think about the Multimedia Montage Project, I became a little bit overwhelmed yet excited. I am looking forward to joining various communities and learning about new technology tools and ideas that I have yet to hear of. At first, I didn't know where to start. After reading about the ADDIE Model, I tried to start with the "Analysis" section and really think about what topic I wanted to pursue. After thinking about my student teaching experience, as well as the classes that I had taken in the past year, I thought up the idea that I can pursue the topic or "challenge" of assessment. To be more exact, formative assessments in the elementary classroom. Formative assessments are crucial for teachers to track student's progress and understanding, and with the integration of technology and multimedia, it can become a much easier, fun, and organized task.

Finding specific assessment communities turned out to be a daunting task. As I searched through the Google+ communities to find one to join, I ended up going a more general route and found a great group called EdTech. This community has over 48,000 members which leads me to believe that it's a great resource for anything educational technology related. It is an active community where its' members post interesting content from tips to tools and everything in between. This community has a plethora of information, and with the amount of members present that are contributing their knowledge, it will allow me to get an inside look of what really occurs in the classroom and how different technological tools that can be integrated with regular instruction.

Outside of Google+, I am also planning on joining the edutopia community which after using this resource for an assignment for another class, I realized how great of a website it was. This website has many resources for almost any educational topic or question you may have. After looking through the site some more, I also found that they have a lot of content that is focused on technology including discussion boards, videos, lesson plans, and informative articles. I hope to take the information that I learn about assessments through this site and connect it to what I learn about technology.

After going through and exploring different communities, I can relate it to what stuck out with me in the DIY Media reading, particularly "social learning". Learning through interactions (on blogs, wikis, social media, etc..), otherwise known as "social learning" can "contribute to the development of a 'pull' approach to learning...[which] will 'better serve the needs of twenty-first century students'"(Knobel and Lankshear, 2010). Twenty-first century students (such as ourselves in this course), can use these various tools to help them become increasingly "literate" (in Daley's terms).

As someone who does not have as much experience in the classroom as others, I feel like being a part of these communities, which have knowledgable and experienced members, will help me gain more insight on what it really means to be an educator. I hope to be able to participate in these communities and engage/collaborate with others who can help inform my upcoming project.

Resources: 
Hodell, Chuck. (2011). Chapter 3: Instructional systems development and the ADDIE model. In ISD From the Ground Up: A No-Nonsense Approach to Instructional Design (3^rd ed.). American Society for Training and Development: Alexandria, VA.

Knobel, M., & Lankshear, C. (2010). DIY media: creating, sharing and learning with new technologies. New York: Peter Lang.

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Discussion Post #1 - Expanding the Concept of Literacy

Literacy as we know it has changed. Being literate is no longer simply having the ability to comprehend, read and write. In this day and age where it seems like everyone has a smartphone and is linked up to social media, we tend to overlook that these advancements in technology bring about a whole new type of literacy - multimedia literacy. In "Expanding the Concept of Literacy", Elizabeth Daley's notion that literacy should also include media literacy (multimedia language) is an important one that many people don't realize because it is often not taught or outright spoken about. The sudden increase of screens, apps, and videos in our lives mask this idea that we might not be as literate as we think we are. Daley's four arguments for the expanded definition of literacy describes various reasonings that "the multimedia language of the screen" is widespread, has the ability to add meanings that go beyond text, allows for communication and research, and truly differs in the meaning of what being truly literate is. 

While I don't have my own classroom (yet), my experience with student teaching last semester makes me just a little hesitant about encouraging multimedia project development in the classroom. This is for a few reasons including students' ability to understand/analyze, limited time and limited resources. 

Before encouraging the creation of a multimedia project, I feel like it is important for students to be able to understand and analyze multimedia in general. With the widespread access to screens and multimedia, I don't think that we are taking the time to truly understand what we see and instead just take it for what it is on the "outside". Daley's second argument, "the multimedia language of the screen is capable of constructing complex meanings independent of text" (34) showcases the power that multimedia has that goes beyond a text assignment such as an essay. Multimedia can be interpreted, and analyzing media is not something that would be done instinctually unless students were trained to do so. It reminds me of the first blog post we had to complete about a commercial, where we had to reflect about it from all angles and perspectives. At first glance, I would not have done so much thinking about the commercial at all. Without being able to analyze already created pieces of multimedia, students might not fully understand the project or their creation. 

In addition to possibly not having the ability to understand or analyze, I would be a little hesitant about encouraging a multimedia project because of the time issue that teachers face. Although the advancements in technology have grown rapidly over the past few decades, the curriculums in schools have not veered away from the traditional (limiting) subjects very much. When I was student teaching, my cooperating teachers emphasized to me that they can't do or try a lot of new things because of the issue of time. To me, this means that the pressure of teaching the core subjects (reading, math, and writing) that will be tested is high and they can't waiver too much from their curriculum schedule or else they won't be able to cover all of the material. Everything was about time and how there simply wasn't enough of it. 

Next, I feel like limited resources is also a concern when incorporating multimedia projects in the curriculum. Some schools, like the one I was student teaching in, had to get rid of their computer/technology class because it did not fit in the budget. The amount of laptops or computers that were available were also not enough for every student to use one at all times. They had to be shared and in some cases, you couldn't use them if you needed to because another class had them. Limited resources might not be the case in every classroom, but based on my experience, it is a concern of mine. 

Now, every school district is different - with different administration, priorities and resources so what is my concern now (as only a student teacher with limited experience) might not be a reason for hesitation when I am eventually working in my own classroom. With all of that being said however, given the opportunity I do want to try to understand multimedia language and be able to call myself "truly literate" (Daley 37). I'm a little apprehensive about it myself but if I can achieve that then maybe I'd be more comfortable in encouraging multimedia project development in the classroom. After all, technology is only going to be advancing and at this rate we need to be able to keep up with it and learn how to "read and write the multimedia language of the screen" (Daley 37) in order to be literate educators. 

References

Daley, E. (2003). Expanding the concept of literacy. Educause, 32-40

Blog #1 Media Critique

Ciroc Vodka Commercial

The purpose of this video is to serve as an advertisement for Ciroc Vodka. In addition to showcasing the vodka, the video producer also wanted to accentuate a version of reality that was full of luxury and high-end living. This is achieved by having the advertisement follow the perspective of Diddy and his elegantly dressed friends as they dance, socialize and drink in a modern mansion to a classic record of Frank Sinatra. This media message is a representation of a reality is much different than that of an average consumer's everyday life.

With that being said, I believe that the intended audience of this video is the average person. The video producers convey information in this way to imply that these are not just everyday people purchasing this vodka and consuming it, but these are high class celebrities that are consume/endorse it. It is almost implicitly saying that if you purchased this premium vodka, you can also live an extravagant life like this, even if its just in what you drink. From the standpoint of a consumer/viewer I would probably have an unconscious mental note that would remind me of this "fancy" advertisement if I ever had to go out and purchase vodka. It is one thing that would make Ciroc stand out above the others.

In this entire video, Diddy is the only person who stands out (with an undone shirt/bowtie), and he is also the only one outright advertising the vodka throughout the video (saying in the first six seconds - "When I celebrate life I celebrate with the best - Ciroc Ultra Premium vodka"). This puts more emphasis on him as he is the most well known (to the consumer) character in the advertisement. Consumers pay more attention to people that they can recognize, which means that the video producers' choice of having him as the focal point of the advertisement helps sell the product.

From the perspective of a video producer, I think some of the most important design decisions that were used in creating this ad can include keeping it simple/classy/aesthetic, with minimal talking/disruptions, and portraying all of the people in the video having a seemingly great time. This helps the creator showcase the product as everything premium, fancy, and great, yet you the average consumer can purchase it.

Introduction

Hi Everyone!

My name is Elaina Ng and I'm currently in my last semester of the GSE's Five Year Teacher program. There, I am studying to get my Master's in Elementary Education with a specialization in Middle School Mathematics. I am also pursuing an additional Rutgers endorsement in Educational Technology. After graduation, I hope to find a full time teaching job in the lower elementary grades, however in the meantime I am working on getting my substitute teaching credentials.

Last semester, I spent 16 weeks student teaching (10 weeks in a 3rd grade classroom and 6 weeks in a 5th grade inclusion classroom) and have had the most rewarding experience doing so. I went into this student teaching internship a little apprehensive about basically everything, but coming out of it I could have never have guessed how much I would have learned and how close of a relationship I would have formed with the students and staff at my placement schools. There was this one strange moment that really resonated with me and I still remember to this day - I was running throughout the school to find a working printer and for some reason I just stopped, smiled to myself and thought about how truly happy I was to be working with these students and how much they inspire me to be a better educator. This was a moment that clicked with me and made me realize that teaching is something I want to confidently pursue.

I love introducing creative ideas in the classroom, especially implementing new types of technology whenever I get the chance. During my student teaching internship, I introduced various Google platforms (Classroom, Docs, Sheets, and Slides) to my cooperating teachers and students. Because each student had their own Macbook or Chromebook, the students were always using technology at some point during the day. Although I currently don't know much about multimedia design, I'm excited to learn about how I can incorporate it in my future instruction.

Nowadays in my free time you can find me studying for my Praxis exams, working part-time at a juice bar, watching Netflix, taking mini trips to NYC/Philly, or snowboarding.

I'm excited to get to know everyone!