Discussion Post #3

The Participation Gap

Before reading "Film as Identity Exploration: A Multimedia Analysis of Youth- Produced Films", I wasn't exactly sure how multimedia and identity could be intertwined. However, after reading this article, it was interesting to see that the creation of multimedia, especially by youth, is an expression of their own identity. It's not always clear to see how exactly their creations are showcasing their identities, so it is important to be able to analyze multimodal production accurately. In Halverson's article, she mentions that "The formal analysis of films (Bordwell & Thompson, 2004) guides the development of a coding scheme within these units of analysis. Following this tradition, films can be understood through the four key cinematic techniques employed by filmmakers: mise en scène, sound, editing, and cinematography" (p 2359). Keeping these techniques in mind, it is easier to see how students can express themselves through multimedia productions.

To talk specifically about "The Participation Gap", I feel as if it exists more commonly than we might think. During my student teaching experience, I could definitely see some students who would fall into that "gap". From my perspective, these students would often be struggling English Language Learners or students with special needs, as I was in inclusion classrooms with both. I feel as if their identities were overshadowed by their generalized categories, especially since they would often struggle with communicating effectively with their general education peers. In a way, their challenges would limit their ability to express themselves in traditional contexts. Since my time in both classrooms was limited, I was not able to observe an overcoming of that gap, however I feel as if it was narrowed by subtle differentiation and efforts for inclusion by the teachers.

If these students had the opportunity to learn about creating film and other multimodal means of production, then they would benefit greatly from it and be able to express themselves as an individual. According to Halverson, "...multimodal spaces [are] sites for identity construction" (p 2353) and it has become increasingly powerful as it speaks beyond words and can communicate a message that goes beyond traditional participation in class.


Reference: 
Halverson, E. R. (2010). Film as Identity Exploration: A Multimodal Analysis of Youth-Produced Films. Teachers College Record,112(9), 2352-2378.

Blog #7

This week's blog topic was definitely interesting to learn about. I don't normally put much thought into copyright and fair use, so after watching some of the videos and reviewing some of the links, I was a little surprised at what I had learned. I think that this shows how much I am lacking in digital literacy and how the terms and conditions of copyright is often not clear. When I was in grade school, I learned to simply not copy other students' work or directly copy and paste entire sections from the internet. This was enforced by programs such as Turnitin. As multimedia became more prevalent, it isn't just text that you have to be aware of, but videos, pictures, and audio as well. I feel as if students nowadays are not as commonly aware about fair use of multimedia especially since it is so easy to copy/paste, download, or re-upload pretty much anything to and from the Internet. 

One of the videos that caught my attention from the beginning was the one titled "Should "Happy Birthday" be Protected by Copyright? | Idea Channel | PBS Digital Studios" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzbSt0QG7mY&index=2&list=PLvzOwE5lWqhTbOCIFp_OxsN6nC-l20kMT). This appealed to me because it posed a question i've never thought of before, regarding a topic that was so familiar. The Happy Birthday song is so common in our lives that is has become a part of the bigger culture. I liked this video because it was informative and engaging as it showed references to common pop culture images throughout. This was also a great video because it is something that a wide audience can relate to as variations of the song is sung all over the world. When the narrator was talking about the Red Lobster example (and how restaurants have to pay money to Warner to use "their" song legally) it truly made me realize that "wow, a lot of restaurants don't actually sing the Happy Birthday song traditionally, they usually have their own version of it". I had never known why that was until now and it was eye opening. It almost seems wrong that a song so rooted in many traditions/cultures, is owned by a large company who can profit from it. 

After watching the video, I clicked on a few of the links provided and noticed that many of them did not work. I ended up really liking the last link that I clicked, which was the Teaching Copyright website (https://www.teachingcopyright.org/). This website, unlike many of the others, was appealing to the eye and organized in a way that you knew what the purpose of this website was and how to go about navigating it. I really like how this resource provided a curriculum for teachers to use in order to teach their students about copyright and fair use. This opens up the discussion for students and teachers so they can both maintain their involvement in creation while understanding the boundaries. Since many educators might not know very much about fair use themselves, this resource allows teachers to learn and teach their students accurately with the lessons provided. I love how this website is well rounded and has resources, handouts, and lesson plans for teachers to follow. These are extremely important for educators to teach and students to learn about as society continues to move toward a multimedia/technology ruled lifestyle. 

MMP Update #1

Here's my first update for the MMP! It is definitely not where it should be right now (it is basically a shell/outline) but as I work on it this coming week, I hope to get back on my timeline soon.

Also, quite sick this week so if my screencast does have a bit of a congested sound to it - sorry!