VTS: Blog Topic #7

BLOG TOPIC #7: Common Core Survey

·      Describe your experience with the Common Core State Standards to date.

o   What do you know about the CCSS?

o   What is the source of this knowledge?

o   How is your school/district disseminating information about the CCSS?

In my position as a curriculum content leader I have been exposed to a lot of training sessions dealing with CCSS. Our district Literacy Coordinator and Director of Student Learning have conducted numerous workshops, we have brought in Susan Gendron from the SMARTER Balance Assessment Consortium, and assembled a CCSS task force to develop a plan for rolling out the CCSS to our district. Currently we are training Content Area Literacy Leaders (in Electives, Soc. St., and Sci. - the areas not directly labeled as standards but also affected by CCSS) I am somewhat familiar with the Math standards and ELA (reading, writing, speaking & listening, & language) standards, including Literacy in History, Science, and Technical Subjects.  

·      Discuss your attitude(s) towards the Common Core State Standards.

o   With regard to education in general?

o   With regard to art education specifically?

I am a big believer that CCSS will be affecting not just the areas that the standards are explicitly written for (ELA & Math), but that every teacher will be responsible for educating children in ways that will meet their needs as 21st century citizens and will enhance their skills in ways to make them more college and career ready. The Next Generation Assessments are more performance based, cross curricular, and in my opinion, more relevant to students' lives than our previous standardized tests. 

In regards to art education specifically, the Common Core Standards emphasizes literacy. Visual Literacy is an important part of a 21st century learner's college and career readiness skills. I also see a lot of overlay with the Math Skills as well if the skills are thought of in terms of the production of art. Many of the performance skills, such as "Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them" also apply to the discipline of art. 

·      Do you see a place for VTS in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards?

o   If so, briefly describe.

o   If not, why do you believe it doesn’t fit?

I absolutely see VTS playing what could be a major role in CCSS. Like Dr. Unrath says, if you replace the word 'text' with 'visual text' and think of the literacy standards in terms of the application of VTS they are completely transferable.  

Digital Citizenship

Hey, Look what I just got in my email!

Edmodo & Common Sense Media have teamed up to create a Digital Citizenship Starter Kit! The Digital Citizenship Starter Kit includes a poster, as well as a series of activities and lessons designed to introduce digital citizenship concepts directly in Edmodo. All lessons are based on Common Sense Media's K-12 Digital Literacy and Citizenship curriculum and include topics such as: Internet safety and security Privacy Plagiarism Cyberbullying Download the kit and discuss best practices with other educators by joining the Digital Citizenship Community on Edmodo.

Download the
Edmodo Digital Citizenship Kit

Artistic Thinking Side Note

Holy Crap.  I am sooo depressed.
Watching those two documentaries my mind is blown. Some of these issues I was already aware of. Other things were revelations.

I am a parent of a 4 year old and a 1 year old and feel a great deal of responsibility already in every decision I make. In a way, I feel vindicated for some of my parenting decisions, but on the other - ergh. As well as being a child of the 80's and a female, I have to deal with my own subconscious influences and programing. AND I'm a teacher of iGen kids. I feel like Atlas with the weight of the future on my shoulders. Hey, that seems like a good subject for some art making....

AT: Week 4 - Thoughts on Social Networking

What is your personal perspective on utilizing social networking sites (such as facebook) for education? Do the benefits outweigh the risks?

I was at first very wary. I feel as a teacher I have to have a strong dichotomy between personal and public life (like a celebrity). Mostly because  my adult friends would possibly also be connected to my students through these social networking sites and they don't feel the same need for propriety in their jobs surrounded by adults as I do as a teacher surrounded by adolescents (and through extension, their parents.) I can't control what friends post about me, and although I like to think I conduct myself properly at all times, things can be taken out of context or I can be associated with behaviors I did not participate in or even witness. SO -- how did I get over this? I start a Ms. Ridlen version of anything I used for school. That has been great. I worry so much more less about things like that, and I can compartmentalize my socializing.

That being said, my security settings on FB are much higher / stronger / impenetrable for my personal account and I will probably have to find you before you could find me. Email me if you wanna be my friend. :)

Taking away those fears, for me the benefits have far outweighed the risks. I also use edmodo (does that count as 'social' networking if it is really academic networking?). I want to use that more, but haven't been able to investigate it much yet. I'm getting far and away from any type of art stuff that is paper/pencil and going towards much more individualized experience based teaching. I keep in touch with former students on FB, colleagues, and even a few bosses. I use class parrot to send student reminder texts for class, students email me with questions from their phones at all hours (guess that means I am gonna have to start checking that email from home - boo - although I like being turned to), we use pinterest for visuals and videos. I feel like I am just starting to scratch the surface.

Blogs in the classroom!

BLOG REFLECTION: How might you use mobile technologies or blogs in your classroom?

I realized I wanted to share this idea with you all too.

For VTS class I shared that I sometimes have students pre-write to organize their thoughts before starting the class conversation. I wonder what it would be like to blog a VTS? At first I thought about starting the VTS pre-writing on a blog, but just now I realized that students will then go online and look up the work (Perhaps) and then be influenced by the art history of it, not their own thoughts (possibly). If we used the Fine Arts iPads to type on the class blog instead of writing on a worksheet in class, I wonder if that would open things up? And my room is a bit of a black hole, so until we get a WAP we could probably do it without internet research no prob.

Hmmm....

My artwork

OKay, this is pathetic. I knew I didn't have a whole lot of time to be my creative self and that most of my work revolved around the classroom and arts n crafts with my son, but scrolling through my photos, it looks like I haven't even taken photos of anything I've done in the past year!
All my photos are of stuff like this:

Mummy Pie

Four Leaf Clover Pancakes

Minnie Mouse Pancakes

Easter Lemon Pistachio Cake

Declan's Race Car Cake

Um, I guess I like to eat! 

But I did manage to find some shots of things from school: 

This was an exercise in finding images in unexpected places.
Each student got a postcard size piece of map and drew on top of it. 

Birdhouse for Friends of Children Raffle

T-shirt design for our Department, we're the spARTans.
(Speaking of mash-ups and remixes - can you tell its after Warhol & Basquiat? And DaVinci too.)

       

Week 3 - Read & React

Alright, I made the mistake of reading these almost a week ago, thinking I had already read and reacted. Whoops. These may be more vague than usual.

Rewired, Ch. 3:
Rewired was all about WMDs, wireless mobile devices (which I will always read as Weapons of Mass Destruction, thank you GW.)  and how students use these devices. Its interesting to look at how prevalent these devices are. Especially in contrast to the work some schools in my district are doing on reaching and teaching kids in poverty. We would assume one of two things depending on what you read. Either 1) a teacher should not make assumptions that students have access to technology (perhaps b/c in lower income areas) and should provide alternatives or 2)WMDs are everywhere regardless of socio-economics b/c it is a status symbol and parents want to make sure their kids have what's needed. I started asking my students a couple of years ago what they have (in a low key way) in order to use it to my advantage in class or to be able to know what to expect even just in terms of website traffic.  I found that it changes not just from year to year, but THROUGH OUT the year. Students are hard on devices, they are taken away as punishment, and various other reasons for access or lack there of. It is fascinating, and an unreliable tool to expect students to each have a device. So, from my experience it is better to be sure that it is used for something that could be done with a partner, or in a way that kids could "share" devices. I sure am glad to have the iPads this year to alleviate some of that.

Teaching with Tools Kids Really Use, Ch. 2 - 4:
Brooks-Young goes into detail about what WMDs are in three categories: cell phones, mp3 players, and netbooks. I found some helpful suggestions for the classroom in the cellphones chapter, and was interested in the podcasting section in chapter 3, but the netbook chapter? Are people still using these now that tablets like the iPad have come out? Already this book seems dated. I guess I should expect this knowing that technology development moves so fast. This book specifically was on my list last year as I started to teach myself about technology in order to write a proposal for an iPad classroom. (This is my first exposure to it, since I never got around to buying it then.) So far, I wouldn't have found it very helpful for my mission. I find it unfortunate that books like this take a while to reach shelves (or so it seems) and before too long feel defunct. Its almost as if the authors need to take their own cues and create an online version that can get updated chapters bought individually. How great would that be?

But it did make me think. I started to think about how I could make use of the mini-computers in my students pockets at the end of last year.  I was always trying to plan far enough ahead that I could get my students into one of the computer labs, but they were often booked by classes doing big year-end research projects, standardized testing, or by other teachers that knew from year to year exactly when and where they would be on any given day and could plan accordingly. I fly by the seat of my students pants and explore a lot, so I often can't say when we will be at a certain point. Last year we decided to look into artists that collaborate and Andy Goldsworthy.  We then went outside to build earthworks and used our phone to take photos and upload them to a glogster account. I did have to check out a mobile laptop lab (that is often in disrepair) to work more on the glogster presentations of our work, but the camera phones were awesome!
This year, I've taken advantage of them to have students look up answers to each others questions, define words, and take photos of their own work. I have a feeling I might be using them to have students record their thoughts on their artistic process too.


 

Student Artworks: Self-Portraits

So while I am thinking about it, here are four of my students' self-portraits from last year. It was one of their final projects in my Intro to Art class. Students took expressive photos (and tried out expressive lighting) of themselves and each other, selecting one and their choice of art medium to create a self-portrait. They turned out fairly well and here are some of the best ones. They range in size from 12" x 18" to 18" x 24". 

"Robbie"

18" x 24"

Jelly Beans

"Madison"

18" x 24"

Acrylic & Tempera

"Ethan"

12" x 18"

Colored Pencil

"Paige"

12" x 18"

Watercolor Pencil

VTS Blog Topic #2

BLOG TOPIC #2:

·      Discuss your professional peers’ feedback about your VTS practice session on your BLOG.  This may include comments related to their experience of the discussion, your performance, the VTS method, the utility of VTS for teaching; even comments or new understandings about the featured work of art.

·       Include any questions that may have arisen during this VTS experience

Well, I am not doing a very bang up job of following directions here. I got really excited about doing the VTS with my students so I actually have already done that ahead of this experience. And instead of using one of the images Mary provided, I used the same image I used with my students. I wanted to compare the elevation of conversation between my Intro students and my fellow art colleagues. 

And the conversation did elevate. It was very interesting. I start a unit I do on symbolism with this image: 

Little Deer

My colleagues had an interesting conversation about the meaning of the piece. They were familiar with the artist and her life, so they made the immediate connections that my students do eventually, even without knowing her or her life. 

After my peer session, I asked for feedback about how I did. They were very complementary, saying I did a good job paraphrasing without annoying them with just repeating what they had just said and how hard that must be. That it seemed effortless and without noticing that I was doing that exactly.

We got to talk a lot about the benefits of VTSing (some had been to your presentations Mary) and how I thought it was going in my class. I said that I really notice a change in artist habits of mind. That I haven't ever really measured for writing growth like I will be doing, but that it really helped my students slow down and increased their observational skills, which I think translates to their art production and reflection back on their own art.

I look forward to seeing just how it affects my students this year. 

AT: Week 2 Read & React

Rewired - Ch. 6
This chapter is all about the iGen and Netgen use of technology in its creative endeavors. Rosen introduces a new acronym of UGC  meaning User Generated Content that can include anything a netizen produces and displays on the internet ranging from video, audio, photography to commentary, links, or anything else that "alters the information on the web." Rosen also argues in this chapter that netgeners are not becoming poorer writers for their use of the internet and their use of text lingo, but instead studies are showing that "writing produced in technology-based environments can have positive effects" increasing the positive effects on informal writing. When students are given guidelines in formal writing, they are able to distinguish audience and write with appropriate tone. Then Rosen moves on from words to video, giving examples of ways (4 actually) that teachers have integrated ugc into lessons. The point with the video content is that students are learning a greater skill, that of reflection. Possibly also in combination with blogging, students can analyze others' content or their own using the world wide web. Rosen also posits that students are more motivated when producing for an authentic audience, their peers and friends online. A third category of audio is also highlighted because music is a life force to so many of the net generation (and like Rosen I include the iGen as well).
    Rosen moves on to connect netgeners online behavior to the all important behavior of PLAY. That we as human beings are better equipped to learn through experience and constructivist theory would say that we are better learners when we have something to connect our learning to, in this case experiences from play.  Rosen defines level of interest and experience on three levels: 1)Hanging Out; 2) Messing Around; and 3) Geeking Out. Each one more immersed and involved in the process than the last.
   To close, Rosen suggests a new educational model with 4 elements: 1) technological tools; 2) Purpose; 3) Audience; and 4) New texts. That if we as educators can tap into and connect to these four elements than we will be able to see a more motivated student who is more connected to learning. My husband and I argue about these four points constantly. I should say that he is also a teacher, in a less creative subject, Social Studies. For some reason I have found Social Studies teachers to be one of the subjects least likely to want to change. Many I have talked to see real value in the lecture as tool and would argue until they are blue in the face in defense of it. Yet, they would also be the first to point out how lazy and unresponsive their students are. They don't read, they don't take notes, they don't participate in class discussion, and they don't write well. What's that Einstein saying about doing the same thing and expecting the same results?
    I couldn't help but think about UGC creative endeavors in the same terms I think of the student media of Collage. Most of the time, ugg - not impressed. Although, I will say that because of the openness and global distribution of the internet, I do come across a larger selection of non-ugg. But my point being that as art teachers (and design and multimedia teachers) that we have a responsibility to teach aesthetics or general rules of what looks good, what is readable, and how to communicate with an audience. Other wise my fear is that we will revert to a time when no one was skilled in the look of a thing (definitely thinking in my printmaking hat here and looking at the response of the art nouveau).

Grown Up Digital (ch.3 - The 8 NetGen Norms)
This reading outlines what another author, Don Tapscott, observes in the populace known as the NetGen. He outlines 8 norms for people of this generation: value freedom, desire to customize, skeptical and scrutinize, value integrity, great collaborators, thrive on speed, and love to innovate (is that 8?). He goes into a lot of elaboration with stories from his own kids (now grown) and their friends, as well as stories about how this looks in business work environments.
  As I read this, maybe it was because he kept speaking in terms of what netgeners want in terms of work, but I kept thinking of the younger teachers I work with not my students. These characteristics really speak to the more grown up version of my students, who have things figured out (or at least for the moment they do - it will all change once they hit 30 or 35 or 40...some benchmark in their lives for that midlife evaluation.) I think a lot of these characteristics will be developed in college or immediately there after. I observe, as a high school teacher, many behaviors I recognize from high school that I still remember and vividly remember the time in college when my perceptions changed. So THAT's why I had to take drawing before painting, walk before I could run, etc. etc. Those ah-ha! moments really stuck with me. (I still remember as a high school student not being able for the life of me to draw a straight line with a ruler (no lie) and figuring out in college I was just awkward and using both sides instead of the one continual side - my lanky elbows kept interrupting my field of vision. Now I watch my HSers do the same thing ALL THE TIME. Or not being able to memorize vocab and how in college it got easier somehow. I blame the early schedule.)
     I might need more time to let this one resonate, because it isn't really at the moment hitting me with much. Again, I was thinking as I read this more of my coworkers. I find that I often take on this role in my department of 6 [4 of which are boomers, with a ten year gap between the second youngest coworker and myself]. Even though I am 33, born in '79, technically I am a Gen X teacher. And I'm starting to be unable to tell if I have embraced the use of technology as a teacher, so that is changing my perspective on my generational attributes or if I was more prone to them anyway being on the cusp of the NetGen. My Dad was always a big computer guy (plus a science/math nerd to boot) so I was probably given an unusual perspective on technology from that angle too. Hard to say.

    I do feel that we need to start operating as educators that can relate to our students in this way. And I think art is a prime field to tap into this. We have the luxury of incorporating a lot of freedom and choice into our curriculum. We get to encourage students to find their voice and sense of expression. And art is embedded into so much of our culture that we can find different media in this expanding world that can incorporate so many of these attributes of the iKid.  I think we could definitely capitalize on their willingness to collaborate and put themselves out there, to be reflective in front of a virtual audience. We should really be embracing the idea of online portfolios and having them document their work. Even having them look at artwork that is collaborative and working together in collectives.

RIP! Remix Manifesto Reaction

This documentary was very interesting as someone who has struggled with her two selves on this issue.   I feel like as an artist and intellectual human being I have the right to determine the destiny of my creations, however also feel that I have the right as a creator to be inspired by whatever that comes along and make it my own. I guess that is the fine line for me - if someone is misrepresenting my creation under the guise of alteration than it is not really alteration (or remixing) but instead it is the adoption of an already existing persona and twisting its context. i.e. If it can be confused as the real deal, than I have a problem with it.

Classroom ideas without looking at the guide:
   I immediately connect this with appropriation in art. Which I love to teach about. I've always taught it really in my printmaking classes, but I'd also like to teach it more in my Intro classes. We could look at Lichtenstein and the debate over his work and if it is plagiarized (which the AIC had a great exhibit on him this summer...wonder if they have anything online about his stance on the issue) as well as Warhol.
   It would be interesting to have students look into the issue and determine what is "Fair Use". That was one of the questions I had after watching this, "What exactly does 'Fair Use' encompass specifically in art?". We could examine the Shepard Fairey Obama photo case and take up a side, learning how to form an argument with supporting evidence.We can teach students so much more than just the process of art but also what artists need to know to protect themselves, as well as some lifelong skills that apply not just to art but have a broader, wider reaching relevance.
   It would be interesting to see students trace the lineage of inspiration of artists...pieces or styles that have begat other works. I also see more applications to our Graphic Design curriculum where we create artwork from source material as more of a given (using stock photos, creating movies with soundtracks, etc.)
Another idea I had after skimming pinterest this morning and seeing a video clip from a collage painting assignment at Michigan Univ. was in connection to collage and the work of the Dada-ists. If we translate the idea of copyright in music to that of art and the form of collage, then it is okay to use a portion of the original image but not of the entire image. I would find it interesting to see what students would create if the directive was to research copyright laws, apply them to visual art and create a visual representation of what is deemed acceptable by law. Heck, I might even use that as an eperiment in my own art. Hmm...

After looking at the guide:
I could keep thinking about this for a long time (oh, wait...that's whats taken me so long to post from draft to final!). I love the tenants of the Remix Manifesto and believe there is truth there. I still struggle with my opinions about which side is right. I think maybe I see too much grey in the issue. Or maybe I like to pick sides based on my own needs at the time, not sure. I still struggle myself with the question from Ch. 2 - What is more important, the creative process or the final product? And I didn't quite realize I did until I read it there. I've always felt that the creative act is important for us as human beings for many reasons, and I have tried to transfer this attitude this to my students (after my own struggle with my ego about hanging good looking art work in the halls). But taking some time to think about my own process, when I create if I am not happy about the outcome, about the way the art work looks after I feel it is "finished", I find discomfort. One could argue (and I often do) then the work is not finished, and then it becomes about the process once again. I think I could go on and on about this, especially in the context of adolescent learners, but since this is a week 2 assignment that I have been chewing on through week 4, I better just post at this point. :)

PS: If anyone wants a GirlTalk album, go here: http://illegal-art.net/girltalk/ .  Girl Talk lets you pay what you want for his albums here (unlike Amazon). (I have mixed feelings about his work too. I like it, but it makes me want to listen to more of the 'originals' not more Girl Talk. I wonder if my environment would change my opinion. Say if I was at a club, would I love it and dance my butt off? All I can speak to is my opinion after listening in the car or in a quiet house. Totally different environments.)

Redo! AT Read & React Wk 2 Assignments

(Sorry! I didn't read the directions close enough for the read & react assignments. I only reacted instead of writing my summaries. Let me try again...)

Signs of Change: Art Ed in the Age of the iKid  (Mudd & Unrath article)
This article captures the direction of where art ed needs to go to make learning relevant to today's igeneration student. 

Rewired ch.1-2 (Rosen book)
Chapters 1 & 2 introduces who the iGeneration (and Net Generation) is, presenting what their life is like in a world inundated with technology. Rosen begins to explore what educators and/or parents need to do in response to this different way of looking at the world. Chapter 2 goes into detail about ownership and use of the different age groups and the different technologies. 

New Technologies in the Artroom (Greh article) 
Greh writes an article presenting what the art room might look like as technology starts to make headway into our discipline. She outlines the up side but also shares her fears about what could go wrong. I have been in this place recently.  

Frontline: Digital Nation - Life on the Virtual Frontier
This documentary covers what life in our digital age looks like including what our current use (or, er, our 2010 use) looks like in the form of learning, gaming, & military use. The writer/directors Dretzin and Rushkoff explore where this technology use is taking us and explores the ramifications (or the research that is studying the ramifications). It begins the dialogue about what we are going to gain and we are going to sacrifice through this 24/7 use of technology.

What is education’s role in meeting the needs of the 21^st century student?

After reading New Tech in the Art Room by Greh:
        Ok, holy moly (or is it mole?). I was really identifying with the author of this reading (which by the way, what book did this come from and what is the full name of the author?). I am currently setting up 2 pilot projects in my district for a Fine Arts lab at one of our high schools (mine) and one of the middle schools (across form my HS). This lab idea was a major victory of mine. The lab (although I hate the term lab. it makes it seem open to anyone at any time, and since i've worked so hard for art access to technology, I'm feeling a bit selfish) contains a cart with 32 ipads (a class set), an apple tv, a projector, styluses, and a macbook. Then I've also equipped the iPads with apps appropriate for Visual Arts, Music, and Theatre classes. But there is so much to think about when integrating this technology! And I'm not just thinking for my own discipline, but the whole of fine arts! I feel woefully under-equipped for this task. I have an idea of what I want, what it could be used for, but how do I make it worth while? And how do I transfer my enthusiasm to my other 5 art teachers, 3 music teachers, and 1 theatre teacher? And thats just in the hs. So on one hand I'm worrying about did I make the right decisions as far as set up (app choices and the what not), will the teachers use it, will it be used effectively, will teachers take care of it and monitor student use (will we break / "lose" any), will administrators see the value in it, can I plan good pd for it, and on and on. I could totally relate to that list of nightmares. But on the other, I've got such great ideas!! And I am so excited to put this technology into play! And others probably do too! I think this could be amazing. Will others see the possibilities? Will others see how great this is?
         That was my personal reaction to it. All the while with my critical mind though, I'm thinking, "How old is this article?" It felt dated. And that underscored to me a current trend in tech, as soon as you get a handle on something, it changes. So quickly our world is evolving. And sometimes I feel that we as teachers aren't doing enough to keep pace. We get comfortable. And hey, who can blame us? Who wouldn't rather stay curled up in bed under the nice comfy covers, all cozy? It's nice. and easy. and safe. and its hard to keep running at a break neck pace that as teachers we can overdo too. But like the turtle,we have to keep moving at a steady pace to win the race. Somewhere in between the hare and standing still, we have to find that middle path to best serve our students.
[alright, I feel like I'm starting to ramble from atop a soap box. next topic...]

"iKids Today"
What are my beliefs and experiences pertaining to/with the iKid/iGeneration? 
How might my generational grouping and my current understanding of technology (*gleaned from the self assessment) impact my understanding of the students I teach?
I feel like I have been pondering this question for a while now - years, in fact. I have been told that I am on the cusp of the Gen X and Gen Y or whatever you want to call that next generation. And there seems to be a new generation after that one (Gen Y) that I feel is the iKids that this refers to. The students I taught in 2001 are not the same functioning students I taught last year in 2011. Those Gen Yers were born in the late 80's, whereas my students today were born in the late nineties, two very different time periods influenced by technology in very different ways. Little things I've noticed have changed the way these students see the world. Little things like not having to wait until Saturday morning for a solid block of cartoons. The development of cable stations into 24/7 content providers have changed the way this generation of people think and approach things. It has changed the way some other generations see things too, but the difference is we can "remember a time when..." It reminds me of the Beloit mind set list (although that too seems to be showing its age this go round). If you are unfamiliar with it,  "The Mindset List was created at Beloit College in 1998 to reflect the world view of entering first year students. It started with the members of the class of 2002, born in 1980."  I've seen how this little difference has changed the way my students react to and reflect their pop culture. That is a fascinating unit for me. And it highlights the generational differences. I've joked with my students that this is the year I got old (Obviously because I can't see the 10 point type I've used on the IWB every year for seating charts), but rather I think its just the year that the difference between everyday habits has had more contrast. I'm trying to come around to some divergent thinking though. Thinking about the same thing in two different ways. I try to problem solve using new technologies and in ways that are relevant to my students. In ways that they will see how it is relevant, and so that we can make connections to build better relationships. And ultimately, this has been my goal with every group of students. It just hasn't been as seemingly different before.

"Rewired" 
At the beginning of the school year, the icebreaker for our PD was a generation activity that had the faculty looking at what characteristics of each of these generations they felt they had and thinking about their parents generational characteristics that rubbed off on them. Where we fell short was looking at the characteristics of our current generation of students. But with limited time, we weren't able to do the research to find out more about them. This book fills in the gap for me. And it goes hand in hand with another book I read that has changed my outlook on the way I plan lessons - "Drive" by Daniel H. Pink. 
What I noticed about this book is that even though it was written recently in 2010, it is already behind! MySpace, to my knowledge, was finished back before 2008. But that seems to be a major part of the conversation - that technology is changing at such a rapid pace. You really have to be embedded in it and not just an observer to feel as though it isn't passing you by. I keep thinking of Ferris Bueller's quote, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." (How's that for generational?) Life does move fast, and technology moves even faster. But in this case, if you stop, you'll miss it. You can't sit back and passively observe or you miss the whole point of the technology. It really does bring people together in ways that we weren't connected before. I'm still struggling with how to do this in school. I have ideas, but I'm not sure how to execute them. And just like Greh, I fear some of the unknowns that could be bad in a school environment. Some of the uncontrollable outside forces. But these outside forces are part of what makes these outlets so attractive to our students. How do we reconcile this?

"Frontline: Digital Nation - Life on the Virtual Frontier"
I love this documentary. I really liked the way it explored some of the negative aspects of all of our technology use. I couldn't help but keep thinking about where we are headed even after all this. Google's new project was brought to my attention this summer, and I keep thinking about what our society is going to look like if it catches on. The new project is Google Glasses and you can see a demo here: http://youtu.be/JSnB06um5r4 .

I also started to read through some of the discussions. I saw this one and it really resonated with me. I feel like I have two halves on this issue. One that is all "Let's go for it! let's dive in and check it out!" and the Other that screams at me, "Slow your roll! This is too good to be true. Let's check it out first."

"The time wasted on a pc is time away from solving real world problems and building and achieving something real and tangible that actually makes a physical difference in other peoples lives. All the addicted try very hard to label it progress and those who oppose are just old fashioned. Not so. It simply is a value set and a personal image situation. If you think you're never going to amount to much and that your only one person and can never make a difference, then sure those rings and trinkets seem pretty compelling. However, if you believe the power of one person can make and create alot of change you realize the futility of virtual worlds and digital distractions. The World outside is being over run and needs citizen power, and is far more important than those virtual worlds; though many have convinced themselves otherwise."

I keep thinking of Amy's school where the kids are surrounded by this great piece of land and are taught to embrace it, slow down, and seek serenity. It really seems that as educators we need to be up to date and embrace technology but with a caveat. We also need to take the time to teach our students the value in the other. To slow down, to use "primitive" technologies as an alternative when things might not be suitable for the tech answer. And not to place more value on one or the other but to present both options as having value and being who we are as a society. And we as teachers need to remember that we shouldn't make assumptions, that we may need to teach students how to "unplug" in way where they find worth.

[ I also keep wondering about that South Korean kid who went to re-programming camp. And how tortured he was by being away from gaming for 10 days. Is he still an addict? Or did he stick with a program of not gaming continuously? DId he eventually outgrow gaming? I'd love to see a follow up. ]

I have a feeling this documentary will stick with me for a while.