My Work.
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Alvermann Critical Essay
According to Alvermann, the term ‘new literacies’ refers to the expanded form of text, to include visual, digital and other forms of representation. New Literacy Studies gives attentiveness to the need to communicate using multiple styles of representation not just language. It also promotes the need to integrate new media in classrooms. The autonomous model of as per Alvermann, (2011) “characterizes reading and writing as neutral processes that are largely explained by individual variations in cognitive functioning and the motivation to achieve a literate status in life, assumes a universal set of skills necessary for decoding and encoding mostly printed text” (5). In contrast, NLS with reference to Black suggests, “youth who create derivative texts are far from being ‘mindless consumers’ and reproducers of existing media” (Alvermann, 2011, 31). Thus, traditional literacy teaching focuses on the need to develop critical cognitive and literacy skills whereas, ‘new literacies’ allows for students to produce new media while actively engaging. In short, the autonomous model strictly limits students to understand through text, whereas, new media allows students to engage in media by reflecting and understanding the message through this other form of literacy. In relation to popular culture and the opportunities for students to learn, Alvermann (2011) discusses the term ‘game literacy’ which refers “not only to a game’s semiotic properties but also to its peripheral literacies such as, … walkthroughs (directions for playing the game)…discussion boards…Intersections such as these between popular culture and new literacies have become quite common, particularly among young people with access to tools for integrating knowledge from multiple popular culture texts across different media platforms…” (8) New literacies have become a great tool for teachers as it allows them to combine media and popular culture such as, YouTube to educate their students in a more engaging manner. For example, in a Grade 5 classroom which I am doing my placement at the moment, the teacher allows her students to use their iPads or iPhones to search for a book to read during Silent Reading. By allowing these students to use their devices, they are engaging in reading through a form of media and popular culture, which, in this case, is their device. In response to the second debate as per Alvermann (2011) which “centers on whether or not young people’s participation in reading, viewing, listening to, and creating popular culture texts (especially digital texts) is an educational experience that has potential for transfer from informal to formal learning environments” (9) I believe creating popular culture texts does provide an educational experience that has the potential to transfer into formal learning environments. For example, if we look at Youtubers especially Makeup Artists, we can see that some of these individuals have transferred from the YouTube platform to big corporations and in this process they are engaging in a formal business-learning environment. Representation and Resistance Critical Essay In relation to my own experiences, I have also been subject to certain representations based on my race. One day, in Business, my class was using the computers and there had seemed to be a glitch on my computer. I raised my hand for assistance from the teacher and when my teacher approached me I told him that I needed help fixing something on my computer. He responded, “You should be good with computers, aren’t all Indians?” The cultural representation that was being imposed is that since a majority of Indians work in the IT support industry in India as well as, in Canada, the presumption my teacher made is that all Indians are familiar with computers. That day, as I did not have the courage to stand up to my teacher, I went on Twitter and posted “I am SIKH, that does not define who I am” With this statement, I attempted to let my followers know that just because I am Sikh, that does not put me in just one category and that we all have different and unique characteristics that differentiate us from one another. Thus, while using a form a media, being Twitter, I resisted the representation that my teacher along with anyone else had with the conception of “Indians”. Post colonialism moves beyond western stereotypes and biases; it moves beyond universal standards of judgment and allows diversity of opinion in literary criticism (Appleman, 2009, 87). Resistance as per Stack and Kelly (2006) is defined as “opposition with a social and political purpose” (12). Reel Injun (2009) depicts a form of resistance, as it is a documentary that explores the various stereotypes of Native Americans in films with various interviewees who talk against these representations. Examples of these depictions include the Noble savage as well as, the Drunken Indian. Reel Injun (2009) is a form of resistance in media. In this film, the director discusses for instance, Native Americans riding horses because they were portrayed in certain films to have come from a lifestyle where they rode horses. Interviewees backfired by simply stating that they only wanted to become cowboys. Stack and Kelly (2006) suggest that young people need the opportunity to debate whom controls the media system (9). This in return, would eliminate false representations in the media. Three Little Pigs Critical Essay With reference to The Three Little Pigs, this text is a modern version of the story. It is depicted as a narrative of the story at first however it becomes a narrative of the three pigs themselves as the story continues. At the primary/junior level students will not be able to grasp the concept of the story in the shift that it takes. The text includes pictures, which the readers are almost expected to tell the story themselves as per a comic book. In the article, Critical Literacy and Popular Culture in Urban Education, Morrell (2007) states, “Once students are confident in their reading, and once they understand the power of reading, they will be far more motivated to approach canonical and disciplinary texts” (249). The problem with advanced literacy is that it does not reach out to every reader. Furthermore, the assumption that those who attain advanced literacy are able to earn higher incomes or are more likely to participate in the electoral process as Morrell suggests is debateable. The author later adds that educators need to consider the nature of empowering literacy and the purposes of empowering literacy. This means that educators must help their students understand that advanced literacy should be a collective empowerment for political and social change. The Three Little Pigs is an example of advanced literacy however it does not encourage political and social change. The Three Little Pigs as per Morrell is an illustration of documentary culture. She states, “According to the documentary component, culture is the body of intellectual and imaginative work, in which human thought and experience are recorded. This notion also fits very well within the framework of schooling. Having read Shakespeare or Goethe makes someone more cultured because, through reading these works, individuals have been exposed to the greatest ideas in human record. This documentary element makes itself most prevalent in schools in the English curriculum, where a raging debate exists over what students should read” (Morrell, 2007, 239). This version of The Three Little Pigs is a model of a text, which students at the primary/junior level should not be reading. As mentioned earlier, it is a text that students would find difficulty reading in regards to the two types of narratives that is presented. Overall, as per Morrell (2007), “…educators need to understand the ways that popular culture is practiced by their students, in their norms, their behavior, their dress, their activities, in addition to their selection of CDs, DVDs, magazines, and websites.” (249) This means the way that students practice popular culture should be incorporated in their learning and in return, they will be able to understand these texts better. Video Critique With reference to music videos, McClain (2016) writes, “Maskell discussed the use of music videos for teaching English, saying the content has “huge potential for use across the entire English curriculum”. As an example, in the Grade 5 Curriculum, students are expected to understand the message that a text or in this case, a music video portrays. Music videos are an excellent resource to use with students in order for them to comprehend the message in contrast to a text. The author adds, “Although the pedagogical value of music videos remains formally under-recognized, many have thoroughly established why music videos are an important and potent way to learn about life around the globe.” (McClain, 2016) The video, True Colours by Artists Against shows people around the world who struggle with being themselves and as a result, go through depression. The video depicts males and females as well as, different races to show that anyone can go through these feelings. Furthermore, McClain (2016) states, “They [music videos] are often controversial, working as a compelling catalyst for critical discussion and thus able to help students identify important issues, then articulate their views on social or political matters.” The significant issues displayed in this video show that there are people around the world who get picked on and as a result, are afraid to show who they really are. Through class discussions, students are able to articulate the causes of this issue and are able to understand that these issues have increasingly changed over the years due to technology (that is, popular culture). Cyber-bulling has increased and hate has transferred from personal contact through social applications such as, Twitter and/or Instagram. The article refers to five key questions of media literacy and this includes content which asks, “What values, lifestyles and points of view are represented in, or omitted from, this message?” as well as, the purpose which asks, “Why is this message being sent?” (McClain, 2016). The values and messages that are displayed to audiences in this music video for example, is strong, which is why music videos are essential to use while teaching areas of the curriculum to students (the audience) as well as, social issues around the world. Critical Media Analysis This critical media essay will explore female representations in media that work to resist stereotypes. Stack and Kelly refer to Abowitzs' definition of resistance as: “...a means of signaling, generating, and building dialogue around particular power imbalances and inequalities” (12). The film Zootopia portrays a female lead that defies these stereotypes of women as well as, works towards building equality in terms of gender. The article Gendered Media: The Influence of Media on Views of Gender states, “most [women] are depicted as passive, dependent on men, and enmeshed in relationships or housework” (33). In contrast, men are defined in terms of their career goals, beliefs, and activities (33). The lead female character in Zootopia, Judy Hopps is an example of a woman in media who goes against these stereotypes as most of her days are spent fighting crime as a cop. As a children's film, this teaches young minds that they can be whoever they want to be in society and not a “housewife” as per these certain stereotypes. Stack and Kelly suggest, “Media literacy should be about helping people to become sophisticated citizens rather than sophisticated consumers” (13). Future educators must teach their students to resist these stereotypes and become advocates for gender equality. Curran states, “It was the emergence of cultural studies as a distinctive field of study...opened up a space in which feminist concerns with the ideological work of media representations, the relationship of mass media to a wider political and social order, and the everyday lives, pleasures and practices of women could be brought together.” (66) Finally, as per Carter and Steiner, “Media texts never simply mirror or reflect 'reality', but instead construct hegemonic definitions of what should be accepted as 'reality'.” (2) This is what Zootopia tries to achieve - it constructs a reality for women that goes against the certain stereotypes as described above in the hopes of attaining equality. Connected Learning Connected learning is defined as, “socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward expanding educational, economic or political opportunity. It is realized when a young person is able to pursue a personal interest or passion with the support of friends and caring adults, and is in turn able to link this learning and interest to academic achievement, career success or civic engagement.” (Ito, Gutierrez, Livingstone, Penuel, Rhodes, Salen, Schor, Sefton-Green, Watkins, 2013, 42) It refers to the means of connecting both student interests and learning. Students are able to produce and actively engage while participating in connected learning. However, the authors also identify some social/educational problems with this form of learning. He states, “Buckingham (2007) sees this digital divide between in-school and out-of-school use as “symptomatic of a much broader phenomenon— a widening gap between children’s everyday ‘life worlds’ outside of school and the emphases of many educational systems.” (Ito, Gutierrez, Livingstone, Penuel, Rhodes, Salen, Schor, Sefton-Green, Watkins, 2013, 30) This means students’ experiences at home may not surround technology. It may be due to the fact that parents do not want to introduce technology to their children at such a young age. Thus, it is difficult for teachers to even consider incorporating technology into the classroom. As per the opportunities of connected learning, the authors refer to a case study in describing Clarissa who enjoys online role-playing. This provides Clarissa with the opportunity to try out characters that are different versions of her; to engage in informal storytelling as well as, to meet new people and to create a sense of herself as a writer (Ito, Gutierrez, Livingstone, Penuel, Rhodes, Salen, Schor, Sefton-Green, Watkins, 2013, 10). Connected learning is similar to remixing as it pertains to student interest as well as, allows students to engage in the process of creating. Graphic Narrative
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