Digital Media Literacy

Quiz--

I scored 6/12 on the quiz! I was surprised at how many I missed. There were 3 though that I was on the fence about and those were numbers 7, 9, 10. On number seven I was thinking maybe the kids are on social networking more than texting, but I chose texting because I thought maybe the younger kids aren't on social sites because there is an age limit, 14, for most sites. Also, my sister is 15 and she is always texting and only on Facebook occasionally. So, anyway this answered surprised me. Number 9 and 10 I got backwards. I was thinking maybe the Hispanics watched less TV than the whites because they don't have as much accessibility to  TV, because a lot of them are lower income and maybe can't afford cable. Though I chose to answer these questions like this because of this reasoning I was thinking they could very easily go the other way, because lower income children might not have as many options for entertainment other the TV. The other three I missed were numbers 1, 2, and 3. I was really surprised of the answer on number 3 being so low. I thought for sure the percentage of "media multitasking" would be much higher. My little sister, who is mentioned above, is a "crazy" media multitasker. Honestly on any evening you can see her on the cell phone holding a conversation of "lols and omgs", on the computer surfing the web or checking emails, watching her favorite shows such as, Pretty Little Liars, The Lying Game or Jane By Design, on DVR, and finally on her Kindle reading one of her favorite series, either The Hunger Games or The Number Four series. It is crazy how well she can do it all. So on question 3 I answered 49% because of my example. :) This quiz opened my eyes, needless to say, to digital media information concerning the youth. 

Digital Media Landscape--

What is It?

I Love, Love, Love SMART Boards. So I chose to visit the Smart Board Exchange website. Lesson Plans are hard to make and are time consuming to design for the SMART Board, at least I think so. So having an exchange site for teachers to share creations and lesson plans is awesome to me. This means every teacher needs to only make a few to share and then has thousands to use, sounds like a good trade off to me. Also, most teachers like to play off their own personal strengths, so someone who is good at science will most likely make one concerning some form of science and then not like history so they are in search of something some one else  has done.

How do I use it?

I chose to visit The Good Play Project website. The managers of this site study youths interaction with the internet in hopes "to understand how young people conceptualize their participation in virtual worlds and the ethical considerations that guide their conduct." One study I chose to review was the study on "Myspace In Heaven". This study caught my attention because of the title. As I read it I began to realize I have done this before. I never thought that there was anything wrong with mourning the dead and talking to them as if they were alive online. I know it helped me. My half-sister's mother died in September and she writes her nearly everyday on Facebook. I really do appreciate and like this site and the research studies they conduct. I think it helps open the minds of the youth and helps teachers, parents, and other significant adults understand their thought process and relationship with the media. 

Learn More

I chose to visit the Edutopia website because someone had once mentioned it to me and encouraged me to check it out. I never did until today. This site is an amazing resource for teachers and parents, and offers fantastic questions and insight to the lives of our youth. Really there is too much information to even mention. The sight covers a lot of information regarding the media influence of the American youth, one part of the site I liked was:

• On average, each of them spends 1,500 hours a year watching television. Roughly 17 million children and teens have Internet access in their homes, and most of them use it daily for everything from researching school projects to playing online games to sending instant messages or chatting with their classmates. They go to movies and watch music videos. Headphones and CD players have become so much a part of the middle and high school students' "uniform" that backpacks are now designed to accommodate the gear.

 I know that was a long quote but, it gives you all a glimpse of what topics are covered on this website. The site talks about how we, as adults  or a whole society are enabling the youth with unlimited access to various forms of media, without asking questions or fully understanding the effects of the media on the youth. I also like the sites use of media, they provide videos of real life examples for all their Core Strategies. I would definitely recommend all of you to visit the site if you have close family members who fall in this category.

Examples

SWEET!! Is all I have to say about School Tube, a website made for teacher and students to use as a resource to share through media presentation or showcase things they have done. I love this website and  I will be back to it when I get my degree. The site is endorsed by the nations leading education associations, and therefore makes it one of the safest ways to share videos with children in them. All kids love making videos and then sharing them on YouTube, so this might be a way to encourage children to do their assignment and do them well, because they will be sharing them for millions to see and appreciate. I watched a few of the videos, and I thought they were awesome. It inspired me to encourage my future students to make a production like these. Everyone should check out this site.

PBS Resources--

I chose to explore the PBS Children and the Media website. I love PBS everything. I always let my nieces and nephews on the website and we watch it in the morning. I really think it is a wonderful resource to families. The section specific to Children and media Usage is very informative. It serves as an invaluable resource to the teachers and parents interested in using media to teach children. My favorite part about this site was the place where you could select an age and then PBS would suggest appropriate activities to do with that age group concerning media and the milestones each age group makes. I clicked on all the ages and found I could easily do all the activities right at home with my family. It was set up like a Question-Answer type way, which was easy to follow. It allows each parent to help their children reach specific goals and milestones using media. This is important because I would like to tell my classroom families about it, and it would need to be easily done so parents feel competent. I would definitely recommend this site to colleagues and families.

Understanding Media Messages--

I visited another PBS website for this part. It was the Between the Lions: Literacy Tips site. I liked this site. I like how it asked a list a wish and then gave many different ways to do it. For example, "Teach your kids vocabulary" and then it would suggest many ways to do that using media. I found it helpful and useful. They were easy suggestions to do and follow. Some of my favorites were:

• Turn kids' errands or chores into fun with reading and writing? Every kid hates chores. So to turn it into something fun using literacy skills and media is awesome. Some of my favorite ways to do so were.
• Help them write a To Do list of things they have to get done.
• Help them write a Ta Da list of things they did get done. Ta da!!
• Use a list format to spark their imaginations. What ten things would monsters do on a weekend? What ten things would pilgrims buy to take back home if they time-traveled to today? What ten things would change if you were the new President of the World?
• Read books about kids doing chores. Curious George, Madeline, Toot and Puddle, George and Martha, and the Berenstain Bears all have chores to do and errands to run in their adventures. So do many others.

It's not hard to any of these things, it might actually save you time because you might be doing less reminding and arguing with you children about chores.

• Play games while waiting in line. Long lines are very hard on parent and children. No one likes to wait but, PBS has suggested some small, fun activities to try. 
• Take turns making up a story or silly rhyme. You say a sentence, then they do, and so on.
• Play "I Spy." Here's how: Look for objects around you and give the other players its first letter. "I spy with my little eye, something beginning with... T!" They have to guess, and the one who gets it right goes next.
• Talk to them about what they might like to be when they grow up, and ask them why they've chosen it.
• Tell each other jokes. If you don't know any, make up silly reasons why chickens cross roads, or what people in restaurants might say to waiters about unwelcome things in their soup. "Why is there a cat in my soup?" "It was trying to get the mouse."
• Get them to imagine being you. Ask them to talk like you, and say the kinds of things that you say. You should be them. Have fun. 

Some of these might seem like "duh" to  some people, but to others who haven't thought of them it's a life saver. Sharing this site with inexperienced teachers or parents might just save them a lot of headache.

I Just Love PBS!! :)