Kelly A. Parkes, Katie S. Dredger and David Hicks highlight the critical functions of ePortfolios in supporting student reflection and growth. These tools encourage student teachers to take responsibility for their own learning and to engage in improved delivery of the curriculum and self evaluation. The challenge here is for students to embrace and effectively employ the new technology, using it as a means of providing scaffolding for their students, as well as assessing their progress in learning and development. One of the invaluable outcomes of this activity is the kind of metacognitive awareness that allows the student teacher to rationalize the choices he makes and to articulate his pedagogical decisions.

The ePortfolio supports networking, helps to create important linkages, provides students with a database, and allows for organized storage of student work that has been compiled over a period of time. Through the use of ePortfolios, students have an empowering forum for discussing issues, engaging in information-sharing and offering comments to their peers. The creation this community of learners, supports the development of critical thinking and decision making, both of which challenge students to make revisions that would improve the quality of teaching. The final outcome of this engagement, would be student autonomy.

As I read the article by Parkes, Dredger and Hicks, I thought of the blogs I had created for EGL 614, and  decided to evaluate them individually, then reflect on how collectively, they have contributed to my own growth as a student. Incidentally, this class introduced me to a dimension I had not experienced before as I had never created a blog. Therefore going on various websites to find those which allowed me to create a free blog, was an adventure. After I made a choice and started my first blog, there was a challenge. I needed to add a photograph I had taken, and the relevant icons did not respond. I was puzzled and reached out for help. The reaction I got was ‘are you using Safari?’ I replied in the positive. His immediate reaction was to advise me to use Firefox as Safari would not allow certain actions if it was not satisfied that the website I was on was a safe one. I took the advice and added my media without any problems. This was empowering. Not only was I able to create my first blog, but I was also able to add the media I had selected. Learning by discovery was fun after all.

Blog 1 – Gwen

This was my new experience which included cropping my photo and embedding it. When I completed that task, I felt uncomfortable writing about myself. In my culture this is seen as immodest. Therefore, I had to come to terms with my inhibitions. A few days later, when I reflected, I became convinced that this type of writing could be an excellent starting point for students who were shy or had difficulty generating ideas for compositions.

Blog 2 – Virtual Duet

I have always appreciated Nat King Cole’s singing. I was not as interested in Natalie Cole’s songs. However, when the duet was created, I was amazed by the technical possibilities of the realistic presentation of a father/daughter duet so many years after the father’s passing. I enjoyed the music video and connected this to theories of erasure and remediation, and reflected on the prospects for preserving art for posterity. I also envisioned a classroom setting in which students read the historical context then watched the music video and wrote about it. This would be an ideal way to engage students.

Blog 3 – Holmes in a Digital World

Exploring how technology was used to present major themes in this video gave me ideas as to how improve my lesson planning. I could incorporate a video using the digital technology as a teaching tool for students of drama. Not only would they be able to experiment with the technical tools, but they would also be able to use their creativity to highlight the social, moral, political and other issues of the drama. The Holmes video could be a starting point for looking at flickering signifiers, the signified, the ubiquitous nature of the iPhone and its impact.

Blog 4 – Women in Development

This blog provided material that could be used in Cultural/Social Studies classes. I was moved to write after reading a section of A Cyborg Manifesto. The literature prompted me to look at other works by feminist writers with differing view points and then take a closer look at the United Nations Women and Development programs. Students could be encouraged to read further, then engage in debates on such questions as: How can Women’s Equality be achieved in a world that is so diverse in culture, economics, religion and social structures?

Blog 5 – Clean Fun Playing Farmville

My blog on this topic was inspired by frequently looking at my daughter playing Farmville. I often questioned what advantages other than recreation could be derived from this engagement. I was moved to research the topic and learned of the educational values such as evaluating, planning, executing plans and realizing benefits – all important life experiences. I also learned that there was no empirical evidence to prove that playing video games was addictive. In creating this blog, I also had the opportunity to embed a video and learn that digital tools existed for people to create their own avatars and games. This could certainly be a project that could intrigue students, and it would cater for different learners including those who are visual and tactile learners.

Blog 6 – Research Methods Evolve

The assigned readings demonstrated the benefits and limitations of close and distant reading. This proved informative for anyone making a choice about teaching methods. It was fascinating to see how technology has taken the art of teaching to the point where a practical laboratory session can be conducted in a virtual lab rather than a real lab. This activity would definitely appeal to students who are not afraid of experimenting with the technology, or who are already technology savvy. While print texts still have a role in education, and will not be a thing of the past, the increased use of digital technology in the Science classroom is promising.

Blog 7 – The Vice of Regulation

In researching the issues raised in the video ‘The Internet’s Own Boy,’ I found myself looking critically at the theme of social justice and how adults sometimes react when they feel threatened by anyone, but in particular by the brilliance of a child genius who is posthuman. It is likely, that with the advance of digital technology, more children will be posthuman at an early age. Then all of us, teachers as well, must make the decision as to whether we will harness and support this capability for our educational, cultural and economic advancement, or make criminals of those who dare to go beyond the boundaries of human expectation.

Blog 8 – Sustaining the Masquerade Tradition

This blog takes a close look at the pedagogies which could be useful in motivating students to learn and participate in the cultural art form of masquerading. The most useful approaches would be to build on prior digital knowledge, provide scaffolding where necessary, then withdraw it as students demonstrate that they can move ahead on their own or can achieve their goals by working in collaboration with their peers. The activity would give students the opportunity to explore and create. This program can be extended beyond the classroom to include organizations that are engaged in the preservation of cultural dances.

Conclusion

My blogs encouraged me to look at life through two main lenses – the student, then the teacher. All of the blogs provided invaluable information for the creation and delivery of curriculum. They also encouraged research and collaboration and gave invaluable exposure to new technologies. Cynthia L. Selfe quite rightly, concludes: “The changing nature of communication does suggest, however, that the teaching of rhetorically based strategies for composition – the responsibility of introducing students to all available means of communicating effectively and productively, including words, images, sound – remains the purview of composition teachers.”

 

 

My first blog featured an avatar of the masquerades, who symbolize one of the folklore traditions of my country, St.Kitts and Nevis. Historical records in the National Museum indicate that this group of dancers first performed over 300 years ago while they were still enslaved.Today, they continue to attract large crowds of residents and tourists to their performances which are very much like street theater, as the dances are primarily done in open spaces on streets and courtyards.

The masqueraders wear tall head gear made of colorful peacock feathers, sometimes with masks attached. Additionally, they dress in brightly colored pants and shirts with fringed aprons that reach just above the knees. The entire costume is decorated with bells, mirrors and ribbons of many different colors. They also carry tomahawks  which are used in one of their dances. Dance experts have identified aspects of the European and African genres in some of their dances. For example, The performances would usually start with the Quadrille, a dance dating back to 17th century France. Next they would do the Fire Dance, skilfully dancing on one foot and moving to the center of a circle that they have made. Following this, they would perform the Fertility Dance, simulating the Mating Dance from Africa. Other performances could include the European Waltz, the African Wild Moos, the Rhumba, the Jig and the Boilla.

Traditionally, the dancers were all males of different age groups. However, by the early 20th century, performances began to decline as some dancers died, while others were too ill or infirm to participate. Women became increasingly interested and joined the troupes in their performances. If the decline was allowed to continue, the cultural art form would have ‘become extinct’. Therefore, the Ministry of Education embarked on a project to sustain the Masquerades. Performers who were still active traveled around the country, teaching the dances to the primary school students, showing them samples of their costumes, and explaining the historical significance of the masquerades who represent a cultural blend of our Amerindian, African and European heritage. This proved rewarding as many students became excited and got involved.

While I applaud the Ministry of Education for taking this bold step, I am concerned that the teaching methods used will not continue to engage the youth who now live in a digital world and frequently use devices such as i phones, i pads, Amazon Kindle readers and computers. A critical opportunity will be missed if teachers do not also take advantage of the range of possibilities offered by this cultural art form to teach Composition, History and Culture across disciplines, using digital technology. Cynthia L. Selfe argues ” in an increasingly technological world, students need to be experienced and skilled not only in reading (consuming) texts employing multiple modalities, but also in composing in multiple modalities, if they hope to communicate successfully within the digital communication networks that characterize workplaces, schools, civic life, and span traditional cultural, national, and geopolitical borders.”

I believe that teaching the art of masquerading should not be limited to demonstrations and dance practice sessions. But, in addition to these, students can engage in their own research activities on the internet websites, use social media such as Facebook or Twitter as a forum to exchange written information and ideas. They can also be encouraged to create games and avatars symbolizing the masquerades, and view video performances by the group. These added activities, while encouraging enthusiasm, can help create better thinkers, writers and readers. Selfe quite rightly states: “Aural and video compositions sometimes reveal and articulate meanings students struggle to articulate with words; audio and visual compositions carry different kinds of meanings that words are not good at capturing.” This is yet another exciting adventure students can engage in as they communicate through sound and movement and develop forceful appeals through pathos, logos and ethos.

St.Kittstourism.Kn

St.Kittsheritage.com

Selfe Cynthia L, Multimodal Composition, Resources for Teachers

 

Aaron Swartz’s experience with the courts is convincing testimony of the fact that all men were not created equal and cannot expect to receive equal treatment. From an early age, Swartz demonstrated a remarkable facility for understanding and using digital technology. His motor skills, exceptional reading abilities, use of his higher cognitive skills, capacity for exploration, and his leadership potential that were recognized from as early as age three, set him apart from others. His parents and siblings, discussed with pride Aaron’s ability to learn how to learn, to successfully interface with technology and to genuinely commit to sharing his knowledge with others. This goal-oriented young man saw computer programming as an excellent problem-solving resource. Therefore, he built websites including watchdog.net and openlibrary.org and made a major contribution to improving technology.

Swartz was undoubtedly posthuman, a characteristic that is explored by N. Katherine Hailes. She articulates concepts of the posthuman view as privileging “informational pattern over material instantiation,” considering “consciousness…as the seat of human identity in the Western tradition,” thinking “of the body as the original prosthesis we all learn to manipulate,” and configuring the “human being so that it can be seamlessly articulated with intelligent machines.” This means that the posthuman body, is directly comparable to computers, cybernetic mechanisms and robots. Because of these talents, Swartz won the admiration of many but was greatly feared by others who saw the possibility of being exposed if certain information was downloaded and placed in the public domain.

When Swartz decided to teach himself and quit school because teachers were domineering, disliked being questioned and showed a preference for pedagogies that relied heavily on memorization  and regurgitation, this was a serious indictment against the system of education. I question how is it in the twenty-first century that any teacher could ignore tried and tested teaching methods such as validating students as knowers, modeling critical thinking and higher-ordered reasoning skills and situating learning in the students’ own experiences? Nevertheless, Swartz left, engaged in his own learning, found his niche and developed his skills using digital technology as a tool for information sharing.

His growing awareness of the negative impact of capitalist ideology on a society in which large wealthy corporations exercised control over the fundamental right of people to access information about issues that affected their lives, contributed to his decision to advocate for freedom of information, in its most meaningful sense – education of the masses. Those who admired Swartz and supported his ideals included the owner of the world wide web, Tim Berners Lee and his close friend Lawrence Lessig who contended that there was a new way to define copyright so that only some rights would be reserved. This would afford the public access to material (that did not have rights reserved). Swartz was outspoken about his views that the creative process involved building on something that had been created before, further, that free and open communication had been guaranteed under the First Amendment. He stated:”Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves.”

He was therefore convinced that data stored by organizations such as JSTOR, were not serving a useful purpose if they remained hidden from the public. Additionally, Swartz suspected that some of the stored data might uncover corruption. As a result, he made a fearless decision to engage in what he considered civil disobedience. He noted that the public had limited access to important legal public records. For example, in order to get certain documents, users were compelled to download PACER, which required them to first use a credit card for payment. He questioned  why, government grants and tax payer’s money were being used to pay for intellectual journals, yet the public still had to pay again if they wanted to access these materials? Why should corporations amass huge profits from those who could afford to pay and exclude those who did not have the means?

Swartz made a decision to ignore the copyright laws which protected the corporations, and download files by going into the basement of MIT and attaching the necessary equipment. This was a decision to boldly confront the government, MIT and JSTOR. What happened next, could be described as a ‘knee jerk reaction.’ Such a reaction is aptly explained by Frantz Fanon: “Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are presented with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted. It would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable, called cognitive dissonance. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesn’t fit in with that core belief.” The establishment was firmly of the view that it was a criminal offense to hack into data protected by the copyright laws. The other concerns were of no significance to them.

Ironically, the mission statement of the US Copyright office is: “To administer the nation’s copyright laws for the advancement of the public good, to offer services and support to authors and users of creative works; and to provide expert impartial assistance to Congress, the courts, and executive branch agencies on questions of copyright law and policy.” Swartz must have been painfully aware of the contradiction that existed between these words and his reality.

The developments that ensued and were made public, proved tragic. Swartz was subjected to ‘cruel and inhumane treatment.’ This included an FBI stake out near his family home, the involvement of the Secret Service, arrest and physical abuse by the police, intimidation and threats, the offer of a plea bargain in which Swartz should plead guilty, and in exchange serve 3 months in jail, 1 year’s probation and forego computer access. Swartz did not consider himself a criminal and would not accept being banned from computers, therefore he refused the plea deal. He fought, with solid support from the public, and stopped the law entitled SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) from being used against him.

Just when he thought victory was in sight, the authorities increased the felony counts from four to thirteen, eleven of which were based on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which could function like a ‘one size fits all.’ Some were optimistic that Swartz could win that case. However, he realized that he was up against the politics of fear and anger which caused the courts on July 14th, 2011 to indict him on a range of counts for a prison sentence of up to 35 years and fines amounting to 1 million dollars.

Aaron Swartz was broken and exhausted. He was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment in 2013 without making use of the opportunity to fight back. The coroner determined that Swartz had committed suicide. Few have accepted that explanation, and Aaron’s father contends that the government killed his son. It is clear that Aaron was given a longer prison term than someone who committed murder. No one can say for sure exactly what Aaron was going to do with the files he downloaded. All we do know is that he insisted that the law was never intended to stifle creativity or free speech. Was the action taken by the courts an acceptable way to create a deterrent? Few can accept this argument. The message the courts appear to have sent to us is that they were prepared to sacrifice Aaron Swartz on the ‘altar of expediency’ in order to protect government and big business from possible negative exposure.

Aaron’s views as expressed in this video, leave no doubt that his main concern was for the general good of society and their right to information and free speech.

 

James Paul Gee provides empirical evidence to support his claim that good video games incorporate the principles of good learning. In his article Good Video Games and Good Learning, Gee discusses sixteen learning principles which can be identified as positive qualities of these games, and having played many himself, he takes the opportunity through his writing, to share his personal discoveries. These experiences, he is convinced, demonstrate that thinking and learning are promoted through engagement in these games.

Many researchers, including Tom Bissell, point to the possible negative impact of specific games. As a parent, I too have questioned whether the benefits of playing video games outweigh the disadvantages. I was particularly concerned about violence, profane language and the absence of role models which can negatively impact young minds. Additionally, I am convinced that virtual reality is in fact actual reality for many, as there is a very thin dividing line between the two concepts. However, the advent of the virtual game, Farmville, in 2009, was welcomed as clean fun that could be enjoyed by all family members.

Farmville was created by Zynga of San-Francisco and launched on the social networking website, Facebook, in June 2009, as a free application. On February 4th, 2010, Microsoft MSN Games launched Farmville on its own site. There were then over 88 million monthly active users and the Facebook fan page had 22 million fans. It was immensely popular partly because of the structure of the game which had as an objective to create a real time strategy game (RTS) for Facebook. But credit must also be given for the use of remediation by the developers as they applied other existing technologies to create the new product. For example, they used the concept from the avatar generation engine from a previous game called YoVille.

Players of Farmville would create an avatar and receive a plot of land on which they could raise animals and plant crops. These crops had different costs and varied gestation periods. The growth times were calculated to be realized in real time. Players could communicate with their Facebook friends by clicking a button, if they needed assistance or wished to buy or sell produce or animals at prices fixed by the game. They could also collaborate with Facebook friends to raise barns on the friends’ plots. But, if the crops were not harvested when they were ripe, they died. Therefore, players had to pay attention to the varied harvesting times and work to get as much virtual currency as possible to buy more land, seeds, livestock and decorative elements. The rewards included accumulating ribbons and earning bragging rights.

My daughter, who was a teenager at the time, became interested and found the game, colorful, attractive and engaging. I observed her with amusement as the game made so many demands on her time, that in an effort to maintain ‘profitability,’ she would rush home to get on the computer so that she could attend her crops. She enjoyed interaction with her Facebook friends, and game requests would end in animated conversations on the phone. Soon, however, I became concerned as study and rest times were interrupted for the game. Fortunately, I did not have to intervene. When the pressure became unreasonable, she abandoned the game, but not with any bitterness. She explained that she enjoyed the freedom to make decisions, learned  invaluable lessons about negotiating, trading and developing business skills, her social skills also improved through constructive discussions with friends, or through networking.

It was not difficult to make connections with the arguments presented by Gee. My daughter had to apply her knowledge to solve problems and maintain a viable ‘farm,’ and all of this was done within the confines of the rules established by the game. She became committed to the tasks she had to perform, developed a new identity as an entrepreneur, taking risks as she made decisions, and for a time, she lived in that virtual world. Therefore, included in the learning principles she was exposed to were identity, interaction, production, risk taking, agency,challenge and consolidation, explore, think laterally, rethink goals and performance before competence.

The principle of identity entails having the learner assume a new identity and commit to it through the activity. Interaction involves real dialogue which facilitates feedback, while production helps players to utilize their creative skills. All of these actions involve risk-taking which is the result of exploration. But because it happens in a game, players are not afraid to take risks, as a matter of fact, this becomes part of the fun. Failure does not depress players, instead, they learn that it is one of the possibilities of taking risks which have agency as a major reward, since they can claim ownership for their actions. Although Farmville was not a difficult game, players faced a number of challenges related to survival and success. The game gave them the freedom to choose how they would solve problems and apply these solutions in the future. Sometimes, as they explored and applied new reasoning to the game, players would adjust their goals accordingly. Farmsville also gave individuals of many age groups an opportunity to perform before they became competent at the game, thus allowing room for reflection and strategic planning.

The game won a number of awards including the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences, 2010 game Developer’s Conference Best New Social Online Game Award and the the DICE Social Game of the Year Award. However, although there was major growth in the number of players, there was an equally rapid petering out of those who initially participated. Introspection by the creators revealed that the participation grew bigger and faster than they could manage and they had to scramble for additional staffing. They realized that new crops and buildings were needed to motivate players to continue, and in maintaining a metrics-driven company, speed, internet efficiency and meeting the expectations of players were important.

Therefore, they created an enhanced Farmville 2 in which crops could be crafted to feed the animals, lumber could be used on new buildings, and players could tweak their virtual farms as much as they wished to, then they could sell the products in their market. A very important adjustment was the time change. In the new game the real time pressures were removed. Players could engage in just ten minutes of activity and return to the farm at a later time if that was convenient for them. With time, we will be able to judge the value of these changes and whether the improved game gained the anticipated momentum. Undoubtedly, good games can and do make a contribution to learning