This week I read about a pretty wide variety of things. I began the week with an article on a public library in Edmonton, CA that held a festival to connect local authors and readers. The main thrust of the program was to empower people to tell their own stories, and one way this was done was through an introduction to digital storytelling. I found myself nodding in agreement as I read this piece, since I know digital storytelling to be an incredibly powerful means of expression that can open up students who are reluctant to write by broadening their perspective on what storytelling and "writing" is really all about.
Another piece that popped up in my alert digest was a press release from the "Digital Narrative Alliance" promoting the upcoming Narrative Summit in the SF Bay area. The goal of this group is to discuss, "digital storytelling and methods for implementing change through evolving channels for distracted audiences." I found this line interesting as it relates to students in a classroom. How has storytelling instruction in schools (and to paint with a broader brush, L2 instruction or classroom instruction in general) evolved to reach its distracted audience in new channels? I mean, how much effort do we put into mitigating distractions in schools with draconian internet access policies and mobile device bans, etc. vs. the amount of time we spend turning the mirror on ourselves and actually looking better ways to teach in an evolving world? I'm not sure why this struck such a chord in me, as the article itself really had nothing to do with public education, but it really made me consider how stupid schools are, especially high schools, for the ways we still insist on resisting the tools of the modern world and the minds of the modern thinkers sitting in front of us whenever they do no meet our preconceived notions of what education inside a classroom is supposed to look like, sound like, think like.
Another piece that popped up in my alert digest was a press release from the "Digital Narrative Alliance" promoting the upcoming Narrative Summit in the SF Bay area. The goal of this group is to discuss, "digital storytelling and methods for implementing change through evolving channels for distracted audiences." I found this line interesting as it relates to students in a classroom. How has storytelling instruction in schools (and to paint with a broader brush, L2 instruction or classroom instruction in general) evolved to reach its distracted audience in new channels? I mean, how much effort do we put into mitigating distractions in schools with draconian internet access policies and mobile device bans, etc. vs. the amount of time we spend turning the mirror on ourselves and actually looking better ways to teach in an evolving world? I'm not sure why this struck such a chord in me, as the article itself really had nothing to do with public education, but it really made me consider how stupid schools are, especially high schools, for the ways we still insist on resisting the tools of the modern world and the minds of the modern thinkers sitting in front of us whenever they do no meet our preconceived notions of what education inside a classroom is supposed to look like, sound like, think like.
Although I've long recognized the value of blogging both in personal and professional capacities, even if few ever read your words, I wasn't sure what to make of the whole "Google Alert" assignment, since I felt I had avenues already scratched out for finding engaging and valuable reading materials, but I must admit that I've much enjoyed what's come calling for me this first week via the alerts, as the sources have been pretty far flung and expansive, allowing me to pull in understandings and ideas from outside the public ed realm and consider how they might work within this lens.
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