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Educators engage in career-long learning.

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Learning The New Media

During the past year, I have been introduced to movie and music computer programs at UBC. The screen shot (above) is from an Earth Day iMovie that I created during my practicum. The students created the images during my printmaking art lesson and I created the music in GarageBand.

Click below to view video … If the link doesn’t work, copy and paste it into your browser window:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fODvgYy8IqM&feature=channel_page

Media Concerns

Even though I have a strong interest in media — I still have a lot of concerns. For example, media and new technologies are often used as “escapes” for the younger generation. I believe “escape” can be a good way to keep life creative and interesting — but I also believe we need to find some harmony in how we use it. For example, constant media exposure can set unrealistic expectations and feelings for instant gratification. It can also isolate people from the rest of the world (addictions to video games, internet surfing, watching too much movies and TV, etc).

New Media In Schools

I also feel there are lots of new social behaviours that need to be revisited and addressed with the advent of the new technologies. And often — some individuals now expect teachers to be “entertainers” instead of “educators”. But we also cannot deny the power of moving images and sound. To keep kids engaged in this media saturated world, it seems like we need to do a bit of both — and we may need to incorporate the new media more into our education system.

Media Responsibility

It is becoming more important to have “media awareness” and to become “media literate.” We need to use our critical thinking abilities and become more responsible media citizens (for example: learn how to read, think and later express ourselves through the media). In the future, I am starting to think schools may need to identify and model appropriate media behaviour — and teach the students about making better media decisions. We may need to ask ourselves “How can the media build our community?” — and also — “When does it harm us and others?”

 
Is this the new face of the future?

The photo above is a typical view of my nephew when he visits — and it seems to be the typical behaviour of his generation. What kind of message is he sending to me … Or others? How is this different than when I am covering my face with a book? … Or when my dad covers his face with a newspaper? Is this the same kind of behaviour? Does technology change the perspective of this behaviour? Should it?