GOOGLE SITES

 Google Sites

Step 1. Sign into Google

Step 2. Click on the waffle

Step 3. Click on Sites

Step 4. Choose a template that best fits your needs.

Step 5. Title your site.

Step 6. You can add text boxes, choose a theme, and add pages as needed. Tools in the right side      column menu.

Step 7. Enter the information and/or pictures in the sections needed. Delete those not needed.

Step 8. Add links as needed in the sections.

Step 9. When you are satisfied with your site, preview then publish it.

Step 10. Share the link to your site.

Step 11. Return to update your site as needed.

For further tutorials check these out.

How to create a Website in Google Sites for free.

Top 10 Tips for Google Sites for Beginners

Why We Banned Legos

How can a toy cause such an uproar that they are banned? I just had to read how one of my favorite past time activities became so controversial. 

In our text, Rethinking Popular Culture and Media, the chapter titled WHY WE BANNED LEGOS, caught my eye and I so glad I read it! The authors, Ann Pelo and Kendra Pelojoaquin, discuss how an issues of power, ownership, and equity showed up in their after-school program. Like many of you the children in this group, ages 5 thru 9, enjoyed playing with Legos. As they played a "Legotown" emerged and children began to decide what building were included, the features, and sizes. What also emerged were positions of power, who could have the "best" pieces, the largest buildings, and ownership of those buildings. Younger children were left out and those who couldn't get the pieces they needed eventually stopped playing. The negotiations and conflicts created conversations of social power and ownership that mirrored those of a class based, capitalist society. (p.52) 

Then came Legoland's downfall.  Another group that uses the after-school space had accidentally demolished Legotown. The children were devastated! This was the opportunity for the adult staff to examine the issues that had arose during construction and discuss if there was a way to bring forward the issues in a way that would get the children to see what the issues were and create a new set of rules that worked in a more equitable way.

Teachers discussed their own beliefs and experiences with wealth or lack of, private ownership, and distribution of resources. They came up with a way to have the children learn about what power looks like. Teachers devised a game that created a bias and let the children play, then discuss how they felt. Power was given seemingly at random to certain colors of legos that had been chosen by the children. Those with the most points made the rules for exchanging the legos. The point was to collect as many points through the exchange and then get to make the rules. Through their own actions and creation of rules around the exchange of the Legos, some student held power longest, some complained that they would never be able to negotiate for power even with some balanced rules, while others just gave up. Children were able to discuss their feelings and beliefs about who has power and what it means to have ownership. Wonderful discussion came up through this process around fair distribution of resources and power. This "game" was taken from an approach the teachers had learned from a school in Reggio Emilia, Italy. "We weren't working from a carefully sequenced lessons on ownership, resource sharing, and equity. Instead, we committed to growing an investigation into these issues, one step at a time."(p.55)

Through this explorative method, the children's collective voices created a system for the usage of the Legos that was fair and equitable. The teachers gave the children the opportunity to  see the ways systems can be biased and to learn about their beliefs and explore the ways that they can change those systems. 

Who would have though of Legos as a tool for social justice learning? 

Here is an article on how the Lego corporation is promoting diversity and inclusion.

Final Project Idea

 I work in a transition program with young adults who are preparing for life after high school. All students have IEPs and face various challenges for employment. As a program we seek potential work placements and negotiate placements that are often volunteer and supported by work coaches. It can be difficult to get employers on board. I believe that people with disabilities need to be seen as assets rather than the deficits that are often associated with their "label". 

By creating a job site, like Indeed.com,  for my students to post their resumes I hope to attract potential employers. My hope is that this site can highlight the strengths and skills attained from our program and showcase the potential our students can bring to the workforce. Using Canva.com, students can create a resume that show their experience and proficiency using skills necessary in the workforce. 

Here is a sample resume of one of my students.

Challenging the Influence of Media on the Culture of Children

 

 Good Versus Evil

My relationship with Disney, cartoons, and children's culture is vast and varied. As a child born in the 60's to having children born as recently as 2013, I have seen many movies, cartoons, toys, books, and games depicting a multitude of characters. I bought the toys, movies, and costumes for my children but did not take notice of the stereotypes portrayed. My "white privilege" blinded me to many of the ways we are "educated" to see the world. It all seemed to just be a simple form of entertainment. If I were to say what the purpose or moral of the stories were, it was usually about good versus evil, with goodness prevailing. I now view media with a more critical eye, although it can distract from the enjoyment of the movie.

In our reading from chapter 7 in Rethinking Popular Culture and Media, Linda Christensen writes about how children are indoctrinated into a way to act, live, and dream. She discusses how she challenged her students to critique what they saw in some of their favorite children's media. Her purpose in this was to have them recognized the danger of imbedded stereotypes in media. She states, "First, I want students to critique portrayals of hierarchy and inequality in children's movies and cartoons. Then I want to enlist them to imagine a better world, characterized by relationships of respect and equality." (Christensen, 2014, p 176). Initially students were not happy to realize they had been secretly influenced on how to view themselves and the world. Christensen then ask them to take that dismay and turn it to action by having them share their findings with others so that "Instead of leaving students full of bile, standing around with their hands on their hips, shaking their heads about how bad the world is, I provided them the opportunity to make a difference."(Christensen, 2014, p 186).

Here is a link to see some of 10 Painfully Racist Moments in Disney Movies They Want You To Forget 

A good article to readn is Trapped in the Mouse House: How Disney has Portrayed Racism and Sexism in its Princess Films 

Boyd & Prensky Divergent Positions on the "Digital Native" Terminology

 

 

 

 In the readings this week we notice a difference of opinion on the usage of the term "digital native". In the reading “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” by Marc Prensky From On the Horizon (MCB University Press Vol 9 No 5, October, 2001) he writes,

"Children raised with the computer ―think differently from the rest of us. They develop hypertext minds. They leap around. It’s as though their cognitive structures were parallel, not sequential. Linear thought processes that dominate educational systems now can actually retard learning for brains developed through game and Web-surfing processes on the computer." (Prensky, 2001, p.3)

 Prensky believes that because a person was born during an age of technology they are more adept at its language and usage. He also uses the term "digital immigrant" to describe people that were born before the digital age of technology. The terms are used to highlight the differences that exposure to technology has had on a persons ability to process and seek out information. Prensky discusses how this exposure enables the digital natives to use technology with ease because their brain has been "taught" to process information differently, that there is an actual physiological difference in how their brain works due to exposure to technology. He asserts that the digital immigrants must work harder to learn the "language" of digital media. Today's teachers, who are considered digital immigrants, must change the means of educational engagement to digital formats in order to meet the learning style and preferences of the digital native. Teacher need to assimilate to the digital way of "speaking" to youth. The differences between the natives and the immigrants are the root of today's educational issues. In this article, Digital Native or Digital Immigrant, What Language Do You Speak ?, they discuss how to bridge the language barrier between native and immigrant.

In the reading Its Complicated, by Danah Boyd (https://www.danah.org/books/ItsComplicated.pdf) we read a differing opinion.

 "The notion of the digital native, whether constructed positively or negatively, has serious unintended consequences. Not only is it fraught, but it obscures the uneven distribution of technological skills and media literacy across the youth population, presenting an inaccurate portrait of young people as uniformly prepared for the digital era and ignoring the assumed level of privilege required to be “native.” Worse, by not doing the work necessary to help youth develop broad digital competency, educators and the public end up reproducing digital inequality because more privileged youth often have more opportunities to develop these skills outside the classroom. Rather than focusing on coarse generational categories, it makes more sense to focus on the skills and knowledge that are necessary to make sense of a mediated
world. Both youth and adults have a lot to learn." (Boyd, 2014, pgs.179-180)

 Boyd approaches the "digital native" concept from a literacy perspective that discusses the varying degrees of differences in digital competency for the so called natives. Levels of exposure to technology vary and abilities to navigate their usage is not consistent for any generation and therefore not a "given" simply due to when you were born. In this framework we can see how harmful this "digital native" concept can be to how we approach supporting digital learning in schools. Boyd believes that although youth were born into a digital world and they are deeply engaged with technology, it does not give them with an inherent knowledge or skill set.

 While I can understand Prensky's belief that technology can be viewed as a language learned most easily at a young age and that it affects how the brain learns, he does not look at the broader picture. Just because a person learns a language from birth it does not necessarily mean that they can read or write in that language with the same proficiency as all other people who learned to speak that language from birth. Additional skills are built through exposure and access to them, quality instruction, and learning style/ability. There is a YouTube video that I watched that helped support this argument. I agree with Boyd that when we look at how technology affects how youth access information it is more effective to support digital literacy and critical thinking around the information they consume and create. These skills are important to ALL users of technology, regardless of age.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Bit About Me :)

 My name is Susan Gaboriault. I am a mother of 8 and a grandmother of 7. My family is first and foremost in my life. They are the reason I do what I do (and why I am a bit crazy at times!). I was adopted as an infant and 4 of my children are adopted as well. We are a large family and my children's ages span 30 years. At present only the three youngest are living at home but they all are frequent visitors. I wouldn't want it any other way!

 My job as a teacher assistant at Central Falls High School is like an extension to my family. The students and staff also push me to want to do better and be better so that we can support each other and achieve our goals. As a lifetime learner I believe that education is is like a guide book on our journey through life. We get educated in many forms such as classes like this one, experiences we have, and with people we encounter. I am looking forward to whatever experiences we will have during our time together in this class.