I started the last two blog posts with the idea of writing about my experience with Infographics and have gotten completely distracted. Now that I am finally remembering… GAME CHANGER!!! I had a bit of hard time creating my own, but I am happy to say I gave it a go and ended up with something simple and clean. That said, I’m not sure how many I will make in the near future, but the ones I have found online have been awesome! In the past, I have google searched simple graphics to share with students, but the search process on Pinterest is so much easier and the resources seem endless! I found that each time I found one I liked, it lead to another I loved!

When I fell in love with photography, it was a very different process. I loved to roll film and go into the darkroom for hours on end, manipulating chemicals and times to see what I could come up with. If I taught that class, I would perhaps consider myself expert (although I would definitely a need refresh on ratios!) but with digital photography, I am still learning. Sure, some things are the same- angles, composition, use of light, but editing….oy…. The editing process is one of the main things that lead to my decision to switch my major in undergrad. The idea of sitting at a computer all day, manipulating images was not what I had in mind… Cut to my life now where I work and learn online, but I digress… Anyway, editing beyond simple enhancement like cropping, color enhancement, etc. is not my cup of tea, but with easy access to apps, some students come in with either advanced skills beyond mine (in which case I use them as a resource!) or certain goals in mind that they want to be able to achieve. Not only do I now have simple “cheat sheets” to send them about camera settings and angles, but an entire collection of editing graphics that will be useful to all of us! I am hoping to go out today to take some shots and test the info on the sources. Once I can confirm their accuracy, I plan to embed them into texts and emailed feedback for my students… Talk about speaking their language!

UPDATE: I am working on some more of my own but here is my Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/FSU_Amy/boards/

There is an Infographic board that I am finding inspirational… or should I say “pinspirational”… and some other visuals that I am saving under challenges and hacks 🙂

The idea of defining an expert came up a lot in casual conversations this week. The dictionary defines an expert as “a person who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area”. Given what we know about the internet… and trolls… and people who think they are experts… and people who know they are experts…. it can feel like being sucked into a black hole. Throughout the week (and throughout school in general) I have learned what to look for in a site or source to deem it credible. This is very important, especially when it comes to more formal research and writing, but in the context of social media and Web 2.0 tools in relation to instruction and the classroom, I think that black hole is a bit more grey….

When I go on Pinterest for example, I rarely (never) check the site before clicking or saving an image. Granted this will likely change as I move more toward professional purposes, but on some level this defeats the purpose. When I am drawn to a photo or a quote, I want to save it and let it spin my wheels in it’s own direction. It’s almost like love at first sight… an immediate reaction… I want to feel inspired and come up with my own version!

I guess what I am trying to say is that, like in most instances in life, different situations call for different things. In so many cases, it’s extremely important to work real experts and credible sources, but with so much visual information constantly being sent our way, sometimes we really can just judge a book by it’s cover.

… And I also have not smacked my desk or computer screen at all throughout this class.

Ok I may be lying about that, but I do still think I’m kind of cool. That said, I am no where near as hip and current as I thought I was when it comes to social media. The last few weeks have been eye-opening for me. I have never used Twitter and rarely use Facebook, but the opportunities to connect with or even build your own communities on these platforms seems almost limitless! Changing my perspective from a strictly social use of the sites has really allowed me to see some new possibilities.

I am also blown away by the educational uses Pinterest can provide. I go through phases of pinning pretty frequently. I have used the site in the past to help with crafts and simple lesson ideas, and even for inspiration. Sometimes seeing an image or project helps me to come up with my own version! I had not, however, really used it in a social context. The potential to connect with others with the same interests is really cool and I love the idea of having a student engage with their own boards. Especially given how visual my content area is, this could be really beneficial. I also wonder whether or not parents would be more comfortable with this platform. I must take into consideration the age of the learners I work with, which brings about privacy and appropriate content concerns. I believe Pinterest makes active efforts to remove links that bring a viewer to anything other than advertised, which could help alleviate some stress in these areas.

I will say, that although in some instances I have become very frustrated, I am so excited to implement some of these new ideas. I am currently searching pinterest for various photo and social media challenges that I am hopeful to incorporate into my classroom in the near future. Working with mobile art students, lends itself so well to incorporating these sites to keep my learners more interested and actively engaged!

In the spirit of sticking with my Monday blog being an initial reaction to the topic of the week, I began to reflect on what my own experience is with crowdfunding. I have, over the years, contributed to a variety of crowd sourcing campaigns. The first time I contributed it was to a sad, sick pup. Then once to a friend who was aiming to launch a business (she did!). The one that means the most to me is the one one I ran to help with my cousin’s medical expenses.

About a week after my cousin Chris’ 13th birthday he started to complain of leg pain. A mass grew almost overnight and he was pretty quickly diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer, in his femur. I am so happy to say that he is in remission (and on his way to UCF!) but the reality of the year was overwhelming. We no longer live local to each other so I was desperate for a way to help. My husband had the idea to come up with some sort of fund raising activity where we would all “Throw Chris a Bone”. I started a GoFundMe page to help alleviate some of the financial burden. I tried to find the link to get an exact number but the page has sense been taken down. I know we raised over $10K to help though! It felt like we were contributing. So many people wanted to rush in to help with such a crappy situation, but there was nothing for us to do. This gave us a way to feel like we were being useful, and it helped the family at the same time! Win-win 🙂

While looking for the page I started, I found this:

https://www.gofundme.com/cancer-survivor-gives-back

Looks like he used the platform himself! I knew about this project but had no idea he had utilized this to raise money! I am so proud of him!!

I will say that I think Crowdfunding has gotten a little out of hand since I asked for help 4 years back. I am a bit naive and tend to want to help everyone, but with so many pages, the concern of validity does come up, unless you know the person directly. I have only contributed to a business venture once, but it was with someone I knew. It would be challenging for me to donate to a page that I had no connection to or method of confirmation to employ.

I am also curious to read about how these platforms can be used in educational setting. I can see the potential for raising money for a school trip, activity or project, but I wonder if that’s going too far? I suppose not… Since the platform is voluntary, there are obviously no expectations for financial contribution from any party, but does flooding the site with all of these options complicate things in any way? I almost see it as a “boy who cried wolf” scenario. If everyone is asking for money for everything, how do we know when someone truly needs help?

So this week I figured out that people were in fact responding to my posts, I just didn’t know how to approve and interact with them…. All in due time, I suppose…. It was really awesome this week to use the platform to draft an initial proposal to my principal to hopefully start incorporating a #photochallenge in the upcoming weeks. Through the various comments and interactions I made a few tweaks and changes and to be honest, it gave me the confidence to actually suggest this idea. It appears that I am not the only student who really enjoyed the challenges and it was really nice to see how excited others were about paying it forward!

I had a few suggestions regarding privacy concerns and the idea of a separate account for academic purposes. If approved, I would draw up instructions, guidelines and FAQs to send out to parents and students to help ensure that all parties are aware and comfortable with the platform their student may (or may not!) decide to use.

Hi (Principal),

I wanted to touch base with you about an idea I had for potentially keeping students more engaged and thinking about the class over the summer. The impact of technology, and specifically social media, on learning is undeniable. The learners we now work with are so drastically different than even 5 years ago! Constantly flooded with visual information and with instant news and networking at their fingertips, it is becoming harder and harder to stay relevant and keep students enthusiastic about the course.

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a social media challenge for a course and I found myself eager and excited to find things that would fit the bill so that I could post to the designated hashtag. The interaction felt easy and casual because it was social media-based, but it truly lead to me thinking about the class all weekend. The more I thought about different photo opportunities, the more I thought about what else we were covering during that week. Then I started thinking about how I could incorporate a challenge in my own class. I would love to propose the idea of a photo challenge. My first thought is a weekly challenge where the host Instagram account suggests various ideas and students can post from their accounts using a designated hashtag. These might include:

• #firstweekofsummer
• #sunset/#sunrise
• #whereiflvs (the remote locations you work on school)
• #vacation
• #staycation

These are just a few that came to mind right away. I would essentially start the challenge with a photo and a hashtag and send it out to circulate. This will ideally help to promote student interaction and engagement, which will lead to more thoughtful, meaningful learning. Not to mention giving students the opportunity to approach the art of photography from such a different vantage point!

If approved, I would draw up specific rules and guidelines in accordance to any FLVS social media policy and send out the information to students and parents. Accounts have to be public in order for a photo to post under a hashtag, so this might take care of any privacy concerns that may arise. Students would also be able to set up a separate “Academic Profile”, which may also help to alleviate any parent concerns.

I truly do think this has a lot of potential, so if this is something we could tweak and put in place, I would happy to manage everything!

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

I am going to sleep on it, check it and send it tomorrow. Wish me luck!!

So the awkwardness of writing like someone is reading… and then the realization that no one actually is… set in this week. It quickly disappeared though, because again, there is just something so liberating about writing this way… If nothing else I think it serves for what Dr. Dennen referenced as far as drafts go. I think I might use this space to draft a proposal to my principal regarding the photo challenge. I’m not sure how I would submit or suggest an idea other than emailing, so here it goes:

Hi (Principal),

I wanted to touch base with you about an idea I had for potentially keeping students more engaged and thinking about the class over the summer. I am currently enrolled in a course at FSU that examines the impact of technology, and specifically social media, on learning. So far the groundwork has been laid to establish the fact that the learners we now work with are so drastically different than even 5 years ago! Constantly flooded with visual information and with instant news and networking at their fingertips, it is becoming harder and harder to stay relevant and keep students enthusiastic about the course. I recently participated in a photo challenge with the class I am enrolled in. I found myself eager and excited to find things that would fit the challenge so that I could post to the designated hashtag. The interaction felt easy and casual because it was social media-based, but it truly lead to me thinking about the class all weekend. The more I thought about different photo opportunities, the more I thought about what else we were covering during that week. Then I started thinking about how I could incorporate a challenge in my own class. My first thought is a rotating challenge where the host Instagram account suggests various ideas and students can post from their personal accounts using a designated hashtag. These might include:

• #firstweekofsummer
• #sunset/#sunrise
• #whereiflvs (the remote locations you work on school)
• #vacation
• #staycation

These are just a few that came to mind right away but we could post a photo of the hashtag and then on the next “slide” post some rules and guidelines for submissions. Accounts have to be public in order for a photo to post under a hashtag, so this might take care of any privacy concerns that may arise. I truly do think this has a lot of potential, so if this is something we could tweak and put in place, I would happy to manage everything!

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

Soooo, let’s call this a first draft. I am hoping that a good night’s sleep and some fresh coffee will allow me to take another look a this and make it even better!

I have to be honest. This weekend was probably the first in a while that I felt like I had my head above water with school, family and work. Was it the long weekend? Possibly. The low class sizes I currently have? Definitely. But I do think there is more to it than that. I am starting to see first hand how I can implement what I am learning right now in the classroom. I am excited at the thought of being able to practically incorporate some of what I am trying out myself.

I had a blast with social media this weekend. I found myself engaged in the course even when I was out and about. I would come across something that would remind me of a hashtag or challenge on Instagram and I would be eager to post it. I would surf more productive, relevant hashtags on twitter, although still peppering in some humor and news… [I stop by Trump’s twitter for both of those things…….. I divert….] I also found myself connecting on a different level with peers. I am eager to find their posts on discussions now that I feel like I know some of them. And who knew you could really feel like you’ve gotten to know someone through photos of their gardens and weekends!?

Now here is where the implementation comes in. I teach an online high school creative photography class. What better place to incorporate a photo challenge!??! Our course has an Instagram currently in place to showcase student work but I do not believe we post with hashtags. I am considering proposing something to my principal. My first thought is a rotating challenge where the host account suggests various ideas and students can post from their personal accounts using a designated hashtag. These might include:

• #firstweekofsummer
• #sunset/#sunrise
• #whereiflvs (the remote locations you work on school)
• #vacation
• #staycation

I am not sure what concerns could arise given that we work with high school students, but I really love the potential for keeping students engaged even more, especially when they are not actively working on an assignment. Not to mention the photo aspects that I could incorporate, given what I teach. These posts could in some instance act as an informal formative assessment, giving myself and my fellow teachers a better picture (pun intended) about who our students are and what they are interested in, guiding the direction of live lessons.

Stay tuned for a draft of my proposal to my principal… Any and all comments and suggestions are welcome in creating the draft! Feel free to comment below!

It was really interesting to read about the ideas of digital immigrants and digital natives. One of the ideas from the Sorrentino, P. (2018) article challenges the idea that technological abilities are in fact innate rather than being taught or learned. I enjoyed reading this perspective and agreed in a number of instances about the emphasis and “panic” that sometimes occurs at the notion of a technology gap. Although I do agree that there is an undeniable change in the students we teach now versus twenty years ago, isn’t this always the case? Isn’t it always the job of teachers to work toward staying current? I know I am constantly looking for new ways to engage with and connect with my students, which often means learning something new.

One of the reasons I find issue with the idea of “digital natives” is that those innate skills are not truly innate. These learners are not born with certain abilities. Growing up with access to and interacting with technology is an undeniable advantage, but it does not mean that the skills and information some students enter into an environment with cannot be accommodated in some way.

Although it’s not entirely the same, there have always been a few technical components in the creative photography class I teach. Students who comes into my class with a parent who already owns a camera have an almost immediate advantage than students who are buying a camera for the first time. There are other factors that go into creating a piece of art, but the digital/technological component has a big impact. That said, I do see first hand how students can work hard to catch up with their peers.

On the other hand, I have experience with students whose knowledge and skills surpass me in certain areas. I grew up taking black and white film photographs. That was my first love. I adapted over the years to the digital age, but advanced editing (Photoshop, Lightroom, etc.) has always overwhelmed me. I know enough to get by, but have worked with students who were way out of my league in the past! It is overwhelming in a sense and almost intimidating, but I find that the most honest I am with them, the better. I explain that my original area of expertise is elsewhere and that I would truly appreciate their suggestions and tips. I like to think that this helps to make up for my gaps in knowledge. I have always believed that the best way to truly learn something is to teach it. When they teach me, I am helping them to further master their skills! I also find that often times while working with that same student who can Photoshop me out of the water, we find a different area where I can help them grow.

I have always said that teaching is cyclical. I know it may sound cliche, but I really do learn a lot from my students. Whether it’s a photography skill, learning about a new plant or new vacation spot… or a life skill in general, they teach me as much as I teach them.

It was really interesting to read feedback on my first post and the first few paragraphs of the “Digital Natives” article this week. The idea of students setting up their own blogs to showcase their work is great! I have discussed different portfolio platforms outside of the course before, like Instagram or Flickr, but a blog brings focus to writing about their work or process, which is often very challenging to get students to engage in meaningfully.

Now the quote that stopped me in my tracks, “Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach”. I could not agree with this more. I teach a photography class that requires the use of a digital camera. There is absolutely something to be said about working with a camera versus a phone, but an interesting development or change to the curriculum might consider allowing students to use phones with certain quality cameras, or at the very least incorporate a lesson in which students are “challenged” to use their phones versus their cameras. I say this, because a large percentage of the students who enter my class end up having to purchase an inexpensive camera online to meet the course requirements and spend more time trying to figure something out that they may or may not use again because the image quality is often lower than that of their phones. It might be worth considering in my content area how art is changing, in addition to how learners are changing with technology.

I’ve found that in the past collecting my initial thoughts on something before diving into the reading is sometimes helpful, so here I am to give that a go… When I read the term “digital native” I get a little flustered because I think I have an idea of what it is, but I also might be way off… I would define a digital native as someone who grows up with technology. I think my parents used to consider me a digital native because I grew up using a computer so it came natural to me to navigate it, where for them it was like learning a new language. That said, I would not consider myself completely current on technology and digital resources. Heck, this will be my first forte into Twitter this week (except for the time I heard a funny nickname on Howard Stern and tried to quickly snatch the handle… I think it involved a misspelling so no luck there, but it’s probably still out there floating somewhere. Perhaps I will find it this week?).

Ok I googled it and I am not embarrassed about my answer, but a little embarrassed that I couldn’t publish this post without checking. Google Dictionary defines a digital native as, ” a person born or brought up during the age of digital technology and therefore familiar with computers and the Internet from an early age”.

As far as the term “produsage” I am not ashamed to admit I went straight to Wikipedia for that one (that’s okay for a blog, right?). Wiki defines this as, ” user-led content creation that takes place in a variety of online environments, open source software, and the blogosphere. The concept blurs the boundaries between passive consumption and active production”.

Ok, hopefully I’ve set myself up for success here and a better week than last… Until next time….