Journal #3

I think one of the more interesting readings in the first two chapters was of the Norwegian school system and their new implementations, as well as how remixing works. Reading the examples Mr. Erstad puts forward have a very familiar ring to it. It may be difficult in the core classes to implement this, but in a Technology class setting, remixing is done all of the time. I know that for years teachers told me to come up with brand new ideas, even though half of the time I could only think of how to improve things. This is what remixing is all about, to recreate and blend things together to make something better, whether it be music or a project in a classroom. As Mr. Erstad says “This combination of media elements is not just a sum of the different elements, but creates something new; a new quality as text” (Erstad, 2008, p.44).

Reading the case samples put forward was very rewarding to read, except for the last one. For me, it was tough to see a teacher stifle creativity, like in Case 3. For a group of students thinking outside of the box to use a more symbolic font is great, and the teacher didn’t even give the girls a chance to use it. That anecdote seemed to be a good symbol for traditional learning vs. a changing society. If a teacher is going to expect the most out of their students, they should not be hindering creativity. They should be more like Mr. Cardenas, who “respected the knowledge that students brought” (Schmier, 2010, p.26), and “encourages the journalism students to work hard and be creative” (Schmier, 2010, p.26). That is what makes a successful classroom; the students and teachers must be willing to work together to learn and grow. If a teacher is stuck in the ways of the past, nothing effective will be accomplished. The end of Chapter 1 said it best when it comes to being successful: “the profound act of teachers and students knowing each other through multimodal play in order to teach and learn together” (Lankshear & Knobel, 2013, p.35).

Overall, I thought the readings were very informative. Doing a project like in Case 2 of Mr. Erstad’s could be life changing for students. Seeing how others live, even in the other side of the city, showed those students a new perspective, and something that will probably stick with them for a while. It can have a profound effect, and being able to capture those moments on a camcorder for a class, or a newsletter on the Internet, is worth this change in how we reach students, and how we teach them.

Bibliography:

Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (Eds.). (2013). A new literacies reader: Educational Perspectives. New York: Peter Lang.