Artifact # 6
Competency 12.2: "Use computers and other technologies effectively and appropriately to collect information on student learning using a variety of methods."
Context
I created this artifact during block my senior year at Appalachian. I worked in a collaborative group with six other people. We went around Mabel Elementary and interviewed children about what their favorite TV shows were and why, along with who their favorite character was and why. The theme of our Ethnography project was "The Perception of Color." We were interested in the children's and teachers' perceptions of color in a town where there is very little diversity. We gathered very thorough, discrete information from the interviews and were then able to take these interviews and gather pictures and clips from TV shows to create a Power Point Presentation for the class. We split up what TV shows were the most popular among the kids and taped them on regular VHS tapes. We brought those tapes to the media lab and were able to capture stills from them to put into the Power Point. Along with the stills from the TV shows and the commercials, that ended up playing a big role in our project, our Power Point was much more interesting to sit through and provided useful information in a more creative and effective way.
Impact
As a future teacher, I feel that not only is Power Point an important skill to know, but it is also an effective way to present information on, especially on real world issues. The real world and the thought of race issues or no race issues is where we made our stand. The thought of being sheltered from it disturbs me and that was the problem with this school. There knowledge is very one sided and skewed. It is important for me as a teacher to provide my students with ample information about other cultures, and although they may not be exposed in person, pictures, positive and negative, allow these kids to see what is out there. Literature is a great way for kids to see life in some perspective. As a teacher, I must utilize all that is offered to me for the welfare of my students.
Alignment
The ethnography project aligns with Technology Competency 12.2 because this shows students how to effectively use a computer and technology, if they were to create a web site to show information about a topic that is important to them or for a particular project. From this, students are learning how to present information by using a computer and technology.
This artifact meets INTASC
principle 2 because it teaches others about how the media effects students.
It gives teachers a better idea of how a child learns and how the media
truly effects them. In order to help students further develop, you
could assign students a project to investigate ways in which they think
that the media affects them, as well as other people. This project
helps create some relevance if they have been in this situation or are
interested in learning how others feel in this situation. This project
is a great way to share with children how they develop intellectually,
socially, and personally through group, and individual interaction.