Monthly Archives: February 2012

There’s no doubt that the Lego corporation is trying to make inroads with girls. Just look at the pink sets of pieces, and the themes that they are generating. And notice how the sets aimed at boys continue to be adventure-orientated, and mostly blue. This interesting site that I found called The HTML5 Gendered Lego Advertising Remix brings this difference to light in an interesting way. The site (which requires an upgraded browser) allows you to pull the audio from a boy or girl Lego set and put it beneath a video of a girl or boy Lego set.

What you notice is the way that music and voice is used, and color (of course), and theme. My youngest son loves Legos (as did his older brothers) but he is turned off by the girlie Lego sets. I’m not sure of the answer to how to best address gender by businesses, who after all are in the business of selling things.

The results from this remix site are pretty fascinating, I think, and provide a good insight for students to be thinking of the way they are targeted for advertising through design, theme, image and audio. I may need to try this activity with my students as part of our Digital Life unit. (Question for me: will our browsers allow it?)

Peace (from a boy),
Kevin

This suddenly has become a week of getting interviewed or at least, scheduling interviews.

First, on Sunday, I had a great chat with Franki Sibberson (of A Year of Reading) for the wonderful site, Choice Literacy, about digital writing. The first part of the interview focused on how I use tools of digital media, personally, as a writer, and why, and how the National Writing Project helped nurture me in that direction (which it surely did!). Franki asked some great questions about how a teacher explores possibilities before bringing those ideas into the classroom, and how one goes about doing that. Her inquiry really had me thinking and reflecting. The second part of the interview was about student learning and how a teacher can consider the possibilities for digital composition, particularly around the gains that I see when we use technology for learning. Again, her questions allowed me to reflect, and consider what I do with my students from a different angle. The podcasts will be published at Choice Literacy sometime in the coming months. (There are some great podcasts at the site’s itunes home already.)

Then, yesterday, I sat down with a student of mine and we both got interviewed by some students in George Mayo’s class down in Maryland. They are working on a video project with the central question of “Are video games bad for you?” My student and I discussed our video game design project, and the interviews asked some really great questions about the value of gaming in the classroom. It was interesting and a great opportunity to highlight one of my students, who really dove into our game design project. The interviews are going to be playing his game and working that experience into their video project. It should be interesting to see, when it is done.

And, I am working on scheduling a Google Hangout with a college class being taught by a friend who was a leader of the Massachusetts New Literacies Initiative. He wants to have his students chat with a teacher who uses digital media.

While there is a lot of scheduling that has to happen for these kind of interviews, I realize that I get a lot out of it. Questions from outsiders force us to reflect on just what it is that we are doing, and why. It forces you to move beyond a certain comfort zone and think through the rationale of why technology can enhance a learning space, or not. So, I appreciate the opportunity to engage in these kinds of forums, and I will share out the links from various interviews as they become public.

Peace (in the Q&A),
Kevin

Last year, I created this Prezi based on some 25-word-stories I was writing on Twitter. I revised it a bit, with a few new ones, and share it out here for Valentine’s Day. I hope love creates stories in your life, too.

Peace (in the sharing),
Kevin

I’m trying to learn more about a proposed ballot issue put forth by a group called Stand for Children (which is a national group that seeks to influence teacher evaluations) in my state of Massachusetts. The ballot initiative — entitled An Act to Promote Excellence in Public Schools — has apparently gained enough signatures to be considered by our state Legislature to be put to voters. The Legislature has not yet taken up the measure.

The ballot initiative came to my attention because two colleagues and former Massachusetts teachers-of-the-year — Michael Flynn, who teaches at my school, and Wilma Ortiz, who is part of the Western Massachusetts Writing Project — have joined a lawsuit with other state educators, seeking to block the ballot initiative. Flynn has been part of a state effort by our governor to create a new teacher merit system that has a balance of test scores, administrative evaluation and more, and that system has barely begun to get put into place.

The key, as I understand it, to Stand for Children’s initiative would be to mostly remove collective bargaining from the equation, and eliminate the aspect of seniority, too. This would ostensibly free up principals to evaluate, and then rehire or freely fire, teachers who don’t meet the standards. A dismissal could be arbitrated, but (according to the Massachusetts Attorney General summary of the initiative), “In deciding whether the grounds for dismissal had been proven, the arbitrator would not consider a teacher’s seniority or length of service. ”

I can’t help but admire the use of rhetoric by Stand for Children. Who wouldn’t want to Stand for Children? Who wouldn’t want to “promote excellence in public school”? The accompanying website for Massachusetts is entitled “Great Teachers: Great Schools” and who wouldn’t want that?

I did a little research about Stand for Children. I don’t know who is backing the movement financially other than donations from the public, but the organization does seem to spring up as a PAC in various states, with similar themes as the one they are working on here in Massachusetts. (A 2010 article in the Illinois Times noted that Stand for Children had contributed more than $600,000 to political candidates, so it must have some deep pockets somewhere). According to Wikipedia, the organization emerged from a rally in Washington DC and was founded by Jonah Edelman (son of civil rights pioneer Marian Wright Edelman) and Eliza Leighton as a means to improve the lives of young people.

I’ll be keeping an eye on the developments here in my state. You might want to do the same, too.

Peace (in the news),
Kevin