Article Assessment #3: Orchestrating the Media Collage by Jason Ohler

Orchestrating the Media Collage, by Jason Ohler, is a comprehensive look at what it means to be literate in today's digital society. It is also an exploration of the implications of the digital age for those in the business of education.

Ohler begins by exploring literacy as a historical concept - literacy has always referred not only to the ability to consume the "media of the day," but also to the ability to produce it. However, there has also traditionally been a large gap between the number of people who are capable of creating and publishing media and the number of people capable of consuming it. This, according to Ohler, is becoming less and less true in the digital age. Today, a literate person must be skilled in interpreting and in assembling digital and traditional media into shared and meaningful "collages" if they wish to communicate as effectively as possible with their peers. Developing the ability to become literate in new media quickly is also vital, as widely available creation and publishing capabilities often come out as soon as the new media itself does today.

Ohler goes on to enumerate some special obligations of Educators in our media-rich world. He places emphases on the importance of embracing new media while not forgetting the value of more traditional media which require prolonged thought and focus, like reading and writing, the importance of being "fearless" in pursuit of our own media literacy while allowing our students to develop their own and help us learn, and the importance of guiding our students towards intelligent, constructive, and human approaches to media.

A few excerpts and initial reactions. . .

But what effect will this have on my classroom? I want to require more of my students in terms of media literacy (as in, expecting anything of them at all). I want to emphasize the idea of "collage" in my own teaching. I use too much text. I lecture in text, with pictures as sidenotes. This is not the best I can do. I impart much information in the form of lecture, readings, and written questions. This is not all I can do. I use media, but sparingly. I have not made it my business to acknowledge and prepare students for interaction with the majority of information they come into contact with - I have not bothered to prepare them for interaction with digital media, assuming that teaching them how to interact with traditional "school-type" media was all that was necessary, and assuming that unless I was going to walk them through how to use digital media in tiny baby steps, I had no business asking them to do anything of the sort.

I am emboldened as to my ability to give valuable input to people who are more tech-savvy than I am, and I am emboldened by the idea that I don't HAVE to tell students exactly how to do things - I just need to give them tools and expectations and let them run with it.

And I don't have to be crazy-digital-savvy; just curious, motivated to try new things, and willing to set standards for modern literacy in my classroom. This is good to know.

Energy Conservation: Unplugged

Through the wonders of modern technology, I bring you Energy Conservation: Unplugged (the Abridged Version). The above is a link to the same clip, presented on youtube.





As expected, it was really helpful to watch myself "teach" on video. I didn't script my commentary ahead of time, which is representative of many of my actual classroom lessons! Thankfully, lectures are not the be all and end all of my educating arsenal, but as they are one important tool. . . a self-critique!

Critical-Type Details.

In summary, I should DEFINITELY consider scripting some transitions or at least coming up with good connections between major points when I'm planning a lecture. I should feel free to move quickly and be brief, trusting my audience to slow me down if they need to - I will probably never be too succinct! Also? It may seem obvious, but when I'm done, I should bring it to a close! No need to slog through redundant or non-vital content. Conversely, I should appreciate the fact that, even when I'm not sure where I'm going, I'm able to maintain coherency, ending up where I need to be eventually and making some entertaining commentary along the way.

Energy Conservation Project (cont)

Project Overview:

After many hours spent gathering and analyzing data on the various always-plugged-in appliances in our home, not to mention five days trying to abide by our schedule of unplugging some appliances every time we used them, unplugging others at bed-time until after-work, and religiously turning off our computers, Brett and I have come to a few pithy and well-timed conclusions about the relative evils of "phantom energy," considering the omnipresent threat of brown-outs in Anchorage this winter:

1. Almost no appliance you leave plugged in and turned off will draw as much energy as a desktop computer or lamp left on.
2. TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTERS WHEN NOT IN USE.
3. The twisty fluorescent bulbs really do use about a third as much energy as old-fashioned ones.
4. The majority of your electric bill proooobably comes from heating, cooling, and lighting your home, not your myriad appliances, and
5. There are probably some appliances you might as well unplug, considering how seldom you use them.
6. Non--digital appliances almost never draw a charge when turned off.

The detailed spreadsheet I used to collect and analyze data for this investigation may be found here (concentrate on the top few lines, and note the bright yellow places of interest). Also, a narrated slide show on the subject may be found here.