Branding and technology are definitely two things teachers will have to know about and address. They are things that will be on the rise more than they are now till we are teachers. Both of these articles were fantastic and made some excellent points.
If you take a look at your students, you will see they are influenced by advertisements and branding. This is a big thing today. Some students may not realize how much they are truly affected by it. Even as a college student and adult today, we are all affected. I loved how Kramer compared the influence of media. On page 301, he said “I wondered how, without lecturing or moralizing on the issue, I could enable my students to see that media influence, like the water in which fish swim in the ocean…” The water is invisible to the fish, just like media is invisible to us. Media has such an incredible impact that it begins to shape who we are and become. The idea of branding is to “fit in” and deem what is “popular”. Advertisements present a positive image to make them appealing. It creates an image to be achieved when most of the time it is unattainable. The image is altered and computerized. Reading this particular article, reminded me about Feed. Advertisements are geared for specific targets and displayed at certain times to get the most out of the advertisement. A lot of thought goes into making an advertisement, and we should have our students using that same level of thinking following these advertisements and branding.
As a teacher we have to encourage our students to think and try hard to achieve what they want. We want to teach our students to think for themselves and not each other. We want to see the individual uniqueness and differences in our students. We want our students’ identities to come from their own thinking, and not what they are seeing around them.
On page 302, the teacher had her class take two quizzes, just like the ones we took in class last week. This goes to prove that more students know more about popular culture than academic information. I liked when she asked the students why this is, and it is because popular culture is represented EVERYWHERE through logos, TV, commercials, etc. Students are bombarded with information on a daily basis, so why wouldn’t they know it. It’s everywhere and we have grown up all around it. Advertisement will lead our students into being uncritical thinkers. As a teacher, I will do everything possible to present this in my students. They will think, they will critique, they will analyze and question, and they will be an individual. All of the media, branding, and advertising is just so incredibly overwhelming. We are consumed with constant advertising every day. I want to encourage my students to think on their own and make them of the media and what it tries to do.
Who knows what advertisements will be like in five to ten years? We are already so consumed. I cannot image what it WILL be like. We will have students more wrapped up into media than we already are. Our students have grown surrounded by this type of atmosphere. We have to guide them to be individuals.
Technology is also a growing trend that is here to stay. For our students’ success, we have to start incorporating technology into our classrooms. We have to make a move to combine traditional and contemporary strategies. A way to do this is to get to know your students. This is extremely important I think for anything you do with your class. By observing your students, you can recognize positive aspects to get them motivated and succeed. We have students growing up submerged in technology, why not use what they know to help them succeed?
On page 544, Tarasiuk says, “The technology is present in schools, but the focus of curriculum in the schools is still based on traditional forms of text.” This is so true. Schools have the technology, but the curriculum needs to change to allow the use of more technology for students. As a teacher, we have to be open when it comes to more contemporary strategies. Technology is not a bad thing. Students are able to be very creative and thorough while using technology. Since they are comfortable with using a computer and other resources, they overachieve and make projects more meaningful. I will definitely bring in a contemporary twist into my classroom to see what all my students can succeed at by using technology. Students can use all sorts of different resources are on the Internet. Be open to what your students can teach you. They know how to explore websites and create things on their own. Allow them to use the contemporary flare with the traditional ways. It is all about combining traditional and contemporary together. Incorporating technology will truly bring out something amazing from your students.
"Be open to what your students can teach you." I began this course choosing the (compound) word "open-minded" to describe the type of teacher I want to be. I believe this was a good choice, in light of the last couple of months. And I agree with you - we must be open to what our students can teach us. We must also be open to the reality that technology is taking over in a way we could not have envisioned when the computer first became common in households. We are going to have to adapt to our students in many respects. But too, we must not let go of the old methods of teaching and of learning, or we will lose too much of value. I tend to be as reactionary as Bauerlein, I admit. But I am trying to temper that. I fear the loss of valuable skills, of collective history, of quiet contemplation, of introspection, BUT I realize too the value of technology in our classrooms and in our lives. I hope that I can find a way to moderate in my own classroom, to interest my students for at least 30 minutes per day in non-technological inquiry and thought, but I recognize the value of introducing and utilizing all of the technology available to us as well. I hope, mostly, that if I am open to what my students can teach me - truly - and they sense that, that they will in turn be open to what I can teach them. I believe in this power of listening honestly as a means to understanding deeply. I hope that belief remains.
ReplyDelete"Advertisement will lead our students into being uncritical thinkers"
ReplyDeleteIn what ways do you think ads will make students less critical in their thinking? What ways can ads make students think even more critically?
"We have to make a move to combine traditional and contemporary strategies. A way to do this is to get to know your students. "
ReplyDeleteI believe that knowing our students needs is so important, and every new class might be different. It's our job to meet the needs of the upcoming classes, and make sure that they leave our classroom knowing more than what they did when they entered it.
I agree that we need to know our students to see what technology works for them. It is something they are so comfortable so why not use it in the classroom?
ReplyDeletei agree with you that students should be more aware of the pressures put on them by media and advertising; and i certainly want to encourage them to express their individuality. one thing we need to remember and be willing to help with as teachers, is that a lot of the youth do NOT know who they are yet...which is what makes them so susceptible to branding and image presented by advertisers and their peers. it's not only ok to be yourself, it's ok to not know who you are yet.
ReplyDelete