I'm going a little rogue with this post to discuss something that I am in the thick of right now. I chose to research and highlight some of the media efforts made by adopted children, often considered a marginalized group in our society.
My family is in the middle of the adoption process right now. We have just submitted our Letter of Intent for a 6 year old girl in China - and we couldn't be happier! But we are also going through hours and hours and hours of training to prepare us for the difficulties of adoption - the ugly side of adoption.
Adoption is a beautiful story of redemption and family and love. But it is also a story of loss, grief, trauma, and a loss of identity. Our soon-to-be daughter was abandoned on the doorsteps of an orphanage when she was 3 days old. She will always struggle with that history, that part of her story. And though we have an amazing local community filled with many different cultures and many trans-racial families, I know that she will also struggle to find herself in our world. She may, like many adoptees, search for ways to address her struggle and find community with those who have similar stories.
Halverson's article talks about "film as medium that affords youth the opportunity to produce narratives of self." (p. 2358) Adoptees lose much of themselves when they are adopted: language, friends and caregivers, homeland and even their names. Film, in particular, gives them a voice. They are able to discuss their loss, struggles and the issues that they face in a multifaceted medium.
I found a host of adoption movies created by adult adoptees who wanted to chronicle the stories of their childhood. Though these were created by adults, they are still attempting to give their younger selves a voice.
This site offers a fantastic list of movies created by adoptees: https://harlows-monkey.com/resources/films/.
For those who aren't producing full-length feature films, Youtube is a fantastic vehicle for youth to express themselves. A simple search produced countless videos created by teenage adoptees who are yearning for a chance to tell their stories. Check out these links. (We actually watched part of the second and third videos during our adoption training sessions!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60R_aPWvHtMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTZwUks_wFE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrHNKC452G4
I love this quote by Halverson: "My research has shown that the adaptation of individual narratives of personal struggle into scripted scenes for personal performance is a powerful venue for the development of individual's viable social identities." (p. 2356) Film provides a unique vehicle for describing and displaying a person's full story.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Blog Post #7 - Copyright
Wow! As much as I usually hate reading "legal-ese" and delving deep into laws, policies and court cases, I found much of this week's topic oddly fascinating.
First, I started with the article by K. Walsh (http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/10/understanding-copyright-fair-use-and-creative-commons-as-they-apply-to-education/). Though I really wanted to wade through her material, I found myself quickly losing interest in the way she had presented the material. (I really did want to like it - she identified herself as a student in UW-Stout program that I had completed several years ago!) K. spent a little too long explaining WHY she was writing about copyright laws, and not actually explaining copyright laws.
Moving along, I clicked over to education world's site (http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280.shtml). The information presented on this site was comprehensive, easy to read, and succinctly organized. The site broke the information down into 5 sections, each with a separate link. (Though I normally HATE being forced to click, then return back to the hompage, then click again....I found that this helped break the information down into digestible chunks). The webpage had a clean, readable design. The writing had good flow, and though the topic is rather dull, the writing was succinct and practical enough to induce me to keep reading. Overall, this is a great resource for educators that provides easy to read information that applies specifically to educators.
I chose to watch the "Happy Birthday" video on YouTube. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzbSt0QG7mY&list=PLvzOwE5lWqhTbOCIFp_OxsN6nC-l20kMT&index=3 This is a fantastic example of how audio/video can enliven even the dullest subject matter...but I digress. Mike Rugnetta explains the history and current status of copyright laws, using the song "Happy Birthday" as an example. Mike focuses on the changes that have been made to copyright laws throughout the years and the general expansion of the laws. I would say that this video is best for adults who are just looking for an overview of copyright laws. It doesn't give specifics, but introduces the subject in an engaging manner.
For our school, my husband provided a fairly robust overview of copyright laws as they affect our courseware development. He especially focused on the copyright agreements with other countries, and I was surprised to learn that we do not have copyright agreements with many of the countries that our students work with. Without a copyright agreement between the USA and that country, we have the ability to use whatever we like.
First, I started with the article by K. Walsh (http://www.emergingedtech.com/2010/10/understanding-copyright-fair-use-and-creative-commons-as-they-apply-to-education/). Though I really wanted to wade through her material, I found myself quickly losing interest in the way she had presented the material. (I really did want to like it - she identified herself as a student in UW-Stout program that I had completed several years ago!) K. spent a little too long explaining WHY she was writing about copyright laws, and not actually explaining copyright laws.
Moving along, I clicked over to education world's site (http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280.shtml). The information presented on this site was comprehensive, easy to read, and succinctly organized. The site broke the information down into 5 sections, each with a separate link. (Though I normally HATE being forced to click, then return back to the hompage, then click again....I found that this helped break the information down into digestible chunks). The webpage had a clean, readable design. The writing had good flow, and though the topic is rather dull, the writing was succinct and practical enough to induce me to keep reading. Overall, this is a great resource for educators that provides easy to read information that applies specifically to educators.
I chose to watch the "Happy Birthday" video on YouTube. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzbSt0QG7mY&list=PLvzOwE5lWqhTbOCIFp_OxsN6nC-l20kMT&index=3 This is a fantastic example of how audio/video can enliven even the dullest subject matter...but I digress. Mike Rugnetta explains the history and current status of copyright laws, using the song "Happy Birthday" as an example. Mike focuses on the changes that have been made to copyright laws throughout the years and the general expansion of the laws. I would say that this video is best for adults who are just looking for an overview of copyright laws. It doesn't give specifics, but introduces the subject in an engaging manner.
For our school, my husband provided a fairly robust overview of copyright laws as they affect our courseware development. He especially focused on the copyright agreements with other countries, and I was surprised to learn that we do not have copyright agreements with many of the countries that our students work with. Without a copyright agreement between the USA and that country, we have the ability to use whatever we like.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017
Project Update: Air Drop Presentation
Check out my screencast of my project update! I emailed my slides from my work to my home computer, and the slides didn't transfer well, as you will see in the screencast. I have posted my slides individually below so that you can see them in the "normal" format. These slides are essentially a rough draft of the content I want to provide. I am struggling to decide on a multi-media platform for my content that would truly showcase the material AND be user friendly for my un-tech savvy instructors!
I kept my timeline very simple. I have completed the training roadmap and training plan and I have developed the PP slides. I have not developed handouts and I still need to create a multimedia/screencast to showcase the information.
This was my basic training timeline:
Develop a training roadmap. (1 week)
Outline training plan based on roadmap and objectives. (2 days)
Outline training plan based on roadmap and objectives. (2 days)
Develop the PowerPoint slides and any handouts. (1 week)
Create Screencast of the training. (1 day)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)