Foot- You're Leaving a Digital Trail

While the technology that we have today is absolutely amazing, some aspects of it can be truly terrifying. While reading the article "You're Leaving a Digital Trail," I was impressed by how tracking certain activities can lead to important research. It made me think of the personal advertising that companies now use. By tracking a person's activities online, sites like Facebook can tailor their ads to your life. While this is quite helpful to the companies that produce the ads, I find it creepy. Advertisements that relate a little too  much to your life start appearing as you surf the internet, and it makes me wonder how much people can know about me from just this simple act.

This article made me think a lot about Little Brother and how the abuse of this tracking power is very possible. Much like the GPS units in our cars and phones, the characters in the book had ways that they could be tracked. The government abused the power they had to "keep the country safe." One line in particular in this article reminded me of this and made me a little uneasy. Referring to the SARS epidemic, it was brought up that phone records could have been monitored and the problem could have been stopped sooner. The man promoting this idea said, "I'm sorry, that trumps minute concerns about privacy." This made me think about the ridiculous lengths that the government in Little Brother went to while securing the safety of its citizens. The question this raises is how much should organizations, such as the government or even advertisement agencies, regard privacy? When should privacy be overlooked and how far is too far?

Foot- I'm So Digitally Close to You

One thing that surprised me about this article was the anger that was first present when Facebook lost its last ounce of privacy. Ever since I joined the Facebook community, the newsfeed has been there. I chuckled when the article talked about how angry people were when it was introduced. They were fearing for their privacy. My first thought was, what privacy? If you are putting information on Facebook, newsfeed or no newsfeed, you need to be aware that anyone can access it. The newsfeed just makes seeing this information easier. If we are to use Facebook in anyway in our classrooms, this lack of privacy needs to be addressed and considered.

Another interesting thing that this article brought up was the idea of ambient intimacy. A lot of the older generation believes that Facebook is a bad thing. I have heard it a lot from my parents. They don't understand why I would put my information online for the world to see. This article talked about the plus side to doing this and having hundreds of friends online. The article talks about how the little snippets we find out about our friends lives build up to help us better understand them. We can start to see "rhythms" in their lives. Even watching the lives of strangers through Facebook or Twitter can be interesting. The article says, "Merely looking at a stranger's Twitter or Facebook feed isn't interesting, because it seems like blather. Follow it for a day, though, and it begins to feel like a short story; follow it for a month, and it's a novel." This is very true. So much can be learned about our family, friends, and mere acquaintances through social networking.

Foot- Great Films

When I go to a movie that is based off of a book, I know that I will probably be disappointed. If I really love the book and the movie doesn't follow it exactly or leaves out my favorite part, I am furious. The first chapter of this book addresses just that. I like how Costanzo mentions that French director Alain Resnais "compared cinematic adaptions to a reheated meal" (10). I know many avid book readers who would say this about the movie adaptations of their favorite books. Many, I am sure, are already worrying about the Hunger Games movies that will start coming out next year. Costanzo goes on to say that despite this outlook on these movies, "three out of four Academy Awards for Best Picture have gone to adaptations" (10). This statistic amazed me at first, but then after thinking about it I realized it was true. Just think about how much each of the Harry Potters, Lord of the Rings, and Twilights have made, even though, in my opinion, Lord of the Rings are the only ones that can hold their weight next to their novel counterparts. Costanzo later says in the same chapter that "a movie adaptation is not so much an illustrated copy of a book but a new rendering of the story, to be appreciated on its own terms" (15). This is a wonderful way to look at movie adaptations, although a very difficult task. Next time I go to see a movie based off a book, I am going to try my hardest to view it as such.

Another thing that Costanzo writes about that struck me was how we are very literate when it comes to movies. We know what a certain shot means if it is at a certain angle. We also don't get lost when we get a view into the character's thoughts or a flashback of their past. I have definitely taken this for granted. It shocked me to find out that people who have never seen a movie before can't truly comprehend what is going on. The examples of this at the beginning of chapter 2 made me chuckle All I could think about when reading about this was how horribly confused they would all be if they tried to watch "Lost."

The last thing that I want to mention is my amazement at how difficult it is to make a movie! I had some idea from watching Lord of the Rings documentaries, but chapters 3 and 4 really show the work that goes into making these works of art. This is one thing that students need to be aware of. They need to know what goes into the movies they watch and how and why movies are considered text as well as art. The end of chapter 4 gives some good ideas for incorporating film into the classroom. It suggests that students be involved in making a movie. I think this is a great idea. I remember students who made miniature movies and shows in high school and it was always so much fun. If we could do this as teachers and make sure to incorporate aspects in the project that would teach students about the production of movies, I think they would learn a lot.

Foot- Twilight and the Internet

After reading "Web Gave 'Twilight' Fresh Blood", I can see the importance the Internet has at this point in time on advertising and marketing. I think that it was really smart of Meyer to take advantage of the Internet in gaining a following for her books. When I was getting into the Twilight series in high school, I was on her site that the article talks about. This was a great idea on her part. It provided a way for readers to keep up on when the books came out and what the author was up to. The article says that Meyers "directly engaged with her readers. When fans posted messages, Meyer's response was personal. She'd write back or blog about it" (Carpenter).

We as teachers also need to be looking for ways to "sell" what we are teaching in this digital age. The fact that Meyers was able to promote her book so much online shows that the young adults that we are going to teach are online. We need to accept this and realize that if we are going to keep their interests we may need to get online with our teaching as well.

As a side note:
Though I do love the Twilight books, these quotes from the Vampire Diaires made me smile:

Damon: What's so special about this Bella girl? Edward's so whipped.

AND

Caroline: How come you don't sparkle?
Damon: Cause I live in the real world where vampires burn in the sun.

Love it!

Foot- The Socially Networked Classroom Ch. 3

The topic of internet safety that this chapter brought up is something that as teachers we need to be fully aware of. We are in charge of our students while they are at school and if we choose to use the Internet in our classrooms or for outside assignments we need to make sure that we are aware of the risks and work to ensure that those risks are attended to. I liked the idea of using blogs in the classroom but making them private. This is a good idea because this way you don't have to worry about who is viewing students' blogs and contacting them. I also think that if a teacher is going to use the internet in anyway, they need to set time aside for a lesson or two about Internet safety and cyber-bullying.

One thing that I didn't think about before reading this chapter was the restrictions that some schools have on Internet usage. I remember trying to use the Internet in school for research purposes and finding it very frustrating. My school had very strict control over the sites that we were allowed to visit. As a student I saw that as an obstacle to me, but now I see it as an obstacle as a future teacher as well. It is something that we need to be aware of as we choose how often to use the web in our classrooms.

Foot- Kist's text

I just started reading Kist's text and so far it is really interesting. The first chapter is all about how to bring technology concepts into the classroom without actually having technology. Having done a lot of these activities in class, I can better understand how they work. They are awesome activities for districts that do not have the means for a lot of technological things in the classroom. Even without technology students can learn about blogs and communicating online.

One thing that Kist brought up that I thought was really interesting was the question, How do we write for the unknown audience that the web provides us with? I think this is important for all students to know for their futures. They need to be aware that anyone can read what they publish online and that they will get comments whether they like it or not.

Foot- Little Brother Again :)

I just finished Little Brother! I know I am cutting it pretty close, but I must say that I really enjoyed this book. It was very action packed and interesting. I learned a lot about technology which really surprised me. When I first started reading it I was worried about all the technological terms, but the author did an amazing job not losing me. One of my favorite parts was when he was describing LARPing at the end. (I know, random) I had always wondered how LARPing worked. The nerd in me needed to know. It was really interesting.

Two things about this book really stood out to me when thinking about presenting this to a young adult audience in schools. The first was obviously the technology. The technology that Marcus uses in this book is extremely advanced and at times seems a little farfetched, but to many students who are immersed in technology the day when all of this is accurate could be closer than we think. I think that for this reason it is a book that students could relate to. The technology aspect opens up opportunities to discuss the pro and the cons of technology and if there should be restrictions on its uses. I think that it would open up a lot of class activities that leave room for multi-modal aspects.

Another thing that really stood out to me about this book was the love Marcus had for his country and his friends. Little Brother, while not seeming so to the government and parents in the story, shows great courage and patriotism. I think this is really encouraging to a student who thinks that his votes or actions are not needed. It shows that anyone can make a difference, even a 17-year-old kid. It also gives examples of people that stood up for what was right in the past such as the Berkley students and the yippies. It is very inspiring and lets the reader know that if you want change you have to fight for it, even if it doesn't make you popular with some crowds. I think this is nicely summed up on page 334 when Marcus says, "You can't get anything done by doing nothing. It is our country. They've taken it from us [...] I can't go underground for a year, ten years, my whole life, waiting for freedom to be handed to me. Freedom is something you have to take for yourself."

Foot- Facebook a living nightmare?

I was intrigued by the article about Johnson's choice to stop using Facebook because of harassment and rumors spreading about him. My first reaction was to ask why he didn't ignore those people who were harassing him. By this i don't mean suck it up and pretend it's not happening. On Facebook there is an option to block certain users. I personally have used this and found it sufficient. I had someone who was constantly "creeping" and commenting on my Facebook in a very inappropriate way, so I blocked them. When you block someone they do not have access to your profile at all. If a mutual friend posts something on their wall and you both comment on it, neither of you can see each others comments. The best thing is they can't even search for you to add you again. It basically looks to them as if you have deleted your Facebook. I do not know the full extent of what was happening to Johnson, but from what I understand this may have been able to stop at least people from sending him harrassing messages and viewing his profile.

Looking at security issues such as this, we as teachers need to be aware of the risks of social networking. Knowing these risks we need to be aware of the security measures we can take when using technology in our classrooms. These include adjusting privacy settings and knowing how to block users when the need arises. I was personally unaware that a social networking site such as Facebook could be used in the classroom, so I am excited to learn about the more profession Facebook sites that Ms. Foot has mentioned in class.

Pytash- Classics Chapter #1

This book seems to be a total 180 degree flip from what I am used to. It seems that last semester the main focus was on young adult literature. I am glad to see that we will be dealing with more classic texts this semester. While I do love YA novels, I am under no impression that I will only teaching them in my classroom. Classic literature is much more prevalent in schools. This has always made me nervous because I feel as though I am not as familiar with these texts.

I found Jago's argument that students' reading lives need to include two kinds of books very true. On page 5 in chapter one she explains this. The first type of text acts as a mirror, aka YA novels and books that students can easily relate to. She says, "apart from a lively book talk to interest them in picking up the volume, teenagers shouldn't need a teachers help with 'mirror' books."She understands the purpose they have in the students' reading lives, but believes that teachers shouldn't spend their time necessarily teaching these books. I think that this could mean that we encourage them to read these books, but not have weeks devoted to dissecting them. In my opinion, YA novels could be used as individual projects and reports throughout the year to get them reading on their own

Jago says that other than these "mirror" texts, students also need books that act as windows. Classic texts do this. They show a world that the students are not necessarily aware of. With these books, the teacher must help the students to understand. Hence the reason these books should be the main focus of our classrooms.