Week 2 - Webinar

The webinar I chose to watch and evaluate is titled, “Engaging the Digital Generation: Insight from Kids,Teachers, and Parents.”  Hosted by Edutopia, who, partnered with the George Lucas Educational Foundation, states on their website: “The George Lucas Educational Foundation is dedicated to improving the K-12 learning process by documenting, disseminating, and advocating innovative, replicable, and evidence-based strategies that prepare students to thrive in their future education, careers, and adult lives.”  The webinar emphasizes the Digital Generation Project, which, as stated on its website, and by one of the presenters, whom of which will be discussed in further detail later in this review, the Digital Generation Project accentuates that: “Today's kids are born digital -- born into a media-rich, networked world of infinite possibilities. But their digital lifestyle is about more than just cool gadgets; it's about engagement, self-directed learning, creativity, and empowerment. The Digital Generation Project tells their stories so that educators and parents can understand how kids learn, communicate, and socialize in very different ways than any previous generation.”

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This webinar presented listeners with numerous and enlightening presenters, including Nichole Pinkard, Founder of the Digital Youth Network, and, director of Innovation at the University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute; also, Vicki Davis, a teacher, blogger and the IT director at Westwood Schools in Camilla, Georgia.  Scoop Jackson, an American sports journalist, and father of Jalen Jackson, who is profiled in the Digital Generation Project, gives his thoughts on his son’s participation in the Digital Generation Project. Also, Virginia, a student at the Westwood Schools, and a member of the Digital Youth Project, is given the opportunity to share her experiences.  Together, this collection of speakers gives an insightful and thoughtful interpretation of what it means to incorporate technology into the classroom. 

The webinar began with Nichole Pinkard, who prefaced the listening audience with the focus of her presentation being that, as educators, we’re preparing youth to become productive and engaged citizens.  As illustrated below, Pinkard demonstrated that the vast majority of our learning experiences have been accomplished predominately through the use of oral and print methodologies.  

Pinkard emphasizes that with the emergence of technology, learning opportunities are no longer geographically bounded.  Students have the freedom to interact and communicate with educators and other students across the world.  Pinkard, too, stresses that school is simply a node in a student’s learning portfolio.  Today, students have an immense assortment of resources to assist in their learning (i.e. boy/girl scouts and youth organizations).  Via the Digital Youth Network, students in one particular Chicago middle school have the opportunity to participate in a variety of technological and media arts-related school curriculums and after-school programs that challenge and educate students in music/studio production, graphic design and robotics.  

It’s these “new media artifacts,” Pinkard proclaims, that enable and assist educators in developing new media literacies and incorporating these new media skills into history/science fairs and film festivals. 

Following Pinkard, Scoop Jackson, whose son, Jalen Jackson, participates in the Digital Generation Project, spoke briefly regarding his thoughts about the integration of technology and new media in the classroom.  Jackson, who writes professionally, emphasized the dedication Jalen expressed to engaging the material in class.  Jackson, however, stressed the importance of storytelling.  Technology is advancing at an alarming speed, Jackson proclaims, that, stories have become lost.  Technology has deprived students of being creative and critical thinkers that stories have become stale and non-existent. 

Finally, the webinar concluded with a presentation by Vicki Davis and one of her students, Virginia.  Davis initiated her demonstration by making mention of a Wall Street Journal article published in 2008.  The Wall Street Journal concluded that Finnish teachers pick their own textbooks and customize their own lessons to fit the national standards, and that; essentially, these teachers are entrepreneurs thus making Finland the most educationally sound country in the world.  Davis and Virginia discussed at length that it’s not about the technology; it’s what the technology lets us do including such technologies such as Wikis, Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) and effective collaboration which allows students to interact with other students and become the orchestrator and leaders of their own classroom.  

Davis, to conclude her discussion, alluded to Gardener's Theory of Multiple Intelligences.  Illustrated below, you can see how these varying learning styles relate to technology and how you can incorporate them into the classroom.

While I don’t currently teach in a classroom, this webinar has given me a fantastic understanding of how integrating technology in the classroom can be greatly beneficial to ensuring the success of students.  As evidenced in the webinar, it seems appropriate that, if I were to be teaching today, I would feel comfortable and enthused about applying the techniques displayed by the presenters.  Through the elaborate use of gaming, Wikis and other media-based technologies; these advancements enrich a student’s desire to learn and enhance their creativity and leadership skills in the classroom. 

In today’s 21st century, the new-media culture is ever-changing.  From YouTube, Facebook or Twitter, there’s a wealth of information available to students and educators.  After browsing several webinars, I felt this webinar I chose would offer the greatest benefit to me.  The webinar was well-constructed and was presented in a timely and user-friendly manner.  Listeners were given ample time to ask questions and the presentation offered thoughtful illustrations and other documentation to support the presenter’s claims and research.  As evidenced in Audrey Stokes’ article, “Expert Article: Making the case for Teaching with New Media,” Stokes elaborates on the same foundations that the webinar presenters focused upon in their demonstrations.  Stokes argues that the use of social media in the classroom motivates students to become more engaged in the material and to become active participants in classroom discussions.  Furthermore, when students are asked to submit work via the use of technology, they are more likely to submit high quality work.  This example is evidenced clearly in the webinar via the Chicago middle school students given the opportunity to produce music and work in a production studio. 

In regards to the course outcomes, the webinar I chose clearly exemplifies the outcomes outlined by this course.  Through the effective use of digital media and gaming, students are more likely to be motivated in producing high-quality work.  By incorporating technology and new media into the classroom, students, when teacher-to-student interaction is not always available, will be more likely to succeed when faced with multiple avenues for learning. 

Through the use of emerging technologies such as blogs, wikis and other digital media, students can personalize their assignments to format their interests and intelligence levels.  This webinar demonstrated the effective use of new media technology in the classroom and how it can be most beneficial to aid students in the learning process.