tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22388940469261387102024-03-13T07:21:35.526-07:00Mr.Rogers Goes to GSEAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.comBlogger39125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-29763817499587028642013-05-10T23:16:00.001-07:002013-05-10T23:16:26.135-07:00Saturday.Today is GSE's Graduation.<br />
<br />
Who would know how fast this year would go. I feel like September was yesterday. I walked into PennGSE knowing one thing: for this brick of money that I put up, I was going to get my money back....<br />
<br />
I think I did pretty well. First and foremost, I benefited greatly from focusing on my work rather than focusing on the grades [except for yesterday, but that's a different story...] Focusing on my work allowed me to flesh out thoughts and explore ideas rather than try to pin down what professors wanted or was what I submitted effective. It became a self driven process.<br />
<br />
As I look forward into next year, I would ask all new GSE students to continue to reflect on your ideas and explore them in the way that makes you happy and fulfilled with all the urgency of this expensive graduate school experience affords you.<br />
<br />
In the most famous words of the Isley Brothers, ITS YOUR THING, DO WHAT YOU WANNA DO.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/MD-9eOWsp8o?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-22609480411226880972013-03-11T18:09:00.002-07:002013-03-11T18:09:43.815-07:00Monday. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ij6YXwh4X9U?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
I would like to introduce you to one of my favorite voices out there <a href="http://www.illdoctrine.com/" target="_blank">Jay Smooth</a>. In this video, which is part of a series of videos, he elaborates upon what he calls the “Little Hater.” The Little Hater is the voice, mostly inside your head, though can be heard from numerous agents in our life, often blocks us from being our most creative. It makes us question ourselves. Is this up to par? Does it really make sense? In this episode, Jay Smooth talks about his current challenge: balancing interest and intrigue with having “something to say.”<br />
<br />
<em>One voice saying “you are not interesting enough”, another voice saying “you are not honest enough”</em><br />
<br />
I have to say that I am also facing the same dilemma when I think about how to create curricula for students that serves pathways for engagement and <em>messing around</em>, while placing opportunities for students to think critically and challenge ideas. I’m currently working on a proposal for my hometown to create a summer technology program that will ask youth to explore creative media production, web design, and computer programming, while simultaneously seeking to foster community engagement around critical issues and advocate around breaking the digital divide. It’s a lot to think about and questions often emerge: Is this project really just a big facade for what you would like to say? Aren’t there more important things (street violence, ‘concrete’ skills,etc.) that deserve more atttention than youth understanding computers? How long are you even dedicated to this mission? Don’t you need to be worrying about getting a job? All these things come together to put up a blockade around my enthusiasm about getting this project up off the ground.<br />
In general, when it comes to digital literacy and multimodality, there are often “little hater” style ideas that infiltrate the emergence of technology in the classroom. Are you just doing this because it’s more fun? Aren’t you just creating a new generation of stimulation junkies that can’t sit still for more than 5 seconds? ”You know, the more technology we have, the more impersonal society becomes…” “I could see this done in an afterschool program, but I don’t understand what’s so significant about these digital tools to become a core principle.” What’s most important about the Little Hater is that these permeate through my mind as I contemplate my committment to seeing the rise and validation of new technologies and textual forms within schools—specifically disadvantaged, underfunded, and overburdened schools.<br />
<br />
In the end, I take inspiration from Jay Smooth when he says “I’ll still think it’s worth it to get in the ring.” That means looking at new ways to approach the goal. Catching up on research on how to effectively blend digital tools into existing school curriculums. Bookmarking news reports that mention how many future jobs will open that are in need of tech-friendly workers and colleges who are taking their programs online. Tying back the potential of new tools to community possibilities and improvements.<br />
<br />
As an educator, how have you faced ‘The Little Hater’?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-81992303793655766402013-03-05T04:00:00.001-08:002013-03-05T04:04:14.642-08:00Tuesday.<h2>
I better get the job.</h2>
Essay #3. Now, a chance to go off-script. There’s a scene in
American Beauty (1999), shot in slow-motion, where a white plastic bag appears
to be dancing in the wind (click <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yfpPpu7bik" target="_Blank">here</a> to
watch that scene) – a quiet, lyrical moment that balances out the heaviness of
the film. Choose one detail in the world that helps you stay balanced and
explain why you chose it.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I apologize
as this post won’t be as mind-blowing as a plastic bag, but I hope that it gives
you more detail into my perspective on life and my ideas on life’s purpose. As
I mentioned in an earlier essay, my initial career aspiration was to become a
music business executive, a sort of P.Diddy with artistic integrity (Not a diss,
I find it amazing how Diddy has become a pop superstar and business mogul as <i>curator</i> and not <i>creator</i> of music). That being said, I find my balance in the
world through soul music, a specific form of music that has <i>feeling</i> and <i>experience</i> at its core though it may be expressed in many genres
(hip-hop, RnB, Jazz, Funk, etc.). I believe
it is best described by hip-hop artist Busta Rhymes on the song “Music For Life”
on Hi-Tek’s <i>Hi-Teknology<sup>2</sup>: The
Cure </i>(2008). It must be left in semi-phonetic description. Bussa Buss calls into the song:<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
Ayo, Hi-Tek whattup?, you know who
this is<br />
It's your boy Busta Bus down, Flip Mode Squad, aiight<br />
Now, you know, this is serious thing behind the music that we're doing<br />
It's like.. music, for me man, it mean, it means everything, feel me<br />
You know when we going through, our personal stripes in life<br />
You'know'what'I'm'sayin', we get up in that studio<br />
Close that door, lock ourselves in, that little four-wall space man<br />
Get in the vocal booth and become whoever you wanna be<br />
Express whatever you wanna feel, you'know'what'I'mean?<br />
When you going through your most frustrating time in life<br />
You'know'what'I'm'sayin', you can realize that..<br />
When you can't find nobody else to speak to<br />
You can speak through the music<br />
Help other people feel your pain, your struggle, your passion<br />
You'know, what you live and die for, your values in life<br />
You'know'what'I'mean?, music man<br />
Is the voice of every being in the Universe<br />
What God had provided for us to communicate, when all else fails<br />
It's what allows us to be able to connect<br />
With touching our hearts & the soul of the streets</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Inspiring. Busta Rhymes
perfectly describes the emancipatory capacity that can be felt through the
creation of art. I look at this
heartfelt monologue and begin to pull together many of the things that I hope
to embody through my practice as an educator and engaged citizen.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Get in the vocal booth
and become whoever you wanna be<br />
</i>One of my favorite scholars Ernest Morrell, the president-elect of the
National Council of Teachers of English and current Professor of English
Education at Teachers College, talks about learning as <i>becoming</i>. In the classroom,
we should uphold pedagogy that allows students to <i>become</i> authors, writers, journalists, mathematicians, scientists,
engineers, producers, CREATORS. Don’t
teach to the skills; teach students to become and the necessary skills will emerge.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Help other people feel
your pain, your struggle, your passion/You'know, what you live and die for,
your values in life.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
An education that teaches student’s skills and competencies
without a critical interrogation of values seeks to affirm social reproduction
rather than social transformation as many of our students across all communities
grow up as carrier and witness of numerous pains and struggles. I believe the
educator is privileged to be in a position that will have influence of what the
next generation seeks to find as their mission and purpose while living on this
earth. It’s a truth that we cannot take lightly. Many have noted that <i>with power, comes responsibility</i>. As we
engage our students in becoming powerful leaders of their communities, we must
seek to inscribe values that emerge a call to humanization, inclusiveness, and
equity. <i><br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>It's what allows us to
be able to connect/With touching our hearts & the soul of the streets<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Overall, I believe one of the most important messages that
we can leave to students as educators is simply: “I could be ____” It’s up to the students to determine how they
will fill in the blank. While I’m
assured that mostly all of our students will fill in the blank with great
things such as President, CEO, and Doctor, it’s a sad reality that many people
in our communities painfully end up stating “I am in poverty. I am in war. I am in bad health.” We must impart empathy within our students
that says while I have the world in front of me, I understand that my success
is intimately tied to the legacy that I leave for the rest of world. Where
could we take this world if we connect students to the successes of Bill Gates
and Warren Buffett while recognizing the injustices and struggles that face the
more than 1 billion people who live on less than one dollar a day.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Soul music is my guide and more than most times, my muse. I
recycle inspiration gained through art to create curricula that honors
experience, feeling, potential, and freedom. Through this, I seek to honor the
legacies of soul legends like Marvin Gaye that asked the world to recognize <i>What’s Going On</i>?</div>
<br />
<div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #444444; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: -5px; margin-top: 10px; outline: none 0px;">
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-52206088881362711792013-02-28T18:27:00.003-08:002013-02-28T18:27:46.326-08:00Thursday.<h2>
<a href="http://edinterwebs.tumblr.com/post/44046523573/its-bigger-than-ethnography-forum-reflections" target="_blank">...its bigger than...[ethnography forum reflections]</a> </h2>
<br />
Over the weekend of February 21<sup>st</sup>-24<sup>th</sup>, I prepped for and enjoyed the 34<sup>th</sup> Annual Ethnography Forum as well as Sunday’s inaugural <em>Screening Scholarship Media Festival </em>extension. It was an awesome experience that left me with many insights and perspectives to begin to unpack. My experience within the Ethnography Forum was enhanced by the time I spent as a volunteer liaison for the Saturday plenary speaker, <a href="http://www.tc.columbia.edu/academics/index.htm?facid=ys2061" target="_blank">Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz of Teachers College</a>. <br />
<br />
Dr. Sealey-Ruiz’s presentation focused on disrupting partial representations of students in your class through clips from the <em><a href="http://www.beyondthebricksproject.com/" target="_blank">Beyond The Bricks</a></em> project where Black male students came together to create a documentary. She challenged educators to ask themselves: Are you seeing or are you noticing? In her metaphor, noticing indicated full attention and an inquiry approach. We were asked to complete a Venn Diagram that asked us to describe in one circle “How People See You” and in the other circle “What You Want People to Notice.” It made it more evident that while seeing and noticing are synonyms, they differ greatly in meaning. For my activity, I was partnered with an Ed.D candidate within RWL. We spoke about our identities and how that translated with our self-identified roles as advocates for social transformation. She offered that people see her as a White female, though she was hesitant to be noticed as a White female because of the traditional notions that follow the White female teacher in education. She noted that through her work, she strives to transcend that association. For myself, I offered that people see me as a Black male, and that I would like to be noticed as a Black male because the dominant narratives of Black males in the United States often excludes or exceptionalizes people like myself. A very interesting mix yet we shared one thing in common: <strong>we wanted to be noticed for our work <em>first.</em></strong> Our work supersedes our personal identity and we both felt cautious about whether that would be recognized. <br />
<br />
As I began to meditate on what it meant to put the work first, I thought about how that would influence my role as a teacher. I have always operated from the standpoint of<strong> asking students not to follow me, but to follow the<em> ideas</em>.</strong> It is perfectly fine to not to agree with me. I have often found myself more interested with such “skeptical” students. Especially in terms of the mainstream media’s representation of the Black community, I believe there has been a privilege of cultural, political, and economic critique taken up by preliminary Black <em>leaders</em> that I seek to dismantle. I understand this phenomenon to assume a narrative that concludes that many of the youth (and undereducated) in the Black community have to earn the right to have their concerns be taken seriously. In terms of national press, how diverse is the pool of Black people that contribute to critical national conversations on equity and social justice? This trickles down into our communities. Whereby many often have powerful and passionate critiques of individual and institutional discriminatory practices, there still lies the notion that these perspectives must be funneled through so-called <em>leaders </em>to speak truth to power. How can I convince the young people that I work with that their voice is just as valuable as Martin Luther King, Sojourner Truth, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Frederick Douglass? Not in the future, but right now? <br />
<br />
I have found that the best practice is to disrupt the “banking” education model that Friere’s <em>Pedagogy of the Oppressed</em> talks about so brilliantly. It’s not about what I think. It’s what you think. I love the moment when a young person looks at me sideways because they cannot perceive what side of a debate I am on. I push them to find their own stance backed up by personal values. Through this practice, I hope to instill within them the confidence, competence, and passion to become active spokespersons within their community in favor of equity, democracy, and justice. <br />
<br />
I still have questions about this approach. Am I doing youth a disservice by not transmitting to them some of the wisdom that I have gained over the years? Do I think less of them to believe that if I give them my opinion, they will take it at face value? By engaging with the youth, am I evading my own inevitable personal bias and positionality? I want to be present one-to-one in the lives of youth while proclaiming that this work of teaching and learning is much bigger than you and I. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-70018664580941025532013-02-20T20:22:00.002-08:002013-02-20T20:22:18.703-08:00Wednesday.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FX-06tl17Tc/USWgrD-ZpdI/AAAAAAAAAEc/NMQtXiBu9q0/s1600/Capture.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="482" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FX-06tl17Tc/USWgrD-ZpdI/AAAAAAAAAEc/NMQtXiBu9q0/s640/Capture.PNG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I'm on the website. <a href="https://www.gse.upenn.edu/content/tll-serves-delicious-course-entrepreneurship" target="_blank">Read more here.</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-44380254349052153362013-02-19T20:38:00.000-08:002013-02-19T20:38:28.968-08:00Tuesday.Reblogged from <a href="http://edinterwebs.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">my Education Interwebs</a> blog.<br />
<br />
<h2>
...bringing to the stage, DJ Ed Interwebs... </h2>
<br />
Today in #diglits, we spoke about the identit(ies) that we perform through the creation of our blogs. Dr. Stornaioulo [god, I hope that spelling is correct :)] pulled one of my original quotes into a document that had quotes from all of our blogs. It was one of my first posts. She obviously had to do some digging to get to it. I’m on post 57. <br />
<blockquote>
I hope to use this blog to share many of my “ruminations” about the future of education as well as pepper in many of the quotes and perspectives that speak to my hopes and dreams. If you notice from the title, hip-hop plays a major role in how I “read the world” <a href="http://books.google.com/books/about/Literacy.html?id=SizJMVV9Da8C" target="_blank">(Friere & Macedo, 1987)</a> around us. <a href="http://rapgenius.com/Jay-electronica-victory-is-in-my-clutches-lyrics" target="_blank">If you don’t know, get familiar.</a></blockquote>
My introduction to the blog. I noticed a couple things. One, ruminations…I love that word because I believe it to be associated with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rumi" target="_blank">Rumi,</a> who happens to be one of my favorites. Two, I had to link my brother from another mother <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulo_Freire" target="_blank">Paulo Friere</a>. He should be my uncle I guess. He was pretty old. Maybe he could be my pops. Lastly, the “get familiar”—-tag line that I know from <a href="http://www.clintonsparks.com/" target="_blank">DJ Clinton Sparks mixtapes</a>—which links to a YouTube of <a href="http://rapgenius.com/Jay-electronica-victory-is-in-my-clutches-lyrics" target="_blank">Jay Electronica’s “Victory is in my Clutches”.</a> <br />
<br />
I realize that I really do take pride in my links. It’s not really about me. Most of the time, I don’t think I have anything original to say, or as Nas would say <a href="http://rapgenius.com/Nas-no-ideas-original-lyrics" target="_blank">“No Idea’s Original.”</a> [the ALCHEMIST version from The Lost Tapes] I do see myself as a curator and it comes out in a number of forms. I can dissect most of my language to their <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1thvEtGM5M" target="_blank">“originators”</a> as in <a href="http://smallprofessor.bandcamp.com/album/elderly-jawns" target="_blank">saying “jawn”</a> happened because I grew up around Philadelphia. Rap lyrics infiltrate the idioms and phrases of my life. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEgAExO6ghY" target="_blank">Comedians offer so many different jokes</a>. So many things feel like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIVYdd60eNs" target="_blank">a Curb Your Enthusiasm moment</a>. The music I listen to is not only connected to the artist, but also connected to the moment that I discovered them and the process in which that came about. It’s a giant story. For example, <a href="http://youtu.be/Big40Bu2teg" target="_blank">Kendrick Lamar.</a> [thats a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_7fEmSLu9g" target="_blank">Willie Hutch sample</a> from <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e7VngeFbhE" target="_blank">The Mack Soundtrack</a>] I have been listening to Kendrick Lamar <a href="http://kendricklamar.org/kendrick-lamar-mixtapes/kendrick-lamar-ep/" target="_blank">since the EP</a> because <a href="http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/TSS/2013/01/download9th-wonder-black-american-gangster-mixtape" target="_blank">9<sup>th</sup> Wonder</a> had an interview on <a href="http://allhiphop.com/" target="_blank">AllHipHop.com</a> which he stated that Kendrick Lamar was one of his new favorites from out of the West. One Ctrl+ T later, I am downloading the free Kendrick Lamar EP and have been a fan ever since. There is so many different instances which pull events together. <br />
<br />
I often talk about the genealogy of ideas that I have so much fun with in music, but it relates well to academia. Reading a <a href="http://www.waxpoetics.com/magazine" target="_blank">WaxPoetics magazine</a>, you come across so many different talented artists that helped to build classic music that would stand the test of time to become some of Hip-Hop’s greatest songs. Ex. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onp73T-bWzg" target="_blank">The Delfonics’ Ready Or Not</a>. These are amazing talents. You have to CITE YOUR SOURCES!! The funny thing about Hip-Hop is that you don’t just give it away. It becomes the responsibility of the listener to do the searching, to do the crate digging. You have to find it. I remember hearing the story of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RJlYzBhLg4" target="_blank">Afrika Bambataa</a> (from <a href="http://www.redbullmusicacademy.com/lectures/dj-red-alert--reel-recognize-reel" target="_blank">DJ Red Alert on a RBMA lecture</a>) that he would change the labels of the vinyl’s that he would play so that no other DJ would know the records he would be playing at the party. HAVING THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SOURCES IS A BIG DEAL.<br />
<br />
I think of how hip-hop definitely favors the academic in terms of being a crate-digger and a curator. It’s not just about what I have to say. In many ways, my validity is only based on the sources. As @epohnire pointed out today in class, I do look at my blog like I am a DJ. I try to create an environment that supports social justice, digital media, and progressive education. I don’t care if it’s my records or from somewhere else. It’s about that sound. If it’s not there, I would have to do more to create it. But that energy is already out there in the world so I can step back and curate it. <br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AR93r-ASWI" target="_blank">Miles Davis was great at curating</a>. He knew how to find himself in the new movements of jazz. I believe he did this because he always had one ear on his playing and one ear surveying the land. And you got to know what that <a href="http://youtu.be/113zhTf1bVM" target="_blank">Champion Sound is….</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-80979891259774221512013-02-18T17:55:00.002-08:002013-02-18T17:56:27.568-08:00Monday. (continued)I don't just write about my escapades in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Here's a post from my "professional identity" blog <a href="http://edinterwebs.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">Education Interwebs</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://edinterwebs.tumblr.com/post/42897683618/hold-up-it-aint-exactly-free-ruminations-on-the">hold up, it ain’t exactly free. [ruminations on the digital divide] </a><br />
<div class="text">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
“I can play the game because it’s free, but then are some other parts that it won’t let me access without payment.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is of course, the prevailing way in which developers are releasing their product: <a href="http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/16-03/ff_free" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">the freemium model.</span></a> The freemium model means that there is a wide amount of access for everyone, yet for premium privileges, there is a price. We see it everywhere. This is what storage sites like <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/pricing" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">DropBox</span></a> depend on. My favorite music community <a href="https://soundcloud.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">SoundCloud</span></a> is predicated upon the same deal. Many of the new ed-tech tools is premised upon the same strategy (famous exceptions: <a href="http://www.khanacademy.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Khan Academy</span></a>, <a href="http://www.ck12.org/student/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">CK-12</span></a>). In this way, it becomes awfully easy to suggest that there are SO many tools out there that are free. I would ask you to think twice about that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have you counted the cost of the computer/console/phone/device?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[have you considered the prerequisites of the operating system and software needed to browse Web 2.0 (Flash, HTML5 Supported Browser, etc)]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have you counted the cost of the internet upon which many of these applications depend?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[have you considered how telecom companies structure the cost of internet into triple play deals because internet is “just not enough”]</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have you read about the intricacies and delays around Comcast’s court-mandated Internet Essentials program that makes access to broadband SO cheap?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
[do you know anyone who actually has it? Do you know the bandwidth limits they have for these connections?]</div>
Do you know how to set up a router?<br />
….on…<br />
….and on….<br />
….and on….<br />
<br />
There’s a lot that we need to consider before we say that there are so many FREE tools out there to help students learn. There is still a ways to go before we rid ourselves of the digital divide. <br />
BONUS: There was a controversial article in the Forbes’ blog last year that spoke to this. What was the name of it?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-57913412652464738212013-02-12T20:46:00.002-08:002013-02-13T08:42:27.069-08:00Tuesday.Yes!! Yes!! My proposal was accepted for DML2013. I will have 90 minute presentation with up to 10 seats! I'll update with the abstract later. <br />
<div class="pane-title">
</div>
<div class="pane-title">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="font-family: "Times-Roman","serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Times-Roman;"></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Digital Media and
Learning Conference is an annual event supported by the MacArthur Foundation
and organized by the Digital Media and Learning Research Hub located at the UC
Humanities Research Institute, University of California, Irvine. The conference
is meant to be an inclusive, international and annual gathering of scholars and
practitioners in the field, focused on fostering interdisciplinary and
participatory dialog and linking theory, empirical study, policy, and practice.
The fourth annual conference – DML2013 – is organized around the theme
“Democratic Futures: Mobilizing Voices, and Remixing Youth Participation” and
will be held between March 14-16, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. <a href="http://dml2013.dmlhub.net/content/about" target="_blank">Read More.</a></blockquote>
<br />
<div class="pane-content">
Great thing about PennGSE is that they reimburse students up to $150 to attend conferences, up to $300 to present! I just got back an additional $150 and will reap excellent exposure and priceless wisdom for my project!<br />
<br />
UPDATE: Presentation Draft<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Localizing
the World Wide Web for Social Action<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Drawing upon the
research of The Kinder & Braver World Project, specifically Shock (2012), one
must begin to recognize and uphold that young people have played a major role within
every progressive social movement, engaging with many of the new media tools of
their time to “create, circulate, and amplify movement stories” in concert with
direct action. With increasing literacy
in using digital tools to enhance learning and exposure in educational settings,
we must continue to stand in the historical legacy to unite our voices and
stories with concrete strategies to actualize the transformations that drives
our passion to speak. How do we begin to reconcile local <i>action</i> within globe-reaching digital spaces in regards to civic
engagement and social justice curricula? What are effective techniques to
emphasize the balance between the creation of digital media and the need for active
reinforcement of ideas? What happens <i>after</i>
the media? My research seeks to investigate the connection between critical
digital literacies and actualizing the social justice aims within the local
community. Christopher Rogers has a project in process for the city of Chester,
Pennsylvania that will engage youth in a participatory action research project
to determine and implement digital solution(s) to create a more responsive
connection between community members and city services. This comes as an
expansion of a pilot project where youth engage with digital music creation
tools to create an album dedicated to uplifting youth perspective on critical
social issues. <a href="" name="_GoBack"></a> In
the workshop, participants will be introduced to Chester, PA through
behind-the-scenes footage of the <i>Chester
Sound</i> digital music lab while engaging in an informal conversation about
connecting the power and potential of digital media tools to drive community
movements and the struggle to actualize change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-88777769231321909232013-02-01T20:59:00.001-08:002013-02-01T20:59:48.339-08:00Friday. Just finished up writing a major essay for EDUC 550. One of my professors asked me to come to campus tomorrow to help with a tour of young impressionable high schoolers. Sort of excited about this!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-56243630310960292662013-01-30T23:35:00.001-08:002013-01-30T23:35:10.697-08:00Wednesday (cont.)GSE LAB redesign. <br/><br/><div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aumYe9eWP4M/UQoerXosNcI/AAAAAAAAAEM/GONOdRqeq-M/s640/blogger-image--260487942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-aumYe9eWP4M/UQoerXosNcI/AAAAAAAAAEM/GONOdRqeq-M/s640/blogger-image--260487942.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0University City Philadelphia39.953421 -75.197026tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-89830290767355244182013-01-30T23:30:00.001-08:002013-01-30T23:31:36.824-08:00Wednesday.<h2>
An ode to the GSE Computer Lab</h2>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
2am in the GSE
Computer Lab. I love this place. Especially at night, most people leave GSE
somewhere round 7. The stragglers and 7-9 classes roll out at 9:01 (no time
wasted!). A few stragglers stick around in
the computer lab to work on this or that. They are usually gone by 11pm. Then it’s just me. [maybe a couple more
people but I’m not sure if they want to be exposed in this blog]. They redesigned the computer lab over the
break. Taking out the cubicles for the island—the post-industrial redesign [NO
WALLS]. They added some softer recliner laptop chairs for all those folks who
decide to invade the computer lab to only plop their laptop in front of an open
available desktop.—I’m different. I have this iPad yet no device to effectively
type papers. But back to the point. I’m
usually playing either A) a sports podcast, B) a hip hop podcast C) pulling up an
album on Youtube. Books out. Phone on
the charger. Volume on the comp all the
way UP! It’s like my own personal home base. Most folks at GSE know me for
being here mad late, but I don’t think they know just how much fun I have when I
am here. Actually, I’m glad they don’t. MORE COMPUTER LAB FOR ME.<o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-28467983716202263782013-01-16T13:56:00.004-08:002013-01-16T13:56:59.726-08:00Wednesday.Finishing up the first week of the new semester. <br />
<br />
A couple thoughts--Graduate School Grades<br />
--interestingly enough, I am more interested than feedback on my final papers than my final grade. Sometimes my grades match with my professor, sometimes they do not. Advice purposes:<strong> Keep your expectations above the professor's expectations and you'll be fine.</strong> <br />
<br />
New Semester<br />
--I love my use of electives. Thank God that I chose not to pursue the Reading Specialist certification so I could have them. I have a class on Video Games, Digital Literacies, Black Male Development [independent study], Education & Social Entrepreneurship, and Multicultural Children's Literature. Advice: <strong>All other things held constant, do the thing thats best for you.</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
The Job Search<br />
--I'm looking. You know of anything out there in the interwebs...please let me know.<br />
<br />
That's it for now. Also, I have a new blog starting soon for my digital literacies class. Shall be interesting. <br />
<br />
-Chris.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-59613970051651705812012-12-17T11:47:00.000-08:002012-12-17T11:48:07.368-08:00Monday.<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">This post has four
reasons for being:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>its
an act of desperation<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>to
remind those who would like to be reminded<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>to
remind those who would like NOT to be reminded<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4)<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span>to
inform those who might not know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">^^from one of my
favorite poems of all time and also might serve as my new year’s resolution</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/dKjyfOIvlF0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lately, I have been
gearing up to write my final paper for the semester. It’s a 15-20 page paper
for EDUC 723: Multicultural Issues in Education.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a research paper in which the topic for
myself keeps fluidly changing as I navigate the texts available regarding the interrelatedness
between critical race theory and education. There’s the general critical
literature review that I could do right….but that’s just too easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Funny how I asked
for an extension just so I can have the opportunity to get my thoughts right on
this one—like Christmas isn’t next week.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One part of my mind says nothing would give more pleasure than to be
able to return to my borrowed NetFlix on-demand IPad app. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">But the other side…the
deeper, darker side is perplexed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m
finishing up my first semester at Penn GSE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>For all intents and purposes, its been a great ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m over-satisfied with the direction of the
RWL program and overjoyed at the faculty connections I have made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My advisor is Dr. Gadsden—don’t let me forget
that I owe her this 15-20 page monster paper. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/vsMM8JQ10hk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Why the
build-up?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While working on my final
class portfolios, I realized something about my work at Penn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was doing the assignments. I handed them in
on time with proper citations and all the academic jargon that you need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I totally forgot about pleasing the
most significant portion of this entire experience—myself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ml5RhkyKXyc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">All these things
that I have written, did I write them for me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At the end of the day, what did I get out of it? What did I learn?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most times I have no idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, I retain some information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can spit a couple quotes from Lisa Delpit,
I understand New Literacy Studies as formulated by James Gee, but what about my
own theories, have I challenged them?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/gtUsEbbVBuo?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It all started when
I found this document that I created two years ago to begin this journey into
literacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Program Proposal for Chester
Community Publishing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coming off of a
solid year where I founded and administered the Chester High Entrepreneurship
Club, Chester Community Publishing would be the next step.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As formulated, Chester Community Publishing
sought to incentivize reading and writing in Chester, Pennsylvania by creating
a community-owned publishing house where profits were split 50/50 between the
program and the author.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is a book
anyway? Just a couple of PDF’s and maybe some scanned artwork.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could do that. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next thing you know, I had an entire proposal
written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Awesome period in time. Sadly, I
can’t remember the feeling that compelled me to do it and that’s what caused me
to begin the internal conversation of where my current motivations and passions
lie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/KGwpdlDYLbE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Jump back to paper
preparation. Now I’m trying to find articles that will work for this
paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I come across this monster effort
by Charles Lawrence: The Word and the River: Pedagogy as Scholarship as
Struggle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Man, I was in church when I read
this—check it:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“I press on,
despite my fears, with the sense of exhilaration and fatalism that one
experiences in battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps I have
the skill to walk the tightrope, to tell just enough of the truth to be bought
out instead of wiped out….”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“It is the work of
those [scholars] who remain cool and distant in the face of suffering because
it is not their liberation, their humanity which is at stake…”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“Even when I
managed to remain true to my convictions, professional pressures required that
I employ language and references that threatened to make my work inaccessible
to a large part of the audience I hoped to reach.”</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“The disguises of
abstract argument, hypothetical case, theoretical construct, and polite form
have been removed. The full force of my feelings has been recaptured and
expressed”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/e2snUC2Jg6s?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">…And there’s more.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">There’s just so
much to this picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many ways, I
have been avoiding my own voice to embrace the so called academic cocktail
party. Cite this here. Include a quote from this. The word “capitulation” comes
to mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I feel lost at times. I don’t
have that feeling that I started with. I’m here to uncover some truth and bring
it back to Chester.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I ask myself
again…what did you learn?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The great part
about it is now I’m beginning to have that real conversation with myself about
exactly what do I want and I’m seeing that critical race theorists are bringing
in what I’m searching by the truckload.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I then read more unassigned articles in the past week than the rest of
the semester.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have no idea what I am
doing—well, actually I do—but I need to get writing on this paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can’t be having life realizations during
finals season. But yo…Check this jawn out from Charles Lawrence:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span class="usercontent"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN;">1. Speak simple truths to power.</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">
<span class="usercontent">2. Making our own communities our first audience.</span><br />
<span class="usercontent">3. Creating a homeplace for refuge and hard
conversations.</span><br />
<span class="usercontent">4. Defining boundaries (knowing who is us and who is
them).</span><br />
<span class="usercontent">5. Starting small (knowing that small is important and
good).</span><br />
<span class="usercontent">6. Remembering that we are beautiful and that we are
bad (or "the bomb").<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">from </span><a href="http://www.temple.edu/tempress/chapters_1400/1603_ch1.pdf"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">http://www.temple.edu/tempress/chapters_1400/1603_ch1.pdf</span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m on this new
mission to really embrace the ME first in my education. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/tA5tThJlaNA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Enjoy the Christmas break everyone and look forward to returning next semester ready to dig in.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-84974620910759823442012-12-04T21:03:00.002-08:002012-12-04T21:08:26.289-08:00Tuesday.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
"This guy is the hardest worker at GSE. He lives in the
computer lab. This man right here knows everything about this place. Mr. Rogers
is the kid you want in your project group- to get that A, lol"</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
--Kevin B.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That being said, It's nothing like blasting your favorite
new mixtape through the GSE computer lab at 2:45am. When everyone leaves,
the building is mine. Is this because the workload at GSE is that much to
have me up that late at night? Partly. I like being at GSE. Being
home sometimes can be very distracting...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
The GSE Computer lab is open 24 hours with PennCard access...with a water
cooler down the hall...and also access to the first floor classrooms. In
preparation for a presentation last week, I borrowed one of the classrooms for
an impromptu movie screening.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
My advice: Your paying top-dollar for it, you better take advantage!</div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-44508850037280579482012-11-29T22:09:00.002-08:002012-11-29T22:09:54.457-08:0012:57am. FridaySorry folks, it's been a while. The semester is coming to a close...And the work is stacking up! With 5 classes, I have to manage my time <strike>more </strike>effectively.<br />
<br />
About that 5 classes, the way Penn's cost structure is set up---it's BUY 4 get 1 class FREE. Awesome right? Save a good amount of money!<br />
<br />
Except word around GSE is that the RWL program isn't really set up for someone to be full-time 5 classes. What does that mean? The work is at a premium. I'm constantly working on some project.<br />
<br />
No one says it can't be done. But know...you are going to be pushed to the limit. And this end of the semester is going to have me on the plank.<br />
<br />
--15-20 page paper due for Multicultural Issues in Education<br />
--A GIANT Curriculum-as-Inquiry Project for Elementary RWL with Campano<br />
--Inquiry #3 and Inquiry #4 due for Secondary RWL Curriculum<br />
--Program Plan and Literature Review due for Community + Art Partnerships<br />
--Restructured Service Framework? due for Psychoeducational Interactions with Black Males. <br />
<br />
A whole lot of late nights and early mornings. Will be worth it come Winter break. But for now...<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/DipWUdwokMY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<em>...and the best advice I ever got was keep writing, and keep living, and keep loving...</em></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-80421520153728897502012-11-16T12:58:00.001-08:002012-11-16T12:58:05.157-08:00Why I'm Not Thankful for Thanksgiving
<span style="font-size: 10pt;">Thanksgiving, like much of American
history, is complex, multifaceted, and will
not bear too close a scrutiny without revealing a less-than-heroic aspect. Knowing the
truth about Thanksgiving, both its proud and
its shameful motivations and history, might
well benefit contemporary children. But the
glib retelling of an ethnocentric and self-
serving falsehood does not do one any good... </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span>
<a href="http://www.rethinkingschools.org/static/publication/rcpm/RPCMflyer4web.pdf" target="_blank">Read more here.</a><br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-19347511682499228442012-11-12T13:22:00.001-08:002012-11-12T13:22:42.642-08:00Monday.Yes. RWL is all about the circle. No rows here.<br />
<br />
[currently in EDUC 533: Reforming the Elementary Reading/Writing/Literacy Curriculum] <div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HPQBRHWPQ8s/UKFooW14nhI/AAAAAAAAADk/14em5Pw2E-c/s640/blogger-image-517499474.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HPQBRHWPQ8s/UKFooW14nhI/AAAAAAAAADk/14em5Pw2E-c/s640/blogger-image-517499474.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-60967303505831300062012-11-11T19:08:00.000-08:002012-11-11T19:08:16.452-08:00Sunday.It's hard working on what you love. It's hard when you care. I'm at a point where I'm expected to write sooo much but I don't think I have a full grasp of what I'm saying. But time doesn't stop. Assignments are due. There's new reading. One of the Ph.D RWL students once said this:<br />
<br />
<h2>
"I'm overwhelmed with work. But I'd definitely appreciate being overwhelmed than underwhelmed."</h2>
<br />
In many ways, that's a nugget for those interested in Penn GSE.<br />
<br />
On that note, I have something else to share. I had this on repeat as I keep type, type , typing away.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/nqZM2iM4YHQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-84931975344887810992012-11-06T15:43:00.000-08:002012-11-06T15:43:26.975-08:00Tuesday.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/c3uatcJqt54?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em></em> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em>Do you know where you're going to?<br />Do you like the things that life is showing you?<br />Where are you going to?<br />Do you know...?<br /><br />Do you get<br />What you're hoping for?<br />When you look behind you<br />There's no open door<br />What are you hoping for?<br />Do you know...?</em></div>
<em></em><br />
It's that time of the year. Semester ending papers are coming up. Class readings are that much more harder to get through. Questions come through your mind. Why are you here?<br />
<br />
GSE can be arduous at times. You need to have your heart anchored somewhere. What's your motivation? What's your long-term goals? What legacy do you want to leave?<br />
<strong>These are the ingredients to making a bomb personal statement. </strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<strong>Make your personal statement something that you can reflect on when times get rough. Make it your anchor.</strong><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<em><br /></em></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-16942750237859501742012-10-30T14:07:00.001-07:002012-10-30T14:07:32.445-07:00Tuesday.I'm ready to go home.--Chris, whose stuck in NYC. <br />
<br />
(spot the connection to Penn GSE)<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7ndyPnXGnBE/UJBBk9zQT1I/AAAAAAAAADU/1FDb5g2Zk0o/s640/blogger-image--363258364.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-7ndyPnXGnBE/UJBBk9zQT1I/AAAAAAAAADU/1FDb5g2Zk0o/s640/blogger-image--363258364.jpg" /></a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-54967487533026060832012-10-21T16:46:00.001-07:002012-10-22T19:02:57.470-07:00Multicultural Issues in Podcasting.<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><span style="background-color: #20124d; font-family: inherit;">Comedian W. Kamau Bell steps into the garage for the kind of conversation he says doesn’t happen enough - an honest discussion about race. Marc and Kamau try to deal with racial identity in comedy and they explain why it would help if white people would be more open about their whiteness. Plus, Kamau explains how he got hooked up with Chris Rock, leading to his show Totally...</span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.wtfpod.com/podcast/episodes/episode_325_-_w._kamau_bell#.UISJPj49rR8.blogger">Episode 325 - W. Kamau Bell</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/H4gRenlbkuU?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-50166370728413130872012-10-21T14:24:00.001-07:002012-10-21T14:25:54.518-07:00Class Assignment."In the next 20 minutes, we would like you to create a digital story using the devices at your disposal to relate to your poem." Dr. Amy<br />
<br />
Paul Laurence Dunbar, Sympathy.<br />
<br />
I KNOW what the caged bird feels, alas! <br />
When the sun is bright on the upland slopes; <br />
When the wind stirs soft through the springing grass, <br />
And the river flows like a stream of glass; <br />
When the first bird sings and the first bud opes, <br />
And the faint perfume from its chalice steals — <br />
I know what the caged bird feels!<br />
<br />
I know why the caged bird beats his wing <br />
Till its blood is red on the cruel bars; <br />
For he must fly back to his perch and cling <br />
When he fain would be on the bough a-swing; <br />
And a pain still throbs in the old, old scars <br />
And they pulse again with a keener sting — <br />
I know why he beats his wing!<br />
<br />
I know why the caged bird sings, ah me, <br />
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,— <br />
When he beats his bars and he would be free; <br />
It is not a carol of joy or glee, <br />
But a prayer that he sends from his heart's deep core, <br />
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings — <br />
I know why the caged bird sings!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lFmFr_nAgYk/UIRoFbzUXCI/AAAAAAAAAC8/v4YuByB9Pr4/s640/blogger-image-1208939772.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lFmFr_nAgYk/UIRoFbzUXCI/AAAAAAAAAC8/v4YuByB9Pr4/s640/blogger-image-1208939772.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-91519524027930214052012-10-15T15:39:00.001-07:002012-10-15T15:40:02.332-07:00Monday.<h2>
Inquiry. </h2>
<h2>
Inquiry. </h2>
<h2>
and when you finish inquiring... </h2>
<h2>
Inquire some more. </h2>
<br />
The RWL department of Penn GSE breathes <strong>practitioner inquiry</strong>. It is the life-blood of the program. It is our filter. <br />
<ul>
<li>It is the ham to our burger... </li>
<li>It's the butter to our popcorn... </li>
<li>It's the paper to our printer...</li>
<li>It's the electric to our computer...</li>
<li>It's the sugar to our Kool Aid...</li>
<li>It's the tires to our car...</li>
<li>It's the battery to our phone... </li>
<li>It's the carbon to our molecules...</li>
<li>It's the dipping sauce to our chicken nuggets... </li>
<li>It's gravity to our earth... </li>
<li>It's the lead to our pencil...</li>
<li>It's the ink to our pen...</li>
<li>Its the ....I must inquire for more.</li>
</ul>
Yes, practitioner inquiry is <em>that </em>important to our program. You will unlearn what you know and relearn through it. Unfamiliar with Practitioner Inquiry? Please read up on the "mother of" Practitioner Inquiry: Dr. Susan Lytle.<br />
<h1 class="first">
<a href="http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/2933" target="_blank">Practitioner Inquiry and the Practice of Teaching: Some Thoughts on <em>Better</em></a></h1>
<div class="first">
</div>
<!-- from public.print.view --><!-- Press releases get a different header --><!-- Authors --><b>By:</b> <a href="http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/nwp_au/122">Susan Lytle</a><br />
<!-- Publication --><!-- Date --><b>Date:</b> February 2008<br />
<!-- Summary --><b>Summary</b>: Susan Lytle, founding director of the Philadelphia Writing Project, observes that teacher-researchers aim primarily to teach better, a theme she finds illuminated in a physician-written book about the practice of medicine.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-34113857378044510772012-10-12T12:57:00.000-07:002012-10-12T12:57:16.200-07:00Thursday.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://specevents.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/SPEC-Flyer-4x6-Bleed-Template.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://specevents.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/SPEC-Flyer-4x6-Bleed-Template.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
Last night was awesome. Mayer Hawthorne gave us a great $10 concert. <br />
(his tickets are usually close to the 20$ range so I feel his effort matched the decrease in price)<br />
....now watch the BEST VIDEO EVER.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/S4iIsE1PBhE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2238894046926138710.post-38175743069132219912012-10-11T11:59:00.003-07:002012-10-11T11:59:55.081-07:00Writing Ritual.My writing ritual. <br />
<ol>
<li>Log on Computer.</li>
<li>Open water bottle.</li>
<li>Visit Facebook.</li>
<li>Check my <a href="http://flipboard.com/" target="_blank">Flipboard</a>.</li>
<li>Go to the bathroom.</li>
<li>Open Microsoft Word.</li>
<li>Close Internet Explorer.</li>
<li>Find perfect mix from <a href="http://www.rbmaradio.com/" target="_blank">RBMA Radio.</a></li>
<li>Check my Facebook from the Phone.</li>
<li>Take a sip of water.</li>
<li>Customize Microsoft Word.</li>
<ol>
<li>Set Font to Times New Roman.</li>
<li>Set Zoom to 90%.</li>
<li>Set Line Spacing to 1.0.</li>
<li>Set Paragraph Spacing to 0 pt.</li>
</ol>
<li>Open Internet Explorer.</li>
<li>Check <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/" target="_blank">SBNation</a>.</li>
<li>Close Internet Explorer.</li>
<li>Open PDF's on IPad Adobe Reader.</li>
<li>Look outside.</li>
<li>Type name on top right-hand corner.</li>
<li>Hit the Enter button twice.</li>
<li>Find assignment directions.</li>
<li>Take a sip of water.</li>
<li>Begin writing.</li>
</ol>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14780645063523648915noreply@blogger.com1