Author Archives: gigiibond

The study presented by Kraehe and Brown is about how to give teachers social justice awakenings and why they will benefit the classroom. The intro explains how art-based inquiry creates experiences for people which in turn makes them better critical thinkers. These aesthetic learning experiences allow the brain and body to interact and absorb at the same time, increasing reflection. The next few sections define the frameworks used to interpret how this learning prompts the capabilities for social justice, including connections, active engagement, sensory experience, perceptivity, risk taking, and imagination. The study was based off of another study analyzing the depth students had socioculutrally after a semester of learning in an arts-based inquiry setting. The students who were tested found new insight and understanding of themselves by doing art that related to key ideas in the sociocultural context. For most, the video project– one that included collaboration and group discussion– was the most interesting and had the best outcome. Some also had outcomes of pleasure and fear (anxiety), which determined success and enjoyment. The students were able to employ aesthetic experiences in order to uncover and understand new cultural issues in society, making them better critical thinkers and discussors. In Real Life is about putting games and economics together and highlighting organization and how games bring people together and keeping them together. The story begins with a young girl starting to play a video game as a female character, to bring attention to inequality within media. She feels empowered by this game, especially when talking about it at school. The need for money is highlighted by the gold farmers in the game, especially when she discovers that they are kids just like her. Right when she wants to help, the opportunity gets stripped from her, illuminating the gap in understanding between parents and kids. She decides to help the gold farmer, Raymond, but once she does her boss finds out and tries to kill him. She kills her virtual boss and finds out Raymond was fired from his job as a bot, she is devastated, but her mission isn’t ended. The workers in China eventually go on strike and get their health care. She reconnects with Raymond and everything works out for the better. An important part of this novel is that video games allow strangers to meet and connect, which can change lives.

Personally, I have always looked for games or books that promote femininity and power within females. I think this book is great for young girls, but also a broad audience of students who are involved in video games. It’s really cool that while this novel demonstrates how women are under-represented in media, it also informs the reader on different economic classes in the world. This awareness is very important to understand at a high school and college age, so I would definitely use this in classroom to teach about global issues. I resonated with the main character and her desire to change the world and help others, which made the novel a lot more intriguing. The novel also makes want to try playing a game like CoarseGold because of how much it empowered her as a high school student.

How did you feel after reading In Real Life? Did it change what you thought about video games and/or global problems?

The study’s main point is to explain how the Arthur Interactive Media game created works, and how it affects different people and age groups and why. Cross-age peer dyads are introduced by the buddy system with this game as the need for conversation is required to reflect on what is happening. The paper also writes on the fact that digital media has a positive outcome, since the children can interact with it easily. The participant choices are varied, and the procedure has the steps of meeting and getting to know your buddy, reading and talking together, and reflecting. As it turns out, many teachers were very satisfied with the program, and most students had deep conversations when necessary. The paper wants to stress the idea that promoting character in young kids is very important and should be sought for, as this game implements humility and forgiveness. The video is also about AIM and how children need to gain skills but see them in action and discuss them, which is what AIM does. The game is interactive and allows children to explore these issues in school. These give the kids the necessary characteristics such as empathy and generosity by giving them the perspective of others. The interactive sessions with buddies make it effective because it brings everyone closer together as discussion is induced. they spend time with their buddies. After reading these, I played the AIM game. It begins by Arthur making fun of one of his friends, and this escalates until she gets hurt by the comments. His friends think it’s funny at first but realize it isn’t at the end of it. The purpose of the game is to teach kids that teasing someone after they’ve asked you to stop is bullying. The questions within the game guide the reader along to understand what each character should and shouldn’t do.

I think this game would be very effective, and I wish we were able to do something like this when I was in school. During elementary school we often did workshops with our class on what types of behavior is okay, but I think it would’ve been much better if we did character development, even at that young of an age. Also, our classrooms only had 1st-3rd grade, so we never met or knew older students until we were in middle school. The buddy program would be interesting to see first hand because interaction is key in AIM. It is very cool to see schools creating this sort of media in order to create well rounded and better shaped future citizens– I think the school systems have finally grasped how necessary this is for us. Starting early is never a bad choice when it comes to situations like there, and using the tools around us makes it that much easier. I think it would be a great opportunity to be on a team who works on creating games like these since they have such a significant impact on students at that age.

If you were tasked with making and implementing a game like this in schools, how would you go about doing it?

In the Ted Talk video, G. L. Yang explains his life working with comics. He highlights the educational potential they have through the description of his experiences with them as a high school math teacher. He found through his work that comics tie in verbal and visual effects which aids students in comprehending topics or themes, in his case, math. The students reading the comics had the ability to determine how slowly or quickly they could go through, an effective “remote control” was given to them. In addition to this Ted Talk, G. L. Yang is one of the authors of Secret Coders. Theses comics establish and teach the basics of programming while also offering a story line to go with it.
Hopper is created as a real and engaging character as she deals with the struggles many teens do– divorce, moving, making new friends, etc. The purpose of the story line is to keep the audience engaged and give them something to relate to while learning new topics. This makes it easy for the reader to grasp the necessary knowledge provided within the text. In the article about tapping into parallel universes, by Hall and Lucal, superhero comics are advocated for use in the classroom since they connect sociology to everyday life. Using comic books in general ties in imagination, but usually superhero comics are those that make cultural assumptions about many realms. Male or female power roles and the stereotypes that go along with them are easily seen in this type of graphic novel. Race is additionally apart of this assumption. Many questions can be brought up for discussion, and the article offers the reader two ways to teach these types of comics, giving teachers the background and support they need. Teachers can also have their pupils conduct new research on these novels in order to bring out new interesting topics not yet discovered– every time these books are used in a new setting, a new point is always pulled out. The article effectively states that you can’t go wrong by using these comics to parallel sociology to life. The last work was an article by Collins and Halverson about the technological revolution and how it is changing the schooling/education system. Education is lifelong and this revolution is bringing new ways to learn that deviate from traditional schooling. They have many differences such as but not limited to: custom learning v. uniform learning of schools, a system where the teacher is the expert while a system where there is expansive diverse knowledge online anyone can access, and the amount of coverage in each type of education. In addition, the article presents the new systems technologies can fuel like homeschooling, online workplace learning, learning centers, and web communities where people can connect and chat. Technology provides a new era where students rely less on authority: the state and parents, and can access what they want to know whenever they want to know it. Lastly, the article addresses the pros and cons, making it an effective argument by showing what could possibly go wrong and then refuting it with the good points. The author illuminates that technology could create a cultural and economic gap, but has so many benefits that outweigh that cost.

In my algebra 2 math class in high school, my teacher used a “flipped classroom.” This was similar to Yang’s first method of recording lectures for his students, but rather than watching in class we watched them as homework. I didn’t particularly like this system because even though we had the ability to skip back and forth, not having the teacher face to face was difficult. Doing our written homework in class seemed pointless, and during the videos I always wanted to ask questions. While I see how Yang’s choice to create comics could be intriguing and may work for some students, I don’t think it would work as well for me. I believe this could be because I have been cultured to the tradition of lectures given in person where I have visual notes and audio information. As much as I don’t think the comics would have been useful for someone like me, even though it is all visual, I would like to try it once to see how I feel.

Would you want your math class to be taught via comics when the teacher wasn’t present? Do you think it would benefit you or be a detriment to your learning?

1. Each comic was designed in a different way making it unique from others. Some were presented as a video with animation, others were simple color drawings, and some were black and white images without much detail.
2. I think the artists wanted something easy to follow and each appeals to a specific audience whether it be for action or comedy or something else. Also, the easier a cartoon in, the quicker it can be put online or out into the world which increases efficiency.
3. The intended audience depends on the type of cartoon it is, which determines if it has to do with age, gender culture, or other factors.
4. I wouldn’t change anything because each artists designs these in their own way that they deem effective. I know if I made comics mine would look much different than theirs based on personal choice, tools and skills. I would create a comic not based off of what they have done.
5. Lots of experience and schooling with art, access to the internet and a digital device, and a story are all needed to make these comics.
6. I enjoyed when I was sent to a playlist because I could then read or listen to a comic that sounded interesting to me. It also makes it easier to follow a series that way
7. Yes, all of these are effective and make good use of the internet browser even though some seem more dull than others.

The article about Persepolis in schools in Chicago and the freedom to teach highlighted the importance of graphic novels. McNicol advocates for comic books in schools by saying they relate to school curriculum. Reading comics allows students to develop a different type of reading, one that includes all the senses. The teaching of these comics is quite difficult and therefore teachers may need support when doing this so that students can grasp what they need to from the novel. Persepolis was the main example of how comics can be taken the wrong way– this book was banned due to one or two images, not the story all together. The themes in comics are usually distressing and they should be discussed in class because this develops maturity in students. The Ted talk video was additionally on the topic of comics, but more specifically the conventions of comic books. The purpose of this talk was to present to the audience the importance of comic books and how they existed in history and only have changed slightly since then. Comics embrace all of the senses and let the reader imagine parts of the story, making them stronger readers. In addition, the talk relates paper comics to digital media and that lots of work had to be done to make it easy to navigate a graphic novel online. Comics have a spatial relationship with time and the interwebs couldn’t catch that until the speaker proposed an “infinite canvas,” which gave them the tools to write continuous long comics online. The lecture wasn’t about comics specifically but about reading in general. Gaiman grinds into the listeners head that reading for pleasure and reading fiction is significant to every age group. Starting as kids is vital, so Gaiman pinpoints and talks to parents about how to make them love reading and learn that it is an enjoyable thing. He states that fiction is an escape of the real world but one that offers knowledge of the real world– there is always some truth in the “falseness” of fiction. He continues to speak on the importance of libraries and librarians. Libraries are the “gate to the future,” as we continue into a digital age, the information stored in libraries must be preserved because it connects us to our past. He finishes on the obligations as parents and as readers, that we should do it for pleasure and that we must preserve libraries.

In high school, once again in my IB english class, I was given the opportunity to read the graphic novel Persepolis. This novel offered many daunting themes, but overall I am so glad I read it. I had never dived into the world of comics, and I never would have if it weren’t for that class. Persepolis was an extremely interesting coming of age story with so much depth to it. Marjane’s choice to write about the Islamic Revolution as a part of her life was a risky choice that cause many controversies, but it ultimately made her story that much more intriguing. She was able to take her reader on a relatable emotional roller coaster. Rather than just analyzing the words like I would in a written novel, I was able to discuss the images, “sounds,” and colors. This completely changed what I thought I knew about the analysis of books, and I found so much more meaning in this form of novel. The most significant point of reading this was discussing it in class. My teacher gave us background information on the book which then facilitated very strong discussion in class. We were able to present our own ideas but grow off of others analysis as well. I now believe comic books are very important and should be taught about in all curriculum.

Why do you think reading fiction at a young age aids one so much in the future, and how would continuing to read and use libraries in the 21st century benefit you now?

The two articles and the TEDx video all presented the same main idea: critical thinking within and by using media must be taught at schools. The TEDx video highlights the importance of teaching students creativity in order for them to innovate effectively. Many examples were used to provide context for how far this design-oriented mindset can go. The article written by Mirra, Morrell, and Filipiak goes into detail about how multiliteracies came to be through NLG, and how this idea should be supported. The “protectionist approach” is described and the contrasted by the necessity for criticality in digital media– rather than solely consumption, digital media should be produced by the youth of the 21st century. Critical media education is re-theorized in the article and its components are defined, reaching an ultimate goal of showing the audience that young people should be provided with the skills to think and create beyond the boundaries already created. Similar to the video, the article argues that a development of a broad set of digital skills is crucial if students wish to excel in leading and innovating. The last article, by Degand, additionally focuses on the significance of teaching students about media and giving them the leeway to produce it. In addition to this, Degand focuses on the culturally oppression within the media, and how this effects production and exposure. He references sociocultural constructionism and focusing on the individual as a writer. He illuminates the importance of critical literacy, specifically within the media, and how this allows the audience to not only determine the political lenses it was created with, but also allows the audience to view it with different theoretical points of view. This type of teaching allows 21st century students to excel in production and innovation by allowing them to think out of the box. During his work on culturally relevant media production and the three criteria it approaches, he emphasizes development and knowledge of society in order to challenge the status quo. Overall, all the works underline how teaching creativity and critical thinking to students through media allows them to become the innovators of the new age.

In high school I took an International Baccaleaureate English course in which we analyzed media and how it is presented to an audience. The primary type of media was advertisements, both video and picture. We learned that these media forms are first off demonstrated to an audience by a person with a bias, cultural or political, and that second off they are interpreted differently by each viewer. We deeply examined types of symbolism and language
within the ads and paired that with context of composition in order to attempt to find out what position the creator was in. By doing this, we could determine what specific audience the ad directed and how it did that effectively, similar to the description in the articles. We then had practice on creating our own advertisement videos to see how great of an effect differing types of language and portrayal had on an audience. In addition, other people in class had to design media that did not marginalize groups and was respectful to cultures– essentially extremely neutral. By discussing media that did the opposite of that, we were able to contrast each type and understand why certain ads were shown to the audience the way they were. After reading these articles, I realized that within this high school class multiliteracy and the critiquing in of media was and production of media was induced.

In our time today when political opinion is valued and often spoken about, wouldn’t a younger age group provide more of a bias within media (when producing) than older age groups? Or would younger people that are more aware of the political climate censor specific parts of media when producing (and also consuming) it?

Ciao! My name is Gigi Bond and I am a biomedical engineering major and considering an education minor. I love music, social media, and books. I am a freshman at UC Davis from NorCal, but my family is Italian (obviously!). I spend most of my time talking and laughing, as shown below.

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