Children, Media and Change: Reflections to Date
Fall Term
This class so far has been an interesting one. I had no idea what to expect upon entering the first class. I was surprised with the choice of film shown in the first class, War Dance. I could see how it was related to the course, but it was not the first thing I had had in mind when thinking of the term "Children, Media and Change". I thought the same way when viewing School of Rock. I started to wonder where the media geared directly toward children were. It was not until we did the individual media analyses that I understood the complexities of the intersection between children and media. It helped a lot to go beyond the readings and search for our own content.
I found the children's book project to be engaging. We began with the autobiography of our childhood, and I had no trouble writing on my experiences with television as a child. Translating that into a book required a bit of work, since I had not done any heavy arts and crafts projects since grade school. The process felt great and brought me back to a time when I would work with paper, glue and scissors more often. In a way, this project helped me to be more cultured by combining storytelling and making crafts (Bredikyte and Hakkarainen, 2007) [*].
The reading leadership was a fine way for everyone to delve further into the readings. The one that my group presented on motherhood was a bit of a challenge due to the other projects within the class. Eventually, we all pulled our ideas together and delivered what we could. I found that we went a lot more in-depth with the readings' subject matter this way.
The largest project for me by far was this website. The Weebly system has made it easy to organize my content, even if I am not as organized myself. My favourite section, the Media Collection page, reminded me of my own past and how much media have changed since then. Overall, the experience this fall was a great harbinger for what is to come. The interactivity within this course almost reminds me of the model of visual arts education promoted by Stephanie Springgay's Body Knowledge and Curriculum (2008) [*]. I hope that what I have done so far will serve me well in the coming months.
Myles
This class so far has been an interesting one. I had no idea what to expect upon entering the first class. I was surprised with the choice of film shown in the first class, War Dance. I could see how it was related to the course, but it was not the first thing I had had in mind when thinking of the term "Children, Media and Change". I thought the same way when viewing School of Rock. I started to wonder where the media geared directly toward children were. It was not until we did the individual media analyses that I understood the complexities of the intersection between children and media. It helped a lot to go beyond the readings and search for our own content.
I found the children's book project to be engaging. We began with the autobiography of our childhood, and I had no trouble writing on my experiences with television as a child. Translating that into a book required a bit of work, since I had not done any heavy arts and crafts projects since grade school. The process felt great and brought me back to a time when I would work with paper, glue and scissors more often. In a way, this project helped me to be more cultured by combining storytelling and making crafts (Bredikyte and Hakkarainen, 2007) [*].
The reading leadership was a fine way for everyone to delve further into the readings. The one that my group presented on motherhood was a bit of a challenge due to the other projects within the class. Eventually, we all pulled our ideas together and delivered what we could. I found that we went a lot more in-depth with the readings' subject matter this way.
The largest project for me by far was this website. The Weebly system has made it easy to organize my content, even if I am not as organized myself. My favourite section, the Media Collection page, reminded me of my own past and how much media have changed since then. Overall, the experience this fall was a great harbinger for what is to come. The interactivity within this course almost reminds me of the model of visual arts education promoted by Stephanie Springgay's Body Knowledge and Curriculum (2008) [*]. I hope that what I have done so far will serve me well in the coming months.
Myles
January
The start of the new term brought new changes, changes that I am looking forward to. It seems that we are going more in depth in terms tyhof change, and how we transform children for the better. Our use of descriptive words for children gave me a greater sense of how children perceive the world. In a way, it is much easier to see it through their perspective by imagining our own childhood experiences.
My research on children's literature really helped me to see the change that I intended to focus on. The vast amount of children's books - as well as the academic literature to explain it all - illuminated my mind with new dimensions in defining children's literature. Another unexplored view of the child that I found intriguing was a view that places the child in a dangerous, broken world. Both Slumdog Millionaire and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas provided an unflinching look at what can happen when children are left to fend for themselves in situations that they did not create, such as extreme poverty in rural India, or the transnational tensions brewing during World War II. Hopefully, we can learn some things from them so that we may encourage change in others.
Myles
The start of the new term brought new changes, changes that I am looking forward to. It seems that we are going more in depth in terms tyhof change, and how we transform children for the better. Our use of descriptive words for children gave me a greater sense of how children perceive the world. In a way, it is much easier to see it through their perspective by imagining our own childhood experiences.
My research on children's literature really helped me to see the change that I intended to focus on. The vast amount of children's books - as well as the academic literature to explain it all - illuminated my mind with new dimensions in defining children's literature. Another unexplored view of the child that I found intriguing was a view that places the child in a dangerous, broken world. Both Slumdog Millionaire and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas provided an unflinching look at what can happen when children are left to fend for themselves in situations that they did not create, such as extreme poverty in rural India, or the transnational tensions brewing during World War II. Hopefully, we can learn some things from them so that we may encourage change in others.
Myles
February
The month of February picked up where the last month left off, where more presentations took place. From the presentations, I saw plenty of interesting takes on how children engage with media, and how that engagement can be improved upon for positive change. There was much emphasis on more reponsible approaches to media on the part of media creators. It has also been noted that it ultimately comes down to parents and guardians in terms of children's exposure to certain influences.
My presentation on children's literature took place this month. The children's books I found from the library (as well as others I did not) truly changed my previous expectations of how children read. This surprising discovery has convinced me that literature is still a vital medium for learning about necessary life lessons. Needless to say, the material I have accumulated (as shown on the Findings page) will do well to support my argument in the final paper.
Myles
The month of February picked up where the last month left off, where more presentations took place. From the presentations, I saw plenty of interesting takes on how children engage with media, and how that engagement can be improved upon for positive change. There was much emphasis on more reponsible approaches to media on the part of media creators. It has also been noted that it ultimately comes down to parents and guardians in terms of children's exposure to certain influences.
My presentation on children's literature took place this month. The children's books I found from the library (as well as others I did not) truly changed my previous expectations of how children read. This surprising discovery has convinced me that literature is still a vital medium for learning about necessary life lessons. Needless to say, the material I have accumulated (as shown on the Findings page) will do well to support my argument in the final paper.
Myles
March
As the year draws to a close and presentations are continuing, I wish to finish off on a good note. Amidst all the excitement of these presentations, I have transferred the ideas in my presentation to the paper, currently available on this site. At the same time, this website has come along quite well, with more and more collections being discovered all the time.
Going through this course, it had made me rethink childhood, including my own. The changes in what is being offered for children not only made me think about what I could have experienced, but what I could help the next generation experience. This was quite an interesting course, and if the class is run again next year, I could definitely envision the next class gaining that same interest. It has been a pleasure taking this course, and I especially enjoyed sharing a wealth of ideas with everyone. With that, I would like to say much thanks for a great course and a great year.
Myles
As the year draws to a close and presentations are continuing, I wish to finish off on a good note. Amidst all the excitement of these presentations, I have transferred the ideas in my presentation to the paper, currently available on this site. At the same time, this website has come along quite well, with more and more collections being discovered all the time.
Going through this course, it had made me rethink childhood, including my own. The changes in what is being offered for children not only made me think about what I could have experienced, but what I could help the next generation experience. This was quite an interesting course, and if the class is run again next year, I could definitely envision the next class gaining that same interest. It has been a pleasure taking this course, and I especially enjoyed sharing a wealth of ideas with everyone. With that, I would like to say much thanks for a great course and a great year.
Myles