Growing Up Online: Identity, Development and Agency in Networked Girlhoods

Young women\u27s digital media practices unfold within a postfeminist media landscape dominated by rapidly circulating visual representations that often promote superficial readings of human value. Meanwhile the dominant framing within educational policy and practice of digital media literacy insufficiently captures young people\u27s motivations for engaging in multimedia production, online gaming and blogging. In addition to using digital media for social purposes, and to navigate dimensions of social difference like race, class and gender, working class young women of color also use digital media to develop internal awareness of their selves. The processes of documenting the self, reflecting on the documented self, and laying claim to the intrinsic value of the self are expressions of identity, development and agency. These practices can thus be understood as projects of self-making operating on multiple levels: 1) as articulations of agency against contexts that suppress this agency; 2) as documentations of and reflections on change and growth over time; 3) as explorations of relationality and related themes of care and obligation; 4) and as a means of critiquing structures of power

Disquietude: A Sonata-Form Inquiry Into Multiliteracies Practices in an EAL Classroom

This narrative case study describes an English as an Additional Language teacher’s struggle to understand her young adult learners’ apparent resistance toward multiliteracies pedagogical practices in a college setting. Multiliteracies Pedagogy (New London Group, 1996) advocates the use of digital media, and home languages and culture, to engage diverse youth in designing personally meaningful multimodal texts that can significantly impact learner identity, voice, and agency. This arts-based study uses an innovative sonata-style format to document the making of a class documentary, accompanied by teacher reflections on the video project in the form of poetry, journal excerpts, and classroom dialogue. The sonata form provides a unique methodology for teacher inquiry, allowing the teacher-researcher to explore the ways in which curriculum, pedagogy, and sociocultural influences intersect in the classroom. The study does not end with a clear resolution of the problem; instead, the process of inquiry leads to deeper understandings of what it means to teach in the complex worlds of diverse learners

Youth Media Still Matters: Elevating the Voices and Identities of Young People in Disruptive Times

When schools, colleges and youth organizations shut down en masse in March 2020 in response to the emerging pandemic, none of us had any idea what lay ahead. Amid all the uncertainty, one thing quickly became clear: With opportunities to meet in person sharply curtailed, teens and young adults needed new outlets to connect, collaborate and find their creative voice more than ever.Using Zoom and other digital platforms, Spy Hop mentors delivered instruction remotely and students collaborated virtually on projects and performances. While the experience wasn't always the same, Spy Hop programming was able to reach a larger group of students who were no longer limited from participating by their geography.Through surveys, interviews and focus groups with Spy Hop mentors and students, we have assembled a comprehensive picture of the outcomes from Spy Hop programming in 2020 and 2021. In the course of our evaluation, we have found that Spy Hop continues to play an invaluable role in youth development and media skills.While Spy Hop programming continues to have indelible and far-reaching effects on youth participants in Utah and beyond, we believe the organization can deepen its impact even further by following a few suggestions. These include supporting youth employment opportunities beyond high school, broadening access to Spy Hop for students with fewer resources and being more intentional about mentor development

Educating the Net Generation

Edited by Diana G. Oblinger and James L. Oblinger. Includes a chapter by former College at Brockport faculty member Joan K. Lippincott: Net generation students and libraries. The Net Generation has grown up with information technology. The aptitudes, attitudes, expectations, and learning styles of Net Gen students reflect the environment in which they were raised—one that is decidedly different from that which existed when faculty and administrators were growing up. This collection explores the Net Gen and the implications for institutions in areas such as teaching, service, learning space design, faculty development, and curriculum. Contributions by educators and students are included.https://digitalcommons.brockport.edu/bookshelf/1278/thumbnail.jp

Southeastern Librarian 71(2) Summer 2023 (Full Issue)

Complete issue of The Southeastern Librarian Volume 71 Number

Teaching Personal Selling with Volunteer Professional Salesperson Role-play Scenarios

Producing what is often referred to as “career ready” graduates is a challenge that most business department faculty take seriously; after all, we are measured to some extent by the success of our students. As a faculty member with twenty-plus years of experience in competitive sales environments, I believe that it is essential to create roleplay personal selling situations for students that simulate what happens in the consultative sales environment. Providing students with realistic situations calls upon the student to perform at a higher level. It is my position that these role-plays provide the best learning outcomes when conducted with professional sales people versus the use of peers or faculty to facilitate the role play. As educators, we have a luxury that doesn’t exist in most professional settings. That luxury is in our purpose; we are here to develop career-ready business leaders. While this purpose is also true for sales training staff in their respective organizations, they have to do this without exposing their weaknesses. Corporate Sales Trainers cannot, in most cases, bring in one of their top clients and ask them to run role play practices with their new sales trainees. In the collegiate environment, many of those top clients are more than willing to do just that; they volunteer their time to help coach a sales student. Their reasons for doing so are likely quite varied, but regardless of motive, I’ve rarely had difficulty recruiting sales and buying professionals to serve as role-play partners for students. They want to give back; making a contribution is a strong motivator. While I will readily admit that I don’t use professional volunteer buyers in all of my classroom role play scenarios in my sales and marketing coursework, I have reached the conclusion that professional sales people as volunteers are essential to creating a more realistic role play situation. Mary Ellen Weimer in her book Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice, states, “(this book) seeks to answer this question: What should teachers do to maximize learning outcomes for their students?” Specifically, as it relates to this topic, I concur with Weimer’s concept that “learner-centered teaching engages students in the hard, messy work of learning.” We need to help our students develop learning skills through personal practice. This situational instruction requires that the following stipulations be followed for the best possible outcome for student learning. These specifications include: selecting the most appropriate professional sales role-play volunteers, creating a case study that is robust enough, but is still easy to follow, and creating a simulation that closely replicates a consultative sales call. In the use of role plays, I believe that student learning maximizes by securing the best professional sales role play volunteers. It is important to find a professional sales person that will be generous with his/her time. Sadly, I’ve had some professionals that have wanted to help, but have then not completely “shown up” for the situation; while they may show up for the event, they’ve over extended themselves and spend the time distracted by what is happening in their lives. While this may be realistic for some sales call experiences, it doesn’t maximize the student’s learning. Also, you need a sales professional that is going to provide detailed and prolific feedback both verbally and in writing. Giving and receiving clear feedback is the “messy” part of learning, but individuals will not grow in their sales skills unless they get accurate and honest feedback. Finally, the sales professional needs to be nurturing. I’m not suggesting that they hold back in their feedback, but they need to be able to encourage and mentor the students – not necessarily beyond the role play, but at least for the time they spend with the student. All of these combined attributes of a professional sales role play volunteer provide a positive learning experience for the student. The second essential element of a strong professional sales role play scenario is to have a robust case study but to not make it overly complex. The important aspects of the case study include having a strong, but not excessively detailed background story. Digging into research to gain product knowledge such as the features, benefits, and advantages of a product or service is essential learning for students on how to approach a sales call. As a part of the scenario, some conflict needs to be included as well; this can take many different forms as either an objection or a challenge, but this conflict helps students understand that uncovering the client’s “pain” will lead them to better understanding how to meet the clients’ needs. I have also had success with role play circumstances that are somewhat ambiguous. This ambiguity exists in real life sales situations, so helping students understand that they’re not going to have all the answers and that they will need to do some investigation in the form of both research and questions to the client are relevant to the learning outcomes. Finally, the final essential piece of an effective professional sales role play scenario is the creation of a simulated environment that closely replicates a sales call. There are several elements that I believe are important in this simulated environment. First, it is best if the professional sales person has not met the sales role play student before the role play. Not having a prior introduction creates a dynamic similar to that first sales call and places the responsibility of creating rapport in the hands of the student. Next, I think it’s best if no other students are in the room during the role play. It can be videotaped for shared learning later, but having a peer audience changes the dynamic of the situation, and it is a more realistic simulation if an audience is not present. Creating a realistic role play that puts the sales call experience into perspective will help students better understand their strengths and weaknesses as it relates to the sales process. Ultimately, some will argue that this is too much effort to go through to create a professional sales volunteer role play in each class. To not over tax my volunteers and to better utilize class time, I frequently set up many volunteers for the same class period. Also, I usually don’t rely on the same volunteer for more than one class. Following this plan of action puts the pressure on the instructor to develop a strong network of professional sales people. However, I would argue that the effort to present more opportunities for students to practice sales in this way will make a substantial difference in our student’s success in a commission-based sales career. REFERENCES Weimer, M., 1947, & ebrary, I. (2013). Learner-centered teaching: Five key changes to practice (2nd ed.). San Francisco;Palo Alto, Calif;: Jossey-Bass

Interactions Between Patterns of Gamer Behaviors and Time-on-Task for Mathematics Remediation in a Game-based HIVE

As the presence of digital game-based learning increases in United States classrooms, understanding their impact on achievement is critical. Digital games for learning offer many potential benefits, including reducing the number of students trapped in a remediation cycle, a contributor to college dropout. Despite the recognized potential of game-based learning, few researchers have explored the relationships between specific patterns of behaviors and types of digital game-based learning environments. The underlying theory for this study was patterns of gamer behaviors may predict in-game behaviors. Archival, third-party data regarding The Lost Function - Episode 1: Sum of the Forgotten Minds by Advanced Training & Learning Technology, LLC was used in this study. Using 4 case groups at the high school and college levels (n=114), self-reported levels of the 3 patterns of gamer behaviors, gender, and age-band were analyzed using multiple regression to determine relationships to time-on-task in a game-based highly interactive virtual environment, designed for mathematics remediation. While the results were inconclusive, this study supported the existing literature regarding gender differences and the lack of mutual exclusivity in behavior typing. Recommendations include additional research in how the statements used in the 3-factor model may be adjusted to allow for a broader population of game players. The social change implication is that further understanding of the relationship between learner traits and digital learning environment may assist educators that employ digital game-based learning a way to better align learners to the most appropriate digital learning environment, thereby increases their chances at success

Library Programming for Autistic Children and Teens

This second edition provides key information, updated program ideas, and practical tips that will help library workers feel more prepared to serve members of this prevalent population. Since the first edition of this landmark guide was published, there has been increased interest in services for library patrons on the autism spectrum; indeed, more people of all ages now self-identify as autistic. Those who understand the unique characteristics of autistic young people know that ordinary library programming guides are not up to the task of effectively serving these library users. Well qualified to speak to this need, Anderson is an educator, library researcher, and former public librarian who has helped to develop two IMLS funded initiatives that train library workers to better understand and serve autistic patrons. … [Amazon.com]https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/stemps_books/1003/thumbnail.jp

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context

Untethered Learning: A Mixed Methods Study of Mobilized Adventure Learning

textMobile technologies now afford unprecedented opportunities, resources, and possibilities for learning. Among them, is the opportunity for students to engage in hands-on, out-of-classroom learning activities such as Adventure Learning. Since 2007, Adventure Learning has developed as an educational framework for using information and communication technologies to connect learners with expeditionary teams where video-based communication provides a sense of adventure for learners. The study was conducted in a public high school where an Environmental Science teacher used mobile learning technologies to create Adventure Learning projects where students participated both fin the classroom and as members of an “expeditionary team.” It was also intended to examine both the benefits and challenges in implementing ubiquitous mobile technologies in the field, combined with the use of student-centered pedagogies in their classrooms. The major questions of the study asked how did a teacher leverage mobilized Adventure Learning to design learning activities? And how did active participation in a mobilized Adventure Learning project affect student interest in the subject of Environmental Science? The study involved examining the ways the teacher leveraged the affordances of mobile technologies to create a hands-on, collaborative, and Adventure Learning environments outside of the classroom. The hands-on learning activities were designed to enable students to gather first-hand information related to environmental science. Subjects in the study included a high school Environmental Science teacher along with 104 participating students. Using a mixed methods approach, qualitative data were gathered through observations of learning activities, interviews and focus groups and artifacts. Quantitative data were gathered through surveys administered to the students before and after the treatment. The results indicated that, contrary to the teacher’s expectations, students indicated a preference for learning through book and lecture rather than hands-on discovery of information in both pre and post treatment surveys. Results of the study also demonstrated differences in learning preference relating to percentage of students participating in field-based, hands-on learning activities or in lecture-book classroom learning activities. Recommendations for future research and for educational practice are offered. Limitations of the study include the small sample size and short time duration of the study.Curriculum and Instructio