Friday, August 31, 2012

Humble Beginnings

To satisfy my need for a place to gather resources, research, and ideas, I have set up this blog in the attempt to share with others (be ye teachers or designers or fellow students) my thoughts and feelings about the power of popular culture in the classroom. While I desire to be a teacher in the coming years, and perhaps an instructional designer in the future - my experience to this point is severely limited. Therefore, it is important to understand that everything I post is coming from a student perspective. 

I am very open to feedback and correction as I am sure that at times my voice may seem presumptive or assuming about what teachers can and can't do. My goal is to help teachers and designers to better understand and feel what students experience in the classroom. Hopefully someday I can more fully appreciate what instructors and educators experience by becoming one myself. 

As I finish up my degree, it is with strong feelings I begin this blog. Reflecting on my short life, I have come to see the influence and power of film (and other media) in helping me learn and synthesize my education. When used appropriately in classrooms settings, popular culture media can strengthen the connection between what students are doing as learners, and the world around them. As learner's perceptions of that gap closes, and teachers use engaging teaching tools and methods, the relevance of the material goes up along with engagement and motivation. 

Please feel free to check out my beta Google site that I have been thinking about/developing for the last two years, as well as the resources and sites that inspire and provide scholarship to what I will be posting.