Humble Beginnings for Media Literacy, and LEGO

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It was back in May when a few of us found out about some of the upcoming changes that would be happening at our school.  One of the biggest was certainly the announcement that we would be offering a new course that we eventually came to refer to as 'Media Literacy.'  Apart from that, we weren't really given a lot of direction.  We simply got to work figuring out not only what this would mean for us as teachers, but for our students.

While we'll talk more about the details once classes get started, here's what we can say about Media Literacy and what it is intended to be:
  1. Being 'literate' in the 21st Century is about much more than being able to read and write.  These skills are obviously essential, but the growing influence and presence of the internet and technology in our lives means that we need to be competent and literate in other areas as well.
  2. At the very heart of Media Literacy is the knowledge that each of us is a major consumer of media.  It is all around us and we are bombarded with imagery and information on an ongoing basis.  Media Literacy is based on the belief that everyone needs to learn how to process and respond to all the information all around us.
  3. It is NOT intended to simply be a replacement for or an extension of Language Arts and Social Studies.  There are some pretty significant similarities to be sure.  However, this course has a lot more to do with how we can learn to deal with all kinds of information.  This isn't a skill that should be limited to one or two particular subjects.
It's taken some time, but those of us who will be working with this course are starting to feel pretty good about where we are headed.  No doubt we will have some struggles along with the successes that will inevitably come, but that is part of the journey.

This blog has been set up as a way to reflect and report on our efforts to develop a more literate group of kids.  I, for one, am eager to see how 4 to 5 teachers from very different backgrounds, let alone the students that we will be working with, will develop this idea of increased literacy and enhanced, digital citizenship.

With any luck, you'll regularly see that play out right here.

More to come...


The Best Kind of Toys  

I remember growing up and always being just a little jealous of the kids who were able to get some of the themed LEGO sets.  Don't get me wrong... I had my big box of bricks and had a blast making all sorts of creations.  However, there was something I found just a bit more impressive with building a particular castle, space station, or what have you.  Bonus points come when you can combine the sheer brilliance of LEGO with some of the beloved properties that are so revered in our pop culture.

But this... this is impressive.  Most impressive.



Coming it at over 7,500 pieces and a remarkably hefty price tag ($800 US Dollars), this may remain an object revered from afar.  Even though I'm an adult and I could buy it if I wanted, I usually have a hard time dropping what I would spend on groceries for more than a month on something like this.  As amazing as it is.

Sometimes adulting isn't as much fun as it we want it to be.

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