Private Universe

Assignment: Reflect on what this means for education in the US and globally, and how this would, could, or should relate to new media and it's role in education. 

I couldn't get the video to work so I read through the transcript. I think that I would've got a better understanding of the big picture if I could have viewed the video. It was a bit confusing jumping from person to person on the transcript without seeing it visually. 

The first thing that I noticed was the flaw in students thinking about the exaggerated elliptical - I remember being taught this! It was a diagram in a textbook that I specifically remember!!! Well, later in the program it turns out that the narrator said exactly this - "But just as often misconceptions can originate in a classroom. For example the notion that the seasons are caused by the highly elliptical orbit of the Earth is a misconception which result from perspective drawings found in many textbooks." So I wonder if "somewhere along the line" when students learn something that in turn creates their private universe was actually in school? In the case of the textbook, students are taught to trust this information - almost as sacred. Teachers used to (and many still do) use textbooks as the sole resource for a course.  New media has the potential to offer different points of view, deeper discovery, and skills that will be beneficial for the rest of their lives such as examining bias and healthy skepticism.  

THIS IS WHY SCHOOLS SHOULD BE INTEGRATING MEDIA LITERACY ACROSS THE CURRICULUM! We are ignoring this crucial aspect of a child's learning. Media is not solely for social reasons, outside of school - it has been proven to lead to more engaged learning if used correctly. However, teacher education programs are not preparing teachers to do this!!! It's all about "Educational Foundations" "Pedagogy" and multi-syllable jargon that makes educational professionals and policy-makers feel good about their PhD's. Sorry to rant...