For my digital story I created a cartoon/comic book using the site, Toondoo. I had originally created a Toondoo strip, E-communication, on this topic, which you can see back in my Flightpath section. Since I was familiar with the site, I decided to broaden my comic to a Toonbook. Then, I will use it as a discussion piece with my students. Youth and technology can be viewed here.
This digital story is based upon a real-life experience of my wife. She had taken my sick son to Emergency /Out-patients one Friday night. While in the waiting room, two other parents, complete strangers, were present with their sick children. The first parent told her son to talk to the other child. He immediately tapped out a message on his Nintendo DS. The message was read by the little girl, who giggled and wrote back. My wife said that they continued this manner of conversation. my son got called into the doctor, and that was the last see saw of them. She explained the scenario later that night when she returned home. The boy and girl were about eleven years old. There was only one empty seat separating them while they ‘chatted.’ Neither parent commented on the technology use. The devices did not leave the kids hands during the time my wife was there. We wondered about the possible lack of communication and interpersonal skills, that is a negative aspect of technology use. Also we debated the parenting side of allowing kids to use, or overuse technology. These ideas simply reinforced my own views on the use, abuse and misuse of technology.
I decided to re-animate my wife’s hospital experience, as a way to explore technology use with my students. The hospital episode is a common occurrence in this digital society, and is not refrained to only the hospital and children. People, of all ages, in all areas, are abandoning their face-to-face communication in favor of text-to-text. Is it leading to a lack of communication skills? Is it leading to more, and greater, problems within our society? How will technology over-use affect the young and younger populace? I want to explore and debate these ideas with the students, in hopes of opening their eyes, and making them aware of possible negative side-effects of their actions with technology. Dougiamas(1998) reminds us that “teaching in context … may be personally meaningful to the students.”(p.8) This topic has personal connection to my students, as they see it happening all around them. I choose a cartoon medium as the best medium to present this story for several reasons.
I believe that cartoon or comics are very familiar to students. By incorporating something with which they are familiar, then I hoped to limit the anxiety some students may feel. Also, cartoons are not a common medium in teaching elementary classes. Videos and websites are very common. I didn’t want students thinking :’not another video.’ The uniqueness and wow factor of videos have worn away. I feel these mediums have been over-used for the sake of teachers to say they are using technology. Cartoons are just a different medium, that can reach a variety of learning styles.
I also believe that this ‘toon’ medium will be more effective for the struggling reader or learner. Cartoon strips allow readers an opportunity to return to the text, and use as much time as needed to understand the message. Video relies on a time factor. Students have to watch and try to keep up with the flow of information. Details can be easily lost, or misinterpreted. Although Reading(2003) suggests that people ” interact with video materials first, then digital photographs, then digitized maps…and finally text as their last choice,” (p.78) I feel text and digital images are better in this instance. I don’t want the students to feel rushed, and thus, miss the point of the story, which may occur with video. Still images are more easily examined and revisited, without a time restraint. Hence, readers can also use the images to verify their understanding of the written text. The sound and moving images of video would distract the reader. A weak reader can now focus on the words.
After all, I want the readers/students to focus on the text that I have written. My message is about how technology is used in youth society. An overuse of technology may lead to a deficit in communication and inter-personal skills. Social interactions are less face-to-face and more impersonal.
References
Dougiamas, M.(1998). A Journey into Constructivism. Retrieved from:http://www.immagic.com/eLibrary/ARCHIVES/GENERAL/MOODLE/M981100D.pdf
NetLingo List of Chat Acronyms and Text Shorthand. Retrieved from http://www.netlingo.com/acronyms.php?ezpage=2
Reading, A. (2003). Digital interactivity in public memory institutions: The uses of new technologies in holocaust museums. Media, Culture and Society, 25(10) 67-85.