Futuring Reflection

How would you grade or assess Fox Becomes a Better person and School Train?

• I would give fox becomes a better person a B+. The student telling the story does a great job. The only reason I would not give her an A is because at times the story was hard to follow. It may have been because I was distracted by all of her movement and gestures, but after watching it twice I understood the full story. Overall I thought she did a good job and used just the right amount of digital editing. It was easy to watch and the animated scenes fit well with the story she was telling.

• I would give school train a B- because the purpose of the video is hard to identify. They used a lot of digital editing and it took away from their message. It was hard to figure out what they were trying to convey, because the effects were so overwhelming. However, in the end I was able to understand their project and enjoyed watching it. I would not give them a C because I think this is an extremely creative project that took a lot of effort.

What impacts could the developments portrayed in epic 2015 have on your classroom, particularly with respect to things like pod casting?

The biggest impact these developments will have in my classroom is the way my students receive news and the stories they are exposed to on a daily bases.

The advent of things like pod casts and RSS feeds allow subscribers to have up to the minute media information. Students expect media to be resent and easy to access. Often times students are not concerned with the media source, bias or reliability. As educators we need to teach our students how to filter information and form their own thoughts and opinions. Media is everywhere and is more easily accessible since the development of the internet.

The internet is an amazing tool that allows us to exchange information in a matter of seconds. However, we must teach our students to question online media sources and help them to find reliable information. Teaching media literacy is very important and can help students become independent thinkers.

How might you use Sabrina Journey as a model for something you would do with your own students.

I loved this video because I relate so well to it. I believe that many students throughout Alaska would relate to Sabrina's journey. This video could be used for many things including:

• Inspiration for students hoping to pursue secondary education.
• A tool to encourage Alaskan students to stay in Alaska.
• An example of digital story telling.
• Proof that it is hard to find a place as wonderful as Alaska!