Week 10- Pop Culture/Digital Tool

1. What did you learn about pop culture/digital tools in general or pop culture/digital tools in classrooms that you do not know before?

Something that really stood out to me in regards to pop culture/digital tools was from the reading on “Wiki Literature Circles: Creating Digital Learning Communities” and what stood out was the how much control the teacher had but also how much freedom the students had in their digital learning experience. I think back to my education and I can remember getting off task on computers and my teacher never knowing. In this reading it discussed how the teacher set up notifications for each group of students “wiki page” and the teacher could see who was posting what and when. If something was posted that was off task or inappropriate the teacher could see it, even if it was deleted. Granted, I was aware that there were ways to check on students’ progress and behavior but I was unaware of this teacher’s format. I learned from the readings that with digital learning it’s possible for the teacher to maintain control and supervision while still giving students the opportunity to work in a freer environment, where this isn’t a teacher physically watching you.

2. Based on the readings, brainstorm a specific activity or assignment that you can use in your classroom that incorporates pop culture and/or digital tools.

A pop culture/digital tool assignment for my future social studies class would be an end of the year project. Students could work in groups and their project would be to make a trailer for a “fake” Netflix series. In their groups, students would pick some historical figure or event that was covered in class and then make a short video trailer that could represent a Netflix series on that historical figure or event. Once completed, students and I would watch the “Netflix trailers” in class. This would be something fun for the students to do as the school year concludes.

3. What questions or concerns do you have about using pop culture/digital tools in classrooms?

A concern for me in the classroom would be that students come from different backgrounds and families, where they may not be as aware of some pop culture references. Also they may have parents who disagree with whatever pop culture item you’re using. My concern is how to use it so that no student is left out and also that no student or parent of a student is offended or upset about the use of pop culture in the class.

Word Count- 364 words