an enjoyable morning

    Late Wednesday night when I  checked my email I was not initially thrilled about finding a list of questions for Freedman’s Chapter 4.  Nevertheless I answered the questions while skimming back over the chapter and was happy to see how helpful they were.  The questions did help me make sense of the chapter and let me realize that I understood more than I first believed.  Already at my job at the elementary school I found myself trying to connect my teaching with the student’s prior knowledge. 

    One of my duties at the school is teaching math to 4th – 6th graders.  Most of the students I taught math to last year but there are several new students.  I have no reference for their prior knowledge and I find myself slowly trying to tap into their “hidden unit” of knowledge.

   After school today I took some time to search through digital media projects posted on the internet.  I was extremely impressed, most of them seem exemplary to me.  I wonder if I will have the skills in a few weeks to be able to create something atleast half as wonderful for my digital storytelling project.

     The project I most wanted to explore I found at http://www.lowdrone.com/drone-live1.html .  The lowdrone project is about an aerial drone vehicle (mostly used for the military) redesigned by artists which is traveling back and forth over the U.S./Mexico border.  At one point the project likens the drones reconnaissance capabilities to the idea of “Big Brother”. 

    The project uses an interactive simulation technique.  I became the pilot on this usually unmanned flight.  By clicking on the keys I started up the engine and by pressing the gas and spinning the steering wheel I could take off and look around.  Everything was very user friendly (I guess as long as you are familiar with riding in a car).  There is even an audio component.  Just click on the radio and you have your choice of 5 channels. Four channels give information about the drone while one channel is music.  I’m not sure exactly what technical equipment they would have had to use, except that they would need to have a drone with audiovisual recording devices.

  I could definitely envision myself using this project in an educational lesson.  Since it is so interactive and fairly self explanatory I would use it with 4th graders through highschoolers.  Since this project is strongly politically motivated, commentating on the U.S./Mexico border, I would use it as a tool when discussing border issues and immigration policies. 

  In a lesson I would tie the lowdrone project into my personal experiences.  When I lived in California I attended a peace vigil at the same park as shown in the project.  The park is border state park where the border between the U.S. and Mexico actually extends several hundred yards out into the ocean.  Being there was such an intense experience – seeing both the majestic ocean and the horrific fence simulataneously.  At the vigil I could only stand on the U.S. side looking into Mexico.  The simulation from the lowdrone project allowed me to see the view from Mexico looking into the U.S.  I wish people could really just fly  back and forth over the border like the drone. 

     This project allowed me to see how powerful digital media can be, taking education to places it has never been before.  I am really looking forward to the field trip next thursday and to begin more skills to deepend my digital media competancy.