Teaching for the Future

TftF 93: YouTube in the Classroom (pt. 3) with Dr. Scott McLeod

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Sun, 04 May 2008 10:19:53 -0500

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In this episode I interview Dr. Scott McLeod. Scott is the coordinator of the Educational Administration program at Iowa State University and director of the UCEA Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE). You may be more familiar with Scott's work on his blog, DangerouslyIrrelevant.org, where he discusses education and technology from the perspective of administrators and teachers.

Though it seems like I have been spending a lot of time defending YouTube, I want to make it clear that video sharing sites are not all butterflies and rainbows. YouTube has greatly effected the way interpret and interact with the media. Just think of the recent controversies in national politics. In an article in the Hartford Currant, aptly entitled "YouTube, A Blessing and a Curse". The author discusses how the permanence and the availability of video news, gives certain videos an impact they would not have had earlier. Just think of McCain's "Bomb Iran", Clinton's sniper fire, and the controversy surrounding Jeremiah Wright. How would things change if video coverage and the videos themselves were not available on demand 24 hours a day. "In past years, controversy... might have lasted a day or two before people lost interest." (Weir)

This 'on demand effect' isn't limited to the presidential campaign. What if you applied this to classroom management? More specifically issues like behavior and cheating. With little or no effort it is easy to find a ton of instructional video on how to cheat on tests and game the system. Over at his blog, Learning in Hand, Tony Vincent collected many of these interesting videos. What happens when kids have access to material that allows them to game the test and cheat their way through class? While these videos are concerning I am more interested in what I found on Scott MeLeod's Dangerously irrelevant. In this post Scott has collected videos by students taken with their mobile phones. These videos show scenes of teacher/student confrontations in class. One one hand these are an invasive look at a few bad moments in what are probably good classrooms, while on the other hand these videos could be student-citizen journalism exposing the abuses teachers. To try to make sense of all of this I brought Scott McLeod on the show to talk about his post and the changing role of YouTube in the Classroom.

LINKS:
YouTube A Blessing and a Curse By William Weir
http://www.courant.com/features/lifestyle/hc-youtubepolitics.artapr06,0,4268424.story

How to Cheat
http://learninginhand.com/blog/2008/04/how-to-cheat.html

How can I cheat on the test? Let me count the ways…
http://www.teach42.com/2008/04/02/how-can-i-cheat-on-the-test-let-me-count-the-ways/

Cell phone cameras in the K-12 classroom: Punishable offenses or student-citizen journalism?
http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2008/03/cell-phone-came.html

TftF 92: YouTube in the Classroom (part 2) with Vanessa Van Petten

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 22:21:49 -0500

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During a session at PodCamp NYC 2 led by Christine Cavalier, I had a revelation about the way we look at YouTube. Christine's session was all about "how to raise kids in this digital world" and there were a lot of interesting ideas brought up. Christine talked a lot about becoming digitally literate so that we can speak to the digital natives in our lives. She also drew a lot from ELL education, and made the case that we should teach technology in the same way we teach children to speak and interact in an English(American) culture.

As I figured it would the conversation led to the recent controversy surrounding a staged video of a group of girls beating up a younger classmate. One of the attendees, Aldon Hynes, talked about the dangers of social networking as a tool for bullying and abuse. I don't want to misquote anyone, so I'm going to do my best to paraphrase what I heard and hopefully if I'm off base someone can come on the show and correct me or just fix and inaccuracies in the comments. Aldon talked about how a lack of proper modeling/teaching/supervision led to the assalt/video and how it had the potential to ruin the lives of everyone involved because these kids didn't understand to scope of their actions and the permanence of the Internet.

It was at the moment that I realized that most of the people in the room not only spoke a different "technological language" than many young people, but that we are not even part of the same paradigm. Aldon's comments made me realize that kids are operating under different social codes, norms, and perspectives about how to use social media/networking/the Interwebs. Which brings me back to Christine Cavalier's point about teaching digital skills and responsibility like it is a language. Just as everyone thinks and sees the world through the lens of their native language, the "digital natives" in our lives see the world through their own lens.

To better explain this idea I wanted to talk to someone who understands young people, particularly teens, and the role of social media in the lives of kids. Vanessa Van Petten is a blogger, author, podcaster, and life coach who teaches parents to better understand their teens.

Who I saw at PodCamNYC 2

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:12:32 -0500

I had a great time at PodCamp NYC even though I was only able to go for the first day. I'm going to do my best to publish the materials from the session I led about Differentiated Instruction. I want to thank everybody who went to podcamp, especially the sponsors, who made the whole thing possible.

Simon Applebaum - http://www.nowlive.com/televison
Paul Allison - http://teachersteachingteachers.org/
Susan Ettenheim - http://teachersteachingteachers.org/
Chris Cavallari - http://www.filmosity.com
Jonny Goldstein - http://www.jonnygoldstein.com/
Michelle Wolverton - http://chelpixie.com
Kroosh - http://www.kroosh.tv
Brad Pendergraph - http://www.wholelotofnonsense.org/
John Havens - http://blog.blogtalkradio.com / http://johnchavens.com/
Robin Wilensky - http://blogs.sun.com/robin/
Joe Cascio - http://joesvideoetc.blogspot.com / http://socialogic.org
Whitney Hoffman - http://www.ldpodcast.com
Cliff Ravenscraft - http://www.bitcastmedia.com
Chris Penn - http://www.christopherspenn.com
Eric Skiff - http://glitchnyc.com/
Dan Patterson - http://creepysleepy.com/
John Herman - http://gravityland.com/blog/
Christine Cavalier - http://www.purplecar.net/
Aldon Hynes - http://www.orient-lodge.com/
Laura Fitton - http://pistachioconsulting.com

TftF 91: YouTube in the Classroom

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:08:50 -0500

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In this episode we begin our discussion about the role of YouTube in our culture effects the k-12 classroom. YouTube allows us to have a great deal of engaging content easily accessible. Though not all of the videos are "classroom ready", YouTube is becoming a valuable resource to teachers, students, and learners of all ages.

YouTube in not just for consuming content, and a vibrant community of content creators and enthusiasts has formed on the site. In this episode we address some of the issues and concerns many teachers have about the site, and why YouTube is a factor in education even though it is not often part of the classroom.

Next Episode I speak with author, blogger, and teen life coach Vanessa Van Petten. Vanessa and I speak about why teens find video sharing so interesting to teens and how it has changed the way they interact online. You can find out more about Vanessa at her site: http://www.vanessavanpetten.com

TftF 90: Reaching Reluctant Readers (part2)

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 13:10:46 -0500

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In this we continue our two part series on reluctant readers. We talk about the many new approaches teachers, administrators, and librarians are using to get young people to read. In this episode we talk about some of the approaches teachers, librarians, and parents are taking to reach out to reluctant readers. We discuss the use of audio books, graphic novels, and alternative young adult literature.

If you are interested in being our next listener/guest for this episode you can leave a comment on Teaching for the Future.com or email me at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com.

Citations:
Corbett, Sue (2008, March, 22). Picture this: Teachers are using comics, now called 'graphic novels,' to captivate reluctant readers. MiamiHerald.com, Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from
http://www.miamiherald.com/tropical_life/story/464872.html

(2007, October, 27). Kids Spending Even More Time Playing Video Games. Kotaku. Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from
http://kotaku.com/gaming/kids-today/kids-spending-even-more-time-playing-video-games-311560.php

(2008, March, 24). Most Challenged Books Include 'Beloved' and 'The Chocolate War'. Washington Post.com, Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/23/AR2008032301503.html

O'Crowley, Peggy (2008, April, 1). Once upon a time, in the 21st century. NJ.com. Retrieved 2008, April, 4, from http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1207028247273570.xml&coll=1

Strauss, Valerie (2008, March, 24). Author Works To Prevent Reading's 'Death Spiral'. Washington Post.com, Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/23/AR2008032301756.html

Strauss, Valerie (2008, March, 24). Two Pros Offer Tips for Adults to Help Children Choose the Right Stuff to Read. Washington Post.com, Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/23/AR2008032301755.html?sub=AR

Strauss, Valerie (2008, March, 24). Question for the Ages: What BooksWhen?. Washington Post.com, Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/23/AR2008032301756.html

TftF 89: Reaching Reluctant Readers

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:10:26 -0500

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In this episode we begin the first episode of our two part series on reluctant readers. We talk about the many new approaches teachers, administrators, and librarians are using to get young people to read. In this episode we talk about some of the controversy over some of the tactics being used to entice young people to spend more time in the library.

Also I talk to Mike Mole` as part of our new 'Better Know a Listener Series'. In this short interview we discuss his experience with building accessibility into software at IBM. You can find Mike at his blog at The Fair Life of Mike Mole`. If you are interested in being our next listener/guest for this episode you can leave a comment on Teaching for the Future.com or email me at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com.

Citations:
Corbett, Sue (2008, March, 22). Picture this: Teachers are using comics, now called 'graphic novels,' to captivate reluctant readers. MiamiHerald.com, Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from
http://www.miamiherald.com/tropical_life/story/464872.html

(2007, October, 27). Kids Spending Even More Time Playing Video Games. Kotaku. Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from
http://kotaku.com/gaming/kids-today/kids-spending-even-more-time-playing-video-games-311560.php

(2008, March, 24). Most Challenged Books Include 'Beloved' and 'The Chocolate War'. Washington Post.com, Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/23/AR2008032301503.html

O'Crowley, Peggy (2008, April, 1). Once upon a time, in the 21st century. NJ.com. Retrieved 2008, April, 4, from http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-13/1207028247273570.xml&coll=1

Strauss, Valerie (2008, March, 24). Author Works To Prevent Reading's 'Death Spiral'. Washington Post.com, Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/23/AR2008032301756.html

Strauss, Valerie (2008, March, 24). Two Pros Offer Tips for Adults to Help Children Choose the Right Stuff to Read. Washington Post.com, Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/23/AR2008032301755.html?sub=AR

Strauss, Valerie (2008, March, 24). Question for the Ages: What BooksWhen?. Washington Post.com, Retrieved 2008, March, 25, from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/23/AR2008032301756.html

Teaching for the Future, 2 years in.

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:02:43 -0500

Two years ago today I released the first episode of Teaching for the Future. The show was created as a class project in graduate school. I wanted to use new media to demonstrate how new media could be used in the classroom. If you listen to the original 8 episodes, we began talking about how teachers can leverage the Internet to reach students.

Today we are still focused on the convergence of education, culture and technology. Each episode deals with the changing media and new media landscape, and how these changes effect the K-12. Though at times it feels like I have exhausted all of the ed-tech topics that interest me, there always seems to be something new on the horizon.

So as we look to the future, expect more from Teaching for the Future.

If you want to help out or participate with Teaching for the Future you can leave a comment on the homepage or link to us on your blog or podcast. If you want to get in touch, feel free to email at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com.

Tags: Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching, media literacy, visual literacy, new media literacy

TftF 88: Thank you

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 00:38:55 -0500

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This is just a quick podcast that I did to let you know that I'm working hard in the studio on a few new podcasts. The first is a discussion dealing with literacy with a focus on reluctant readers. I am also working on an episode that addresses the present and the future of YouTube in the K-12 classroom.

I'm going to start a segment that features a different member of the audience each week called "Better Know a Listener". I hope to use this to introduce listeners to what each other are doing.

I also want to thank Mark Gura and Kathy King for all their kind words and for mentioning Teaching for the Future on an episode of the Podcast for Teachers. I must have missed this episode. Everything they said was a lie, wonderful and glowing lies about Teaching for the Future. You can find that episode of their podcast here.

TftF 87: Our Schools are a Hot Mess

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:24:11 -0500

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In an article in the January/Febuary issue of the Atlantic Monthly entitled "First, Kill all the School Boards", Matt Miller tries to save American education. In the article Miller explains how centralizing all education in the spirit of Horrace Mann would turn around public education. Miller looks at funding, curriculum reform, and No Child Left Behind.

What can be done to yield the proficiency standards we have been paying for? Can we take local control of education away and give it to the federal government?

All this and more in this episode of Teaching for the Future.

"First, Kill all the School Boards" Matt Miller

Teaching for the Future 86

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 07:57:05 -0600

Cuffed Kid (and Parents) to Sue City for $15 Million from The Gothamist:
Last month, a Queens kindergartener was handcuffed after a temper tantrum at PS 81, prompting his parents to threaten a lawsuit. Now a lawyer representing Dennis Rivera and his parents reveals they are filing a notice of claim against the city for $15 million.

Mind the Gap. It's a high-speed, high-def, Wi-Fi world. But not for everybody. from NEAToday:
From the article: “According to Pew Research, there are still 30 million American households that do not have a computer, mostly in low-income or rural communities. For the majority, it's a matter of dollars and cents—a few hundred dollars for a home computer coupled with a 30 or 40 dollar monthly broadband bill isn't practical when it's a struggle to keep the lights on.”

Related:

Brian Crosby is a blogger and teacher who’s classroom is featured in the article.
More about the participation gap by Henry Jenkins.

Gossip You Can't Manage from Digital Natives:
“In light of recent discussions about managing online reputations, how about something you can't really control – gossip. JuicyCampus.com is a website aimed at becoming a compendium of gossip at college campuses. The gossip posted is, unsurprisingly, is often malicious and hateful, leading to some backlash in the media.”

If you want to help out or participate with Teaching for the Future you can leave a comment on the homepage or link to us on your blog or podcast. If you want to get in touch, feel free to email at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com.

Tags: Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching, media literacy, visual literacy, new media literacy

Teaching for the Future 85

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 21:29:15 -0600

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More Time for Math and Reading Equals Less for Other Subjects by Kathleen Kennedy Manzo from Education Week:

From the Article: "Most of the nations elementary schools have added at least 75 minutes of instruction time in reading and mathematics each weekand often twice that amountin the five years since the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act, but many did so by skimming that time from the teaching of science, social studies, the arts, recess, and physical education."

Related Link: Wow! - 2cents Worth by David Warlick

New Report on Internet Predators from 2¢ Worth by David Warlick:

"..in spite of public concern, the authors found that adolescents use of popular social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook do not appear to increase their risk of being victimized by online predators. Rather, it is risky online interactions such as talking online about sex to unknown people that increases vulnerability, according to the researchers."

Tags: Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching, financial aid podcast, media literacy, visual literacy, new media literacy

Labels: dave lamorte, education, financial aid podcast, media literacy, new media literacy, podcast, social activisim, teaching, technology

TftF 84: Financial Aid Shake Down/Give Away Your OLPC

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 19:16:39 -0600

Financial Aid Shake Down: How the US Congress is trying to take away your child's financial aid.

LINKS:
Boing Boing
Hugh McGuire
News.com

Democrats in the Congress have introduced a bill that will force colleges and universities to crack down on file sharing. The bill introduces stiff penalties on colleges who do not fight file sharing in two ways. By reducing federal financial aid and by push schools to subsidize student accounts to music subscription services. Some equate these penalties to pork-barrel legislation designed to help Record Companies to stay in the black. ( HughMcGuire.net) More likely this is a sign of the times and more evidence that the RIAA is loosing direction.

Co-authors of the new legislation:

Representative George Miller of California
Representative Ruben Hinojosa of Texas

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

I think that this law is overtly classist. It's obvious that the MPAA/RIAA are angry. They're pissed off and want to hit students where it hurts, in their financial aid. It's too hard and costs too much to target/litigate each file-sharer, so targeting schools would put the accountability on universities to enforce MPAA/RIAA policy. By penalizing financial aid benefits, this law would almost completely target low income students. If aid is cut, it will be those students who can't afford school on their own who will be affected the most. Which is unfair because students from all socio-economic classes are file sharing. Part of me thinks it is easier to target poor students because they have less resources and capital to fight back, but I think it has more to do with a lack of forethought.

From News.com: "The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) applauded the proposal"... "We very much support the language in the bill, which requires universities to provide evidence that they have a plan for implementing a technology to address illegal file sharing," said Angela Martinez, a spokeswoman for the MPAA."

So instead of trying to find a way to change they way they do business, record companies are trying to legislate their way back on track. I understand that file sharing is illegal, but I don't understand why record companies want to attack low income students. This is like docking pay checks to the mailroom because the CEO was found guilty of a crime. It's sad that our legislators are more willing to fight for the lumbering giants of the record industry over kids who are trying to earn a degree.

For REP. GEORGE MILLER OF CALIFORNIA:

George.Miller@mail.house.gov
1333 Willow Pass Road
Suite 203
Concord, CA 94520
(925) 602-1880
Fax: (925)674-0983

3220 Blume Drive
Suite 281
Richmond, CA 94806
(510) 262-6500
Fax: (510) 222-1306

For REP. RUBEN HINOJOSA OF TEXAS:
U.S. House of Representatives

2463 RayburnHouse Office Building
Washington, D.C . 20515
Phone: (202) 225-2531
Fax: (202)225-5688

Edinburg Office
2864 West Trenton Road
Edinburg, TX 78539
Phone: (956) 682-5545
Fax: (956) 682-0141

Beeville Office
107 South St. Mary's Street
Beeville, Texas 78102
Phone: (361) 358-8400
Fax: (361) 358-8407

For SENATE MAJORITY LEADER HARRY REID:
Bruce R. Thompson
Courthouse & Federal Bldg
400 S. Virginia St, Suite 902
Reno, NV 89501
Phone: 775-686-5750
Fax: 775-686-5757

Lloyd D. George Building
333 Las Vegas Boulevard
South, Suite 8016
Las Vegas, NV 89101
Phone: 702-388-5020
Fax: 702-388-5030

600 East William St, #302
Carson City, NV 89701
Phone: 775-882-REID (7343)
Fax: 775-883-1980

Washington, DC
528 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-3542
Fax: 202-224-7327
Toll Free for Nevadans:
1-866-SEN-REID (736-7343)

BUY 2 DONATE 2: Why you don't need to buy an OLPC to your computer collection

LINKS:
OLPC Twitter Feed: http://twitter.com/olpc
Give One Get One Campaign: http://www.laptopgiving.org/en/index.php

This is the bulk of the show, but I don't have the energy to write it all up. I hope you forgive me.

If you want to help out or participate with Teaching for the Future you can leave a comment on the homepage or link to us on your blog or podcast. If you want to get in touch, feel free to email at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com.

Tags: Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching, financial aid podcast, media literacy, visual literacy, new media literacy

TftF 83: Screenwriters on Strike/Call to Action

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:59:09 -0600

Screenwriters on Strike Over Stake in New Media from NYTIMES.com

Hollywood writers are now officially on strike over issues surrounding how the revenues from new media and repurposed media will be shared with writers. This is more than just a strike over workers rights and compensation, this is a large part of the main stream media refusing to produce content.

Highlights from the article:

"[C]ompanies were prepared to use alternative programming like reality shows, reruns and movies to fill broadcast and cable networks during a walkout that might last," [..] "9 or 10 months. Late-night talk shows have immediately turned to repeats, but most prime-time comedies and dramas have about half a dozen episodes already filmed."
"The guild said the companies had dug in their heels by, among other things, refusing to grant the unions jurisdiction over most writing directly for new media, and insisting on the right to offer promotional showings of movies and television shows in new media and elsewhere without paying an additional fee."
"The companies have also insisted on pegging residual payments for downloaded movies and shows at the same rate historically used for DVDs and videocassettes — a formula writers have regretted almost since the moment they negotiated it two decades ago. In effect, the sides finally got down to what they were really fighting about: who will get what from the media of the future. "

What does this mean to you the media consumer?

1. Cultural Shifts:
a. Entertainment/Fictional media is a huge part of American culture.
2. More Reality TV:
a. With out writers entertainment will focus on reality television, where often people who do not share our values are elevated to star status.
3. oppourtunites for new media producers:
a. More focus on independant content producers
b. A chance for you to become a content producer.

MY CHALLENGE TO YOU:
In the comments post any links to content you are going to be watching or creating to fill the media void. The content does not have to be educational, but it should be work safe.

Make sure to post your name and write a sentence or two about the link so that I can sort through the links and give you credit for the link. I will discuss some of the shows in the next episode of Teaching for the Future, and I will put the rest of the links in the show notes.

Web video content I recommend:
Rocketboom.com: Internet Culture and News.
System: A do-it-for-yourself and hacker podcast
BoingBoing.tv : Internet Culture and News (Possilbly Not Safe for Work)
Galacticast:
Something to Be Desired
Drive Time: Internet Culture and News
Epic-FU: Internet Culture and News from the team behind the JetSetShow. (Possilbly Not Safe for Work)

If you want to help out or participate with Teaching for the Future you can leave a comment on the homepage or link to us on your blog or podcast. If you want to get in touch, feel free to email at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com.

Tags: Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching, media literacy, visual literacy, new media literacy

TftF 82: PodCamp Boston 2

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 06:03:15 -0600

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News:
PODCAMP BOSTON 2: PodCamp was a lot of fun and I know that I am going to need to get it out of my system before I can move on. There are a few things that happened at PodCamp that I think directly relate to my practice here at Teaching for the Future.

Here's what happened:

I met Neil Gorman.
I complained about the nerds on Wikipedia with Andrea Mercado.
I met teen podcaster Kabren Levinson and found out that kids and adults are equally clueless about new media.
I had a discussion with Whitney Hoffman and Greg Demetrick about the differences and similarities between urban, suburban, and rural students.
Mark Frydenberg created real relationships through education technology.
I won a Roland Edirol from the good people at FoneShow.

If you want to help out or participate with Teaching for the Future you can leave a comment on the homepage or link to us on your blog or podcast. If you want to get in touch, feel free to email at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com.

Tags: Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching, media literacy, visual literacy, new media literacy

Teacher Resigns over Comic Book

teachingthefuture@gmail.com (David LaMorte) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:56:08 -0500

Recently a high school teacher in Guilford, CT has resigned because of a controversy that has arisen over his decision to give a student a comic book as part of a class assignment. The teacher decided to resign because of complaints made by parents that the comic was offensive. So offensive in fact that according to a New Haven Register article the student's father described it as "borderline pornography". (Scarborough King 2007)

The comic that caused the controversy is a graphic novel by Dan Clowes called Eight Ball #22. Clowes is the creator of Ghost World and is know for dealing with very adult topics in his work. The parents of the student were offended by how Clowes address topics of sexuality, rape, and murder in his story. Clowes is well regarded in mainstream media and has even begun to do a comic for the New York Times. (MacDonald 2007)

I found this so interesting because I am putting together a lesson plan about zines and most of my exemplars are independent comic zines. As I'm reading this article I'm collecting comics to bring into my own class. For a moment I pause to think about whether I should change the focus of our next project.

This scenario in Connecticut my worst nightmare, getting fired for trying to make my class engaging. I am always a bit nervous about what I bring into the class. I like to use a lot of contemporary art work that deals with serious societal issues. My exemplars deal with issues of racism, sexism, identity, and the role of the artist in society and there are some many ways images and ideas can be interpreted and offend. But I get permission for anything that I'm unsure of and I deal with the images in the controlled* environment of the classroom. (*as controlled as it can be)

In my opinion this teacher made two big mistakes. One, he did not clear the book with anyone else. An administrator or a department head could have suggested he used something else or even been able to discuss the book or warn parents before there was any conflict. Secondly, he allowed the book to go home where the student would be left without someone to guide them through the material.

One could argue that the parents are behind the times, but I thing the teacher was being unrealistic about the reality of public schools.

For More Info:
boing boing
THE BEAT

If you want to help out or participate with Teaching for the Future you can leave a comment on the homepage or link to us on your blog or podcast. If you want to get in touch, feel free to email at teachingforthefuture@gmail.com.

Tags: Dave LaMorte, teaching for the future, technology, education, podcast, teaching, Dan Clowes, comics, media literacy, visual literacy, new media literacy