Digital Storytelling course at Kean University taught by Mia Zamora and Alan Levine (all blogging at the Net Mirror 2021 site)
When I was fourteen or so, I was the ugly duckling in my group of friends; I still had my braces on, a really unflattering haircut, zero self-esteem, and I had never been asked out the way every other girl had seemingly been the summer going into high school. I felt like a freak! I got stuck with the chore of doom in our household one summer afternoon; helping my Mom clear out clutter from the basement. For reference, I […]
M.E. O'Neill on The global pandemic that effectively shut down our society has obviously been incredibly stressful, but for introverts, being stuck at home has some silver linings. Pearl Subban explores how all this isolation has affected introverts in the article “For introverts, the COVID-19 lockdown has an upside.” Subban explains that working and learning from home means introverts no longer need to engage in “self-monitoring” their behavior or “recharge” after exhausting days surrounded by other people. In addition, many introverts who were […]
Prof Alan on We have worked our way through our topical discussions that should inform your final summary task. Here we get creative and will be crafting microfiction stories that can paint a picture about what the experience looks like in a near future Post Pandemic University. Speculative fiction implies the kind of stories we saw in the Screening Surveillance short films (Blaxites and A Model Employee) that are set in a time that could almost be now where surveillance technologies act on […]
blueknights on As I read the article, I cannot help but appreciate the insights put together by the author. For a long time, introverts are misunderstood and overlooked. They are seen as weird members of society who have a world only they can understand. This is a painful judgment from the people who feel superior over the others just because they can express themselves socially. But the stigma has to end now. I admire how this article shed enlightenment to the readers […]
agently on At the beginning of 2020, before the pandemic really took the entire world by storm, NPR released an article entitled “Most Americans Are Lonely, And Our Workplace Culture May Not Be Helping”. According to their sources, loneliness had a relatively large leap from 2018 to 2019; this leap encompassed people from all backgrounds, though some groups like women and Boomers were less lonely than men and Gen Zers (paras. 7&9). I decided to look this up after listening to […]
teacheng on As a newcomer to the field of online learning, I believe that each and every opportunity I was presented with I approached with open arms and with a desire to become part of a community. I am more vocal in class than most of my peers and this has given me an identity that has been wonderful – but not without a price. My story of finding community and hope is a tragedy like some. I use writing as an […]
jessielb928 on For the last blog (which really is the last blog this time, I promise), we end off this semester by recognizing a relationship between a generation and the CO-VID 19 pandemic. A TED Talk by Darcy Dixon highlights the impact of this tragic and life-changing pandemic and how the Gen Z has been affected a little differently than everyone else. But how can this be fixed? Dixon begins with discussing the strong sense of community and how it’s a “vital […]
mzamora on Thanks to all of you for another thoughtful evening with excellent conversations, covering some heavy hitting issues for the post-pandemic university: proctoring technology and software, as well as the institutional role in ensuring equitable and just environments for higher education. Despite the open admittance that your collective hearts felt burdened on Thursday evening (and that you have considerable challenges on your plate – both medical and stress-related), you all “showed up” with a thoughtful engagement of this work. Thanks to […]
hgatica on For the final week, I wanted to set my focus on the effect of COVID-19 on introverts, as I feel I relate to this topic the most. To do so, I spent some time focused on reading For introverts, the COVID-19 lockdown has an upside. “Could the online teaching and learning space be the buffer that introverted students needed in order to quietly get on with the job?” That question stuck out to me the most as I’ve read through. […]
vickbwrites on This week I will be the tour guide for Brenna Clark Gray’s “Digital Detox #6: Build Back Better.” I will be focusing on Gray’s mention of the lack of care at the institutional level. With the current ongoing pandemic, it should come as no surprise that students have encountered difficulties with schooling. Through the quick shift from face-to-face instruction to virtual learning, students are exhausted but let’s not only think of them. Educators are the ones presenting these new technological […]
Everything shut down except for one thing. There was no sound of the TV on in the background. My parents sat across from one another in a completely different room, trying their best to not even let their spoons clink against their bowls. Every window in the house was slammed shut. There was no gentle hum of the dishwasher. Our family home had almost turned into a metered parking spot; sure, this wasn’t going to be permanent, but at the […]
krock5228 on In this new world that we are living in, we are evolving and finding new ways for us to do things. WIth this wave of online instruction in classrooms at all levels, we are seeing an emergence in all new types of technology. Some of it is very useful and important to the classroom setting. Other forms of technology leave some room for questions. Specifically, I question the need and importance of proctoring technology in the context of online schooling. […]
M.E. O'Neill on This week’s readings show how much harm institutions can cause when they ignore the voices of teachers and students. First, there’s Jason Kelley’s “Students Are Pushing Back Against Proctoring Surveillance Apps,” which describes how students in various universities are fighting against restrictive and inequitable test-proctoring software such as Proctorio. Before I get into too much detail about the pitfalls of this software, I want to mention that I think asking students to take exams at all during this pandemic is […]
blueknights on The invasive proctoring apps have not only been a danger to privacy groups but also students. Jason posits that numerous petitions have been signed across the nation and world where students have been pushing teachers and school administrators to consider what the app is creating. Schools have to consider this degree of organized activism where students from different universities keep pushing against proctoring surveillance apps. For instance, students from the University of Texas, Dallas, have been petitioning their college to […]
teacheng on Brenna Clark Gray said, “Our institution is in the middle of a discussion about adopting a new technology, and it’s very clear that the folks in charge thought they were just purchasing a logistical solution to a problem.” This is also the main idea as to what Hugo’s piece entitled, Students Are Pushing Back Against Proctoring Surveillance Apps, is really all about as well. Jason Kelley spoke about in great detail how one university and institution after another is petitioning […]
