FullSail Grads Comes Back & Grills Us on Web2 & Education
February 20, 2010 by joe.bustillos
Filed under education re-examined, featured
Nick Briscoe, Full Sail emdtms grad, talks with Dr. Deason, Dr. Ludgate and moi about Web 2.0 tools such as social networking and their use in education. This is the first episode of Nick’s Educatium podcast which he’s created with fellow emdtms grads Paul Martin, Aletha Williams and Emily Wray. They can only get better from this beginning video podcast. Really.
Here’s a bonus outtake of Dr. Siegel wanting to join in as we were setting up the interview:
“A” is for Ax Murderer
February 10, 2010 by joe.bustillos
Filed under education re-examined, featured
Another student take on Zander’s giving student’s an automatic “A”:
"May I axe you a question?" Astro's Got an Axe! by tohoscope
Bob is still looking for his A
Grades in middle school are controversial, especially now that students earn credits to be promoted to the next grade level. Ask a teacher at my school to “give an ‘A’” and their response is likely to be one of confusion, disbelief, laughter, or even anger. Administrators will tell you that grades should be used to measure student success and communicate progress. Unfortunately, many teachers use grades to communicate a very bad message and focus on “principle.” “Its the principle of the matter,” exclaims a colleague. “If you give an ‘A’ to a student who does nothing in your class, what kind of message are you sending the kid who works their butt off?”
So it goes back to measure and comparison (see chapter 2). Giving an A is not about allowing students a free ride and telling hard working students that it is all for nothing. Rather, it is eliminating the “anticipation of failure” and allowing the class to focus on what is more important; learning. It’s all about placing everyone on a level playing field (pardon the competitive sports analogy) and saying, “you already have the grade, what’s next?” It’s likely that the response will involve a feeling of relief and willingness to explore.
Ashley’s always reaching for an ‘A.’
However, I think the next step of giving an ‘A’ is just as important as giving the ‘A’ itself. Teachers who feel that giving an ‘A’ would eliminate student accountability will like this step the most. Requiring that students predict how they have earned the A before they have actually received it, helps them develop goals and builds intrinsic motivation. It also helps them see the possibility of being successful, something many have given up on.
Interested in seeing how I felt about this in October, click here. – Noel Nehrig
And my erudite response:
Grades are a bit like religion. There may have been a point at some time but it’s gotten lost in all of the noise and people are very scared to consider what to do if grades/religion had never existed. In the classroom, has the point of all the effort gotten lost to pursuing a grade? I mean, just like religion, isn’t all of this effort suppose to amount to something intrinsic, some good that goes beyond measure?
Grades are institution solution to communicating student progress and/or position in the A-to-F continuum within the classroom. There the measure, not the point. But i’ve seen instructors at all level quibble looking to seal up any possible loophole that a student might use to game the grading system. At best a grade is an approximation that may or may not be related to student progress fulfilling course requirements. In the end, it’s what we carry in our heads and hearts that matters more than this imperfect approximation. Funny how only those who excel and those who feel besmirched care so much about grades. What’s up with that?
Sources:
Wk 1 Reading- “A” is for Ax Murderer by Noel Nehrig. http://web.me.com/noelnehrig/The_Blog_Prince_for_EMDTMS_MAC/2010_MAC_OCD_Wk1/Entries/2010/2/6_Wk_1_Reading-_%E2%80%9CA%E2%80%9D_is_for_Ax_Murderer.html retrieved on 2/9/2010
Astro’s Got an Axe! by tohoscope. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tohoscope/182444838/ retrieved on 2/9/2010
Stone mason by sk8geek. http://www.flickr.com/photos/sk8geek/3917647300/ retrieved on 2/9/2010
Pretty Princess Picking Her Nose by Pink Sherbet Photography. http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/3295969599/ retrieved on 2/9/2010
Share this Post[?] Scream Therapy
January 26, 2010 by joe.bustillos
Filed under Past Featured Media, education re-examined, featured
Full Sail student coping with the end of program requirements… thanks Mary
To give an A or not to give an A – Ongoing Zander Dialogue
January 16, 2010 by joe.bustillos
Filed under education re-examined, featured
I’m back to teaching my Media Asset Creation class and Ben Zander’s The Art of Possibility
Image courtesy Getty Images
Why? …because I don’t want my best students to feel like all their hard work is for nothing. I feel strongly that some of my students would take advantage of an automatic A and slack off.
But within the rubrics I design for each lesson, it is very easy to get an A if they complete the assignment. I try to make them aware of this, but perhaps I should try harder. Perhaps I should regard them all as my best students.
However, I am often frustrated that many of my students feel like they deserve an A, they tell me so, even when their work is average at best and they copy answers from other people. I worry that their parents and teachers who have caused them to feel like they deserve an A are being set up for massive disappointments once they hit the real world. The real world doesn’t care, does it?
Regardless.
I should give everyone in my life an A. My father, my daughter, my friends, strangers, everyone… see what happens when I make a point of not accidently taking the wind out of their sails…. –
Aneesa AMy response:
Read more
Grading Rants for a Monday – Inspired by the Art of Possibility
November 2, 2009 by joe.bustillos
Filed under education re-examined, featured
High Speed Aerodynamics by o b s k u r a
One of the books that I use for my course is the inspirational The Art of Possibility
Share this Post[?]“The author of the book, “The Art of Possibility” made a statement that “not just in this case, but in most cases, grades say little about the work done.” This statement could not be more true. The first thing I thought about when reading this chapter is the meetings that I have sat in with administrators that have implied students should earn nothing less than a 50% and that is if they even fail. Today, we are educators, which work in a data driven education system where the author’s statement of this book could not be more applicable. Grades today do not reflect the work or worth of a student for the simple fact that, like Southern California, there are so many other places that are driven by political, or administrative, holds to influence their “data” and/or “funding.” by Melissa C.
Save the Prize – Cha-Ching Version
October 22, 2009 by joe.bustillos
Filed under JBB's Media Buzz, education re-examined, featured
Part of my class at Full Sail University involves issues of Copyright, Fair Use and Creative Commons. One of the videos I share is about the difficulty a particular video documentarian is having securing the rights so that he can share his documentary “Eyes on the Prize”
The video prompted the following video response by one of my students (and my response to his video):
My video response:
Sources:
* Eyes on the Fair Use of the Prize directed and produced by Jacob Caggiano/Center for Social Media, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r0pM1hJGU8 retrieved on 10/22/2009
* Save the Prize by Seann Goodman/OnOttButton, article at http://seanngoodman.wordpress.com/2009/10/16/save-the-prize/, video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8fvmpRtDb0 retrieved on 10/22/2009.
* Save the Prize – Cha-Ching Version by Joe Bustillos, http://www.viddler.com/explore/joebeebee/videos/17/ retrieved on 10/22/2009.
Share this Post[?] Change/Follows/Learning
October 16, 2009 by joe.bustillos
Filed under In the Valley of the Shadow of Doubt, education re-examined, featured
Emdt student Kevin Hayes created this video with the catch phrase: “If what you learn doesn’t change what you do, then why you learnin’ it?”
Kevin is a very committed believer and has shared the connection he feels between his beliefs and his actions. There’s something amazingly simple and powerful in this. And in his video he illustrates it so well with the example, if you really believe that the world is beautiful than you should be doing something about it, like picking up the trash and recycling. So simple and so powerful.
I think I know what Kevin means, if we believe in something it should effect how we act and how we live our lives. A frustration that I have, that Kevin may or may not share with me, is the obvious gap between what I consider the prime-directive left by Jesus to his followers and how his followers seem to live with one another:
“”A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13: 34-35 NIV)
Having moved from Southern California to Central Florida, where there seems to be one church for every city block, and sometime two, I’m not sure that I’ve seen much in the way that would convince me that I’m now living among His followers. Perhaps that’s not very fair. Let’s put it this way, I haven’t seen much of a difference between those who have shared their faith with me and the rest as far as quality of life, compassion, you know “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” kind of stuff.
Now there’s a possibility that this region, this place is so saturated with religion and basic Christian principles that the guy in the bar and the guy in the pew are both looking for the same things in life and going about it pretty much the same way, except for one guy sleeps in on Sunday morning and the other doesn’t (and don’t assume which one is which). I don’t know. If someone is trying to persuade me that their faith has something to offer, than I have an expectation that I’m going to see a difference in their life that I wouldn’t see in someone who doesn’t share that belief. I think Kevin was talkin’ about more than just trash when he hummed, “If what you learn doesn’t change what you do, then why you learnin’ it?”
Sources:
YouTube: Change is good by Kevin Hayes, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Jma04y40I retrieved on October 16, 2009.
Bible Quote: John 12:34-35, http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+13%3A34-35&version=NIV retrieved on October 16, 2009
Twitter in Education?
August 21, 2009 by joe.bustillos
Filed under education re-examined, featured
One of my students recently read an article in the New York Times about how Twitter was killing the art of real conversation because twitter-ers were breaking the first rule of conversation by not really listening and only waiting for their opportunity to jump in. Then my student questioned how social media and Twitter might help or hurt the educational “conversation. Needless to say, I could hardly wait to add my two-cent to the conversation:
One of the problems with Web 2.0 stuff is that its use often defies the structures previously understood. What is twitter? In a linear world of meetings and memos, Twitter makes no sense. In a world of direct emails and broadcast media Twitter makes no sense.
Share this Post[?] Show Me What You Learned (blog, blog, blog) – An FSO Student Music Video
August 18, 2009 by joe.bustillos
Filed under Past Featured Media
Sorry, self-indulgent, no doubt, but damn funny… well, at least for my students who have to suffer through my course, Media Asset Creation. Thanks Abram Siegel
Share this Post[?] What the Heck is edm613 Media Asset Creation – A Student’s View
August 1, 2009 by joe.bustillos
Filed under JBB's Media Buzz, education re-examined, featured
Last week I was all proud of the presentation I’d given to my fellow course directors explaining what my class was all about. I had intended to make a video version of that presentation and post it here to help spread the Full Sail/EMDTMS love. Then one of my students turned in the following piece as his “Show Me What You Learned” project. Yeah, upstaged by my own students. I’m getting very used to this…
My parody of E-40 and Keak the Sneak’s song “Tell Me When To Go”
No video, just a static picture.
The lyrics can be found here
On a serious note, knowing more specifics about convergent culture and copyright law will help me as the collaboration is a goal of mine for my final project, and the law part will help me stay legal. The book “The Art of Possibility” probably had the greatest impact on me that will not only help me going into the media project and finishing the thesis, but with my teaching as well. – Abram Siegel
Actually, I’ll do the video presentation later, but I just had to share this version because it is so fracking creative and right on! Sorry, self-indulgent? No doubt, but damn funny… well, at least for my students who have to suffer through my course. I love my job and the folks I get to work with. jbb
Sources
Blog gang sign. (n.d.) http://blog.theavclub.tv
Jenkins, H. (2006). Convergence culture: Where old and new media collide. New York: New York University Press
Zander, R. & Zander, B. (2002). The art of possibility: Transforming professional and personal life. New York: Penguin Books.
Music: The Golden Age by 
Mark Heard from the Mosaics CD (out of print)
