So the center is finishing up week six and I'm finishing up week five of the digital literacy program. I had a week off for a family vacation but I'm now back at the center, ready to finish strong with as of today, about a week of programming left.
For week four and five, I've decided to introduce some coding (specifically block coding) to the kids at UNCC. I have mixed feelings about the whole "coding movement" that is prominent in schools and libraries across the United States and the world. We talk about it in library science classes (mainly ones that revolve around youth and digital literacy). I don't dispute the women (white women AND women of color) are outranked by men in tech fields and that the number of jobs in the tech sector are quickly rising, I'm just not sure if requiring every student to code will solve and cover the gap.
Read moreWell I made it through another two weeks and I think I'm getting the hang of the flexibility and quick changes this digital literacy program requires. My biggest (and best) adjustment came in the fact that I focused more closely on each grade level, accepting the fact that my K-2nd group would not get as far as my 3-5th grade group. I kept the general theme in mind but catered each day for the age level. The middle schoolers continue to challenge me and I hope by the end of my time at UNCC, I've made some sort of progress with them.
Read moreEven though it was a short week, I was exhausted by the time Thursday came around. Tuesday, May 31st marked day one of summer camp here at UNCC, the after-school center I've been working at for the past 21 some months. My final project in Urbana will be rolling out a digital literacy summer program for 50 plus K-8th graders. This program is a culmination of all the hard work, relationship building, and community engagement I've done at the center. I just don't want to teach digital literacy, I want to teach it in a way that really targets the kids I'm working with. A catered-just-for-them program. Essentially, wrapping basic digital literacy skills around with technology and projects that respects and appreciates all the wonderful students I've gotten to know.
A little daunting, right?
Read moreIt's been a week since Camp Clover and today is the first chance I've had to sit down and really write about the camp. There's so much to say, so many stories to tell, and so much learned. I'll try to condense a week's worth of experiences into five lessons learned, YouTube links, and lots of great photos.
Read moreDay three of camp went by way too quickly. It was another day of rearranging the schedule but feeling confident in our ability to change and adapt.
We finally started working on their iMovie projects. Essentially, every kid has interviewed someone they know in their community. They recorded this interview using the app, Recorder. From that interview, they'll take a couple of sound bites, bring them into iMovie, and add photos and videos on top of the audio for a multi-media clip. At the end of the week, we'll combine all these clips together for a mega movie.
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