course keynote

8/2/2019 Course Keynote

1/11

Classroom Without Walls

New Media and Diversity

Professor Cecil Brown


2/11

Utilizing New MediaOur class used social media practices and integrated them with course curriculum. Eachstudent was encouraged to use this media as a learning tool. As a class, we were activelyinvolved with the following media:

TwitterBlog.comFacebookSkypeGoAnimate

bSpace

All this was used in addition to reading important texts that related to new

media, writing, and other technologies like cell phones, telegrams, drumming,

television, and radio. The class did not have a course reader, and students were

encouraged to download their books and read them on their computers.


3/11

Rather than have a standard term paper, students frequently blogged after each

lecture their feelings, thoughts, and personal reactions while being able to refer to

important key concepts and terms learned in class.

Bree Mitchell Blog

Debroskie-Johnson Blog

Marvelous Marv

With the blogging, I aimed to establish the connection between Walter Ongs

concept of secondary orality in the context of African American oral traditions. In

turn, this fusion helped yield a new relationship to Digital Learning.

3 Stacks Blog
http://stacks.blog.com/http://stacks.blog.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://flippidyflapjacks.blog.com/http://flippidyflapjacks.blog.com/http://covaughn.blog.com/http://covaughn.blog.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/http://breemarie.blog.com/http://breemarie.blog.com/http://flippidyflapjacks.blog.com/http://flippidyflapjacks.blog.com/


4/11

Was blogging closer to an oral conversation?

How would students learn from using Skype?

How could we use game and animation tools to teach?

To help answer these questions we began withanalyzing old technology which is essentially,writing.Thus, the class read Professor Barry Powellsbook Writing: Theory and History of theTechnology of Civilization.

I then prepared the students for a Skype

interview with Professor Powell. When thetime came, they were each prepared with a

question for him.

Here we learned how speech and a responsive audience changes the way we view a text.

To be able to speak with the author himself, the text becomes immediately more familiar,and the students were able to accomplish this because of social media.


5/11

Ethnic Voice in the Age of

InformationMany African American students have computers, but does this erase the digital divide?To help answer this particular question, students needed to examine non-writing traditions like oralpoetry, blues, games, dance, and hip hop.

We had hip hop performer Azeem come talk to the class about his experience as a hip hop ambassador to Algeria andTunisia.

Hip hop journalism is another response to non-written tradition so we invited Pandavis, who works as a journalist fornew media outlets like Youth Radio and Oaklandlocal.com to speak as well.

Furthermore, we focused on the theme of Social Justice and the Internet.

For this we invited Cephus Johnson, the Uncle of Oscar Grant, to speak.This presentation inspired important blogs from students. One response (from Brooskie)

revealed to the class his own uncles death at the hands of the police.


6/11

Azeem: Trip to Tunisia

Azeem as Hip Hop Ambassador
http://oaklandlocal.com/posts/2011/06/oakland-rapper-azeem-part-hip-hop-ambassadors-tour-tunisia-algeria-community-voiceshttp://oaklandlocal.com/posts/2011/06/oakland-rapper-azeem-part-hip-hop-ambassadors-tour-tunisia-algeria-community-voiceshttp://oaklandlocal.com/posts/2011/06/oakland-rapper-azeem-part-hip-hop-ambassadors-tour-tunisia-algeria-community-voices


7/11

Race, Colonization, and

TechnologyIn the class, Avatarbecame a topic of discussion. I posted an assignment on bSpace about the film, thenposted three questions on whether or not Avatar was a race film. The next morning we had an opendiscussion where students were then asked to blog on the online articles read as well as what wasdiscussed in class.

The discussion of race and writing then continued with the film Night John. With this film we discussedthe treatment of enslaved Americans.Later we were able to Skype the director of the film, Charles Burnett and he engaged with the class on

both the film and other personal issues.


8/11

Presentation by 3Stacks and

Debroskie


9/11

Advantages of Digital Learning

Digital learning allows students to learn

anytime and anywhere.

This education can more easily further evenafter the class is finished.

It even helped students stay in touch with me

after the class was over.

One student even approached me and let me

know that students were still blogging!


10/11

PendarvisTakes us to Detroit and Washington D.C.


11/11

Taj MahalTakes us to St. Louis, 1899

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