Research summary on Language

The post below is based on the background research I did for INF538 Value Added-information Services in June 2014.  Please cite me as the author should you wish to quote / use any of this.

Bailey, N. (2014, November 12). Research summary on Language. Retrieved November 23, 2013, from http://informativeflights.blogspot.sg/2014/11/research-summary-on-language.html

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Background Research


This study has presented the typical knowledge management dilemma – there is a considerable amount of information and research, both academic and practical but it is widely dispersed and personal experience is often not documented.


History


Most research into BML (bi- and multi-lingualism) concerns itself with assimilation of immigrants (Fillmore, 2000; Slavin, Madden, Calderon, Chamberlain, & Hennessy, 2011; Slavin et al., 2011; Winter, 1999); maintaining minority (or majority) languages in a dominant language environment (Ball, 2011; Dixon, Zhao, Quiroz, & Shin, 2012) or language immersion or bilingual programmes; (Caldas & Caron-Caldas, 2002; Carder, 2008; Cummins, 1998; Genesee, 2014; Hadi-Tabassum, 2004; Soderman, 2010) aspects of which may or may not be relevant to this study or its population.
Until fairly recently the situation of high socio-economic status (SES) students in international schools is given at best a glancing mention and appears to have been a marginal area amongst researchers, as they are considered to be a privileged elite with more options and choices and greater economic means than immigrant or minority students (Ball, 2011; Carder, 2006; de Mejía, 2002). There are calls for “celebrating diversity” in the classroom, (Stauft, 2011) mentions of international food fairs, the involvement of the Parents’ Association and ensuring that the school conveys the message to parents on the importance of maintaining MT  (Hayim-Bambe, 2011), while most research looks into integration and scaffolding to English.  


Bilingualism


Researchers distinguish between three types of bilingualism. Simultaneous bilingualism – exposure to two languages from birth; early successive bilingualism – first exposure aged 1 – 3 years; and second language bilingualism – first exposure aged  4 – 10 years. There is considerable debate as to what exactly the “critical” ages are for successful language learning. As Kirsten Winter pointed out “Language learning is a continuum and bilingualism is not a perfect status to be achieved.” (Winter, 1999, p. 88).  Typical language learners cycle through alternating stages of passive (receptive) and productive (expressive) skills, usually in the order of listening, speaking, reading and then writing.


Figure 1: Continuum of language learning

Initially children learn phoneme production, syntactic competence and build vocabulary while phonological awareness then helps to develop literacy skills. The ability to understand both the ‘microstructure’ of sentences and a ‘macrostructure’ of the relationship between ideas results in language comprehension (Beech, 1994).

An important distinction is made between the surface skill of listening and speaking, which is usually acquired within two years (BICS – Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills), and the literacy skills of reading and writing at an abstract academic level (CALP – Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency), a targeted five to seven year process – as will be discussed later under “concerns” (Cummins, 1998). Due to transferability, concepts learnt and established in one language are more easily learnt in another language but only if a child has achieved CALP (Cummins, 1998; Dixon, Zhao, Shin, et al., 2012; Shoebottom, n.d.).



Figure 2: Elements of CALP


Factors Impacting Acquisition


Researchers agree on a number of factors which impact on the successful acquisition and retention of a second or subsequent language in the BML population. These relate to the student, family, school and the community or society.


Student


A child’s language learning aptitude is a mixture of cognitive and personality factors (Ehrman & Leaver, 2003; Stauft, 2011).  Cognitive factors include learning style and strategy while personality factors include “motivation, self-efficacy and affective self-management” (Hayim-Bambe, 2011, p. 59)Low motivation, low self-esteem, and high anxiety result in a ‘mental block’ and impede language acquisition (Krashen, 1982). Extroverts tend to monitor their language use less than introverts, perfectionists and children who lack self-confidence.  Moving beyond individual differences, considerable research has been done on the strategies that so-called “Good Language Learners” (GLL) employ, particularly in the field of second-language acquisition (Abhakorn, 2008; Griffiths, 2008; E. Le Pichon, de Swart, Vorstman, & van den Bergh, 2010; Emmanuelle Le Pichon, De Swart, Vorstman, & Van Den Bergh, 2013; Wang, 2013).  These competencies, which improve with age, include directed attention, control of emotions, anticipation, mime, cooperation, imitation, clarification and asking for assistance, can arguably be taught or encouraged in a learning environment by teachers or parents.
Research often attempts to identify critical periods or ages of language acquisition, with inconclusive results, as motivation and meta-cognitive skills can be confounding variables since older students have better developed meta-cognitive skills (Barac & Bialystok, 2011; Beech, 1994; Bowden, Steinhauer, Sanz, & Ullman, 2013; Cummins, 1998, 2003; Genesee, 2014; Granena & Long, 2013; Emmanuelle Le Pichon et al., 2013; MacSwan & Pray, 2005; Saito, 2013).  Less has been written about the socio-psychological aspects, including the impact of the teenage years where adolescents disengage from the family and identify with their peer group in an attempt to construct an identity outside of the family, which may or may not include their cultural/linguistic identity as a bilingual. Ensuring ample venue or context based immersion in the MT with access to meaningful peer relationships (particularly during vacation time) can help with the maintenance of the MT in this period (Caldas & Caron-Caldas, 2002).


Family


A large vocabulary in any language contributes to overall “oral proficiency, word reading ability, reading comprehension, and school achievement”(Dixon, Zhao, Quiroz, et al., 2012, p. 542). Vocabulary is influenced by the parent’s level of education, access to and availability of resources, and the quality and quantity of parent-child interactions, including shared reading, frequency of story telling and conversations.
Parent’s level of education influences language aspirations and is often correlated with a positive view of bilingualism, ensuring the quantity and quality of resources and amount of support provided to children (Lopez, 2005, cited in Dixon et al., 2012). Whether the child was born in the home country, and the length of time they lived there, impacts on the level of language maintenance.  Many children in the international school environment were born in a third country (neither the home nor resident country).
In looking at the role of parental involvement it is important to acknowledge and cater for the diversity of families within an International school (Sears, 2011)Table 1 below is based on Sears’ analysis of the types of families, their views on the role of English versus MT and what types of maintenance effort can be expected, with advice to the school.  Caution should be exercised in interpreting these generalisations, since within a family siblings may be different depending on their linguistic and birth country history, and the existence of a strong national curriculum may influence choices.


Table 1: Families and Languages


School


The International school context results in a number of issues that complicate MT provision, including the multicultural and multilingual nature of the student population, resulting in ‘fictive monolingualism’ and the transience of both the student and teacher population, with the resultant socio-psychological implications on learning (Caldas & Caron-Caldas, 2002; Hacohen, 2012; Hornberger, 2003). However, where the “cultural capital” of the school included valuing language diversity in its environment and teaching practise, students had an increased sense of belonging, higher levels of reading literacy and they scored significantly higher academically. Continued development of ability in two or more languages on a daily basis resulted in a deeper understanding of language across contexts. Best practice includes a well structured MT program with at least some inclusion in the school timetable and fee structure, inclusion of other subject matter in MT lessons, support for English acquisition through a daily ESL/EAL program, a socio-culturally supportive environment, better awareness and training for subject teachers, affirmation of students’ identity as bi- or multi-lingual and collaboration with parents, while block scheduling was not optimal for language learning (Carder, 2014; IBO, 2011; Tramonte & Willms, 2010; Vienna International School, 2006; Wallinger, 2000).  Research in heritage language (HL) teaching and learning indicates that macro-approaches and other specific strategies that build on learners’ existing language skills could be leveraged to improve reading and writing abilities, increase motivation and participation and validate students’ identity although specific teacher training for HL is recommended (Lee-Smith, 2011; Wu & Chang, 2010).

Figure 3: Success of MT based education policies
Source: (Ball, 2011, p. 46)

In her work for UNESCO, Ball suggested a number of policy dimensions that enhance the success of an educational policy. These are depicted in Figure 3above. 
Literacy is seen as crucial for development of CALP. External and internal factors affect literacy motivation in language learning.  Factors in schools include classroom environment, appropriate text availability and teachers. Collaboration among teachers and in the school-home nexus can enhance the perception of reading and writing as a pleasurable activity outside of the learning context. Although research generally favours intrinsic motivation, in the case of language learners, extrinsic motivation including recognition, grades, social acceptance, competition, rewards related to reading and compliance can play a role in creating a positive association with and nurturing literacy while not negatively impacting on intrinsic motivation (Fong, 2007). A well equipped library, organisation of international book fairs, other tongue events, culture clubs, reading hours with older to younger / parents to students a language buddy system and national days at school are other ways literacy can be focused on (Brewster, 2011; Krashen, 2004).


Community and Society


The support of a locally based language community, including faith and cultural communities had a positive impact which could mitigate socio-economic status (SES) factors and enhance learning through beliefs and practises, classes and cultural and religious activities (Dixon, Zhao, Quiroz, et al., 2012). Finally the availability of and access to learning resources, complementary schooling, books and other materials impacted on acquiring and maintaining language(Scheele, Leseman, & Mayo, 2010)
While languages associated with upward mobility and high SES thrive, languages considered to have a lower SES risk being neglected or suppressed by dominant or higher SES language (Gulf News, 2013; Srivastava, 2012). The profile of parents’ language use at home as well as peer pressure in the adolescent years impacts on children’s language use, in this context parents may speak just the MT, the MT plus English, just English or a third “common” language – irrespective of what their MT may be or a combination of these depending on the context, while at school, English dominates (Caldas, 2006; Dixon, Zhao, Quiroz, et al., 2012; Scheele et al., 2010). In this respect, the languages Hindi and Mandarin form a special case.  They are considered to be higher status languages than other Chinese “dialects” and Indian languages, and also serve as a “common” language in those populations. If parents are not proficient in these languages, or have a lower vocabulary, they are less likely to use them at home, which in turn impacts on the child’s language proficiency (Dixon, Zhao, Quiroz, et al., 2012; Saravanan, 2001; Srivastava, 2012; Wei & Hua, 2010). Amongst Chinese diaspora the dominant view was “to qualify as Chinese, one must know the language, and to know the language means to be able to read and write the written characters” (Wei & Hua, 2010, p. 159). While: “Young Indians with high SES and high educational achievement generally changed their primary language to English” (Saravanan, 2007 cited in Dixon et al., 2012, p. 558).
The final factor is the function attributed to that language by society.  In Singapore, the government “has assigned different functions to English and the ethnic languages. While ethnic languages constitute cultural identity, intra-ethnic communication, and ethnic solidarity, English is promoted for interethnic communication, national unity, and to facilitate science learning, higher education, and economic advancement” (Bokhorst-Heng, 1999, cited in Dixon et al., 2012, p. 547).  The question is whether international schools similarly assign these functions to language.


Concerns


Although the value of BML has become more widely accepted and most parents and educators appreciate and encourage the process, a number of concerns have rightly been voiced on the process and efficacy of reaching the goal of a BML child. In the first instance, the quality of the productive language – oral and or written skills – of one or all of the child’s languages may not develop to a sufficiently high level for academic or employment purposes  (Cummins, 1998)


Figure 4: Context / cognition matrix
Source: (Carder, 2014, p. 72)


As Figure 4 shows, there is a significant difference between cognitively demanding and undemanding tasks, and the ability to use language in a context reduced environment (Carder, 2014). Secondly, studies have shown that speech and language problems that underlie both or all languages may be misinterpreted as natural delays in learning English and children from a BML background compared to monolingual children with the same problem, are often referred much later, or not at all, for help (Winter, 1999). Related to this, other research has found that behavioural or emotional problems may result from language problems including speech disorder, isolated expressive disorder, mixed receptive-expressive high level language disorder, specific language impairment and other language disorders and delays. They emphasize the importance of fully assessing language skills in these BML populations (Grizzle & Simms, 2009; Toppelberg, Medrano, Morgens, & Nieto-Castañon, 2002).
Figure 5: The “thin ice” of BICS vs. dual-iceberg of CALP
Source: (Carder, 2014 p.72)


Then there is the “drop-out” risk.  Literature distinguishes between early-exit bilingual education which is seen as “subtractive” and late exit or “additive” bilingual education (Ball, 2011; Cummins, 1998).  Subtractive bilingualism is where children do not develop language beyond the BICS stage due to suppression by the dominant school or societal language and their MT cannot be used to leverage learning in the school or societal language.  These children run the risk of not having high, abstract and academic level in any language which impacts negatively on their academic proficiency.


Another problem can be misguided parental interference and effort. Research has found that parents mainly rely on their own experiences in language learning in making choices for their children, referring to a combination of popular literature and expert advice to justify these decisions. BML families tend to form “family language policies” on home communication.  Parents’ efforts could be better supported, their uncertainties addressed and misconceptions clarified as few parents were properly aware of the challenges, issues, consistency and effort of raising BML children, nor of the fact that children raised in bilingual homes often become active users of only one language depending on the context (Caldas & Caron-Caldas, 2002; King & Fogle, 2006).


References:


Abhakorn, J. (2008). The Implications of Learner Strategies for Second or Foreign Language Teaching. ARECLS, 5, 186–204.

Ball, J. (2011). Enhancing learning of children from diverse language backgrounds: mother tongue-based bilingual or multilingual education in the early years. UNESCO Education Sector.

Barac, R., & Bialystok, E. (2011). Cognitive development of bilingual children. Language Teaching, 44(01), 36–54. doi:10.1017/S0261444810000339

Beech, J. R. (1994, May). The Language Continuum: From Infancy to Literacy. British Journal of Psychology, 85(2), 303+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA16108054&v=2.1&u=csu_au&it=r&p=EAIM&sw=w&asid=51afee8e669e5df051f4e2bc9c7c54d6

Bowden, H. W., Steinhauer, K., Sanz, C., & Ullman, M. T. (2013). Native-like brain processing of syntax can be attained by university foreign language learners.Neuropsychologia, 51(13), 2492–2511. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.09.004

Brewster, J. (2011). The Role of the Library in Supporting Young Language Learners and their Families. In E. Murphy (Ed.), Welcoming linguistic diversity in early childhood classrooms: learning from international schools (pp. 157–167). New York: Multilingual Matters.

Caldas, S. J. (2006). Raising bilingual-biliterate children in monolingual cultures. Clevedon ; Buffalo: Multilingual Matters.

Caldas, S. J., & Caron-Caldas, S. (2002). A Sociolinguistic Analysis of the Language Preferences of Adolescent Bilinguals: Shifting Allegiances and Developing Identities. Applied Linguistics, 23(4), 490–514. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=44400977&site=ehost-live

Carder, M. (2006). Bilingualism in International Baccalaureate programmes, with particular reference to international schools. Journal of Research in International Education, 5(1), 105–122. doi:10.1177/1475240906061867

Carder, M. (2008). The development of ESL provision in Australia, Canada, the USA and England, with conclusions for second language models in international schools. Journal of Research in International Education, 7(2), 205–231. doi:10.1177/1475240908091305

Carder, M. (2014). The language repertoires of five IB Diploma students in an international school. Retrieved from http://mclanguage.tripod.com/webonmediacontents/55a%20The%20language%20repertoires%20of%20five.pdf

Cummins, J. (1998). Immersion education for the millennium: What have we learned from 30 years of research on second language immersion? In M. R. Childs & R. M. Bostwick (Eds.), Learning through two languages: Research and practice (pp. 34–47). Katoh Gakuen, Japan.

Cummins, J. (2003). Putting Language Proficiency in Its Place: Responding to Critiques of the Conversational – Academic Language Distinction. Retrieved May 27, 2014, from http://iteachilearn.org/cummins/converacademlangdisti.html

De Mejía, A.-M. (2002). Power, prestige, and bilingualism international perspectives on elite bilingual education. Buffalo, N.Y.: Multilingual Matters. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=79495
Dixon, L. Q., Zhao, J., Quiroz, B. G., & Shin, J.-Y. (2012). Home and community factors influencing bilingual children’s ethnic language vocabulary development. International Journal of Bilingualism, 16(4), 541–565. doi:10.1177/1367006911429527

Dixon, L. Q., Zhao, J., Shin, J.-Y., Wu, S., Su, J.-H., Burgess-Brigham, R., … Snow, C. (2012). What We Know About Second Language Acquisition: A Synthesis From Four Perspectives. Review of Educational Research, 82(1), 5–60. doi:10.3102/0034654311433587

Ehrman, M., & Leaver, B. L. (2003). Cognitive styles in the service of language learning. System, 31(3), 393–415. doi:10.1016/S0346-251X(03)00050-2

Fillmore, L. W. (2000). Loss of Family Languages: Should Educators Be Concerned? Theory Into Practice, 39(4), 203–210. doi:10.1207/s15430421tip3904_3

Fong, E. (2007). The L2 Reading Motivation of EAL Students: Experiences in an International School in Singapore (Master Dissertation). The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.

Genesee, F. (2014). Myths and misunderstandings about dual language acquisition in young learners. Presented at the ECIS-ESLMT, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Granena, G., & Long, M. H. (2013). Age of onset, length of residence, language aptitude, and ultimate L2 attainment in three linguistic domains. Second Language Research, 29(3), 311–343. doi:10.1177/0267658312461497

Griffiths, C. (Ed.). (2008). Lessons from good language learners. Cambridge ; New York: Cambridge University Press.

Grizzle, K. L., & Simms, M. D. (2009). Language and Learning: A Discussion of Typical and Disordered Development. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 39(7), 168–189. doi:10.1016/j.cppeds.2009.04.002

Gulf News. (2013, May 9). Use of Arabic language needs conscious nurturing. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://gulfnews.com/opinions/editorials/use-of-arabic-language-needs-conscious-nurturing-1.1181394

Hacohen, C. (2012). “The norm is a flux of change”: teachers’ experiences in international schools. Educational Psychology in Practice, 28(2), 113–126. doi:10.1080/02667363.2011.646092

Hadi-Tabassum, S. (2004). The Balancing Act of Bilingual Immersion. Educational Leadership, 62(4), 50. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=15274676&site=ehost-live

Hayim-Bambe, A. (2011). The Importance of Maintaining Mother Tongue and Culture in the Classroom. In E. Murphy (Ed.), Welcoming linguistic diversity in early childhood classrooms: learning from international schools (pp. 72–79). New York: Multilingual Matters.

Hornberger, N. H. (2003). Continua of biliteracy an ecological framework for educational policy, research, and practice in multilingual settings. Clevedon, UK; Buffalo: Multilingual Matters. Retrieved from http://public.eblib.com/EBLPublic/PublicView.do?ptiID=204118
IBO. (2011). Language and learning in IB programmes. International Baccalaureate Organization.

King, K., & Fogle, L. (2006). Bilingual Parenting as Good Parenting: Parents’ Perspectives on Family Language Policy for Additive Bilingualism. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9(6), 695–712. doi:10.2167/beb362.0

Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition (1st ed.). Oxford ; New York: Pergamon.

Krashen, S. D. (2004). The power of reading: insights from the research. Westport, Conn.; Portsmouth, N.H.: Libraries Unlimited ; Heinemann.

Lee-Smith, A. (2011). Issues in Teacher Training for Korean Heritage Learners. Retrieved May 31, 2014, from http://archive.cls.yale.edu/info/?p=789

Le Pichon, E., De Swart, H., Vorstman, J. A. S., & Van Den Bergh, H. (2013). Emergence of patterns of strategic competence in young plurilingual children involved in French international schools. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 16(1), 42–63. doi:10.1080/13670050.2012.679251

Le Pichon, E., de Swart, H., Vorstman, J., & van den Bergh, H. (2010). Influence of the context of learning a language on the strategic competence of children.International Journal of Bilingualism, 14(4), 447–465. doi:10.1177/1367006910370921

MacSwan, J., & Pray, L. (2005). Learning English Bilingually: Age of Onset of Exposure and Rate of Acquisition Among English Language Learners in a Bilingual Education Program. Bilingual Research Journal, 29(3), 653–678. doi:10.1080/15235882.2005.10162857

Saito, K. (2013). Age effects on late bilingualism: The production development of /ɹ/ by high-proficiency Japanese learners of English. Journal of Memory and Language, 69(4), 546–562. doi:10.1016/j.jml.2013.07.003

Saravanan, V. (2001). The Significance of Bilingual Chinese, Malay and Tamil Children’s English Network Patterns on Community Language Use Patterns.Early Child Development and Care, 166(1), 81–91. doi:10.1080/0300443011660107

Scheele, A. F., Leseman, P. P. M., & Mayo, A. Y. (2010). The home language environment of monolingual and bilingual children and their language proficiency.Applied Psycholinguistics, 31(01), 117. doi:10.1017/S0142716409990191

Sears, C. (2011). Listening to Parents: Acknowledging the Range of Linguistic and Cultural Experiences in an Early Childhood Classroom. In E. Murphy (Ed.),Welcoming linguistic diversity in early childhood classrooms: learning from international schools (pp. 185–195). New York: Multilingual Matters.

Shoebottom, P. (n.d.). The language learning theories of Professor J. Cummins. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://esl.fis.edu/teachers/support/cummin.htm

Slavin, R. E., Madden, N., Calderon, M., Chamberlain, A., & Hennessy, M. (2011). Reading and Language Outcomes of a Multiyear Randomized Evaluation of Transitional Bilingual Education. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 33(1), 47–58. doi:10.3102/0162373711398127

Soderman, A. K. (2010). Language Immersion Programs for Young Children? Yes…But Proceed with Caution. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(8), 54–61. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=50262555&site=ehost-live

Srivastava, K. (2012, September 19). Hindi a hit among Marathi students. Retrieved April 6, 2014, from http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-hindi-a-hit-among-marathi-students-1742590

Stauft, N. (2011). An International School Celebrates its Diversity. In E. Murphy (Ed.), Welcoming linguistic diversity in early childhood classrooms: learning from international schools (pp. 53–61). New York: Multilingual Matters.

Toppelberg, C. O., Medrano, L., Morgens, L. P., & Nieto-Castañon, A. (2002). Bilingual Children Referred for Psychiatric Services: Associations of Language Disorders, Language Skills, and Psychopathology. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 41(6), 712–722. doi:10.1097/00004583-200206000-00011

Tramonte, L., & Willms, J. D. (2010). Cultural capital and its effects on education outcomes. Economics of Education Review, 29(2), 200–213. doi:10.1016/j.econedurev.2009.06.003
Vienna International School. (2006). VIS ESL & MT Department: mission statement. Retrieved May 30, 2014, from http://school.vis.ac.at/esl/main.html

Wallinger, L. M. (2000). The Effect of Block Scheduling on Foreign Language Learning. Foreign Language Annals, 33(1), 36–50. doi:10.1111/j.1944-9720.2000.tb00888.x

Wang, B. (2013). Using GRA and GSM Methods to Identify the Learning Strategies of Good Language Learners. International Journal of E-Education, E-Business, E-Management and E-Learning. doi:10.7763/IJEEEE.2013.V3.266

Wei, L., & Hua, Z. (2010). Voices from the diaspora: changing hierarchies and dynamics of Chinese multilingualism. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2010(205). doi:10.1515/ijsl.2010.043

Winter, K. (1999). Speech and language therapy provision for bilingual children: aspects of the current service. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 34(1), 85–98. doi:10.1080/136828299247658

Wu, M.-H., & Chang, T.-M. (2010). Heritage Language Teaching and Learning through a Macro-Approach. Working Papers in Educational Linguistics, 25(2), 23–33.


And an extra blog post …

Here is an article I wrote for Incite on getting organised for studying – it was aimed at students and professionals but could be adapted for younger students.  Writing an article is an interesting process as you have a very tight word limit and need to conform to what the journal or magazine considers the correct format / design.

For example, in my first draft, I had a lot of images and it was more a “step-by-step” process type article of how to use 3 specific tools.

The editors didn’t want to be endorsing any specific tools, so I needed to do some more research and make the tools more generic and the article more general, which I can understand, but at the same time I think it made it less concrete and useful for students who don’t want to over think the matter and just want to take a tool and learn how to use it.

If it were up to me I DEFINITELY would not have had my picture taking up 1/4 of the valuable space!  Like I said earlier, I’d have put in more images on how to use the tools with screen shots etc.

All in all it was a valuable experience, and I was very gratified to see the positive responses it garnered, I was even approached by someone from UNESCO to request permission to post it on their UNESCO’s WSIS Information Literacy listserv (thank you Judy O’Connell for promoting the article).

Assessment Item 8: Digital Storytelling Project and Reflection

Part A: Context for Digital Story Telling Project 

 “Knowledge, then, is experiences and stories, and intelligence is the apt use of experience, and the creation and telling of stories. Memory is memory for stories, and the major processes of memory are the creation, storage, and retrieval of stories.” (Schank & Abelson, 1995, p. 8)

In Asia, particularly Hong Kong, where parenting is a competitive sport, giving your children the opportunity to learn Chinese has become the holy grail of expatriate parenting.  Children are enrolled in language programs and immersion schools without much understanding or consideration of the possible consequences. Research is scant, seldom longitudinal and evidence is mainly anecdotal, A focus on positive success stories and oral ability prevails, while a climate of shame and fear prevents openness, analysis and understanding when children do not succeed.

Our family’s story of “chasing the dragon” is one of success, failure and ultimate triumph. Storytelling is a way of making sense of events and experiences and communicating this (Botturi, Bramani, & Corbino, 2012) to others in a similar situation.

The subject area covers language, bilingualism and mother tongue from both a pedagogical and socio-emotional point of view. The purpose is to illuminate the complexities underlying language choices in families in the international school context through storytelling.  The intended audience are parents, educators  and administrators in International Schools. This story will be basis of a presentation at a conference on language next year.  It will be used to add context to academic theory on mother-tongue, language learning and identity so that educators and parents alike not only have an intellectual understanding of the theories but an emotional response through this story to the platitude that “every child is unique”.

Academics and educators may lose sight of the fact that the audience that may best profit from their research and knowledge on bilingualism may only be vaguely aware of the information they need, often filtered through their own or other’s experience (King & Fogle, 2006). The intended audience of this project may have not have the time, inclination or access to scholarship in a form and format that is easily understood and resonates with them. Stories influence “attitudes, fears, hopes, and values” and are more effective at changing belief than persuasive writing as a result of changing how information is processed by the audience (Gottschall, 2012) due to escape into an alternative reality, connection with characters, emotional involvement and self-transformation (Green, Brock, & Kaufman, 2004).  The affordances of digital story-telling including audience participation enhance this engagement (Alexander, 2011). Although students are required to have a high level of English proficiency, often parents do not and their learning needs may therefore not be met. The affordance of digital storytelling is to incorporate multi semiotic systems that ‘allow for the linking and integration of cognitive, tacit, affective, cultural, personal, graphic and photographic ways of exploring, articulating, expressing and representing sense-making about learning and identity’ (Williams, 2009, cited in Walker, Jameson, & Ryan, 2010, p. 219).

Within the international school context, language is an area fraught with assumptions, misapprehension and emotion . This interactive digital experience has value for program implementation as it highlights many of the issues surrounding language acquisition and maintenance in an accessible format allowing for both breadth and depth in understanding of the topic.  Parents, with the best intentions in the world make pedagogically unsound decisions while educators, often coming from a mono-lingual background, may be unable to assist families in their linguistic paths and school administrators may be hampered to do right by the individual due to the logistical and cost complexity of catering to multiple linguistic backgrounds and nuances.

This project aims to increase awareness in all intended audiences so that choices can be made based on current understanding of best practice, educational and logistical issues and potential hurdles along the way. Perhaps we can let go of the “holy grail” of Chinese at the cost of our mother tongues and embrace, pursue and celebrate our own languages, culture and identity, reassured by what we know about language skill transferability.

Part B: Digital Story Telling Project

URL: chasingthechinesedragon.blogspot.com

Please note:

In the creation of my digital story, I have made extensive use of old video footage and photos of my children and others in a classroom setting. I have received the permission from my children to do so, and they partook in a series of interviews with me. However, in order to preserve their and others privacy and confidentiality I have decided to make the product and the blog in which the content occurs private until they are old enough to give permission that is legally binding. As they are now aged 11 and 12, I do not think their consent is as informed as it should be.

I would therefore request people to email me their email addresses so that I can include them on the list of people with permission to access the blog. I’m sorry for the inconvenience around this.

I have discussed this with a number of educators at our school and they feel this is the best way to proceed.

I will use some of the video clips and research for the presentation at the language conference in May, but that will be a dynamic rather than static presentation which will limit the exposure to a wide audience without the necessary context.

Part C: Critical Reflection

There are a number of dimensions related to working as an educational professional in the increasingly pervasive digital environment.  We no longer merely have a duty to teach content and information but need to equip ourselves, and our students with digital literacy and critical evaluative skills to deal with the multi-modal formats encountered in the education journey.

Value of digital story telling

In the “context” section, it was highlighted how effective stories are in changing belief and how information is processed and understood including the emotional engagement and interactive potential of digital media (Bailey, 2014c; Coleborne & Bliss, 2011; Gottschall, 2012; Green et al., 2004; Matthews, 2014).  A case can also be made for the role storytelling has in assimilating knowledge and memory (Schank & Abelson, 1995).

Tools and strategies for teaching / learning

In a recent essay, The Economist proposes a hierarchy of knowledge and learning and distinguishes between digital formats that have a function of “presenting people with procedural information they need in order to take on a simple task or fulfil a well-stated goal” versus teaching through “books” that can have its “pedagogy enriched by embedded media and software that adapts them to the user’s pace and needs” (The Economist, 2014, Chapter 5). Certainly the digital realm offers the possibility of engaging learners in a multi-modal environment which is more likely to resonate with their preferred way of receiving information provided the educator has a good understanding of how to select and use the tools (Anstey & Bull, 2012; Bowler, Morris, Cheng, Al-Issa, & Leiberling, 2012; Phillips, 2012; Unsworth, 2008; Walsh, 2010).

As educators our role needs to evolve and combine aspects of discovery, critical evaluation and enabling access to the most appropriate material (Dockter, Haug, & Lewis, 2010; Leacock & Nesbit, 2007; Nokelainen, 2006; Parrott, 2011), while at the same time educating our students to be mindful consumers and producers of content aware of the “weapons” in their and other’s storytelling “arsenal” and how these can be deployed for good and ill (Gottschall, 2012; Walker et al., 2010; Walsh, 2010).

Then there is the psycho/socio-neurological dimension of the impact digital literature has on how our students access, absorb, process and reflect on information and learning (Edwards, 2013; Goodwin, 2013; Jabr, 2013; Margolin, Driscoll, Toland, & Kegler, 2013; Wolf & Stoodley, 2008). Finally, for our students there are questions around the evolution of their skill sets as they move from consumption of digital products to creation, expression, engagement and interactivity (Hall, 2012).

Current and future developments

An exciting function of digital creations is the way materials can meet learning needs of all types of learners (Kingsley, 2007; Rhodes & Milby, 2007). However, one has to wonder about ephemeral nature of material, formats and platforms in the digital environment with the related issues of curation, preservation and archiving. Just as it appears that blogging as a tool for learning and storytelling has had its rise and demise, so too other platforms may not have longevity.

The whole field appears to be in its infancy with emerging and evolving norms, standards and platforms, (Maas, 2010; Valenza, 2014) where one can only wonder who the winners and losers will be.

Factors around design and publication

There are economic issues of efficiency, resource and time wastage as many individual teachers with varying levels of capability; capacity; understanding and access to tools attempt to participate in the creation of materials (Bailey, 2014b). One issue is the absence of a clearing house or “store” such as “Teachers pay Teachers” (Teachers Pay Teachers, 2014) or “Teacher created Resources” (Teacher Created Resources, 2014) so the discovery of relevant material remains serendipitous and local.  For example, YouTube abounds with “educational” material, but lacks a rating system appropriate for educational quality control including checking for producer bias.

For digital curriculum based material, critical mass, economies of scale, and the integration of pedagogy, design and technical tools and marketing are needed which puts educational publishers or organisation such as TED Education (Ted-ed, n.d.) rather than individual educators in a strong position to take control of this arena.

Copyright, Digital rights, licensing

There are issues around digital rights, rights management, copyright and the like, both for the creator and the consumer of digital products for the classroom. Cost and ownership is a tricky area as many products are leased rather than purchased, are platform captive and access to full text for students with disabilities may be precluded (Michaud, 2013; O’Brein, Gasser, & Palfrey, 2012; Puckett, 2010).

Conclusion

At the end of following this course, it could be suggested that the course name “Literature in Digital Environments” is a misnomer (Bailey, 2014a), and “Literacy in Digital Environments” could be an alternative title to encompass all the aspects of this rich arena.

References:

 

Alexander, B. (2011). Storytelling: A tale of two generations (Chapter 1). In The new digital storytelling: creating narratives with new media (pp. 3–15). Santa Barbara, California: Praeger.

Anstey, M., & Bull, G. (2012). Using multimodal factual texts during the inquiry process. PETAA, 184, 1–12. Retrieved from http://chpsliteracy.wikispaces.com/file/view/PETAA+Paper+No.184.pdf

Bailey, N. (2014a, August 20). When is it digital literature? [Web Log post]. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/informativeflights/2014/08/20/when-is-it-digital-literature/

Bailey, N. (2014b, September 10). Module 4.1: What questions or answers do you have in relation to digital storytelling? [Web log post]. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/informativeflights/2014/09/10/module-4-1-what-questions-or-answers-do-you-have-in-relation-to-digital-storytelling/

Bailey, N. (2014c, September 30). Assessment item 7: Blog 4 – Electronic media and the nature of the story [Web log post]. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://thinkspace.csu.edu.au/informativeflights/2014/09/30/assessment-item-7-blog-4-electronic-media-and-the-nature-of-the-story/

Botturi, L., Bramani, C., & Corbino, S. (2012). Finding Your Voice Through Digital Storytelling. TechTrends, 56(3), 10–11. doi:10.1007/s11528-012-0569-1

Bowler, L., Morris, R., Cheng, I.-L., Al-Issa, R., & Leiberling, L. (2012). Multimodal stories: LIS students explore reading, literacy, and library service through the lens of “The 39 Clues.” Journal of Education for Library and Information Science, 53(1), 32–48.

Coleborne, C., & Bliss, E. (2011). Emotions, Digital Tools and Public Histories: Digital Storytelling using Windows Movie Maker in the History Tertiary Classroom. History Compass, 9(9), 674–685. doi:10.1111/j.1478-0542.2011.00797.x

Dockter, J., Haug, D., & Lewis, C. (2010). Redefining Rigor: Critical Engagement, Digital Media, and the New English/Language Arts. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(5), 418–420. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ871723&site=ehost-live

Edwards, J. T. (2013). Reading Beyond the Borders: Observations on Digital eBook Readers and Adolescent Reading Practices. In J. Whittingham, S. Huffman, W. Rickman, & C. Wiedmaier (Eds.), Technological Tools for the Literacy Classroom: (pp. 135–158). IGI Global. Retrieved from http://services.igi-global.com/resolvedoi/resolve.aspx?doi=10.4018/978-1-4666-3974-4

Goodwin, B. (2013). The Reading Skills Digital Brains Need. Educational Leadership, 71(3), 78. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=91736083&site=ehost-live

Gottschall, J. (2012, May 2). Why Storytelling Is The Ultimate Weapon. Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://www.fastcocreate.com/1680581/why-storytelling-is-the-ultimate-weapon

Green, M. C., Brock, T. C., & Kaufman, G. F. (2004). Understanding Media Enjoyment: The Role of Transportation Into Narrative Worlds. Communication Theory, 14(4), 311–327. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2885.2004.tb00317.x

Hall, T. (2012). Digital Renaissance: The Creative Potential of Narrative Technology in Education. Creative Education, 03(01), 96–100. doi:10.4236/ce.2012.31016

Jabr, F. (2013, April 11). The Reading Brain in the Digital Age: The Science of Paper versus Screens [Article]. Retrieved August 31, 2014, from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reading-paper-screens/

King, K., & Fogle, L. (2006). Bilingual Parenting as Good Parenting: Parents’ Perspectives on Family Language Policy for Additive Bilingualism. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 9(6), 695–712. doi:10.2167/beb362.0

Kingsley, K. V. (2007). Empower Diverse Learners With Educational Technology and Digital Media. Intervention in School & Clinic, 43(1), 52–56. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=26156207&site=ehost-live

Leacock, T. L., & Nesbit, J. C. (2007). A Framework for Evaluating the Quality of Multimedia Learning Resources. Educational Technology & Society, 10(2), 44–59.

Maas, D. (2010, June). Web-based Digital Storytelling Tools and  Online Interactive Resources [Web Log]. Retrieved from http://maasd.edublogs.org/files/2010/06/Web-based-Digital-Storytelling-Tools-Online-Interactives-2gwjici.pdf

Margolin, S. J., Driscoll, C., Toland, M. J., & Kegler, J. L. (2013). E-readers, Computer Screens, or Paper: Does Reading Comprehension Change Across Media Platforms?: E-readers and comprehension. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 27(4), 512–519. doi:10.1002/acp.2930

Matthews, J., RGN BSc PG Dip. (2014). Voices from the heart: the use of digital storytelling in education. Community Practitioner, 87(1), 28–30. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1474889132?accountid=10344

Michaud, D. (2013). Copyright and Digital Rights Management: Dealing with artificial access barriers for students with print disabilities. Feliciter, 59(1), 24–30. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1286679756?accountid=10344

Nokelainen, P. (2006). An empirical assessment of pedagogical usability criteria for digital learning material with elementary school students. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 9(2), 178–197. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=85866426&site=ehost-live

O’Brein, D., Gasser, U., & Palfrey, J. G. (2012, July 1). E-Books in Libraries: A Briefing Document Developed in Preparation for a Workshop on E-Lending in Libraries. Berkman Center Research Publication No. 2012-15. Retrieved from http://ssrn.com/abstract=2111396

Parrott, K. (2011, July 18). 5 Questions to Ask When Evaluating Apps and Ebooks [Web log post]. Retrieved August 31, 2014, from http://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2011/07/5-questions-to-ask-when-evaluating-apps-and-ebooks/

Phillips, A. (2012). A creator’s guide to transmedia storytelling: how to captivate and engage audiences across multiple platforms. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Puckett, J. (2010). Digital Rights Management as Information Access Barrier. Progressive Librarian, Fall-Winter(34/35), 11–24. Retrieved from http://www.progressivelibrariansguild.org/PL_Jnl/pdf/PL34_35_fallwinter2010.pdf

Rhodes, J. A., & Milby, T. M. (2007). Teacher-Created Electronic Books: Integrating Technology to Support Readers With Disabilities. The Reading Teacher, 61(3), 255–259. doi:10.1598/RT.61.3.6

Schank, R. C., & Abelson, R. P. (1995). Knowledge and Memory:  The Real Story. In R. S. Wyer (Ed.), Knowledge and Memory: The Real Story (Vol. VIII, pp. 1–85). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved from http://cogprints.org/636/1/KnowledgeMemory_SchankAbelson_d.html

Teacher Created Resources. (2014). Teacher Created Resources – Educational Materials and Teacher Supplies. Retrieved October 11, 2014, from http://www.teachercreated.com/

Teachers Pay Teachers. (2014). TeachersPayTeachers.com – An Open Marketplace for Original Lesson Plans and Other Teaching Resources. Retrieved October 11, 2014, from http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

TED-Ed. (n.d.). Lessons Worth Sharing. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://ed.ted.com/

The Economist. (2014, October). The future of the book. Retrieved October 11, 2014, from http://www.economist.com/news/essays/21623373-which-something-old-and-powerful-encountered-vault

Unsworth, L. (2008). Multiliteracies, E-literature and English Teaching. Language and Education, 22(1), 62–75. doi:10.2167/le726.0

Valenza, J. (2014). The Digital Storytelling Tools Collection. Retrieved October 11, 2014, from https://edshelf.com/profile/joycevalenza/digital-storytelling-tools

Walker, S., Jameson, J., & Ryan, M. (2010). Skills and strategies for e-learning in a participatory culture (Ch. 15). In R. Sharpe, H. Beetham, & S. Freitas (Eds.), Rethinking learning for a digital age: How learners are shaping their own experiences (pp. 212–224). New York, NY: Routledge.

Walsh, M. (2010). Multimodal literacy: What does it mean for classroom practice? Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 33(3), 211–239.

Wolf, M., & Stoodley, C. J. (2008). Proust and the squid: the story and science of the reading brain. New York: Harper Perennial.

The point of literature

I absolutely couldn’t have said it better, so I’d like to share this movie by Marcus Armitage.

What is Literature for? from Marcus Armitage on Vimeo, animated by Marcus Armitage and Ignatz Johnson Higham.
Voice over Alain de Botton.

Assessment item 7: Blog 4 – Electronic media and the nature of the story

Electronic media are not simply changing the way we tell stories: they’re changing the very nature of story, or what we understand (or do not understand) to be narratives. To what extent is this true?

From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6E8jpFasR0

Many authors have argued that storytelling is intrinsic to humanity (Schank & Abelson, 1995) and part of memory and learning. And yet for some reason it appears to me that storytelling had something of a hiatus in the last century, perhaps as a side effect of the post war modern corporate life, the emphasis on the scientific method and the space race. However the proliferation of research, writings and talks on the power of storytelling in all aspects of life from the scientific (Bailey, 2013) to the corporate (Gottschall, 2012) to education (Matthews, 2014)  and everything in-between hints that storytelling is once again coming into its own (Pettitt, Donaldson, & Paradis, 2010; Sauerberg, 2009).  Whether electronic media is a cause or an effect of this or whether it is just part of the zeitgeist is something we will only know in hindsight.

What we traditionally understand to be narrative consists of a storyteller, an audience and the narrative elements of a hero, a problem, an antagonist, tasks, a turning point and an outcome (Alexander, 2011).   How electronic media is changing the nature of this is by broadening the concept of who is the storyteller. Once a digital narrative moves beyond being a story delivered electronically as in an eBook, or as a movie, but streamed or available digitally and goes to being an interactive “event” in which the distinction between the storyteller and the audience blurs and is interchangeable, one can talk about the nature of the narrative being changed by the media and its affordances. The creator becomes an initiator and the audience becomes collaborators and co-creators.  The question then is whether one can still find the narrative elements back in this new hybrid creation? Does the participation of many voices enhance or hamper the profundity, meaning and emotion at the root of the narrative?  Does engagement and involvement and participation equate to the “wisdom of crowds” or does it result in a “lowest common denominator” product?  Are we moving from a period of finite works of infinite genius to infinite works of dubious merit (Pickett, 1986) –  albeit a series of very clever and networked and buzzed works.

Another matter in all of this that is somewhat bothering me is the way in which the “science” of storytelling and its capacity to capture attention and emotion in its audience is being (ab)used for commercial purposes or to manipulate audiences to create changes in political (Simsek, 2012), social (Burgess & Vivienne, 2013; LaRiviere, Snider, Stromberg, & O’Meara, 2012) or public sphere (Poletti, 2011).  Proponents would of course argue that the ends justify the means – but of course both sides of the debate have the same weapons in their arsenals (see the whole climate change narrative as an example of this), and as educators this makes our task of aiding the new generation of learners to be knowledgeable, discernable, informed and aware that much more important.

References:

Alexander, B. (2011). Storytelling: A tale of two generations (Chapter 1). In The new digital storytelling: creating narratives with new media (pp. 3–15). Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.

Bailey, P. (2013, March 27). Science Writing: You need to know how to tell a good story [Web log]. Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/mar/27/penny-bailey-science-writing-wellcome

Burgess, J. E., & Vivienne, S. (2013). The remediation of the personal photograph and the politics of self-representation in digital story- telling. Journal of Material Culture, 18(3), 279–298. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/62708/

Gottschall, J. (2012, May 2). Why Storytelling Is The Ultimate Weapon. Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://www.fastcocreate.com/1680581/why-storytelling-is-the-ultimate-weapon

LaRiviere, K., Snider, J., Stromberg, A., & O’Meara, K. (2012). Protest: Critical lessons of using digital media for social change. About Campus, 17(3), 10–17. doi:10.1002/abc.21081

Matthews, J., RGN BSc PG Dip. (2014). Voices from the heart: the use of digital storytelling in education. Community Practitioner, 87(1), 28–30. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1474889132?accountid=10344

Pettitt, T., Donaldson, P., & Paradis, J. (2010, April 1). The Gutenberg Parenthesis: oral tradition and digital technologies. Retrieved August 29, 2014, from http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/forums/gutenberg_parenthesis.html

Pickett, D. (1986). What is literature – established canon or popular taste? English Today, 2(01), 37. doi:10.1017/S0266078400001735

Poletti, A. (2011). Coaxing an intimate public: Life narrative in digital storytelling. Continuum, 25(1), 73–83. doi:10.1080/10304312.2010.506672

Sauerberg, L. O. (2009). The Encyclopedia and the Gutenberg Parenthesis. In Media in Transition 6: stone and papyrus, storage and transmission (pp. 1–13). Cambridge, MA, USA.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Schank, R. C., & Abelson, R. P. (1995). Knowledge and Memory:  The Real Story. In R. S. Wyer (Ed.), Knowledge and Memory: The Real Story (Vol. VIII, pp. 1–85). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved from http://cogprints.org/636/1/KnowledgeMemory_SchankAbelson_d.html

Simsek, B. (2012). Using Digital Storytelling as a change agent for women’s participation in the Turkish Public Sphere (Doctor of Philosophy). Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/50894/1/Burcu_Simsek_Thesis.pdf

Blog post 5: Review an electronic resource about delivering services to children or young adults – Asian Young People’s Book Awards

1. A detailed description of the activity undertaken:

A new young people’s book award has recently been set up in Hong Kong – the Golden Dragon Book Award. I decided to review the website supporting the award and to compare and contrast that with the websites supporting the other young people’s book awards in Asia, namely the Panda Book Awards (China), Red Dot Book Awards (Singapore) and the Sakura Medal (Japan). What all these book awards have in common is that they have been created for young people attending International Schools, and they therefore feature English Language Books, not necessarily the language of the “host” country of the award, except for the Sakura Medal, which has Japanese books.

Golden Dragon Book Awards
Panda Book Awards
Red Dot Book Awards
Sakura Medal
URL
Type of site
Weebly
Wikispace
Google Sites
Weebly
Country
Hong Kong
China
Singapore
Japan
Founders/Run by
Association of Librarians in English Speaking Schools (ALESS) in Hong Kong

International librarians throughout China

 International school librarians Network (ISLN) in Singapore

Librarians from international schools

Year Started
2014
2009
2009
2006
Categories
Four  (ages 4-6; 7- 10; 11-14; 15-18)
Four  (Younger Readers; Middle Readers; Older Readers; Mature Readers)
Four  (Early Years; Younger Readers; Older Readers; Mature Readers)
Nine  (Picture Books; Graphic Novels; Chapter Books; Middle School; High School; Japanese Picture Books; Japanese Chapter Books; Japanese Middle School; and Japanese High School)
# Schools
Not mentioned
32
Not mentioned
20
# Students
Not mentioned
Not mentioned
Not mentioned
15,000
Criteria
Not mentioned
No more than 2 years old
Published in English in the last 4 years
No more than 2 years old
Long List
8 books per category
8-10 books per category
8 books per category
25-30 books per category
Resources
Promotional Material including Brochures, Stickers, Book ordering, video, slideshow
Promotion materials including: voting posters, category posters, stickers for books and badges, bookmarks, printers for big posters, videos / slideshows / images
Interactive elements
Not on site – see social media
None
Not on site – see social media
Commenting allowed on site (moderated)
Related competition?
None
None
Related social media
None
The first thing that strikes one is that the websites are fairly comprehensive, but are very much geared toward the librarian rather than the students. Resources are geared towards promotional material such as brochures, stickers and bookmarks.  The Golden Dragon and Red Dot sites had some videos, slideshows and images, however it was not apparent that these were created for students or for the teacher / librarian. Further, none of the sites had any real interactive elements, where available, these were taken “off-site” to Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook or Diigo – again these elements were geared mainly to the teacher / librarian rather than the students.

The nominations or selections for the long-lists was not explicit on any of the sites but appears to be something done by a committee, whereas the voting for the award winners occurs physically at the various schools by the pupils with a variety of criteria (such as students having read a number of the books).



2. Answers to the following questions:

What did you learn?


A website that serves teachers / librarians indirectly is a resource for children or young adults inasmuch as it supports them in delivering a service – in this case access to recent, high quality books as part of a book award selection process.


How was the activity relevant to your professional practice?


In my practice I will probably assist with either the nomination or selection of a long list as well as with the promotion of long-list books and the encouraging of students to read. 


Were any gaps in your knowledge revealed? How might you fill those gaps?


Comparing different awards in Asia has allowed me to reflect on the award we run in Singapore and particularly to consider how sites could be made more interactive and more relevant to our students, not just indirectly through helping the teacher / librarians but more directly.

3. References

About – Golden Dragon Book Awards. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.hkgoldendragonawards.org/about.html


Panda Book Awards – home. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://pandabookawards.wikispaces.com/


Red Dot Book Awards 2013-2014. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.reddotawards.com/home


Sakura Medal  – Sakuramedal. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2014, from http://www.sakuramedal.com/sakura-medal.html


Assessment item 7: Blog 4 – Electronic media and the nature of the story

Electronic media are not simply changing the way we tell stories: they’re changing the very nature of story, or what we understand (or do not understand) to be narratives. To what extent is this true?
Many authors have argued that storytelling is intrinsic to humanity (Schank & Abelson, 1995) and part of memory and learning. And yet for some reason it appears to me that storytelling had something of a hiatus in the last century, perhaps as a side effect of the post war modern corporate life, the emphasis on the scientific method and the space race. However the proliferation of research, writings and talks on the power of storytelling in all aspects of life from the scientific (Bailey, 2013) to the corporate (Gottschall, 2012) to education (Matthews, 2014)  and everything in-between hints that storytelling is once again coming into its own (Pettitt, Donaldson, & Paradis, 2010; Sauerberg, 2009).  Whether electronic media is a cause or an effect of this or whether it is just part of the zeitgeist is something we will only know in hindsight.
What we traditionally understand to be narrative consists of a storyteller, an audience and the narrative elements of a hero, a problem, an antagonist, tasks, a turning point and an outcome (Alexander, 2011).   How electronic media is changing the nature of this is by broadening the concept of who is the storyteller. Once a digital narrative moves beyond being a story delivered electronically as in an eBook, or as a movie, but streamed or available digitally and goes to being an interactive “event” in which the distinction between the storyteller and the audience blurs and is interchangeable, one can talk about the nature of the narrative being changed by the media and its affordances. The creator becomes an initiator and the audience becomes collaborators and co-creators.  The question then is whether one can still find the narrative elements back in this new hybrid creation? Does the participation of many voices enhance or hamper the profundity, meaning and emotion at the root of the narrative?  Does engagement and involvement and participation equate to the “wisdom of crowds” or does it result in a “lowest common denominator” product?  Are we moving from a period of finite works of infinite genius to infinite works of dubious merit (Pickett, 1986) –  albeit a series of very clever and networked and buzzed works.
Another matter in all of this that is somewhat bothering me is the way in which the “science” of storytelling and its capacity to capture attention and emotion in its audience is being (ab)used for commercial purposes or to manipulate audiences to create changes in political (Simsek, 2012), social (Burgess & Vivienne, 2013; LaRiviere, Snider, Stromberg, & O’Meara, 2012) or public sphere (Poletti, 2011).  Proponents would of course argue that the ends justify the means – but of course both sides of the debate have the same weapons in their arsenals (see the whole climate change narrative as an example of this), and as educators this makes our task of aiding the new generation of learners to be knowledgeable, discernable, informed and aware that much more important.
References:
Alexander, B. (2011). Storytelling: A tale of two generations (Chapter 1). In The new digital storytelling: creating narratives with new media (pp. 3–15). Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger.
Bailey, P. (2013, March 27). Science Writing: You need to know how to tell a good story [Web log]. Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/mar/27/penny-bailey-science-writing-wellcome
Burgess, J. E., & Vivienne, S. (2013). The remediation of the personal photograph and the politics of self-representation in digital story- telling. Journal of Material Culture18(3), 279–298. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/62708/
Gottschall, J. (2012, May 2). Why Storytelling Is The Ultimate Weapon. Retrieved September 29, 2014, from http://www.fastcocreate.com/1680581/why-storytelling-is-the-ultimate-weapon
LaRiviere, K., Snider, J., Stromberg, A., & O’Meara, K. (2012). Protest: Critical lessons of using digital media for social change. About Campus17(3), 10–17. doi:10.1002/abc.21081
Matthews, J., RGN BSc PG Dip. (2014). Voices from the heart: the use of digital storytelling in education. Community Practitioner87(1), 28–30. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1474889132?accountid=10344
Pettitt, T., Donaldson, P., & Paradis, J. (2010, April 1). The Gutenberg Parenthesis: oral tradition and digital technologies. Retrieved August 29, 2014, from http://web.mit.edu/comm-forum/forums/gutenberg_parenthesis.html
Pickett, D. (1986). What is literature – established canon or popular taste? English Today2(01), 37. doi:10.1017/S0266078400001735
Poletti, A. (2011). Coaxing an intimate public: Life narrative in digital storytelling. Continuum25(1), 73–83. doi:10.1080/10304312.2010.506672
Sauerberg, L. O. (2009). The Encyclopedia and the Gutenberg Parenthesis. In Media in Transition 6: stone and papyrus, storage and transmission (pp. 1–13). Cambridge, MA, USA.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Schank, R. C., & Abelson, R. P. (1995). Knowledge and Memory:  The Real Story. In R. S. Wyer (Ed.), Knowledge and Memory: The Real Story (Vol. VIII, pp. 1–85). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Retrieved from http://cogprints.org/636/1/KnowledgeMemory_SchankAbelson_d.html
Simsek, B. (2012). Using Digital Storytelling as a change agent for women’s participation in the Turkish Public Sphere (Doctor of Philosophy). Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/50894/1/Burcu_Simsek_Thesis.pdf

Fair use? Transformative?

Question:

What exactly is Fair Use? (keep in mind that Australia has Fair Dealing, which is not quite the same). Why did the Judge consider Googles Book search project to be transformative? What are the possible benefits and possible issues with such a project?

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According to Stim (2014) “a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner” (para 1).

In contrast fair dealing in the Australian context is : “There is no general exception for using copyright material simply because you think it is fair or because you are not making a profit. The Copyright Act allows you to use copyright material without permission if your use is a “fair dealing” for one of the following purposes:
• research or study;
• criticism or review;
• parody or satire;
• reporting news; or
• professional advice by a lawyer, patent attorney or trade marks attorney.” (Australian Copyright Council, 2012)

There is no mention here of being “transformative”.

The transformative nature of the Google Book Search project was that it allowed books that had been digitised to be searched, including books that were out of copyright or the existence thereof would not otherwise be known. This was beneficial to the public, including those searching for educational purposes. The search allowed limited access and thereby respected copyright while indicating where the book could be borrowed or purchased.

__________________________________
References:

Australian Copyright Council. (2012, February). Fair Dealing. Retrieved fromhttp://www.copyright.org.au/admin/cms-acc1/_images/169501865452392488546d3.pdf

Stim, R. (2014). What Is Fair Use? Copyright Overview [Overview]. Retrieved September 26, 2014, from http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/

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And now for something practical … I’m in charge of setting up and running our school library volunteer program – so I’ve been parodying some vintage posters calling for volunteers, which has had some mixed comments from the community (mainly positive).

It started with this one  about forgetting the cooking – one feminist in the community objected, Volunteer 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

so we followed it with the “man overboard”

Library volunteer male 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say we weren’t swamped by men signing up to volunteer!

Then for the training I made a mash-up with the Mad Men poster – it was irresistible – “where the truth lies?”  … wow,

I thought I’d get pushback on the fact that I’d not alpha’ed the cigarette out, but, the communications department was worried we’d fall foul of copyright.  I don’t think so?  What do you think?

volunteer training

 

 

 

Blog post 4: Analysis of a peer-reviewed journal article – Censorship & Diversity

1. A detailed description of the activity undertaken

In July 2014 the Singapore National Library censored, removed and pulped all copies of three children’s books with a gay-theme (Lee, 2014; Vincent, 2014). This created quite a lot of news and brought to light the question of public interest and individual right of access to diverse material versus majority consensus and community values (Schrader, 2009; Weisman, 2009).

I wanted to read more about the impact of public opinion on censorship and how librarians could best understand and counteract attempts to remove books from the library, and therefore chose the article: “Removal of Gay-Themed Materials from Public Libraries: Public Opinion Trends, 1973-2006” (Burke, 2008) for review. 

In the article, the author examines data from the General Social Survey (GSS), in the USA over the indicated period, related to survey answers on the removal of a homosexually themed book, and attempts to relate this to other questions on demographic and geographic factors and personal belief.  She concludes that people are becoming less conservative viz a viz homosexuality and even if people do not believe homosexuality is wrong, they generally do not support the removal of gay-themed books and the trend is downwards in all groups. Higher educated and younger people were less likely to support removal and the largest variation in data was to be found in people from different religious backgrounds and between denominations, with people self-reporting stronger beliefs more likely to support removal.  Gender and political party affiliation was neutral.

In relation to the Singapore situation, the relationship between belief and supporting removal is the most relevant.  Singapore is known as a strongly religious community and it has been implied that political and social power is concentrated in conservative Christianity (Waipang, 2011).  It also appears that the books were removed under pressure from a targeted campaign originating in one of the religious organisations. 

2. Answers to the following questions:

What did you learn?

The most interesting finding from the article was that although people may not accept homosexuality, they still did not believe that books with homosexual themes should be removed from library collections and thereby not be accessible to those with lifestyles different to them.

How was the activity relevant to your professional practice?

Reading the article (Burke, 2008) and also reading related articles (Gutman, 2010; Lukenbill & Lukenbill, 2007; Schrader, 2009; Weisman, 2009) gave me a better insight into censorship challenges to books and the positive and professional duties of a librarian within the framework of ethics, inclusive service, access to information and guarding against discriminatory or censorship practices. 

Were any gaps in your knowledge revealed? How might you fill those gaps?

Until now I didn’t have a very clearly articulated view on censorship beyond the fact that I didn’t think it was appropriate. The articles I have read have given me some concrete strategies for dealing with challenges to books in the library as well as an opportunity to revisit our collection in the light of recommended books.


3. References

Burke, S. K. (2008). Removal of Gay‐Themed Materials from Public Libraries: Public Opinion Trends, 1973–2006. Public Library Quarterly, 27(3), 247–264. doi:10.1080/01616840802229552

Gutman, D. (2010). How I Corrupted America’s Youth. School Library Journal, 56(5), 28. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=50337475&site=ehost-live

Lee, P. (2014, July 13). 400 gather outside National Library for reading event in response to NLB’s removal of three books. Retrieved August 8, 2014, from http://www.straitstimes.com/news/singapore/more-singapore-stories/story/250-gather-outside-national-library-reading-event-respon

Lukenbill, W. B., & Lukenbill, J. F. (2007). Censorship: What Do School Library Specialists Really Know? A Consideration of Students’ Rights, the Law and Implications for a New Education Paradigm. School Library Media Research, 10.

Schrader, A. M. (2009). Challenging Silence, Challenging Censorship, Building Resilience: LGBTQ Services and Collections in Public, School and Post-Secondary Libraries. Feliciter, 55(3), 107–108.

Vincent, A. (2014, July 11). Singapore pulps childrens books about gay parenting [News report]. Retrieved August 8, 2014, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/10961880/Singapore-pulps-childrens-books-about-gay-parenting.html

Waipang, A. (2011, August 6). Singapore’s religious landscape from Census 2010 [Weblog post]. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from http://yawningbread.wordpress.com/2011/08/06/singapores-religious-landscape-from-census-2010/

Weisman, S. (2009). A Review of “Challenging Silence, Challenging Censorship”: Shrader, A. and Wells, K. (2007). Ottawa, Canada: Canadian Teachers, Federation. Journal of LGBT Youth, 6(1), 92–96. doi:10.1080/19361650802379805