Fourth Wave Feminism - Learning from Students

One of the reasons I enjoy teaching this class so much is the opportunity it provides to learn so much more - about feminism and about computers.  When discussing a video interview with a Lebanese activist in her blog, one of my students raised the issue of Fourth Wave feminism - which I had never heard of before.


Fourth Wave feminism "is made of online bloggers and internet communities. We are the most inclusive movement yet, and we understand that all oppression is connected. We believe that my liberation is tightly tied to your liberation. We aren’t just fighting to end sexism; we’re fighting to end racism, classism, ableism, body shaming, cissexism, heterosexism, and other harmful -isms." says a blogger on Tumblr.

As my student said in her blog, how can Fourth Wave feminism boast of its inclusivity if it is limited to those who are using the Internet.  Internet access is very limited for women in Lebanon and elsewhere.

On a side note, how is a person supposed to understand Tumblr?  I have to get some more explanations from my students.

Learning Styles Discussed 1st Class Period

Tried something new this year on first night of class - beginning with a discussion of learning styles and educational philosophy. We started by looking at portions of Can You Picture This in which art professor Rachel Williams conveys her ideas about making research on women in prison accessible to "the woman on the street" via a comics format. Students had wildly different responses - ranging from "I love this medium" to "too difficult to comprehend". Great discussion of visual learning styles; for what audiences this comics medium might be particularly appropriate; whether feminist scholars have a duty to make their work accessible to non-academic types; and much more.

I also showed the video The Networked Student which focuses on self-directed learning using various Web tools from blogs to RSS feeds to Skype. Several students said that while they could see this approach to learning had merit, personally they preferred the more traditional lecture by professor plus assigned textbook approach. Others related positive experiences they had with this self-directed approach in the past. We discussed that while the traditional lecture/textbook method might cover material more quickly and efficiently, the self-directed approach might result in deeper learning. Many were excited by the possibility that a course built around this approach would probably entail a lot of student choice in what they studied.

Whether just by chance or as a result of beginning this way, students this semester seem really into learning.

Videos: Do Students Really Prefer Them?

I was surprised at the reaction of many of my students to the video The Networked Student. Many said they found all the animation distracting, including some who identified themselves as "visual learners." Students said they had to watch the video two or three times to really take in the content and would have found a text format preferable. True, the video was created in the Common Craft** format where a hand is frequently removing a piece of paper and placing another one on the display board. Perhaps a video created in a different format would not have provoked this "it's so distracting" reaction.



**Common Craft is famous for its Blogs in Plain English, RSS in Plain English, Podcasting in Plain English, and many similar type videos.

Podcasts better than live lectures?

Students watching podcast of lecture did better on exam than students who attended the lecture in person. !!! Result could be because those watching podcast could pause whenever, take notes, reflect, etc. But note this was a very limited sample of 64 students for one lecture and one test. Still, it is thought provoking. Found while reading a blog re teaching sociology. Original study in Computers & Education, Volume 52, Issue 3, April 2009, Pages 617-62. (full text available through ScienceDirect)

Using Cartoons/Graphics to Convey Info

I've always been struck with some of the creative uses of graphics to convey information. I was particularly impressed by the way Global Kids at Holy Meatballs used graphics to present qualitative research data. The teens had conducted an open-ended survey of other youth about how they use and relate to digital media. Instead of a text only summary of replies, the Global Kids prepared a much more interesting results report by using illustrative graphics to accompany each survey answer. Kept me reading in a way that text-only reports might not have.

I assigned my students to experiment with similar graphical approaches when summarizing an article about the obstacles facing inner-city teens trying to navigate the online financial aid application process. (See “Low-Income Urban High School Students’ Use of the Internet to Access Financial Aid" by Kristan Venegas)

I suggested the students might try using PowerPoint in a graphically intensive manner (not the traditional bullet points) or they might try making a "comic book" using the ready made cartoon elements at Toondoo.com.



Above is the first panel of one student's cartoon rendition. Check out the complete cartoon/comic book on our class wiki.

Non Traditional PowerPoints for Digital Storytelling

To show students what I mean by a non-traditional PowerPoint, I created a presentation about Ada Lovelace in the style of the classic children's Golden Book series.

Draft Ada Lovelace Picture Book from cronegeek

For those interested in learning more about Ada Lovelace and George Babbage or comparing with a more traditional Powerpoint, I am including another slideshow here.

Babbage & Lovelace: The designer of the analytical engine and its programmer from Carsten Ullrich

Corvida Raven: Geek Girl

For the last week of class, I assigned students to research a woman who has made an important contribution to the development of computers and/or the Internet. I also asked them to present their findings in an interesting digital storytelling mode - perhaps by using Voicethread or Prezi. In any event, they were not to use a traditional bullet-style PowerPoint.

One of the students chose to research Corvida Raven, one of the youngest contributors. I thought the student did an excellent job of matching the style of her presentation with Raven's style. And I thought others might enjoy it also.

Geek girl storybook

View more presentations from kerri.