Incorporating youth and popular culture in the classroom
Browse through the list of resources I have collected on different technologies, resources and ideas you can use to incorporate youth and popular culture in the classroom.
- The following article addresses four resources from the Digital Is site highlighting how teachers can effectively support the critical media development of youth in their classrooms. http://digitalis.nwp.org/collection/popular-culture-20-0
- Instead of writing stories, what about writing comic strips? This website is easy to use and great for creating simple comic strips. http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/comic/
- I don't think schools still study Pride and Prejudice, but this is still a fantastic idea. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries is a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice in the form of a Vlog (Video Blog). I really liked this idea for an assessment piece. Instead of students producing an essay at the end of reading a classic novel, what about allowing them to reproduce a segment of the book into a modern version in the form of a Vlog. Go to http://www.lizziebennet.com/ to see what it is all about.
- Tim Weedon is a popular educator who specialises in popular culture with a focus on Hip-Hop. In the article he explores how music lyrics can be used to explore various experiences, knowledge and information. He also has some great ideas for lesson plans and how to use lyrics as an introduction to a new unit. http://www.developmenteducation.ie/teachers-and-educators/exploring-popular-culture-in-education/
- A website devoted to hiphop in the classroom. Hiphop University is the premier research resource for students and scholars concerned with hiphop culture. http://www.hiphoparchive.org/university/hiphop-university-homepage
- Create a social classroom on Emondo. On Edmodo you can vote, post assignments, create a class assignments calendar, and upload photos and messages to students. http://www.emondo.com/
- The innovative educator has some fantastic ideas for incorporating social media in the classroom. There also link to examples of previous units and lessons that teachers have conducted. http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com.au/2010/05/online-universties-home-online.html Some ideas include:
- Study geography. Use a combination of Twitter and Google Earth to help teach geography-based lessons.
- Twitter treasure hunt. Use GPS treasure hunting to send students in search of educational clues.
- Make literature real. Have students create a Facebook page for a character from literature you are studying
- The article below "Your Best Friend of Your Worst Enemy: Youth Popular Culture, Pedagogy and Curriculum in Urban Classrooms" (Duncan-Andrade, 2004), discusses the potential of youth and popular culture to create engaging and empowering twenty-fisrt curriculum in schools. The paper addresses three key questions:
- What popular cultural literacies are urban youth investing themselves in?
- Why are they investing themselves in these areas? and
- How can schools more effectively incorporate those literacies into the school culture?
References
Duncan-Andrade, J. M. (2004) Your Best Friend or Your Worst Enemy: Youth Popular Culture, Pedagogy, and Curriculum in Urban Classrooms. The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 26:313–337
Duncan-Andrade, J. M. (2004) Your Best Friend or Your Worst Enemy: Youth Popular Culture, Pedagogy, and Curriculum in Urban Classrooms. The Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 26:313–337