Papers by Vanessa (Domine) Greenwood
Journal of Media Literacy Education, 2013
This article explores the literature in the intersecting fields of media, technology and schoolin... more This article explores the literature in the intersecting fields of media, technology and schooling in the United States across the past two centuries. It organizes the research from a social-historical perspective through a fictionalized interview with an archetypal third-generation urban public school teacher. This topography illustrates the problems and possibilities that emerge from the chronic push for technology in schools. Of particular mention are the privileging of orality and literacy through the common school reader, the mechanization of schooling through teaching machines and television, and the transformative yet still untapped potential of computers and the internet.
Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, Oct 1, 2012
Preparing teachers to work in urban settings poses unique challenges, as urban communities are co... more Preparing teachers to work in urban settings poses unique challenges, as urban communities are complex and require systemic understanding of students and their families, culture, and community. Pre-service teachers often harbor misconceptions about what it means to work in urban settings and many bring to their teacher education program minimal first hand experience. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand pre-service teachers' use of online journaling (or blogging) to contextualize, question, construct and transform their understanding of their initial field experience within an urban school setting. The study used critical discourse analysis to study 31 undergraduate students' blogs in an introductory course prerequisite to entering an initial teacher certification program. The findings suggest transformative shifts in the areas of developing confidence and observation skills, understanding the complexity of schools, developing concern for others, promoting democratic ideals and becoming a professional.
Among the many challenges facing public schooling in the United States is the often irrelevant us... more Among the many challenges facing public schooling in the United States is the often irrelevant usage of technology in the classroom in ways that support the textbook and computer industries more than student learning and achievement. This primer reframes the longstanding debate about instructional technology in school classrooms and challenges the reader to think more critically and conscientiously about the fundamental communication and technological processes that mediate learning and ultimately define education. The primer offers educators at all levels a three-dimensional map for exploring the philosophical, pedagogical, and practical uses of technology to serve rather than subvert the public purposes of education in a democracy.
Moving Beyond Digital "Chalk and Talk:" Using Blackboard to Support Authentic Pedagogy
It is too easy for teachers and library media specialists to entangle themselves in the multiple ... more It is too easy for teachers and library media specialists to entangle themselves in the multiple strands of standards: State core curriculum content standards, NETS-S, NETS-T, and the Information Literacy Standards (ALA). To prevent teachers from professionally drowning in this vast sea of accountability, the following exercise untangles the standards, and helps teachers to align their teaching style(s) with immediately accessible instructional technologies. Given the seductive nature of technological innovation, most teachers (and humans in general) will linger in fascination with new technologies, regardless of their educational value. This article outlines a curriculum design process that allows educators to visually assemble curriculum where standards are at the forefront of their teaching and instructional technologies play a supporting role.
Media Ecologies of Health Literacy: Case Studies of Educational Empowerment
Government officials and medical professionals are greatly concerned about the health of children... more Government officials and medical professionals are greatly concerned about the health of children (ages 6-11) in the United States due to the increase in obesity-related illnesses. Risk factors include increased physical inactivity through the chronic uses of digital media and technologies and the lack of physical activity during school. While health education is required within U.S. schools, an integrated or holistic approach is absent. This article looks at three case studies of health education through the lens of media literacy. The discussion focuses on various factors that comprise educational ecologies of health literacy. Factors include media climate, collective empowerment, apprenticeships in social justice, and the importance of funding.
Preparing teachers to work in urban settings poses unique challenges, as urban communities are co... more Preparing teachers to work in urban settings poses unique challenges, as urban communities are complex and require systemic understanding of students and their families, culture, and community. Pre-service teachers often harbor misconceptions about what it means to work in urban settings and many bring to their teacher education program minimal first hand experience. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand pre-service teachers' use of online journaling (or blogging) to contextualize, question, construct and transform their understanding of their initial field experience within an urban school setting. The study used critical discourse analysis to study 31 undergraduate students' blogs in an introductory course prerequisite to entering an initial teacher certification program. The findings suggest transformative shifts in the areas of developing confidence and observation skills, understanding the complexity of schools, developing concern for others, promoting democratic ideals and becoming a professional.
Commerce in US schools: four dominant perspectives
Society and Business Review, 2007
Purpose – This paper seeks to provide a systematic understanding of the controversy surrounding c... more Purpose – This paper seeks to provide a systematic understanding of the controversy surrounding commerce in US schools. Design/methodology/approach – The paper surveys the history, research and policies related to commerce in schooling (1890-2005) within the USA. The literature is organized according to four emergent US perspectives – protectionist, celebrant, cultural critic, and educated consumer. Findings – The review finds
This paper documents the design and development of a graduate teacher education program in educat... more This paper documents the design and development of a graduate teacher education program in educational technology that bridges educational theory with technological practices through a framework consisting of philosophical, practical and pedagogical dimensions. The program is grounded in principles of media literacy and democratic practice while also engaging students in technological practices, as proscribed through state and national standards for technology in education. The paper emphasizes the need for school-university partnerships, educational technology praxis, and stronger connections with schools and local community agencies to support best pedagogical, as well as technological, practices.
Library Trends, 2011
The phrase "think global, act local" is used to frame the macro efforts of information literacy w... more The phrase "think global, act local" is used to frame the macro efforts of information literacy worldwide alongside the localized, grassroots efforts of media literacy education in the United States where there exists a complex and contradictory relationship among government, technology industry, and educational practices. This article marries the global (macro) push for information literacy with the localized (micro) efforts at media literacy education in the United States and identifies emergent tensions and challenges associated with the production of information literate citizens within an educational system that is disconnected from the highly mediated lives of students outside of school. As a microcosm of this struggle, the article chronicles the emergence of the National Association for Media Literacy Education (NAMLE).
High-quality teacher education requires a complex body of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Th... more High-quality teacher education requires a complex body of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. This article identifies media literacy education as an intentional and essential framework in which to catalyze essential knowledge, skills, and dispositions for 21st-century teacher preparation. The multidimensional nature of media literacy education renders it a meaningful framework with which to contextualize the pursuit of technological proficiency, promote pedagogical excellence, and to magnify the democratic ideals and purposes of public education in the United States. This article aligns the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers, principles of democratic education, and provides sample pedagogical skills essential to media literacy education.
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Papers by Vanessa (Domine) Greenwood