After reading the article Ghosts in the Modern Classroom by Ashley Hinck, I decided to create an infographic summarizing the article. This article discusses students creating digital media.
Students have the assumption that creating content has a set of linear steps to follow with right or wrong answers. I chose to discuss the article Ghosts in the Modern Classroom because the title caught my attention, then while reading I realized how relatable it is to my own digital experience as a student and a supply teacher. I decided to do an infographic for this project because they are visual and include simple text making them easy to follow, read and understand as a consumer.
In her article, Hinck suggests that students take digital media classes with the assumption that creating content is a linear cut and paste process. Templates and short cut platforms makes creating digital media easy and requires minimal prior technological knowledge. Programs such as Canva, GIPHY, WIX and Google Slides are drag-and-drop apps used for digital learning that give students a small range of predetermined answers with limited open spaces for creativity, exploration and unexpected failures. This means students are always guaranteed a working end product and the process has already been completed in the templates.
I appreciated Hinck’s points about the effects of the ghosts on students, where she explains how there is a disconnect about what digital media making in schools should be. Actually creating new digital media requires rigorous process of trial and error along with their own creativity. Without students understanding this process, it can be frustrating when there is no linear format to follow, leaving students disconnected. In the centre of my infographic I decided to add the definition of disconnected (as well as an icon) to further illustrate this point.
When thinking about the process of creating digital media, I reflect on my own experience as a student. When given an open-ended creative assignment, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and not know what to do next without a layout to follow. I believe it is important for students to attempt these tasks on their own with limited direction to continue to further their own creativity. The creative process requires practice and the ability to learn from failure. As a teacher I will provide creative opportunities for students and encourage them to discover their own version of a correct answer.
