Stonehenge & Bath

Today was a full day! We left Plymouth by coach at 6:30 am to drive northeast to visit Stonehenge. It was rainy and windy, but we braved the weather to walk around and experience the magical site of Stonehenge. Listening to the audio guide and talking to the English Heritage guides helped us learn about the history of the site.

After Stonehenge we drove to the town of Bath. It was still raining, but luckily it was dry and warm in the Roman Baths, where we took a tour and learned about how the baths were discovered, how they have been used over the centuries, and how the waters are still used today.

Schools: Day 2

We spent the morning learning about podcasting: how to create podcasts, how to subscribe to podcasts, and how podcasts might be used in the classroom. We also listened to an example from This American Life, and watched a tutorial about good storytelling by Ira Glass. We also had some time to work on planning our podcasts for Inquiry #2, which will be about our experiences in the schools.

In the afternoon we visited the local schools again, to get a sense of the full school day.

First Day in Schools

Today was our first day visiting Plymouth schools. We divided into three groups, and spent the morning at three different area schools: Chaucer, Widey, and Tamarside.

In the afternoon, we met to talk about our experiences. Also, Nick Pratt, a professor in the college of education at the University of Plymouth, came and spoke with us about the British educational system. He gave us an overview of the grade levels, testing system, and teacher training systems. He also helped answer questions about things we observed while visiting the schools.

Ending Week 1

We continued our discussion today of Preschool in Three Cultures and also watched the remaining footage from the video. This helped us get ready for visiting three area Plymouth schools during week 2. We also worked on the digital story-telling assignment for inquiry 1.

School, Culture, & Moviemaking

Today we discussed and watched video footage from the study "Preschool in Three Cultures" (Tobin, Wu, & Davidson, 1983). We began our work of examining culture though the lens of schooling, thinking about how culture may or may not be manifested through schools and the process of schooling in a given society. Students read a chapter focusing on the Japanese preschool in the study and we watched a 15-minute summary of the Chinese preschool. Our discussion was quite multifaceted, as students made connections between the three cultures. We also discussed using the methodology from the study in their own inquiry about culture when they visit British schools next week.

After beginning to explore the various movie-making technologies (iMovie, MovieMaker, PhotoStory) the previous night for homework, students worked today to make an initial sample digital story. Students used photographs, movies, and voice to create digital stories that would help them learn how to use the technology. They will use this technology to complete their first Inquiry project. Students also learned how to post video (their digital stories) on their blogs!

Evening Assignments: 1) Work on Inquiry #1; 2) Continue London research and post to Wiki; 3) Continue blogging; 4) Optional: review/re-read Preschool in Three Cultures.

49 Up & Multimedia

Today we watched the documentary "49 Up," which is the most recent video in a series following a group of British school children every seven years since they were seven. The movie allowed us to get a closer glimpse into British culture, as it relates to schooling and class status.

During technology time, we learned how to edit our Wikispaces page, to link to specific photo albums in Picasa, make general edits to add information, and how to organize information on the site.

Once we had posted links to our Picasa albums featuring the photos of adjectives taken for the photo challenge yesterday. We looked at both the original and the versions we edited with Picnik. Here is a slideshow of our challenge pictures...see if you can guess the adjective each is depicting!




Evening Assignments: 1)Preschool In Three Cultures Excerpt: Nicki, Stephanie, Patty (pages 12-44); Amy, Tara, Kristin (pages 44-71); Tina, Kailey, Michelle (pages 188-221)...read carefully your part, skim the rest; 2)Play with your movie software (15-20 minutes); 3)Post some kind of information about London on the Wikispaces page.

Exploring Culture Part 2

Based on the three internet articles on culture that were read for homework the previous night, we discussed the differing definitions of culture proposed by the various authors. Among these definitions were:

• Culture=diversity
• Culture is learned and taught
• Culture=high society
• Culture=biology
• Culture is changing

When considering how culture is learned and taught, we discussed that this process can be both direct and indirect. Culture can be learned through observation, mimicry, family, media, school, and experiences. Because culture is not static, but changes over time, we also created a short list of things that influence culture (and sometimes vice versa) including: technology, laws/public movements, societal content/discontent, medicine, economy, language (literacy), contact with other cultures (globalization), and food production (agriculture). We also created a list of ways in which people can differ, some of which may determine or is determined by culture. Our evolving list includes: gender, religion, ethnicity, ability, age, sexual orientation, sex, class, education level, profession, race, region, dialect, language, expressiveness, manners, morals, values, and community.

Finally, students shared the pictures of a cultural aspect they took around Plymouth from the previous day and explained what aspect of culture they were capturing and why they found it intriguing. We discussed some of the photographs in relation to the prior discussion on culture. Here is a slideshow of their pictures:



In the afternoon, students learned how to use Picasa to upload and share photoalbums. We also spent time going over the basics of photography composition and how to change various settings on most digital cameras. Students were presented with a photo editing challenge for the next class. Alison provided students with the link to Picnik, a free photo editing site, as well as some resources to help them learn about using the site. Students must choose an emotion provoking adjective, take several pictures exemplifying this adjective, and work on their own to find out how to edit the photos using Picnik. In the afternoon, students attended mini-seminars on various technologies, such as micro-blogging, gaming, and web 2.0, hosted by the MAET program.

Evening Assignments: 1) Readings for 49 Up; 2) Photo Edit Challenge with Picnik; 3) Start working on Inquiry #1, part 2.

Day 1: What is Culture?

Today we focused our discussion on exploring the definition of culture. We talked about what aspects of a society might be considered cultural, how culture is manifested, and how cultures might differ. We started exploring the nature of culture by considering official and unofficial aspects of culture, how culture might be different over space and time, and how to consider from where culture arises and how.

During technology time, students learned how to create their blog, Skype, and Del.icio.us accounts. Students will use their blogs to post daily journal entries reflecting upon their experiences, mini-assignments throughout the course, and final assignments. The blog will serve as an e-portfolio, demonstrating students' mastery of course content and technology skills. Students will use Skype to connect to home, as well as contact each other while they are in Plymouth. Finally, students will use their Del.icio.us account to track, save, and manage website links that they find helpful for understanding learning, technology, and culture. They will also use this site to begin building an understanding of various educational purposes of social media.

In the afternoon, Jean-Pierre gave us a walking tour of Plymouth, including the Barbican and the Hoe. He showed us where to buy groceries, where to go for food, and where the British ancestors left for America. After walking around the city, students were left to explore Plymouth on their own, find dinner, and learn more about culture.

Evening assignment: Read three websites with various definitions of culture; take at least one picture that represents some aspect of culture you find intriguing.

Welcome to Plymouth!

We arrived to Plymouth on Sunday, after driving down from London in a hired coach. On our way through the countryside, we passed Stonehenge and stopped at a small rest area for our driver to have a break and to get lunch. We tried the chips (french fries), chicken, cheeseburger, ham sandwiches, and sausage at the restaurant. We also saw a school group who had been on a school field trip to the Dartmoor National Park on Sunday.

Once we arrived in Plymouth, we were given keys to our dorm rooms at the University of Plymouth. After settling in for an hour, we met the students from the three MSU masters programs already being hosted by the University of Plymouth. We all had a small bbq in the courtyard by our dorms, where we got to talk to the other students, find out the countries in which they teach, and get acquainted with our new surroundings. Following the bbq, we went to the local pub, "The Fresher & The Professor," to watch the UEFA Cup final game between Germany and Spain.