More Than a Website: Alex Hanna's Digital Media Literacy Final

My Website 

Before my first student stepped through my doors in 2020, before I opened my first zoom room, I was inundated with a narrative that my students would be the “bad students.” I was told the year before they had a grand total of 6 science teachers, each one leaving cursing the school and my kids. 

Each person I met seemed to pity me with their eyes as I excitedly explained I was the new 8th grade science teacher. A fear began to grow in the pit of my stomach, but I reminded myself why I was there: because someone had believed in me and showed me I could answer all of my thousands of questions through science. 

Looking back, I am so angry that anyone would try to make me doubt my kids. They are not ‘bad’ they are independent and curious and sometimes confused. They are the mix of emotions and hormones that hallmarks early teen years and they come to school as new people each and every day. 

During my first year of teaching I learned that to be the teacher my students deserve after years of being left I had to be flexible, prepared and most importantly I had to be myself: hiccups and all. To be the teacher my students deserved I had to listen to them, let them lead the way in our classroom,  and show them parts of my world so they would open up theirs. 

When I think about the things that made my classroom great I find myself reflecting most often on the unconstructed moments where we connected  through our classroom work time playlist that includes lofi versions of popular movie and video game themes as well as our  ‘want to know’ days where we shook off the tidy standards and explored space, weather, chamiliones, blood, Pogo sticks,  and so much more. 

However, when I reflect on the things that made my classroom not so great I think of the times when I allowed tests and standards to feel oppressive in our sacred spaces, or when students felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of resources I was presenting to them. Reflecting on the good and bad lead me to an idea: what if I combine all of the elements that make our class great while finding ways to lessen the burdens of the not so great times? 

I am what Pensky would consider a “digital native.” Born in 1995, I grew up with early YouTube and the end of the MySpace era. Many of my nights were spent on Tumblr.com and I learned a decent bit of HTML in order to customize my spaces. In my classroom I like to think I ride the line between techno-traditionalist and a techno-constructivist. 

However, as Danah Boyd points out, this classification is simply too narrow and does not apply to all of my students and their experiences. I have seen this first hand in my classroom, as they talk endlessly about 2k and stats, but have trouble finding a reliable source for Newton’s Laws. 

It is my deep belief that students learn when they have Access, Support, Autonomy, and Connection. Watching Sugata Mitra’s talk was one of the most validating and invalidating moments of this class. His research, at its core, suggests that I as a teacher am obsolete. That students simply need access and a Nan to grapple with complex topics.  After talking myself down, I am able to see his research for the beauty that it is: proof that students, armed with some resources and empowerment,  can answer their own questions. 

So then came the big question for this class: after all of this examination of my strengths, weaknesses, and beliefs, how could I give my students Access, Support, Autonomy, and Connection? My answer was a website: a space of infinite possibility where students could explore and grow. 

My website has 5 main components: the home page, science help tab, “when I am done…” tab, a music tab and a tab for my personal pictures. Each page is rooted in one or more of my four core beliefs. To begin: my homepage is rooted in the idea that students need access, autonomy,  and support. 

My homepage, while simple, provides students two key features: a google form where they can suggest new content they want posted on the site and access to the 8th grade shared calendar. This google form gives them the power to build the site with me as we go rather than it being pre-populated- access and autonomy. 

8th grade students are focusing on preparing for high school.  One of the ways I will be supporting team 8 as grade level chair is by creating a shared calendar so students can see all upcoming tests and events in one place. This push will be paired with an effort to incorporate personal organization lessons into homeroom - a topic that could have its own project and presentation. My hope is that this resource can help support them on their personal organization journey. 

The next tab is called ‘Science Help’. On this tab I plan to post links to lecture slides as well as alternative resources that students can explore specifically around the content we learn in class. I believe that for my students to learn I must give them access to the resources they need to succeed, and the space to explore on their own. 

The next tab is where I want to spend the most time building with my students. I have found that many of my students who work at a quicker pace are looking for more to do in class. They want a space to explore their interests on their terms. My hope is to model Mitra’s Self Organized Learning Environments as extension activities for students. I have a draft version of this completed so far: 

For students’ first module I have used the startSOLE website to outline plans for a SOLE project to mirror our first unit of forces. Students will start with the question “if you were designing a roller coaster for Cedar Point, what factors would you have to keep in mind during the design process?” 

I will provide only basic starting resources and make room for students to do the rest. In the future I hope to move away from content based questions so students can really stretch their brains. 

 The last two pages are, in my opinion, two of the most important. Connections in my classroom this year were rooted in music. Students and I discovered new artists and common interests through a medium sorely lacking at my school. Because of this I have added a tab where I can post my music. The hope is to curate a playlist with every class and post it here. 

The last tab is my mini-instagram page. SO many of my middle schoolers were desperate to follow me on instagram this year, but for obvious reasons that cannot happen. But I still wanted to share… to connect. So, I dedicated an entire tab to some pictures of my cats and a few funny videos. I don’t think this is revolutionary, but I hope it will be a conversation starter for the year. 

All of this started with my belief that students learn when they have Access, Support, Autonomy, and Connection. I have always said the best classroom is the one built with students. Now I can take that principle and apply it to the digital space.