i-Anya

And speaking of jouissance, play and the carnivalesque, the blog carnival - a post over at if: books - is something I haven’t heard of before but I really like the sound of! New kids of social practices around blogging - new variations… very nice!

Two fabulous books that people have been talking about / recommending to me are now on the way thanks to amazon.com:

Consuming Children

This is a few years old now but the ideas are wonderful. The authors talk about consumer toys (i.e. tamagotchis) and mobiles and so on that tend to get banned from schools, and they discuss how this positions the teacher as the authoritarian ‘other’ and thus removing any opportunities for kids to be taught how to become culturally critical (a la Cope and Kalantzis’ ‘transformed practice’).

It also explains that when kids bring such toys to schools, they are creating their own communities outside the teacher’s jurisdiction - for many teachers, this is something unacceptable. There’s some nice theorising around ideas of jouissance, carnivale and play (subverting school sanctioned literacy practicies), and then there’s the call for teachers to help kids become insider-outsiders who can simultaneously enjoy and critique the culture which is shaping them. Can’t wait to read the whole thing!

Internet Playground

This book was recommended to me by Terri whose work I really admire, and here’s a synopsis from amazon that made me think it would be worth exploring:

Based on four years of experience teaching computers to 8-12 year olds, media scholar Ellen Seiter offers parents and educators practical advice on what children need to know about the Internet and when they need to know it. The Internet Playground argues that, contrary to the promises of technology boosters, teaching with computers is very difficult. Seiter points out that the Internet today resembles a mall more than it does a library. While children love to play online games, join fan communities, and use online chat and instant messaging, the Internet is also an appallingly aggressive marketer to children and, as this book passionately argues, an educational boondoggle.

Apparently this is a must-read, so I am looking forward to getting it as well!

Across from the carpark at UNE is a gorgeous pond. I photoshopped this image to transform it into a piece of “Australian Art” :>