- University of Rhode Island, Harrington School of Communication and Media Kingston / Rhode Island
Sait Tuzel
University of Rhode Island, Media Literacy, Faculty Member
Although we live in a global society, educators face many challenges in finding meaningful ways to connect students to people of other cultures. This paper offers a case study of a collaboration between teachers in the US and Turkey,... more
Although we live in a global society, educators face many challenges in finding meaningful ways to connect students to people of other cultures. This paper offers a case study of a collaboration between teachers in the US and Turkey, where 7th grade students interacted with each other via online social media as a means to promote cultural understanding. In a close analysis of a single learning activity, we found that children had opportunities to share ideas informally through social media, using their digital voices to share meaning using online writing, posting of images and hyperlinks. This study found that students valued the opportunity to develop relationships with each other and generally engaged in sharing their common interests in Hollywood movies, actors, celebrities, videogames and television shows. However, not all teachers valued the use of popular culture as a means to find common ground. Indeed, teachers had widely differing perspectives of the value of this activity....
Research Interests: Literacy, Humanities, Art, Popular Culture, Media, and 15 moreDigital, Educación Secundaria, Interculturalidad, Global, Cultura Popular, Alfabetización, Medios, Middle school, Medios digitales, Alfabetizacion Digital Y Audiovisual, Cross Cultural, CULTURA POPULAR, Alfabetización Mediática, Comunidades virtuales y redes y medios sociales online, and comunicar
Research Interests:
Research Interests: Literacy, Digital Literacy, Political Science, Media Education, Media Literacy, and 10 moreMedia Literacy Education, Professional Development, Technology Integration in Schools, Teacher Motivation, Digital Media and Learning, Technology Integration Across the Curriculum, Austerity Measures, Language Arts, Measurement and evaluation in education, and Teachers Professional Development
Although we live in a global society, educators face many challenges in finding meaningful ways to connect students to people of other cultures. This paper offers a case study of a collaboration between teachers in the US and Turkey,... more
Although we live in a global society, educators face many challenges in finding meaningful ways to connect students to people of other cultures. This paper offers a case study of a collaboration between teachers in the US and Turkey, where 7th grade students interacted with each other via online social media as a means to promote cultural understanding. In a close analysis of a single learning activity, we found that children had opportunities to share ideas informally through social media, using their digital voices to share meaning using online writing, posting of images and hyperlinks. This study found that students valued the opportunity to develop relationships with each other and generally engaged in sharing their common interests in Hollywood movies, actors, celebrities, videogames and television shows. However, not all teachers valued the use of popular culture as a means to find common ground. Indeed, teachers had widely differing perspectives of the value of this activity....