December 2017 – My Life as a Learning Designer

Thought it would be fun to share my 2017 playlist. I’m sure there are several more I could have added. Yet each song helped me get through a point of time throughout the year. Some of the songs are so random yet they caught my ear and allowed me to learn something. Next time I’ll lay out my mix tape collection!

Human by Tank and the Bangas
Interlude (god push me) by Tank and the Bangas
Add to me by Ledsi
Where is the soul by Mamma soul and the N.U.T.s
The Exercise by Mamma soul and the N.U.T.s
I’d rather be with you by Bootsy Collins
24K Magic by Bruno Mars
That’s what I like by Bruno Mars
Privacy by Chris Brown
Make Love by Chris Brown
Get you by Daniel Caesar
Wild Thoughts by DJ Khaled
Can’t Hide Love by Earth Wind and Fire
Crowned and Kissed by Esperanza Spalding
You can’t always get what you want by Ituana
Incapable by Keyshia Cole
Mars/Venus by Koffee Brown
Lalah Hathaway Live
Drive by by Eric Bellinger
Goat 2.0 featuring Wale by Eric Bellinger
Melanin by the Secret is out
Jennifer by Trinidad Cardona
Fight for you by Mali Music
Royalty by Mali Music
Confident by Demi Lovato
Sorry not Sorry by Demi Lovato
Think about that by Jessie J
Queen by Jessie J
Learn Ya by 6lack
Problems by 6lack
Love by Kendrick Lamar
Loyalty Kendrick Lamar
Damn Kendrick Lamar
Makeda by Les Nubians
Fairplay Kiana Lede
I am light by India Arie
Rake it up by Yo Gottie
Be Great by Kevin Ross
Hard to Do by K. Michelle
Rachet Commandments by Tink
Broken Clocks by SZA
Super Model by SZA
Pretty Wings by Maxwell
Brand New Me by Alicia Keys
Fire we make By Alicia Keys and Maxwell
Don’t be cruel by Bobby Brown
U + Me (love lesson) by Mary J
Image credit: Krista Franklin

What is critical digital pedagogy?

Digital Pedagogy Lab fellowship question for 2017

In the length of a single tweet (280 characters), offer your definition of Critical Digital Pedagogy. Include text here, or tweet and share a link. *

Critical Digital Pedagogy is laboratory where one questions and find answers, and the place where visions of theory and praxis come together. Through liberation in thinking it allows human understanding to take place. It is the heartbeat of critical thinking- the longing of how life works within and outside the digital realm. It is freedom. – remixed from bell hooks critical thinking

Please give us a little background about yourself in the form of links to your work online or a short overview of your pedagogical interests. *

Well in short, I’m Keesa V. Johnson and I’m an avant garde thinker, culture creative, and edge designer (big smile). I’m very excited to apply for a Digital Pedagogy fellowship. It fits well with my illuminating personality. Majority of my life I’ve been managing, orchestrating, creating, designing and exploring various types of learning environments. My discipline knowledge as well as praxis is in theater immersion, media & information, serious game design/research as well as foresight. I’ve created several online graduate programs, certificates, digital badging credentials, and managed various MOOCs on Canvas, Edx, and Coursera. I’m known for my pivotal roles in co-creating Multimedia Online Learning Immersive Experiences (M.O.L.I.Es – MSU Zombie Course, MSU Combat Vets – Embracing the Stories of War, and MSU Food Futures) using immersive learning (simulations, scenarios, and role playing) pop culture, digital storytelling, digital branding, infused with“critical” pedagogical theories to build these transformative spaces. Yes, I’m what you would coin as many of us are a “new learner”. I’ve won various american advertising awards plus innovation and instructional technology awards for my collaborative works. My design philosophy is Ubuntu, which is an African thought system grounded in what it means to be truly human. It translates, “I am because you are, you are because I am.” Here to make visions come to life. Ready to be apart of something transcending. Looking forward in learning and growing from the digital pedagogy lab.

As a DPL Fellow, you may have the opportunity to present a 75-minute workshop. Please include a title and a short description for a workshop you might lead. *

Critical Learning – the emergence of passion, love, and the power of critical thinking

“Critical learning” is the essence of teaching and learning. It is the simple connections created that allows all learning to happen despite the complexity of your surroundings, space, and time. It is the capacity to determine “what is significant” which is central to the process of critical thinking (elder,2011). This immersive workshop will take the participants upon a collective journey identifying critical learning connections while building a space for emergence. Using a variety of mediums (twitter, poetry, video, music, etc) we will discuss various issues infused with popular culture contexts:

Storyscapes covered:

The automation of love
Take a knee movement with Colin Kaepernick
Flint water crisis – The poisoning of an american city
Puerto Rico – Still no relief
The Death of Erica Garner
Cultural appropriation – is it just the Kardashians?
ABC’s The Good Doctor – Accessibility/Inclusion
Big Data – is it good or bad for myself and community?

The end result: A divergent story that will breath life into an emergent strategy (Adrienne Maree Brown) for the participants. This is the beginning story plan of our journey as a collective throughout for 1 year of your willing participation within the digital pedagogy lab.

Hope you will join me.

Keesa V. Johnson

The broken clocks of toxic work environments

“A story teller does not tell of a different season” – Yoruba proverb”

Tick tock

Binnnnggggg

The old sound of chains

conformity

colonizing damages

No black woman’s voice for nurturing

Cultivation

Love

Creation

Using a so called black boy’s mane

To allow the black woman to be forgotten.

As the “so called” liberal whore is there for the usage

labeling it “diversity”

neocolonialism

bulldog

trade in

In the war of

continuing inbreeding

fucked up thinking

Within

socialized

white dominance

As the old crew of imperialism, capitalism, patriarchy, laughs, back bites, during golf or cigars

always pushing their personal agendas forward

positioning

Welcome to the “ game of orgs”

YET

Winter is coming

it’s about who gets what when, and how from

scalable efficiencies

accessibility, diversity and inclusion are root words for keep it going…standardization

hidden

within bastardized personal learning language

algorithms of homo sapien futurizing

that same ole shit

instead of New World, New Sound, New Thought, New Definitions that’s that “creative science” shit that’s embedded in African Thought Systems

top down

leadership masquerading as management

Flat culture

buzz world ritual management until it chokes

all the impactful creating from

learners as individuals

This is the “enlightenment” era of Ed technology

So everyone’s a casualty

Without the money, power, and title…really?

In this age, in this stage of the original man thinking…

Yet entrepreneurship is the new mindset for learners

design thinking

community

collaboration

creativity as passive language

This system doesn’t want that shit!!!!

Let’s be realistic

augmenting the new workers

new chokers

new jokers

rejecting their own humanity

for a quick fix of the latest technology

mass producing non critical thinkers

to make it happen within the same old pipeline

of slavery

delivered personally under innovation and obedience

SHHHHH…no thinking

SHHHHH…don’t make no waves

SHHHHH…just do what’s required

be apart of the “buzz world” of non producing

only paper documents are required and a checklist if it was done or not

SHHHHH ignore the code of genius inside of you.

You’ll keep your job.

Tick tock

Tick…

tock..

The broken clock of toxic work environments

Resources:

Translation of Yoruba proverb – ”“A storyteller does not tell of a different season” – The past is not seen as fundamentally different from the present. All history is contemporary in a way. “A story teller does not tell of a different season” – Yoruba proverb”
African Philosophy and thought systems
Image: by blue rose “broken clock work”: https://bluestrose.deviantart.com/art/Broken-Clock-Work-474872173
19 sign your work environment is toxic: https://www.bustle.com/articles/170826-19-signs-your-work-environment-is-toxic-affecting-you-negatively

Journal Club thoughts….

We started a few different things at work…one of which is journal club. I have no idea what journal club is suppose to be about other than sharing papers that “management” picks and we discuss. This can be good if the overall goal of this time and focus is shared so it can be mutually beneficial. There’s never any balanced discourse. Everyone agrees with what ever is going on and most of the time the literature is based upon some end goal that is never shared with the entire group.

What i think journal club is suppose to do is be a space for us within the Hub to present papers that are related to the mission and goals and to emphasize an interdisciplinary environment while learning from one another. I’m more of a transdiciplinary type of person. I like to create new things so sometimes I get lost within the rhetoric and space of this activity.

I’m hoping over time that this would be a place for authentic discussion as well as leadership development when it pertains to our roles within and outside the hub. It should also be a place where we find out more in depth about the projects other people are working as the theory they present should match to what they are putting into practice. It would be great that this could be the opportunity to practice mini talks and get feedback from our peers thereby creating a supportive collaborative environment. Instead it seems quite forced feed due to the lack of psychological safety within this new space.

Some behaviors I see that are stopping it from happening:

Only men speak.
Only men respond to one another
Only men ask questions
There’s no real diversity in thinking shared
there is no psychological safety in sharing
the aim and goal is not clear enough for the participants

Instead it’s as if the activity is drifting between aims and goals within the department. Just a trial activity being lead from management and not from the people who are leading the day to day front (the people).

Resources: