In case you didn't know, According to Oxford Dictionaries, a Selfie is "a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and shared via social media." In 2013, 'Selfie' was chosen as the word of the year by Oxford Dictionary.
One of the most important things to know about the use of selfies and its objective in connection with our students is that a selfie is a tool for our students who are part of the Y or Z generation to learn about themselves. These kind of students are visual, kinesthetic learners and they like to use selfies to talk about themselves and to promote themselves.
We discussed why adolescents take selfies. Some of the answers were: because they a have an obsession with technology, to correct false perceptions, to fit in, or just to be cool.
As we all know, adolescence is a moment in life where we want to fit in and at it's a time of self-discovering. Using selfies allows teachers to connect with students and facilitate this self-discovery process.
Mathilde showed us the work of her students using selfies to do writing tasks. It was a very interesting workshop because we got to see how she managed to use one of the trends of these last few years, the selfies, bring them to her classroom practices and manage to take the best result out of it. With a lot of preparation and dedication, she and her students did a great job.
About the project:
As preparatory work, she introduced photography vocabulary and photography tips for her students. Then, she showed us famous "selfies", like the one from the Oscars so that students discussed their impression of the photographers from their self portraits. Then, they brainstormed the infinite possibilities of telling about themselves in a selfie by asking some questions like: What do they want to show? what makes them unique? what do they own that reflects who they are? which environment reflects their personality?,etc-
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| This Oscars selfie is the most Retweeted selfie of all time. |
I will show you my favourite from the selfies and stories Mathilde showed us.
" Hu Zi and his master"
“Hu Zi” and his master.
“He barks at everyone passing by except you!” The old lady told me with a shy smile.
“Don’t touch him”, she looked embarrassed as I was about to touch the dog. “I try to keep him clean but you should know it is hard to do so, considering my condition.”
She holds her hands tightly together the whole time we talk. I bet it’s the first time someone stops to talk with her.
“I found him one month ago.” She smiles beautifully and you can see the light in her eyes.” He was abandonned by someone else. I called him “Hu Zi” (which means Little Tiger in Chinese).”
She is in her 60ies and a junkwoman. Her daughter-in-law doesn’t like her so she was abandonned by her son. “I had a hard time bringing him up all by myself. My husband has been gone for several years.” I’m not sure wether she used the word “gone” to say that her husband passed away or simply left them, but I do feel very sorry for her.
“But now, I got company thanks to him.” She gently strokes the dog. “He would never leave me!”
It’s amazing to me that she can get out of the sad mood so quickly.
And before I leave, she says: “I don’t blame my son or his wife. I can support myself well. Besides, I’m so proud I support myself by working instead of becoming a beggar.”
I swear I saw the light twinkling beautifully in her eyes at that moment.
All of the works Mathilde showed us were beautiful. They were all unique and told amazing stories of the students or people in the photographs. I would love to use selfies with my students because I know that they love taking selfies and it would be awesome for them to be able to tell their own story or something they like not only through a photograph, but also using their words to write in English.
I hope you liked my post, and in case you would like to see more of Mathilde and her student's work,you can click here.
Hi Agus, I just liove your post. I also went to Mathilde's presentation, let's say and I go along with you on the fact that including selfies in the classroom will make our students feel that they are taking selfies not for the sake of being fashionable and as a shallow activity but to show their real selfs. I particularly like the one in which a girl is behind some rocks. I found it so poetic, It reallly showed her shy personality.
ResponderBorrarExcellent post, let's get advantage of all that we are learning about technology. It is amazing to include technology with a clear and meaningful purpose in mind, like Mthilde did
Hello, Cin! I think that, as you said, we have to bare in mind that there has to be a meaningful purpose in a task like this one of taking selfies. Doing it just for the sake of it wouldn't be so beneficial for learning English.
BorrarThanks for your comment!