When I started thinking about my final project, I knew I wanted it to be something that would actually help my students instead of just using technology for the sake of using technology. One idea I have is creating a classroom podcast project where students record short episodes about the books we're reading or topics we're discussing in class. I teach eighth-grade ELA, and I've noticed that some students have great ideas but don't always feel comfortable speaking during whole-class discussions.

I teach 90 8th grade students in three sections so a few students are able to fly under the radar!

Recording a podcast gives them a chance to think through their responses, practice, and share their voices in a different way.

The Media Literacy projects from the slide deck definitely gave me some inspiration. I liked seeing how students were creating media instead of just consuming it. it is about giving students opportunities to create meaningful content and think critically about the messages they're sharing.

What stood out to me most was how creative the projects were. They were fun! They were creative and enjoyable! They weren't just traditional assignments put onto a computer. That's something I'd like to bring into my own classroom.

I also like that a podcast project would build more than just technology skills. Students would practice reading closely, writing scripts, speaking clearly, listening to one another, and collaborating. It also gives quieter students another way to participate and show what they know. My hope is that using technology this way will help students become more confident in sharing their ideas while strengthening our classroom community.

 I definitely grew up with Disney more than Barbie. I had Barbie dolls, watched all the Disney princess movies, and never really questioned any of it. I loved the coming of age stories and alwas tried to find ways to make them relate me me.  Looking back now, I can see how those things shaped the way I thought about beauty, relationships, and even what being a girl was "supposed" to look like. At the same time, they were also fun and gave me a chance to use my imagination, so I don't think they're all bad. It allows kids to be represented and to be creative.

Christiansen made me think a little differently about children's culture. I always knew media had an impact, but I didn't really think about how much kids are picking up from the toys, movies, and shows they love. It made me realize that children's culture isn't just entertainment it sends messages, whether we notice them or not. As an ELA teacher I began to use disney shorts to incororpoate theme in my lessons and they were super effective.

 I also liked that the reading didn't make it seem like Barbie or Disney are simply "good" or "bad." It's more complicated than that. As someone who works with kids, it reminded me that it's important to help young people think about the messages they're getting instead of just accepting them without questioning them.

 

After reading  I found myself agreeing more with Spiegel. I understand where Prensky was coming from when he introduced the idea of "digital natives but things have changed. Most people my age grew up with technology and slowly learned as it was developing but that does not make us experts. I struggle alot with basic computer skills but I do great at scrolling through instagram..Spiegel made me think about how different everyone's experiences with technology really are. Who is to say a family was low income and never had access to basic technology.  I Access plays a big role.Not all people had typing classes like I did. Not all students had computer labs in their schools. Not everyone grows up with the same opportunities to use technology, so it doesn't make sense to assume everyone has the same level of digital knowledge. I think Speigels way of looking at tech is more accurate. 

 I don't like the term "digital native" because it feels too broad. It groups an entire generation together and ignores the fact that people have different life  experiences and abilities. I feel like I fall into the group or generation that started off with minimal technology. I remember having house phones and computer labs and typing classes. As a teacher, I've seen this firsthand. My students are great at using TikTok, YouTube, and other apps, but many of them still need support with basic computer skills, research, and figuring out whether a source is trustworthy. They are struggling in 8th grade with even simply writing an email.The text states that “Clearly the term “digital native” is now outmoded. Prensky made a mistake by assuming that one term adequately describes all digital youth.” (pg1) and I agree.  factors such as socioeconomic status, education, family support, and access to devices all influence a person's digital skills.

 Welcome to my blog!

My name is Stephania. I am 27 and I am an 8th grade ELA teacher. I have a 4 year old daughter named Miyah. I recently walked the stage with my masters in YDEV! 

My free time consist of reading, journaling, sleeping and hanging with my friends. 

One thing I am currently working on is being more active and being outdoors. I got a trainer for the gym and it has been exciting!

I cant wait to do this class with you! Welcome

 

As I look back over the past two months in this program, I realize how much my thinking about youth work has expanded. When I first looked at the capstone projects from previous cohorts, I admired how each one represented a blend of purpose and creativity  a reflection of someone’s lived experience, values, and commitment to youth. Now, after the readings, discussions, and reflections we’ve had this semester, I can start to imagine what my own contribution might look like.

What I’m still curious about is how we can create spaces of care and belonging for young people who have often been labeled, silenced, or underestimated especially within schools. I keep coming back to the idea that care is not just emotional support, it’s a form of justice. When young people feel seen, affirmed, and safe, they begin to take risks in their learning and in their sense of self. That’s where transformation begins.

I imagine my capstone project being rooted in identity and social justice, exploring how educators and youth workers can co-create liberatory learning environments. I want to study and design practices that center youth voice and creative expression  through storytelling, art, writing, or performance as tools for healing and empowerment. In many ways, this feels like an extension of what I already do as a teacher: helping young people find language for their experiences and power in their narratives.

I’m also thinking about the anchor of Play  how play can exist even in serious spaces, and how it can be used to reimagine relationships between adults and youth. Perhaps my project could explore “playful resistance,” or how laughter, creativity, and joy become strategies for survival and solidarity.

Ultimately, I want my influence to be in creating and sustaining spaces where youth feel free not just academically successful, but emotionally whole, politically aware, and connected to community. My project might take the shape of a curriculum, a digital storytelling series, or a workshop model that brings together teachers, youth workers, and young people to co-design liberatory learning experiences.

Whatever form it takes, I know my capstone will grow from the same roots that brought me here: care, curiosity, community, and the belief that youth work is both personal and political.

 Eve Tuck’s “Suspending Damage” really made me stop and think about how often stories about marginalized communities especially youth are framed around pain, trauma, and deficiency. Tuck’s call to “suspend damage” isn’t about denying harm, but about refusing to let damage become the only story told about a community. This idea challenges me to reflect on my own instincts as a researcher, educator, and storyteller. When I document or describe youth experiences, am I unintentionally centering harm instead of highlighting brilliance, resistance, or joy?

The article helped me realize that research can easily reproduce harm if it’s only focused on what’s “wrong” with people. I began to see how schools, programs, and even researchers often use narratives of struggle to justify their existence showing data about “failing students” or “broken systems” rather than exploring students’ strengths, creativity, and survival. Tuck pushes me to consider what it would look like to research from a place of desire to center possibility, imagination, and care.

For me personally, this piece helps me think about how I want to represent both myself and others. I’ve experienced systems that defined me through what they thought I lacked. So in my own practice, I want to create space where young people feel seen beyond their hardships where they can exist in complexity, not just in deficit. Tuck reminds me that ethical research is not just about consent forms or confidentiality; it’s about honoring people’s full humanity.

 

🌱 What Do You Do That Can’t Be Measured

Reflection by Stephania Valbrun

Reading Restler’s “What Do You Do That Can’t Be Measured” reminded me how deeply our society is driven by metrics  test scores, attendance rates, evaluations, data dashboards  all meant to capture growth, success, or effectiveness. But Restler challenges this obsession with quantification, asking us to consider what gets lost when we reduce human experiences to numbers.

This chapter made me think about how often my work as a teacher and youth worker defies measurement. The moments that feel most powerful when a student trusts me enough to share something personal, when a quiet child finally raises their hand, when laughter shifts the mood of a classroom are the hardest to record on paper. There’s no rubric for joy, no chart for confidence, no data point for belonging. Yet those are the very outcomes that matter most.

Restler’s ideas also made me reflect on how easily we internalize the systems that measure us. We start to see ourselves through the same metrics we’re judged by  test data, performance reviews, productivity. It becomes easy to forget that the truest parts of who we are our creativity, empathy, patience, and presence are not meant to be counted.

What I do that can’t be measured is the energy I bring into a space. I can’t quantify how I make students feel safe, valued, or capable. I can’t measure how my authenticity gives others permission to be themselves. The care I give, the patience I practice, and the consistency I offer each day are invisible in data but visible in the relationships that form around them.

This reading was a needed reminder that the most meaningful aspects of education and youth development happen in the in-between moments  in the tone of voice, the shared laughter, the eye contact that communicates “I see you.” These are the quiet acts of care that shape young people’s sense of belonging and possibility.

As someone who often juggles lesson plans, IEP data, and classroom expectations, I’m learning to hold both truths: data has its place, but it will never tell the full story. What matters most can’t always be measured  it’s felt. And that’s what makes the work human.