Listen Up!

OH THANK GOD! This website was so refreshing, and yes in short I think of this site as "talking back." It was so cool to be able to see the different issues of teenage life- from all different areas of the world discussed in such a candid and realistic manner. One video I saw was a group of boys from an area in southeast asia discussing how they were dealing with being bullied. There was one about teenage girls and hip-hop/rapping, which reminded me of Marco's presentation. I found it interesting that these two videos were side by side in the video que and I thought it was appropriate. Such serious things as bullying, peer pressure, and teen drug use were juxtaposed with videos on hip-hop, partying, shopping etc. It seemlessly showed the complexity of the lives of teenagers, and the tumultuous nature of the many things they juggle. I was very impressed with the technical skill of these teenage "film-makers" for the refined skill, but not so surprised of the capability, afterall Prensky and my own experience have shown how much more quickly teenagers are grasping all the new stuff that is coming out and putting it into use to "talk back" I like to think of it as "biting back" because much like we discuss in class teenagers are trying to prove that they are not the other, and are not alien, or trouble. I wish I had more access to media like this, and that it had a more respected and prominant place in classrooms both in k-12 and college environments. This site makes me want to learn about video postings and productions like this.