Multicultural Literacy, Technology, and Cinderella

By Steven Garcia, Multiculturalism in Cinderella, Team 4

Steven Garcia

Professor Alan Lui

English 149

15 December 2014

Multicultural Literacy, Technology, and Cinderella

The project “Multiculturalism in Cinderella” done by Heeba Kaleem, Micaela Baker, Steven Garcia, Katelyn Hartvigsen, and Gabriela Medina aimed towards analyzing different adaptations of Cinderella so that any person from any culture(s) can understand Cinderella. By incorporating multicultural texts and technology, the project is an exemplarily model of how different adaptations of Cinderella mixed with StoryMap and Tumblr can be used to better understand Cinderella even in a classroom setting (middle school or high school).

One of the methods that the group used for the project was the use of the website Tumblr. Tumblr is a website that allows users to post about anything in form of a blog and allows them to comment on people’s blogs as well, making it an interactive website. Taking this into account, the group decided to pick an adaptation of Cinderella each (total of 5 adaptations) and write a blog post interpreting the story as if they each were the main character of the story. For example, Steven’s adaptation was Vasilisa the Beautiful, which he took on the role of being Vasilisa herself and wrote a blog post in which Vasilisa is the person retelling the story from her point of view. The group hoped that doing this would grab the reader’s interest since it is supposed to be the main character his/herself as opposed to a narrator or author telling the story without any emotion or commentary.

Also, Tumblr allowed the group to add in links to images and/or websites that they thought were interesting for the reader to look at while reading their blog. The group used these links as aids in helping the reader analyze and understand the blog posts better. For example, Steven used several links of images that would help the reader visualize characters or places within the story. This way, it would seem as if Vasilisa was personally telling the story as if she was face to face with the reader, describing the places or characters, but in this case in form of images.

 At end of the blog post, the reader has the option of leaving a comment and possibly could lead to a discussion about the post or the adaptation itself. Discussion is important for comprehending works. Students often have questions about characters, plot, etc. and if they are not talked about then the student loses an opportunity to learn and understand. Allowing the option for the reader to leave a comment or question that could start a scholarly discussion in which the users themselves could answer each other questions or the main character(who would be Steven) could write back to them,  and would give the feeling to the users that what they say is important.

Each blog post has its own section/ page, so if the student or person got bored of reading one post, he/she could find one that was interesting. Sometimes the content is not the problem, but rather how something is presented. The project presents the text in an interactive way in which the reader has different options to choose from, such as picking a blog post that he/she finds interesting.

One result that the group felt they accomplished was introducing the readers to a form of technology (Tumblr and blog posts) while fostering better understanding of the works .Tumblr is an interactive way that engages the reader in a way that he/she becomes interested in more than one way. He/she can have an interest in aesthetic aspect of the blog (such as the website, the way it is set up and decorated), interest in the way that the narrator is actually the character his/herself who is speaking to the reader(by providing links and commentary to keep the reader entertained and engaged), or through the comments that can be left by the users, who can ask questions about the blog post or start a discussion about something related to the posts. It provides many opportunities that reading the adaptations of Cinderella through text hinders. The blog posts done for this project are interpretations that may be useful aids in understanding the text because of these reasons.

Another result was trying to get the reader to be able to relate to at least on main character or at least find him/her interesting. Due to the amount of time the group had for the project, they were not able to incorporate a good number of adaptations that had a male as the main character, which would appeal to some male readers. Gender should not matter in terms of being able to comprehend a work, but it can play a big part when trying to enhance a student’s or person’s understanding of a work if it becomes a reason why a person relates to the character. Because each person’s interests vary, the group hoped to use the popular site Tumblr and blog posts by the main characters of the adaptations to try to capture the interest of the readers. The reader may be more inclined to look at the posts because it is on Tumblr and “everyone uses Tumblr”(so in a sense it is cool and popular, such as using Facebook) or by having the reader relate to the main characters narrating the story because they show emotion and are speaking to the reader in a way. Overall, the group tried to center the project to appeal to different kinds of interests of the readers.

Another method the group used for their project was through StoryMap. StoryMap is an open source tool that uses locations on a Map to tell a story. Images, and text can be added to tell a story. The group used a little over 20 locations, all which had an image of different Cinderella adaptations and brief text summaries on what the story is about. The group incorporated adaptations from all over the world (North American, Europe, African, etc.). The group used StoryMap so that the viewer could visualize the location of where the story took place and so that the student or person has the liberty of clicking on any location desired and learn about the Cinderella adaptation for the location chosen. For example, the group added the adaptation called Smoky Mountain Rose with an image and description( “ Rose loses her slipper at a party that was thrown by a rich man on the other side of the creek!) taking place in the U.S. in Tennessee.

Viewing the location of the texts on an actual map makes the viewer see that the adaptation does not take place in a strange world but in an actual country filled with real people. Though the Cinderella adaptations are myths, the details about the setting in which the stories take place can be credible, especially with the help of StoryMap. The group hoped that the project would grab the viewers attention by being able to navigate through the map and click on locations they found interesting. This way they would learn about the story and hopefully would do more research on the country itself to look at their traditions, cultures, and possibly societal issues. Knowing the setting and background of the story would help the student or person understand the work better, which is something that the group wanted to add to their project but could not because of the shortness of time.

Another result that the group felt was accomplished appealing to visual learners. The group understood that not all people learn the same and one way that the group hoped to get people to become interested in the adaptations of Cinderella was by using a tool that showed the viewer where exactly the story takes place. This way, if the student or person has trouble understanding a text by reading it, they could better comprehend and learn about it by visually seeing where exactly it takes place and possibly visualizing in their head the story.  Interacting with StoryMap can be an eye opener because of how it can put cities and countries into perspective. A city to a person may seem big, but a city in comparison to a whole country or the world puts into perspective just how big the world is. Telling a story while being able to visualize the location in terms of the country and city may be enough to catch the interest of some viewers, especially if they learn where exactly in the world the story takes place. A problem that educators can face in the United States is the lack of Geography classes(students not being taught enough about how countries look, where certain cities are, etc.). This can be a barrier for learning for those that learn visually because of the person cannot visualize where exactly a story takes place, sometimes he/she gives up because of the loss of interest since that person is not learning in the manner that he/she learns best. By providing images, maps, and text, these three elements can only help a person learn and keep them engaged because of the way that StoryMap moves from one location to another, giving the feeling as if the viewer is traveling from location to location learning about the adaptations and comparing the cultural details of each adaptation.

Another method that the group used was incorporating multicultural texts. The group could have focused on providing adaptations that differed only by city but not country, however, acknowledging that some students are diverse and can be exposed to more than one culture, the group wanted to provide multicultural adaptations of Cinderella. By providing such adaptations, there would not be a cultural barrier when teaching Cinderella because students would be exposed to different cultures, way of life, social issues, and so on that these students or people see or know about. These adaptations generally carried the same themes and plot, varying mostly through cultural details such as the descriptions of places and setting, people and their clothing, and sometimes language. Students that felt that they could not relate to the traditional story of Cinderella that is used in the U.S. could relate to a different adaptation.

A result that the group felt they could produce so that the student or person could understand Cinderella better was creating a safe environment in which any student or person( regardless of background, culture, appearance, etc.) could learn and express his/her ideas about the work. The group provided different adaptations so that people could compare them to each other without the plot or theme being too different. This would make it easier to learn and understand differences in cultures rather than accept them as being wrong. It would also allow people to analyze thematic and social issues within these adaptations and understand how each work comments or handles it. The student or person would then have a deeper understanding of the work because he/she could put the work into a broader perspective and compare it to their present world or other works, rather than just remembering what events happen and the end results of them. Thinking critically about the work leads to a better understanding of works. Learning can be hindered due to cultural barriers, such as a student or person feeling like they do not belong to a certain culture or community. If they feels this way, then when reading a text such as Cinderella, they will feel like the do not understand and cannot relate to any of the characters. This then makes the student lose interest and hinders his/her learning. By providing multiple adaptations, the culture barrier is reduced along with prejudices.

People are able to and constantly learn more than one thing at once , whether it is social, cultural, or educational, they never stop learning. To be able to learn about technology, learn about one's own or another person's culture, and to be able to question societal issues all while reading multicultural texts (Ex. Adaptations of Cinderella) provides educators with the ability to create a safe environment for any student (regardless of appearance, background, etc.) in which he/she can learn and express his/her ideas.  A big problem with education and students is tied to a students’ motivation, however, it is more realistic to say that the real problem is providing material that captures the interest of students. This project provides interests involving technology, culture, and society while making multicultural literacy the common ground for these three aspects.

This project helps with the understanding of the work by providing different interpretations of the texts using Tumblr (in form of blog posts) and Story Map (using location, images, and text). This project also helps with the appreciation of the work by showing how Cinderella can be adapted to represent and inform about many cultures and their beliefs, clothing, and traditions (which in turn helps reduce prejudices and stereotypes). The project helps analyzing the text better by allowing the reader to dig deeper and find thematic and societal issues within the text and analyze how the text handles or comments on the issues. Combining all these elements, this project aids in understanding the Cinderella texts better than the traditional way of reading the text from a book or another source because of the various interactions it provides using technology and different interpretations that are available for many types of learners.