Darnel Degand | Teachers College, Columbia University (original) (raw)

Papers by Darnel Degand

Journal of Graphic Novels and Comics

International Journal of Multicultural Education

Critical race media literacy refers to the ability to 1) recognize negative stereotypical portray... more Critical race media literacy refers to the ability to 1) recognize negative stereotypical portrayals of historically oppressed groups in media, 2) question media producers’ intentions, and 3) produce media content that does not perpetuate stereotypes. Critical race media literacy can be taught in many college classes, but an undergraduate education course that utilizes a multimodal approach to teach students about the various ways learning occurs in the digital age is an excellent opportunity to develop this skill in undergraduates. This article provides specific examples of teaching techniques used in an undergraduate course about technological media and arts-based inquiry.

The Comics Grid: Journal of Comics Scholarship

Theory Into Practice

Digital media arts programs continue to be added to school curricula throughout the United States... more Digital media arts programs continue to be added to school curricula throughout the United States. Education through digital media arts also occurs outside school settings. We need to ensure that educational digital media arts programs actively and consciously teach students to critique societal stereotypes and biases they encounter in their media training as well as in their own artwork. This article argues for the inclusion of pedagogical approaches that encourage critical thinking in digital media arts production spaces. In response to this need, culturally relevant media production is proposed as a set of criteria that media producers and instructors can use to create effective prosocial content for educational and/or entertainment purposes. The 3 criteria for culturally relevant media production are instructional methods and theories, culturally conscious content, and critical thinking skills support. These criteria and examples of existing forms of media that meet these criteria are explored in this article.

The social success skills valued and ultimately acquired by youth during their formative years ca... more The social success skills valued and ultimately acquired by youth during their formative years can be better
understood by examining the social spaces, processes, and interactions that are related to their personal
aspirations and related media experiences. Using a phenomenological approach, I conducted a year-long
multi-case study about two Black male high school students’ thoughts on social success, their aspirations, their
social experiences, and their experiences with media. The participants were selected using purposeful
sampling. I collected data through semi-structured interviews, focus groups, and observations. I performed
analyses by using the hermeneutic cycle which requires one to repeatedly read text, write reflections, and
interpret data (Kafle, 2011; Laverty, 2008). Findings suggest that my participants’ aspirations held influence
over the type of media content with which they chose to engage. Additionally, their thoughts about social
success were influenced by their family members’ personal life experiences and the skills their family members
valued. Moreover, their sociocultural contexts influenced their evolving thoughts on social success while their
media served as resources to help them process their thoughts about social success and help them pursue their
goals.

Mechanical Engineering Senior Design …, 1999

This project concerns the development of a modular system for robotic locomotion devices as well ... more This project concerns the development of a modular system for robotic locomotion devices as well as the design and construction of a mobile modular robot. The robot has logical and physical separation between its modules. A control architecture has been developed that employs a master/slave scheme, where a master "brain" module controls multiple function modules. The communication between master and slaves takes place over a serial bus on which the master initiates all communication in order to avoid bus access problems. Actuator and sensor modules were developed and tested on this bus. A three degree of freedom leg and a wheel module that use RC servo motors have been designed and constructed. CAD/CAM tools were utilized to design and build the modules in a manner that allows for easy production and assembly of multiple units. Work was also done with gait analysis in implementing the leg modules. Further work is constantly being done to improve the existing system and to develop new modules.