~ Arthur Kopec
English Teacher
English Teacher
Imagine a museum exhibit designed by students, where interactive displays reveal the unique cultural touchstones of Generation Alpha. This engaging project, recently undertaken by Kang Chiao students, aimed to do just that, fostering research, writing, and presentation skills while celebrating the defining elements of their own generation.
The Process
Before we could embark on this journey, we had to ask ourselves some important questions: What is the purpose of a museum? Why is it important to preserve our history? What represents Generation Alpha? These discussions served as a stepping stone to the next stage of our project, where the students got onto their Chromebooks and began to explore figures, events, or technologies significant to their generation. From viral trends shaping online communities to groundbreaking inventions impacting their world, a diverse range of topics emerged. Once the students settled on a single topic, they narrowed their research and compiled as much information as they could.
However, this writing assignment came with a unique challenge. Students had to resist the urge to write a long, detailed report on their topic, and instead produce a short and concise overview -- much like what you would find on a label in front of a museum exhibit. This meant that students needed to organize their research and extract only the essential bits of information. They also needed to learn how to take this information and make it their own. We call this paraphrasing. It is when you rewrite someone else’s words in a way that fits your own voice and understanding. It's not just about changing words and avoiding plagiarism, but also about showing your comprehension of the material and expressing yourself in a creative way.
The Results
Once the students completed the written portion of the project, it was time to bring their words to life. Each student transformed their writing into a virtual museum exhibit. These exhibits allowed students to further enhance their work as they added digital media like images, gifs, and songs to give newcomers a better understanding of their topic. Some even experimented with additional levels of interaction, such as setting up a ticket system or offering space to leave a review. The presentations pulsated with enthusiasm, as students weaved facts, personal touches, and interactive elements into a rich tapestry of Gen Alpha's most important cultural artifacts. From Blackpink to Carrot Knives, each exhibit offered a unique window into the world of Generation Alpha.
The Reflection
As a teacher, witnessing this process was incredibly rewarding. Students not only acquired valuable research and writing skills but also developed a deeper understanding of themselves and their generation's place in the world. They learned to identify cultural trends, articulate their significance, and share their findings with confidence. Each student was able to choose a topic that they genuinely cared about, and this was reflected in their ongoing engagement and enthusiasm throughout the project.
The final reflection resonated with the journey undertaken. Students identified strengths, from in-depth research to compelling presentations, while acknowledging challenges like evaluating sources or navigating the internet. This introspection fueled their desire to refine their approach in future projects.
This project wasn't just about academic achievement, but about empowering students to be cultural curators of their own generation. As you read the next page, you'll witness their creativity and insights firsthand through excerpts from their museum exhibits. I invite you to dive into their world, celebrate their achievements, and perhaps see your own generation's cultural landscape in a new light.
Youtube
★ Olivia Chang 張錦薇 607
Have you ever wondered what to do on a rainy vacation day? Or struggled with a math question for a long time? You should think about using YouTube. It gives entertainment, but also can teach people lots of different things! YouTube is an online sharing website and social media platform that makes it easy to watch videos. It was launched on February 14, 2005, and designed by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. A year after it was launched, Google acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion, which made the platform rise in popularity rapidly.
YouTube is important to Gen Alpha for many reasons. It is daily entertainment in our lives, people share and send videos from YouTube at school and on social media, and share their favorite influencers almost every day. Gen Alpha also uses the platform to teach themselves useful knowledge. We use YouTube to help with school projects, homework, and many other things. Some teachers use YouTube as a tool for teaching. They sometimes even give students who are in Gen Alpha video-watching assignments. Gen Alpha uses YouTube to explore new things and share creative ideas. Many people in Gen Alpha make YouTube videos to share their life, and they also create an account on YouTube so that they can find even more videos. YouTube can give people in the future a simple way to express themselves. It also can help them learn things at home. YouTube may be a huge help in the future!
Rizz
★ Annabelle Chiu 邱予婕 603
Make way for the ultimate champion, the word of 2023, “rizz”! Rizz is such an essential part of Generation Alpha. Rizz is short for “charisma,” the ability to charm someone. To “rizz someone” is to charm them. Rizz officially became a word in September 2023. This was life-changing.
There’s no doubt that this word represents our generation perfectly. “Rizz” was crowned 2023’s Word of the Year by Oxford University. It beat out words like “Swiftie” and “beige flag”. Oxford chose the word because it represents how younger generations communicate with each other. It shows how our people can define and create our own language through communicating online. Never underestimate the power of younger generations and how we can impact the world in a humongous way. Compared with all the past Words of the Year, rizz is definitely the best representative of the way our generation speaks.
Rizz will always be important, even in the near future. We Alphas will be full of joy looking back at 2023, the year of the “rizz”.
Discord
★ Arod Chuang 莊伯凡 607
Have you ever imagined how people communicated with each other 100 years ago? Now compare it with how many ways people currently communicate. Isn't it impressive to see how fast people improved? There are so many platforms that you can communicate these days but which is the best? Most people agree that Discord is the best. Discord is a multimodal platform where people can talk to each other via text messaging, voice call (also known as vc), and video call, this is why it has been a huge innovation since writing letters. Rather than an email, Discord is an instant messaging service that allows people to send and receive messages in less than 1 second.
In every generation, there is always a famous thing that everyone knows, just like the last generation, every person knows Barbie the doll. For Generation Alpha, Discord is one of the most well-known communication platforms, but why does everyone like it so much? It is because it is easy to communicate with the feature where you can make friends on the server. The owner or admins could invite friends. host events, or offer giveaways. Discord is not only a communication platform, it's also a perfect place to make friends or hang out.
Bluey
★ Siersha Hung 洪萱 604
What is Bluey?
Bluey is an Australian animated series created by Joe Brumm with Ludo Studio. It was aimed at children aged 3 to 6 years old. The show is about a family of dogs: Chilli Heeler/mom, Bandit Heeler/dad, and their two daughters, Bluey and Bingo. Most episodes involve some kind of trip out, game, or adventure, showcasing the Heeler family's challenges and joys. The stories will often have a deeper meaning behind them(mashable). Inspired by the warmth and beauty of semi-tropical Queensland, Australia, Bluey is based on Joe Brumm's parenting experience of raising two daughters(mediaroom).
What makes Bluey special?
What makes Bluey so unique is its polished quality in visuals and sounds. The animation is smooth, the details are outstanding. You can feel the level of effort that's gone into it. "I've only ever put Bluey on for my 1-year-old son, but there have been many occasions where he's wandered off and I've stayed glued to it," says 35-year-old Bethan Moore. Many others have had the same thought, even teachers. One of the things that kept coming up in people's comments was how well they could relate to the show, making Bluey so popular among Millennials and Generation Alphas (Mashable). The reason Bluey is so amusing to even adults is because of the humor which adults can also understand, it's not irritating or embarrassing, and can help adults learn lessons from Chilli and Bandit's parenting. Bluey has had more than 1.4B minutes views, hitting number 2 on Nielsen's Top 10 Most Viewed series and about 57% of the audience were Generation Alphas aged 2-11(Deadline). Children love animated animals, especially dogs, and Bluey is exactly that, a heartwarming story of a Blue Heeler family (Movieweb).
What impact did Bluey make?
Throughout watching many episodes of Bluey, people were moved, changing their way of socializing with others for the good. Dads learned from Bluey how to play with their kids. Parents learned from Bluey how to interact with each other in positive ways. A child with autism learned how to play with other kids and changed his life at school(Thedailybeast). Bluey shows that play is a natural way for children to process different experiences emotionally. Emphasizing that role-play allows