Media Education/Literacy

Thank you, Ryan, for the invitation to join this group. I look forward to seeing what pops!

My pleasure - hopefully it won't be anything big our loud as we don't want anyone to get hurt.

RRG:)

If you're not a member of the "Teach with Moving Images Group" consider joining - today I put a great set of Amnesty International Film Curriculum Guides in that group found here.

Come on down - the price is right!

RRG:)

Hi, I'm Eric Goodman from the music video media critique project Thus Spoke The Spectacle, and just joined the network thanks to Ryan's suggestion. Look forward to joining in the conversation. We describe our show as "radical media literacy for the digital age," so it seems that the media literacy group is an appropriate place for us to be.

We're performing our show live in NYC Friday, July 17th, at Bluestockings Books at 7 PM. If you're around NYC, come on down for an evening of rock and roll, video, and media literacy.

Eric

I've seen it and it's a great presentation/video -- encourage everyone to try to make it if you can.

In fact, with the media coverage of Michael Jackson's passing I've been thinking about "Thus Spoke the Spectacle" a lot more recently.

Here in Burlington Vermont we have used media production to teach Media Literacy to youth grades 4 to 12 for the past 7 years. Our approach is to make the field production "simple" but effective. We plan shots that tell our story. Shots that we can do many times with all participants adding value to the shot. The actors, the camera department, the field audio crew, the writers, everyone contributes to our continuos "take" until we get it the best we can- and then we don't have much editing as the "shot" keeps the viewers watching. We take on tobacco advertising, alcohol advertising and many other subjects. Youth want to "be on TV" and make media, we think we can put that energy to good use.

a good example is-
http://www.vimeo.com/1525050

other examples are- (all of these "skits" were filmed in under one hour)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyzWBuFW0wc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiP1VHkk2rM

http://www.vimeo.com/1525125

http://www.vimeo.com/1525191

Thanks Peter for the support. I don't think we talked at Media Conversations at Pratt, but I did see your presentation there as well, so it's great to be able to hook up again here. Did we also cross paths at MEA in St. Louis?

James - sounds like really interesting stuff. I'll check out the links you posted over the weekend, after our show tomorrow.

Eric

Hi Eric- I want to learn more about your performance. I enjoyed your website. Does a video exist?

Who is your main audience?

James V

Hey James. No, we don't have a fixed format video or DVD of the project, as it's continually evolving, so at this time the website represents the best way to experience the show other than live screenings or performances. We screen and perform at colleges, high schools, film and music festivals, galleries, conferences, theaters, performance spaces, etc. Last week we were invited to screen videos and speak at a seminary in Denver, a first for us and an excellent experience. And college professors around the country have been using our videos in their classrooms, as well as high school classes.

Depending on the venue, the audiences range from specific groups like media profs and their students to music fans to the general public. That's the project in a nutshell, but feel free to get in touch to learn more, and thanks for your interest.

Eric

Hey James, I'm out of town at the moment so I'm not moderating as much as I should but you might consider putting your comment below (with all the wonderful resources and ideas) up in the "discussion forum" that was it does not get buried in comments, other people can comment back AND it will be indexed and searchable for people who join at a later date. Thanks for sharing all your resources!

Hey Media L folks - over in the Graphic Novels and Comics group a teacher is looking to explore Media Bias in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. In her post she explains that:

"we are looking at media bias within the novel since a fair amount of time is spent on media coverage of Batman, Joker, and Harvey Dent. Some of the media supports Batman, but others feed into the public fury of Batman being nothing more than a vigilante. We've asked the kids to bring in a "newspaper" article on any public figure so we can examine them, compare them, find additional media sources that may pose a different slant to show how the media manipulates. We are also looking at how media coverage has the potential to change how its subject views itself."

She says that she has already started looking at Frank's site. I know y'all know a lot of great media representation and bias resources - so I thought some of the folks here might want to check out her posting and give her some ideas around this issue?

Thanks,

Ry:)

From an advertising POV you might get a kick out of the ads I posted in the math and science groups here. RRG:)

If you're not in the graphic novels and comics group you might want to check out this post with a link to a comic on Multiple Intelligences.

Yeah, I'm back commenting again. A lot of you are probably already members of the "Making Shakespeare Pop!" group - if you dig the Bard and you're interested in his relation to popular and contemporary culture you might consider joining that group.

Today I did a pretty cool post with the front page of yesterday's Chicago Tribune. The headline was about our our brilliant and extremely literate ex-governor here in Illinois Rod Blagojevich. Not only does the man have cool hair, but he has a Shakespearian vision of himself.

In the post you'll find a bundle of Shakespeare allusions plus info on how to get jpegs of newspaper front pages.

Check it out, comment, join - at the very least this post will give you (esp. if you follow politics or teach English) a good laugh.

Full post here

Hey folks,

If you haven't joined the fledgling "Gaming Group" you might want to check it out. Today there was an, I think, "essential," article about Quest To Learn - a new video game based school in NYC. Frank Baker hipped me to the article.

Note: It is from the British version of The Economist so you'll read about "maths" and other such linguistic curiosities :)

An excerpt...

Periods of maths, science, history and so on are no more. Quest to Learn’s school day will, rather, be divided into four 90-minute blocks devoted to the study of “domains”. Such domains include Codeworlds (a combination of mathematics and English), Being, Space and Place (English and social studies), The Way Things Work (maths and science) and Sports for the Mind (game design and digital literacy). Each domain concludes with a two-week examination called a “Boss Level”—a common phrase in video-game parlance.

In one of the units of Being, Space and Place, for example, pupils take on the role of an ancient Spartan who has to assess Athenian strengths and recommend a course of action. In doing so, they learn bits of history, geography and public policy. In a unit of The Way Things Work, they try to inhabit the minds of scientists devising a pathway for a beam of light to reach a target. This lesson touches on maths, optics—and, the organisers hope, creative thinking and teamwork. Another Way-Things-Work unit asks pupils to imagine they are pyramid-builders in ancient Egypt. This means learning about maths and engineering, and something about the country’s religion and geography.

Full post here - I would love to hear what folks think about this school concept.

BTW - For the record - I'm awful at video games - even Pac-Man.

This is a media literacy approach to health education... through digital media making and performance art. The top link is a short video of how we made the film. The second link is the complete film with added scenes.

http://www.vimeo.com/5557760

This is a short video of the "Making Of" a video we made with 10th grade students. Acting, content research, special effects, props, production tech and many other talents were needed to make our film.

We filmed the movie in a day and a half. Later we filmed with 6th grade students to add additional content to the story. The music used was made by a friend of a friend who makes "film score" music as a hobby. Explosions and sound FX are free and almost free from web sources. Costumes, makeup, light sabers, were provide by all of the participants.


The 18 min film-
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7622290229798187819#

We'll be performing our radical media literacy rock show Thus Spoke The Spectacle tomorrow night (Saturday 9/12) at 7 PM in NYC at Fordham University's Lincoln Center campus.

If you're around NYC and would like to attend, please RSVP to goodman@thespectacle.net and we'll put you on the guest list to get in free.

See more details on our Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Thus-Spoke-The-Spectacle/111576928892

and please pass the word along to anyone you think may be interested. Hope to see you there.

Eric Goodman

Cool EG!! Wish I were still in NYC to rock it out! Good Luck!

Follow up on yesterday's Mr. Duey post - Mr. Duey is now in the MC POP mix! If you like his stuff or want to know more about this work send him a shout out via the Ning! Great to have you here Mr. D!

A great cohort member of mine has informed me of a way to use Wii and dry erase markers like a smartboard. WiiTeachers is a site that offers information you need to create an interactive whiteboard out of a Wii Remote and an inexpensive pen you can either buy or build yourself.
Check it out at www.wiiteachers.com
It can save you thousands of dollars!

If you're not in the adolescent lit group and you do work with YA lit you may want to check out the incredible "Behind the YA Lit" article from the New Yorker I posted in that group today. Totally fascinating stuff!

Put On Your Traveling Pants!

Hi, it's The Media Show here! As the name implies, we're all about media, especially education and literacy. Our whole series is dedicated to taking a closer look at the media and presenting topics in a fun and educational way. Links to a few choice episodes are below, but feel free to check out our whole series at http://www.youtube.com/themediashow

What's Fair Use?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldk454GwL34

Product Placement
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhWW4gLCbp0

Photoshop Disasters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxlcsxWRF38

The news item, deconstructed. Very funny.

David this video was great I will embed it in the discussion forum later in the week!

Very LOL :)

RRG:)

Joy over in the music group is looking for songs to teach with media literacy.

Specifically, she's looking for songs that deal with:
Advertising
Body Image
Obesity
Internet
Video Games
Attention/Cognition
Educational media
Sexuality
Alcohol
Drugs

I'm thinking Jon Chase solo would have to be able to recommend like 5 bazillion tracks - with awesome student created videos!

Hopefully, some of you folks can lend her some ideas!

RRG:)

recent Ted find that I thought was amazing and something really powerful for students: it could be used as inspiration or to address the "power of words"

http://www.ted.com/talks/aimee_mullins_the_opportunity_of_adversity...

Hey Lindsay, if you have a minute would you mind taking that video and posting it above in the discussion forum so it does not get lost. Great short. BTW here is a website that explains how to embed TED video!

Thanks for sharing! Ryan

I've been playing around with the website www.wallwisher.com


I post a question on a wall that I create, and then I give the URL to my students and they respond on computer "post-its." They include their name and 160character response. This is a great way to start the class, or sometimes I use it as an exit slip.


The key is waiting until everyone has finished replying, then hit the refresh key and all the responses will show up at once, rather than revealing some responses before others.

-Lindsay

Lindsay, this is cool - if you have a minute could you copy and paste that comment into the discussion forum for new media & Tech? Thanks for sharing - it looks like a cool tool!

Fantastic TED video. Thank you for sharing it Lindsay! -Belinha

Hi. I'm not sure whether I'm hitting up the right group for information, but I've been charged with creating a Communication Application/Speech class for our very small, new school. This will be a year long class that should incorporate some speech and debate, but my AP would also like to see some Media Literacy in the class, as well. I'm having trouble creating a clear scope and sequence that incorporates ALL these things. I was hoping some of you out there might have some ideas on how to incorporate all of this into a cohesive, comprehensive class.

Vanessa - this certainly seems like the right group - and you have a great question - just consider copying and pasting the question above in the discussion forum so
1. It does not get buried.
2. So it has a URL so I can share it on a crowdsource Tuesday.

Thanks for joining the discussion!

Ryan:)

Vanessa, The National Communications Association has authored standards: Competent Communicators: K-12 Speaking, Listening and Media Literacy Standards and Competencies and published two workbooks on this topic.

In addition: your students should be familiar with BOTH the Core Concepts of Media Literacy as well as the corresponding critical thinking questions. These can and should be applied to all media messages.

I offer my website, The Media Literacy Clearinghouse, as a resource for you and your students.

Thanks, Frank! This is a big help.

Nice additions (as always) Frank!

Oh and Frank - would you mind copying and pasting your great answer up above so we can archive the great info as well. I'll crowdsource it soon.

I know, I'm a great traffic cop :)

I thought this group might like to read the piece I placed on the Huffington Post as of last night, re: research literacy for parents and journalists. Comments on the HuffPo site or here most welcome!

Hey David - Interesting article! Thank you for sharing. Feel free to post a short excerpt and hyperlink of your blog up above - if you do it will have a permanent URL here and we can share that during the week in review broadcast that goes out to everyone! Posts on the comment wall tend to get lost over time!