Media Literacy. Teaching students in a language they understand

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1 Media Literacy Teaching students in a language they understand

2 Media Literacy Teaching students in a language they understand. Students spend their time plugged in into video games, MP3 players, movies and the Internet. Digital media has become young people s preferred method of communication and expression; it is only natural that effective educators integrate video production into curriculum as a valuable teaching and learning tool. Mathew Needleman, an Apple Distinguished Educator whose classroom films have won awards and been finalists in the California Student Media Festival, said that traditional teaching methods don t give students the tools to comprehend and think critically about media. In the same way we teach traditional writing as a way of developing reading comprehension, by incorporating movie production, students became much more advanced in talking about the things that go into making a movie like costumes, makeup and special effects, Needleman said. It s a real hands-on way of teaching media literacy because they are becoming much more critical thinkers about media, which is where they re getting their information. There s nothing in No Child Left Behind about media literacy, but it is something that is critical for students in today s world. By creating video, often from start to finish, students understand exactly what goes into constructing media messages. Engage! Students learn more by doing something than by listening to a lecture, and in video production, they are learning how to do by going through the steps involved in creating the media to which they are accustomed. Effective educators strive to foster higher-level thinking skills in their students. In terms of higher-level thinking, students are bringing in story maps, illustrations and concepts and having to make decisions about how best to present it all, Needleman said. It requires a higher level of thinking than just regurgitating facts, which is what we usually require. Activities such as video production require students to synthesize information from multiple sources and create a final product. They are also asked to collaborate on projects, which are becoming more of a required skill in today s workforce.

3 Building bridges Video production in K-12 classrooms also presents students with an opportunity to express themselves in ways they may not be able to outside of school. It is an effective way for English-language learners to participate in curriculum while improving their speaking, reading and writing skills. With English-language learners, they can parrot something back and not really understand, Needleman said. In a movie project, they have to choose an image that matches what they are saying, and it reinforces the concept. Film production gives marginalized students a classroom role. Needleman has worked with video production in schools for 12 years and said that movie projects can be a huge confidence builder, especially for students with special needs. Besides making the movie and watching it as a class, the movie now has legs and travels into other classrooms and throughout the school and sometimes the community, Needleman said. Now, [a special education student] is a movie star in his class, and other teachers come up to him and give him praise. In terms of confidence, it does a tremendous amount. Even general education students who don t thrive in traditional learning environments find a reason to be involved with video production. Needleman has seen both retention and fluency scores increase through the integration of video projects in the classroom. With low readers, a lot of times you give them a passage to read over and over again and it s really boring, he said. But when you have a script and are practicing for a movie, rereading is not boring because there s a real reason for it. It s a trick, but you get them to re-read it and not mind it. 3

4 Case Stories Cornell Elementary School, Albany Unified School District, Albany, Calif. Students: 498 Cornell Elementary School, part of the Albany Unified School District, is situated near the University of California, Berkeley, and has a significant number 32 percent of English-language learners whose parents are visiting professors at the university. Fourth-grade teacher Margaret Lim used video production projects in her classroom as a way to help English-language learners meet academic standards in language arts and social studies while boosting their language development and confidence. As a teacher, one of the most challenging tasks is differentiating instruction not just across learning styles but across language and culture as well, Lim said. The use of video cameras in curriculum is handy because language theory proves the more closely you tie in reading, writing and speaking, the easier it is to learn. The mini-documentaries she assigned met academic standards while allowing students to describe their culture or demonstrate a how-to concept. They also required students to use writing, reading and speaking skills. After the subject was filmed, students participated in the editing process, using software to add music, transitions and titles. Creating and participating in these documentaries literally presents a lens for students to see themselves through, Lim said. Especially for English-language learners because they get to see themselves speaking another language. The experience of doing that is a confidence builder. The editing process also helps their language skills because they are hearing themselves say words over and over during playback. The benefits of using video production projects in curriculum reach beyond language and confidence. Students are also excited to learn because they get to engage and experiment with the equipment, which enhances their cognitive development. The process of editing and sequencing helps with linear thinking. Any time you integrate their areas of interest, you enhance their excitement for learning, Lim said. Students love to experiment and touch buttons and figure things out.

5 J.H.S. 143 Eleanor Roosevelt, New York City Geographic District No. 6, Washington Heights, Manhattan, N.Y. Students: 1,141 For sixth-grade teacher Mara Waldhorn, teaching her students the process of video production was a way to get them to connect with their community. The neighborhood of Washington Heights in Manhattan, N.Y., is largely Dominican. Several years ago, Waldhorn applied for and received a $2,000 grant from the Brown Rudnick Foundation for teachers who want to contribute to the community. The grant money went to purchase Sony handheld cameras and audio and video equipment, allowing students to produce a documentary about the Washington Heights community. The funds also paid for each student in her class to attend the Broadway musical In the Heights. After students saw the musical, they went into the community and documented scenes to go with the original poetry they composed. In the classroom, they conducted and filmed interviews of three guest speakers who had perspectives about living in the Washington Heights community. The result was a documentary complete with interviews and footage of the neighborhood that the students got to plan, participate in and take ownership of, all while learning language arts and social studies content. With students who speak English as a second language, the goal is to spice everything up, to provide a lot of hands-on, kinesthetic learning, Waldhorn said. The project, with the experience of seeing the musical, definitely taught them what a community was and the added component of video brought it all to life. Clarkstown High School North, Clarkstown Central School District, New City, N.Y. Students: 1,525 David Kaminski, an educator and film maker, has been able to transfer his passion for video production into a full-time position teaching the art of TV production to high school students. His scope is wide, and he allows students the room to be creative and expressive in the projects they select. I see myself as teaching the tools, and I have a very open policy about the kind of subjects they want to choose, Kaminski said. We partner with everyone in the school that we have the energy to work with. His projects cross over into academic content areas, such as health class videos, foreign language broadcasts, poetry and music night performances, physics projects and social studies re-enactments. However, if students are motivated, they can take it even further, out into their surroundings with student activities, community projects and contests. The idea of news journalism and news broadcast has been shifting, and I was able to convince the district to align with that move, Kaminski said. Rather than working only on film that would be of service to the school, we work on small, individual projects that highlight students talents and interests that they can use for college and scholarships or film festivals.

6 The projects are student-centered created, scripted, filmed and edited by the students. Often, they are about issues relevant to the lives of teenagers, such as censorship, racism, drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence. Some projects are used to produce academic content in a digital way. Past examples include Japanese newscasts and historical re-enactments, such as the Patriot Act. Kaminski said he believes it is important to teach students the process and mechanics of how media works and that not everything occurs in real time. Also, teaching students how to use video production in their lives and for their interests is a relevant concept. In education, we started with paper and pencil, then we moved to computers and the Internet and now with added bandwidth, we re moving toward more video-based learning, Kaminski said. Teachers have to go along with the trend in order to stay current. It seems critical for me to be able to work alongside the student interest and provide educational material that is appropriate for them and that they understand. The use of professional equipment is something Kaminski sees as vital, particularly in secondary school where students are pursuing interests that may develop into a degree or career. You have to have a vision about what s coming next, Kaminski said. In high school, students want to go to schools like New York University, and if you think about their current courses as job training, they need to know what the good equipment is and how to use it. Making the final cut David Livingston is a director at the Digital Media Academy, a Stanford-accredited academy that offers courses for students and teachers to use video production. He observed that the teachers successfully using video production in the classroom are those who use it as one of many tools, with three or four projects a year that lend themselves to video. Livingston said he feels that teachers are increasingly using video production in the classroom as another vehicle for students to display what they are learning. It s a medium that students get excited about, so it s a natural medium for them to learn in, he said. Digital storytelling is a great way for them to master a content area. Livingston said that any teacher, seasoned or novice, can learn to incorporate video production into their instructional palette, and that current filming and editing equipment is easy to operate and resilient enough for student use. As these instructional tools become mainstream, Livingston believes audience taste will be more sophisticated what was the standard five years ago will be considered poor quality to today s more discriminating viewers. As video production equipment is used in more sophisticated ways in school projects, it becomes more important to have professional equipment, he said. As we press on, and people are used to viewing things in high-definition, video projects will be judged by a higher standard and be expected to look professional.

7 Lights, Camera, Action! Ways to integrate video projects into specific content areas Math: Create a video to explain a math concept or how to solve a problem Science: Record data results to show change over time Art: Produce a documentary on a favorite artist Social Studies: Shoot a re-enactment of a time period or famous event, i.e., The Boston Tea Party Language Arts: Record an interpretation of a literary work Physical Education/Health: Create an informational video on exercise and healthy eating Life Skills: Compile PSAs about good manners, getting along and other character builders

8 The Center for Digital Education, a division of e.republic, Inc., is a leading resource on information technology policy, trends and opportunities in K-12 and higher education. The Center offers a series of unique programs covering the critical policies, executive leadership and applications surrounding education technology. Sony Electronics Broadcast and Professional Division Whether you re upgrading your television studio, presenting virtual guest lecturers for distance learning, networking each school in a district, recording the pride of a commencement ceremony or capturing the winning touchdown, Sony offers high-definition technologies to meet every A/V production need in K-12 and higher education. Sony camcorders, decks, projectors, displays and media capture, present and archive campus events. Sony HD videoconferencing can connect campuses worldwide, digital signage keeps students and faculty informed and security cameras help make it easier to monitor a facility. Sony high-definition video and audio technologies are at the head of the class.