While both articles read for this week really opened my eyes to the possibilities of technology in the classroom, I have to say I'm still not completely sold on the idea of using teaching agents or avatars in the secondary classroom. In response to the Doering et. al article study Conversational Agents and Their Longitudinal Affordances on Communication and Interaction, I have to say I share in the students' skepticism of using these digital avatars as a teaching agent. The study's findings, to me, seemed to be a (for lack of a better phrase) complete "duh", and I'm not sure that these so-called teaching agents can be used for any more than entertainment purposes.

The study first found that "participants reported that CAs provided limited support of their learning process during the eFolio development." Of course they did. Additionally, "participants found that CAs were not as supportive as hoped for
specific tasks in the eFolio development." I think that no matter what form of technology we use, it would be very difficult to replace face-to-face contact and interaction. I'm not sure that a conversational agent, while an "expert" in their respective field but who is still relying on transcripts of speech to relay their message can be as beneficial as live feedback. The one-sidedness of the conversational agents also concerns me. The also study said "participants appeared most frustrated when content-related questions that they felt should be “routine” or “standard” could not be answered correctly." In this sense, I think the most important thing is that as with any form of technology in the classroom, it should ENHANCE what you already have. If the conversational agents are essentially creating more frustration by not being able to answer questions properly and wasting students' time, I don't really see them as making learning easier.

I do see the benefit in conversational agents being able to offer 24/7 student support when the professor is not available. But what concerns me is that the avatar may only be able to answer the most basic questions (probably not help in detail, which is generally where most student questions come from - the specifics.) What also concerns me about this is the amount of time it would take on behalf of the professor or teacher in preparing the answers for the teaching agent. Is that amount of extra effort really worth answering emails or holding an extra session of office hours?

The point is, I think technology should be used in the classroom if it can help our students actually learn something. While the avatar was entertaining for me to make and experiment with, I can't realistically say I would be able to use this in a secondary (I'm thinking of my 11th graders here) classroom. I mostly just envision it not being taken seriously, even with a good amount of prep and scaffolding. As the study shows, it seems that these avatars seem to be more frustrating than helpful for students.

While I can't really see it being used as-is in the class, it does raise some interesting questions for me about the future of technology in the classroom. I'm already a little disturbed at the fact that I can take entire classes (such as this one) without ever stepping foot in a classroom. Are conversational agents a stepping stone to completely interactive online classes? If so, then I would see the benefit in using something this, as creepy as that would be. Until then, I'm not really sure of the purpose of using avatars in teaching, and am going to need a lot more convincing before I would use this in a classroom.

nice.

http://www.gizmoz.com/newsite/presite/itemPage.jsp?partner=studio&scene=13630636

Media Literacy Assignment #2

In working with newspapers, news broadcasting, fair vs. biased news, and real versus fake news, something that really got me interested is the potential for student to explore the different broadcasting techniques of these outlets while connecting them to a text or a piece of literature read in class. One thing it is important to stress to students in an English class regardless of what they're writing is to identify their audience and purpose. This activity will help students explore those concepts in relation to the text as well as develop an understanding of media literacy. From this assignment, students will get experience with the publishing world, with the novel itself, and with understanding the difference between writing for entertainment and writing for information.

1. After a short discussion of the difference between newspaper and tabloid newspaper, students will be given copies of both (i.e. Star Tribune and World Daily News)
2. Students will examine each type of newspaper in depth, and determine how each uses/exhibits:
- featured stories
- length of stories
- layout
- headlines
- pictures
- perspective/bias if any

Then determine: audience, and purpose (to exaggerate, to inform?)
3. In pairs, each student will report the differences they noticed in the newspaper sources, where and if any bias occurs, and the purpose of entertaining or informing and WHY.

4. Students will then refer to the novel read previously or currently in class to create a newspaper spreadsheet in both traditional newspaper and tabloid form reporting the important (or unimportant) events of that novel. They will need to consider featured stories, length of stories, layout, headlines, pictures, and audience and purpose for each type of newspaper.

Media Literacy Assignment #1

Target Marketing in the Media

One of the things that continues to fascinate me about media today is the use of not only persuasion techniques by advertisers, but persuasion techniques to specific audiences. The purpose of this activity is to help students begin to look at messages in the media with a more critical eye, but to help them to become more aware of how they are being positioned in society by marketers, researchers, and advertisers, and what it means to be expected to behave and consume in a certain way.

1. To begin, students will compare advertisements in magazines directed at 2 specific audiences (ex. Sports Illustrated, Cosmopolitan, Rolling Stone, Seventeen, Redbook).
2. In flipping through the two magazines, they will consider the following questions:
- Who are their targeted audiences (consider age, gender, race, etc.)?
- How does the content of each magazine (photos, fashion spreads, illustrations, articles, headlines, etc.) relate to the advertising?
- Have the editors come up with different ways to develop advertising-friendly content? (If so, give
examples and discuss.)
- Do you think the advertisers in one magazine might approve more of the content in one magazine than advertisers in
the other? Give specific reasons.

3. As an addition to this assignment, students could examine advertising for television shows. Based on the television show you watch, consider the following questions:
- What is this show's target audience (consider age, gender, race, etc.)
- How does the content of the show (characters, plot, setting, etc.) relate to the advertising?
- Is there any product placement within the television show?

4. Finally, students will be asked to come up with an idea for a magazine that targets an untapped, niche market.
Things to consider:
- What would appear on the cover?
- What features would appeal to this demographic group while also appealing to companies
that might advertise?

5. Students will then design a cover page and five possible advertisements for a sample issue. The cover will highlight stories that might attract their target audience, and the advertisements can be existing or invented products that would likely be sold to their specific audience.

6. In addition, students will describe the thinking behind your decisions in an essay. Questions to consider in the essay:
What's the difference between mass marketing and target marketing?
How do companies get information about consumers?
What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of target marketing for consumers?
Why do media outlets target people in the same way that product marketers do?

Real versus Fake News

RATIONALE: In response to the article in American Popular Culture, I think it's incredibly important to address "fake" versus "real" news, especially when more people turn to fake news, in my opinion, for their entertainment purposes. My own experience with "fake" news as a child and during some of adolescence was with tabloid newspapers. I still cannot figure out why these newspapers are still in print, but it's actually very clear after reading that article! The people want to be entertained! And who doesn't love a good story?



Shows like The Daily Show I believe respond to the audience's desire for entertainment as well as for showing a somewhat biased, but entertaining nonetheless "other side" of the issue, versus shows like "The O'Riley Factor", which can come across as abrasive, and even offensive to biased and unbiased viewers:



I think students need to learn to be critically aware of their world, specifically the place they get their information about the world, the news. Whether that source is on TV or in the newspaper, biased news reporting can have a negative affect on the way we perceive the world if we aren't taught to challenge and question that source.

Activity #1: Which one is different?
This would be a starting activity to help students start to look at what makes "real" print news different from "fake" print news sources. It will also help students distinguish what is the difference between "fact" and "opinion", especially when evaluating sources for a research-based paper or project. Students will look at a real news story and a fake one in order to help determine the differences between the two.

1. Have students look at the following articles removing the name of sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/us/04marriage.html?scp=1&sq=new%20hampshire%20gay%20marriage&st=cse
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/new_hampshire_passes_law

2. Individually, answer the following questions:
- What did you notice that was similar?
- What was different?
- What do you notice about author's voice?
- What is the audience for each?
- What is the author's purpose for each?
- Which did you like better and why?

3. After students answer questions, debrief in large group. What can we consider a satire? What is the difference between fact and opinion and how is that stated to the audience?

Activity #2: Create Fake News in Persuasion ?
In my experience, in order for students to really understand a concept, it helps to have them practice that concept themselves. In talking about "real" versus "fake" news, this activity would ask students to create their own fake news broadcast based on what they've learned from viewing shows like The Daily Show, SNL, or Colbert Report. Because shows like these are so popular with a younger audience, this activity will require them to not only understand the difference between real and fake news, but also what makes that difference. Is it because of entertainment purposes? Is it because cable allows you to form a more biased opinion? They would be asked to combine their knowledge of news reporting, persuasion, and satire to inform, but also entertain their audience while making a commentary on today's society.

PROCEDURES:
1. After students have discussed the difference in news sources using activities like in Activity #1, they will begin to research in groups a topic of their own choice (after discussing the difference between credible and non-credible sources, fact versus opinion, audience, tone, purpose, etc.)
2. Students will be able to examine satirical news broadcasts on The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, SNL's Weekend Update and political skits, and in tabloid newspapers and The Onion.
3. In groups, they will need to identify their overall message, purpose, tone, argument, audience, and any persuasive/entertainment techniques.
4. After videotaping their satirical news cast, groups will share/present their findings
5. Students will also complete a short response paper answerign the following questions:
- What elements did you decide to change/elaborate/exaggerate from the original source?
- How did you incorporate the elements of satire?
- What persuasive and entertaining techniques are you using?
6. This activity can be used as a launching pad for more satirical literature from Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" to Oscar Wilde, etc.

Fox 9 News at 5:00 6/17/2009 Analysis

So I originally watched Fox 9 hoping for a little bit of controversy, and completely biased news reporting, but with this not being an election and it being local news instead of Bill O'Riley, I was disappointed in my quest.   Nonetheless, my news report:

Fox 9 5:00 news broadcast, 6/17/2009:

TOP STORY:  Denny Hecker Auto Business Fraud (approx. 4 minutes)

Bill Keller (team coverage, reporting on site).

Denny Hecker’s auto business investigation regarding the dealership failed to pay off loans and file taxes.  Showing the Denny Hecker Raids, maps.  Interviews with Hecker’s lawyers as well as State Patrol. 

Tim Blotz (team coverage, inver grove heights).

Gives advice for what Denny Hecker victims should do.  Says his car buyers stuck in “mess.”  Asking customers to help state patrol using Denny Hecker Hotline.  Warns audience that it is technically it is illegal to drive a car sold by Denny Hecker. 

 

LOCAL STORY:  Private Plane Crash in Crystal, MN (2 minutes)

Leah Beno (reporting on site at airport in Crystal)

Non-commercial airplane pilot died, Steven Case of St. Louis Park, and also the founder of Cyber Optics company.  Made contact with tower before it closed, the plane touched down at end of runway, then was suddenly off runway.  Talking about innocence of pilot….had experience, business man, had permission to use it.

 

LOCAL STORY:  Two-Alarm Fire in Brooklyn Center Apartment Building (30 seconds) 

Robyne Robinson (5:00 Anchor)

 

SPORTS: Timberwolves looking for new head coach (2 minutes)

(Dawn Mitchell reporting)

Exerpts from news conference, broke the news on twitter.  Al Jefferson (TWolves forward) on the phone giving his opinion.  News conference speaker stressed that this is a sad day for the Timberwolves, and that McHale should be praised for his work and dedication to the team.

 

WEATHER (1 Minute)

 Ian Leonard, meteorologist

Overview of current weather conditions, tornado warning in in Cambell County. 

 

Up Next (30 seconds)

Robyne Robinson

Tired of those aches and pains?  Coming up in heath news.  What happens when a black bear ends up in your backyard tree?  "Find out after commercial break!"

 

ADVERTISING (3 MINUTES)

So You Think You Can Dance (fox 9), Comcast Digital Cable, Luther Auto, The Jewelry Exchange, Papa John’s Pizza, Progressive Auto Insurance, Slumberland

 

DAILY DOSE (cheerful, happy voice) 4 minutes

Robyne Robinson:  Why some young girls are entering puberty earlier due to exposure to product in plastic can be linked to breast cancer and diabetes in rats. 

Also, there is a better way to eat carrots…  eating them whole is better for more nutrients

Rob Olson (2nd anchor):

 Cherry Juice Fad in MN Twins.  One coach (with cherry juice brand sponsorship) recommends drinking it all the time for both other coaches and the players.  Drinking cherry juice daily to alleviate previous aches and pains because studies show it can be used as an anti inflammatory.  Darker cherries known to be antioxidants…. Academic researchers are finding benefits… University of Michigan/Baylor University  Personal note on brother-in-law… drinks it and says it works.

 

SPORTS: Special Olympics summer Olympics taking place in MN (15 seconds)

Robyne Robinson

WEATHER (4 minutes)

 Ian Leonard, meteorologist 

One lone cell causing a mess of problems just south of Fergus Falls, aka a tornado warning in taht area. Weather headlines…. Old muggy feeling.  Storms possible next weekend.  Dandy Day for Dad.  Overnight forecast.  7 day forecast.  "Don’t forget about your dad…." Reminder on Sunday.  Circles it and laughs. 

Rob Olson hands Dalton a map for messing up on directions (15 seconds)

 

ADVERTISING (3 MINUTES)

Arby’s, American Family Insurance, Globe University/MN School of Business, Qwest, Country Splash, My Fox 9.com 

 

NATIONAL NEWS: (3 minutes)

ROBYNE ROBINSON

Space shuttle flight delayed due to hydrogen gas leak.  NASA will wait til uly 11 to launch in Denver

International Olympic Committee meets in Switzerland to vote on next host city for 2016 games.

President Obama swats a fly during a recent interview, claims he is "fast on his feet, fast with flies. "

200 pound black bear found in a woman's backyard tree in Pasadena, California.  The bear was tranquilized and safely released back into the wild.

COMING UP AT 5:30 (1 minute)

Rob Olson

Denny Hecker Story.  WI Window washer, thousands of boy scouts survigve weather. “More ahead in the next half hour”  

The news cast started with a local news story regarding a fraudulent tax scandal at Denny Hecker's Auto business.  The story was four minutes long, more time than was given to any other news segment other than weather.  The story was reported on site versus the news room, which gave a sense of credibility to the reporters debriefing the story.  Additionally, they were both males, speaking in with a sense of authority as well as urgency on the story.  What was interesting was how they really worked to position Denny Hecker as the "bad guy" or "criminal", even though he hasn't been proven guilty yet.  They had interviews against Mr. Hecker from both the MN State Patrol and the attorney representing the state, giving a biased, unfair viewpoint of the Denny Hecker story.  Additionally, they spent 2 of the 4 minutes asking audience members who drove Denny Hecker cars to call in and report them to a "victim hotline."  

Another piece of this broadcast that really stood out to me was the amount of "happy talk" the anchors were using among each other.  While giving the weather report, the meteorologist spent about 4 minutes giving an overview of the tornado warning in MN, but spent almost 2 minutes of that time being teased by the anchors for not being able to name his directions.  After returning to the "studio" after the weather map, the male anchor even made a point to draw a map of a compass and tease the meteorologist about it for a while.  I think this was really interesting in trying to establish a more "friendly" tone with the audience, but that because of their own chatter, they spent nearly equal time with weather as they did with the top story, more than any other news segment combined.  

Finally, I thought it was really interesting to note the type of stories that were being shown in regards to what really is considered news.  There were four minutes spent on the "Daily Dose", talking about how to properly cut your carrots and why cherry juice is beneficial to the body.  They also devoted about 2 minutes discussing an incident where President Obama swatted a fly away in a television interview and an unnamed woman in CA who discovered a black bear in her backyard.  In contrast, they only spent about 15 seconds talking about the upcoming meeting of the Special Olympics in MN, and about 15 seconds talking about the selection of the next host city for the 2016 Olympics.  They spent about 30 seconds talking about a fire in Plymouth, and only about 2 minutes talking about a plane crash in Crystal.  I think that glorifying some of these more "trivial" news stories for the comedic aspect while ignoring some of the more meaningful stories says a lot about the station and where their priorities lie.  

Media Representations of Popularity....

According to the Encyclopedia of Psychology, the term "clique" has two levels of significance.  In a more neutral stage used by social researchers, it is a group of people who interact more closely and more intensively than with other peers in the same setting.  In its more popular form, the term has a more negative connotation, in that it is used to "describe an adolescent social group that excludes others on the basis of superficial differences, exercising greater than average amount of peer pressure upon its members."  In my experience student teaching, not only are many of my female students aware of the concept of the clique in high school, I see many of them trying to actively and intentionally emulate the portrayal of cliques and "the popular crowd" seen in much of today's popular media. Richard Beach writes, "media representations 're-present', or actually create a new reality, which in turn mediates or shapes the ways in which people perceive themselves and the world" (45).  Ironically, the popularity of the "popular crowd", specifically with cliques of girls, has created unfair representations and expectations for what is acceptable in high school today.

Media representations of popular cliques of girls are everywhere today.  Popular crowds have been in teen movies forever, but I feel that the representation of adolescent girls has more recently taken a turn for the worse.  Take the movie Mean Girls, for example.  An extremely popular movie still today, it portrays "The Plastics" as a mean, yes, but relatively harmless and normal youth phenomenon.  These girls describe the "adolescent social group that excludes others on the basis of superficial differences, exercising greater than average amount of peer pressure upon its members" definition of a clique to a "T."  Everything from enforcing their own dress code ("And on Wednesdays, we wear pink"), to having their own exclusive lunch table ("We would like to invite you to sit with us every day for the rest of the week."), to dating the most popular boys, being rich, partying, ditzy, exclusive high school girls.  The problem is how much the movie mocks the power these girls have over the school.  Even the teachers are scared of the Plastics.  I understand that there are incentives for high schoolers to join cliques as part of identity formation and using a smaller group to ease their way to the larger culture of the school.  I get that.  But what frustrates me is when students think it is actually okay to uphold the "popular girl" phenomenon portrayed by the media.  I even had a student (to remain anonymous) write a poem about her identity in which she claimed her ultimate goal in high school was to "look better, act better, and be better than everybody else."  Now if only I could get her to focus that energy on her English homework.  

Other representations of popular cliques are evident in television shows.  In the 1990's Beverly Hills, 90210 (a personal favorite), documented (for the first 3 seasons), no other group but the popular group's experience at the fictional West Beverly High.  When David Silver (the nerdy freshman) started to become part of the "group", he left his old best friend Scott Scanlon to fend for himself.  And what happens to Scott?  He commits suicide, and on top of it, no one comes to his funeral.  Or what about The O.C.?  Seth Cohen only accidentally stumbles into the popular group after Ryan comes to live in his house.  He frequently comments on his depressing childhood and adolescence, and that Ryan is his only friend.  It isn't until he is accepted into the popular group that he feels his life even has meaning, and that wasn't until the end of season 2.  Perhaps the worst of all is Gossip Girl, which idealizes the popular crowd.  Incredibly rich, impossibly beautiful, and frighteningly beautiful, the main characters Blair and Serena embody the stereotypical popular girl.  They hold interviews to audition for new "group members", and do enough backstabbing, sleeping around, partying, and, as the title would suggest, gossiping, to make for a mildly entertaining show.  However, where do we draw the line between the media representation and reality?  As "reality" shows like Laguna Beach and The Hills would suggest, perhaps that line is a little more blurred than we thought.  The problem lies when this "relatively harmless" teen phenomenon actually does have very harmful repercussions in reality that are ignored in real life.  

In actuality, the cliquishness in American high schools and their domineering presence can have an incredibly negative impact on those who are left out.  The media fails to represent the worsened feelings of alienation, depression, and even rage felt by the outsider students.  Incidents like the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 reflect some of the possible actions of those who aren't accepted by the mainstream school culture.  Idealizing the hierarchies among teenagers suggest that cliques, while on the one hand help students form identity, can actually be incredibly harmful.  It is one thing when "The Plastics" separate themselves and reinforce their popular identity by rejecting other groups.  The point is, while entertaining to watch in the media, the reality is idealizing and glorifying popularity in high school can have negative effects for those in and outside the group.   

"Wake Up With the King" Analysis

SHOT 1: ESTABLISHING THE SCENE

This establishes the setting of the scene, an average man's (the main "character" of the commercial) average bedroom. It also shows the relaxed atmosphere of the scene as it is presumably late morning because he is wearing pajamas and is drinking coffee, yet there is the sound of a loud lawnmower in the background.

SHOT 2: MEDIUM SHOT OF THE BURGER KING

Point of view shot over the man's shoulder to a medium shot of a man dressed in the Burger King mask/costume, clearly the other character in this commercial. Hilarious. He opens the blinds to find him peeping in the windows which adds to the hilarity of the commercial. It evokes a casual, fun tone for the viewer, not to mention a memorable use of their name. Lawnmower still going.

SHOT 3: MEDIUM SHOT OF MAN INSIDE

Point of view shot of from the Burger King's perspective, showing the man's reaction, or in this case, lack thereof. Again, it adds to the awkwardness of the situation, making the commercial funny. Lawnmower still going.

SHOT 4: LONG SHOT OF BURGER KING

Long shot from behind the Burger King, showing that he clearly is standing in the man's lawn, alone. He reaches behind his back to pull out a breakfast sandwich. Lawnmower still going.

SHOT 5: MEDIUM SHOT OF BURGER KING

Back inside the room from man's point of view, the Burger King presents the sandwich and light piano music starts playing. This establishes the friendly disposition of the King and apparently the restaurant chain in general.

SHOT 6: LONG SHOT OF MAN FROM BEHIND

Long shot of man's room and body, he opens the window and accepts the sandwich.

SHOT 7: CLOSE UP OF SANDWICH

This shot showcases the actual product being sold, in this case the omelette sandwich. It is made to look incredibly large, carefully made, and appetizing, and is literally being served on a silver platter.

SHOT 8: MEDIUM SHOT OF MAN FROM OUTSIDE

Shows the man taking a bite of the sandwich and clearly enjoying it. This is hopefully how the audience will react when they buy this sandwich. Also, a narrator begins to showcase the "enormous omelette sandwich." He has a sort of relaxed, sarcastic tone, that adds to the sarcastic, yet funny, yet effective marketing techniques of this commercial.

SHOT 9: EXTREME CLOSE UP OF SANDWICH

This is probably the most important part of the commercial, yet the most overlooked. It is the closeup of each part of the sandwich itself, the egg, bacon, and cheese, while the narrator simultaneously describes the sandwich as Eggnormous. Meatnormous. Cheesenormous." Again, playing on the sarcastic, funny, yet in my opinion effective mood of the commercial.

SHOT 10: CLOSE UP OF MAN

Shows the Man inside his bedroom with a half-eaten sandwich laughing and having a great time with "The King." Not only does this breakfast sandwich evoke good times for the man, but the narrator also says, "thaaaat's right" as he does, indicating they are clearly manipulating his reaction.

SHOT 11: MEDIUM SHOT OF KING/CLOSING SHOT

Shows through-the-window camera shot of the King standing outside with arms outstretched, now with birds and squirrels perched on his head/body, and deer and raccoons crawling all over the front lawn. This is an obvious correlation between the Burger King sandwich and happy, peaceful, joyful, "Snow White"-esque times. It ends with more animals joining, the narrator reminding the audience to "Wake up with the King." 

Overall, this commercial is trying to make the point quite explicitly, that Burger King = good times. While probably not effective in the long-term sense because it may tend to get a bit hackneyed and overused. Further, the blatant connection between the sandwich and the supposed "good times" isn't nearly as obvious so much as just sort of creepy.

Scene Analysis, "Stand By Me"

Stand By Me (1986), one of my personal favs.

Scene #1.....

As the number would suggest, I chose the opening scene of the movie.  The movie begins with an establishing or extreme long shot of a field, mountains in the background, an old jeep parked on the side of a dirt road.  The only sound playing is that of birds chirping.  It is presumably autumn (the gold field), and sunset.  Already, the movie has established a sort of melancholy, sad tone which will carry through the rest of the movie.

Soon after, the movie's title song, "Stand By Me" (Ben E. King) begins playing, a slower instrumental version.  This immediately reminds the movie of the connection to the lyrics of the song.  It also reinforces the heavy-hearted tone of the movie.

The movie then moves into a closer long shot of the jeep, and then inside the car to a medium shot of a man (Richard Dreyfus) sitting in the driver's seat of the car.  It is clear he is thinking hard about something, as he is looking down and breathing deep sighs.  Again, this reinforces the sad mood of the rest of the movie.

Next it flashes to the man's passenger seat, a close-up shot of a stack of newspapers.  The camera zooms in on the headline "Attorney Christopher Chambers Fatally Stabbed in Restaurant."  Without saying a word, the audience is able to make the connection between the man in the car and the headline.  Because of his mood, it is clear that this is recent news, but not someone he is very close with, at least in the present time (as it turns out, it was a childhood friend.)  What we are also able to establish from this is the setting of the movie from the newspaper itself, "The Oregonian", September 1985.  

The camera moves back to a medium shot of the man reflecting on the newspaper headline.  In the background, two boys move behind his left shoulder on bicycles down.  He doesn't notice yet.  The camera moves again to a longshot/point of view shot through the windshield of the jeep.  The camera stays positioned as the boys drive down the empty dirt road.  The man is clearly reminiscing about the boys, and a connection is made between the audience and possibly the man mentioned in the newspaper headline.  

Finally, the camera begins to slowly zoom into a close-up shot of the man concentrating on something.  The music continues to fade out, and he begins to speak. He says, "I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human being.  It happened in the summer of 1959, a long time ago, but only if you measure in terms of years."

Scene ends.  Flashback to 1959.

What really struck me about this particular scene is the amount of foreshadowing.  Every single element of this scene is addressing something that will happen later on in the film.  The narrator, like the camera shot through the windshield, will obviously be telling a story from his childhood through his point of view.  This becomes clear when he begins to narrate the story.  What also struck me is the use of music to establish the mood.  It employed a sad, slower version of a popular song, reinforced the feeling of "the end" with sunset and autumn setting, and uses the technique of flashback to enforce the idea that we haven't heard the beginning of his story yet.  Further, his narration ("I was 12 going on 13 the first time I saw a dead human body") creates a sense of suspense for the audience.  Otherwise, it is unlikely the audience would be captivated by the opening scene.  The music eventually fades which closes out this potentially depressing, reminiscent, foreshadowing scene.

As far as teaching film/editing techniques in the classroom, I suppose I'm not entirely sure exactly how or why I would do it yet.  With this being my first exposure to this technique, I can however, see the value in taking a part a film the same way a student might be asked to take a part a text.  Something that I really want to employ in my classroom is the use of critical lenses to approach a text.  Using feminist, deconstruction, post-colonial, Marxist, reader response, etc., lenses to read a text helps the reader determine the author's intended (or sometimes unintended) purpose of their writing.  In that same note, I can see using film editing techniques to do the same thing.  Again, because this was the first time I really tried intentionally doing this with a clip, I realized a lot of things about the film that I wouldn't have before regarding mood, tone, setting, in conjunction with camera angles and effects.  I think it would also be incredibly useful in providing that outside purpose I'm so adamant on finding for the use of using movies in the classroom.  Because a film can be viewed as one person's interpretation of a text (just as Stand By Me is Rob Reiner's interpretation of "The Body" by Stephen King), it would be interesting to have students compare a professional movie version with their own.  I would love to take an important scene (or a few) from a movie version of a novel, for example To Kill A Mockingbird, and have students complete a similar assignment to what I just did for this blog.  In groups, they could closely examine the use of sound, lighting, camera angles, setting, etc., to determine it's effect on the audience.  Then they could employ those same techniques in their own movie version.  Just as a text positions the reader in a certain way, a film positions the audience.  Asking students questions like "what is the director's purpose?", "what is their tone?", "what is the meaning of doing _____?", can help students learn to critically analyze a film in the same way they would to a text.  By practicing with movies, they can hopefully be able to apply those same skills to the media they are encompassed by on a daily basis, helping them to be more critically aware, engaged, informed citizens in a changing 21st century.  

Why NOT teach film, television, or media in school?

There isn't a day that goes by that I didn't have to remind students to put their iPods away before we started class.  When having in-class work time, students frequently asked if they could listen to music while working.  The beginning minutes of class are always spent talking about the latest text message, movie, facebook event, iPhone, song, Hills episode, etc.  The point is, our students are so tapped in to media ("87% use the internet, 51% go online daily, 81% play online games, 76% obtain news online, 75% of online adolescents use instant messaging, and 33% have used a cell phone to send a text message"), why not use this to our advantage?

As teachers, of course our main goal is to get our students to learn something.  After that, my goal is to help students become independent, informed, and critically aware members who are able to function productively in a 21st-century society.  An incredibly large part of that society includes the use of computers, phones, instant results, multimodality, and pop culture.  I think it is not only important, but vital to teach media literacy in schools so that our students can be successful after they leave the classroom.

First of all, media literacy helps with student engagement.  As teachers, and English teachers especially, it is incredibly important and difficult to make centuries-old texts relevant to students' lives.  Tapping into a source they are already so consumed by will help them see that not only do the themes and ideas in the texts we read resonate with our lives today, but they also see this universality of cannonical texts that justifies their use in the first place.  If we can prove that the ideas talked about in Shakespeare are still used in Jonas Brother's songs or in most music videos, or that racism still exists today based on Family Guy episodes, or that satire isn't just found in Jonathan Swift but in Chandler Bing as well, why wouldn't we?

Second, along the lines of student engagement, I have found in my own experience that it is a struggle to get students to engage with a text, let alone be able to discuss it among their peers.  Using things like blogs and wikis holds students accountable for their thinking about a text, and forces them to take a side or make an opinion about the themes being discussed.  Second, it ensures that they feel comfortable talking and sharing their ideas with peers.  I've noticed that either apathy or anxiety over speaking in class causes some students to not participate in in-class discussions for fear of being judged by their peers.  A blog or a wiki allows students to adpot an online persona that, while not anonymous, removes some of the apprehension associated with defending one's opinions in class.  This is because students have the opportunity to censor or edit or at least think about their thoughts before writing them down and publishing them with the class.  Most importantly, it gives students the opportunity to have further reflection on their own thinking and be inspired hopefully by their peer's thinking too.

Finally, being able to navigate the internet and interactive collaborative websites in school helps students learn to be successful once they leave your class.  That is because there is an entirely different set of skills needed to write in an interactive document than in just an individual Word doc.  As Beach writes in chapter 2, "the fact that writers employ links to a range of other texts reflects the fact that hypertextual writing is highly collaborative - that rather than privilege single texts and the single tone author, hypertext writing consists of networks of texts in which the author herself is a part of the network" (13).  In this sense, using blogs and wikis also holds students accountable for creating credible work themselves.  Not only are they going to learn the skills necessary to be able to find credible sources and relevant material, they are also holding themselves responsible because technically their work can be made open to public viewing.  As more and more people turn to the Internet for easily accessible news and information, it is imperative for students to be able to decipher which information can be trusted and which can't.  As Beach writes, "through analyzing links, students are learning to scour sites to find a relevant topic and then filter posts to judge useful, credible, content that serves as the basis for posting reactions of their own ideas" (13).  As more of the workforce post high school and post college becomes dependent on the online community for success, the more important it is going to be for our students to be able to navigate the waters of an online community.  

The goal of any teacher is to help our students be successful.  Incorporating media into the classroom can help students not only make English class more relevant and applicable, but it can also help them to become critical thinkers and productive members of society once they leave high school.  While I can't necessarily tell my students what to think, I can help teach them how.  The skills gained through the use, analysis, and collaboration of media can help students learn to question and hopefully better the world around them.

Media Literacy with Purpose

Chapter 1 of Richard Beach's Teaching Media Literacy textbook focused primarily on justifying the use of media literacy in the classroom.  Beach bases his argument off of a reluctant school board member's beliefs about using media/film study in the classroom:  "To me, showing movies is  a pretty low skill level.  I would rather that teachers use the skills they have to get students involved in reading and discussing topics [...] if we're showng a lot of videos in the classroom then I view it as a problem.  We do get parents calling us saying: 'Why are they showing Schindler's List?  Why are we showing Pippi Longstocking?"  Essentially, the entire chapter is spent refuting this statement in support of using media literacy to engage students.  While I am completely in support of tailoring curriculum and activities to suit student's needs and interests, I have to admit that I agree with the point the school board member is making.  In the context of this chapter, I believe he may, in fact, have a point.

 

While I am aware of the fact that I am not, in fact, a practicing teacher yet (having just finished my student teaching literally today), I definitely can say I've learned an incredible amount about having a purpose for every lesson, for every activity, discussion, and piece of writing you have your students do.  I've also seen the successes and failures of many attempts to use media literacy both in my own classroom and in the classrooms of teachers I observed.  What I can say is that more often than not, movies are being used for filler days, for a "break".  Don't have anything planned for the day?  Watch a movie.  Substitute teacher?  Movie day.  Spent 4 weeks reading the text?  Now let's watch the movie version at the end  Is that really the way to engage students?  Teachers can't just show a movie for the sake of watching the movie version.  It needs to have a bigger purpose than that.  More importantly, movies can't be shown to replace poor teaching and instructional methods without expanding students' thinking beyond the film itself.  I don't think Beach would disagree with that.

I think that media literacy most certainly has its place in the classroom, especially the English classroom where there is the opportunity to teach big ideas and not just the words on the page.  Recently, I taught a four-week unit on To Kill A Mockingbird, and I was dead-set on using a movie clip of Atticus's final court room speech.  Being an award-winning movie, a powerful speech, and essentially the climax of the book, I thought this would be a completely relevant thing for my students to see.  After discussing it with my coop teacher, he kept asking me, "well, why?"  

To which I replied, "because it's a great scene, and I think it's important that they see it."  

"Well, why? 

"Because they'll get a visual representation of the movie? We're talking about appearance versus reality in the theme of empathy...."

"Still... why?"

Lesson learned.  The point is, movies need to be shown to expand on what students are already thinking.  While I never ended up showing the movie clip, we read lyrics from Phil Collins's "Another Day in Paradise" instead to talk about empathy.  Then we looked at present-day incarceration rates for African Americans and talked about white privilege.  And then in response to that, we talked about Tom Robinson's sense of hopelessness and listened to Tupac's "Dear Mama" and "Keep Ya Head Up", to which we had a final debate about whether all men really were equal in the eyes of the law.  Much more engaging and interesting for the students, because it fit my overall purpose.  

 

That being said, if the school board member is, in fact, talking about watching movies just for the sake of movie days, then YES, there is an extremely low skill level involved in comprehending that.  But, if Schindler's List is being shown not just because it is an Academy Award-winning film but because it resonates with themes and ideas in books like The Book Thief or Night,  present-day genocide in Darfur, or universal themes of perspective or power, then it has a bigger purpose.  Media literacy most certainly has its place in the classroom, it just needs to be done in a way that has some greater potential to get students to think critically about the world around them, to question what they've been told, or to take action against something they've learned.  Otherwise, really, what is the point?