Critical thinking/viewing questions related to media messages

Questions you can ask your students about media messages!

• Who created/paid for the message?
• What is its purpose?
• What creative techniques are used to attract my attention?
• Who is pictured? How are they pictured? What media components are used to shoot the scene.
• Who is not pictured?
• Who is speaking? With what authority and tone do they speak?
• Who is no speaking?
• How might different people understand the message differently?
• Is there bias or stereotypes in the message?
• Why is this message being sent? Who benefits?
• What or whose point of view is presented in this film?

The Use of Popular Media Films in the Classroom

I recently read an article by Michele Whipple, titled Let’s Go to the Movies: Rethinking the Role of Film in the Elementary Classroom. Whipple discusses the use of film in the classroom and argues that elementary language arts teachers need to expand their definition of text to include films. I found many of the points presented in the article to be valid. For example, Whipple notes that when a teacher uses films more students, especially English language learners, can be included more in the discussion process. Whipple also states that films provide the opportunity to support literacy development. I also believe that if your goal if to engage students in analysis of movies/books rather then the actual reading process itself, films can be a useful way for students who could not read the text to still be included in the classroom. Additionally, I think students would become more excited, and thus engaged, to watch a movie and analyze it rather then simply always reading books. Using films in the classroom can thus help to build community as it encourages all students to personally respond and connect to the “text”. Films are a multi-sensory experience and as a result engage our minds differently then books do. I personally feel that when combined with written text watching films in the classroom can be a powerful learning experience.

However, Whipple fails to note, that films can only be useful if a discussion follows. So many teachers just put on a movie, have students watch it, and then do nothing else. Movies can be a tool, but must be used as such. Thus when showing movies teachers must be committed to having a discussion to analyze the movie and relate it to the written text. For example, my mom who is a teacher had her students read The Tale of Despereaux. As a class her students then watched the movie version and compared and contrasted the different versions after viewing the movie. It is our job as teachers to provide critical thinking and viewing questions related to the movie we are showing. We simply cannot expect students to take something away from movies if we do not scaffold their analysis process.

How do you feel you would use movies in your classroom? Do you think movies are appropriate for elementary school students?

Interesting Website!

An interesting website which is produced by a group of "global network of culture jammers and creatives working to change the way information flows, the way corporations wield power, and the way meaning is produced in our society". Check out the spoof ad section!

https://www.adbusters.org/gallery/spoofads

Why Teach Media Literacy?

Why Teach Media Literacy?

Children today have always had the internet, cell phones, and other technologies that were not always available to us growing up. Working for the YMCA summer camp program over the past four summer I have been amazed at how many children have high-tech cell phones which could text message and go on the internet. The amazing part is that the kids don’t even think twice about having technology because they have always had it. Even children as young as six brought phones to camp. When one thinks about television, radio, magazines, video games, the internet, and even fashion we are exposed to messages put out by the media at an astounding rate each day. A recent study found that student watch on average more than twenty eight hours of television a week and spend fifty five hours a week watch tv, texting, playing video games, and watching dvds! Thats means that children are exposed to popular media and the messages it puts out for almost eight hours a day! Because of its presence in society the media has become a shaping device for believes, norms, and perceptions. Given this fact, as educators it is our responsibility to prepare our students to deal with a world where popular media is constantly present. To be functionally literate in today’s society students not only need to be able to read and write but also be able to understand the images and sounds present in the 21st century. We live in a multi-media world and thus students must know how to read and analyze not only words, but images and sounds as well.

I believe that looking at teaching students literacy in an expanded view will help me become a better teacher. Studying and dissecting media messages requires higher level critical thinking skills. These types of skills will help students well beyond their classroom years. While students may forget the dates, and facts we taught them, critical thinking skills will never be lost. These skills are crucial for students to learn as they can then be applied to real world problems and situations. By teaching media literacy we are teaching students the skills required for lifelong learning. As we teach students to become media literate we are also teaching creative thinking skills because we are asking students to ask pertinent questions, identify fallacies, and to formulate their own opinions. Thus, by teaching media literacy we are not only teaching students how to read and understand the images and sounds of popular media, we are teaching them critical and creative thinking skills. I believe that as a teacher it is our job not only to teach students basic facts and information but also to teach them the skills required to analyze, explore, and dissect new information for themselves. Media literacy helps students understand where the information in popular media comes from, who it benefits,and what other alternative views may be out there. What other benefits do you see? Would you want to include media literacy in your classroom?

Below is an interesting video about the times we are living in! Really interesting to think about!

Teaching Students to Be Media Literate

The topic of this blog is to explore the need to teach students how to analyze mainstream media images and messages. Today, students are constantly bombarded with media images on television, online, in movies, and in magazines. Given this fact the media has become a shaping device for society morals, codes, and norms. However, it is quite infrequent that students are given the tools to interpret and analyze popular media. I recently read an article written by Neil Anderson titled, Making a Case for Media Literacy in the Classroom (Want to Read the Article? Click Here!), which focuses on media literacy. Andersen claims that part of teaching students to become what he calls “functionally literate” involves instructing them to digest, analyze, and address mass media and the topics which mass media brings up. What we watch both in film and on the television affects how we see the world around us. While we all want to state that popular media does not affect us, it does. When you take a step back and look at popular media, it does indeed set the conventional wisdom, and uses images to influence how viewers see the world around them. This is why it is important to teach children to deconstruct what they are seeing in popular media, just like they interpret and analyze written text. Students live in a world surrounded by movies and film. Movies and television shows are a daily part of children’s lives and they need to be equipped to deal with the messages which are constantly shoved at them.Due to the inaccuracies and flaws of popular media it is important to teach children to become critical consumers. Giving children the tools to deal with the images and message popular media presents is important because it allows them to gain power over popular media. Children won’t blindly accept things as truth, rather they will be able to form their own opinions. How do you see this working in the classroom? Do you believe this is relevant to teachers? I personally believe that this topic is extremely important to address within the classroom from a young age. If we teach students the skills necessary to analyze and address mass media then they will begin to see that truth is not necessarily what is presented in popular culture.

In my experience working with young people, television, the internet, and video games have become the dominate activities to engage in. However it was not until college that I was taught to look at these sources as things to be analyzed. My teachers never included in the curriculum time to stop and evaluate the messages that ads, television shows, the internet, and so forth create. Once students begin to stop and analyze these forms of communication they will begin to see the way certain messages are incorrect, skewed, biased, or faulted. For example in a popular culture class I took at UCI I studied the way corporations portray women in ads, television shows, and movies. After I begin to read on the topic and dissect the images of women I have been shown from a young age, I begin to see how the way women are being portrayed contributes to the continued manipulation of women by a patriarchal society. Please look at the AXE ad below and think about what messages this ad coveys about young females! If young girls can learn this then hopefully they can overcome the power these images hold over women. If children become critical consumers of popular culture how would this affect what messages are put out?

Citation:

Andersen, N. (1992). Making a case for media literacy in the classroom. Media and Values, (57)

Something Random To Make You Smile

An Introduction To Me!

Hello my readers! I hope that you will find my ramblings helpful, poignant, or at least mildly interesting. I just graduated this last December from UCI. I got my degree in sociology and minored in education. This fall I will be entering the multiple subject teaching credential program. I am super excited to finally be starting on this leg of my journey towards becoming a teacher. I have wanted to become a teacher my entire life. Both my mother and grandfathers were educators and showed me the impact a good teacher can make on their students. I hope that one day I will be able to influence my students the way my mother does in her classroom. This summer I am working full time at the YMCA as a unit leader for summer camp. It is an exhausting but rewarding job. Outside of school and work I enjoy reading, swimming, going to the beach, and hanging out with my family.

I really began using technology in the latter part of my elementary schooling when computers starting becoming prominent in homes and schools. My family would never let my sister or I use game systems, or play many computer games (besides the few educational games like Oregon Trails and Math Blasters), so I basically only mastered typing and basic internet skills in elementary school. As I advanced through middle school, high school, and college I became more competent using technology. Most of what I have learned about technology has been through personal exploration rather then inside a classroom. In the past, I have found that my technology classes are out-of-date and try teaching me information and skills that I already know. I feel that the best way to learn new technology is to play around with it. I wouldn’t call myself technology savvy in the least. Admittedly, I do not have the urge to try out all the newest technological inventions. Rather I tend to stick with what I know. I feel like this comes out of my upbringing, as technology was never a big part of my childhood.

I will be entering the credential program this fall! I have always had a passion for working with children and thus have had many opportunities with students both inside and outside of the classroom. I am not going to go through all my experience because that would take too long (and would probably bore you) but I will talk about some of my most recent experiences. In 2008, I volunteered at THINK Together (Teaching, Helping, Inspiring, & Nurturing Kids), an after school program in the Santa Ana area designed to help students who are performing far below grade level. Thomas Edison Elementary, where I volunteered with second grade students, is 98% Hispanic and 79% English language learners. Each time I came, I would first lead the students in a physical activity, ranging from relay races to hand ball. Students then began their homework during which I monitored behavior, and worked with students individually and in small groups. I kept them focused and helped them develop an understanding of the material. Working with this population, I realized that many of the students lacked a basic understanding of math, which prevented them from being successful in the regular classroom. For example, many of them had not mastered basic counting skills. By giving them the one on one help they needed, these students made progress and were able to complete their math homework with better understanding and accuracy.

For many years I have also volunteered at Ocean Knoll Elementary School in Encinitas, California. Most recently, I spent over seventy hours in a first grade classroom. I helped students, both in small groups and one on one, with a variety of learning activities. These activities included helping students complete practice book pages, conducting and helping with math lessons, supervising computer and music time, reading stories to the class, and helping students complete writing activities. Additionally, I worked with English language learners, focusing on letter sound correspondence. During this time, students worked on spelling and reading through learning letter sounds.

For the past three summers I have worked for the YMCA summer camp program. At the YMCA, children from all over North County San Diego come to experience the joys and excitement of summer camp. Some children come to the YMCA on scholarships, while others come from affluent families. The YMCA additionally provides services for children with physical and mental disabilities. Children with aspergers, autism, and social/emotional disorders have been assigned to my camps. For the past two summers I have been in charge of my own camps where I design and implement my own curriculum. I LOVE SUMMER CAMP!

I hope to get a lot out of Education 422. I mainly want to learn about technologies such as iMovie that will enhance student learning in my classroom. I feel like most of my computer classes have only covered basic computer skills, which I already know and hope that this class goes well beyond what the others covered. I also hope to learn how, as a teacher, I can implement these technologies into a curriculum. I hope to come away with some concrete activities to do with my students.

That’s all for now!