Critical Media Literacy & The Democratic Classroom
"...And, if you see the world as broken, every machine looks like the hammer that broke it."
It’s a little ironic to me that as I’m typing a paper in support of integrating social networking sites and other internet products into classrooms, Wall-E is on and the scene on the Axiom ship is playing, where all of the humans have become so dependant on technology that they’ve lost the ability to, not only walk and be physical in almost any sense, but to engage in their surroundings beyond the screen located 6” from their face. I can’t help but draw the comparison between this aspect of the movie and Gopnik’s Better-Nevers. In fact, in this movie we see not one, but two examples of divisive issues being taken to the extreme in an effort to make a statement about the concerns for regulation of said issue.
In the movie we see both technological and environmental issues being addressed, in the following essay and curriculum I too will address two divisive issues, though mine will both be located snugly into the field of education. Democratic learning communities and experiential education are two examples of learning styles that have garnered much attention from sides that mirror Gopnik’s three positions (Ever-Wasers, Never-Betters and Better-Nevers) and this will be one of my focuses. The other will be the use of technology and media in the classroom, again, an issue that draws intense opinions from almost everyone involved. Below I have created a fictional classroom, students, course, and curriculum. I will include a daily schedule, this will serve as a format for the “typical” day in the classroom, but I will also include a list of a few activities that could easily serve to support a democratic classroom while also integrating current and developing forms of technology into critical discussions and daily interactions. I hope that my curriculum and activities inspire you be more aware of how to blend “the old and the new” while never sacrificing the quality of learning you aim to provide.
MSP Democratic High School
Class Title: Media & Our Everyday Lives
Class Theme: Critical Media Literacy
Classroom Set-Up: Large room, split in half. One half of the classroom will have freestanding seats so that students/instructor can move them about as needed, a whiteboard, a projector & screen, and a bean bags lined up on the wall for small group activities and solo journaling. The second half of the room will be a media center and will consist of up-to-date computers and software, web-cams, and all computers will be on a shared network to allow remote access to computers, this will be useful in allowing students to present learning and progress to the group on a large, projector screen. Computer stations will be arranged in a U-shape and in a way that allows students to see both their computer screen and the projector. All students, and instructor, will be equipped with an iPad device. The devices will be property of the school, but students will be able to take them home so as to encourage the exploration and use of technology as a means to facilitate learning. The instructor will need to have an above average understanding of the device as she/he will be responsible for integrating it into the lesson plan in a productive and non-superfluous way. Students will also participate in a training workshop in order to familiarize themselves with the equipment used in the classroom, if we intend to teach using these methods than we need to be aware that not everyone has access to the tools we may be using and therefore we may have some level of responsibility in providing access.
Goal: To increase critical media literacy, the ability to think and engage a variety of media forms in critical and meaningful ways in order to better understand it’s role, and influence, in one’s life. Throughout the course students will have ample opportunity to co-create the “curriculum” while being introduced to different, and often times new, programs and media by community educators and peers. The overall goal of the course is to create a democratic space in which students feel safe and able to explore new ways of learning and to engage in critical thought and discussion surrounding the many forms of media and connectivity that saturate our lives. To allow access to technology and forms of media that many young people may not have access to otherwise, and to help them understand how to use said technologies in various learning communities.
Daily Schedule: Each morning will begin with a moment for reflection. As this is a course studying critical media literacy, this would be a good time to discuss images, videos, songs, etc. that students have encountered in the time away from the group. This will promote an awareness in the students that allows them to see media in a more interactive and inquisitive manner. This daily reflection will be informal and students will be welcome to share the media being discussed, the iPad and projector hook-up in the “classroom” area will facilitate this sharing of media with the group as students will simply need to hook up their tablets to the projector’s laptop in order to bring the learning experience from that of one person to that of the group. This is also an opportunity for students who are still becoming comfortable with group discussion to share something meaningful while still being able to remain comfortable, the focus can shift from that quieter person to the information she/he is sharing with the group while still subtly encouraging that person to take baby steps towards more leadership roles.
After reflection the group will discuss whatever the topic of the week (or other time frame) happens to be. An example of this for the beginning of the course might include creating a working definition of critical media literacy. I’ve defined it in my own terms above, but it can be understood on many levels and an important way to understand this idea is by being critical of the words that make it up. Another example of a topic that might be discussed could be messages in commercials on TV, gender norms on televisions series, race & ethnicity in movies, print ads, billboards, rap lyrics, etc. The list goes on and on. But what’s important about this part of the day is that it brings a more academic focus into the classroom so that students have a way to relate what they’re learning to bigger ideas and theories present in the world while questioning the images/sounds they are bombarded with daily. During this portion though, do not hesitate to include various types of media in order to further link the tools used in the classroom to the knowledge being explored. (There should be a snack time incorporated into the class period also, I find that this would be a good time for that break. Many students I’ve worked with come to class hungry and every one of us knows that when we are hungry, tired, etc. our minds don’t work as well and we definitely cannot focus like we normally would.)
Activities will follow the discussion period and will be determined using co-creation of the lesson plan. Depending on what’s being learned at any given time, the instructor will facilitate students in discovering and experimenting with different ways of learning, exploring, and engaging in the topics. For example, students who have been focusing on hip hop music and rap lyrics may want to experiment in creating their own beats and may want to do so by learning how to write lyrics, use a soundboard, use Ableton (a music production software), or some other hands on or experiential method of learning. This may be tricky at first since many students aren’t familiar with being able to participate in the creation of their learning and because they also may not readily identify those activities as “learning”, often times they are brushed off because they don’t require a textbook or philosopher to learn . The role of the instructor is to facilitate these types of learning and as the course progresses I can foresee the facilitation necessary decreasing due to students becoming more comfortable with the process of creation and democracy in their classroom but also because the group itself will be more cohesive and able to facilitate learning for one another and self. This section will be elaborated up at the end, including examples of current technology and how to use each one specifically to enhance learning.
After the activity there should be a time for reflection, I would encourage the use of alone time, partner or small group time, and then a large group discussion to bring ideas together and to tie what was learned or explored into the every day lives of the students. An example of this process might be to have the students find a space in the room where they can reflect on the day’s activities, I find that providing some free-form writing style prompts helps in the beginning while students are still becoming familiar with the process/idea of reflection. I would also encourage you to provide students with journals to record these reflection activities as the course progresses, just because we have technological ways to do this, including the iPads and computers all over the room, I believe it is still vital to create space for other technologies, like the composition notebook and Bic. In the case of students exploring rap lyrics, one might ask them to think of a particular rap song that they like and break down a small part of the lyrics. Then students could find a partner or two and talk about why they chose the song they did and share them. This will allow the student to hear the opinion and assessment of the lyrics from one to two more people, which might serve to expand their own understanding of the words. In the large group you might talk about how those lyrics would affect different people we know-our sister, mother, uncle, neighbor, etc. This will allow examination of the impact of media on not only the students’ home lives, but that of larger society. This will wrap up the class, I would encourage the creation of “office hours” after the class so that students who may be interested in further discussion can do so and those who may need to use the equipment before heading home also have an opportunity to do so.
Example Activities: this is in no way an exhaustive list, but rather a brief smattering of potential ways to use a few of the more popular tech programs available
Twitter: Explore a trending topic; often times big news items become Twitter trends. This is one way to encourage students to explore news stories that they may not have otherwise and also serves as an introduction to how the site works. You might also do an extended activity that asks students to create a Twitter account, or use one of a series created for the course, and then complete tasks over time. Some tasks might include tweeting a news story of interest, tweeting something you learned that day, tweeting a video of a commercial with a caption explaining a stereotype it promotes, etc.
YouTube: As a class, create a YouTube channel where student videos can be posted. Videos might be educational ones about how to use some form of technology, they might be a chance to explore a topic of interest while learning to use video recording tools, they might also be student made commercial remakes where students create and advertisement that is more representative of their community or less offensive, etc.
Skype: Partnering with a neighboring school, business, library, etc., have a bi-weekly video check in. This is a great opportunity for students to interact with a variety of people and to create an online network of ideas while encouraging students to interact with people they might not have a chance to usually. If you want to work in inter-generational learning you might even look into partnering with a nursing home and having students interview older adults about their lives, then you have a sharing of information that reaches beyond the classroom both geographically and culturally.
Weebly: Create a website that teaches classmates about something you are good at, care about, want to learn more about, etc. This program also integrates other programs listed, so it might be a good one towards the end of the course to link a variety of outlets.
Blogger/Tumblr: Create an account and update it regularly, this might be a good opportunity for students to record some of their progress throughout the course in order to look back to it later. It could also serve as a way to communicate learning to the students’ families, again engaging learning beyond the classroom.
iPad: Using different apps to facilitate learning, it would also allow students to continue work from the classroom at home in case they don’t have access to the same tools/programs there, it also has a plethora of other uses that are too numerous for this venue…
In the movie we see both technological and environmental issues being addressed, in the following essay and curriculum I too will address two divisive issues, though mine will both be located snugly into the field of education. Democratic learning communities and experiential education are two examples of learning styles that have garnered much attention from sides that mirror Gopnik’s three positions (Ever-Wasers, Never-Betters and Better-Nevers) and this will be one of my focuses. The other will be the use of technology and media in the classroom, again, an issue that draws intense opinions from almost everyone involved. Below I have created a fictional classroom, students, course, and curriculum. I will include a daily schedule, this will serve as a format for the “typical” day in the classroom, but I will also include a list of a few activities that could easily serve to support a democratic classroom while also integrating current and developing forms of technology into critical discussions and daily interactions. I hope that my curriculum and activities inspire you be more aware of how to blend “the old and the new” while never sacrificing the quality of learning you aim to provide.
MSP Democratic High School
Class Title: Media & Our Everyday Lives
Class Theme: Critical Media Literacy
Classroom Set-Up: Large room, split in half. One half of the classroom will have freestanding seats so that students/instructor can move them about as needed, a whiteboard, a projector & screen, and a bean bags lined up on the wall for small group activities and solo journaling. The second half of the room will be a media center and will consist of up-to-date computers and software, web-cams, and all computers will be on a shared network to allow remote access to computers, this will be useful in allowing students to present learning and progress to the group on a large, projector screen. Computer stations will be arranged in a U-shape and in a way that allows students to see both their computer screen and the projector. All students, and instructor, will be equipped with an iPad device. The devices will be property of the school, but students will be able to take them home so as to encourage the exploration and use of technology as a means to facilitate learning. The instructor will need to have an above average understanding of the device as she/he will be responsible for integrating it into the lesson plan in a productive and non-superfluous way. Students will also participate in a training workshop in order to familiarize themselves with the equipment used in the classroom, if we intend to teach using these methods than we need to be aware that not everyone has access to the tools we may be using and therefore we may have some level of responsibility in providing access.
Goal: To increase critical media literacy, the ability to think and engage a variety of media forms in critical and meaningful ways in order to better understand it’s role, and influence, in one’s life. Throughout the course students will have ample opportunity to co-create the “curriculum” while being introduced to different, and often times new, programs and media by community educators and peers. The overall goal of the course is to create a democratic space in which students feel safe and able to explore new ways of learning and to engage in critical thought and discussion surrounding the many forms of media and connectivity that saturate our lives. To allow access to technology and forms of media that many young people may not have access to otherwise, and to help them understand how to use said technologies in various learning communities.
Daily Schedule: Each morning will begin with a moment for reflection. As this is a course studying critical media literacy, this would be a good time to discuss images, videos, songs, etc. that students have encountered in the time away from the group. This will promote an awareness in the students that allows them to see media in a more interactive and inquisitive manner. This daily reflection will be informal and students will be welcome to share the media being discussed, the iPad and projector hook-up in the “classroom” area will facilitate this sharing of media with the group as students will simply need to hook up their tablets to the projector’s laptop in order to bring the learning experience from that of one person to that of the group. This is also an opportunity for students who are still becoming comfortable with group discussion to share something meaningful while still being able to remain comfortable, the focus can shift from that quieter person to the information she/he is sharing with the group while still subtly encouraging that person to take baby steps towards more leadership roles.
After reflection the group will discuss whatever the topic of the week (or other time frame) happens to be. An example of this for the beginning of the course might include creating a working definition of critical media literacy. I’ve defined it in my own terms above, but it can be understood on many levels and an important way to understand this idea is by being critical of the words that make it up. Another example of a topic that might be discussed could be messages in commercials on TV, gender norms on televisions series, race & ethnicity in movies, print ads, billboards, rap lyrics, etc. The list goes on and on. But what’s important about this part of the day is that it brings a more academic focus into the classroom so that students have a way to relate what they’re learning to bigger ideas and theories present in the world while questioning the images/sounds they are bombarded with daily. During this portion though, do not hesitate to include various types of media in order to further link the tools used in the classroom to the knowledge being explored. (There should be a snack time incorporated into the class period also, I find that this would be a good time for that break. Many students I’ve worked with come to class hungry and every one of us knows that when we are hungry, tired, etc. our minds don’t work as well and we definitely cannot focus like we normally would.)
Activities will follow the discussion period and will be determined using co-creation of the lesson plan. Depending on what’s being learned at any given time, the instructor will facilitate students in discovering and experimenting with different ways of learning, exploring, and engaging in the topics. For example, students who have been focusing on hip hop music and rap lyrics may want to experiment in creating their own beats and may want to do so by learning how to write lyrics, use a soundboard, use Ableton (a music production software), or some other hands on or experiential method of learning. This may be tricky at first since many students aren’t familiar with being able to participate in the creation of their learning and because they also may not readily identify those activities as “learning”, often times they are brushed off because they don’t require a textbook or philosopher to learn . The role of the instructor is to facilitate these types of learning and as the course progresses I can foresee the facilitation necessary decreasing due to students becoming more comfortable with the process of creation and democracy in their classroom but also because the group itself will be more cohesive and able to facilitate learning for one another and self. This section will be elaborated up at the end, including examples of current technology and how to use each one specifically to enhance learning.
After the activity there should be a time for reflection, I would encourage the use of alone time, partner or small group time, and then a large group discussion to bring ideas together and to tie what was learned or explored into the every day lives of the students. An example of this process might be to have the students find a space in the room where they can reflect on the day’s activities, I find that providing some free-form writing style prompts helps in the beginning while students are still becoming familiar with the process/idea of reflection. I would also encourage you to provide students with journals to record these reflection activities as the course progresses, just because we have technological ways to do this, including the iPads and computers all over the room, I believe it is still vital to create space for other technologies, like the composition notebook and Bic. In the case of students exploring rap lyrics, one might ask them to think of a particular rap song that they like and break down a small part of the lyrics. Then students could find a partner or two and talk about why they chose the song they did and share them. This will allow the student to hear the opinion and assessment of the lyrics from one to two more people, which might serve to expand their own understanding of the words. In the large group you might talk about how those lyrics would affect different people we know-our sister, mother, uncle, neighbor, etc. This will allow examination of the impact of media on not only the students’ home lives, but that of larger society. This will wrap up the class, I would encourage the creation of “office hours” after the class so that students who may be interested in further discussion can do so and those who may need to use the equipment before heading home also have an opportunity to do so.
Example Activities: this is in no way an exhaustive list, but rather a brief smattering of potential ways to use a few of the more popular tech programs available
Twitter: Explore a trending topic; often times big news items become Twitter trends. This is one way to encourage students to explore news stories that they may not have otherwise and also serves as an introduction to how the site works. You might also do an extended activity that asks students to create a Twitter account, or use one of a series created for the course, and then complete tasks over time. Some tasks might include tweeting a news story of interest, tweeting something you learned that day, tweeting a video of a commercial with a caption explaining a stereotype it promotes, etc.
YouTube: As a class, create a YouTube channel where student videos can be posted. Videos might be educational ones about how to use some form of technology, they might be a chance to explore a topic of interest while learning to use video recording tools, they might also be student made commercial remakes where students create and advertisement that is more representative of their community or less offensive, etc.
Skype: Partnering with a neighboring school, business, library, etc., have a bi-weekly video check in. This is a great opportunity for students to interact with a variety of people and to create an online network of ideas while encouraging students to interact with people they might not have a chance to usually. If you want to work in inter-generational learning you might even look into partnering with a nursing home and having students interview older adults about their lives, then you have a sharing of information that reaches beyond the classroom both geographically and culturally.
Weebly: Create a website that teaches classmates about something you are good at, care about, want to learn more about, etc. This program also integrates other programs listed, so it might be a good one towards the end of the course to link a variety of outlets.
Blogger/Tumblr: Create an account and update it regularly, this might be a good opportunity for students to record some of their progress throughout the course in order to look back to it later. It could also serve as a way to communicate learning to the students’ families, again engaging learning beyond the classroom.
iPad: Using different apps to facilitate learning, it would also allow students to continue work from the classroom at home in case they don’t have access to the same tools/programs there, it also has a plethora of other uses that are too numerous for this venue…
