Tuesday, May 1, 2007

Media Literacy in Action

I'm glad to see that media literacy in schools is not just an idea, but a course that is actually applied in schools. City Voices, City Visions in Buffalo practices media literacy in grades 6-12 in order to challenge academic standards. Students are not sitting in their seats the entire time in a teacher-centered classroom where they solely listen to a lecture given by the teacher. Instead, they are constantly out of their seats, shooting footage with mini-DV cameras, acting out skits, discussing issues, planning and storyboarding, researching in books and on the Internet, writing scripts and narratives, and clustering around computers in cooperative work groups, creating meaning out of the curriculum and their experiences. Sounds better than most of the classes I took in high school.

These classrooms are filled with excitement and learning. When those two words go together, you know that students are learning. You know that students actually want to be there instead of slouching on their couches to zone out to hours of television.

Vocabulary lessons, or visual vocabulary? Students will learn more if they are physically and intellectually engaged with the material. Worksheets with vocabulry words and rote memorization will not retain in their minds.

Here's another vocabulary video clip.

Or how about students actually performing their poetry? I was introduced to a similar concept in a classroom I ovbserved in the past. Students podcasted their poetry and showed their work to their family and friends. They were excited to present and share their work because it was authentic and was being displayed to a real audience. Awesome.

Another media literacy program in progress is Just Think. Just Think develops compelling standards-based curricula that connect with today’s youth. All of their projects integrate media literacy and production in a way that allows students to tell their own story. This is student-centered learning--students can actually take away necessary skills from this type of instruction and learning. That is how we should be developing our students for the real, everyday world.

I love that the website has three different components: teachers, students, and parents. I love that parents are involved with students' learning and school work. I would love to readily involve friends and family in the learning process. Bridge gaps inside and outside the classroom--it's beneficial for studnents' personal lives besides their educational lives.

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