Media Literacy, Critical Thinking, and Creating Savvy Students in a Digital Decade

1. Media Literacy, Critical Thinking, and Creating Savvy Students in a Digital Decade Jason Griffith 8/17/10

2. Goals • To consider the benefits and drawbacks of multimodal texts and projects • To discuss video, web, and print content on the topic of media and critical literacies • To consider strategies to help students deconstruct media through critical thinking • To provide resources for media projects and building media and critical literacies

3. Schedule for the Day • AM: Media Literacy • Intro articles, videos, and discussion • Helpful web resources • Time to explore resources, and articles in lab • PM: Critical Literacy/Thinking • Strategies for Critical Thinking • Sample Comparison/Contrast Lesson: Global Warming Documentaries, political advertisements, food ads, etc. • Other Sample Lessons/Share Time • Time to work on developing media awareness or multi-modal components in lessons/units

4. Rationale • NCTE and NWP: Sources • Is media influencing us, or is it reflecting us (chicken or the egg)? • Internet • Ecommerce (Itunes) • Social Networking (Tom Corbett) and Youtube • Video Games • Wii (replacing outdoor exercise) • Violence • Movies • Neflix(online); Blockbuster (onDemand) • Books • EReaders • Television • Hulu; Tivo There’s a blending of media and a blurring of the lines.

5. Multi-modal Text • Non-linear (a webpage as opposed to a print article) • Higher Level Thinking; Multi-tasking; Overlap • Incorporates different levels • Text • Pictures • Video • Sound and Music • Handout

6. What do we do about this excessive media exposure? • Media Literacy Websites • After lunch: combining critical thinking and media literacy • Until Lunch: • Explore the media literacy websites and the web resources for creating multi-modal media projects

7. Critical Literacy • Getting students to ask appropriate questions • Questioning and exploring validity of sources • Viewing multiple sources and multiple perspectives • Comparing and contrasting viewpoints • Challenging popular assumptions • Challenging our own assumptions

8. Types of Appeal (in persuasion/advertising/op-ed) • Ethos (Ethics) • Logos (Logic) • Pathos (Compassion/Emotion) • What do these types of appeal look like in video? What do they sound like in music? In a multimodal document, these types of appeal can be delivered on multiple subtle levels at once (think subliminal messages without them being all that subliminal)

9. Global Warming • Unstoppable Solar Cycles • Produced by Izzit.org • The 11th Hour • Produced by Leonardo DiCaprio • Examine evidence of the three levels of appeal in each film clip (Chart) • Further questions for critical thinking: • Who stands to benefit from global warming being labeled as caused by man? • Who benefits from denying that humans have a significant role in global warming ? • Angles and benefits

10. Fear Tactics • Political Ads (Amy Wilson) • Immediacy in internet/changes quickly • With the internet, you can speak back • www.livingroomcandidate.org • Youtube political ads • Handout

11. Advertising • www.admongo.com • Frank Baker (http://www.frankwbaker.com/) • Five Key Advertising Lit. Skills • Identification • Intent • Origin • Audience • Tactics • http://www.medialit.org/pdf/mlk/02_5KQ_ClassroomGuide.pdf • Handout

12. How to “read” an ad: • Words • Images • Layout • Story • Subtext • Techniques of Persuasion • Slogan • Expressions

13. Other lesson Ideas • Interactive Essay: What is an American? • Digital Picture Books: Using Magic School Bus as model; create fiction books to explain scientific concept • Podcasting in Speech Class • Create own Public Service Announcements (PSA’s)

14. For the rest of the afternoon: • Continue to explore the resources on the wiki or the handouts. • Create a multimodal assignment for an existing lesson or unit • Create a Critical Thinking activity for a lesson or unit involving media sources