Media in Classrooms

One relevant article I found on the web is entitled “Why Teach Media Literacy?” http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_literacy/why_teach_media_liter.cfm This article complies many responses from different sources. One author states how it’s important to be able to decipher when the media is falsely representing something or someone. You shouldn’t trust everything you hear and it is an important skill to be able to know what stories and articles a viewer/listener/reader should trust. Another author, Len Masterman, writes that it is critical to the future that media studies be taught. The media is only going to have more of a presence in the future and it is important to “understand how mass media influence society.” This same website also has another great article, “The perfect Curriculum,” by Rick Shepherd http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/teaching_backgrounders/media_literacy/perfect_curriculum_intro.cfm This author caught my attention by writing this statement,

“If we put the child at the centre of the curriculum, and recognize children as first and foremost makers of meaning, then the centrality of media education is obvious. Children have vast amounts of information thrust upon them - much of it from media sources, much of it verbal or written, much of it visual, much of it manipulative. It is the child's task to make sense of it all, to construct reality from this information.”

The child is surrounded by media and if we are trying to get to the children learning, it must be applicable to their world. The child also has to be able to decipher the mass amount s of media portrayal that he/she will be exposed to and therefore it must be taught. This article also points out that because of the fact that the student’s life is centered on it, it is a good opening to teach critical thinking. I agree with this statement because it at first glance it seems more “fun” to do some critical thinking about a favorite television show or movie than a regular old boring English book. Using media could be the way to get students interested in applying critical thinking to other subjects. Media literacy also opens door to analyze society’s view on topics such as gender, race, or other typically stereotyped subjects.

Now that I have read about more reasons why media literacy should be taught, I decided to search for some articles that show different ways of applying media to the classroom. This search turned up a lot of sites, but interestingly enough, the most popular means of media in the classroom seems to be blogs! I did not know blogs were used this frequently or at so many grade levels. The article “Blogging with Students,” by Sandy Scragg, especially recommends this learning device in the field of English. Through this channel, students can hold discussions with teachers, authors, scientists, and other students. They have more references to turn to then they would if the discussion took place in the classroom.

Another article, “Strategies for Using Media in the Classroom,” states that using media actually helps students “digest and retain” information. Showing a video clip for a few minutes peaks a student’s interest and because it is a fun activity, the students are more likely to remember the content of that lesson. The memory of the video clip will stimulate memory of the critical thinking that came along with it. The students could even learn to generalize and apply the critical thinking to other video or television clips.

Keeping all of this in mind, I have created two assignments.

Assignment One

This assignment is aimed at high school students. In this assignment, before having discussed media portrayal in class at all, students will be asked to write a one page paper. This paper will include what the students believe are two positive influences of the media as well as two negative influences of the media. A discussion will take place the next day in class with the teacher making a list on the board of everyone ideas for both positive and negative influences. The students will then be separated into small groups where they will discuss questions such as:

1) Overall do you think media has more positive or negative influences?

2) Why does the media choose to portray images that the class deems to be negative influences?

3) If the media is presenting ideas that are negative influences, then why does society show interest in these ideas?

I think this assignment will start students thinking about the media and different ideas it portrays to society.

Assignment Two

This assignment incorporates the articles I found listed above because it deals with students understanding of why it is important to be able to analyze media. For this assignment students will pick their favorite television show. The will be asked to answer the following questions about that show:

1) Who is this show’s audience?

2) What values are being shown as important? Do you believe these values to be important? Are they applicable to your daily life? Are they realistic?

3) What message is this show attempting to send to its viewers?

4) Why is the show appealing to you?

For example, if I was a student in this class and my favorite show was, say, Gossip Girl, I would define its audience to be heavily female pre-teens and teenagers. Some of the values that are deemed important in this show are fashion and popularity. These values are not substantial and in effect the characters are very one dimensional, therefore, it is important to analyze why the show would place their emphasis on these superficial principles. By answering these questions the student is beginning to understand how the media selects its content and to whom that content is being relayed. For example, after answering these questions a student will see that Gossip Girl is targeting a young audience and relaying the idea that it is cool to be popular and beautiful. Young girls are very susceptible to follow these ideas and students need to begin thinking about why this show would revolve around such superficial values: ratings. This assignment will start students thinking about why it is important that they understand how the media works and what they should and shouldn’t believe; or at least make them aware of how to think critically about media messages. All media channels work to serve their own ends are reporting the most valid ideas and information isn’t the first objective.