According to Renee Hobbs, media access in the public school entails “finding and sharing appropriate and relevant information and using media texts and technology tools well.” (Digital and Media Literacy (DML), 12) The problem with this definition is its ambiguity: “appropriate” according to what standard? who sets that standard? who is responsible for determining relevancy? how do we define or assess “using media texts and technology tools well” in the classroom – on a case-by-case basis? or is there a benchmark standard for each/all media text(s) or technology tool(s)? Perhaps Hobbs has left her definition so threadbare quite intentionally – with the idea that appropriateness, relevance, and proficiency cannot be generally defined but must, instead, be determined by each community separately – but I feel that this is a grave mistake on her part. Even supposing that the standards for these things will not apply to every community equally, I believe her advocacy of these responsibilities places her under an obligation to give some guidelines (or, at the very least, an example or two) of what she envisions and understands these things to mean. Since Hobbs is ostensibly writing this book to persuade educators to learn, use, and teach media literacy, she has a responsibility to give her reader – presumably a media literacy novice – more guidance than she offers here.
After all, Hobbs is certainly addressing persons like me when she says: “[D]on’t ever feel guilty or inadequate about the access skills you have or the skills you lack,” (DML 14) because “[f]eelings of guilt and inadequacy may contribute to the kind of avoidance that can discourage [teachers’ and students’] exploration and experimentation.” (DML 14) But how can a technophobe like me “find, use, and understand [media] in [my] classroom setting” (457 class blog, Reading Response 4) without so much as a jumping-off point? And if I can’t figure these things out for myself (which seems to me to be a pretty likely state of affairs), I certainly won’t be equipped to “help students become active, critical interpreters of contemporary culture, helping them grasp the multiple realities and diverse forms of knowledge and experience that are circulating in this dense and ever-changing stew [of media].” (DML 29)
My own best guess at how I can help my students to “find, use, and understand” media in my classroom is by finding out with which media texts and technologies my students are already familiar; if I have students who are skilled at using a certain type of media or media tool, I can create opportunities for them to share their expertise with their peers (and, at the same time, with me) – but the major problem I see with that approach is how, in my ignorance, to establish parameters and methods of assessment for such teaching opportunities. How can I evaluate what I or my students learn if I lack even the basic information necessary to know that I don’t know what I don’t know?
Another complication: high school students will quickly recognize my obvious lack of knowledge and skill with the texts and technologies they use every day. Given that recognition, how I can engender confidence in my ability to give credible and meaningful guidance in reading and critically assessing these texts?
3 comments:
When Hobbs refers to "standards" she is referring to are the standards of the school—at least that is why I assume. These so called standards have been created by a group of people who seek to protect students from being exposed to profane materials. However, not all schools have the same standards, so the appropriateness of some materials may be accepted in one school but not in another. Maybe that is why Hobbs left it so ambiguous, because it is different for every school. To answer your other question I believe that it is the teachers who need to determine the relevancy of information. Teachers shouldn’t give students a movie day just because they finished reading “Much Ado About Nothing”, but instead should do an activity that would further students learning.
The thing that I am most disappointed about within these pages is what you addressed in your final few questions. “How do we assess whether students are using technology tools well?” Hobbs never really addresses this, and to tell you the truth I don’t really know how to do that either. The only way I could think to assess would be to see if a student could create his or her own blog from the beginning without any help. Perhaps it could be a test wherein a teacher could set up rules about creating the blog and even set a time limit.
I, like you, do not know whether Hobbs was intentionally vague so as to make teachers think for themselves or whether it was due to on oversight on her part. Perhaps Hobbs did not want her own work to influence other teachers too heavily, because she wanted them to be able to use technology in a different way then she has. The interesting thing about technology is that once you get used to your own rules of how to use it, how to teach others to use it, and so forth you forget to take others through that same process you went through. You throw a fish into the water without first showing it how its tail and fins work, so to speak. These are just two possible scenarios, but either way I do wish that she had gone a little deeper. Teaching, at least for me, is all about sharing ideas and adapting them to your own teaching situation.
I find the best way for teachers, or anyone really, to understand technology is to use it. An idea would be to have your students teach you about this technology. Create a lesson plan where students have to study a certain genre of media, and then have them present it to the class to make sure that everyone knows how to use all of the genre’s of media. You can sit there and learn along with your students, which could be a fun experience for all. This idea is based off of what you said in your second to last paragraph—this is a way to help students “share their expertise with their peers”. In order to avoid the conundrum of walking into this lesson plan blind you can have your teenager, or someone who knows the wiles of the Internet sit down with you and show you the different technologies available. The great thing about learning this way is that you don’t look like a fool teaching students to use things you don’t know how to use yourself, and you can learn at your own pace. Sometimes you have got to just face your fears and take the plunge. You will never be 100% always on top of things 100% of the time, but at least you will have a basic knowledge.
I think the way to deal with “engendering confidence in [your] ability to give credible and meaningful guidance” is to address it right up front. Honestly, it is refreshing for teachers to admit that they are human and don’t know everything about everything. From the beginning state that you did not grow up in the same kind of environment that they did, you’ve had to learn technology the hard way, and at times you may need their guidance. However, you can bring up the point they can use your wisdom to help them understand the effects of the technology they are using. You could even plan a lesson around this if you wanted. Don’t be too afraid, as far as I know students don’t bite.
I really like your comments on the reading. You have in depth and critically thought-out questions that are relevant. My question for you is, do we have to have all of the answers to those questions. I too believe that Hobbs left her definition of "appropriate media" intentionally threadbare because she trusts us enough as teachers to search for and find our own media texts and technology tools. We have been exposed to so much media throughout our lives that we are trained in choosing appropriate and influential media. Hobbs gives us a great diagram on page 9 of the four categories of media: Print (books, newspapers, magazines), Visual (movies, television, photographs, drawings), Sound (radio, recorded music, CDs, MP3 files) and Digital (internet, email, video games, online social media). I, like you, feel like a technophobe at times but I am not a technophobe with movies, books, email, Facebook, and CDs. I really liked Hobbs' suggestion on page 8 to keep a media diary. As we jot down the media that speaks out to us, teaches life lessons, and is overall influential, we can use these "appropriate" media texts because they are appropriate according to us. As we trust ourselves enough to govern ourselves we don't have to blame others for not including it in their media texts.
I really liked your idea of finding out the different types of media that your students enjoy and are already familiar with. Not only will having them share their expertise in types of media help other students and us as teachers but it will both be engaging and a great experience for the students themselves to teach others. Along with that I want to base my lessons around the 5 elements of essential dimensions of digital and media literacy:
1. Access
2. Analyze
3. Create
4. Reflect
5. Act
The following is an activity that I would like to use in my classroom for teaching a unit on points of view and film acting, directing, and writing.
1. Access—Watch the short film “Validation” and have them comment on what they enjoyed and learned by watching this film.
2. Analyze—Ask the students what the different points of view were in the short film. Ask them what film techniques helped us as the audience see, feel and experience the characters’ points of view. Help them analyze the different film angles, technical elements and acting techniques that made moments stick out and affect the audience watching.
3. Create—Have the students in groups create their own screenplays and storyboards. Then go around to each of the groups and film their pieces as they direct you to do so.
4. Reflect—After each group has filmed their short films, play them for the whole class to watch. After each film is played allow for the students to comment on the feelings, meanings and messages that were given by the angles, technical elements and acting techniques used.
5. Act—Brainstorm with the students on how we can use this art form of film to reach out to our community. Ask them what they feel will benefit the families and individuals in the communities in which they live. Once those ideas have formed and budded, create a film as a class that can be viewed by the community so that there is physical action to help better the community around us.
In closing, I agree with Hobbs that our genius teaching ideas, and our inspired lesson plans are only as good as our access, however, our access is all around us. As we look around us and search the media centers at our finger tips such as libraries, the internet and iTunes, we will be able to create lessons that both inspire and ignite students to act. As we search and desire to teach our students the right access for media will come into play, even if we are technically challenged or have a lack of resources. No problem is to great to get in the way of the greatest teaching tool: media.
I agree wholeheartedly with the first point you made in your essay. How are we to know what is appropriate for our students? What may seem appropriate to one individual could be completely offensive to another group who may not want their child or student involved. Take, for example, Catcher in the Rye or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Many parents do not want their children exposed to these novels even though they are considered American classics. In the same vein, some families or students may feel uncomfortable studying the intricacies of MTV reality shows. I for one am not a fan of these programs and do not relate to the productions. I find many of them offensive and go out of my way to avoid watching MTV. However, it did seem to serve his purpose with the class he had.
This is the problem we face with media and using media in the classroom. What is appropriate for different classrooms and groups of students? How do we find a way to relate to our students without crossing the line? I feel that this is a question that can only be answered on a teacher by teacher and class by class basis. Because of this subjectivity, it is difficult to set a base level for what is suitable for students.
At the end of your essay you asked “Given that recognition [that I have little technological skill], how can I engender confidence in my ability to give credible and meaningful guidance in reading and critically assessing these texts?” (Sprayberry). I think that much of how we learn to use technology is by experimenting with the tech ourselves. Also, it is perfectly acceptable to ask your students for help and to acknowledge the fact that you don’t know everything about technology. I am not all that proficient with technology myself and I plan on writing lesson plans that will help me to understand my resources as I teach my students about them as well.
One resource from the text that I appreciated was the classification of different media that Hobbs lists on pages 20-21 of the text. These resources help us to determine what can be used in our classrooms and how to incorporate the material into different aspects of our teaching. Despite my former comments, I think it is still a good idea to incorporate outside and popular sources in the classroom to help students relate to the text. I think it is important that we cater those sources to our students and to their social and academic understanding. We also should find ways to incorporate other kinds of media, such as electronic and internet resources in our class. The idea of creating evidence charts to help organize thought and find sources is excellent and a good way to build media literacy in our classrooms.
At BYU we have many resources provided by the university, but I think it would be valuable now to start looking at what is available in some high schools where we are interested in teaching. Looking past JSTOR and other internet databases to encyclopedias, journals, and certified websites is a good place to start.
Post a Comment