This is the last post. So last. The lastest. So last.

Buckingham sure has a lot to say, doesn't he? Most of what he says is good for a new teacher trying to learn how to approach media literacy in the classroom, but I also think that he has a way of writing that makes it seem like he is the know-all end-all of this subject area. Maybe I am alone in this, but I was a bit nettled as I read. If he is trying to teach this to people that do not know much about it, perhaps he should keep his tech vocabulary reigned in more, and I disliked how he was always telling me what students "should do" in order to learn ________.

Tone aside, I got some ideas from this reading, and the one I am most interested in is one about language in media. You see, where I am from in Washington there are no high schools with a film program. At least if there are I have not heard anything about it. In my drama class we touched on it a little bit, because it was drama and not theatre specifically (though the focus was obviously on theatre, because it's the best). I am planning to teach a unit on film in my own theatre class and I feel like it is a great way to tie in all of those language questions he mentions. The language of film has always been an interest of mine. It is a language most of us know subconsciously now; it is one that most people do not put much thought into understanding - you just do. When you grow up with a language, you don't really ponder too much about how you understand it or why it is the way it is. It just... is. So I intend to have my students really think about the language that the cameras speak, and I want to bring in commercials and news reports into it.

For my film unit I plan on opening with clips from different genres of movies and asking the students to identify what genre it is based solely on the few screen shots or segments of the movies they see. The conversation will turn into a discussion about what clued them into what genre each clip was. I am hoping that an in-depth discussion will occur about the different messages each camera angle, lighting choice, and music track sends. This activity would bring in the bullet points he creates with genre, conventions, choices, and codes. The thing I have in mind most right now is the final assessment of the unit, and the actual lesson plans would be created in order to reach that. My idea is that my students would have to create a short film (which would bring in audience and production ideas that he mentions). This film will be like a TV show on Hulu; it must have at least 1 commercial interruption, which the students will create and place on their own.

I am simply excited to be able to work with students using various forms of media. I use media in my lessons all the time anyway, so I don't know if I will want to have a unit focusing on media literacy. I plan to lace it all over my lessons, taking time to explain certain media creators (such as Photoshop, Garage Band, etc.) only when it must be explained for a project. I am guessing most of my students will be able to use a lot of the things I will teach them to use either way. I am looking forward to learn more about different types of media as they become available so that I can tie it directly into my curriculum.