The Media Spot

I just saw myself in the following video posted on the Salzburg Academy on Media and Global Change website -- it was exciting!

Earlier this month I partook in The Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change as visiting faculty. I arrived during the student's second of three weeks creating media literacy education lesson modules - "by students for students" - that are offered to higher education programs around the world through the Academy's website. I joined the "Prosumer Group", made up of students representing 11 countries and 4 continents lead by program director Paul Mihailidis, to help them develop videos aimed at introducing some of the key questions explored within their module on social media.

The following PSAs were created by two third grade classes working in small groups which researched, storyboarded and scripted their pieces working with their teachers, Ms. Cutler & Ms. Kirksey, and me. Once the shooting scripts were ready, the teachers recruited some bigwigs from the New York entertainment community (who also happen to be 3rd grade parents at The Anderson School*) to collaborate on the productions. Students directed the productions, made decisions about shooting, collaborated on editing, and in one case filmed a documentary that I edited with them. The products are pretty powerful. Check them out, starting with "The Documentary Group", then see the summary of the process by Ms. Cutler, and production notes from our early discussion of PSAs.

Over the past year, I had the opportunity to work with the inspirational staff at the Brooklyn School of Inquiry, PS 686, on a series of documentary videos on their arts, enrichment and media literacy programs.

Throughout their inaugural year, I worked with academic coordinator Nicole Nelson and principal Donna Taylor, developing a framework for how they will integrate media literacy skills and concepts into their curriculum.

Have a look at their video archive, starting with the 5-video fundraising series, A School Grows in Brooklyn, which includes our documentary on K-1 Media Literacy.

Recently, Dan Storchan, who is managing our team of consultants at Digital School Solutions, came to visit me in action at Franklin K. Lane High School. When Dan saw students creating online tutorials for their integrated algebra regents exam using Voicethread, he discreetly pulled out his Flip video camera and started shooting. What he captured lead us to develop the following video, where FKL students and their teacher, explain the benefits of this process in their own words.

Mr. Tandarich, a 5th Grade teacher at PS 124, in Brooklyn, NY is a comic book lover. I have worked with Mr. T to integrate technology into his curriculum since 2005 -- his preference is normally to work within his literacy curriculum around student reading of classic novels. We've always looked for ways of incorporating Mr. T and his students' familiarity and interest in the comic book genre along with 21st century forms of storytelling, and this year, it came together in 5-501's Classic Production of The Invisible Man!

Super Battery Fairy, a PSA on recycling rechargeable batteries by Class 4-302 at PS 124 will be showing at the Thirteen/WNET, WLIW21 Celebration of Teaching and Learning as a winner of the 2010 Chase Multimedia in the Classroom Awards Competition.

After researching hazards related to the improper disposal of rechargeable batteries, students wrote a script with Mr. Marsano keeping them focused on the problem, and what the students wanted their audience to do about it. To "hook" their audience, students decided to take a serious tone with elements of humor.  Come on in and have a look at their PSA, the "making-of" process-based documentary, and our production notes. 

In June of 2009, 4 teachers at PS 334, The Anderson School (one of my AUSSIE schools) traveled to the Galapagos Islands to cap off the development of a school-wide multi-discipline curriculum-building initiative. To expand the potential value of this trip, we used a variety of technology-based resources including digital video and photos, collaborative online digital presentation software (Voicethread.com), an integrated online curriculum map, and a project blog to create and share re-useable custom resources, and to enable teachers to interact with students from the islands.