Screens, Windows and Mirrors: Tools for Inquiry-Based Media Dissections

 Presenter: Kerri Redding (Using PearDeck)

TEACHING THE FISH ABOUT WATER

• AKA Teaching students about the media saturated culture we live in
• Media literacy is no longer taught directly as fluency may be assumed
• Half of US adults spend at least 10 hrs interacting with media every day

FOUNDATIONS

• Access
• Divides in who has access to certain platforms, tech
• Analyze
• 5W + H about creation; audience, intentions
• Evaluate 
• What are the parts? What are their purposes? What stories do they enforce?
• Create
• Students should be able to create media
• Smartphone access has increased ability, but sources and analysis are flattened

Media Diets

• Social media is a primary source for news information
• Misinformation travels 6x faster than actual information (!?) based in our fight/flight instincts
• Media diets=mother culture around us
• Help students understand how information lands in their feeds

WATCHING MEDIA: You Love Me

• What are its parts? What are the various pieces and components
• What perspectives can you look at it from? (Different users and makers; different physical perspectives)
• How are you involved? What connections do you have? What assumptions, interests, or personal circumstances shape the way you see it?
• After watching, kids can reflect on guiding questions, share them via Peardeck

TIPS FOR USING MEDIA

• "Can you say more about that?"
• Reflections allow students to consider effects without getting just lost in the emotion of the media (which creators may intend)
• If you're a part of the majority, then you may consume media as a mirror, and you may not have the skills to connect to the text
• Media can help students look through a window into other people's experiences
• We consume at least 5000 images per day; our brain uses shortcuts rather than deep consideration

CREATING MEDIA

• What are its parts/components?
• What are its purposes and the purposes of each of its parts?
• What are its complexities?
• Students shouldn't make videos longer than 5 minutes
• Making a video is NOT an easier assignment than writing an essay; making videos is complex and should be scaffolded