Media Literacy Lesson Plan

You can find the media literacy lesson plan here.

ISTE-NETS Standard:

VI. SOCIAL, ETHICAL, LEGAL, AND HUMAN ISSUES
Teachers understand the social, ethical, legal, and
human issues surrounding the use of technology in
PK–12 schools and apply that understanding in
practice. Teachers:
  
B. apply technology resources to enable and
empower learners with diverse backgrounds,
characteristics, and abilities.
C. identify and use technology resources that affirm
diversity.


The above lesson plan uses PBS's popular show, Arthur, to show children the world of stereotyping in media. Through careful consideration, children will actively listen and examine the gender stereotypes portrayed during picture day in Arthur. After the movie, the children would be engaged in a guided discussion about stereotypes in media. For the next part, children will bring in magazines and each will choose one man or woman of any background. From there, they will work in groups to set stereotypes from the media to each. 

How It Compares to Standards
The students will be using two sources of media (televison, magazines) to develop an understanding of stereotypes (gender, race, disabilities, etc.) From this work, children will become aware of different people and gain an understanding of the diversities in the world and media. 

Education Magazine

“The whole art of teaching is only the art of awakening the natural curiosity of young minds for the purpose of satisfying it afterwards.“

Leadership Abilities

     I believe this photo shows stronger leadership abilities on Obama's part. The caption stated that during this time he was being briefed on the BP oil spill in Mississippi. This photo, as opposed to the last photo, shows Obama fully engaged in discussion whereas the first photo portrayed a mere daydreaming Obama. My first impression of the first photo was that he did seem saddened by the incident. This photo, however, shows him fully aware as if he is explaining this grand plan to Admiral Allen. The first photo also showed what seemed to be a flourishing green background with a book/table? That is well and all, but I am sure that after an oil spill, the infected area will not be lush. This photo portrays photos from the incident in the background, which looks much more professional and allows for an emotional response from the viewers. 

Observations:

    Obama's hands are in motion along with his shoulders dropped and he is currently speaking while the other listens. This leads me to believe the photo was spontaneous and not posed. As the reader, we cannot tell where exactly Obama is looking; he seems to be looking off of the page. This leads me to wonder who is in the foreground. The two men are spaced fairly close together, but they do not seem to be too close for comfort. There are two people seen: Obama and Admiral Allen. Admiral Allen is an older male, possibly early 50s. He is in his coast guard uniform, which gives him the look of credibility on the topic and looks extremely professional. Obama, however, is not dressed to impress. He is in a button up shirt, loosely done with his sleeves rolled up. The camera angle is straight forward, so I am getting the feeling they are in a controlled environment, such as a news room. I believe the message portrays Obama as being a leader in this situation. The flag in the background plays to nationality, which is strong during times of crisis. 

Questions:

      Why is Obama dressed down? Does that show that the photo really was at a spontaneous moment? 
       Where are both men looking off to? 
       What audience does this news subscribe to? What audience subscribes to this news? 

Caption:

     I think the current caption really makes me feel Obama's sense of leadership. Had it been something like "Obama sits with Coast Guard Admiral to discuss oil spill in Mississippi," it would throw off the initial observation that he is discussing a plan of action. I would feel as if he was more discussing the issue flat with no plan of action. 

Can you hear me now? (ThinkAloud)

The following link will take you directly to the entire list of standards:

ISTE NET S

I have chosen one.

 2. Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments 
     a. Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to        promote student learning and creativity

             The ThinkAloud made me incorporate many digital media components that I was unfamiliar with (Jing, Slide Share, Google Docs, etc.) into one project. To start, researching the big question: should teachers/staff be armed in school? Many children do not think twice about what is big on the news, like myself included. This project allowed me to take things I enjoy (computer) to learn about what is going on in the world around me, the question of teachers being armed. It also helped to contribute to learning reading strategies. I used the strategies to break down the argument of the story and help to read the article faster, but with more control and understanding. Jing allowed me to be creative in helping others follow my trail as I read the article. I could use colorful highlights, arrows, boxes, and text to literally show readers my thought process. I feel like this project has incorporated everything perfectly to show me a whole new way to learn for myself and show others how learn. 

Tuesday 2/5/13 / Bias

Number One:

Pro-Arming

Number Two:

Anti-arming:

Nancy Flanagan could be said to show bias in her opinion: No, we should not arm school custodians. However, she also says that we should not arm teachers either. Why? Because neither are strictly qualified to handle weapons as police officers. To me, she shows minimum bias in saying that nobody should be armed because they are not trained. But of course, that does not mean that some are not trained. Some ex-officers do become teachers and some teachers are from a military background. Who is to say that they are not qualified to handle a gun? She is very opinionated in favor of careers: she believes a teacher should teach and an officer should protect. She is not vulgar in her opinion or downgrading other views. She does specify alternate ways to solve the violence issues (such as "talking" down the gunman" ) but she does not give any alternate reasoning as to why arming teachers may be helpful. She sticks solely to her view. She completely omits that there could be other viewpoints and also how truly effective these alternate solutions are. Flanagan feels that the majority of staff do think first in protecting students, but arming gun amateurs is not the way to go about true protection.

One thing that did surprise me being as her argument was one against arming for non-qualifications is that she did not bring up putting armed officers in the school. Many people with similar opinions feel this is the best solution.