In the interview Life on the Screen, George Lucas expanded on his views of education. Not surprisingly, he thinks that film and other artistic media have an overlooked but important role to play in the classroom. He described the need to stop looking at art and music as separate topics taught to the emotional mind, and instead incorporate them in other classrooms. Many of his opinions aligned with modern learning theories, but one statement was fairly novel. He said,
"One of my concerns is that we're advancing intellectually very fast, but we're not advancing emotionally as quickly."He pointed out that it is common to see highly educated people (professors with PhDs, anyone?) who are clueless when it comes to good form in presentation and visual communication. This comes from an educational system rooted in 19th century thinking, according to George Lucas, clinging to tradition in the face of a society and business climate that demands change and flexibility. He also touched on the outdated idea of education "as a way of storing facts," and its impossibility with our current rate of information expansion.
Digital Director's Guild
The Digital Director's Guild is a project to bring digital moviemaking into K-16 education. Moviemaking's flexibility makes it a powerful learning tool, because it can pull from many different theories of learning, and the final product can take so many forms. The DDG website lists guidelines created by the North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL) for "new skills that students will need to excel in the Digital Age." These are
- Digital-Age Literacy
- Self-direction
- Teaming, collaboration, and interpersonal skills
- Prioritizing, planning, and managing for results
Math Movie Minute
This video created by middle schoolers is a good example of cross curriculum teaching. While explaining how to find the surface area of a pyramid, students show understanding of storytelling, use of humor, editing, and sound mixing.
Immigration iMovie
In this video, students presented immigration experiences from a first person perspective, essentially role playing. I chose this because it is a project that could easily have been assigned as a paper, which would have faded into the background of so many other papers in the students' memories. Doing a project like this is more likely to be both pleasant and memorable for the students.
Podcasts
I'm fond of podcasts because they remind me of the days when the radio ruled the entertainment scene (not that I was alive, then). The defining feature of a podcast is how it is delivered. A program is used to automatically fetch the latest audio or video file from each (and every) given podcast the user is subscribed to. It is not uncommon for users to also automate the process of moving the file onto their portable player, although many people listen to podcasts on their computers. The incredible ease with which they allow subscribers to follow is a major draw.
My favorite example was the Mathgrad Podcast's description of how people solve Rubik's Cubes in terms of set and group theory. I'm not convinced it is "math for everyday people" as described (I think most people's eyes would gloss over during the math portion, here), but it is an interesting presentation, and could open the door for discussion in a classroom.
I too was struck by the example of professionals who do not know how to communicate visually--as we are all excruciatingly aware. I like the idea that English classrooms should encompass the subjects that have traditionally been considered "the arts," as well (although probably easiest in English, it would be great to incorporate these arts into the other subjects as well!). It's interesting that Greg/the director's guild point out that moviemaking is valuable for collaboration and team building. I guess we've been hearing those words so much in this program it just struck me. But it made me think of the video we watched in Classroom Management--it's just so much more creative.
ReplyDeleteI'm not as familiar with podcasts and I feel like I'd need a lot of help to incorporate them into my classroom.
I found this comment by George Lucas to be particularly thought-provoking: "When people talk to me about the digital divide, I think of it not being so much about who has access to what technology as who knows how to create and express themselves in this new language of the screen. If students aren't taught the language of sound and images, shouldn't they be considered as illiterate as if they left college without being able to read or write?" On a literal level, my first reaction was no - you can't say that the language of sound and images is as critical as being able to read and write....but then, on an emotional level, I thought yes - communicating with sound and images really is an enormous part of our lives today, both locally and globally. It can be a very effective way of engaging people, so no matter what field of work you choose, you probably have a much better chance of engaging people if you are adept at expressing yourself through sound and image media.
ReplyDeleteI can certainly see myself incorporating student-made movies in my classroom. I think math students would get a kick out of the Math Movie Minute and would probably be excited to make one of their own. I like the fact that in the process of making such a movie, they would be learning how to express themselves using the vocabulary of math, as well as learning how to express themselves creatively. I agree with the point that "knowing that there is a real-world audience gives students purpose and motivation to create a spectacular product." If they are actively learning the math, digital moviemaking skills, other collaborative and planning skills, and having fun while doing it, there is much to be gained.
I think movies and podcasts should be in the teacher's toolkit for mixing up teaching methods. Searching for directly relevant clips can be time-consuming, but worth it. I would suspect that listening to podcasts on a regular basis (even short ones) would improve students' active listening skills (especially with a short summary assignment), and hearing a topic illuminated by someone else in the field could stimulate additional interest.
Laura
I enjoyed this weeks’ reading as well. Like the rest of you, I am very excited about using video in the classroom. Some of my best memories from school were making videos for my Italian class. When I teach social studies, my students will create videos. One of the best ideas I saw for a video was listed on the Digital Directors’ Guild website: having students prepare videos that each represent a different perspective of a historical event. This will help students understand how accounts of the same event often differ.
ReplyDeleteI also learned a lot about podcasts. I like the idea of having students create podcasts, but I also think that it would be neat to subscribe to a podcast created by a news organization and watch a five-minute clip at the beginning of each class. This would help students get into the habit of watching the news each day, give students some exposure to current events, and may even convince some students to subscribe to the podcast and watch the rest of the episode after class.
I think that spatial learners and interpersonal learners would most benefit from the use of these technologies. Spatial learners would have the opportunity to visually express themselves, which would be a welcome relief from writing papers. Interpersonal learners would benefit because they could work with others to create the videos and podcasts, engaging in the team building Emily discussed.
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ReplyDeleteI want to high-five George Lucas. What a man. I loved his Englishy ways (Sorry Dr. Moore, Englishy is a word). As a mind wanderer/day dream believer, I find myself only engaged by teachers who communicate effectively and in interesting ways. It’s all about the story/finding a connection/metaphor/ relationship.
ReplyDeleteIn this world of super technological power, teachers ought to take advantage of the opportunities to engage students in the classroom like never before. Now, I’m not sure I like podcasts. I’m a very visual person. I’m not quite sure I’d listen to the audio and pay attention. However, I did stumble upon a few interesting ways to incorporate the podcast into the classroom. As an English teacher, I think it would be cool to record a class discussion or use podcasts during a poetry unit. I’m interested in learning more creative ways to podcast in the classroom.
Digital movie making is not only hilarious, but very educational. I loved making videos in classes, and I do remember the videos more than anything. Since educational student moviemaking in the past has been more of a supplemental outside of school project, I am most interested in using inside the classroom or to communicate with my students.
I had an amazing professor at Virginia Tech that combined digital movie making, podcasts, and blogging. Students had to use this site as a supplemental learning tool, but everyone loved it. The professor helped us keep up with world news and actually assigned useful quizzes. The class is titled “World Regions.” It was an usually large class made up of over 2,000 students. The professor connected with each and every student. Check out the site. He is still updating the blog regularly on world news.
http://www.plaidavenger.com/
This is something I’d like to incorporate into my classroom. I think it’s a better form of homework. It’s much more enriching.