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A Constructivist Approach to Teaching Media Studies Using Google Drive..pdf
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A Constructivist Approach to Teaching Media Studies
Using Google Drive
Chris Harwood, Aichi Prefectural University, Japan
Alison Mann, University of Toronto, Canada
Abstract: In this paper we consider online teaching and learning from a constructivist
pedagogic perspective and illustrate how learning theory connects to teaching practice in online
contexts. To do this we employ an Ontario Media Studies grade 11 course unit to explain how
Google Drive applications provide the necessary tools to facilitate constructivist online learning.
The media studies unit is a culmination of years of iterations and reflection on the delivery and
efficacy of media lessons online. First, the Google online learning environment (GOLE) is
discussed in relation to constructivist learning theory, and the grade 11 media studies unit
objectives and expectations are explained. Second, the applicability of various Google Drive
tools for the constructivist teaching and learning activities related to the unit are considered. We
then focus on how the media studies unit will be taught using the GOLE. The administration and
unit plan are outlined and decisions regarding learning activities and various Google Drive tools
are justified. Finally, two lessons are described in detail to illustrate how constructivist learning
theory informs the teaching of various unit tasks and activities. It is our hope that in sharing this
sample unit and accompanying theory, other educators can learn from, and adapt our work for
their own courses.
Introduction
In the past twenty years, a series of profound technological developments has impacted
education. Newly emerging technological tools, applications, and online learning environments
present opportunities and possibilities for peers to collaborate in new ways, irrespective of
location. As seasoned educators, we have experienced the shift towards online learning in the
form of blended and flipped classrooms as well as fully online, credited courses. An integral part
of this shift is the role online tools play in facilitating learning, and how the implementation and
use of these tools impacts instructional design and online pedagogy. As practitioners, we
experiment with online tools to establish what does and does not work in a given learning
context. This is important work. However, as educators we also have a responsibility to ensure
learning theory and research inform our decision making when planning, reflecting on, and
evaluating curriculum tasks, activities, and pedagogic practices.
In this paper we examine a sample media studies unit within a constructivist learning theory
framework to show how Google Drive tools can be used as an effective online learning
environment (OLE). Although Google tools have been discussed here in JITP and in other
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reputable publications such as Kairos, the aim of this paper is to illustrate how modern online
pedagogic practice and tools connect to key founding theories of constructivism and online
learning. The sample media studies unit is a culmination of years of iterations and reflection on
the delivery and efficacy of media lessons online. The Ontario Media Studies grade 11 course
curriculum is used to illustrate how various Google Drive tools provide the appropriate
affordances to facilitate constructivist online learning. While this is an elective course for Ontario
students, each grade in the secondary school curriculum contains a media studies strand in the
mandatory English curriculum, hence the unit can be adapted for Ontario English courses. It is
our hope that in sharing this sample unit and accompanying theory, other educators can learn
from, adapt, and build on our work for their own use, not only in media-related courses, but in
other subject areas as well. Prior to this, an overview of some of the more pertinent
constructivist theories and approaches used in the design of the Google online learning
environment (GOLE) is provided.
The Theory behind the Practice
Highly influential constructivist education writers and researchers (Dewey 1916; Piaget 1973;
Vygotsky 1978; Bruner 1996) all agree that active learning and the construction of new
knowledge is based on prior knowledge, and that the role of the instructor is that of facilitator.
Moreover, Dewey (1916) argues that the improvement of the reasoning process is a key
function of education. Indeed, utilizing problem-solving methods on personally meaningful and
real life problems can act as motivation for students, engaging them in process of discovery.
With this in mind, the design plan for our GOLE ensures students have every opportunity to
utilize their critical thinking skills and prior knowledge, while making personally relevant choices
about what topics and themes to investigate in the media studies unit.
Dewey (1938) also argues that interaction is one of the most important elements of a learning
experience and that “an experience is always what it is because of a transaction taking place
between an individual and what, at the time, constitutes his environment…” (Dewey 1938 cited
in Vrasidas 2000, 1). The GOLE design acknowledges the reciprocal nature of learning
interaction and the variety of relationships and communicative exchanges required to facilitate
meaningful learning (Simpson & Galbo 1986). As the teacher facilitates activities throughout the
course, they should consider the nature and types of interaction present in learning
environments: learner-learner, learner-teacher, and learner-content (Moore 1989), as well as
the ways these interactions translate to an online learning environment. This social
constructivist approach stresses the critical importance of interaction with others in cognitive
development and emphasizes the role of the social context in learning (Huang 2002).
Vygotsky (1978) details the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and explains
how important social interaction is in the psychological development of the learner. Vrasidas
(2000) describes the ZPD as, “the distance between the actual developmental level as
determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as
determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable
peers” (10). The GOLE features afford students multiple opportunities to learn with others and
advance their knowledge through collaboration, working with a variety of learners in different
activities using a selection of Google Drive tools.
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Class Introduction, Overview of Media Studies Unit, and Expectations
The proposed unit for a media studies course is based on best practices and pedagogy from
previous media studies lessons conducted in online learning environments. A Grade 11 English
Media Studies course from the Ontario Curriculum is the site of this unit. Figure 1 provides a
breakdown of the unit sections and related objectives/expectations.
Unit Sections Unit Objectives
A. Understanding and
Interpreting Media
Texts
1. Understanding and responding to media texts:
– demonstrate understanding of a variety of media texts;
2. Deconstructing media texts:
– deconstruct a variety of types media texts, identifying the codes,
conventions, and techniques used and explaining how they create
meaning.
B. Media and Society
1. Understanding media perspectives:
– analyze and critique media representations of people, issues,
values, and behaviors;
2. Understanding the impact of media on society:
– analyze and evaluate the impact of media on society.
C. The Media Industry
1. Industry and audience:
– demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which the creators of
media texts target and attract audiences;
2. Ownership and control:
– demonstrate an understanding of the impact of regulation,
ownership, and control on access, choice and range of expression.
D. Producing and
Reflecting on Media
Texts
1. Producing media texts:
– create a variety of media texts for different audience;
2. Careers in media production:
– demonstrate an understanding of roles and career options in a
variety of media industries;
3. Metacognition:
– demonstrate an understanding of their growth as media consumers,
media analysts, and media producers.
Figure 1: Grade 11 English Media Studies from the Ontario Curriculum
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Overall expectations addressed in the proposed unit include:
• Industry and Audience: demonstrate an understanding of the ways in which the creators
of media texts target and attract audiences.
• Producing Media Texts: create a variety of media texts for different audiences and
purposes, using effective forms, codes, conventions, and techniques.
• Metacognition: demonstrate an understanding of their growth as media consumers,
media analysts, and media producers.
• Deconstructing Media Texts: deconstruct a variety of types of media texts, identifying the
codes, conventions, and techniques used and explaining how they create meaning.
• Understanding and Responding to Media Texts: demonstrate understanding of a variety
of media texts. (The Ontario Curriculum Grades 11-12: English, 2007)
•
The Online Learning Environment: Why Google Drive?
When thinking about designing a constructivist OLE it is useful to consider how social
constructivist theory can inform which tools to include in it. Vygotsky (1978) argues that people
socially construct meaning and cultural norms and that learning is situated. Lave and Wenger
(1991) suggest implicit and explicit knowledge is acquired through legitimate participation in
situated communities of practice (CoP). Learners participate on the periphery of an activity
within a CoP and as they participate and learn they become more knowledgeable. This enables
them to move, if they wish, towards the center of the CoP and play a larger role in the
communities’ activities. The central idea of situated learning is that learners appropriate an
understanding of how to view meanings that are identified with the CoP, and that this process
forms a learner’s identity within the learning community. For example, to become a television
production assistant a person must appropriate the skills, values, and beliefs required in the
practice of working in the television industry.
Hung and Chen (2001) provide a number of design considerations related to situated learning
that can help learning designers decide what tools need to be included in an OLE to best
support constructivist learning. They argue situatedness can be fostered by contextualized
activities that encourage implicit and explicit knowledge acquisition such as projects based on
the demands and requirements of the course curriculum. Furthermore, students need to be able
to access their OLE in their situated contexts at any time and preferably on portable devices.
Hung and Chen (2001) suggest students also need to learn through reflection and internalize
social learning through metacognitive activities such as journaling and asynchronous
discussion. Google Drive is available online on portable devices and includes the weblog (blog)
software Blogger in its suite of applications. Blogs can be used as interactive online journals,
which can be personalized by the learner and used for important metacognitive reflective
activities essential for deep learning (Sawyer 2008).
Also as Bereiter (1997) argues, electronic records of learners engaged in discourse on
networked computers produce significant knowledge artifacts in and of themselves. These
knowledge artifacts are essential for educators because “knowing the state of a learner’s
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knowledge structure helps to identify a learner’s zone of proximal development” (Boettcher
2007, 4); which in turn allows educators to understand where and when learner scaffolding is
required within the OLE.
Hung and Chen (2001) also introduce the concept of commonality, the idea that learning is
social and identity is formed through language, signs, and tools in CoPs. They explain that
commonality can be fostered through learners having shared interests in books, for example, or
having shared assignment problems. Learning designers can leverage commonality and embed
tools in their OLEs that enable students to communicate and collaborate on their common
interests.
Google Drive has several tools that enable collaboration through computer mediated discourse.
These tools include Google Messenger (synchronous and asynchronous text and video
messaging), Google Circles (synchronous and asynchronous text messaging and multimedia
sharing), and Google Hangouts (synchronous video chat with up to nine people at once, face-to-
face-to-face). The interactive nature of blogs also allows them to be used for communicating
and sharing ideas within online CoPs. In terms of assessing student engagement and
interaction, the revision history tool in Google Docs allows teachers to follow the contributions of
each student by observing their writing and editing process, as well as the comments they post
to their peers.
Google Drive has several other tools suitable for the online administration of courses. Gmail, the
email application, can be used for formal teacher-student correspondence and the distribution of
grades and other important announcements. Google Calendar is suitable for updates about the
syllabus and deadlines and alerts regarding the course. Google Docs can be used to construct
online surveys and polls, often used by constructivist educators to allow learners to vote on
aspects of the course they would like to change in some way or for students conducting
research of their own. In addition, Google Drive folders can house the course documents; the
syllabus, readings, FAQs, and sign up forms can be accessed and updated from anywhere at
any time. Student folders can be created on Google Drive for students to upload their work.
Educators can use Google Hangouts to discuss group work in online video conferences.
Furthermore, YouTube (part of Google) is an ideal platform to present digital artifacts that
illustrate project based learning. The affordances Google Drive technology provides learners are
numerous (see figure 2).
Quinton (2010) notes that it is essential for student learning that dynamically constructed
learning environments be customized to meet the preferences and needs of individual learners
in OLEs. The integrated nature of Google Drive enables all course communication, discussion,
administration, and student work presentation to be fully integrated and customized to the
learners’ needs. Users can personalize their settings and receive updates and notifications
about all activity on the course. The GOLE enables students to communicate informally,
fostering social presence, either by using one-to-one synchronous messages on Google
Messenger, or by setting up their own Google Circle for group chat.
Formal discussions and reflection are afforded by Google Circles, Google Hangouts, and
Blogger. Note, Google Hangouts enables synchronous video conferencing. This affordance is
particularly useful for teaching and learning because OLEs often do not enable the interactants
to see one another’s paralanguage, making the possibility of misunderstanding common,
particularly for people from different cultural backgrounds (Dillon, Wang, & Tearle 2007).
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Figure 2. An Illustration of the Google Online Learning Environment (GOLE).
Educators and groups of students can see, hear, and talk to each other at scheduled times
using Google Hangouts, which has the potential to really boost the social, teaching, and,
subsequently, the cognitive presence on GOLE courses. Students have numerous customizable
applications to compose and display their learning, such as the Blogger, YouTube, and Google
Presentation applications as well as word processing, drawing, and spreadsheet software. All
these applications empower users to share and collaborate with each other and determine who
can see and contribute to whatever they are working on prior to when it is presented for
feedback. Used appropriately, the tools in Google Drive facilitate distributed constructionism,
whereby learner knowledge emerges from the distributed discourses and knowledge artifacts
they have access to in their OLE (Salomon 1994).
Administration and Unit Plan
From our experience teaching in OLEs, we conceive three key objectives at the course start:
acclimatizing students to the online environment, establishing a community of learners, and
making explicit the goals and objectives of the course. Early peer to peer and peer to instructor
interaction is essential because, as Garrison & Arbaugh (2007, 60) point out, “it takes time find
a level of comfort and trust, develop personal relationships, and evolve into a state of
camaraderie.” Furthermore, positive social climates promote the rapid mastery of the hidden
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curriculum and enhances group tasks, self-disclosure, and socio-emotional sharing (Michinov,
Michinov, & Toczek-Capelle 2004).
Therefore, one of the first activities in our unit plan requires students to create a biography using
general questions and prompts from the teacher, and to share it using Google Docs. For
example, we incorporate a simple media studies-related icebreaker using threaded discussions.
Students post to the discussion board three personality traits, three favorite television shows,
three favorite musicians, and three most used websites. Students are then asked to find at least
three other students they have something in common with and write a response. In our
experience, sharing commonalities and interests builds rapport and community in peer groups,
particularly if this is done at the start of the course.
At the same time, educators must be mindful of critical pedagogy and how identity can play out
in online environments. While the opportunity for disembodiment and the de-emphasis on race,
class, and gender in virtual environments can lead to many positive possibilities, caution is
warranted. As Dare (2011, 3) argues “the constitution of the online classroom as a color-blind
space free of raced and sexed bodies is one which deserves greater reflection by examining the
implications of ‘disembodying’ students and instructors in the virtual classroom, within the
context of classes about race, gender, and globalization.” Such awareness is a necessity and
instructors should work to create an inclusive, supportive, and non-threatening community. We
have found the best practice is to allow each student to regulate how and what they choose to
share about their identity with their peers over time.
During the first week, students are asked to watch an introductory YouTube video created by
the instructor using screen capture software such as Jing. The video serves to welcome
students and provide a virtual tour of the Google Drive platform, which assists students in
locating administrative information to begin the course. All Administrative documents (course
outline, assessment and evaluation information, online etiquette, and so on) need to be detailed
and explicit to reduce uncertainty, and they should remain in one Google Doc folder for easy
reference.
In the administrative section, students should also have access to their grades and feedback
through the Google Spreadsheets feature. Students require opportunities to play an active role
in their learning process and self-evaluation, through the negotiation of course objectives,
content, and evaluation. In previously taught courses, our students have written reflections
alongside the teacher-produced grade reports, putting the onus on students to take
responsibility for their progress and next steps. Active participation, a central tenet of
constructivism, increases the likelihood of embracing and accomplishing tasks used to facilitate
learning (Vrasidas 2000).
Finally, a section for technical help should be made available to students using the Google
Communities feature. Here, students can post questions and discuss technical issues they may
be facing with Google Drive tools, allowing them to collaboratively diagnose problems and find
solutions. In our courses, we encourage students to ask course and technical questions in the
group forums rather than emailing the instructor. Doing so allows an opportunity for other
students to come forward and support others with their knowledge, while also reducing
repetitive emails to the instructor with the same questions. This feature “connect[s] people to
people and information, not people to machines[,]” and enables students to “engage in
collaborative knowledge production and facilitation of understanding—in effect, a connected
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network of mentors/ interest /practice” (Quinton 2010, 346-47). A high level of teacher presence
is required at this stage to monitor the OLE and ensure that any outstanding issues are fully
resolved in a timely manner.
Sample Unit Plan: Our Mediated Environment
The sample unit provided below highlights the type of lessons, activities, exercises, and
assignments students engage in throughout the course. (Some lesson plans have been adapted
from curriculum materials freely available at Mediasmarts.ca and the Association for Media
Literacy).
Part One: Marketing to Teens
Throughout the first unit (3-4 weeks), the teacher should moderate class discussions, and
explicitly model some of the skills, strategies, and critical thinking techniques that students will
need to acquire for moderating future class discussions. As Vrasidas (2000) points out, “having
students work in groups to moderate discussions, organize debates, summarize points, and
share results will help them achieve their full potential” (10). Following the first unit, pairs of
students should select a week to moderate the discussions (based on a topic/ theme of interest)
in partnership with the teacher.
In addition to modeling discussion-moderation techniques, the teacher can provide a tip sheet of
strategies and offer constructive feedback during their moderation period. As Brown, Collins,
and Duguid (1989) conclude, “to learn [how] to use tools as practitioners use them, a student,
like an apprentice, must enter that community and its culture. Thus, in a significant way, learning
is […] a process of enculturation” (33). Furthermore, research demonstrates that teacher
presence plays an important role in enabling students to reach the highest levels of inquiry
(Garrison et al. 2001; Luebeck & Bice 2005).
Lesson 1
Students are assigned two readings online: How Marketers Target Teens and Advertising: It’s
Everywhere (Media Smarts n.d.) to introduce concepts such as psychology and advertising,
targeted advertising, building brand loyalty, ambient and stealth advertising, commercialization
in education, and product placement. Students begin the first threaded discussion using Google
Circles with a series of questions and prompts regarding the ubiquitous nature of
advertisements targeted at youth. For example, guided prompts might ask questions such as
“why are youth important targets for marketers?” “how do marketers reach teens?” or “which
media advertisements do students feel have the greatest appeal and why?” The quality of
guiding questions directly impacts the quality of responses and interactions between students.
As evidence shows, the questions initiating online discussion also play an important role in the
type of cognitive activity present in online discussions (Arnold & Ducate 2006).
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Activity 1: Research
For this activity, students take a 10-15-minute walk in their local neighborhood, and they note
the type and location of all advertisements they encounter (on bus shelters, billboards,
newspaper boxes, bike racks, people’s clothes, shopping carts, buses, and so on). They then
share their Google Map coordinates and a screenshot to highlight their selected route and share
their findings with the rest of the class using Google Presentation. Students then form groups of
four in a threaded discussion group to further examine one another’s Advertisement (Ad) Walks.
Throughout this activity, students should be encouraged to use a selection of knowledge
sources such as libraries, museums, and email exchanges with industry professionals. Asking
students to engage in learning with activities such as Ad Walks places them in the center of
their learning so “teachers will no longer be [seen as] the only source of expertise” or the only
resource (Sawyer 2008, 8). Next, students are asked to consider the target audience for the ads
and speculate on the rationale for the location of advertisements (i.e. advertisements targeted at
teens are often located close to high schools and shopping malls). In a threaded discussion with
teacher prompts, students should have an opportunity to examine the difference in advertising
tactics on reservations, in rural, suburban, and urban environments; hence sharing “their
situated experiences and knowledge with one another (Dare 2011,10).
Dewey (1916) argues that learning results from our reflections on our experiences as we
endeavor to make sense of them; therefore, students should also be asked to compare and
comment on the extent of media advertisements in their own homes (internet, television,
magazines, radio etc.) and reflect on their findings using the blog and guided questions
prepared by the teacher. The teacher should also ask students to read at least two student blog
posts and to post comments on each other’s reflections. This activity is intended to increase
student motivation and provide authenticity to the learning process, as students will know that
there is an active online audience for the online artifacts they are creating (Resnick 1996). The
use of technology and other cultural tools (to communicate, exchange information, and
construct knowledge) is fundamental in constructivism because as Vrasidas (2000, 7) argues
“knowledge is constructed through social interaction and in the learner’s mind.”
Activity 2: Connecting Media Concepts
At the beginning of the course, students should be given the choice to select a unit that holds
particular interest to them. In small groups (3-4), they are then given the responsibility for
creating a mind map that demonstrates the connections and intersections of new concepts they
have been exposed to. Using a mind map, the student groups work collectively to define each of
the concepts and identify and illustrate connections among meanings. For example, the unit
highlighted in this paper introduces stealth advertising and product placement. These concepts
can be connected by their approach; both are non-traditional forms of advertising and are often
embedded in other forms of media that contain covert messaging (see figure 3 for student
exemplar). Mind mapping tools such as Lucidchart can be located in Google Docs add-ons.
Teachers are encouraged to review all the add-on features and extensions that will best suit the
needs of their students.
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Figure 3. Mind map student exemplar that demonstrates the connections and intersections of
new concepts they have been exposed to.
This ongoing constructed resource shifts and grows throughout the course as students
manipulate the document to build new meanings together. This nurtures the collective cognitive
responsibility of the class, whereby “responsibility for the success of a group effort is distributed
across all the members rather than being concentrated in the leader” (Scardamalia 2002, 2).
The students are made responsible for their own learning and should ensure that their
classmates “know what needs to be known” (ibid.). This is a particularly effective way for
knowledge-building communities to form and grow because collaborative activities need to
involve the exchange of information and the design and construction of meaningful artifacts for
learners to construct and personalize the knowledge (Resnick 1996). To consolidate and
distribute learning, this activity should be repeated for each of the five units in the course.
Part Two: Decoding Media Messages
Lesson 2
In this lesson, students explore the values and beliefs hidden behind advertising messages by
analyzing a selection of print, audio, and video advertisements. Students watch an introductory
video on “values and media messages” on YouTube (created by the teacher). The teacher
video should contain an explanation of how the two media frameworks used throughout the
course (The Eight Key Concepts of Mass Media and the Eddie Dick Media Triangle; See figure
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4) and how they pertain to decoding and deconstructing advertising and marketing messages.
The video provides an introductory explanation of the concepts being discussed in the course
and adds important elements of teaching presence such as focusing discussion, sharing
meaning, and building knowledge (Garrison et al. 2001). Both frameworks should be made
available in the class Google Docs folder titled Administration.
To further their understanding of the constructed nature of media advertisements, students are
also asked to watch the Dove Evolution Commercial on YouTube, along with one of the
parodies for the Dove Evolution Commercial that can also be found on YouTube. Using their
online journals, students then write a reflection on their personal reaction to both the commercial
and a Dove parody video, and then identify some of the key elements found on the Media
Triangle to arrive at intended and unintended meanings. Online journaling is considered an
aspect of cognitive presence, defined as “the extent to which learners are able to construct and
confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse” (Garrison & Arbaugh 2007, 161) in
which students work through the stages of inquiry and arrive at their own meanings through
reflective practice.
Figure 4: The Key Concepts of Mass Media and the Eddie Dick Media Triangle. Adapted from
http://frankwbaker.com/mediatriangle.htm
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Activity 3: Group Presentation
Through discussion in small groups using Google Circles, students deconstruct one
advertisement of their choice to be presented to the class using the prompts on the Media
Triangle handout. The objective is for students to deepen their awareness and understanding
about the explicit and implicit values and meanings associated with their selected
advertisement. The use of Google Circles enables the teacher to view what is being discussed
and provides the necessary scaffolding (Vygotsky 1978) for the learners to continue to extend
their ZPD. Furthermore, working in groups on collaborative activities facilitates social presence
in online courses as it enables learners to “project themselves socially and emotionally”
(Garisson & Arbaugh 2007) and develop a sense of community and improve and practice “real
life” working relationships in online courses.
Using Google Presentation feature, students upload their work in a shared folder in Google
Drive for the rest of the class to evaluate. In an asynchronous exercise, students are asked to
view all presentations (about 4-5) and offer a critique for each work in Google Circles. Having
peers critique group presentations produces further insights/perspectives the group may have
overlooked or not recognized. As a result, students are more likely to gain a deeper
understanding from “the expertise (knowledge and skills), perspectives and opinions” of their
peers and “draw from each other’s strengths” and “make use of each other’s abilities” (Hung &
Chen 2001, 7) to help construct knowledge.
Activity 4: Reflection
Using their blogs, each student repeats the process of activity 3 using a media advertisement
that has personal relevance or meaning. Students also respond to guided prompts such as,
“Explain one way the advertisement communicates to its audience and what one resulting
meaning is for you.” Dewey states that “learning results from our reflections on our experiences,
as we strive to make sense of them” (Russell 1999, 2); and through reflection, students
“externalize and articulate their developing knowledge, [and] they learn more effectively”
(Sawyer 2008, 7).
Activity 5: Parody Advertisement Media Production
In this activity, students work either in pairs, independently, or in a small group to create of a
parody advertisement. Using their new knowledge about advertising strategies and their
understanding of the media construction frameworks from prior activities, students deconstruct
one parody advertisement and then create their own media artifact with a focus on branding: for
example, a parody print advertisement of their own, a short commercial, a radio jingle, or an
audiovisual slideshow.
To introduce the concept of branding, students view a four-minute segment of the award-
winning Canadian documentary, The Corporation. In this segment, Canadian activist Naomi
Klein discusses the impact of corporate branding on individuals and culture (Note: This
YouTube video is a legal chapter segment shared online by The Corporation Director Mark
chbar). In a threaded discussion on Google Circles, the teacher prompts discussion by asking
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students what comes to mind when they hear the terms ‘brand’ or ‘branding,’ and what they
think about the video.
Students should also be provided with the following definitions:
Branding: the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the
consumer’s mind, mainly through advertising campaigns with a consistent theme. Branding
aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the market that attracts and retains
loyal customers. (Business Dictionary, n.d.)
Corporate branding: An attempt to attach higher credibility to a new product by associating it
with a well-established company name. Unlike a family-branding (which can be applied only to a
specific family of products), corporate branding can be used for every product marketed by a
firm. (Business Dictionary, n.d.)
As a class, students examine the iconic brand Nike. The teacher forms small groups of students
who have not yet worked together and these groups develop responses to the following
questions adapted from lessons available on the Association for Media Literacy (AML) website.
This can be completed on a collaborative document in Google Docs and later transferred to the
threaded discussion to share with the rest of the class. Students respond to the following
prompts:
• List the positive (intended), neutral, and negative values/ messages that come to mind
when considering the brand, Nike. (Responses may range from: cool, stylish, youthful,
attractive, wealthy, iconic, patriotism and child labor, mass production and the
environment, human rights violation, etc.).
• Using the Media Triangle framework, how does Nike portray their intended values?
• How have you been informed about the neutral and negative values?
Figure 5: Nike vs. Tiger Woods: Image shows two different photographs of Tiger Woods.
Adapted from: http://www.adbusters.org/spoofads/unswooshing/
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When students have completed the responses in their small groups, they share their findings
with the rest of the class on the threaded discussion and respond to other groups. Students will
then explore the concept of parody advertisements using a Nike Adbusters parody
advertisement (see figure 5).
As a reflection assignment to be completed on their blogs, the teacher asks students to consider
the following statement from the Association of Media Literacy:Parody advertisements are a fun
way to analyze popular advertisements, especially advertisers who are selling products, which
have social and political implications. When you spoof an advertisement, you take elements of
the message that give it power and turn the message around to show that it is ridiculous or even
untrue. (Association for Media Literacy, March 25, 2017)
Reflection Questions:
• What elements make this a parody advertisement?
• What was the first thing you noticed about the advertisement, what is being made fun
of? Why is humor an effective way to make a point?
• What elements are different or the same compared to the real advertisement? (see
codes and conventions on Media Triangle Framework)
• Does the parody advertisement change how you perceive the original advertisers?
• What is the value message in this parody advertisement? If you could write a statement
message for the parody advertisement, what would it be (2-3 sentences)?
To further distribute knowledge, learning, and social and cognitive presence, students are then
asked to comment on a student blog they have not visited during the course. As Cole and
Engestrom (1993, 15) reason, one person cannot contain all the knowledge or culture of the
group that they identify with, thus knowledge can and should be, “distributed among people
within a cultural group.”
With background experience in branding and the parody advertisement critique experiences
now in place, students are well prepared for the final activity: the creation of a parody
advertisement. Students form groups or pairs based on their personal interests (radio jingle,
video, magazine advertisement, website etc.). As Resnick (1996) argues, when personally
meaningful artifacts are constructed, new knowledge is constructed with greater effectiveness.
Students should be encouraged to use freely accessible Google+ applications such as Pixlr
(image editing), UJAM (audio editing) and Magisto (video editing). By having students use
popular applications from their own cultural context, the task is rendered more authentic,
lessening the often ‘transmuted’ activities students may experience in school (Brown, Collins &
Duiguid 1989). Student groups create a Google Community to carry out the following tasks:
• Select a brand to spoof (ideas can be found on Adbusters website)
• Identify the intended values and value messaging of the brand and their advertisements
• Select the new value message the group wishes to convey and create a slogan or
tagline
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• Using Google+ applications and tools, create parody advertisement in the Google
Community.
Once the parody advertisements have been completed, each group signs up for a synchronous
video conference with the teacher using Google Hangouts (up to nine participants) to take part
in a group critique of their work. Students working independently can be grouped into one
critique group. Other students will be encouraged to attend the Google Hangouts session which
should also be recorded for students who wish to view the critique afterwards, as well as for
teacher evaluation and assessment.
Conclusion
This paper has considered online learning from a constructivist perspective and applied a
selection of the key concepts and ideas of influential constructivist thinkers to the design of an
online media studies course for 11th
graders studying in Ontario. The affordances Google Drive
offers to constructivist pedagogic practice have been shown to be numerous. The integrated
nature of the suite of applications and the communication, sharing, presentation and
administration possibilities the software affords educators planning an online course make
Google Drive a very useful pedagogic tool. The central idea of constructivism—that knowledge
is constructed in people when incoming information meets and integrates with their existing
experience and knowledge—has been discussed and illustrated using authentic current
curriculum documents and teaching activities.
To encourage and facilitate constructivist learning, well thought out, student-centered learning
tasks and activities that leverage the various affordances of the technology need to be devised,
monitored, reviewed, and added to, to ensure the learning experiences of students and
educators constantly extend. The construction of knowledge is both an individual and group
endeavor that changes from moment to moment and from an educational perspective from
course to course. Individual learners that make up the community of any course shape its
conversations, its direction, and consequently the learning that happens within it. The fluid
nature of this kind of learning makes it an engaging and stimulating way to learn. It is the work
of online learning designers to ensure that when they are making pedagogical decisions that
they fully exploit the affordances of the technology they use to promote student-centered
activities that nurture and sustain learner engagement and stimulation.
16. 16
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About the Authors
Chris Harwood has taught English for academic purposes, and writing composition for over 20
years in high schools and universities around the world. He recently completed a PhD in
Language and Literacies Education at OISE, University of Toronto, and is currently teaching
critical reading and writing in Japan.
Alison Mann is an award-winning media and film educator with over 18 years of teaching
experience. She is currently pursuing a PhD. at the University of Toronto focusing on critical
media literacy, online learning environments at the secondary level and intercultural
communication.
Recommended citation
Harwood, C., & Mann, A. (2017). A Constructivist Approach to Teaching Media Studies Using
Google Drive. Journal of Interactive Technology & Pedagogy, 11 Retrieved from
https://jitp.commons.gc.cuny.edu/a-constructivist-approach-to-teaching-media-studies-using-
google-drive/