Remix Culture: Digital Music and Video Remix Opportunities for Creative Produ...Erin Reilly
Reilly, E. (2010) “Remix Culture: Digital Music and Video Remix Opportunities for Creative Production” Editor: Jessica Parker, Teaching Tech-Savvy Kids: Bringing Digital Media into the Classroom, Grades 5-12. Corwin Press.
Extending media literacy: How young people re-mix and transform media to serv...Erin Reilly
Reilly, E. and Robison, A. (2008). "Extending media literacy: How young people re-mix and transform media to serve their own interests." Youth Media Reporter.
Erin Reilly, Research Director, shares with iCELTIC in June 2008, the current research happening at MIT's Comparative Media Studies Project New Media Literacies.
Designing with Teachers: Participatory Models of Professional DevelopmentErin Brockette Reilly
Edited by Erin Reilly and Ioana Literat, this publication represents the collaboration of a working group composed of “a mixture of researchers, teachers and school administrators from a variety of disciplines, schools, and states,” who wanted to better understand how we might best prepare educators in order to incorporate “participatory learning” models into their classroom practices.
Remix Culture: Digital Music and Video Remix Opportunities for Creative Produ...Erin Reilly
Reilly, E. (2010) “Remix Culture: Digital Music and Video Remix Opportunities for Creative Production” Editor: Jessica Parker, Teaching Tech-Savvy Kids: Bringing Digital Media into the Classroom, Grades 5-12. Corwin Press.
Extending media literacy: How young people re-mix and transform media to serv...Erin Reilly
Reilly, E. and Robison, A. (2008). "Extending media literacy: How young people re-mix and transform media to serve their own interests." Youth Media Reporter.
Erin Reilly, Research Director, shares with iCELTIC in June 2008, the current research happening at MIT's Comparative Media Studies Project New Media Literacies.
Designing with Teachers: Participatory Models of Professional DevelopmentErin Brockette Reilly
Edited by Erin Reilly and Ioana Literat, this publication represents the collaboration of a working group composed of “a mixture of researchers, teachers and school administrators from a variety of disciplines, schools, and states,” who wanted to better understand how we might best prepare educators in order to incorporate “participatory learning” models into their classroom practices.
Technology Trends in the Social StudiesGeorge Sabato
Be introduced to the latest edition of the Social Studies Review, Technology Trends in the Social Studies. Guest editor George Sabato will present highlights of several social studies technology trends. Topics include podcasting, tech tools, tech in geography, using media, virtual museums, simulations, and peer editing. Also learn how to contribute to the Social Studies Review.
SECIDT 2005 - Teacher and Developer Perceptions of Effective Web-Based Design...Michael Barbour
Barbour, M. K. (2005, March). Teacher and developer perceptions of effective web-based design for secondary school students. Paper presented at the annual Southeastern Conference in Instructional Design and Technology, Mobile, AL.
Erin Reilly, Research Director, shares with iCELTIC in June 2008, the current research happening at MIT's Comparative Media Studies Project New Media Literacies.
Applying participatory learning to STEM
E. Shaw, M. La, R. Phillips, and E. Reilly, “PLAY Minecraft! Assessing Secondary Engineering Education using Game Challenges within a Participatory Learning Environment,” in Proceedings of the 2014 ASEE Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN, June 2014, Session W447.
Journalism is in a paradigm shift. More than any generation to come before them, today’s young people are participating in the creation and sharing of culture with the immediacy and connectedness that a digitally networked world provides. In many cases, these young adults are actively involved in what we are calling participatory cultures; a participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to one of community involvement.
As educators, knowing about the 21st-century skills is importantBetseyCalderon89
As educators, knowing about the 21st-century skills is important and being able to recognize the skills within specific examples is an indicator that you truly understand them and how they work in application. In Week One, we discussed the story of Caine and his arcade as a way to explore how culture influences creativity, imagination, and inventiveness. In this discussion, we go a step further by considering 21st-century skills in relation to another inspiring story of creativity, imagination, and inventiveness.
The Landfill Harmonic project showcases the story of a garbage picker, a music teacher, and a group of children from a Paraguayan slum that, out of necessity, started creating instruments entirely out of garbage found in a landfill.
Your reflections on this story will provide a rich backdrop for learning more about the impact that social and cross-cultural skills have on the more academic pursuit of keeping children engaged in learning 21st-century skills. After reviewing this week’s Instructor Guidance material, you will have a good working knowledge of social and cross-cultural skills and will be able to recognize how they might support the learning of 21st-century skills, especially within the Landfill Harmonic project.
Initial Post:
View the
The landfill harmonic orchestraLinks to an external site.
video about the Landfill Harmonic project, and then view more specific information about the project on the
Landfill HarmonicLinks to an external site.
website. Next, review the
Framework for 21st Century LearningLinks to an external site.
web page. Then, create an initial post that addresses the following in at least one paragraph for each:
Describe the Learning and Innovation 4Cs (i.e., communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity) (click on the 4Cs Research Series tab on the right-hand side of the page) as well as Life and Career Skills from the Framework for 21st Century Learning (see item 4 under 21st Century Student Outcomes) that you perceive the students learned and applied as a result of their participation in the Landfill Harmonic project.
Describe the cultural competencies you perceive were demonstrated by the students in the Landfill Harmonic project (these are summarized in the Instructor Guidance for this week).
Describe the social factors and attitudes you perceive were needed to initiate the project, including a consideration of the cross-cultural skills that may be necessary for supporters to sustain the Landfill Harmonic project.
Instructor Guidance
Week 2
Week Overview
Have you ever participated in a major creative ensemble like a band, orchestra or stage production? What about contributing to a team in other ways, like sports or church groups? If so, take a moment to consider all the different types of skills you learned participating in group activities outside school. It’s easy to readily identify activity-specifi ...
A group of early adopter-teachers in the state of NH engage in a blended model of professional development. Research conducted, authored and presented by Vanessa Vartabedian at AERA Conference, 2012.
Technology Trends in the Social StudiesGeorge Sabato
Be introduced to the latest edition of the Social Studies Review, Technology Trends in the Social Studies. Guest editor George Sabato will present highlights of several social studies technology trends. Topics include podcasting, tech tools, tech in geography, using media, virtual museums, simulations, and peer editing. Also learn how to contribute to the Social Studies Review.
SECIDT 2005 - Teacher and Developer Perceptions of Effective Web-Based Design...Michael Barbour
Barbour, M. K. (2005, March). Teacher and developer perceptions of effective web-based design for secondary school students. Paper presented at the annual Southeastern Conference in Instructional Design and Technology, Mobile, AL.
Erin Reilly, Research Director, shares with iCELTIC in June 2008, the current research happening at MIT's Comparative Media Studies Project New Media Literacies.
Applying participatory learning to STEM
E. Shaw, M. La, R. Phillips, and E. Reilly, “PLAY Minecraft! Assessing Secondary Engineering Education using Game Challenges within a Participatory Learning Environment,” in Proceedings of the 2014 ASEE Annual Conference, Indianapolis, IN, June 2014, Session W447.
Journalism is in a paradigm shift. More than any generation to come before them, today’s young people are participating in the creation and sharing of culture with the immediacy and connectedness that a digitally networked world provides. In many cases, these young adults are actively involved in what we are calling participatory cultures; a participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to one of community involvement.
As educators, knowing about the 21st-century skills is importantBetseyCalderon89
As educators, knowing about the 21st-century skills is important and being able to recognize the skills within specific examples is an indicator that you truly understand them and how they work in application. In Week One, we discussed the story of Caine and his arcade as a way to explore how culture influences creativity, imagination, and inventiveness. In this discussion, we go a step further by considering 21st-century skills in relation to another inspiring story of creativity, imagination, and inventiveness.
The Landfill Harmonic project showcases the story of a garbage picker, a music teacher, and a group of children from a Paraguayan slum that, out of necessity, started creating instruments entirely out of garbage found in a landfill.
Your reflections on this story will provide a rich backdrop for learning more about the impact that social and cross-cultural skills have on the more academic pursuit of keeping children engaged in learning 21st-century skills. After reviewing this week’s Instructor Guidance material, you will have a good working knowledge of social and cross-cultural skills and will be able to recognize how they might support the learning of 21st-century skills, especially within the Landfill Harmonic project.
Initial Post:
View the
The landfill harmonic orchestraLinks to an external site.
video about the Landfill Harmonic project, and then view more specific information about the project on the
Landfill HarmonicLinks to an external site.
website. Next, review the
Framework for 21st Century LearningLinks to an external site.
web page. Then, create an initial post that addresses the following in at least one paragraph for each:
Describe the Learning and Innovation 4Cs (i.e., communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity) (click on the 4Cs Research Series tab on the right-hand side of the page) as well as Life and Career Skills from the Framework for 21st Century Learning (see item 4 under 21st Century Student Outcomes) that you perceive the students learned and applied as a result of their participation in the Landfill Harmonic project.
Describe the cultural competencies you perceive were demonstrated by the students in the Landfill Harmonic project (these are summarized in the Instructor Guidance for this week).
Describe the social factors and attitudes you perceive were needed to initiate the project, including a consideration of the cross-cultural skills that may be necessary for supporters to sustain the Landfill Harmonic project.
Instructor Guidance
Week 2
Week Overview
Have you ever participated in a major creative ensemble like a band, orchestra or stage production? What about contributing to a team in other ways, like sports or church groups? If so, take a moment to consider all the different types of skills you learned participating in group activities outside school. It’s easy to readily identify activity-specifi ...
A group of early adopter-teachers in the state of NH engage in a blended model of professional development. Research conducted, authored and presented by Vanessa Vartabedian at AERA Conference, 2012.
2
Modern Childhood Classroom
The Curriculum of the Modern Early Childhood Classroom
Lisa Bertie
ECE/311
Instructor Amanda Dixon
April 2, 2012
The Curriculum of the Modern Early Childhood Classroom
The age group that this curriculum is designed for is Kindergarten. The age range for kindergarten is five through seven.
There are many learning styles for example there are auditory leaners, visual learners, tactile learners, and those who learn best through reading the information. As teachers we must take this into account when developing a curriculum. It is important to begin teaching kindergarten age children the beginning skills of math, reading, science, music, and art. By making sure that the content is age appropriate and that the information is presented in a variety of ways so that students of different learning styles have the opportunity to absorb the information in the way that is easiest for them to learn. If we look at the different learning theories we will find one that makes the most sense to us as individuals for example I find the developmental theories of Jean Piaget to be very meaningful and will incorporate his theories into how I present information to the students.
I plan on including time for learning through play, circle time, and traditional teaching methods to communicate information and teach skills to the students. I think it is also important to make sure that the classroom is a safe learning environment. When dealing with a large group of individuals there are many different personalities in play and there can be conflict as a result. I feel it is important the make sure that the students understand that they do not have to like everyone in the class but they need to show each other respect.
My plan for a productive classroom environment includes making sure all learning styles are addressed and students have a safe interesting classroom.
References
Barnett, W. S. (2008). Growing and learning in preschool [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or10f-YcM8Q
First School. (n.d.). Music theme preschool activities and crafts. Retrieved from http://www.first-school.ws/THEME/music.htm
Ginsburg, H.P., Lee, J.S., Boyd, J.S. (2008). Mathematics Education for Young Children: What It Is and How to Promote It. Social Policy Report. Retrieved from http://www.srcd.org/documents/publications/spr/22-1_early_childhood_math.pdf
Thomas, A.M. (2011). Hands-on science with squishy circuits. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/annmarie_thomas_squishy_circuits.html
225
5Dynamic Curriculum and Instruction in the
21st Century
Ulrich Baumgarten/Getty Images
Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Identify elements of creativity in existing face-to-face and online learning curriculum.
2. Implement problem-based learning experiences with students that incorporate real-world
audiences.
3. Prepare an argument to integrate the nine elements of d ...
Shall We Play? is written by Erin Reilly, Henry Jenkins, Laurel Felt and Vanessa Vartabedian. It represents a revisiting of Henry Jenkins' original MacArthur white paper, Confronting the Challenges of a Participatory Culture, and lays out what we see as core principles for participatory learning. It includes some core reflections on what has happened in the Digital Media and Learning movement over the past six years as we have sought to bring a more participatory spirit to those institutions and practices that most directly touch young people’s lives.
The Leveraging Engagement framework seeks to help reveal the nuances of fan involvement, specifically
identifying the various fan objects, activators and environments that inspire people to engage, as well as the
media properties and communities associated with them.
This study offers a sports fanship framework aimed at building a unique brand engagement positioning that
draws on a’ deep understanding of communities and shared passions. The framework can be used to
develop better marketing and communications tools.
Though children have a healthy appetite across “traditional screens” such as television and movies, computers, and video games, their usage of these screens is declining. Instead, there’s been an upswing in children’s consumption of and participation in media through a mobile device. And though a mobile device is what every child expects to have in their pocket, the next big thing coming in mobile is wearable devices combined with the Internet of Things (IoT) as we saw in the announcement of the Fall release of Disney’s Playmation. This shift places a clear demand on creators: Offer something different to today’s digital kids.
Transmedia processes show us that there is more than one way to tell stories, more we can learn about the characters and their world, and that such insights encourage us to imagine aspects of these characters that have not yet made it to the screen. While some might look at it strictly for entertainment value, creating a new lens to look at story offers a different point of view.
One distinct logic we have explored at the Annenberg Innovation Lab is Transmedia Play. Human imagination feeds upon the culture around it and children show enormous capacity to re-imagine the stories that enter their lives.
These visuals were used to support / start the conversation with SOTA's high school students in Singapore. The focus was to look at various forms of art that encompassed the NML skills, collective intelligence, visualization and play.
Students lose track of time as they spend hours navigating the web for material to create their stories and feel a sense of belonging through encouragement by their peers to post their stories on Facebook, illustrate them on Flickr, and share them with friends and the public at large through the multiple resources available on the web. This participation in new media environments is a way to be creative and innovative, but it is also new opportunities for our students to acquire and synthesize information in a meaningful way. Students today often remix original texts based on their own interests in order to create a new work that encapsulates their ideas and concerns about the issues that matter most to them.
In 2008-2009, Project New Media Literacies tested the Media Makers Challenge Collection, a set of 30 challenges to explore and practice the new media literacies. This collection was established as a springboard for educators to adopt the new media literacies into their own situation. Media educators from Global Kids used the materials as inspiration to develop Media Masters, an after-school program at the High School for Global Citizenship to integrate the new media literacies into a social issues learning environment. Media Masters helped learners acquire and reflect upon digital media production and analytic skills through youth engagement in participatory media and Web 2.0 tools. This presentation will explore how theory and practice merged to create a conversation, rather than a top-down transfer of knowledge, between participating researchers, practitioners and students.
The Media Maker Collection is a set of challenges that explore the new media literacies within the context of media artists and production. Challenges are media-based lessons to provide instruction or share an idea or a story. This collection provides a template for contributions from members who want to use the Learning Library to develop their own challenges.
http://newmedialiteracies.org/library/
A vital part of growing up is developing one’s identity. With ubiquitous access to others and easy access to participating in varied communities, how do we communicate ourselves to the world? The lines between our public and private lives have blurred with the rise of Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare and other social networking sites. Often it is not only ourselves that make choices in how we sculpt our identity. What we choose to share and not share, but also the communities we participate in. There is a need to start a dialogue with each other as those around us add to the building of one’s own identity and the identity of us as a collective.
Instructions for Submissions thorugh G- Classroom.pptxJheel Barad
This presentation provides a briefing on how to upload submissions and documents in Google Classroom. It was prepared as part of an orientation for new Sainik School in-service teacher trainees. As a training officer, my goal is to ensure that you are comfortable and proficient with this essential tool for managing assignments and fostering student engagement.
Palestine last event orientationfvgnh .pptxRaedMohamed3
An EFL lesson about the current events in Palestine. It is intended to be for intermediate students who wish to increase their listening skills through a short lesson in power point.
Acetabularia Information For Class 9 .docxvaibhavrinwa19
Acetabularia acetabulum is a single-celled green alga that in its vegetative state is morphologically differentiated into a basal rhizoid and an axially elongated stalk, which bears whorls of branching hairs. The single diploid nucleus resides in the rhizoid.
Operation “Blue Star” is the only event in the history of Independent India where the state went into war with its own people. Even after about 40 years it is not clear if it was culmination of states anger over people of the region, a political game of power or start of dictatorial chapter in the democratic setup.
The people of Punjab felt alienated from main stream due to denial of their just demands during a long democratic struggle since independence. As it happen all over the word, it led to militant struggle with great loss of lives of military, police and civilian personnel. Killing of Indira Gandhi and massacre of innocent Sikhs in Delhi and other India cities was also associated with this movement.
Synthetic Fiber Construction in lab .pptxPavel ( NSTU)
Synthetic fiber production is a fascinating and complex field that blends chemistry, engineering, and environmental science. By understanding these aspects, students can gain a comprehensive view of synthetic fiber production, its impact on society and the environment, and the potential for future innovations. Synthetic fibers play a crucial role in modern society, impacting various aspects of daily life, industry, and the environment. ynthetic fibers are integral to modern life, offering a range of benefits from cost-effectiveness and versatility to innovative applications and performance characteristics. While they pose environmental challenges, ongoing research and development aim to create more sustainable and eco-friendly alternatives. Understanding the importance of synthetic fibers helps in appreciating their role in the economy, industry, and daily life, while also emphasizing the need for sustainable practices and innovation.
June 3, 2024 Anti-Semitism Letter Sent to MIT President Kornbluth and MIT Cor...Levi Shapiro
Letter from the Congress of the United States regarding Anti-Semitism sent June 3rd to MIT President Sally Kornbluth, MIT Corp Chair, Mark Gorenberg
Dear Dr. Kornbluth and Mr. Gorenberg,
The US House of Representatives is deeply concerned by ongoing and pervasive acts of antisemitic
harassment and intimidation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Failing to act decisively to ensure a safe learning environment for all students would be a grave dereliction of your responsibilities as President of MIT and Chair of the MIT Corporation.
This Congress will not stand idly by and allow an environment hostile to Jewish students to persist. The House believes that your institution is in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and the inability or
unwillingness to rectify this violation through action requires accountability.
Postsecondary education is a unique opportunity for students to learn and have their ideas and beliefs challenged. However, universities receiving hundreds of millions of federal funds annually have denied
students that opportunity and have been hijacked to become venues for the promotion of terrorism, antisemitic harassment and intimidation, unlawful encampments, and in some cases, assaults and riots.
The House of Representatives will not countenance the use of federal funds to indoctrinate students into hateful, antisemitic, anti-American supporters of terrorism. Investigations into campus antisemitism by the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on Ways and Means have been expanded into a Congress-wide probe across all relevant jurisdictions to address this national crisis. The undersigned Committees will conduct oversight into the use of federal funds at MIT and its learning environment under authorities granted to each Committee.
• The Committee on Education and the Workforce has been investigating your institution since December 7, 2023. The Committee has broad jurisdiction over postsecondary education, including its compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, campus safety concerns over disruptions to the learning environment, and the awarding of federal student aid under the Higher Education Act.
• The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is investigating the sources of funding and other support flowing to groups espousing pro-Hamas propaganda and engaged in antisemitic harassment and intimidation of students. The Committee on Oversight and Accountability is the principal oversight committee of the US House of Representatives and has broad authority to investigate “any matter” at “any time” under House Rule X.
• The Committee on Ways and Means has been investigating several universities since November 15, 2023, when the Committee held a hearing entitled From Ivory Towers to Dark Corners: Investigating the Nexus Between Antisemitism, Tax-Exempt Universities, and Terror Financing. The Committee followed the hearing with letters to those institutions on January 10, 202
CLASS 11 CBSE B.St Project AIDS TO TRADE - INSURANCE
Art as Experience, rather than Appreciation
1. This article was downloaded by: [Erin Reilly]
On: 25 November 2011, At: 14:22
Publisher: Routledge
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Art as Experience, rather than
Appreciation
Erin Reilly
Available online: 27 Oct 2011
To cite this article: Erin Reilly (2011): Art as Experience, rather than Appreciation , Journal of
Children and Media, 5:4, 471-474
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2011.599534
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2. after the first year. What room do we give experimental schools such as Q2L, who
encourage students in a gamelike scenario to “fail early and often,” to work through their
own bugs before rebooting the educational system for the umpteenth time?
Resilience will be the key to the success not only for Q2L’s students, but also for the
pedagogical model overall, particularly as Q2L plans an expansion for a Chicago school site
starting in fall 2011. The goal is not to replicate the New York City site, but rather apply the
strongest concepts and make changes that suit the local community. To fully under-
stand where a charter school model can go, it is important to understand where it starts.
This document provides an opportunity to take a look under the hood of what drives
this novel approach and offers insight for those looking to potentially model such
innovation.
REFERENCE
Wright, W. (2011). Probability space, possibility space. Lecture Presented at the Computer History
Museum, Mountain View, CA, USA. Retrieved from http://www.computerhistory.org/
revolution/computer-games/16/201/2309
Meryl Alper is a Ph.D. student in Communication at the Annenberg School for
Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. Her research
focuses on young children’s relationships with analog and digital media, and the way
these practices are embedded within family communication. She is also currently
involved in various research initiatives with The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame
Workshop and the Annenberg Innovation Lab. e-mail: malper@usc.edu
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2011.599533
COMMENTARY
ART AS EXPERIENCE, RATHER THAN
APPRECIATION
New media literacies in the classroom
Erin Reilly
With the majority of our children in the United States continuing to be “taught to the
test,” schools like Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts (LFCSA) in Los Angeles are taking a
different approachto learningin hopes toprepare their students toacquire habits of mindthat
prepare them for jobs that do not even exist today. This is not an art school geared toward
teaching technique and preparing students to be masters of a specific discipline like dance or
visual arts. Instead, this is an elementary school that integrates arts across curricula to foster
experiences for students to be curious, collaborative, and persistent in whatever they’re
REVIEW AND COMMENTARY 471
Downloadedby[ErinReilly]at14:2225November2011
3. learning. Skill building is the main focus for most elementary schools, but at LFCSA it is not
accidental that skills are learned through metaphoric thinking, rather than as rote knowledge.
New modes of meaning such as thinking through metaphors have emerged that
need to be taken into consideration when thinking about literacy (Kress, 2003). Though it is
important to know how to traditionally read and write, these “new” media literacies build
upon this knowledge and offer new forms of reading and writing through social interaction
with others. The new media literacies, a set of social skills and cultural competencies, are
not tied to traditional curriculum standards and practices, but instead are best developed
through creative and engaging projects. In his book, Understanding Media, Marshall
McLuhan (1964) says that a medium is “any extension of ourselves,” and uses the metaphor
of a hammer extending our arm. Tools we have today, such as the ability to sample music,
capture video, or edit media, encourage students to use that which they are comfortable
with to socially construct meanings of the world.
While visiting LFCSA, I follow a first-grade generalist teacher as she guides her
students past shipping containers converted into classroom spaces to enter Nick Kello’s
music class. Nick Kello stands in the middle of the room strumming his guitar as it records to
the computer connected to it. The song increases in tone as more and more of the students
enter the room. Behind him, a stream of images extends the song’s metaphor on the TV.
As the class of twenty-eight students begins their session, Mr Kello pauses the rotating
images on a picture of a banana split and asks, “What’s in this type of sundae?” Kids shout out
“cherries, nuts, ice cream and bananas!” He poses another question, “But where do bananas
come from?” Answers from “the supermarket” to “a tree” to “a truck” to “a boat” are responses
that the students and their generalist teacher shout out. Together, they map the journey of
the banana in the banana split that passes through the hands of the different workers all the
way to the banana tree in Jamaica that shares its home with the tarantula that uses the tree
for shelter. With each portion of the journey, Nick strums his guitar to facilitate a new sound
out of his computer. In the end, the different layers combine together through the song of:
It’s six foot, seven foot, eight foot BUNCH!
Daylight come and me wan’ go home.
Mr. Kello’s goal as a music teacher is to have the students learn Harry Bellafonte’s call
and response song. They learn about the difference between verse and chorus, and how to
sing and pantomime a song from memory. But at the same time, this song is the creative
string that ties back to the different themes of food, workers, animals and their shelters, and
transportation, learned across the generalist subjects the first grade teacher oversees
during the day. Through this process, Nick and all the participants of the session actively
inquire and think about the message of Bellafonte’s song. Using the new media literacy and
transmedia navigation, Nick meaningfully uses the tools to tell the story of the song across
multiple forms of media to expand the thinking of the students and encourage them to
discuss the social and cultural implications of what the song means.
Music helps define who we are and is one of the top modes of expression for building
a sense of community, as shown in Nick’s lesson. We are in a paradigm shift in the classroom
where educators, like Nick, need to work in the gap between life and school. This provides
teachers an opportunity to offer learning objectives in their classrooms in a new way, while
at the same time offering students opportunities to read and write their cultural practices
that are central to their own everyday experience.
472 REVIEW AND COMMENTARY
Downloadedby[ErinReilly]at14:2225November2011
4. There are two methods happening in this experience that sets LFCSA apart from
other schools. The first is a pioneering method LFCSA requires of their generalist teachers,
which is to participate alongside their students in the art-specialized classes. And the other
method is the fluidity of subjects that converge in a single experience with the awareness
and recognition that media and art gives people a language to understand complexity.
Karin Newlin, Principal of LFCSA, realized both these needs through participation in
an eight-year visual arts curriculum project with The J. Paul Getty Trust. From that project,
she observed that transfer of knowledge from the arts specialists to the larger curriculum
wasn’t happening because teachers took their breaks during the time their students
participated in the extracurricular courses. If the generalist teacher lacked artistic training or
never experienced art first-hand, then integration back into the classroom didn’t happen.
So, with the establishment of Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts five years ago, this
approach became part of the ethos of the school.
From my experience observing the classroom, this has proven to be a win-win for the
students and the teachers participating in the lessons. For Mr Kello, who is not certified in
elementary education, this offers him a chance to learn from the generalist teacher strategies
on classroom management as well as gain a better understanding of the psychology of the
students, especially since he only sees them only once a week where the generalist teacher
sees the students every day. For the first grade generalist teacher, she realizes the importance
of experiencing the combined media and art forms and has a deeper understanding of how
to make meaning of it in order to conduct that type of learning in her own classroom.
Moreover, Mr Kello has come into this learning experience with no set assumptions of
what the students can and cannot do. This allows him the freedom to push them further and
take risks in what they are capable of learning, encouraging the new media literacy of play—
the ability to experiment with their surroundings toward a form of problem solving. And for
the generalist teacher who is observing Mr Kello, there is a deeper respect gained for her
students’ abilities to understand and learn.
With LFCSA practicing this method now for five years, Karin Newlin has witnessed that
the generalist teachers who have been with the program from its inception are now
collaborating with the art teachers from the beginning, creating metaphoric techniques and
discussions that span across the different classroom sessions such as using rhythm to explain
punctuation in a sentence, as much as timing of a song. Teachers have had a shift in mindset
that has loosened their style to be more open to process rather than directive. Karin shares,
This is messy learning, one where projects evolve and change and both students and
teachers need to work fluidly alongside each other in order to complete a project. More
and more each year, teachers are pooling their subjects together into themed tracks with
an emphasis on learning by doing. (Personal communication, April 2011)
This is the first year in their new building and LFCSA has seen an increase in student
enrollment with the additional space they now have. New students in every grade have
convergedwiththereturningstudents,yetthedivergenceis thejumpingoffpointforlearning.
The LFCSA teachers have had to work really hard this year at bridging the creative thinking gap
between the returning and new students, especially in the older age groups where the kids are
frozen in their creativity as they are more focused on knowing what teachers want rather than
jumping in and exploring, messing around and coming up with a project.
LFCSA is a practiced, “on the ground,” example of the importance of putting arts and
media at the center of learning. Even more important, research shows that encouraging
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5. creativity in a child’s learning process helps them to grow into “creative people and possess
an ability to adopt a number of different stances or perspectives . . . and master a
vocabulary that enables them to assess their work in multiple dimensions, so that they can
pass more qualified judgments than just ‘good’ or ‘bad’” (Lindstro¨m, 2006, p. 57).
Incorporating the new media literacies into the classroom allows for a blurring of
boundaries between informal and formal learning and harnesses a new form of literacy that
helps teachers encourage our students to read and write in new ways. This shift changes
the focus of literacy from individual expression to community involvement, where creativity
and active participation are the hallmark. And it makes it increasingly important to
understand and be competent in the skills of citizenship, art, and expression of social
connectivity (Jenkins, Purushotoma, Weigel, Clinton, & Robison, 2009).
Putting arts and new media literacies at the center is not about appreciation. This is
not an act of doing that can be turned on and off like a light switch. When you truly put art
and media at the center, you learn to embody and embrace the task of hard learning and
explore a deeper understanding of the complexities of the world we live in, and LFCSA is
preparing our children for just that.
REFERENCES
Jenkins, H., Purushotoma, R., Weigel, M., Clinton, K., & Robison, A. J. (2009). Confronting the
challenges of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Cambridge, MA:
The MIT Press.
Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the new media age. London and New York, NY: Routledge.
Lindstro¨m, L. (2006). Creativity: What is it? Can you assess it? Can it be taught? International
Journal of Art & Design Education, 25(1), 53–66.
McLuhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Erin Reilly is Creative Director for Annenberg Innovation Lab and Research Director for
Project New Media Literacies at USC’s Annenberg School for Communications &
Journalism. Her research focus is children, youth and media and the interdisciplinary,
creative learning experiences that occur through social and cultural participation
with emergent technologies. Erin consults with private and public companies in the
areas of mobile, creative strategy and transmedia projects for children. e-mail:
ereilly@usc.edu
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2011.599534
BOOK REVIEW
Bitten by Twilight: Youth culture, media, and the vampire franchise
M. A. Click, J. Stevens Aubrey, & E. Behm-Morawitz (Eds.), 2010, New York, NY: Peter
Lang Publishing
ISBN 978-1433108938
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