MMC's Got a Wordle!
Ever wonder what "stuff" you discuss or search the most? We did. So we decided to put together a Wordle of Media Speaks! content. Media Make Change has been up and running for two years now so we thought it would be cool to get a bird's eye view of the content we've been producing recently. Take a look at how MMC's most talked about topics stack up!
Below is the linked image from Wordle's website. Wordle allows you to copy/paste the code you generate from content. Note, however, the image is incredibly small. We recommend you click on the thumbnail image of your Wordle to a larger image and then screen grab it (Apple + Shift + 4). Save your larger image as a .jped or .png file.
Wordle is also a great tool for educators and researchers who are interested in seeing how topics of interest compare. We recommend Wordle for students who are thinking about their next research project, but can't seem to narrow down a topic. Hint: Perhaps a good place to start is with the big words!
To create your own Wordle, simply go to www.wordle.net/ and start wordling!
An Educator's Guide to Pinterest [Media Literacy]
The National Association of Media Literacy Education defines media literacy as "a series of communication competencies, including the ability to access, analyze, and communicate information in a variety of forms, including print and non-print messages."
More specifically, NAMLE breaks down media literacy into several definitions:
- Media refers to all electronic or digital means and print or artistic visuals used to transmit messages.
- Literacy is the ability to encode and decode symbols and to synthesize and analyze messages.
- Media literacy is the ability to encode and decode the symbols transmitted via media and the ability to synthesize, analyze and produce mediated messages.
- Media education is the study of media, including ‘hands on’ experiences and media production.
- Media literacy education is the educational field dedicated to teaching the skills associated with media literacy.
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the newest darling of social networks, Pinterest, is valued at over $1 billion. As the online pinboard platform grows in influence, media literacy educators may want to consider ways in which the platform can be used to incite conversations about representation on the web.
Below are some ideas for using Pinterest in various formal and informal learning settings. These general activities are grouped according to some of the main components of media literacy education outlined by NAMLE above, including; Decoding, Encoding, and Communicating Messages, and Media Production. Please feel free to share and expand on these ideas in the comment section below.
Decoding, Encoding, and Communicating Messages
Questions: Who/what is source of the message? How is the media message conveyed through Pinterest? By whom is the message received? How might the source information and platform itself impact how the message is received?
- Students can begin by creating pinboards that represent social, community, and political issues they care about most. Make use of the search function within Pinterest (not only the categories section) to explore topics of interest.
- Students can create 'counter pinboards' in response to controversial posters as a way to incite discussions within the platform and extend conversations offline.
- Debate! Use comment sections to debate content on Pinterest (see Kate Moss 'Skinny' poster).
- Cross curate with other social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, & alternative SMS and personal blogs). Post, tweet, embed images and videos from Pinterest to incite further discussions about how media messages are represented on the web.
- Organize "Media Lit Pint-Ups" or Pinterest meet ups, to showcase, discuss, and debate content popularized by way of Pinterest.
- Organize Pinterest scavenger hunts with media literacy education principals in mind. For instance, incorporate Google Maps to also explore how (and in what ways) users curate using geographical spaces. See Google Maps images on Pinterest.
- 'Fundraise for a cause' using Pinterest. Create original pinboard content having to do with an issue for which you wish to raise money. Include donation information in the caption section of the images.
Media Production
Questions: What can I create to make Pinterest better? What can I produce beyond the confines of Pinterest's platform ? What tools can I use to produce media influenced by content found on Pinterest and/or influenced by the platform itself? How might the design of my media influence the message I am trying to convey?
- Design a 'copy cat' Pinterest platform with a specific aim to interrogate/investigate media representations in online spaces.
- Storytelling with images: Create boards that tell alternative stories. Involve commenters to help create narratives.
- Produce, publish, and compose other types of online media (digital video, wikis, blogs) inspired by content found on Pinterest
- Create and curate "Media Lit" content in the DIY and Education categories on Pinterest. Create "Media Lit" pinboards as resource pages.
See also:
Community Producers Program is Thriving!
A few months ago Media Make Change partnered with the Beyond the Bricks Project to create a comprehensive media literacy program that serves young Black males. The Community Producers Program is a four-month course that invites young Black males to interrogate media images and subsequently create their own stories using digital media technology. We're elated to report that the program, now in it's second month, is thriving. Take a look at the new campaign video featuring several young men currently enrolled in the program at Teachers College, Columbia University--a sponsoring university.
We encourage you to donate to the summer fellowship program, an extension of the Community Producers Program, so the young men can continue to produce awe-inspiring work. If you are unable to donate, then please consider spreading the word to your various networks and encourage family, friends, and co-workers to contribute to this project.
On behalf of Media Make Change, I want to thank all of those involved in creating this program from the ground up, including Derek Koen, Ouida Washington, Dana Salter, Nisaa Ali, Bianca Baldridge, and Jose Vilson. I'm overjoyed and proud to have been a part of this project with all of you.
Interested in working with and/or contributing to Media Make Change? Contact us directly at mediamakechange [at] gmail [dot] com.
MMC Partners with Harlem Scholars for 1-Day Workshop!
Harlem Scholars Program at The City College of New York
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NEW YORK CITY - Media Make Change will host a 1-day workshop this Saturday March 31st at City College with high school students from Frederick Douglass Academy. MMC is excited to collaborate with the Harlem Scholars Saturday Institute and their college readiness program. We will work with students and guide them on how to use social media and blogging tools to spread awareness about topics relating college prep. Students will produce media according to the following college readiness topics:
- Increase cost of attending college
- Minority faculty/professors on college campuses
- Retention and graduation rates of minority students
- Student services and career development
- Campus organizations
- Relationship between school and school athletics
- College ties with the community
As part of an interactive workshop, students will be invited to post teams blog here on Media Speaks! about one of college readiness topics above. MMC has hosted interactive workshops in the past. In 2009 our team went to Detroit and presented an interactive workshop on Social Media for Social Justice (you can check out the photos from Allied '09 on our Facebook page).
We encourage our online community to get involved. If you'll be on Twitter this Saturday morning from 9AM to 11AM, follow us at @mediamakechange and use the hashtag #MMCHarlemscholars for up-to-date tweets from the event. Students will also be using their smart phones and computers to live-tweet projects as they post to Media Speaks! We also encourage HBCUs that are on Twitter to be involved in the conversation. Some of these students might be headed toward an HBCU very soon, and what better way to engage them while they're researching colleges than through Twitter!
See you on Saturday!
Youth Uses Online Animation Platform to Tell Story
DAVIE, FL. - Thirteen-year-old Anthony Conley is one of many digitally connected youth using free web-based multi-platform programs, like Pivot, to tell stories through animation. Online consumer-based animation programs are on the rise for youth populations, a demographic group of which 93% use the Internet (91% boys; 87% 'Black'). Pivot is relatively easy to install and use on PC operating systems (Stykz is its sister program for Macintosh operating systems). Pivot and Stykz may have positive implications for educators who are thinking about engaging ways to incorporate basic animation and design methods into the classroom. Media Make Change has made Pivot and Stykz part of the Beyond the Bricks curriculum in order to broaden the ways in which community producers can create and tell stories using digital media. Check out the interview below as Anthony talks about using Pivot.
In your own words, what is Pivot?
Pivot is an animation program that expresses who you are, like for me, if you're someone who likes Dragon Ball Z [an Japanese animated manga series].
Why do you use Pivot?
I have a very creative mind so Pivot allows me to convert my creative ideas into an animation.
What are your favorite objects or stories to create using Pivot?
Well, I usually create my own versions of Naruto and Dragon ball Z, but anything goes with me.
How does Pivot help you illustrate & tell a story?
Each scene brings new ideas. A scene could start off with a guy drinking coffee and then he might end up seeing something going on outside his window. [Pivot] brings a wide range of ideas into play.
Would you recommend Pivot to anyone?
Yes and no. I say no because it takes time and effort. You can get frustrated easily because the animation doesn't come out the way you think it should.
Do you plan on doing anything with animation or graphic design in college or as a career?
Maybe, I'm really good at it!
What other animation software do you create with?
I'm starting to use flash animation, but the rest are too complicated.
Do you create using other software technology besides animation? If so, can you list and describe them?
I use this program called Google SketchUp. It's like making a blue print for something you want to build. It's self-explanatory really. Lol.
Here's an advanced video example of Pivot animation:
Special thanks to Anthony Conley for being interviewed for this article.