Media Literacy

Media Literacy in the Music Room

Ohsam Movie Quotes. (2016, February 8). Lady Galadriel [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://ohsam-movie-quotes.tumblr.com/post/17258553379/the-world-is-changed-i-feel-it-in-the-water-i

    The world has changed... I feel it in the water (my Swell water bottle is keeping things cool. Hurrah for technical advancements in water bottle technology). I feel it in the earth (oh the joys of fracking). I smell it in the air (radiowaves, wait... you can't smell those).
     In all seriousness, things are changing fast! I remember the first time I got a smart phone, and now we are incorporating their use into the regular classroom! How I wish we would have had an introductory course that teaches us to effectively use our digital devices.... instead of getting distracted by silly cat videos.
   

    I can't help but think about how I will one day incorporate media literacy into my own music classroom (fingers crossed). You never know where life will take you though so I will be participating in the Professional Development course that focuses on incorporating the arts into the regular classroom. No matter what subject I end up teaching, music will be incorporated into my classroom.. if only in the background once in a while.
    While theoretical music knowledge is obviously important, I am also concerned about students' consumption of popular music and the culture that accompanies it. Not that I have a problem with pop music. I jam to Coldplay or bust a move to a T-Swift song just as much as the next gal, but the messages created by music videos, Instagram, awards shows, posters, clothing lines, etc... need to be critically evaluated.
     I am bookmarking this lesson plan, article and video for future reference:

Exposing Gender Stereotypes

Body Image and the Music Industry

JMU Note-oriety. (2015, September 6). Pretty Hurts by Beyonce [Video]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/5Dsdk2ZT5jI.

    I'm rather fortunate to have my first placement this year at Winona Elementary school. The school was built less than five years ago so there are smart boards in every classroom, three computer pods connected to various classrooms, and students bring their own devices or use the classroom provided tablets. I am certainly getting a firsthand look at how electronic devices are being utilized in a classroom setting for grades 5, 6, 7, and 8.
     I want my students to consider how they are represented in the media, how they are not, and what meaning is being created by these artists or the culture they work in. This is an activity I would like to accomplish with grades 6-8, focusing specifically on the expectation:

2. identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning;

    I would encourage them to work in groups first, of varying genders, to watch a music video quietly and then discuss how they each interpreted meaning or did or did not identify with the main characters. I would ask them to write down what they noticed on a chart paper about what the video tells them to wear, dress like, or act like. After each group is done, they could walk around the class and tour the other charts created by their classroom.

Jen Techlearning. (Unknown date). Digital Literacy [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://www.pindex.com/b/jen-techlearning/digital-literacies 

     I am impressed by Alicia Keys's recent decision to go make-up free on TV appearances and award shows. To fight her own insecurities caused by her life in spotlight, she is now intentionally choosing to go everywhere make-up free. She recently wrote, "I felt powerful because my initial intentions realized themselves. My desire to listen to myself, to tear down the walls I built over all those years, to be full of purpose, and to be myself! The universe was listening to those things I'd promised myself, or maybe I was just finally listening to the universe, but however it goes, that's how this whole #nomakeup thing began."
    It would be interesting to ask students what empowers them and what they do as a result of media pressure or expectations. This would be a great opportunity to incorporate an app like Padlet where their responses can by recorded with anonymity. This could eventually become a project where students explore different artists they admire and deconstruct what meaning they precipitate and compare that to what they themselves would want to promote if they were a famous artist.

Illinois Library. (2008, October 15). I Want You Poster [Online Image]. Retrieved from http://www,library.illinois.edu/diglit/definition.html