Using Media to Build Engagement

Using Media to Build Engagement

So, the transmedia and digital literacy units I am working through with the seniors will be here in about two weeks.

I am using a page from the "Why so Serious" campaign used for the Dark Knight movie (and I am sure others have done this as well). They revealed Heath Ledger as the Joker pixel by pixel.

I used this free website to make a motivational poster bighugelabs.com/motivator.php and saved the poster as an image file (JPG format).

I then used this resource www.blockposters.com/ which chopped it up and let me save it as a PDF.

Both ridiculously easy to use.

I have a bulletin board in the front of the room. I cleared it today. Tomorrow I will pin up the pieces one by one and saying nothing else. Then by the start of the unit, they will have something to build on (And I have a hook for the unit). Plus, starting this way gives a different feel than just standing up and starting a lecture.

The nice thing is, one of the pieces of the final project can be the students creating a similar visual/experience. So I not only build interest, but I am demonstrating a possible transmedia/crossmedia technique – aka practicing what I preach.

my example

World Without Oil - A transmedia-like project with practical use in the classroom.

So yes, this has been around since 2007 and is about to celebrate its three year anniversary - it till is a great resource and example of how to bring transmedia structure into education

World Without Oil - A transmedia-like project with practical use in the classroom. -

www.worldwithoutoil.org

This game/event/lesson/story/put your own word here experience ran from April 30, 2007 – June 1, 2007. It let the users, the players, be the creators and writers while puppetmasters guided, linked, collected and basically just sat back and let it go. It is a great example of a way a transmedia approach can be used to generate learning and bring people to content. The "playing" to learn idea is important in a transmedia structure, and one that has good and bad when invoked in an educational setting – here, IMO is a good thing.

They also are trying to maintain an archive, even as the game ends. This is an important topic in transmedia, and one I think is not addressed enough….

I plan on using this in my environmental science classes as well as other places, it is a topic all people should really think about – and as you will see from the materials created – the response is so varied – check out the lesson plan page for some ideas - www.worldwithoutoil.org/metateachers.htm - they even have compiled some state standards that the projects links with – also, the lesson plan page has some great ideas that should be considered with any transmedia/crossmedia lesson – not just this one.

Check these links for more information

www.worldwithoutoil.org/metafaq.htm#gameover – an overview of how to still access the game and "play"

www.pbs.org/independentlens/classroom/wwo.html - more info and lesson plans including an independent study plan for students - http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/classroom/wwo_students.html

wwolives.wordpress.com/ - the World without Oil blog – continues to follow certain topics

www.youtube.com/user/WorldWithoutOil - World without Oil YouTube channel

aspo-usa.com/2009presentations/Ken_Eklund_Oct_13_2009.pdf - some examples from the experience

Digital Arts Alliance Project curriculum

Digital Arts Alliance Project curriculum

This is a very nice unit and it could be useful in a transmedia setting as it would roll into working with the crossmedia aspects and also could be used to introduce how to plan a large scale project. I also like how this unit I organized and I hope to develop a structure similar to this for the transmedia units I develop.

The unit starts here - digitalartsalliance.org/getting-started.html and contain how to physically organize a classroom for this type of project, how to plan a curriculum and a nice overview of digital arts.

Clicking on the Pre-Production bring you to some awesome tools and even ready to use in the classroom materials. The section entitled - Developing Effective Narratives – goes right into transmedia concepts and there is a nice video ready to use. It goes from the standpoint of a voiceover – but this is right in the overview – " Ask your students if their stories are meant to inform, entertain, explain? Who is the intended audience? Then begin with an outline." And to me those are the same questions you want students asking at the start of a transmedia lesson. There is also a great script activity and handout – again, these items are already made and ready to be used.

The other topics in pre-production are wonderful as they hit important thought to consider such as – Storyboarding, Finding and Saving Images, Connecting Devices to the Laptop, and Making a Checklist. Once again this highlight why I think a transmedia approach can be valuable, you mix content with skill development in a logical way (what do I need to do a project/solve a problem).

The next step is Production – again from the nuts-n-bolts aspect this is a great unit. Depending on what platforms your students use, they can find useful lessons such as – recording a narration, keyframing, editing video, but than the wonderful curriculum designers throw in a unit on working in groups.

I take an aside here – working in groups is the BANE of students and yet IMO, is one of the MOST important skills a person needs to master to be successful in a global world. I like the video the unit provides and will have my students watch it and talk about it.

Presentation is the next step. The unit is a bit light, but the topic of Distribution is brought up, which falls into the multiplatform moving of a transmedia project.

There is a section on Housekeeping, which I like, as too often projects become oohh-ahh in the classroom and the essential details are skipped over. There is a Permissions form and that concept tie in perfectly with the overall theme of copyright, piracy, intellectual property and so on. Plus we are in a school, so we have to watch certain legal aspects.

And there are some nice samples, take a few moments and appreciate the students' hard work. The site as a whole has a lot of resources and I suggest if you are bringing a transmedia/crossmedia/project-based lesson to your classroom; take a gander.

An Example of a Transmedia Project/Lesson for Middle school - High school

So I found this lesson/project – Transmedia Improv – it was introduced in 2006'

This is a great example of scaffolding in a new concept – which is transmedia. While this leans more to digital storytelling and crossmedia use, it does have the transmedia addition that all students created new narrative for the original universe and then used a different platform.

Now – why can't this method be used to teach ANY content - we are studying the civil war - here is the basic introductions – now follow one of these basic essential questions and prepare a transmedia product – then the entire class presents – thus everyone is exposed to all content and you've reached the same endgame.

As I find specific lessons and projects – I'll spotlight them here and share – if you know of any – please share!!!!!!!!!!

The lesson/project

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Over view of the project - This is from a Flickr account (www.flickr.com/photos/vanessabertozzi/sets/72057594079407031/) with images detailing the project –


" We created the Transmedia Improv for high school and middle school kids in which they role-play aliens and create remixed content from Star Wars and the web. No joke. We beta-tested with two groups of really cool kids, once in Boston (pictures you see here) and once in Chicago.

Here are the basic steps: We all watch the cantina scene from Star Wars. They use a website we created called The Cantina, where they create a profile for an alien they'd like to role-play. They invent a back-story with their partner for how the two of them arrive at the Cantina together. The do an image search for locations for their back-story and integrate these into sequential Powerpoint slides. They use IM to generate dialogue with a partner and integrate it into Powerpoint as word balloons like a comicstrip. They can add music and sound effects too. They upload their finished pieces to the website and we have a group show and tell.

The idea is that the kids learn technical skills (Exercises) while making creative choices and remixing content (Expressions). Along the way, the teacher leads discussions on the Ethics of making and consuming media. Since kids are making their own media pieces, the idea is that they're more invested in the Ethics. Star Wars and other media properties are discussed as Exemplars, referencing and analyzing the role media plays in the kids lives and our culture at large."

I found a number of references and articles documenting this project


An extension - www.lingualgamers.com/thesis/transmedia_improv.html

Some photos of this project - www.flickr.com/photos/vanessabertozzi/sets/72057594079407031/

Article by Henry Jenkins with overview of project - spotlight.macfound.org/blog/entry/henry_jenkins_transmedia_improv_encourages_learning_by_remixing_media/

Article by Henry Jenkins with overview of project - www.pbs.org/mediashift/2006/07/learning-by-remixing194.html

Digital citizenship curriculum

a very important part of any artistic/media/etc. endeavor and just important in being a person on this planet - is the concept of intellectual property. One of the "roadbumps" in this changing world is how individuals interact and use content that comes to them.

Everyone wants everything for free, ideally... and the ethical lines people make between just using, stealing, and such has begun to blur or is not really addressed well, IMO, in the education system.

As part of any transmedia/digital/actually any type of project - creative content and intellectual property needs to be addressed. here is one new, and very solid, curriculum that comes with everything all set. And it is very good!!!! I plan on using this at the beginning of any unit. I like it is scenario based, meaning it has real world examples that students work through.

As transmedia/digital media moves into our lives more and more - who owns what is going to blur more and more (a piece of a transmedia project is the user becomes the creator in some avenues). There are actually some simulations where a student has his/her image used when at a video game contest and the implications of someone is making money and what can they do. Another - it's going to be interesting to see where things land.

www.digitalcitizenshiped.com/Curriculum.aspx

p.s. - I found this copyright resource that looks interesting as well - www.law.duke.edu/cspd/comics/