Teaching Technology & Production

One of the best ways to understand how media are put together is to do just that - make a video, create a website. The more real world the project is, the better. New technologies create all sorts of possibilities for making media. This technology is getting cheaper all the time, but making media doesn’t have to be high-tech.

We make to learn, rather than learn to make.
Robert Ferguson, The Media in Question 2004

One of the best ways to understand how media are put together is to do just that-- make a video, create a website, develop an ad campaign about a community issue. The more real world the project is, the better. Digital cameras and computer authoring programs provide easy ways to integrate creative production projects in any subject area. In addition the four major arts disciplines -- music, dance, theatre and the visual arts -- can also provide a context through which one gains skills of analysis, interpretation and appreciation along with opportunities for self-expression and producing a message for an audience.

New technologies create all sorts of possibilities for making media. With the right computer packages, students can manipulate photographs and images, create layouts for newspapers or magazines, edit video and sound, and put their work out on the World Wide Web. This technology is getting cheaper all the time, and it can make your work look really professional. But making media doesn’t have to be high-tech. Students can make great stuff with instant cameras, or even just paper, scissors and glue. Magazines, collages, posters and photo displays are cheap and easy to make, and can be a good way of getting message across. Radio or audio tape can also be a great medium to work with.

Read Teaching Tips for Media Production and a summary of the Key Questions

scheinwerfer
There are many reasons for students to want to make their own media:



• To get views across to an audience
• To help explore own ideas and experiences
• To learn to work with other people
• To have fun!

Of course, there’s a lot of fun to be had just messing around with media. But if you want to really improve the work of the students, you can learn a lot from trying to reach a particular audience.

This will help them think hard about what they want to say, and how they are going to put it across. Finding out how people respond to what a group of students produces can be surprising and informative – and (if you’re lucky) it will really give them confidence. There are more and more ways for young people to get their productions noticed: use the World Wide Web, or approach your local TV or radio station.

Source: Buckingham, David: Questioning the Media: A Guide for Students.
Source: 2003 Center for Media Literacy / www.medialit.org Literacy for the 21st Century / Orientation & Overview