1)Media Literacy Tools to Comprehend and Critique Fake News
Video on Educator-Innovator
http://educatorinnovator.org/webinars/media-literacy-tools-to-comprehend-critique-fake-news/
This video gives techniques for educators to assist their students to think and to react to news related media, usually videos and secondarily, I suspect, print sources. It is important for students to be able to look at the facts, and do fact checking, and to utilize ample resources to substantiate their findings. Students can use websites, such as MediaBreaker, to counter and interrupt videos which they are watching and post a rebuttal,e.g. Students need to learn all of the aspects of media creation in order to make intelligent decisions about what they may hear and see. Commercials on TV can be addressed and deemed to be inappropriate or called out by students giving perspectives which might not be obvious to everyone, and it forces students to be critical and “push back”.
2)No Water, No Life
Video on AlliedMedia
Students created an important video affecting many many adult residents with real problems in the city of Detroit. The video is well edited and videographed and it shows the amount of concern that the students have regarding this issue. Various vignettes and real life situations were demonstrated so that the students really learned about this problem which not only affects the residents of this city, but in other areas as well. The students addressed the policies and legal issues surrounding the shut-offs of the summer of 2014 and offered varied opinions.The students shared their opinions,ideas and knowledge about a very serious problem.
3)How Harry Potter Fans won a four year fight Against Child Slavery
I have to confess that I am not a Harry Potter fan, although I do recall watching at least one Harry Potter video a few years ago to see what all the fuss was about. Apparently, Warner Brothers, who make and create the films, have an ancillary business of selling chocolates under a Harry Potter brand name. From my understanding of the article which appeared in the Washington Post, the CEO of the company, under pressure from many fans, and the “Harry Potter Alliance” agreed that the chocolates would only be farmed and produced using sustainable techniques, no child “slave” labour, and fair wages for the farmers. Certifications from two global sustainability organizations were received for the chocolates showing that the shared concerns of the fans can impact the agricultural practices throughout the world.
4)The Harry Potter Alliance: Connecting Fan Interest and Civic Action
It is apparent that the Harry Potter Alliance, or HPA, is an association founded a number of years ago which gives young people an opportunity to become involved in civic projects which are of interest to them. It is an academically oriented endeavor, A powerful association is made between the narrative of the Harry Potter themes and real life issues which provide a backdrop for promoting social change. To quote this article “In other words, HPA is a site of hybridization and translation between political and fantasy-centered frames of reference.” The shared purpose of this organization is to emulate the values depicted in the books and films
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, and to translate them into a “broader collective purpose”.
5)Danielle Filipiak on Learning with a Shared Purpose
Video
Educators need to learn to their students more, sometimes it only takes a single step in the right direction. The pressure to conform to standardized assessment tests within many, and I dare say most school districts forces teachers to take daring steps and may be considered to be not in synch with the expectations. Students need to have a good relationship not only with the teacher, but with themselves. The accountability for this rests on the environment and the atmosphere which the teacher needs to build through relationships within the classroom. Decisions need to be healthy for the students, and should not be made to only “appease the administrators”. Shared purpose within the classroom makes each student, and the teacher, invest in the values which are necessary for success.