Multimodal Assignment - Grading Resource

Writing A Movie - Rubric

Dr. Yong Zhao: Keynote Address 2012 ISTE Conference

Photo courtesy of: http://zhaolearning.com/

Scholar, author and speaker Dr. Yong Zhao researches and analyzes the impact of globalization and technology on education. In his keynote address given in 2012 at the International Society for Technology in Education conference, Zhao indicates United States standardized testing results, which often rank far below a number of countries especially in Asia, may not tell a complete story of how successful American education is and can be.



Zhao's argument is that the United States ranks high globally in entrepreneurship statistics.  He claims such success requires creativity, confidence and technology. 

Image courtesy of: http://zhaolearning.com/2012/06/06/test-scores-vs-entrepreneurship-pisa-timss-and-confidence/

"The results shocked a lot of researchers.  American students are basically mathematically ignorant but they are very confident," joked Zhao.  "American kids look at I cannot do I but I think I can do it."

Over the course of the Fairmont State University Teaching in the New Media Age class, we've read and analyzed a number of publications indicating technology and digital media have an important place in the classroom.  Those arguments, coupled with Zhao's beliefs, indicate our students can excel and succeed in a global world with the incorporation of non-traditional teaching methods.

"How come certain areas become more prosperous than other?  Technology, talent and tolerance," said Zhao.

Authors Rachael Adlington and Diane Hansford referenced an educator who implemented technology, tapped into specific talents and tolerated a non-traditional approach for an assignment.  He and his students enjoyed a successful curriculum outcome.  In the publication Digital Spaces and Young People's Online Authoring: Challenges for Teachers, Adlington and Hansford wrote, "Walsh (2007) discovered his 12 and 13 year old students were much more familiar with creating blogs than writing essays, and capitalized on this experience by setting a homework assignment to create a blog on the humanities topic being studied.  Walsh observed that the online blogging environment provides creators with the ability to upload and integrate multimodal objects.  He required his students to move away from print-only responses and include ‘and orchestrate images, written text, sound, music, animation and video into their designs’.”

Traditionalists argue students are becoming disconnected with formal writing, correct spelling and appropriate grammar by relying on technology to communicate, learn, and share ideas. Zhao argues important lessons can be taught even if it means meeting students in the middle - or incorporating some of those talents they use at home in the classroom.  He said, "Education is about enhancing human capacity.  Every talent is useful.  The curriculum should follow the child."  

Guy Merchant, author of Imagine All that Stuff Really Happening: narrative and identity in children’s on-screen writing, found, "Digital media and the new forms of communication provide rich possibilities for redefining interaction, and establishing participation and production that reach out beyond classroom spaces."  In his research, he indicated students who are digitally and technologically aware use online resources to become critical thinkers and in-depth communicators.  Those are skills Zhao might say cannot be taught by traditional means.

Those traditional ways of teaching, especially teaching literacy skills, are also challenged by Jennifer Roswell and Anne Burke.  They wrote, "When one comes to understand the design inherent in digital texts, one comes closer to bridging this gap between the digital realm of literacy and the traditional. More importantly, without this understanding, educators are only scratching the surface of their students’ learning capacities."  In their publication,

Reading by Design: Two Case Studies of Digital Reading Practices, the two met with youngsters who enjoy online anime.  One is drawn by Naruto. The other prefers Webkinz. 
They found both teenagers were using intricate reading and literacy skills while navigating their favorite sites online and keeping up with characters of choice.

Zhao did not aggressively say he is opposed to standardized testing to measure student and teacher success.  But, he strongly encourages more than a question/answer learning environment.  The idea supports his belief that the United States' entrepreneurial spirit is a result of a successful education system.  But, further strives could be made.  "With technology, we need to turn our children in to makers and creators and entrepreneurship not only consumers. Through making and designing, they learn how to do it."

A National Council of Teachers of English report from 2009 also emphasizes the importance of students learning to produce in schools as opposed to simply completing projects and assignments. The authors wrote, "Research shows that newer forms of assessments, such as portfolio and performance-based assessment, can motivate student learning. Portfolio-based assessment fosters reflection which, in turn, enhances student awareness of and engagement in learning. Performance-based assessment reveals how students can apply their knowledge in real world settings."

Whether using Minecraft, Xtranormal or Tikatok, or any other source that could be turned into a multimodal lesson plan, educators can see results and academic accomplishment through the digital products their students create.

References:

Yong, Zhao. "Global, Directive and Entrepreneurial: Defining High Quality Education." International Society for Technology in Education. San Diego, 26 Jun 2012. Keynote. 

Hansford, Diane, and Rachael Adlington. "English Literacy Conference." Digital spaces and young people’s online authoring: Challenges for teachers. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jul 2013. <http://www.englishliteracyconference.com.au/files/documents/AdlingtonHansford-Digital spaces.pdf>. 

Merchant, Guy. Imagine All that Stuff Really Happening: narrative and identity in children’s on-screen writing . N.p., 03 Nov 2004. Web. 28 Jul 2013. <http://www.wwwords.co.uk/pdf/validate.asp?j=elea&vol=1&issue=3&year=2004&article=2_Merchant_ELEA_1_3_web>. 

Roswell, Jennifer, and Anne Burke. "My Learning Spaces." Reading by Design: Two Case Studies of Digital Reading Practices. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jul 2013. <http://mylearningspaces.com/docs/ReadingbyDesign.pdf>. 

"www.ncte.org." Literacy Learning in the 21st Century A Policy Brief produced by the National Council of Teachers of English. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Jul 2013. <http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Magazine/CC0183_Brief_Literacy.pdf>. 

MultiModal Lesson Plan Activity

In the multimodal lesson, Writing a Movie: Summarizing and Rereading a Script, students sharpen their vocabulary, fluency, writing and reading skills.
You can read more about the idea that sparked the assignment in the blog Multi Modal Learning Adventure.

Students are expected to turn to an age appropriate vocabulary list like  this vocabulary list for words to be used in their movie script.

The lesson calls for students to write their own movie script to coincide with part of an existing scene of a movie where no dialogue exists.

An example would be this scene from The Lion King.



Their final product, using Xtranormal, or a similar online mulitmodal creating tool, could look something like this:

Lion King Script
by: dllb5657

Responding and Assessing Multimodal Texts

In the reading about responding and assessing by Sonya C. Borton and Brian Huot, the authors spend a bit of time explaining the use of progress journals in assessing a student's work and continued achievement within multimodal projects.

They write, "A systematic record with dated entries of encounters and thoughts on individual students’ projects can help teachers make more succinct and helpful comments based on past encounters."  They go on to add, "Some teachers may also find it useful to assign students a progress journal in which they, too, can record their developing assessments of their own composing processes and products."

Projects that include the use of multimodal technologies and require a multimodal creation are often multiple step processes. The reading indicates, as I've noticed myself, that working with such tools can be complex and overwhelming for those without experience or even those who have experience and are excited to do such work. In my opinion, journaling on the part of the instructor and the student can keep both on track and avoid a tendency to lose focus during detailed work.

Forcing students to reflect upon their work, add to their work and open up the doors for questions along the way encourages critical thinking and a chance for better academic outcomes.


 Kent State University's website has a resource page dedicated to assessing multimodal student work.  It seems to be a simple breakdown of what educators need to keep in mind when reviewing a student's multimodal project. As an inexperienced instructor, I appreciate how this article advises teachers, in simple steps and language, on how to start, proceed and complete a final assessment for a multimodal text.  Very much like in the article by Borton and Huot, the Kent State resource encourages learning by reviewing similar works. The publishers wrote, "you might ask them (students) to evaluate a sample multimodal text and explain how it may have been created and how they would assess it given the assignment criteria."  Sometimes expectations for a student should come in the form of an example as opposed to just written instruction.  I think that's especially true if you are expecting a digital product - which may be new to students at least in the academic setting.

Assessments should provide students... 

with both formative (during the process of producing a multimodal text) and summative (following the completion of a multimodal text) reviews, feedback and suggestions.  

The benefits of using formative assessments include things like...

assisting students with the technical help they may need in the very beginning of a multimodal project.  But, it also means helping students plan a project based on curriculum and academic expectations and setting them up to follow through successfully on their plans.  Ultimately, students are set up to perform with few lingering questions.

Collaborating with students on assessment criteria...

is not a bad idea at all. In fact, I think students better understand expectations when they have a hand in setting those guidelines. Sometimes it is difficult to understand the purpose of a final product until you see the steps you're expected to complete along the way. I believe it is much easier to assess one's work when you know you clearly laid out a plan and discussed it with him/her along the way. It leaves little room for misunderstanding, reworking projects and having to re-explain a goal when classroom time already seems so limited.

Rubric for Multimodal Learning Adventure: Writing a Movie (already provided)

Rubric for Multimodal Learning Adventure: Writing a Movie (created with rubistar) 

Multi Modal Learning Adventure

Writing a Movie: Summarizing and Rereading a Film Script

 Image Courtesy of: http://0.tqn.com/d/themeparks/1/0/2/I/1/Despicable-Me-Ride-Readers-Choice-Award-Winner.jpg

 

I would like to utilize and modify the lesson plan from Helen Hoffner, Ed.D., as a multi modal learning adventure.

The adventure/lesson plan focuses on vocabulary and fluency.

Image courtesy of: http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/20100000/The-Lion-King-1-the-lion-king-20129347-1150-673.jpg

Scriptwriters

Students would watch a clip of a popular movie (online for easiest access).  The lesson plan calls for them to create their own lines during a particular clip that has no current dialogue. I think using particular vocabulary words from the week or a unit would help them develop interest in the definitions, pronunciations and spellings of those words.

Directors/Actors

Once students create their lines, there are a number multi modal activities that could follow.
Using a smart phone or digital camera, it would be interesting to see how they act-out their lines.
In terms of fluency, the lesson plan's author indicates students would have to recite the lines they've written at a pace to keep up with the movie scenes. Those recordings could be uploaded for the students to show off.

Promoters

Also, I might be a good idea to utilize an online application to create a promotional movie poster that would include a summary of their clip using descriptive words including some of the vocabulary words.

Pop Culture Tie In

Students are engaged in pop movie culture.  While they are waiting for the next movie to come out, they are watching it's predecessor over and over again (and so are their parents).

Engaging for All

I think any student could engage in this multi modal lesson because they likely all have a favorite movie.  Students would be free to choose a movie they like to eliminate some students from disengaging in the multi modal learning adventure right off the bat.

Researching and Further Reading

Finding clips online helps them navigate the web and engage in digital literacies.
It may also be helpful for students to find online reviews of their movies to help them get started.  That's also a chance to broaden vocabulary.


The online description of the lesson plan lays out a number of West Virginia education and curriculum stands met by the project.  They include, but are not limited to:

Subject: Language Arts
Grade(s): 3
Standard: RLA.O.3.1.05.b.  –  Accuracy

Subject: Language Arts
Grade(s): 3
Standard: RLA.O.3.2.02.  –  Students will identify and produce a grammatically correct sentence (e.g., correct subject/verb agreement with singular and plural nouns and verbs, correct use of regular and irregular verbs, avoiding run-on sentences and fragments).


Subject: Language Arts
Grade(s): 3
Standard: RLA.O.3.2.04.d.  –  Descriptive and transitional words

Subject: Language Arts
Grade(s): 4
Standard: RLA.O.4.1.05.  –  Students will read fluently with appropriate rate, accuracy and prosody.

Image courtesy of: http://www.energyburrito.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/the-wizard-of-oz.jpg

The lesson plan author recommends a number of movies including the following:
Repeat this lesson using other highly visual adventure films, such as:

• The Lion King. Allers, R. & Minkoff, R. (Directors). (1994). The lion king [Motion picture]. United States: Disney Studios.
• The Wizard of Oz. Fleming, V. (Director). (1939). The wizard of Oz [Motion picture]. United States: Warner Studios.
• Annie. Houston, J. (Director). (1982). Annie [Motion picture]. United States: Columbia Tri-Star.
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Spielberg, S. (Director). (1989). Indiana Jones and the last crusade [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Studio.

Image, Language, and Sound: Making Meaning with Popular Culture Texts

"Instead of traveling into what we perceive as youth territory to learn from as well as to teach, adults habitually stay safely distanced from these areas, thinking that youth’s popular culture is of little interest to their adult tastes or that youth would not want to share these interests with adults."
-Image, Language, and Sound: Making Meaning with Popular Culture Texts 

My Review

Guilty. We're all guilty of it. Talking and not listening. Sharing and not receiving. Where does it leave us?

• Parents who miss their child's latest accomplishment.
• Journalists who miss the real story.
• Educators who miss a teachable opportunity.

The Youtube Video of the Pepsi Next Baby Commercial might be a bit of a stretch, but it proves a point.  As adults we need to be more in tuned to what's making our young people tick, think and explore.

Is it the latest dance phenomenon ? The just-released blockbuster? A new social media application? An online game? Or in the case of Ned in Image, Language and Sound: Making Meaning with Popular Culture Texts, up and coming rap artists.

As adults, perhaps we tend to think if we aren't well versed in a topic, subject or pop culture trend, we shouldn't bring it up. That's what the authors in the cited text eluded to when the wrote, "Adults often take a hands-off approach, leaving discussions involving differing meanings of popular culture texts unsealed. This is frequently attributed to a “generation gap,” which keeps adults from venturing to inquire into youth’s popular culture interests."

I don't think it's up to educators to set trends, define pop culture or even buy into each latest fad.  But, our children do all those things. And, as educators we are taught to turn anything into a teachable moment. If we listen to what our kids are talking about and observe their latest "likes", we can likely turn their interests into education.

Real Life Example

I was in high school in the mid 1990's. In 1989, Billy Joel released "We Didn't Start the Fire".

 

Wikipedia refers to the lyrics of the song as "rapid-fire allusions to more than 100 headline events" in a 40 year period.

 
The song was a mega hit.  People loved it or hated it. But, they knew of it. And, so did one of our history instructors (who I was not fortunate enough to have as a teacher). Rare for students to be discussing classroom instruction in the hallways, at lunch and on the bus.  But, this teacher's students were discussing what they were learning in history class from the Billy Joel single.

The lyrics opened the door for discussions about countless subjects: 

• communism
• space exploration
• presidential assassinations
• and so much more.

 

My Stance...

on using popular culture texts in school is to go for it.  Listen, learn and act upon what your kids are discussing to engage them.

My Concerns...

about using popular culture texts in school would be parental and administrative feedback.  I think it would be necessary to be smart in the pop culture ideas you use as teaching tools. Some pop culture phenomena is met with criticism by sectors of the community.  Be selective.

School Based Writing....

can be triggered by pop culture texts. I notice our 10 year old often writes fictional stories based on her media interests at the time. In the article at the top of the blog, without his knowledge, Ned was engaged in writing. They weren't reports, they weren't formal letters. But, had he gone back through the correspondence he had with teachers, he may have been able to incorporate much of those writings in to a report that met curriculum mandates.

I Once Used....

a WVU marching band cd, a newspaper article regarding a WVU bowl game win in Georgia, a WV map and several dozen pepperoni rolls to guest-teach a 5th grade class about The Mountain State.  Those students graduated in May. To my knowledge, none of them chose my alma mater as their college.  But, I bet all of them can hold their left  hand up, palm facing away from them and see the outline of the state of West Virginia.  (all fingers extended so as to not be making a suggestive gesture) They know about miners, what they ate for lunch while working and they know about mountaineer pride.  Had they been required to write up a review of my guest-teaching, I think they would have had enough knowledge to briefly discuss our state on a 5th grade level. (I hope...)

Appalachian Youth and Digital Technologies

Image courtesy of Flikr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cpjobling/5030364288/

Access

The case studies prepared by my classmates make it clear that digital technologies are becoming easily accessible and affordable to average to high income families and those who fall in between. Because of that, we are seeing children of various ages, from 9 to 17 who own tech tools or have daily and immediate access to gaming systems, iPods, laptops and more.

Examples: 

• 9 Year Old Avery - Average Income - Computer, iPod, iPad Touch, Wii
• 10 Year Old Heidi - Middle Class - iPod, Laptop, DSI (and others)
• 13 Year Old "Jane" - High Socio Economic Status - Laptop, iPod, iPad (and others) 
• 14 Year Old Wyatt - Average Income - iPod, Computer
• 17 Year Old Breanna - Middle Class - Computer  

Those examples indicate teachers in Appalachia can assume many of the students in their class come to school with at least some access to digital media technologies.

Ability 

Of the examples above, case study authors found, more often than not, students seem to have an natural instinct to navigate and operate their high tech tools.  For instance, Wyatt said he learned by "just getting on and messing around".  When Breanna and Heidi haven't been comfortable learning on their own, they have both relied on siblings to advise them in using various applications.  Still, Heidi found it difficult to explain how she learns to play new games.  Avery told his case study author he "just wanted to try new things" and experiments on his own when he doesn't rely on tips from friends.

Those examples seem to indicate many Appalachian children come to school with more than a base knowledge of how to use digital media.  And, even if they don't kids appear willing to help each other which could save time for teachers trying to put new tools to use and maximize time in doing so.

Adapting

Appalachian children featured in the case studies prove they will adapt to the latest trend.  Wyatt, Avery, and Heidi are just a few who can't stop playing Minecraft.  The popular structure-building game seems to be popular with both boys and girls and among a wide range of ages.  In social media, the latest games seeing widespread use among adults are just as popular with students.  For instance, Heidi and "Jane" both play Candy Crush Saga, a simple, but competitive matching game sometimes described as addictive. 

Teachers in Appalachia who can work trending games and applications into their curriculum should see no trouble with students adapting to them and becoming players who are simultaneously learning.

Media Ecology Case Study Final

10 Years Old & Tech Savvy

The online habits of the 10 year old interviewed for this particular study indicate she can, and does, wear many digital hats.  Please click the link to learn more about her, her online habits, digital media access and potential incorporation of them in the classroom.

Case Study Reviews

I chose the following two case studies to review and reflect upon.
  

1. Imagine All that Stuff Really Happening: narrative and identity in children’s on-screen writing
   
2.  Kids Closer Up:Playing, Learning, and Growing with Digital Media 

  

Summary of Case Study 1

In reading "Imagine All that Stuff Really Happening: narrative and identity in children's on-screen writing, I felt a bit lost at times. Admittedly, my university undergraduate background is not in education, and I think that may have played a factor in deciphering the information and how it applies to the early findings and summaries of my own Media Ecology Case Study: 10 Years Old & Tech Savvy.

However, I believe the study makes a case for the educational value that can be placed on children being digitally inclined and technologically aware.  The author, in his final statement, indicates, "Digital media and the new forms of communication provide rich possibilities for redefining interaction, and establishing participation and production that

reach out beyond classroom spaces."  It is clear he sees a valuable connection between what kids can do online and the impact it has on higher thinking, critical assessment and in depth communication.

It appears what many of the students pick up through digital sources (movies, music, television shows, online games), they can and do utilize in writing typical of writing assignment.  The author found, "Many of the texts that these projects generated show children recruiting different parts of their multi-layered identities into the texts they produce.

Whilst some aspects of their narrative writing are characteristic of the enclosures of bookspace, the electronic communication is far more diverse,often showing fluid movement between different facets of the authors’ experience."

In one student's writing, a girl named Kavita, the author notes that she includes phrases like "there once was", "formally known as" and "the hit film Disney's Beauty and the  Beast".  I'm going out on a limb to say that some of those phrases weren't likely learned in the classroom, but she can certainly incorporate them into her assignment for this study.  I'd venture to say then, students are learning from digital technologies and can successfully incorporate those lessons into their creativity and critical thinking.

For example, a student named Kavita, spends much of her time personalizing the writings she shares with the study's author - from developing her own sort of signature in emails to coming up with designs and digital artwork to go with her the stories she shares.  Simply changing the text color to red and background to green when she describes a single rose that is growing in her story is part of her storytelling and communicating.

In this case study, I found information to support my own theory that multimodal and multigenre ideas adapted from technology can better a classroom experience.

Summary of Case Study 2  

In beginning to read "Kids Closer Up: Playing, Learning and Growing with Digital Media", I was initially excited to see how two 8 year old girls (with similar online and digital interests as the 10 year old in my case study) were using technology to engage in creativity and entertainment. The study considered the socioeconomic backgrounds of the two young girls, influences of adults and other children in their lives and access to games, movies, Internet browsers and more.  They were the mirror image of the student in my own case study.

Similarities in Case Study 2 and my Case Study

• The girls enjoy music via iPods or other devices with earbuds.  
• They enjoy gaming systems, especially if they can engage in play with others.
• They play fashion games.
• They enjoy cooking games. 
•  They have regular access to digital media and the Internet.

Differences in Case Study 2 and my Case Study

•  The younger girls have not created their own digital works (videos, edited pictures)
• There was no indication the younger girls have had to write research papers and use the Internet as a source for information.
• The younger girls had not yet sought out sites that allowed them to better manage their own creativity (for example Tikatock - as mentioned in the initial draft of my own case study.)

Because of fewer examples of those self created multimodal products, I believe the author of Kids Closer Up: Playing, Learning and Growing with Digital Media, did not necessarily find educational value in what kids are doing with digital media.  She wrote, "Even as new technologies captivate young users in ever-faster cycles, the developmental capacities and predilections of children remain, for the most part, stable." 

It could be I misunderstood the purpose of the case study, but I disagree that online digital media use doesn't impact development.

She does acknowledge that the age of her case study students may limit the educational value they get from digital media and indicates future use of digital media could be valuable in learning: "Eight-year-olds are still too young to effectively appropriate many of the digital tools and resources available for creative expression and computation. Trajectories toward future participation are not determined by age 8, but how Katie and Victoria use digital media to pursue topics of interest to them now will shape what they know, what they can do, and how they see themselves by age 13."

For that last argument, I feel that the entire 23 page study was not a waste in the terms of trying to analyze my own case study.