m-DIVER USE SCENARIO: An application of DIVER by a middle school Language Arts instructor for teaching skills in Listening and Speaking. Eric Bailey, Peter Worth ED 229 C Seminar in Learning, Design and Technology Stanford University School of Education February 25, 2004

Analysis & Evaluation of Oral & Media Comm. 1.7: Identify, analyze, and critique persuasive techniques (e.g., promises, dares, flattery, glittering generalities); identify logical fallacies used in oral presentations and media messages. Eric Bailey, Peter Worth ED 229 C Seminar in Learning, Design and Technology Stanford University School of Education February 25, 2004

Analysis & Evaluation of Oral & Media Comm. 1.8: Analyze media as sources for information, entertainment, persuasion, interpretation of events, and transmission of culture. Eric Bailey, Peter Worth ED 229 C Seminar in Learning, Design and Technology Stanford University School of Education February 25, 2004

The toughest thing for Tammy about teaching a 4 th – 5 th combination was not, as she had imagined, the double planning, teaching, and grading. Even more difficult, she found was teaching kids critical thinking skills when they were at such different levels of development. She enjoyed teaching that subject, because she believed that functional literacy includes an understanding of and facility with mass media, and wanted to enhance the students’ learning. She believes that functional literacy includes an understanding of and facility with mass media.

She had used video clips and stills to help students sort out the differences between types of media, but often felt like she was telling the kids what to think instead of teaching them to analyze.

Even harder, Tammy struggles with trying to help her kids understand media as a source for “transmission of culture.” She believes that there’s too much distance between the students and the media, and the whole class environment makes it tough to keep her kids engaged. Her friend, Tasha has had success with media. During their break, she asks Tasha about her particular teaching techniques. Tasha explains that she too has found the transmission of culture concept difficult to teach, but that she has had some success while trying out interesting technology-enhanced activities in her class. She suggests Tammy come watch her prepare for one of these activities during her break the following day.

The next day, Tammy and Tasha meet. The two reflect on what it means for media to “transmit culture”, and ways to put that understanding into a language that their kids would understand. They decide to use popular music as a framework for their ideas. Tasha and Tammy spend some time searching the internet for the kids’ favorite music videos. They decide on a new 50 Cent video that their kids keep talking about and mimicking during class. Then Tasha launches the m-DIVER software she has been using to manage and conduct her activities. Tammy observes as Tasha begins quickly importing Quicktime,.mov, and other video formats into m-DIVER.

Tasha opens the 50 Cent video in m-DIVER Administrator. There, the two begin an analysis of it. Using guided noticing, they isolate, capture, and label images and sequences representing cultural archetypes, caricatures, values and practices. Tasha hands Tammy the m-DIVER curricular guide and explains that it is instrumental in helping her in completing the next, most important, task.

Reading over the curriculum’s principles of analysis, Tammy recognizes its use of Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide for understanding levels of critical thinking. Meanwhile, Tasha begins creating prompts to accompany each clip. She explains to Tammy that different types of prompts stimulate varying levels of thought and analysis in her kids. Tasha prepares the class DIVE with two sets of prompts- one for her 4th graders, the other for her older students.

Since DIVER offers a tiered prompt system to make scaffolding easy, Tammy was able to quickly enter a few levels of prompts for each mark. Level 1 -“Is there anything funny in this scene? Zoom in on it.” “Okay, that’s pretty basic knowledge and identification.” Level 2 - “Why is it funny?” “There. That’s getting closer to comprehension and application.” Level 3- “Why do you think the video maker put that there?” “Alright. That’s more of an analysis.”

Tasha explains what would happen next. Pointing out the activities in m-DIVER curriculum, she explains that when kids can actually focus in on and manipulate media, they begin gaining an objective understanding of it. She describes how her kids might work in groups- pairing older students with younger ones. She also describes activities that would be useful in a computer lab environment and shorter ones that are effective if directed by her with a single display. Finally, she mentions “pie in the sky” activities that would be possible with touch-screen technologies their school might never acquire, but that were being experimented with at other schools. Tasha saves the project and they’re done.

FIN Eric Bailey, Peter Worth ED 229 C Seminar in Learning, Design and Technology Stanford University School of Education February 25, 2004