Gerbner’s article discusses the impact media has on society, how it shapes viewer’s thinking. The main media outlets are owned by a select few corporations and they control what viewers see and in many ways what they think. It reproduces social inequities. In response, the Cultural Environment Movement is an organization developed to counter this and promote independence and freedom in media. The Mirra, Morrell and Filipiak article looks at four forms of digital media, consumption, production, distribution and invention, and how educating students in this discourse is important for academic development as well as becoming problem solvers in the future. Historically, invention and creation within digital media has been inaccessible to marginalized groups. The authors emphasize how digital invention is a valuable tool to develop K-12 literacy. The Ted Talk expands that same message. Halverson’s talk emphasizes the importance of art, and how it is a productive form of literacy. Our K-12 schools focus on math, science, history, reading and writing but there is insufficient attention on creativity. Students don’t make things. They prepare for tests. In order for schools to help students become productive adults it is important that they learn to create. Using media to create and tell stories integrates multiple subjects and develops children’s creativity as well as expanding the ability to communicate.
The writings made me think about the lack of literacy and media production in my K-12 experiences. The focus of my education was in traditional form. The schools I attended were centered around preparing students for college. I didn’t take any art classes and after elementary school art was not incorporated into much of the academic work I engaged with. In a couple of my English classes we performed plays as we read Shakespeare and other classic literature, but we did not create media beyond written essays. Most classes were about regurgitating what was read or taught. Although, in my freshman English class we made a short video, but it was a very quick assignment without drawing on much creativity.
I see the value in incorporating digital media creation into K-12 and my question is what does that look like in an elementary school teacher’s curriculum?
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