MEDIA LITERACY - 2015 SPRING SEMESTER
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Content
Your Media Diet + Why Critical Thinking in Media? 1. Personalized search by Google
and Facebook: TED talk by Eli Pariser Beware online filter bubbles 2. Localization with
filtered searches in China by Google until 2010 & why Google left China
Homework (HW): Learning Reflection Log (LRL) & Your Media Diet
Your Media Diet + Why Critical Thinking? 3. How easily information can be made
unavailable on the Internet (Pakistan, 2008): TED talk by Jonathan Zittrain, The Web as
Random Act of Kindness + MUSIC VIDEO: the universal language of images, Waving Flag;
images, words and music in a music video work on affect to convince people to help;
analysis of images and words in Waving Flag
HW: LRL
MUSIC VIDEO: emotional responses to music; Project “Helping Others”: choose a cause
to help & Linkin Park video Not Alone use of words to make images stronger
HW: LRL
MUSIC VIDEO: the decision process to donate money for a good cause; 3 key factors: raise
awareness, make people feel responsible, make them feel able and competent to help;
what emotion for maximum help (connected vs. unconnected audience); Project “Helping
Others”: process to donate money & what emotion
HW: LRL
MUSIC VIDEO: review of week 4 + creating a music video with PowerPoint (adding music
& transitions between slides, saving the project as a movie); Project “Helping Others”
HW: LRL & work on music video
MUSIC VIDEO: 2014 music videos + finish music video
HW: get ready for presentation of music video
MUSIC VIDEO: students’ presentation & evaluation
HW: LRL
Last student music video + editing music videos following feedback
HW: LRL & find good news reading one front page of an English newspaper every day
Edited music videos + NEWS framing: negative vs. positive; negative news outnumber
positive ones; why; problems with negative news; 4 solutions with focus on less
problematic and more solution-oriented coverage of news; Project “Helping Others”:
find projects which address these problems
HW: LRL
MUSIC VIDEO: share information about project that will help problem of music video &
Add slides in music video to introduce it: deadline for completed music video = week 11
HW: LRL
Watch completed music videos + Publication of music videos on YouTube with links on
Facebook and/or Twitter + Presentation of the Peaceful Ring FB page: add link of music
videos on page
HW: LRL & advertise the Peaceful Ring FB Page to your friends
NEWS: framing events (L.A. Riots): Freedom Writers; how the news covered the riots
through racial framing; definition of frames and how they are conveyed; importance of
critical thinking towards TV news + scenes from movie Wag the Dog + what’s “truth”?:
charter to find reliable information + video about nuclear power plants in Fukushima after
3.11
HW: LRL
NEWS: framing people with caricatures of actors (fun), of Jews (Nazi propaganda), of
African Americans (Freedom Writers); in the movie, teacher makes students understand
the problem of prejudice by giving the story of the holocaust a face + Other lesson from
Freedom Writers: product placement; internet search to define product placement & find
examples in movies, anime, and/or music video
14
15
HW: LRL
Freedom Writers: movie viewing, part I
HW: LRL
Freedom Writers: movie viewing, part II; discussion about product placement
HW: LRL