Smashing Watermelons to Get Out of the Cave I don’t know if he’s still around, but there was a comedian, Gallagher, who used to smash watermelons with a sledgehammer as part of his routine. He also had a piece that went on and on about the general nature of young people of middle school age. His conclusion was, “I don’t think we should try to teach them anything. Just put … [Read more...] about Thoughts on How We Can Tell Our Stories
Storytelling
How I Got Here and Stories From the Field
This is Part 1 of a two-part series about Larry's life and experience using storytelling in education and literacy. Introduction Stories have always been teachers, whether told by a live person, or played out in modern media. As a storyteller/ educator, I believed my job to be to tell stories to help children find what they care about the most. That, in turn, would … [Read more...] about How I Got Here and Stories From the Field
Media Literacy, Security, and Youth Engagement with Global Current Affairs: The Case of Deterrence
This paper explores the relationship between media literacy, youth global engagement, storytelling, and contemporary security, using the case study of Deterrence, a web documentary in eight episodes co-created with students at Bournemouth University. The paper starts by making the case for factual, interdisciplinary knowledge as a pillar of media literacy. I argue that, … [Read more...] about Media Literacy, Security, and Youth Engagement with Global Current Affairs: The Case of Deterrence
Storytelling, Theme Parks, and Media Literacy in Dark Ride: Disneyland
Abstract: While storytelling has been a part of the media literacy discourse since the emergence of the field, in recent years, there has been a shift in focus on media as “messages” or “content” over “stories.” Restoring story as a foundational concept to our conversations around media literacy has a number of affordances, for example, allowing learners to critically … [Read more...] about Storytelling, Theme Parks, and Media Literacy in Dark Ride: Disneyland
Education as Storytelling
I recently found myself exploring an unfamiliar environment half-way around the world having conversations with my son Cory in California, my friend Brian in Florida and a group of people from around the world I had never met before. I was in a virtual reality space created by a company called Altspace VR. Oculus headsets transported us from our own separate realities into an … [Read more...] about Education as Storytelling
The Design Journey
The Ensō Education Institute—a network of innovators passionate about transforming education by designing a world that works for everyone—emerged from a series of international symposia held in 2019. At an Orlando symposium, we were joined by Marieli Rowe and Karen Ambrosh, respectively the executive director and president of The National Telemedia Council. Marieli shared with … [Read more...] about The Design Journey
On Multisensory and Transmedia Stories: A Conversation between Angela Ndalianis and Henry Jenkins
This special issue of Journal of Media Literacy focuses around “storytelling” and learning across media. Both of us write about a broad array of different media in our work, often making juxtapositions between past and present, high and low. As a way of introducing what we do, it might be helpful to explore what drives these explorations. How would you sum up some of the core … [Read more...] about On Multisensory and Transmedia Stories: A Conversation between Angela Ndalianis and Henry Jenkins
Adding to the Teaching Toolkit: How to use podcasting in the classroom
Podcasting is a dynamic tool for educators of every age and subject, and an innovative way for students to learn. By Willa Seidenberg Willa Seidenberg is a Professor of Professional Practice at Annenberg’s School of Journalism. When I begin a new semester of my courses on podcasting and audio journalism, one of the first PowerPoint presentations I give is called “Why … [Read more...] about Adding to the Teaching Toolkit: How to use podcasting in the classroom
Discovering Theme Parks: New Media Literacy in Three Dimensions
One accepted principle of pedagogy is that multimedia usage in the classroom is beneficial to student success. Students have distinct learning styles, multiple intelligences, or different interests. When thinking of the concept of multiple mediums, presumably what comes to mind is combining textual, visual, and aural inputs to create multi-sensory lessons. Using the theme park … [Read more...] about Discovering Theme Parks: New Media Literacy in Three Dimensions
A Brief History of Media Literacy
If you’re reading this, it must mean that I’m still alive…at least in some artificial intelligence form. Welcome to the Museum of Media Literacy as we rapidly approach the 22nd century, and our exhibit on the history of written, performed, and holographic media. Please adjust your corneal lenses so you can “read” the “magazine” or “computer screen” in front of you … [Read more...] about A Brief History of Media Literacy
