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• 1 media/four girls laptop floor.jpg 2015-09-22T05:48:53-07:00 Educator Collaborations 19 image_header 2015-10-15T06:51:08-07:00 Are you interested in how teachers are using this resource to plan lessons? This section of the project offers an in-depth look at how educators and activists have helped us build on and improve this resource for use in learning spaces by sharing their navigational and lesson planning processes.
  
  Starting in Summer 2014, we began piloting the By Any Media Necessary (BAM) online resource with groups of K-12 educators affiliated with the National Writing Project. This was done in an effort to see how teachers can utilize the resource in their classrooms. Sessions brought together small groups of teachers to informally explore the BAM resource, provide feedback on the utility of the scalar platform and usability of the interface, test drive some of the available materials such as the MAPP workshops and digital media toolkit, and engage with the sizable archive of media on BAM. For example, high school Economics teacher Albert spoke from experience as a teacher who already incorporates creative use of digital media and technology into his classroom. He described how different aspects of the BAM resource could help him scaffold and build lessons that deepen students’ critical engagement with social issues and how working with these practices and tools could help students learn to express their knowledge and opinions through creative and maker practices that they are passionate about.
  
  Through our conversations, we also sought to understand some of the structural obstacles preventing teachers from working with digital media and technology in their classrooms. For example, high school Language Arts teacher Kate talked with us about administrative and systemic barriers to working with cellphones and other kinds of digital media and technology at her school, and discussed ways that she and other teachers could legitimize this kind of work and navigate around these barriers.
  
  While the MAPP team hopes that BAM is a resource for teachers, we understand that we ourselves are not teachers and therefore the development of lesson and unit plans is not our expertise. Rather than outline how we feel BAM can be used in the classroom, we would like to highlight how actual teachers are using the resource. We hope to continue to partner with teachers who are using BAM in their classrooms in the months ahead.
   
• 1 2015-09-22T06:01:48-07:00 Teachers from Locke High School in South LA 15 plain 180988 2015-10-13T07:23:02-07:00 This section highlights two teachers, Albert and Kate, who have created lesson plans based on their explorations through BAM.  Both high school teachers at Locke High School in the Watts area of South Los Angeles, Kate teaches 10th grade Language Arts and Albert teaches 11th and 12th grade Economics. They are both members of the UCLA Writing Project.
  
  We met Kate and Albert in a 4-series working group conducted with teachers from the UCLA Writing Project in November-February 2014-2015, in which MAPP team members were able to gain in-depth feedback on BAM and see it incorporated into lesson plans that were then executed in the classroom.
  
  As teachers at a high poverty, under-resourced high school run by a corporate charter entity, Kate and Albert often based their conversations in the working group around the particularities of their school environment and the unique obstacles they face when bringing new media into the classroom. For example, Kate described what it’s like to teach 10th graders in Watts, where trauma is central to their everyday experiences, and Albert talked about how even though they work in an under-resourced community and school that is going through big changes, they have been able to find ways to incorporate digital media and technology into their classrooms, and that means that other teachers should be able to too.
  
  
   
• 1 2015-09-22T06:04:01-07:00 Albert - 11th & 12th Grade Economics Teacher 14 plain 2015-10-13T07:47:54-07:00 In this video, Albert describes his “Social Justice through Parody” project. As he explains, he tries to go beyond teaching the “traditional supply and demand” in his Economics class and tries to “infuse it with the social justice themes that our students are really receptive to.” As part of a unit that deals with globalization’s implications on communities of poverty. Albert implemented a lesson plan in which students made parody videos to call attention to social justice issues. He used "No Healthcare? No Problem!," a DREAMer video that plays with the idea that VapoRub is seen as a ubiquitous cure-all within Latino communities and juxtaposes the humor with sobering facts about the lack of healthcare options for undocumented immigrants.
  
  Speaking from experience as a teacher who already incorporates creative use of digital media and technology into his classroom, he also talked about how different aspects of the BAM resource, such as the digital media examples, workshops, conversation starters, and digital media toolkit, could help him build lessons that deepen students’ critical engagement with learning about social issues and expressing their knowledge and opinions through creative and maker practices that they are passionate about.
  
  Below you can find a range of materials Albert has been using for the project. His full write up and reflection are not yet available on Digital Is, as he is still implementing the project, but readers should find these materials helpful in detailing it. Included are a worksheet with a project introduction and possible topics, an outline of project elements, and a rubric for grading the various elements. Below is his rationale in his own words:
  
  Counterstories and Our Students
  
  Our students have lived experiences that often leave educators in awe of their resilience and courage. Being from a predominantly black and brown community in South Los Angeles, the narratives and unique experiences of my students can get lost in the larger scope of problems facing the community. As I sought to infuse my district mandated curriculum with elements of social justice and an authentic appreciation for the voices of my students, I looked to Critical Race Counterstorytelling to help my students not only identify issues close to them, but move towards action against a dominant narrative that devalues their voices.
  
  Paolo Friere first identified critical race counterstorytelling as a way of socially marginalized people to reflect on their lives and bring critical awareness surrounding social and racial injustices (Friere 1970). In Critical Race Counterstories along the Chicana/Chicano Educational Pipeline (2006), Professor Tara Yosso identifies these counterstories as “valid and valuable data” that “challenge majoritarian stories that omit and distort the histories and realities of oppressed communities.” This notion of somebody’s experience and storing being actual “data” with real meaning is what not only captivated me but lent weight to my students’ voices.
  
  The first step in advocating for change is bringing light to an issue. Internet sharing and social media allow causes to go viral and spread the call to action. The juxtaposition of a ludicrous misconception or stereotypes to the harsh and often depressing reality of a situation creates lasting images that can spark a desire to get involved. I wanted to take my students’ counterstories along with an interests in a modern day political or social topic and have them advocate and become activists in their own way.
  
  Introducing counterstories to students
  
  In order to have students fully bought into the power of counterstorytelling and the idea that their own voices can spark change, I first had to introduce them to the concept of counterstory telling.  We started by looking at a traditional examples of counterstorytelling as told in Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales’ legendary poem, I am Joaquin. After having students break down the narratives that “Corky” Gonzales is challenging, we then look at a different version of a counterstory that combines today’s media and satire to challenge the dominant narrative.  We used archived videos from the MAPP project, By Any Media Necessary, to understand how the purposeful use of satire and counterstorytelling can raise critical awareness and promote action. Once students have the initial buy in, they can now move towards identifying issues close to home.
  
  Selecting Issues
  
  Having students select their own issues is key to this activity because it allows them to voice their true experiences.  After all, a counterstory cannot exist if it doesn’t come from a students’ lived experiences. Because undocumented people represent a growing number of community members, my group of students gravitated towards that as their topic. It’s important to note that tackling issues within a struggling community can force us to cross paths with some rather controversial issues. Keeping in mind that the issues will be initially satirized as part of the counterstorytelling process in this activity, it’s important that students have a clear vision for their counterstory as to prevent this from solely becoming a parody or spoof. It is at this point that students must also identify the action they will be asking the audience to take. Will they be asking for viewers to support legislation or rally in support of a cause
  
  Counterstories and Satire Project
  
  Goal: Create a satirical counterstory video bringing to light an economic or social issue that remains unsolved or problematic.  Your counterstory should challenge stereotype or misconception perpetuated by the dominant culture.
  
  Intro
  
  An issue or problem in society can’t be addressed until the public becomes aware of it.  Citizenship is more than just voting.  Citizenship is about identifying and working towards solutions on some of our biggest societal problems.  It’s about addressing how our decisions impact the larger world around us.  Using your knowledge government and economics (thus far), you will create a counterstory that uses your experiences and satire to bring a serious issue to light.  Although you will be using satire to get your point across, your whole message should lead the audience to an understanding of a more serious issue in our society and call viewers to action.  For an example, watch this parody on healthcare and undocumented people in the United States: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsD3OkvxCMc
  
  Possible Topics
  • Water Privatization
  • Income Inequality
  • Predatory Lending
  • Gender Gap
  • Labor Rights
  • Immigration
  • Health Care
  • Veterans
  • Homelessness
  • Prison Industrial Complex
  • Racial Profiling
  • Other (must be approved)
  Project Timeline/Sequence-
  1. Identifying topic – Pick a topic that your group wishes to bring attention to and encourage action or social change.  Topics can range from community specific issues, nationwide problems, or global concerns.
  2. Identifying action – What type of action is your commercial advocating?  Are you asking the public to get involved through protest?  Are you asking them to vote a certain way?  What can people to get involved?
  3. Researching Evidence – It’s not enough to say a that something is problem.  What proof (data, statistics, numbers) exist to demonstrate the seriousness of your issue? How can you use those statistics to grab people’s attention?
  4. Planning the Commercial – Using the provided template, map out every detail of your commercial.  Remember, your commercial should follow the following sequence:
     1. Satirizing the issue 2. Attention grabbing statistics 3. Call to action
        Think about the people, locations, materials, and everything else you will need to make this happen.
  5. Filming and Production – Cameras are available through Mr. Vazquez.  You can also use phones, mp3s, or anything else for producing your media.  Plan out the details carefully and assign specific tasks for each teammate.
  • Resources:
    • Sound recording: http://scalar.usc.edu/works/mapp/map-toolkit-sound?path=digital-media-toolkit
    • Video recording: http://scalar.usc.edu/works/mapp/map-toolkit-video?path=digital-media-toolkit
    • Still images: http://scalar.usc.edu/works/mapp/map-toolkit-still-images?path=digital-media-toolkit
  6. Editing – using imovie or windows movie maker, put the different pieces of your project together.  Make sure to time everything appropriately, this stage can take up a lot of time if you don’t set goals.
     • Resources:
       • imovie tutorials
         • basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjF2y5NABq0
         • speed editing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpdBXKwlwqE
         • voice overs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZFlQQlfb_g
       • windows movie maker tutorials
         • basics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZXK68NS7gU
         • Series: http://www.atomiclearning.com/moviemaker2
   
  7. Presentation – You’ll be presenting to the class on your topic.  Be prepared to share out on the following:
  • What was your rationale for picking this specific issue?
  • Why should people care?
  • What was your team’s approach to satirizing such a serious issue?
  8. Reflection – Each member is responsible for completing a project reflection sheet.
   
  Project Rubric
   

  SOCIAL ISSUE PARODY RUBRIC	All elements present	Most elements present	Some elements present	No elements present
  Use of Satire	4	3	2	1
  Credibility of Statistics	4	3	2	1
  Call to Action	4	3	2	1
  Project Format	4	3	2	1