Audio as the Foundation for Learning Media Production

As I mentioned in a previous entry, Shade Gomez and I are having a blast collaborating on teaching this English Media class. It's hard to know who is having more fun. Shade and I really enjoy the planning process, as we work our way through teaching this course for the first time. I should clarify for the record that I'm not officially a co-teacher, but I do get to make frequent guest appearances in the classroom and in the computer lab. I get to teach students applications, such as GarageBand, PhotoShop, iMovie, iTunes (for file management and MP3 conversion), and iPhoto (also for file management).

Shade and I made a deliberate decision to start the year off by teaching audio production, using a scaffolding model to build up a set of skills that will eventually lead them to video production. In past years, students were shooting video practically at day 1, our approach has delayed their engagement with video production until perhaps the second month of school. The students don't seem to mind the delay at all, and are having such a blast with audio production.

Ideas First
Rather than beginning with tool training, Shade chose wisely to begin with a study of truly compelling radio, using the model of the syndicated national program This American Life, which can be heard on public radio stations. The good folks at TAL have published a humorous and very effective guidebook on creating compelling radio called Radio: An Illustrated Guide. Students used this guide to learn the principles of effective radio interviews, and became familiarized with a common vocabulary. Only after study the guide and listening to examples of the show did they begin creating their own interviews. I believe that this approach is much more satisfying and effective than an approach beginning with tool training.

Applying the Same Approach to Graphic Design
We used the same approach when dealing with graphic design. I had students work in teams to become experts in 6 principles of graphic design, and then present brief PowerPoint presentations which included examples of these principles. I had them choose from classic examples found on the web. These included socialist realist political posters, art exhibition publicity, concert posters, etc. In two class periods, these students learned from each other about the principles of graphic design, saw some stellar examples, and even learned the barebones basics of PhotoShop Elements.

We plan on using this same approach throughout the year. Bottom line: tool training in isolation is not the best approach, and can often result in the use of technology for technology's sake, which is so often the case.