media and communication (mac) · media and communication (mac) a pilot project of the media...

Media and Communication (MaC)

A pilot project of the Media Educational Center (MPZ)

in cooperation with

six public schools in the State of Brandenburg (Germany)

The Interdisciplinary Subject “Media and Communication”

as a New Means of School Development on

Secondary II Level

August 1998 - January 2003Dr. Michael Kaden, MPZ

Media and Communication

Thesis

- Media education can help to introduce new styles of learning in schools !

- The potential of media education cannot be utilized appropriately withoutthe parallel development of new styles of learning !


The pilot project MaC is part of the nation-wide program „Systematic Integration of Media and ICT in Teaching and Learning Processes“ (SEMIK). www.fwu.de/semik/

Within SEMIK participate - from all 16 states of the Federal Republic of Germany - 25 programs related to the following five focal points:

• Teacher education and training• School development• Development of instructional concepts • Development of curricula • Preparation of technical tools


Project partners

Pilot school• Voltaire-Gesamtschule, Potsdam

Network schools• Theodor-Fontane-Gesamtschule, Burg/Spreewald• Gymnasium Großräschen• Oberstufenzentrum Oberhavel II - Technik, Hennigsdorf• Einstein-Gymnasium, Potsdam• Sportschule Potsdam


Project Goals

• Development of new styles of learning

• Development of interdisciplinary ideas

• School development

• Development of media competence

• Development of curriculum and teachingconcepts


Voltaire-Gesamtschule• Adaptation of the new profile

„Society, the Media and Communication“ (apart from the two other profiles „Literature – Language – Aesthetics“ and „Mathematics – Natural Sciences – Informatics“)

• Integrated concept of a comprehensive curriculum• Interdisciplinary cooperation with further subjects • School development „Media and Communication“


Profile„Society, the Media and Communication“

Obligatory basic courses related to the profile:

Media and CommunicationGermanCivic Education/PoliticsInformatics

Possible combinations of further subjects:

English – ArtEnglish – HistoryEnglish – BiologyEnglish – Mathematics

+ further basic courses from the areas I, II, III of upper secondary level and optional subjects

MaC as a basic course is not part of the areas I, II or III and therefore not a subject for the final exam


MaC (basic course)

German

Civic Education

Politics

Interdisciplinary approach

Informatics

English


MaC (basic course)

German

English

Informatics

Synchronic and subsequential timingof topics


MaC (basic course)

Informatics

Art

Cooperation in varyingconstellations of subjectsand cooperation concerning further subjects


11-1

11-2

12-1

12-2

13-1

13-2

Print Media

Foto/Film

Video/Audio

Multimedia

All Media

Discourse

The Media and Usthe use of media, journalistic formats, press and censorship, literary newspapers

We, the Media and Communicationdocument or drama, manipulation, media and politicalpower, the press in Britain, American advertising

Stereotypes define the World – Market and Media „soap operas“ as models, „familiar“ and „strange“ images, media and the construction of reality

„Utopia“ – Blue Prints of Society in the Past, Present and FutureGeorge Orwell „1984“, social utopia, the ideal state

Free Choice of TopicProject management, topics fitting in the subjects related to MaC

The Limits of my Language are the Limits of myWorld debate on the chances, risks, options und rectrictions of global communication

Media and Communication11-1 The Media and Us• „My, your, our daily media life“

• Computer and society

• Media history, socio-cultural development (N. Postman: literacy, the invention ofprinting, the development of childhood s...)

• What is literature?Aspects of a definition of

„literature“• The press (focus

on literarynewspapers)

• Exploring and reflecting the (personal) use of media

• Defining „media“

Inform.PoliticsGermanMaC

Media and Communication11-1 The Media and Us• „Good news is bad news“

• Operating systems

• Desktop publishing

• The press-market in Germany

• History of press freedom and censorship

• Literature and censorship(i. e. Frank Wedekind)

• Literary epochs

• „Good news is bad news“(news and press)

• Editing, production of a literary newspaper


Media and Communication11-2 We, the Media and CommunicationMass Communication and / or Mass Manipulation

• What‘s up in MaC?

• The press in Britain(front page, news stories, the making of articles in different pages)

• „Directing power– the power of images“(L. Riefenstahl „Olympia“, V. Harlan „Jud Süß“, a. o.)

• The aspect of imitation or:Mimesis within the history of literature

• Between fiction and reality: Büchner‘s literary

„interpretation“ of the reported Woyzeck-case

• Document or drama –reporting from/ direcing of the world (photography)

EnglishPoliticsGermanMaC

Media and Communication11-2 We, the Media and CommunicationMass Communication and / or Mass Manipulation

• American and English advertising(press advertising, the working of advertising, television advertising, advertising agency)

• „The customer –king or servant?“(the working of advertisments in market-economy)

• The working of comics/cartoons

• „Looking for customers“ -manipulative aspects of advertisement (criteria for an analysis of audio-visual texts)


Media and Communication12-1 Market and Media – it‘s only the

ratings!? – Stereotypes define the World

• Structure of American and British television

• Learning by teaching: planing and implementing a sequence on

„daily soap“ for the 8th grade

• Globalization of the media-business

• Basics of mediastudies

• Media and theconstruction of reality

• Triviality in literature

• Structure and dramatics of tv-serials

• „Stereotypes define the world“

- reception und production of social models within „soap operas“

• Production of a „soap“


Media and Communication12-1 Market and Media – it‘s only the

ratings !? – „Familiar and strange“ Images

• Introduction„Mediator“(authoring tool)

• „The familiar and the strange“ –the German mainstream society and it`srelation to ethnic minorities

• „The familiar is the strange“ –representation of strangehood in literature (i. e. Jewish protagonists in novels and drama

• European lyrics and short stories on strangehood

• „Familiar and strange images“ critical analysis on the representation of strangers in the media



Politics

English

German

Informatics

Art

Biology

Basic courseMEDIA AND

COMMUNICATION

CD-ROM

„Utopia“

„Utopia“ - Blue Prints of Society in the Past, Present and Future


12-2 UtopiaBlue Prints of Society in the Past,Present and Future (G. Orwell 1984)

• MaC: Media history, media in utopian settings, production of a CD-ROM

• German: Utopian thinking in literature, Elias Canetti „Die Befristeten“, George Orwell „1984“

• Politics: On political power: Utopian constitutions – from Platon‘s „nomoi“ to totalitarian systems (essays, blue print of a virtual state)


12-2 Utopia (continuation)• English: George Orwell „1984“, lingual-literaric

dimension (i. e. Winston‘s Diary), dreams and optionsof constructing reality / manipulation of reality

• Art: Utopia in paintings and architecture, visualizing the descriptions of towns from „1984“

• Biology: Ecological foundations of present and future societies, alternatively: „The Human Genom Project“

• Informatics: Introduction „Mediator“ (authoring tool), production of a CD-ROM


New Styles of Learing:• Social competence / team orientation• Problem-oriented individual learning• Cognitive, social, emotional, aesthetical and practical-

technical dimensions of learning• Reliable learning by independent and active

structuring of contents (practical media projects)• „Learning by teaching“• „Mediality“ of learning• Changing the role of the teacher


New Styles of Learing (continuation):• Opening of paedogogical and institutional

contexts (teaching/school)• Cross-curricular topics, hyperstructural thinking,

empathy, contextuality• Cooperation and training of teachers • Media and communication competence


Media Competence:Understood as analytical, interpretatory, self-reflexive, instrumental

and creative capacities and competences (in consideration of public modes of production and participatory options)

Communication Competence:Embracing qualifications like moderating, argumentating, discussing,

(creative) writing, as well as capacities and competences of information acquisition, selection, analysis, processing, presentation and dissimination, and the capacities of documentation und evaluation


Practical Media Projects• Variety of capacities and competences = high level of

compatibility for different students, learning as an encompassingprocess

• „Key“ to new fields of action and experience, learning outside theclass-room

• Cooperation with professionals, citizens, officials• Chance to approach topics close to young people‘s daily life• Product = (class / school / locale / net) public• Construction of an own perspective on the world is inheritend to

media products = starting point for debates on the intentional character of „meaning“


Central Guidelines• Orientation• Self management• Capacity to cooperate• Capacity to approach conflicts in a

constructive manner

(Deutscher Bundestag – Germany‘s Road to Information Society, Final Report of the Enquete-Commission 1998, Education in the 21th

Century)


• Learning methods• Individual and cooperative learning• Crosscurricular learning • Global learning• Dynamic knowledge• Thinking in hyper-structures

The use of media does offer a high potential !

(Deutscher Bundestag – Germany‘s Road to Information Society, Final Report of theEnquete-Commission 1998, Education in the 21th Century)


Key Qualifications:

• Capacity of independent learning• Capacity of knowledge management• Media competence• Capacity of solving problems• Team orientation / cooperation


Problems and Difficulties• Orientation towards „classical“ subjects

versus cross-curricular approaches • Curricular limitations versus new-style content • Support of fundamental cross-curricular competences

versus specialization as a key to success (as far as the final exams are concerned)

• The more often you use media, the more often you have to face students encountering technical problems

• Overtaxation of idealistic teachers • Project work and production dynamics• Independent learning can overtax certain students


Problems and Difficulties (continuation)

• A core team is the prerequisite to start processes of school development, but a core team can also split off from the collegues

• The development of a distinct profile is dependent to the „(wo)manpower“ available

• School development is a long-term „process“, depending to a high degree also on the political context


Aspects of Media Competence• To recognize and evaluate the impact of media• To understand and evaluate the messages of media• To select and use specific media by considering

alternatives• To design and dissiminate media independently• To analyze and influence media as far as their social-

cultural meaning is concerned

(according to Prof. Gerhard Tulodziecki)


On the road to a school with a distinct media profile:

• Media as tools of self reliant learning

• Media as texts

• Media (society) and information society as a topic of education

• Mediality of instruction

media and communication (mac) · media and communication (mac) a pilot project of the media...

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