Left Mouse Click to Proceed

1
Left Mouse Click to Proceed
2
Aural Histories Media Texts A Practical
Journey into The New Curriculum
WORKSHOP PRESENTATION NOTESQPAT
ConventionNovember, 2003
Peter BilodeauEducational ConsultantSir Wilfrid
Laurier RECIT
Nancy Bennett, teacherGrenville Elementary
SchoolSir Wilfrid Laurier School Board
3
The average American child spends approximately
28 hours a week watching television. In a years
time, American school children spend twice as
much time watching television as they spend in
the classroom. The American Medical
Association, 1996 "Technologies are not simply
inventions which people employ but are the means
by which people are re-invented." "Television
is teaching all the time. It does more educating
than all the schools and all the institutions of
higher learning. Marshall McLuhan  
4
Background

• The Aural Histories Project was conducted at
  Grenville Elementary School from early May, 2003
  until mid-June 2003.
• It was made possible by a PDIG grant
• The project sought to incorporate and integrate
  Language Arts, Social Studies Media Literacy
  objectives.
• The original project was conducted with a mixed
  group of Cycle 2 3 students however, it can
  easily be altered to accommodate levels up to and
  including senior high school.
• The project can be completed with either still
  or video photography.
• Note that the original project truncated and
  began late due to the illness of a focal teacher.

5
Why?
Even if I want to do this project with my class,
why should I bother with the media aspects? The
Language Arts and Social Studies objectives are
the meat of the project, arent they?
Visual media now represents the major method of
social conditioning and information acquisition
in the Western world if not the entire world.
The truly literate citizen of the 21st Century
will need the skills to access, analyze, evaluate
communicate information in a variety of
formats, including print and non-printed media
Quebec Education Plan Correlation
6
The Value of Aural Histories

• The opportunity to research a variety of topics
  through a variety of media formats Internet,
  libraries, personal accounts
• The opportunity to develop listening skills
• The opportunity to develop public speaking
  skills
• The opportunity to develop critical thinking
  skills through the planning execution of an
  interview
• The opportunity to develop expertise in the
  expository writing process
• The opportunity to develop multimedia skills
  through video production or paper-based
  publishing

7
Getting Started Selecting A Theme
Oral (aural) histories projects can be divided
thematically as follows

• the memories of a single interviewee, separate
  from any historical, geographical, familial bonds
• memories bound to a city or town, place of
  former employment or a singular regional event
  which happened in the aforementioned town
• memories bound to an era, global event or
  specific year

8
Getting Started Basic Factors Impacting Theme
Selection
Your selection of theme revolves around two basic
factors, namely
The amount of historical research desired oral
(aural) histories which are centered on an era or
global event required more initial research than
those of a singular interviewee or regional
geographic location about which your interviewee
will be describing. Conversely, it is sometimes
easier to find multimedia on global events than
local or regional events. Availability of
interviewees given your theme selection, how
available are interviewees? Should you choose to
interview World War II participants or those who
would have clear recollections of the Great
Depression , your field is shrinking daily.
9
Getting Started Cross-Curricular Links
Language ArtsResearchWritingPeer
EditingInformation LiteracyNarrative
Construction
HistoryPrimary Source GatheringCreate
Historical Record
Life SkillsCollaborative WorkCritical
ThinkingCommunication
Visual ArtsProductionDesignLayout
10
The Process
The project should begin with a discussion of
aural (oral) histories and their value to a
persons life historical record, in general.
Some questions you may wish to explore might be
Why are oral histories valuable?How can we find,
recognize and use the rich histories in our own
lives?What skills are needed to access and
preserve oral history?Why do we continue to
value oral history even though we have
writing?How are "Universal Myths" or Cultural
Universals reflected in oral history?Why is
authenticity important in oral history?How can
we recognize a primary source?Who do you think
would be a good subject or, depending on theme,
who do you know who has participated in a major
national event?
11
Research Narration
After having conducting the introductory
discussion, decided upon the theme and subjects,
divide your class into groups of three or
more.Each group will have at least(1)
Producer(1) Video (or paper) Journalist(1)
Camera Person
12
Research Narration (continued)
Your researchers should attempt to find out as
much, in advance, about the subject, event and/or
era as they can and communicate the information
to the video journalist who will incorporate the
research into her/his opening narration and
interview.
Remember, the research sets the focus of the
interview. If youre interviewing a retired
miner, have the students research the mine in
which he worked. If hes a World War II vet,
research the war before you conduct the interview.
13
Research Narration (continued)
Using the material gleaned from the researcher,
have the video journalist write his opening
narrative, introducing the subject, event and or
era. Remember the spoken word is different that
the written one. The video journalist should
practice their monologue with other students,
attempting to sound as natural as possible. Have
your class watch the Features sections of the
Nightly local TV news, paying close attention to
manner in which the TV journalist speak the
manner in which they emphasize key words.
14
Preparing for the Interview
An oral history interview is not a general
dialogue. The purpose of the interview is to
listen to what the interviewee has to say and to
stimulate the narrative with understanding
comments and intelligent questions. Ask
open-ended questions first, waiting to see where
they lead. Tailor your reactions and follow-up
questions to the responses of the interviewee.
Pursue in detail. Avoid too much "preordering"
of the material you wish to include in the
interview. Be prepared to let the train of memory
association run its course, even if it means
ignoring your outline to follow new avenues of
inquiry.
15
Preparing for the Interview (continued)
You may wish to jot down a few notes as the
interviewee is talking, but be careful not to let
this disrupt the flow of what she/he is saying.
You can go back at a later time and ask for
clarification of information that may have been
confusing. Eye contact and a pattern of
concentrated listening are vital to the oral
history interview. The interview setting is not
the time to air your personal views on
international politics or to tell your own life
story. Participate in the interview by means of
silent encouragement-- nods, smiles, et
cetera--short phrases of understanding and
pertinent questions.
16
Preparing for the Interview (continued)
Be aware of the interviewee's race and class
background and of culturally determined
characteristics. Avoid assumptions. Do not feel
compelled to interrupt silences. Give the
interviewee time to fully answer each question or
finish her/his train of thought. Silence is an
integral, important part of the oral history
interview process. Do not challenge accounts
that you think may be inaccurate. Give the
interviewee a chance to think through difficult
subjects. If the interviewee strays into
non-pertinent subjects, steer her/him gently, but
firmly, back to the topic at hand by asking a
question. However, avoid statements about
"staying on subject."
17
Getting Ready to Film
Everything that is seen or heard on TV or film is
contrived to some extent event the news. In
video work, there is no such thing as
natural. Given this fact, dramatic warm-ups would
do all your crews well.
The Purpose of a Warm-up To relax and relieve
any tension. To prepare the voice for speaking.
To prepare the body for moving. To get
creativity flowing. To focus your mind on the
task. To communicate with others.
Further warm-up exercises are in the Notes section
18
Filming

• Tips for successful filming
• Use cue-cards (large cardboard sheets)
• Hold cue-cards above camera person
• Use a tripod
• Move the camera as little as possible
• If you have to move the camera, practice first.
• Set the camera as close to the subject as
  possible. Camcorder mikes are weak.

Classic Two-Shot
Filming assistance links are contained in Notes
section
19
Quebec Education Plan Correlation
Focuses of development for media literacy at the
elementary level are awareness of the place and
influence of the media in his/her daily life and
society  understanding of the way the media
portray reality  use of media-related materials
and communication codes
Return to Slide 5 - Why
20
Joseph Campbell Universal Myth
Following Joseph Campbells writings, all heroes
of literature legend follow a certain path. It
well could be said that all human have a heroic
path a path that also leads to the telling of
stories and Aural (oral) histories. If this
interests you pedagogically, please refer to the
following website for an extraordinary study of
modern heroes to Campbells philosophy. This site
can be brought into the class. http//www.jitterb
ug.com/origins/myth.html
21
Webography
Introduction to Media Literacy, David
Constantine. Retrieved November 9, 2003, from
http//www.ci.appstate.edu/programs/edmedia/medial
it/article.htmlTOC Oral History Association.
Retrieved November 9, 2003 from
http//omega.dickinson.edu/organizations/oha/ Writ
ers Workshop Immigration. Scholastic Books,
Retrieved November 9, 2003 from
http//teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/t
guide/index.asp?topicImmigration Scholastic
Books website http//www.scholastic.com/ D.C.
Everest Area Schools Oral History Program,
Retrieved November 9, 2003, from
http//www.dce.k12.wi.us/srhigh/socialstudies/hist
day/ Folklife Field Work A Laymans
Introduction to Field Techniques, Retrieved
November 9, 2003, from http//www.loc.gov/folklif
e/fieldwork/
Institute for Oral History, Retrieved November 9,
2003, from http//www3.baylor.edu/Oral_History/Wo
rkshop.htm Baylor University website
http//www.baylor.edu/ How to Collect Oral
Histories, David Sidwell. Retrieved November 9,
2003, from http//www.usu.edu/oralhist/oh_howto.h
tml Utah State University website
http//www.usu.edu/ Oral History Techniques How
to Organize Conduct Oral History Interviews,
Barbara Truesdell, Ph.D. Retrieved November 9,
2003, from http//www.indiana.edu/cshm/technique
s.html Indiana University website
http//www.indiana.edu Oral History Questions,
Joanne Todd Rabun. Retrieved November 9, 2003,
from http//www.rootsweb.com/genepool/oralhist.h
tm
22
Webography (continued)
A Little Advice, Retrieved November 9, 2003,
from http//www.countyconnections.org/projects/vi
stadlc/cruces/advice.html Historically Speaking
An Oral History WebQuest, Retrieved November 9,
2003, from http//wms.watertown.k12.ma.us/library
/oralhistory/ Bomber Command Death by Moonlight
Stories, Retrieved November 9, 2003, from
http//www.valourandhorror.com/BC/Stories/Home.htm
The Valour and the Horror Website
http//www.valourandhorror.com/index.html Oral
Interviews (WWII Memories), Retrieved November 9,
2003, from http//www.tankbooks.com/interviews/co
ntents.htm Oral Histories of the Civil Rights
Movement in Mississippi, Retrieved November 9,
2003, from http//www.lib.usm.edu/7Espcol/crda/o
h/index.html University of Southern Mississippi
website http//www.usm.edu/ Oral Histories of
the Mikmaw People, Retrieved November 9, 2003,
from http//mrc.uccb.ns.ca/oralhis.html2 America
n Roots Music Oral Histories, Retrieved November
9, 2003, from http//www.pbs.org/americanrootsmus
ic/pbs_arm_oral_histories.html
23
(No Transcript)