CENTER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA HOSTS PANEL AT AMLA How do social change and…

CENTER FOR SOCIAL MEDIA HOSTS PANEL AT AMLA

How do social change and advocacy materials fit into a classroom standing in the shadow of
standardized testing?

By Pat Aufderheide

That issue was raised on June 29, 2003, when the Center for Social Media hosted a panel, Using
Media for Social Change in the Classroom, at the Alliance for a Media Literate America
convention in Baltimore, MD. Chairing the panel was Center director Pat Aufderheide; panelists
included Nicole Betancourt, executive director of Mediarights.org; Ronit Avni, program
associate at Witness.org; and Alyce Myatt, multimedia director of Oneworld.net. Respondent
was Jessica Tomback, a sixth grade teacher at John Eaton School in the District of Columbia.

Each organization has learning tools designed for educational use. Mediarights.org links users
with social issue documentary films on hundreds of issues, has toolkits for educational use, and
links to other classroom resources. "Please tell us how you're using what you find there, and
we'll tell your story to others!" said Betancourt.

Witness' site links video that documents human rights abuses with resources to learn more about
the issue and ways to take action to defend human rights. You can view video online at the
website, and also get VHS copies for classroom use. "Video is only one dimension of a process,"
said Avni. "You need to know more about the complexity of any human rights issue, and you
need to know what you can do. Otherwise, compassion fatigue sets in." She also reminded the
audience that Witness also features human rights issues within the U.S., such as prison reform
featured in the video Books Not Bars.

Oneworld.net links 1,500 organizations with social justice mandates in a network that provides a
news service and access to deeper resources on a broad range of social concerns, in ten
languages. Its new online TV service offers a chance not only for people anywhere to upload
audio and video, but a way to link non-governmental organizations and filmmakers, so that
issues and actions can be documented.

"The Internet was born with great promise, and it broke down walls to communication. But how
do we ensure that the walls stay down in a global media environment? It's incumbent on all of us
as citizens to make sure there is an international public sphere," said Myatt.

For educators, she said, the real challenge of teaching will be to help students discern, in a
cluttered and noisy media environment, what is truth and what is reality.

Jessica Tomback agreed. "I'm impressed to see so many tools available on these sites, to help us
overcome the frustrations we have with the technology. And it's very important for us as well to
see the indexing and links here, that help us find out what resources are out there to support our
media literacy work. It's exciting to see that teachers are in this loop of interactivity.
"This approach is where our students are. They are soaking up media in all forms, on every
screen, all the time. And this interactivity lets them do something with what they learn."

Audience members agreed, and quickly pushed past to questions of use. One of the most
discussed issues was how to manage potential controversy, with students, administration and
parents. Audience members had many suggestions, including telling parents and administration
from the beginning what topics and resources would be included. "Building relationships with
allies is key," agreed Betancourt.

 "You need to meet people where they are," Tomback added. "This is an alternative literacy. And
then it's amazing how quickly people can shed their hostility to critical thinking once they
becoming critical thinkers."