All That I Can Be

In Chapter One of TEACHINGMEDIALITERACY.COM, Beach reminds us that teaching media literacy helps “students communicate in multimodal ways” (page 8). He writes that when engaging with media or technology, students must use many of the same skills that they use when evaluating or producing print texts such as “comprehending messages, interpreting social purposes, defining connections or links, critiquing assumptions, formulating ideas, and so forth” (page 3). Not only are students using the above-mentioned skills when they use technology, but they are using a form of learning that also coincides with their lifestyle. Through media studies, students can learn about a variety of different subjects and topics through an interesting and engaging media. In our high-paced and multi-tasking culture, students, now more than ever, absorb information through different technologies. It is through media studies that students can learn how to interpret these messages, as well as create messages of their own.

Watching youth-created videos is an attention-grabbing way in which students can learn about a subject. The video “All That I Can Be” from the Media that Matters website, forced me to rethink my ideas of military recruitment. In the video, William spoke about joining the armed forces because it was a chance for him to better his life. He commented that many people live at the same economic level as he does and they are okay with it, but he wasn’t and wanted to improve his life. One way in which he could do this was through schooling; by joining the armed forces, education became more affordable. During this video, I also thought about a friend who had done the very same thing that William had done, and who is currently finishing his undergraduate degree at age 25. Military service had given him the opportunity to receive a college degree, a chance he may not have had if he had chosen a different path.

Before watching the video and knowing my friend’s story, I had held a negative view of the armed forces and especially their recruitment strategies, such as recruiting in lower socio-economic neighborhoods. I had always thought that it was unfair for the military to go into poorer neighborhoods to lure youth, often minorities, into the military while speaking of the benefits, trying to mask the fact that it is a life-risking profession. I had not thought about the opportunities that it affords those who feel stuck, without a way out. However, these two stories have changed my perceptions and made me think of the subject in a new light. I realized that for many people it truly is a way out of their current surroundings and they look at the armed forces as a beacon of hope and a path to a different life. While I may not totally agree with their methods, the military does offer some chances and opportunities that they may have not found otherwise. I came to these conclusions while watching the video, and reflecting on it afterwards.

Further, creating videos is also a way in which students’ perceptions can be changed. Creating and developing this product uses higher order thinking skills that challenge students. It is a creative process that so many of our technology savvy students enjoy and to which they can relate. For many students, watching and creating videos can make a topic much more interesting than a reading assignment, and excites them in ways that a lecture could not. While I was watching “All That I Can Be,” I could envision William, where he lived and worked, and I was able to put myself in his shoes. It made the situation much more real for me. I think that students learn more when they can put themselves in somebody else’s situation, and through the use of videos in the classroom, they can do just that. It enables them to think about a situation in a different way, challenging their ideas, such as mine were challenged and changed.