Digital and Social Media Adaptation
I made a TikTok which was kind of out of
my element because I don't super enjoy being filmed if I don't know what I'm
doing, and I definitely felt like I didn't know what I was doing. I cut the
video before I even finished it, and I wasn't sure how to go back and film
more, which is why my video is only 8 seconds, versus the 15 I was shooting
for. Adding gifs and text was somewhat difficult because I had to figure out
how to post it to the video and then set it for a certain duration, in addition
to arranging it how I wanted. I don't know if I am starting down the path of
TikTok stardom, but the video was fun to make and I understand why people love
it.
It
allowed me to be creative in a media form that I haven't really dabbled in
before. I have made short movies or slideshows with iMovie and other platforms
that I'm familiar with, and TikTok was a platform that I wanted to explore
because I know how popular it is becoming. This assignment, along with the
readings and class discussions have helped me recognize all the many forms of
text. I have recognized that media such as movies or music may be considered
text, but I didn't think that something like YouTube, TikTok, Twitter,
Instagram, or anything I would consider social media to be considered text. I
think we need to let go of the stigma that something has to be popular,
well-known, or renowned to be considered text. Our students have so many
sources of information, and by allowing them to be creative and to use these
other sources, we give them the freedom to truly learn.
In
Thevenin's essay, he mentioned how processes contain critical analysis,
research, and reflection that is integral to their creative production. I
don’t know if scrolling through my TikTok feed is considered research, but I
know my students would love it. I also think reflection is super important. At
my job, one of our philosophies is that “reflection kindles growth.” When we
reflect and think upon what makes a text stand the test of time, or perhaps why
people of a certain time period valued that text, we can begin to understand it
better. This is especially important in an English classroom setting because we
often read texts that are decades and centuries before our time.
Thevenin’s essay also says how “an essential element of media arts literacies involves the students’ critical reflections on their own creative practice…the work that students do to adapt a classic novel to a social media platform can be incredibly original.” I love this. I love how we can inspire our students to make literature and text their own, adapt it to a language they understand, and make sense of a complex and confusing work. This project helped me better understand these concepts because I was able to try something new, something challenging and a bit difficult, and I understood, albeit on a small scale, how media transcends form, text style, and time period.
Thevenin’s essay also says how “an essential element of media arts literacies involves the students’ critical reflections on their own creative practice…the work that students do to adapt a classic novel to a social media platform can be incredibly original.” I love this. I love how we can inspire our students to make literature and text their own, adapt it to a language they understand, and make sense of a complex and confusing work. This project helped me better understand these concepts because I was able to try something new, something challenging and a bit difficult, and I understood, albeit on a small scale, how media transcends form, text style, and time period.
Something I loved from your process is that you recognized that TikTok is something that is becoming popular, so you wanted to learn more. I think that's huge as an educator because you can stay on top of things that students will be involved in and incorporate it into your lesson plans. Hopefully, this would help students stay engaged in the classroom. I think it's also a humbling experience to try our hand at something new, which is what we require our students to do all the time. It puts us on similar playing fields as we keep learning new things together.
ReplyDeleteEmma,
ReplyDeleteThese are great thoughts. I love that you were able to reflect not only on your work here, but also on your work as an educator. I think that adaptations are a great way to start and help students to understand texts, processes, and literacies. Having students understand these three concepts, in my opinion, helps them to be able to think critically about something (what the thing is saying and what they want to say about it). What do you think? Do you think that you would use an exercise like this in your classroom? What might you change if you were doing something like this?
Great work!
Kate