Lights! Camera! Action! This web quest challenges you to investigate the role of media in our society. Does media shape culture or reflect it? What is the purpose of media images and sounds? How is the audience affected? What are the messages that are being sent? How has media changed over the years?

  The Task

 You have just joined the Humanities 8 television production company. This production company is responsible for producing a half hour news magazine format television show for students between the ages of 10-14. This television show will be aired throughout Montgomery County on Municipal Cable Channel 45/30. You will be asked to work in a production team to develop and pitch an idea for a 4-5 minute segment of the show.

Creating media images for the new millenium requires careful thought and consideration. For this reason, the executive producer of the show has asked you to take part in a special training unit. This unit is designed to teach you how to:

• -enhance your visual literacy skills
• -develop skills of speaking, listening, and communicating that will help you to work in a professional environment
• -identify and demonstrate how media content and products are produced within social and cultural contexts
• -evaluate the ideas and asthetics in media content and products
• -explain the relationship between the creation of media and audience participation
• -accept accountability for the individual, social, and ethical outcomes of your work

 The Process

The following tasks are designed to help you in the development of your ideas for our half hour television show.

• Task A- Media Memories
• Task B- Interpreting Images- can a picture tell a thousand stories?
• Task C- Early Edison Films- explore Thomas Edison's first films
• Task D- What's the Word?- students will read and compare articles about media issues
• Task E- Where are we now?- the state of children's television programming
• Task F- Reflections on Media- take part in an online discussion with peers from around the world
• Task G- Produce and Pitch!- develop and share your ideas for our new show
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Resources

Use this space to point out places on the internet (or physical resources in the classroom) that will be available for the learners to use to accomplish the task. Embed the link within a description of each resource so that your learners know in advance what they're clicking on.

The Constructivist Project Design Guide maintained by Columbia University's Institute for Learning Technologies is a treasure trove of ideas for teachers. (This is just an example sentence with an link embedded within it.)

Evaluation

Evaluation is an ongoing process throughout the duration of this unit. It will consist of a combination of measures including self assessment and reflection, peer review, use of rubrics for process and products, and teacher observation and dialogue.

Conclusion

You have now accomplished many of the preproduction elements that will enable us to get started on our television show. It is important to understand the past and current state of media if we are to be responsible creators for the future. Can you think of any other elements to consider as we move to the production phase of our television show? What can we do to create a television show that will enlighten, educate, and inspire our audience? How does the work that we create affect our community?