MediaSmart Help Documentation Welcome to MediaSmart, a dynamic tool designed to develop your students critical thinking and media literacy skills. This disc features six Media Studies, in-depth explorations of classic and contemporary movie scenes, news reports, advertisements, and images. It also includes two Page to Screen presentations The Crucible and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge bigscreen adaptations of classic works of American literature. Each Media Study corresponds to a four-page lesson in McDougal Littell Literature. You may also choose to use this disc independently of the anthology. 1. Main Menu The Main Menu screen (shown above) will appear when you launch the program. Click on any one of the options to begin your exploration.
2. Media Study Menu Each Media Study features the following components: Introduction This brief, engaging video is intended to hook students and get them thinking about the focus of the Media Study whether it s suspense in moviemaking, persuasion in advertising, or credibility in the news. The Introduction also acquaints students with the clip or clips they ll be analyzing and explains their purpose for viewing. First Viewing Before students critically analyze and evaluate any media clip, they should watch that clip a first time, simply taking it all in. Particularly with longer movie scenes, it is recommended that you have students watch the First Viewing before they move on to the Media Lessons and Guided Analysis. Media Lessons Each Media Study offers two or three targeted lessons (each 2 5 minutes in length) that teach students about a variety of techniques for instance, camera shots, persuasive techniques, or the structure of Web news. The lessons prepare students to do a close viewing of the Media Study clips by giving them strategies and questions for critical analysis. Depending on your time, you might show all lessons or else narrow your focus to one.
Guided Analysis This video takes students through the media clip(s) again; it s a close viewing that requires students to use what they learned in the Media Lessons to do a deeper analysis and evaluation. Throughout the clip, students will have the opportunity to discuss critical moments or techniques in action. The video will pose a variety of Pause & Discuss questions, automatically pausing on each one. Press Play to resume the clip after the class discussion. Resources Click Resources at the bottom center of each Media Study menu screen to access support materials for planning and teaching, including the following: Before Viewing/Planning Guide Offers video running times, lesson objectives, summaries, pacing guides, and necessary background Student Copy Master Includes helpful questions for analysis and space for notetaking Guided Analysis Teacher Script Provides the transcript for the Guided Analysis video, as well as point-of-use answers to Pause & Discuss questions. Look to the righthand column for more teaching support, additional questions, and interesting factoid FYI s to share with your students. The resource files will open with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Main Menu To return to the main menu and choose another Media Study, click Main Menu in the lower lefthand corner. Exit Click on Exit in the lower right-hand corner to quit the program.
3. Video Player View Clicking any video from the Media Study menu will take you to this player (shown above). The console features the following: Progress Bar To jump to another part of the video, place your cursor on top of the downward-pointing arrow. Then press down, sliding the arrow to the left or to the right. Check the time code on the left to monitor exactly where you are in your viewing. Volume Control The audio control is located on the bottom left-hand side of the console. Slide the control to the left or the right to adjust the volume. The program will run more smoothly if you pause the video before adjusting the volume. Play/Pause Buttons Click Pause to pause the running video and Play to resume it. Back Button Click Back to return to the Media Study menu screen. Subtitles Click Subtitles to view subtitles as the video plays. To return to the regular view, click Subtitles again. The program will run more smoothly if you pause the video before switching to or from the subtitle view.
4. Image Collections and Web Sites Some Media Studies require students to analyze news articles, ads, or fine art. In those cases, the Guided Analysis is in an interactive format (shown above), rather than in video form. This format is designed to help you lead a class discussion with your students. Questions Click a question number in the lower right-hand corner of the screen; the corresponding question will appear above the image. Zoom/Full View Some questions ask students to analyze specific details in a closer view. For these questions, a Zoom button will appear on the bottom center of the screen. Click Zoom to zoom in, and Full View to zoom out. Audio Background For some images, an audio button will appear on the bottom part of the screen. Clicking this button will launch a brief audio clip that provides background information critical to students understanding. Additional Support For more teaching support and additional discussion questions, click Resources on the Media Study menu screen.
5. Page to Screen Menu The two Page to Screen presentations on this disc are intended for use with the corresponding lessons featured in McDougal Littell Literature. View Clip Click this option to have students watch and analyze a critical scene or scenes from a film adaptation of the work of literature. The clip will run uninterrupted, without any built-in program pauses for discussion. Teaching Support Select this option to access support materials for planning and teaching, including objectives, a summary of the scene, suggestions for guided viewing and analysis, and discussion questions. This document will open with Adobe Acrobat Reader. Main Menu To return to the main menu and choose another Media Study or Page to Screen presentation, click Main Menu in the lower left-hand corner. Exit Click on Exit in the lower right-hand corner to quit the program.