MultiMedia Tools

Lesson Idea Name: Cold War News

Content Area: Multimedia Tools: Audio/Video
Grade Level(s): 9th-12th Grades
Content Standard Addressed: SSUSH21 Analyze U.S. international and domestic policies including their
influences on technological advancements and social changes during the Kennedy and Johnson
administrations
a. Analyze the international policies and actions taken as a response to the Cold War including U.S.
involvement in Cuba and the escalation of the war in Vietnam as a result of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
b. Connect major domestic issues to their social effects including the passage of civil rights legislation and
Johnson’s Great Society, following the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
c. Describe the impact of television on American culture including the presidential debates (Kennedy/Nixon,
1960), news coverage of the Civil Rights Movement, the moon landing, and the war in Vietnam.
d. Investigate the growth, influence, and tactics of civil rights groups, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Letter from
Birmingham Jail, the I Have a Dream Speech, and Cesar Chavez.
e. Describe the social and political turmoil of 1968 including the reactions to assassinations of Martin Luther
King, Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, the Tet Offensive, and the presidential election.

Technology Standard Addressed:

Selected Technology Tool:

☒ Movie (list application): Windows Movie Maker, xSplit Broadcaster
☒ Audio (list application):
☐ Other: (list)
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):

☒ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☒ Level 1: Awareness ☒ Level 2: Exploration ☒ Level 3: Infusion ☒ Level 4: Integration
☒ Level 5: Expansion ☒ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning: To help the students complete the project, I will provide multiple alternative
movie-making tools for the students to use, such as windows movie maker, xSplit Broadcaster iMovie for IOS
devices, etc.

Spring 2018_SJB
 MultiMedia Tools
Lesson idea implementation:
The project will be an overarching part of our lessons on the Cold War, and the assignment will begin with our
first lesson on the topic. I will assign students to groups of 3-4 individuals and give them a worksheet to help
them organize their project and a flash drive to record the project on. After student groups are assigned, I will
have each group choose a topic at random from out of a hat from a curated list based on the GSE guidelines
above. After each team has their topic, I will give an overview of the project itself. Each team will create a
short (3 minutes maximum) video on their topic in the form of a TV News Report that will go over the main
points of their topic. Before creating their videos, each group should create a script or transcript of what they
will be saying in the video as a means for me to grade the content of their work. Students will record their
videos using equipment and video editing software from the AV/Computer Lab, with me supervising for any
AV/IT support. If my school does not have such equipment, then video captured via student’s phone/tablets
will suffice. After the two or so weeks going over the Cold War, students will finish the section by presenting
their videos to the class. After presenting their videos, the students will perform a short Q&A with the class
about their video and their topic, which I will facilitate. After this Q&A, I will collect the outline, script and
flash drive from the team and use it and the video to grade the project via a rubric. Once the student
presentations are over, I will grade each team’s work by photocopying their outline/script and leaving notes
on what each team did good at, as well as what they can improve upon. Once I have finished grading the
teams, I will hand back these photocopied outlines and scripts for the students to keep.
Importance of technology:
Multimedia is critical to the project because it allows for the students to create a product that can be shared
with their peers that has been iterated upon, edited and polished. The project could be done in a skit format
without video capture and editing technology, but would not be as effective due to there being no ability to
add in music and other effects to the finished product. The students could, if necessary, skip the video and do
an audio version of this project simply by capturing their voices using an audio recorder, making the project
something akin to a podcast.
Inspiration (optional):

Internet Safety and Student Privacy:

The good part about this project is that the students don’t necessarily have to use the internet while
participating in the project, making it a good project for teachers who don’t feel comfortable with having their
students access the internet, and for parents that may be fearful of their children accessing the internet at
school. This is further reinforced if the school has a media/AV lab with techs on site to assist students. The
more supervision and eyes on the students as they are helped to completing this project, the less likely any
student runs afoul of the school’s acceptable use policies.
Reflective Practice:
I feel like these sorts of activities are a great boon to students, as it allows them an alternate way to create a
learning experience that is different from standardized tests, and even typical projects. In addition, many
students are wanting to become content creators on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, etc., and projects
like this will allow such students to become accustomed to the video creation and edition process. I believe
that as a way to extend this project, a teacher could share these videos on appropriate websites like
SchoolTube so that the student’s work is shared beyond the classroom to peers across the world.

Spring 2018_SJB