Imagery and Ethicacy - Student

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Lesson

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

What You’ll Learn In this lesson, you will discover the importance of empathy, efficacy, and responsibility in digital storytelling. You will explore how ethical practices shape content creation and learn to evaluate and provide constructive feedback through peer review. By engaging in thoughtful discussions and projects, you will reflect on the balance between creativity, truth, and respect in media.

What to Expect

  • Duration: 2 days
  • Activities: Writing captivating essays, engaging in peer review, and discussing ethical responsibilities in storytelling

Step-by-Step Guide

  1. Get Inspired

    • Begin with a fun activity: write a short story inspired by a meme or image presented by your teacher.

  2. Create and Share

    • Upload a meaningful image of your own to a shared class folder. Keep your identity as the owner anonymous for this activity.
    • Each student will be assigned a photo from the folder. Write a captivating essay inspired by the image, including a headline and tagline that grab attention.
    • Save your essay in the shared folder, using the same name as the image.

  3. Peer Review

    • Review at least two essays written by classmates about images that are not your own. Provide constructive feedback, focusing on:

      • Ethical considerations: Is the content respectful and empathetic?
      • Headlines and taglines: Do they balance creativity and responsibility?

    • Engage in a discussion with the essay’s author about their approach and the ethical aspects of their work.

  4. Reflect and Discuss

    • Read the essays written about your own image and express your thoughts about how others interpreted it.

    • Participate in a guided class discussion covering:

      • The impact of content creation: At what cost is media produced?
      • The 24⁄7 news cycle and the pressure it creates
      • Responsibility to truth, consumers, and ethical practices

  5. Learn from Professionals

    • Watch a video interview with a professional from the fields of film, photography, or media. Take notes on how they handle ethics and peer review in their work.

  6. Apply What You’ve Learned

    • Reflect on the ethical decisions you made during this lesson and how they align with your views on responsibility in media.
    • Capture an image of something important to you to share anonymously in the next class. Keep the image and its significance private for now.

Why This Matters Understanding ethics and responsibility in media is essential in today’s fast-paced digital world. These skills will help you create content that is not only engaging but also respectful and impactful.

Outcome: What You Will Create

  • A captivating essay inspired by a peer’s image
  • Constructive feedback for your classmates’ essays
  • A deeper understanding of ethics and empathy in digital storytelling
  • Personal reflections on the balance between creativity, truth, and respect

Bonus Exploration

  • Interview the owner of the image you wrote about and write an additional passage that reflects the true story behind the subject.