Play Time

Kids need time to play.  This revolutionary idea has become apparent while teaching Media Collage.  I first noted this during student presentations.  They each took a turn introducing the class to a site or digital tool with which they are familiar.  Generally, students have responded favorably to these presentations and agree that listening to their classmates has provided them with the opportunity to see something new.  At the same time, the inevitable presentation fatigue also set in.  Hence the need for "2 Days of Play."  I wanted us to have some time to just play with the different stuff they had been shown. 

I gave my students some suggestions: experiment with iMovie, GarageBand, and Tumblr, among other sites and tools.  In short, go back to something that looked interesting or promising and mess around with it.  My role in this was not to dictate what they should do with any one of these applications.  I gave some suggestions, like create a Media Collage theme song in GarageBand.  But I wanted them to tell me what they were exploring and why.  

One student played with GarageBand.  He told me that he had been working with the night before.  Our conversations went something like this:
      Me: How long did it take you?  
      Him: I don’t know.  I lost track.  
      Me: You lost track because it wasn’t too long, or . . .
      Him: I started working on it, got into it, and I just lost track of time altogether.

I wonder how often this student feels this way about other school work.  Probably not often.  Whether reading a novel, completing math problems, or studying for a history exam, these activities are most likely completed with one eye on the clock. There is always that part of the brain that resists the work at hand and refuses to engage.  But the student working in GarageBand was totally committed.  

This reminds me of the great interview Henry Jenkins did with David Gauntlett, the author of Making is Connecting.  His contention is that any kind of creative activity, including work like the students did the last couple of days, is vital for one’s sense of self-worth.  Regardless of whether the product is a silly iMovie destined to sit unwatched on a person’s YouTube channel, the act of shaping the work affects the way the creator sees himself--he is no longer a passive consumer.  He becomes an active producer.  And it is meaningful for his sense of self. 

And so I am reminded of how vital it is to play.  It is serious business.  As teachers, we realize the need for students to be imaginative and creative.  But how do we provide these opportunities?  It is easy to feel that letting students experiment with ideas and tools is a waste of time.  There is so much to cover, so many mandates to fulfill.  What does tinkering in iMovie provide when standards must be met?  Perhaps an engaging, imaginative, all-encompassing experience of oneself as a creator.