This week I attended one of two sessions of the fifth Digital Witness Symposium sponsored by the Central New York Humanities Corridor in conjunction with Hamilton College and Syracuse University. This year, the symposium brought two fascinating speakers, both experts in new media, who spoke about the way that digital media (especially film) is being used to highlight social issues around the world. Each of the speakers brought up some though-provoking points about how the internet has created the opportunity for interaction beyond the typical film structure. And I think the projects they showcased offer some great opportunities for integrating film into a course in a way that engages students in higher-order thinking.

The first speaker, professor of film and new media at Ithaca College Patricia Zimmerman, focused her message on the way that documentary makers are changing the way they interact with their audience. Rather than produce a linear film that has a singular message mediated by a single director, these new documentaries use methods of crowdsourcing to get more directly to the people affected by  a certain social condition. This type of filmmaking is less about telling a story, and more about engaging people in deeper discussion. There is less a sense of direct confrontation and more of a feeling of open dialogue. The four aspects that characterize this new style, Zimmermann said, are that 1) they deal with very specific people and places, on a small scale (as opposed to documentaries that would take on larger, global issues). 2) they are about designing encounters and promoting discussion about an issue (as opposed to promoting a specific plan or political agenda), 3) they rely heavily on collaboration, and 4) they are inviting of people of all viewpoints.

The second speaker, Sarah Wolozin, runs the Open Doc Lab at MIT and is herself an accomplished film and new media artist. In her talk, she showcased some of the more ambitious documentary projects similar to those described by Zimmermann. She showed how filmmakers are exploring new ways of interacting with films, mixing new techniques with web-based platforms that allow users to explore a film outside of the traditional linear path that would normally be set by a director. These new forms allow for individualized viewing experiences, but also encourage users to continue thinking about and discussing the issues beyond the film by connecting online. I found all of these new approaches to filmmaking fascinating, but also a rich resource for classroom use. Many of the projects came from different countries, and could easily be used to help students learn more about a different culture and engage them in higher-order thinking as they become active users exploring information in a new way and finding ways to contribute. Below are a few projects that caught my eye and that could be useful in various language classrooms.

18 Days in Egypt

18 Days in Egypt is a web site that accompanies a film of the same name in an attempt to gather and tell the stories of experiences during the 2011 uprisings. The site has a variety of user-created streams with photos, videos, audio, and text. Students could explore the site endlessly, learning both about culture and using their Arabic language skills. The site has many resources, both in Arabic and English.

Quipu Project

The Quipu Project is an effort to make the stories of victims of forced sterilization in Peru heard. The project involves mobile storytelling, but bringing mobile technology to remote villages.

From their web site:

Inspired by the Quipu, an Inca communication system made of knotted threads, the project is creating a collective string of oral histories. Contributors can record and listen to themselves and others, through an interactive phone line and local radio stations, while connecting to a wider audience through the web.

Engage Media

Engage Media is one of the most ambitious and perhaps richest of these types of projects. Engage Media is an alternative to YouTube dedicated, allowing uploads related to social justice in the Asian Pacific. Users can browse by country, which is extensive and includes several languages, including Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, Arabic, and many, many more. Videos can be easily shared using links, and even downloaded for later use or for showing in areas without internet connections. This video, for example, showd the umbrella protests in Hong Kong.

Patricia Zimmermann has curated a list of these types of projects in several languages, and they can be viewed on her blog. Any of these project offers a great resource for students, and they could be asked to explore and present to the class something they learned from the project. Each also has the potential for collaboration for more advanced students.

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The Chinese language Intern Ruiling Feng gave a presentation at the Keck Center on September 5 to explain and celebrate 中秋节, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.

Students and faculty enjoyed her explanation of the origin and reason for the holiday as well as a taste of the traditional moon cakes provided by the Department of East Asian Languages and Literature.

Ruiling is one of six interns who provide help to language students at Colgate. Look for posts from all the language interns on our blog as well as future cultural events hosted at the Keck Center.

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Beginning this semester, the Keck Center will use this blog space to provide useful material for faculty and students learning languages at Colgate. Our posts will focus on finding ways to make language learning more productive as well as highlighting some of the activities going on at the Keck Center and some of the work being done with languages by students and faculty at Colgate. We will be reviewing language learning materials , including software, web sites, mobile apps, and foreign films. We will highlight the work of our language interns, student workers, and majors and minors in the language departments. In addition, you can find information about upcoming events, and notes and materials from workshops presented by the Keck Center. We look forward to having a great, productive year of language learning at Colgate!

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The Keck Center will be changing its regular hours of operation to be more efficient in our efforts to serve the Colgate community.

The center will officially open for the fall semester on Sept. 1.

Sept. 1-5 reduced hours:
Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Regular semester hours:
Monday-Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Closed Saturday
Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Exam week (Dec. 15-19):
Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Saturday-Sunday 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

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