involves making and/or watching video
What should jokers do when groups or teams are up and running in an activity and they are no longer needed? One good role they can play is as scribes for the teams, taking notes on the conversation, documenting their work (in writing, on video, photos), etc.
Other roles:
Give people a list of [musicians] and ask them to choose one person whose music they do not know. Their task is to find music by that person online, listen to it, choose one and post a link (or the video/audio itself) in the online group with a comment about the music. Players are then asked to listen to each other's chosen music and add their own comments, to which the original poster should reply.
You can add a layer by asking people to research the background of the musical piece or the musician and post a summary. This can be very good practice for simple citation.
For a few years I have been using Facebook Groups in my university courses. One technique that has been especially useful is to have students post comments for homework, then, in the following class, read and respond to others' comments, using their smartphones. I also participate, provoking discussion and reflection. It becomes a kind of instant writing/reading process and the atmosphere is relaxed and fun.
I learned this technique for "video citizen journalism" from Richard Hering in a workshop he did for our English for Activists class in Tokyo. Seems like a great tool for activists that can also be a great tool for learners. The key factors are immediacy, a clear simple structure, and low technical barriers: you use the video camera on your phone, a simple formula for organizing content, and no editing or effects. (See remoscope for a similarly direct approach.)
Filmmaker Emiko Aono introduced this approach to participants in the media working group of Labor Now, the Tokyo-based labor research and activist group. (www.jca.apc.org/labornow) I have doubts about the theoretical project of overcoming the difference between spectator and performance, especially since reading Ranciere's Emancipated Spectator. But I think this technique is perfect for practicing the attentive seeing and verification that is central to emancipated learning. For more information see http://remoscope.net/
