--- tags: resource --- # Learning and Unlearning — Multimodal Project Resource ![a drawing of an apple and a pencil](https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T0HTW3H0V-F08AG4FA8PL/untitled_design__2_.jpg?pub_secret=ad353dbf2a) This resource will help you think about how different multimodal forms—such as **podcasts, video essays, pamphlets, and web-based projects**—can express your insights about **learning and unlearning**. Each medium offers distinct **affordances**: ways of engaging audiences, evoking reflection, and showing transformation. Make an **intentional choice** about the form that best supports your story or argument about **how people learn, unlearn, and change**. --- ## Learning through Making When we make something—a recording, a short film, a digital essay—we learn by **translating ideas into experience**. The process of crafting a multimodal project can itself be an act of unlearning: surfacing assumptions, testing how you communicate, and seeing your topic through a new medium. **Guiding questions** - What is your **central insight** about learning or unlearning? - Who is your **intended audience**, and how can this medium best reach them? - What **experience** do you want your audience to have (reflection, empathy, challenge, curiosity)? --- ## Storytelling as Unlearning: Audio/Visual Projects Audio and visual storytelling—podcasts, short films, video essays—reveal the **lived, emotional, and reflective** dimensions of learning. They capture how change feels: discomfort, confusion, excitement, clarity. **Well-suited for** - personal or collective stories of learning/unlearning - interviews that uncover perspective shifts - analyses that trace ideas evolving over time - public-facing work that invites empathy and dialogue --- ## The Reflective Podcast Podcasts translate complex ideas into **intimate, voice-driven stories**, capturing **dialogue, memory, and emotion**—how people come to know or unlearn something important. They layer **voice, music, silence, and ambient sound** to create meaning. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qrJaonJt1QU?si=rGmFlsFjp-wzPpWX" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> **Listening prompt** 1. Listen to the first 30 seconds. What do you hear and feel? 2. Listen again—what layers or sounds do you notice? 3. Map out the sonic elements: how do they interact? 4. Reflect on how these choices tell a story about **change, awareness, or understanding**. --- ## The Visual Argument: Video Essays <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_V10kWLh71U?si=XDrARY0IqVSUhzrA" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> A video essay makes an argument through **image, sound, and movement**. Like an academic essay, it advances a claim—but instead of relying only on words, it uses **visual and auditory evidence** to persuade and illuminate. **Possible directions** - explore how learning is represented in culture or media - analyze how ideas are visualized, remembered, or embodied - document your own process of learning or unlearning - invite your viewer to reflect or question an assumption **Techniques** - **juxtaposition** to highlight contrasts or transformations - **voiceover** to interpret what viewers see - **visual layering**—text, graphics, or animation—to clarify meaning - **music or rhythm** to guide engagement ### Consider Your Visual Assets Think carefully about your visuals—photos, archival clips, graphics, or footage you create. What will each contribute? When will it appear? What will your **narration** or **soundtrack** be doing at that moment? The sequence and combination of sound and image are your tools for helping an audience **see and feel learning as transformation**. --- ## The Learning Conversation: Interview-Based Projects Interviews are powerful windows into **how people learn and change**. They can show the process of unlearning through others’ words, pauses, and reflections. A strong interview requires preparation and empathy. It’s not just a Q&A—it’s a **shared inquiry** into what the interviewee knows, feels, and is still figuring out. ### Key Practices - choose guests whose stories or experiences illuminate your theme - research and prepare—but stay open to surprise - ask **“how”** and **“why”** questions - listen actively and let curiosity guide the conversation - create a comfortable environment for authentic reflection ### Interview Prep Resources From NPR’s internal training guides: - [story structure](https://training.npr.org/2016/03/02/understanding-story-structure-in-4-drawings/) - [the show editor's checklist](https://training.npr.org/2021/03/04/the-show-editors-interview-checklist/) - [casting, coaching an interview](https://training.npr.org/2018/03/05/casting-coaching-and-cutting-a-producers-guide-to-unmoderated-conversations/) Other resources: - [the art of the pre-interview](https://transom.org/2016/art-pre-interview/) #### Ira Glass on Storytelling <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f6ezU57J8YI?si=kfJwQsc0QEXoVWgB" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> --- ## Learning through Design: Pamphlets and Web Essays Pamphlets, blogs, or web-based multimedia essays invite you to **combine research, analysis, and reflection** using text, visuals, and hyperlinks. These forms are ideal for public-facing work—where you want to **provoke curiosity**, share insights, or **invite dialogue**. **Well-suited for** - exploring philosophical or ethical questions about learning - connecting case studies, theory, and reflection - visualizing learning as a social or cultural process When designing your project, consider tone and purpose: Is your goal to **inspire, challenge, document, or explain**? Will your reader **click, listen, or watch** as they move through your piece? --- ## Audio Recording Tips From our [podcasting site](https://sites.google.com/g.harvard.edu/ll-podcasting): ### Microphone placement Keep all speakers equidistant from the mic, reduce background noise, and choose a calm setting. Some ambient sound is fine if voices remain clear. ### Test your recording Record a short sample and listen with headphones to adjust levels and clarity. ### Start early, stop late Begin before and end after your main conversation—you might capture valuable spontaneous moments of reflection. ### Name your files Use clear, descriptive filenames to stay organized during editing and transcription. --- ## Video Editing Tutorials ![editing screenshot](https://files.slack.com/files-pri/T0HTW3H0V-F04ACF3CCMB/screen_shot_2022-11-10_at_3.30.59_pm.png?pub_secret=76286820a1) [A Quick Guide to Post Production Resources](https://resources.learninglab.xyz/simple/projects/HDS-FilmFest/post-production) ### For iMovie - [Getting Started with iMovie](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212059) ### For Davinci Resolve - [Getting Started with Davinci Resolve](https://resources.learninglab.xyz/simple/people/casey-c/Resolve-getStarted) ### For Final Cut Pro - [Getting Started with Final Cut Pro](https://resources.learninglab.xyz/simple/people/casey-c/FCPX-getStarted) ### For Adobe Premiere - [Guide to Adobe Premiere Pro](/s2Pph8GJSZSvUv5ENuXqiQ) - [Getting Started with Adobe Premiere](https://resources.learninglab.xyz/simple/people/casey-c/Premiere-getStarted) ### Sourcing Video - [Prelinger Archives](https://archive.org/details/prelinger) - [Downloading archival footage](http://resources.learninglab.xyz/simple/projects/SOCIOL1142/Found-and-archival-footage) ### Recording Tips - [Recording video with your phone](https://hackmd.io/xD2-fRD1RbigxRQPRUc8PQ?view) --- ## On Campus Resources - [Lamont Library](https://library.harvard.edu/libraries/lamont) - 24-hour access with post-production software for editing multimedia projects - [Cabot Library](https://library.harvard.edu/libraries/cabot) - 24-hour collaborative space with media studios for production and editing