Franklin Remixed

The curriculum was designed to reflect and reinforce the course’s three main learning objectives: to deepen students’ knowledge of Franklin; to instruct students on the basic skills and strategies required to design an exhibition; and to provide students with a chance to create their own narrative of Franklin, using simple multimedia tools. Classes often, though not always, combined substantive Franklin learning with exhibition design and curatorial skills, and hands-on multimedia instruction. What follows below is a rough outline of each 80-minute period:

Class 1
We introduced students to the project and conducted a class activity (based on “Greetings, Benjamin Franklin” in the Tercentenary’s Teacher’s Guide to the Exhibition, (http://www.benfranklin300.org/education.htm). We also conducted an object study exercise to prepare the students to be curators. In this exercise, groups of students were given a container (backpack, purse, etc.), each containing five objects. Students were asked to study the objects for clues about who would carry such a container. Their inquiries were structured around the 5 “w’s”: what, where, when, who and why.

Homework: prepare acrostic using the name “Benjamin Franklin.”

Class 2
After students read their poems, we conducted an activity that focused on Franklin’s role at the Constitutional Convention (based on Lesson Plan 10 in Ben Across the Curriculum, (http://www.benfranklin300.org/education.htm) . Following this activity, we led a mock exhibit exercise. Students then were introduced to the interactive project site and some of the tools - such as WordPress and Flickr - they would be using to create their online exhibitions.

Homework: students were asked to read an essay by Billy Smith, entitled “Benjamin Franklin, Civic Improver,” (Ben Across the Curriculum, http://www.benfranklin300.org/education.htm).

Class 3
The substantive Franklin portion of this class was based on Lesson 5, “What Good May I Do: Franklin and the American Civic Association,” (Ben Across the Curriculum, http://www.benfranklin300.org/education.htm). Following this activity, students were led in a tutorial on creating their own page on the site using the WordPress blog and posting images from Flickr tools.

Homework: Students were asked to design an individual Web page, selecting one image from the database created at the beginning of the course.

Class 4
The University of the Arts students assisted TPS students in completing their individual Web page. We then introduced students to the process of podcasting. (For further details, see Interactive Design Process.) From Web page design and audio file creation, we then jumped to introducing students to basic exhibition conceptualization. Using a brainstorming method, students suggested possible topics for the “big idea” for their online Franklin exhibit. Suggestions were grouped into categories by similarity, and students could vote for their top three choices. Our students ultimately decided to focus on both Franklin’s great accomplishments as well as some of his less admirable qualities, including the fact that he was a slave owner for part of his life and spent much of his life abroad, away from his family. The students characterized their “big idea” as Ben: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Sub-themes were Franklin’s openness to change over the course of his life and the characterization of his thought processes as “trial and error.”

Class 5
Using the same brainstorming technique employed to identify the big idea, the teaching team led students in an exercise to identify five central themes to support that big idea. The students determined that the following themes were central to the big idea of Ben: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly: (1) Way to wealth (including Franklin’s jobs, printing, almanac, attitude towards money); (2) Views of others (including racism, slavery and immigration); (3) Personal life (family, religion, self-improvement, public/private persona, womanizing); (4) Scientist/Inventor; and (5) Political Ideas (involvement with founding documents and city improvements). Following the identification of the five supporting themes, students wrote down, in order of preference, the themes they preferred to explore. The facilitators were able to break the class into five groups of three students each, with no student receiving lower than their second choice. Each group was also assigned one member of the teaching team to serve as facilitator.

Homework: each student was asked to identify five artifacts or paintings from the database that would best support their assigned theme.

Class 6
With the assistance of the facilitator, each group looked over all the artifacts proposed by the individual students and narrowed down the list to approximately six. Again, the focus of the discussion centered on how each artifact related both to the group theme and to the overall central theme. Facilitators also led discussions on “interpreting” objects and the various means by which object interpretations can connect the object to the themes. Following this discussion, each student in the group was assigned two objects to interpret and write label copy for. Students were offered assistance in researching their individual objects in order to better understand that object’s relationship to Franklin and to the overall theme of Ben: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Homework: Students were assigned to work on the label copy for their objects.

Class 7 - Class 9
The next three classes were devoted to working with the individual groups to help students research and write their label copy, peer review each other’s copy, as well as order and label the images and determine a theme title. About halfway through, individual groups presented their work to the rest of the class and to Matthew Fisher, our lead interactive designer, to ensure that it was on course, keyed to the big idea, and of interest to other middle school students, particularly those who would not have a chance to see either the Tercentenary or Rosenbach exhibitions. Students were asked to review the artifacts they had selected and labels they had written to ensure that both supported the group theme as well as the big idea.

During this time period, students also podcasted their own labels to provide an audio component to each image. Before labels were podcast, facilitators reviewed them for historical accuracy. Following the podcasting of their labels, the groups were asked to identify one object that they would further interpret through a short skit. Students wrote their skit and recorded these pieces as well.

It should be noted that during these three class sessions, the groups worked at different paces to complete all of the above tasks. In addition, because time was running short, the facilitators wrote introductions to each section. These introductions were approved by the students.

Class 10
The last class was devoted to showcasing the entire website for the students. After students had completed the review, they once again were asked to focus on the title of the exhibition to ensure it reflected the site’s content. In our case, students were satisfied that the title, Ben: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, was the appropriate title for their work.

The last section of this class centered on students discussing what they liked and disliked about the project. Preparations were made for the formal launch party.