From Ramot woods to Hollywood

Taking a tour of the Media Center for preschoolers.

By BATSHEVA POMERANTZ
Recording a story in the studio. Gan Hova preschoolers participate in day-long programs exposing them to photography, radio, ads, production of a book and video clips (photo credit: THE MEDIA CENTER)
Recording a story in the studio. Gan Hova preschoolers participate in day-long programs exposing them to photography, radio, ads, production of a book and video clips
(photo credit: THE MEDIA CENTER)
Located on a quiet road in the wooded part of Ramot Bet, the yard of the Media Center resembles those of other Jerusalem preschools. Upon closer inspection, one notices that in addition to standard equipment, there is an old-fashioned photo camera on a stand, a zoetrope, and a praxinoscope – the latter two are obsolete animation devices giving illusions of motion.
“Things are not what they seem” in this yard. This is one of the important messages of the “Magic of Photography” (Kismei Tzilum) program, one of three developed by Ayala Chimilevski, the director of the Media Center and one of its founders.
The preschool structure has a recording studio, a stage with curtains and changing scenery, cameras, and photographs. Gan Hova preschoolers from throughout Jerusalem participate in day-long programs exposing them to the various aspects of the media: photography, radio, advertisements, production of a book and video clips.
“I believe that it’s possible and necessary to teach children to understand and use the media wisely. The Media Center’s purpose helps them to learn to cope with the media rather than to fight against it,” states Chimilevski.
Chimilevski is a graduate of the Efrata Teachers College in early childhood education, with a specialization in sciences and mathematics. In 1994, she took a course about the media, sponsored by the Education Ministry and the Ramot community administration, and then set up a small media center in the preschool where she had taught in Ramot. Another course in the town of Shlomi on teaching media convinced her of the topic’s importance.
Chimilevski initially taught the children animation, which was based on simple technology. They would report their daily activities into a microphone. A box became a model of a television set.
The supervisor for early childhood education, the Ramot administration, and the Jerusalem Municipality were impressed by Chimilevski’s media program in her preschool, and recommended that other Ramot preschools participate. Eventually, due to great demand, a preschool structure was found, and the Media Center’s programs were offered to preschools throughout Jerusalem.
Since 2011, the Media Center has found its final home in Ramot Bet. Its interior, designed by Chimilevski, has an acoustic recording studio with an amplifier. “The children’s recordings in the studio’s microphones are connected to a computer with the Audacity program. The movement of the sound waves is a visual reminder of sound waves. They can understand the volume by color – red indicates a regular volume, and green is low.”
The Media Center offers preschool teachers three programs, devoting a three-month period during the year to each. The programs are part of the sal tarbut (cultural package) offered to educators and sent to them by their supervisors.
After coordinating the topic for the preschool, the children and the preschool’s staff visit the Media Center for a five-hour visit, starting with a discussion about the topic and the day’s activities. They are then divided into four groups led by the preschool teacher, the assistant, the center’s guide and the center’s assistant.
Simona Avrahami, a retiree from a preschool, now volunteers at the Media Center to advance the computerization. Chimilevski keeps up with the latest technology and is assisted by her husband, Aharon, who works in the media, as well as others.
Children are familiar with the topics presented at the Media Center, since they revolve around the curriculum or the theme topic of the year. This year’s topic is the 50th anniversary of Jerusalem’s reunification.
“The Magic of Photography” program includes five stations connected to photography, including a darkroom. “We discuss that photography is for remembering things. The students see black and white photos from the founding of the State of Israel, with items that aren’t in use now, like old telephones, large cameras, and obsolete children’s games. They learn about the history of those times. A picture is worth 1,000 words!”
The children learn visual literacy and the way pictures are composed. They learn that in photography there is more than meets the eye, especially in advertisements, when objects appear much larger than reality.
“I prepared small models of sites in Jerusalem,” Chimilevski explains. “The children stood in front of a blue background near the model. In the photographs, the model was either large (life-size) or smaller depending on the distance of the camera. The camera creates an illusion that is different from reality.”
The children learn about various photo angles and the ability to distort the object or person, and so experience terms like “birds-eye vision” and “the view of the snake” (a photo taken from the ground). They learn in the darkroom to develop pictures, to expose via phosphorous plates, to catch a picture in a magnifying glass and more. They get dressed up on the stage and their friends snap photos of them. “In a world where everything is instant, children learn the process,” notes Chimilevski.
Children are encouraged to touch everything, including the eight digital cameras. “Part of the experience is playing in the yard, with the risk of dropping the cameras while running. They snap pictures of views, friends, plants – all from different angles and learn that how the viewpoint effects what you see.”
A quiz with slides summarizes the principle of illusion. The children guess what is in the photograph, for example, a giraffe doll photographed from above (an unusual angle). “The children look for a hint in the picture, and know that as the camera zooms in, everything changes. What I think I see, is not necessarily the object.” The children take home a disc of their photos, and a photogram developed in the darkroom.
In the program “With Words, Sounds, and Pictures,” the children learn the stages of producing a book and a disc with still photographs. The preschool teachers receive a link to the story to teach their students.
For some teachers, the Media Center is an eye-opener. “Some are afraid of the new technologies, and learn to cope with it, including using the smartphone and program registration through GoogleDocs.”
This year, the children studied the book Ephraim Mokir Yerushalayim (Ephraim Loves Jerusalem), by Leah Kaplan. Ephraim drives to Jerusalem and learns the city’s various names en route.
“Children know the story and its rhymes,” Chimilevski explains. “They are divided into four groups: some illustrate the story, while others record it in the studio with music and sound effects. Another group prepares the scenery for photographing the story, while another group designs the book’s cover. They don’t see the cover beforehand, and their creativity really shows here. Each preschool has designed a different cover!”
Sometimes shy children open up during the recordings, and when they go on stage dressed up they gain confidence. The children go on stage for the still photographs, where they realize the difference from filming videos. The background scenes for Ephraim Mokir Yerushalayim include the Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway and the Western Wall. The children receive a book and disc based on the activity, which are given out at the end-of-year party.
The Media Center becomes a film studio after Passover, when the program “I Was in This Film Too” focuses on filming a video clip of a song that was studied beforehand in the preschool, where the children learn the history of movie making from the silent era until today.
They analyze a black and white movie, and learn about animation from the most simple device to the 19th-century zoetrope, which when spinned shows pictures as if in motion. The Media Center has two zoetropes.
For the activity, each group rehearses a different stanza in costume on stage under the guidance of the staff. Chimilevski or a parent then films the stanza, and the next group joins. Sometimes they view the filmed segment and analyze how it can be improved.
After it’s edited by Chimilevski, the children receive it at the end-of-year party.
For more information: www.mediacenter.manhi.org.il/BRPortal/br/P100.jsp