Response to Pedagogical Agent Articles
While I was surprised to read some of the very explicit transcripts between the female pedagogical agent and the students, I was also reminded of how I saw students act in a similar situation. When volunteering at a middle school, I was part of a program where students went online to a secure chat room, much like we use for this class, to discuss literature with pre-service English teachers. Students were told to discuss literature, but not much else was said in terms of direction for this assignment. I remember being online and a part of some conversations between the students and teachers. While the most explicit or inappropriate thing I recall any student saying was “shut up,” I do remember being offended that a student even went that far. The kids knew that the pre-service teachers could contact their original teacher, and they also knew that the transcripts were recorded and sent to their teacher. Regardless, the kids still managed to stay off-topic for most of the required time.
At the time, I concluded this was so because the students were not given enough on-topic material to discuss in the first place and that the rules for social norms online had not been clearly established. I continue to believe that both of these were reasons for their poor performance online, but I have some new information to ponder too. I think that the informal language used to chat online such as abbreviations for words and lack of punctuation and capitalization helps to foster the kind of environment where inappropriate, not school related conversations will occur. Conversations outside of school between peers using online chat functions occur all the time. Taking a space that has for most kids been parent/adult-free and used exclusively for social networking and telling kids to use that space in the classroom without direction for how to do so seems irresponsible. Why would we think that kids will act any differently in that space simply because we are placing that space in a school? My point is this: Kids must be taught and held accountable for appropriate behavior in the online space just as they would be in a face-to-face interaction. This seems paramount when kids are using the technology in school for the first time. Otherwise, kids will use this space, just as they might outside of the classroom, to explore boundaries and to establish identity. Therefore, it is the role of the teacher to establish ground rules to ensure that kids know they are held accountable. By extension, this will hopefully help kids understand the importance of responsibly navigating rules and norms of other spaces online that they might visit on their own time and as adults.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Post #8A
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Thursday, June 25, 2009
Post #7
I was recently introduced to the following website for Project New Media Literacies: http://newmedialiteracies.org/. A point that this website makes, and something that I have been considering lately, is about a recent shift in teaching media literacy. The focus has gone from only teaching students how to critically analyze messages aimed at consumers, to also teaching students how to participate in a culture that creates material for others to consume. This is the idea of the participatory culture in which we are all capable of adding our own thoughts, pictures, and artwork to the public realm pretty easily. And the research shows that kids are doing just that. In order for kids to be literate participants of this culture, the website suggests a few skills that teachers might want to focus on in the classroom. Therefore, the following assignments are based on some of these skills and the idea of the participatory culture.
Assignment #1 – Keeping a Blog
Objectives for Learners:
-Students will know the technologies necessary to start and maintain a blog.
-Students will understand the social norms and writing styles essential to successfully maintaining a blog.
Anticipatory Set:
-Students will search the web for 3-5 blogs noting similarities and differences between them. Students will then share the blogs in a small group setting and discuss what constitutes a successful blog. In a large group, we will debrief and establish class criteria for successful blogging.
Lesson:
-Students will be instructed through a variety of mini lessons how to set up and maintain a blog using a secure server provided by the school. Students will ensure that they have access to all class blogs.
-Students will maintain the blog through a unit of study on short stories. On most days, students will use the blog to post their thoughts about the reading including summaries, questions, connections to the outside world, etc. Also, students will read and post on all class blogs to encourage dialogue about stories. The posts will be required homework due before the in-class discussion on the reading.
-Other assignments that might be posted on the blog include researched information about the author, time period of the story, allusions found in the story, etc.
Assessment:
-I will comment on students’ blogs providing informal ongoing assessment.
-I will use a rubric to score quality of posts and to hold students accountable for posting on other class blogs.
Assignment #2 – Credible Sources
Objective for Learners:
-Students will be able to distinguish between credible and untrustworthy information found online.
Anticipatory Set:
-I will show examples of credible websites and databases and examples of places where information is not necessarily reliable. I will explain what constitutes a credible source.
Lesson:
-Students will choose a topic of interest to research. This could be a famous person, a medical condition, a historic event, etc.
-Students will visit a variety of websites and databases to collect information regarding their topic.
-Students will analyze this information for accuracy and note any inconsistencies or questionable information.
-Students will report their findings to the class.
-*This assignment will be done as a precursor to writing a major research paper. Since the point of this assignment is simply to get students thinking about credible sources, the topic they choose could be anything and the format that they present the information is informal.
Assessment:
-I will use a rubric to score students based on how many websites they visited and analyzed. The rubric will also assess students’ ability to share their findings with the class.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Post #6
Rationale for Teaching the Concept of Real versus Fake News
I developed two assignments appropriate for high school students aimed at generating thought about the credibility of news broadcasts. These assignments are based largely on the findings mentioned in the article, “When Fake Is More Real: Of Fools, Parody, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” by Ana Kothe. One major discussion point made by Kothe is that younger audiences are basically not interested in traditional newscasts. She explains that one of the reasons youth are less interested in the newscasts has to do with how credible they believe the shows to be (Kothe). Kothe goes on to describe why The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (TDS) draws in these younger viewers based on its humor and credibility: “TDS is a valid news source, one that has the advantage of engaging a broader and younger audience. In fact, the real fake news is not the one claiming to be such (TDS); instead, it is the broadcast news that is a sham, parading as something it is not. Younger people’s disillusionment with official news reporting is not entirely unfounded” (Kothe).
Assignments encouraging students to see the truth about official news reporting certainly have their place in the English classroom. Actually, Minnesota Language Arts state standards require that students evaluate the credibility and persuasive techniques used by different media. Therefore, in order to encourage youth interest in news and equip all students with the skills necessary to be cautious consumers of media including news, English teachers should use “fake” newscasts to expose truths and realities in their lessons.
For Kothe’s full article, use this hyperlink: http://www.americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/fall_2007/kothe.htm.
Assignments for Encouraging Students to Think About Real versus Fake News
Assignment #1 –Credibility of News Broadcasts
Students will watch a mainstream news station’s coverage of a certain topic and compare it to The Daily Show’s coverage of that same topic. Students will chart their reactions to these two broadcasts side by side and respond to a list of questions aimed at encouraging them to critically analyze what they saw.
Some of the questions will include:
· What was the purpose of the story?
· What information was new information to you? In other words, what did you learn?
· How much of what you heard/saw was filler or unimportant information?
· Who reported the information? Why do you think this person/group of people were in charge of reporting the information?
· What was left out of the story? Or, what questions do you still have?
· What didn’t seem believable or completely true?
· What is the audience supposed to believe as a result of watching this news story?
· How do you know that the audience is supposed to feel a certain way about the topic of the story (the persuasive devices used)?
Next, students will discuss their answers in a small group setting before reporting findings to the class. It will be interesting to see which newscast students felt they learned the most from and which newscast they found most credible. As an extension activity, students could to choose to write to the mainstream news station or to The Daily Show explaining their findings. Students would practice composing a professional letter, summarizing their experience and findings, and practice writing conventions at the same time.
Assignment #2 – Broadcast Parody Writing
Students, after studying a local news station’s coverage of a story for perhaps a week, will write and perform a parody of their coverage exposing any inaccurate information, purposeful exclusions of information, misrepresentations, persuasive techniques, or previously unchallenged roles, attitudes, or mannerisms of the anchors. After choosing a story to follow, students will create a viewing log for each time the story is covered. Students will also be asked to respond to a list of questions for each segment that they see (many of the same questions from above would be relevant). Working in small groups, students will decide which element(s) of their story’s coverage should be challenged through parody and write and perform a parody segment exaggerating their findings. For example, students might notice that in a co-anchored newscast, either the male or the female anchor is more often assigned to report updates regarding this story. If the finding is that a female anchor is often charged with telling a highly emotional story, for example, students might hear that anchor use the same emotional words over and over again such as, “that’s too bad,” or, “how sad,” coupled with animated facial expressions of pity or sorrow. Using the above example, students would use those phrases and facial expressions in their parody to point to the effect they have on the audience. The groups will perform their parodies and conduct a debriefing discussion with the class to explain their findings.
I developed two assignments appropriate for high school students aimed at generating thought about the credibility of news broadcasts. These assignments are based largely on the findings mentioned in the article, “When Fake Is More Real: Of Fools, Parody, and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” by Ana Kothe. One major discussion point made by Kothe is that younger audiences are basically not interested in traditional newscasts. She explains that one of the reasons youth are less interested in the newscasts has to do with how credible they believe the shows to be (Kothe). Kothe goes on to describe why The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (TDS) draws in these younger viewers based on its humor and credibility: “TDS is a valid news source, one that has the advantage of engaging a broader and younger audience. In fact, the real fake news is not the one claiming to be such (TDS); instead, it is the broadcast news that is a sham, parading as something it is not. Younger people’s disillusionment with official news reporting is not entirely unfounded” (Kothe).
Assignments encouraging students to see the truth about official news reporting certainly have their place in the English classroom. Actually, Minnesota Language Arts state standards require that students evaluate the credibility and persuasive techniques used by different media. Therefore, in order to encourage youth interest in news and equip all students with the skills necessary to be cautious consumers of media including news, English teachers should use “fake” newscasts to expose truths and realities in their lessons.
For Kothe’s full article, use this hyperlink: http://www.americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/fall_2007/kothe.htm.
Assignments for Encouraging Students to Think About Real versus Fake News
Assignment #1 –Credibility of News Broadcasts
Students will watch a mainstream news station’s coverage of a certain topic and compare it to The Daily Show’s coverage of that same topic. Students will chart their reactions to these two broadcasts side by side and respond to a list of questions aimed at encouraging them to critically analyze what they saw.
Some of the questions will include:
· What was the purpose of the story?
· What information was new information to you? In other words, what did you learn?
· How much of what you heard/saw was filler or unimportant information?
· Who reported the information? Why do you think this person/group of people were in charge of reporting the information?
· What was left out of the story? Or, what questions do you still have?
· What didn’t seem believable or completely true?
· What is the audience supposed to believe as a result of watching this news story?
· How do you know that the audience is supposed to feel a certain way about the topic of the story (the persuasive devices used)?
Next, students will discuss their answers in a small group setting before reporting findings to the class. It will be interesting to see which newscast students felt they learned the most from and which newscast they found most credible. As an extension activity, students could to choose to write to the mainstream news station or to The Daily Show explaining their findings. Students would practice composing a professional letter, summarizing their experience and findings, and practice writing conventions at the same time.
Assignment #2 – Broadcast Parody Writing
Students, after studying a local news station’s coverage of a story for perhaps a week, will write and perform a parody of their coverage exposing any inaccurate information, purposeful exclusions of information, misrepresentations, persuasive techniques, or previously unchallenged roles, attitudes, or mannerisms of the anchors. After choosing a story to follow, students will create a viewing log for each time the story is covered. Students will also be asked to respond to a list of questions for each segment that they see (many of the same questions from above would be relevant). Working in small groups, students will decide which element(s) of their story’s coverage should be challenged through parody and write and perform a parody segment exaggerating their findings. For example, students might notice that in a co-anchored newscast, either the male or the female anchor is more often assigned to report updates regarding this story. If the finding is that a female anchor is often charged with telling a highly emotional story, for example, students might hear that anchor use the same emotional words over and over again such as, “that’s too bad,” or, “how sad,” coupled with animated facial expressions of pity or sorrow. Using the above example, students would use those phrases and facial expressions in their parody to point to the effect they have on the audience. The groups will perform their parodies and conduct a debriefing discussion with the class to explain their findings.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Post #5B
Viewing Log for WCCO 6:00 P.M. News on Monday, June 15, 2009
Approximate Time and Content
(15 seconds) Teasers: Teasers of top three stories as presented by Amelia Santaniello and Frank Vascellaro.
(3 minutes) Top story (crime/murder): Heather Solberg, mom of two, is killed by a hit-and-run driver suspected of using alcohol. Santaniello reports the story using emotionally charged language such as “horrific” to describe the accident. An interview is conducted with Solberg’s brother and children. Caroline Lowe (?) and Santaniello, both female anchors, close the story with an emotional exchange about the tragedy of this story.
(30 seconds) Local news story (health/death): Vascellaro reports that a five-year-old child in Minnesota dies from the H1N1 Virus. A screen flashes with current local and national statistics regarding H1N1 related deaths.
(2 minutes) Local news story (policy/politics): Santaniello transitions from the last story to this one, and Vascellaro takes over by introducing a “reality check” story on Pawlenty’s decisions about the deficit and taxes. A clip of Pawlenty speaking is shown followed by a “need to know” bullet list of statistics. Pat Kessler, reporter, uses phrases such as, “[t]he state is reaching into your pocket,” and, “monster deficit” to provide viewers with his “reality check” news segment.
(30 seconds) Local news (unusual crime): Vascellaro reports that a woman is charged with violating copyright laws when she shared music online. A clip of the woman outside of a courthouse is shown; Vascellaro is talking over the clip.
(1 minute) National news (policy/politics): Santaniello facilitates the transition between segments, and Vascellaro takes over reporting on Obama’s healthcare plans. A clip of Obama speaking is shown followed by a clip of a hospital room. Viewer’s opinions are flashed on the screen during the “inside the box” segment that allows viewer’s to voice their opinions of news stories. One male and one female viewer’s comments from different sides of the issue are displayed.
(1 minute) Local news (community issue): Vascellaro reports on road construction. Amy Klobuchar is shown speaking about the issue.
(1½ minutes) Local news (philanthropic story): Vascellaro and Santaniello engage in “happy talk” banter with Mark Rosen about a charity golf tournament. Rosen is on site, and he reports on a successful day with many gracious and generous participants. The newscasters joke about Rosen’s score.
(1 minute) Weather: Chris Shaffer, outside, reports the local weather. Radar screens and maps are flashed on the screen as Shaffer explains that he will say more about the weather later (teaser).
(15 seconds) Teaser (sports and weather): This is done quickly by both anchors before the first 3 minute commercial break.
(3 minutes) Local story (community issue): Santaniello introduces the story, and Bill Hudson, reporter, takes over reporting live from a local lake about the Eurasian Water Milfoil problem that is more severe this year than last. Reasons for the increase in milfoil growth are given such as less rain, more sunlight, and lower water levels. The machine used to remove the milfoil is shown as the manager of the company explains why this year’s problem with the weeds is worse than others. A boater is interviewed, and a list of statistics is put on the screen.
(2 ½ minutes) Weather: Shaffer, now inside, reports the weather using “live radar” and statistics about average rainfall. He concludes with a segment called “on the spot” in which a couple getting married on Friday has sent in a picture of themselves and asked about the predicted weather for their wedding.
(15 seconds) Teaser (sports): This is done before the 3 minute commercial break which includes two ads for news stories on the ten o’clock news.
(4/5 minutes) Local sports: Mike Max reports on potential new coaches for various local teams. He reports that Favre is going to talk later tonight about his intentions to join the Vikings. He also reports on an organization called Perfect Game National that holds games and tryouts for high school baseball players. High school students are interviewed and shown playing ball. Max concludes by plugging his own radio show that he hopes viewers will tune into later this evening.
(15 seconds) Ad: A highlight of tonight’s local programming (T.V. shows) is displayed on the screen.
(15 seconds) Ads: These feature various new anchors and reporters advertizing multiple news stories that will air on the ten o’clock news.
(30 seconds) Local story (community issue): Santaniello reports that many Minneapolis students have jobs this summer. Brief and vague information is provided about some working kids as a video of them is on the screen. She wishes them well and says, “Good luck kids.”
(15 seconds) Weather: Shaffer reports the general seven day forecast with a graphic of all seven days and the predicted temperatures is on the screen.
(15 seconds) Closing: Vascellaro very quickly asks Max, (“Maxie”) if he can say anything else about Favre’s potential announcement tonight. Maxie says no. Santaniello quickly interjects, “Thanks for joining us!” as time runs out.
Analysis
My overall impression of this ½ hour news segment was that not much of value to the general audience was presented. By this I simply mean that I’m not changed or more informed about a specific topic as a result of watching the news. In fact, many of the news stories were about events that have not yet happened. For example, Max reports that Brett Favre probably will say something worthwhile in an interview on another station tonight. That is not a news story. As a result of not having much to say, it is clear that an attempt was made to make these stories highly entertaining and engaging. Many times throughout the broadcast, bulleted lists appeared to summarize information or display facts. “Happy talk” was used to make the anchors seem friendly and accessible. Finally, all anchors used direct eye contact when presenting facts to engage the audience. All of these strategies, mentioned by Beach p. 94, were designed to capture the attention of the audience, and paired with the quick stories and smooth transitions, made the ½ hour appear more meaningful than perhaps it was.
I also paid careful attention to the roles each anchor played during the broadcast. Santaniello and Lowe, females, reported together the top news story with lots of emotion about the untimely death of a mother. Presumably, female reporters told this story because they were able to elicit an emotional response from the viewers, increasing viewer engagement. I also noticed that Santaniello’s role during the broadcast was, on many occasions, to wrap up a story, introduce the next one, and pass it off to Vascellaro who would report the substance of the story. In other words, Santaniello was responsible for the housekeeping duties while Vascellaro was responsible for presenting facts. Finally, Santaniello was the only one to thank the viewers for watching, since Vascellaro was too busy asking Max about Brett Favre. Again, this fact calls into question the assumed gender roles of the anchors.
Approximate Time and Content
(15 seconds) Teasers: Teasers of top three stories as presented by Amelia Santaniello and Frank Vascellaro.
(3 minutes) Top story (crime/murder): Heather Solberg, mom of two, is killed by a hit-and-run driver suspected of using alcohol. Santaniello reports the story using emotionally charged language such as “horrific” to describe the accident. An interview is conducted with Solberg’s brother and children. Caroline Lowe (?) and Santaniello, both female anchors, close the story with an emotional exchange about the tragedy of this story.
(30 seconds) Local news story (health/death): Vascellaro reports that a five-year-old child in Minnesota dies from the H1N1 Virus. A screen flashes with current local and national statistics regarding H1N1 related deaths.
(2 minutes) Local news story (policy/politics): Santaniello transitions from the last story to this one, and Vascellaro takes over by introducing a “reality check” story on Pawlenty’s decisions about the deficit and taxes. A clip of Pawlenty speaking is shown followed by a “need to know” bullet list of statistics. Pat Kessler, reporter, uses phrases such as, “[t]he state is reaching into your pocket,” and, “monster deficit” to provide viewers with his “reality check” news segment.
(30 seconds) Local news (unusual crime): Vascellaro reports that a woman is charged with violating copyright laws when she shared music online. A clip of the woman outside of a courthouse is shown; Vascellaro is talking over the clip.
(1 minute) National news (policy/politics): Santaniello facilitates the transition between segments, and Vascellaro takes over reporting on Obama’s healthcare plans. A clip of Obama speaking is shown followed by a clip of a hospital room. Viewer’s opinions are flashed on the screen during the “inside the box” segment that allows viewer’s to voice their opinions of news stories. One male and one female viewer’s comments from different sides of the issue are displayed.
(1 minute) Local news (community issue): Vascellaro reports on road construction. Amy Klobuchar is shown speaking about the issue.
(1½ minutes) Local news (philanthropic story): Vascellaro and Santaniello engage in “happy talk” banter with Mark Rosen about a charity golf tournament. Rosen is on site, and he reports on a successful day with many gracious and generous participants. The newscasters joke about Rosen’s score.
(1 minute) Weather: Chris Shaffer, outside, reports the local weather. Radar screens and maps are flashed on the screen as Shaffer explains that he will say more about the weather later (teaser).
(15 seconds) Teaser (sports and weather): This is done quickly by both anchors before the first 3 minute commercial break.
(3 minutes) Local story (community issue): Santaniello introduces the story, and Bill Hudson, reporter, takes over reporting live from a local lake about the Eurasian Water Milfoil problem that is more severe this year than last. Reasons for the increase in milfoil growth are given such as less rain, more sunlight, and lower water levels. The machine used to remove the milfoil is shown as the manager of the company explains why this year’s problem with the weeds is worse than others. A boater is interviewed, and a list of statistics is put on the screen.
(2 ½ minutes) Weather: Shaffer, now inside, reports the weather using “live radar” and statistics about average rainfall. He concludes with a segment called “on the spot” in which a couple getting married on Friday has sent in a picture of themselves and asked about the predicted weather for their wedding.
(15 seconds) Teaser (sports): This is done before the 3 minute commercial break which includes two ads for news stories on the ten o’clock news.
(4/5 minutes) Local sports: Mike Max reports on potential new coaches for various local teams. He reports that Favre is going to talk later tonight about his intentions to join the Vikings. He also reports on an organization called Perfect Game National that holds games and tryouts for high school baseball players. High school students are interviewed and shown playing ball. Max concludes by plugging his own radio show that he hopes viewers will tune into later this evening.
(15 seconds) Ad: A highlight of tonight’s local programming (T.V. shows) is displayed on the screen.
(15 seconds) Ads: These feature various new anchors and reporters advertizing multiple news stories that will air on the ten o’clock news.
(30 seconds) Local story (community issue): Santaniello reports that many Minneapolis students have jobs this summer. Brief and vague information is provided about some working kids as a video of them is on the screen. She wishes them well and says, “Good luck kids.”
(15 seconds) Weather: Shaffer reports the general seven day forecast with a graphic of all seven days and the predicted temperatures is on the screen.
(15 seconds) Closing: Vascellaro very quickly asks Max, (“Maxie”) if he can say anything else about Favre’s potential announcement tonight. Maxie says no. Santaniello quickly interjects, “Thanks for joining us!” as time runs out.
Analysis
My overall impression of this ½ hour news segment was that not much of value to the general audience was presented. By this I simply mean that I’m not changed or more informed about a specific topic as a result of watching the news. In fact, many of the news stories were about events that have not yet happened. For example, Max reports that Brett Favre probably will say something worthwhile in an interview on another station tonight. That is not a news story. As a result of not having much to say, it is clear that an attempt was made to make these stories highly entertaining and engaging. Many times throughout the broadcast, bulleted lists appeared to summarize information or display facts. “Happy talk” was used to make the anchors seem friendly and accessible. Finally, all anchors used direct eye contact when presenting facts to engage the audience. All of these strategies, mentioned by Beach p. 94, were designed to capture the attention of the audience, and paired with the quick stories and smooth transitions, made the ½ hour appear more meaningful than perhaps it was.
I also paid careful attention to the roles each anchor played during the broadcast. Santaniello and Lowe, females, reported together the top news story with lots of emotion about the untimely death of a mother. Presumably, female reporters told this story because they were able to elicit an emotional response from the viewers, increasing viewer engagement. I also noticed that Santaniello’s role during the broadcast was, on many occasions, to wrap up a story, introduce the next one, and pass it off to Vascellaro who would report the substance of the story. In other words, Santaniello was responsible for the housekeeping duties while Vascellaro was responsible for presenting facts. Finally, Santaniello was the only one to thank the viewers for watching, since Vascellaro was too busy asking Max about Brett Favre. Again, this fact calls into question the assumed gender roles of the anchors.
Post #5A
Activity for Teaching Critical Analysis of News
I very much enjoyed the evening news viewing log and analysis activity assigned by Swiss, so that inspired my own lesson tailored for a high school classroom.
During class students will watch an evening newscast from a local station. Before viewing, students will have been assigned a group and a story focus. For example, one group will be in charge of recording everything they notice about the weather stories, another group will only record information about sports coverage, etc. In addition to the various stories, at least one group will be in charge of watching for opening remarks, teasers, ads, and closing remarks. After gathering data individually, students will meet with their focus group to discuss what they saw and collaboratively create one very detailed viewing log for their assigned news segment. Groups will then respond to a list of critical analysis questions aimed at getting them to examine the content relevancy (or lack thereof), rhetorical devices used to engage viewers, persuasive devices used to guide viewers’ thinking, etc. Finally, students will make evaluative judgments about the effectiveness of the segments they saw. To share the responses to the critical analysis questions and conclusions with the class, each group will create a voice thread. One person from the group will be in charge of summarizing the segment, others for reporting answers to the critical analysis questions, and others for reporting conclusions. Time in class will be spent on student’s individually watching/listening to each other’s voice threads and commenting on the findings using the technology.
A final step would be to ask students to create their own news segment. In doing so, groups would be charged with again considering content, rhetorical strategies, and persuasive devices. This time students would need to use these strategies well in their own news segment to demonstrate their understanding of them. Students would first agree on a story to report that is relevant and meaningful to their lives. Next, students would storyboard the segment explicitly including content and techniques. Then students would film their segment and edit it before presenting the final product and a reflection on the process to the class. Clearly, if students actually create a segment using technology, many mini lessons, especially on film terms, camera techniques, and editing would be a part of the overall unit plan, unless students had the background knowledge from a previous lesson. However, whenever possible, I think that in asking students to go the extra step to create instead of stopping at analysis, we receive a truly authentic assessment of student understanding of content.
I very much enjoyed the evening news viewing log and analysis activity assigned by Swiss, so that inspired my own lesson tailored for a high school classroom.
During class students will watch an evening newscast from a local station. Before viewing, students will have been assigned a group and a story focus. For example, one group will be in charge of recording everything they notice about the weather stories, another group will only record information about sports coverage, etc. In addition to the various stories, at least one group will be in charge of watching for opening remarks, teasers, ads, and closing remarks. After gathering data individually, students will meet with their focus group to discuss what they saw and collaboratively create one very detailed viewing log for their assigned news segment. Groups will then respond to a list of critical analysis questions aimed at getting them to examine the content relevancy (or lack thereof), rhetorical devices used to engage viewers, persuasive devices used to guide viewers’ thinking, etc. Finally, students will make evaluative judgments about the effectiveness of the segments they saw. To share the responses to the critical analysis questions and conclusions with the class, each group will create a voice thread. One person from the group will be in charge of summarizing the segment, others for reporting answers to the critical analysis questions, and others for reporting conclusions. Time in class will be spent on student’s individually watching/listening to each other’s voice threads and commenting on the findings using the technology.
A final step would be to ask students to create their own news segment. In doing so, groups would be charged with again considering content, rhetorical strategies, and persuasive devices. This time students would need to use these strategies well in their own news segment to demonstrate their understanding of them. Students would first agree on a story to report that is relevant and meaningful to their lives. Next, students would storyboard the segment explicitly including content and techniques. Then students would film their segment and edit it before presenting the final product and a reflection on the process to the class. Clearly, if students actually create a segment using technology, many mini lessons, especially on film terms, camera techniques, and editing would be a part of the overall unit plan, unless students had the background knowledge from a previous lesson. However, whenever possible, I think that in asking students to go the extra step to create instead of stopping at analysis, we receive a truly authentic assessment of student understanding of content.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Post #4
The Phenomena of Social Networking as Portrayed by the News and Professional Magazines
Since its inception in 2004, Facebook, a now wildly popular social networking site, has garnered plenty of media attention. Many of the earlier and even some recent media representations of this particular site seem aimed at educating parents about their children’s use of the site and warning those parents against its many dangers. Now, according to Facebook Statistics found at http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics, “[t]he fastest growing demographic [of Facebook users are] those 35 years old and older.” This transformation in the user demographic did not happen overnight, and it did not happen accidently. The media representations of this social networking site and many others have changed dramatically over the past few years. To be clear, I could discuss any of a number of social media including blogs, Twitter, YouTube, or the close friends of Facebook, MySpace or Ning; however, for the purposes of this particular post, I will focus mainly on media representations of Facebook.
Mentioned above, the earlier media representations of sites such as Facebook seemed focused on pointing to the dangers associated with participation in such sites. In 2006 the site welcomed a general audience as opposed to enforcing its prior limitation of restricting use to only students. In 2007 the media was still reporting on the use of the site by sexual predators and stating that the site was doing little to keep its members safe. According to a New York Times article titled “New Scrutiny for Facebook Over Predators” by Brad Stone, “[Facebook] has proposed building a database of names and e-mail addresses for convicted sexual offenders that could be compared to the membership roles of Internet sites. For that approach to work, however, Facebook would have to wait until all 50 states had passed legislation requiring sex-offenders to register their e-mail addresses.” This media attention positions Facebook and its usage as dangerous, potentially harmful, damaging, risky, or worse. The rhetoric assumes that responsible adults would not use the site; rather, those responsible adults should monitor its use by their children. This kind of cautionary and uncertain tone regarding the safety of the site continues to be pervasive, but has shifted somewhat recently. For the full New York Times article follow this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/business/media/30facebook.html.
Now the media messages are mixed. Upon turning on the T.V. for the morning news, one sees WCCO news anchors giving shout-outs to their Facebook friends every ten minutes or so during the “Happy Birthday, Facebook Friends” segments. Usually during these segments various anchors ask viewers to visit their personal Facebook pages and sign up to be their friends. This sends the message that Facebook has gone from being a site used only by reckless kids and teens to one that all responsible morning-news-viewing adults should join. The news anchors go on and on about the photos they have posted, the friends they have made, and the stories they can tell through the use of this site. Now, instead of being a site only for trendy and connected teens, one is simply not a functioning member of society if he or she does not join Facebook. If these middle-aged news anchors can do it, so can the general viewing audience. However, this is not the only attention Facebook receives through the media today. Search the WCCO website and one easily finds a number of articles from various news publications questioning the health risks of using Facebook. One such article titled “Doctor: Social Networking Can Be Harmful to Kids” is from February of this year: http://wcco.com/health/social.networking.childrens.2.943398.html. This article eventually concludes that it is probably not the use of social networking sites that could pose a risk to children, but the absence of other more physically vigorous activities that social networking has replaced. Another current representation of social networking sites such as Facebook is a commercial that has been airing recently depicting a teenage girl who posted a picture of herself on a social networking site and now wonders who will see the picture. It is some sort of public service announcement that points to one of the dangers of inappropriate uses of the site. These later media representations have changed the image of these sites from one that is risky to join because of the dangers presented by others, to one that is potentially hazardous based on one’s own personal choices when using the site.
To summarize, the earlier representations of Facebook by the media portray the site as one for parents to be weary and skeptical of because no one knows who might be lurking there. The value assumption here is that vulnerable children use these sites at the risk of attacks by any number of sexual predators. This positions the user as helpless and in need of rescuing. The representation by the media that the site is completely safe, and everyone should join and become friends with the news anchors, positions the site as harmless and the user as free to post anything at all about him or herself. At the same time that viewers are told to sign up and “friend” the news anchors, commercials are airing warnings to the user about the site. Perhaps this tension in media portrayals of Facebook is appropriate; it is a site people should feel capable of using and competent enough to do so, but all users should exercise caution when choosing to post. The value assumptions made through these various portrayals is that most people do and should use the site, but they should do so with prudence.
So far this post has discussed the media representations of Facebook, and now the focus will turn to another discipline which has recently taken an interest in the social networking phenomena: Planning. The source of this information is Planning: The Magazine of the American Planning Association. In the June 2009 edition, Jan Ferrigan wrote “Improve Your Social Standing: Learn to Love Online Networking.” Ferrigan begins by stating that “[s]ocial networking is the new telephone,” and continues to describe the importance of planners learning to use social networking sites such as Facebook to conduct business. She underscores the values of social networking and describes how it is different than traditional face-to-face meetings: “In some ways, social media are analogous to public meetings, with the planner providing friendly guidance to discussions. However, while attendees of live community meetings may forgive lengthy presentations, online visitors have little tolerance for them. Quick, engaging exchanges are the key to sustaining participation” (Ferrigan). Here she has outlined the ways in which social networking sites can be successfully used by city planners and provides advice for avoiding potential pitfalls.
In general, the tone of this article is that in order to move forward and continue to build successful relationships with community members, planners must learn to use social networking sites. Facebook is positioned as a useful tool, a means to an end, that all planners should at very least become familiar with. The value assumption is that if a planner is not already using social networking sites, he or she is behind and should spend time educating him/herself. These sites are portrayed as friendly and inviting places where the rest of the world already resides. It is the planner’s job to get on board and see how the tool can be used to his or her advantage. This portrayal is similar to the news anchors asking for viewers to “friend” them on Facebook. The news anchors are demonstrating a competence with the technology that the planners are only beginning to show. While nothing is said in the planning article of the aforementioned dangers such as sexual predators on these sites, other types of guidelines are presented to avoid the dangers associated with using these sites: “[. . .] employees should be guided on how to deal with someone who is irate and how to recognize material that should not be responded to” (Ferrigan). This warning, since it would exist for a planner in a face-to-face setting or when using a social networking site, does not position sites as particularly dangerous since the threats are not necessarily new or unique. Therefore, if anything, the recent media supports the message that Facebook and other popular social networking sites are secure and used by many responsible adults. Rather than fearing the sites as earlier media representations asked the general public to do, now many fields, including Planning, are encouraging their exploration and use.
Since its inception in 2004, Facebook, a now wildly popular social networking site, has garnered plenty of media attention. Many of the earlier and even some recent media representations of this particular site seem aimed at educating parents about their children’s use of the site and warning those parents against its many dangers. Now, according to Facebook Statistics found at http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics, “[t]he fastest growing demographic [of Facebook users are] those 35 years old and older.” This transformation in the user demographic did not happen overnight, and it did not happen accidently. The media representations of this social networking site and many others have changed dramatically over the past few years. To be clear, I could discuss any of a number of social media including blogs, Twitter, YouTube, or the close friends of Facebook, MySpace or Ning; however, for the purposes of this particular post, I will focus mainly on media representations of Facebook.
Mentioned above, the earlier media representations of sites such as Facebook seemed focused on pointing to the dangers associated with participation in such sites. In 2006 the site welcomed a general audience as opposed to enforcing its prior limitation of restricting use to only students. In 2007 the media was still reporting on the use of the site by sexual predators and stating that the site was doing little to keep its members safe. According to a New York Times article titled “New Scrutiny for Facebook Over Predators” by Brad Stone, “[Facebook] has proposed building a database of names and e-mail addresses for convicted sexual offenders that could be compared to the membership roles of Internet sites. For that approach to work, however, Facebook would have to wait until all 50 states had passed legislation requiring sex-offenders to register their e-mail addresses.” This media attention positions Facebook and its usage as dangerous, potentially harmful, damaging, risky, or worse. The rhetoric assumes that responsible adults would not use the site; rather, those responsible adults should monitor its use by their children. This kind of cautionary and uncertain tone regarding the safety of the site continues to be pervasive, but has shifted somewhat recently. For the full New York Times article follow this link: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/business/media/30facebook.html.
Now the media messages are mixed. Upon turning on the T.V. for the morning news, one sees WCCO news anchors giving shout-outs to their Facebook friends every ten minutes or so during the “Happy Birthday, Facebook Friends” segments. Usually during these segments various anchors ask viewers to visit their personal Facebook pages and sign up to be their friends. This sends the message that Facebook has gone from being a site used only by reckless kids and teens to one that all responsible morning-news-viewing adults should join. The news anchors go on and on about the photos they have posted, the friends they have made, and the stories they can tell through the use of this site. Now, instead of being a site only for trendy and connected teens, one is simply not a functioning member of society if he or she does not join Facebook. If these middle-aged news anchors can do it, so can the general viewing audience. However, this is not the only attention Facebook receives through the media today. Search the WCCO website and one easily finds a number of articles from various news publications questioning the health risks of using Facebook. One such article titled “Doctor: Social Networking Can Be Harmful to Kids” is from February of this year: http://wcco.com/health/social.networking.childrens.2.943398.html. This article eventually concludes that it is probably not the use of social networking sites that could pose a risk to children, but the absence of other more physically vigorous activities that social networking has replaced. Another current representation of social networking sites such as Facebook is a commercial that has been airing recently depicting a teenage girl who posted a picture of herself on a social networking site and now wonders who will see the picture. It is some sort of public service announcement that points to one of the dangers of inappropriate uses of the site. These later media representations have changed the image of these sites from one that is risky to join because of the dangers presented by others, to one that is potentially hazardous based on one’s own personal choices when using the site.
To summarize, the earlier representations of Facebook by the media portray the site as one for parents to be weary and skeptical of because no one knows who might be lurking there. The value assumption here is that vulnerable children use these sites at the risk of attacks by any number of sexual predators. This positions the user as helpless and in need of rescuing. The representation by the media that the site is completely safe, and everyone should join and become friends with the news anchors, positions the site as harmless and the user as free to post anything at all about him or herself. At the same time that viewers are told to sign up and “friend” the news anchors, commercials are airing warnings to the user about the site. Perhaps this tension in media portrayals of Facebook is appropriate; it is a site people should feel capable of using and competent enough to do so, but all users should exercise caution when choosing to post. The value assumptions made through these various portrayals is that most people do and should use the site, but they should do so with prudence.
So far this post has discussed the media representations of Facebook, and now the focus will turn to another discipline which has recently taken an interest in the social networking phenomena: Planning. The source of this information is Planning: The Magazine of the American Planning Association. In the June 2009 edition, Jan Ferrigan wrote “Improve Your Social Standing: Learn to Love Online Networking.” Ferrigan begins by stating that “[s]ocial networking is the new telephone,” and continues to describe the importance of planners learning to use social networking sites such as Facebook to conduct business. She underscores the values of social networking and describes how it is different than traditional face-to-face meetings: “In some ways, social media are analogous to public meetings, with the planner providing friendly guidance to discussions. However, while attendees of live community meetings may forgive lengthy presentations, online visitors have little tolerance for them. Quick, engaging exchanges are the key to sustaining participation” (Ferrigan). Here she has outlined the ways in which social networking sites can be successfully used by city planners and provides advice for avoiding potential pitfalls.
In general, the tone of this article is that in order to move forward and continue to build successful relationships with community members, planners must learn to use social networking sites. Facebook is positioned as a useful tool, a means to an end, that all planners should at very least become familiar with. The value assumption is that if a planner is not already using social networking sites, he or she is behind and should spend time educating him/herself. These sites are portrayed as friendly and inviting places where the rest of the world already resides. It is the planner’s job to get on board and see how the tool can be used to his or her advantage. This portrayal is similar to the news anchors asking for viewers to “friend” them on Facebook. The news anchors are demonstrating a competence with the technology that the planners are only beginning to show. While nothing is said in the planning article of the aforementioned dangers such as sexual predators on these sites, other types of guidelines are presented to avoid the dangers associated with using these sites: “[. . .] employees should be guided on how to deal with someone who is irate and how to recognize material that should not be responded to” (Ferrigan). This warning, since it would exist for a planner in a face-to-face setting or when using a social networking site, does not position sites as particularly dangerous since the threats are not necessarily new or unique. Therefore, if anything, the recent media supports the message that Facebook and other popular social networking sites are secure and used by many responsible adults. Rather than fearing the sites as earlier media representations asked the general public to do, now many fields, including Planning, are encouraging their exploration and use.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Post #3B
Evaluation of the Scene “Welcome to Jurassic Park” and Explanation of My Plans to Teach Film Terms and Camera Techniques
I will analyze a scene from the movie Jurassic Park tiled “Welcome to Jurassic Park.” Eleventh graders read the novel upon which this film is based in the Themes in Literature course I teach. I have taught this course once, and in doing so, I followed up the novel by showing a few clips of the movie. Next year I look forward to showing more of the movie and asking students to analyze it for some of the camera techniques, the creation of relationships, the narrative development, and the larger purposes of the film. It will be interesting to compare the novel to the blockbuster movie based on these points of analysis.
The clip begins outdoors during the day, and the camera zooms in on Dr. Grant. He slowly stands up in the back of a jeep with his mouth hanging open. He gazes past the camera at what the audience soon finds out is a large dinosaur. The close-up on his face is needed so that the audience can vicariously experience his shock and amazement at the sight of his first dinosaur. The camera then pans to follow his hand reaching over to the front seat of the car where Sattler, a scientist invited to view and evaluate the park with Grant, is sitting. Grant places his hand on her head to coax Sattler to turn and view the dinosaurs.
The first time that the audience sees the dinosaur, a low-angle shot is used to demonstrate the power and enormity of the dinosaur. From this angle, the camera slowly pans upwards over the body of the dinosaur, allowing the audience to process the image. Next, the shot is widened to include Grant and Sattler; this is necessary to demonstrate the size differential between the humans and the dinosaurs. This sequence ends with an extreme low-angle to solidify the awesomeness of the dinosaur’s size.
At this point a wide-angle is used to show the whole dinosaur as it eats from the very top of a tree. Included in the shot are Grant, Sattler, and Dr. Hammond, the park’s creator. The Jurassic Park theme music intensifies and reaches a crescendo at the exact moment that the dinosaur’s front feet, which have been previously lifted off of the ground so that he can reach the tree top, hit the earth. John Williams is responsible for conducting the orchestra that plays the theme song which can be heard at moments like this in the movie. The song is uplifting, upbeat, and exhilarating. The music causes the audience to feel a sense of prolonged excitement and even suspense at times. At this particular moment, the music serves to add to the thrill of seeing the dinosaur in motion for the first time.
Next, a close-up of Grant, Sattler, and Hammond is shown as the three discuss the existence of a T-Rex on the island. It is particularly important for the camera to focus tightly on especially Grant’s and Sattler’s faces to dramatize their emotions as they learn about the T-Rex. This clip ends with first a close-up of Grant with his mouth hanging open again as he sees additional dinosaurs, and then a wide-angle lens is used to feature the dinosaurs he sees. These open-mouthed close-ups of characters previously depicted as cool, confident, and in control, add to the shock-and-awe factor that the writers clearly intended.
It should be noted that the larger purpose of the creation of this movie was to generate revenue. Nonetheless, the ways in which the production team went about engaging the audience caused many of us to take a genuine interest in the film. While the novel Jurassic Park centers on themes such as the relevance of science, the validity of scientific techniques, greed, and what is referred to as “chaos theory,” the movie focuses heavily on the conflict of human versus nature and survival techniques. Clearly these themes are also present in the novel, but the movie exploits them to create a thrilling and suspenseful 127 minutes of entertainment for general audiences. As I mentioned before, I look forward to discussing some of these ideas with my students.
Some further thoughts I have about teaching film and editing techniques in my classroom include using many of the approaches to analyzing film discussed in Beach’s chapter 3. With my Creative Writing class, I plan to teach a scriptwriting unit. To begin I will introduce still images, and using a list of questions, ask students to evaluate the images noticing cultural meanings of signs and codes and other photographical techniques used to signify power or meaning. The class will then move on to learning the vocabulary necessary to unpack a film or part of a film. I very much liked the assignments I just completed: the shot by shot analysis of a commercial and the examination of the film clip. I envision using either of those with my students. Finally, students will write their own screenplay or commercial, storyboard it, and shoot the film. Final grading would be a combination of using a rubric that I have created with the class and also peer-reviews. I like the idea of making the showing of the final products into a competition so that students are engaged in evaluating each other’s work. As Beach summarizes, “[b]y learning to analyze the use of specific film techniques, students develop the ability to judge the effectiveness of filmmakers’ purposeful use of these techniques to convey certain meanings” (32). Since I am always interested in helping my students unpack and critically analyze the messages constantly bombarding them, I feel that the skills developed through this unit of study are relevant and transferable to a multitude of real-life situations faced by students on a daily basis.
I will analyze a scene from the movie Jurassic Park tiled “Welcome to Jurassic Park.” Eleventh graders read the novel upon which this film is based in the Themes in Literature course I teach. I have taught this course once, and in doing so, I followed up the novel by showing a few clips of the movie. Next year I look forward to showing more of the movie and asking students to analyze it for some of the camera techniques, the creation of relationships, the narrative development, and the larger purposes of the film. It will be interesting to compare the novel to the blockbuster movie based on these points of analysis.
The clip begins outdoors during the day, and the camera zooms in on Dr. Grant. He slowly stands up in the back of a jeep with his mouth hanging open. He gazes past the camera at what the audience soon finds out is a large dinosaur. The close-up on his face is needed so that the audience can vicariously experience his shock and amazement at the sight of his first dinosaur. The camera then pans to follow his hand reaching over to the front seat of the car where Sattler, a scientist invited to view and evaluate the park with Grant, is sitting. Grant places his hand on her head to coax Sattler to turn and view the dinosaurs.
The first time that the audience sees the dinosaur, a low-angle shot is used to demonstrate the power and enormity of the dinosaur. From this angle, the camera slowly pans upwards over the body of the dinosaur, allowing the audience to process the image. Next, the shot is widened to include Grant and Sattler; this is necessary to demonstrate the size differential between the humans and the dinosaurs. This sequence ends with an extreme low-angle to solidify the awesomeness of the dinosaur’s size.
At this point a wide-angle is used to show the whole dinosaur as it eats from the very top of a tree. Included in the shot are Grant, Sattler, and Dr. Hammond, the park’s creator. The Jurassic Park theme music intensifies and reaches a crescendo at the exact moment that the dinosaur’s front feet, which have been previously lifted off of the ground so that he can reach the tree top, hit the earth. John Williams is responsible for conducting the orchestra that plays the theme song which can be heard at moments like this in the movie. The song is uplifting, upbeat, and exhilarating. The music causes the audience to feel a sense of prolonged excitement and even suspense at times. At this particular moment, the music serves to add to the thrill of seeing the dinosaur in motion for the first time.
Next, a close-up of Grant, Sattler, and Hammond is shown as the three discuss the existence of a T-Rex on the island. It is particularly important for the camera to focus tightly on especially Grant’s and Sattler’s faces to dramatize their emotions as they learn about the T-Rex. This clip ends with first a close-up of Grant with his mouth hanging open again as he sees additional dinosaurs, and then a wide-angle lens is used to feature the dinosaurs he sees. These open-mouthed close-ups of characters previously depicted as cool, confident, and in control, add to the shock-and-awe factor that the writers clearly intended.
It should be noted that the larger purpose of the creation of this movie was to generate revenue. Nonetheless, the ways in which the production team went about engaging the audience caused many of us to take a genuine interest in the film. While the novel Jurassic Park centers on themes such as the relevance of science, the validity of scientific techniques, greed, and what is referred to as “chaos theory,” the movie focuses heavily on the conflict of human versus nature and survival techniques. Clearly these themes are also present in the novel, but the movie exploits them to create a thrilling and suspenseful 127 minutes of entertainment for general audiences. As I mentioned before, I look forward to discussing some of these ideas with my students.
Some further thoughts I have about teaching film and editing techniques in my classroom include using many of the approaches to analyzing film discussed in Beach’s chapter 3. With my Creative Writing class, I plan to teach a scriptwriting unit. To begin I will introduce still images, and using a list of questions, ask students to evaluate the images noticing cultural meanings of signs and codes and other photographical techniques used to signify power or meaning. The class will then move on to learning the vocabulary necessary to unpack a film or part of a film. I very much liked the assignments I just completed: the shot by shot analysis of a commercial and the examination of the film clip. I envision using either of those with my students. Finally, students will write their own screenplay or commercial, storyboard it, and shoot the film. Final grading would be a combination of using a rubric that I have created with the class and also peer-reviews. I like the idea of making the showing of the final products into a competition so that students are engaged in evaluating each other’s work. As Beach summarizes, “[b]y learning to analyze the use of specific film techniques, students develop the ability to judge the effectiveness of filmmakers’ purposeful use of these techniques to convey certain meanings” (32). Since I am always interested in helping my students unpack and critically analyze the messages constantly bombarding them, I feel that the skills developed through this unit of study are relevant and transferable to a multitude of real-life situations faced by students on a daily basis.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Post #3A
Shot by Shot Analysis of the “Do You Want Whipped Cream?” Verizon Wireless Commercial
This commercial depicts a family discussing their potential cell phone plan with the token Verizon Wireless spokesman. A cup of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles is used as a visual analogy for the number of people in the Verizon Wireless network. The goal of this commercial is to demonstrate the size of the Verizon Wireless network. I think it is effective because the analogy is simple, visual, and humorous. Pouring on an excessive amount of sprinkles easily demonstrates the point, and the stoic cashier asking, “Do you want whipped cream” is a comedic punch line.
Shot 1 – The first shot is a medium shot of the family, the ice cream shop cashier, and the Verizon Wireless spokesman with numerous people behind him representing the Verizon Wireless network. The image of the spokesman and the network of people have appeared in many Verizon Wireless commercials, so this is intended to be familiar to viewers.
This shot establishes the location of the commercial and focuses the viewer’s attention on the message.
Shot 2 – The camera cuts to a close-up shot of a blue paper cup filled with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. On top of the ice cream are ten brightly colored sprinkles. While this is on the screen, the mother describes the parallel between the sprinkles and the part of the cell phone plan that allows members to call ten established people with no extra charge, regardless of which network those people belong to.
This shot focuses on the symbolic importance of the sprinkles. It is meant to show the exact number of people that can be called regardless of network. The audience understands that this number is small but significant.
Shot 3 – A cut is then made to a medium shot of the mom continuing to explain the facts of the cell phone plan.
This shot is necessary for the audience to make a connection between what is being said and who is saying it.
Shot 4 – This is a medium/point-of-view shot to show the response of the Verizon Wireless spokesman to the statement made by the mother.
This shot is important because the audience becomes a part of the commercial by assuming the perspective of the mom. The spokesman is affirming what she said, so the audience also receives confirmation of the legitimacy of the facts of the plan.
Shot 5 – A cut is made to the family again. The dad picks up the large bucket of sprinkles and douses the small cup of ice cream. While doing this, he explains the next part of the cell phone plan: 80 million people are members of Verizon Wireless, and calls to those people are included in the plan.
This is the climax of the commercial. The ten sprinkles on the ice cream were small and significant; however, the mammoth container of sprinkles is intended to solidify in viewer’s minds why Verizon is the clear choice of cell phone companies.
Shot 6 – A cut is made to a quick close-up shot of the spokesman agreeing with the father. The spokesman says, “Yup, also included.”
The intent of this shot is to legitimize the statement made by the father. Since the spokesman is the authority figure in the commercial, it is important that the audience sees his facial expression is sincere as he agrees with dad.
Shot 7 – This is a close-up of the satisfied father. He has a wide smile that fills the screen.
Seeing the father this happy demonstrates to viewers how satisfied they too could be with Verizon wireless.
Shot 8 – The final scene containing a person in this commercial is a medium shot of the cashier who has been silent up to this point. He spends a moment gazing at the pile of sprinkles, looks to the father and asks, “Do you want whipped cream?” He then looks with wide eyes back down at the sprinkles.
This is effective because the cashier’s lines add comedy and levity to the commercial. The continued focus on the enormous pile of sprinkles demonstrates the vastness of the network; this continues to sell the main message. If you choose Verizon Wireless, you will join a popular club with lots of people you can talk to.
Shot 9 – The narrator’s voice appears to recap the main points made in the commercial. A cut is made to digital images of first ten people, and then, as the camera zooms out, more people pop up on the screen.
This digital representation of the number of people in the network reinforces the idea that many people belong to the network.
Shot 10 – A fade in and zoom in on the Verizon wireless logo comes next. The image moves off of the screen to the right as a phone number and web address appear on the bottom of the screen along with fine print text. As the narrator quickly explains a buy one get one deal, a phone and price briefly appear on the screen followed by four additional phones. This final image depicts four phones, a phone number, and a web address.
This final shot is important to show the brand logo and the actual phones people could purchase. Also essential are the phone number and web address so that viewers could act immediately if they want to purchase the plan.
This commercial depicts a family discussing their potential cell phone plan with the token Verizon Wireless spokesman. A cup of vanilla ice cream with sprinkles is used as a visual analogy for the number of people in the Verizon Wireless network. The goal of this commercial is to demonstrate the size of the Verizon Wireless network. I think it is effective because the analogy is simple, visual, and humorous. Pouring on an excessive amount of sprinkles easily demonstrates the point, and the stoic cashier asking, “Do you want whipped cream” is a comedic punch line.
Shot 1 – The first shot is a medium shot of the family, the ice cream shop cashier, and the Verizon Wireless spokesman with numerous people behind him representing the Verizon Wireless network. The image of the spokesman and the network of people have appeared in many Verizon Wireless commercials, so this is intended to be familiar to viewers.
This shot establishes the location of the commercial and focuses the viewer’s attention on the message.
Shot 2 – The camera cuts to a close-up shot of a blue paper cup filled with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. On top of the ice cream are ten brightly colored sprinkles. While this is on the screen, the mother describes the parallel between the sprinkles and the part of the cell phone plan that allows members to call ten established people with no extra charge, regardless of which network those people belong to.
This shot focuses on the symbolic importance of the sprinkles. It is meant to show the exact number of people that can be called regardless of network. The audience understands that this number is small but significant.
Shot 3 – A cut is then made to a medium shot of the mom continuing to explain the facts of the cell phone plan.
This shot is necessary for the audience to make a connection between what is being said and who is saying it.
Shot 4 – This is a medium/point-of-view shot to show the response of the Verizon Wireless spokesman to the statement made by the mother.
This shot is important because the audience becomes a part of the commercial by assuming the perspective of the mom. The spokesman is affirming what she said, so the audience also receives confirmation of the legitimacy of the facts of the plan.
Shot 5 – A cut is made to the family again. The dad picks up the large bucket of sprinkles and douses the small cup of ice cream. While doing this, he explains the next part of the cell phone plan: 80 million people are members of Verizon Wireless, and calls to those people are included in the plan.
This is the climax of the commercial. The ten sprinkles on the ice cream were small and significant; however, the mammoth container of sprinkles is intended to solidify in viewer’s minds why Verizon is the clear choice of cell phone companies.
Shot 6 – A cut is made to a quick close-up shot of the spokesman agreeing with the father. The spokesman says, “Yup, also included.”
The intent of this shot is to legitimize the statement made by the father. Since the spokesman is the authority figure in the commercial, it is important that the audience sees his facial expression is sincere as he agrees with dad.
Shot 7 – This is a close-up of the satisfied father. He has a wide smile that fills the screen.
Seeing the father this happy demonstrates to viewers how satisfied they too could be with Verizon wireless.
Shot 8 – The final scene containing a person in this commercial is a medium shot of the cashier who has been silent up to this point. He spends a moment gazing at the pile of sprinkles, looks to the father and asks, “Do you want whipped cream?” He then looks with wide eyes back down at the sprinkles.
This is effective because the cashier’s lines add comedy and levity to the commercial. The continued focus on the enormous pile of sprinkles demonstrates the vastness of the network; this continues to sell the main message. If you choose Verizon Wireless, you will join a popular club with lots of people you can talk to.
Shot 9 – The narrator’s voice appears to recap the main points made in the commercial. A cut is made to digital images of first ten people, and then, as the camera zooms out, more people pop up on the screen.
This digital representation of the number of people in the network reinforces the idea that many people belong to the network.
Shot 10 – A fade in and zoom in on the Verizon wireless logo comes next. The image moves off of the screen to the right as a phone number and web address appear on the bottom of the screen along with fine print text. As the narrator quickly explains a buy one get one deal, a phone and price briefly appear on the screen followed by four additional phones. This final image depicts four phones, a phone number, and a web address.
This final shot is important to show the brand logo and the actual phones people could purchase. Also essential are the phone number and web address so that viewers could act immediately if they want to purchase the plan.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Post #2
Rationale for Teaching Media Literacy
I currently teach in a school district that has a strong focus on the use of technology in the classroom, and, therefore, also focuses on media literacy. Media use by teachers and students is prevalent throughout the English Language Arts curriculum in the secondary school and emphasized primarily in four specific courses: English 11 – Current Communications, English 12 – Technology, Introduction to Broadcast Journalism, and Advanced Broadcast Journalism. Two of these courses count toward required English class credits. The course guide for English 11 – Current Communications reads in part: “This is a course for students interested in studying and exploring the forces that shape our lives through film and literature. In addition to the core readings from the world literature anthology and novels, students will respond, analyze, and create using multi-media and digital video” (Eden Prairie High School Course Guide).
The school and community seem to support media instruction as evidenced by the above mentioned course offerings as well as the high enrolment numbers in each of these courses. In addition, the school makes it a priority to purchase new technologies to use in the classroom. The emphasis is to encourage not only teachers to teach with the technologies, but, more importantly, for students to create using these technologies as well.
If I were to argue for the continued teaching and increased integration of media studies in the English Language Arts curriculum in any school, I would start with this basic assumption: Media is prevalent in society and internalized by children at such high rates that not studying media and integrating media literacy into the curriculum would be a detriment to students’ educational experiences. The evidence for this is everywhere. Richard Beach cites one finding: “A 2005 study found that students in grades 3-12 spend an average of 6 hours and 21 minutes daily engaged with some sort of media [. . .]” (Beach 2).
Next, to get “back to the basics” in order to improve reading and writing test scores, the primary focus should be on ensuring that all students learn, master, and retain these basics. To do this, the center of attention should be on engaging students in learning activities which they deem relevant so that the learning of these basic skills will actually occur. As Beach summarizes: “We need to recognize the importance of engagement in learning; if students are not engaged in school, they will not be motivated to learn what is taught. Students are often highly engaged with media texts [. . .]” (8). The ‘basics” can be taught in a variety of ways, and students are capable of demonstrating their learning in multiple ways too. Therefore, asking students to post their writing using websites, blogs, wikis, and so forth will tap into youth culture and make the learning relevant while still achieving the same objectives set forth when using a pen and paper.
To improve reading and writing test scores, and, hopefully, reading and writing skills themselves, students must be able to understand and create a range of texts. By extension, the thinking processes involved in doing so should also be enhanced (i.e. critical thinking and problem-solving skills). In addition, or perhaps alongside these skills, Beach proposes additional literacies acquired through the use of digital tools: “making connections between texts and experiences; adopting different persona and voices; employing problem-solving and inquiry-based skills; and communicating ideas to others” (11). Using media studies to reach students and connect with them is necessary if schools want to ensure that “the basics” are learned by every student.
Through this course I expect to learn how to use many digital tools which I can then utilize in my classroom. I’m most interested in gathering specific learning strategies and project ideas for encouraging my students to create and construct with media. In addition, I hope to have a better understanding of how to encourage students to critically analyze media messages.
I currently teach in a school district that has a strong focus on the use of technology in the classroom, and, therefore, also focuses on media literacy. Media use by teachers and students is prevalent throughout the English Language Arts curriculum in the secondary school and emphasized primarily in four specific courses: English 11 – Current Communications, English 12 – Technology, Introduction to Broadcast Journalism, and Advanced Broadcast Journalism. Two of these courses count toward required English class credits. The course guide for English 11 – Current Communications reads in part: “This is a course for students interested in studying and exploring the forces that shape our lives through film and literature. In addition to the core readings from the world literature anthology and novels, students will respond, analyze, and create using multi-media and digital video” (Eden Prairie High School Course Guide).
The school and community seem to support media instruction as evidenced by the above mentioned course offerings as well as the high enrolment numbers in each of these courses. In addition, the school makes it a priority to purchase new technologies to use in the classroom. The emphasis is to encourage not only teachers to teach with the technologies, but, more importantly, for students to create using these technologies as well.
If I were to argue for the continued teaching and increased integration of media studies in the English Language Arts curriculum in any school, I would start with this basic assumption: Media is prevalent in society and internalized by children at such high rates that not studying media and integrating media literacy into the curriculum would be a detriment to students’ educational experiences. The evidence for this is everywhere. Richard Beach cites one finding: “A 2005 study found that students in grades 3-12 spend an average of 6 hours and 21 minutes daily engaged with some sort of media [. . .]” (Beach 2).
Next, to get “back to the basics” in order to improve reading and writing test scores, the primary focus should be on ensuring that all students learn, master, and retain these basics. To do this, the center of attention should be on engaging students in learning activities which they deem relevant so that the learning of these basic skills will actually occur. As Beach summarizes: “We need to recognize the importance of engagement in learning; if students are not engaged in school, they will not be motivated to learn what is taught. Students are often highly engaged with media texts [. . .]” (8). The ‘basics” can be taught in a variety of ways, and students are capable of demonstrating their learning in multiple ways too. Therefore, asking students to post their writing using websites, blogs, wikis, and so forth will tap into youth culture and make the learning relevant while still achieving the same objectives set forth when using a pen and paper.
To improve reading and writing test scores, and, hopefully, reading and writing skills themselves, students must be able to understand and create a range of texts. By extension, the thinking processes involved in doing so should also be enhanced (i.e. critical thinking and problem-solving skills). In addition, or perhaps alongside these skills, Beach proposes additional literacies acquired through the use of digital tools: “making connections between texts and experiences; adopting different persona and voices; employing problem-solving and inquiry-based skills; and communicating ideas to others” (11). Using media studies to reach students and connect with them is necessary if schools want to ensure that “the basics” are learned by every student.
Through this course I expect to learn how to use many digital tools which I can then utilize in my classroom. I’m most interested in gathering specific learning strategies and project ideas for encouraging my students to create and construct with media. In addition, I hope to have a better understanding of how to encourage students to critically analyze media messages.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Post #1
Response to Richard Beach’s Teachingmedialiteracy.com: A Web-Linked Guide to Resources and Activities - Chapter One: Goals for Media Literacy Instruction.
This chapter begins by explaining that in the U.S., few states have adopted standards to support the teaching of media literacy. However, many other countries have meaningfully integrated media studies into school curriculum. The focus of these other countries is on worldwide communication. One example of this emphasis on global communication is a central question asked of students through Australia’s curriculum: “How do I make sense of and communicate with the world?” (Beach 2-3). This critical question struck me because I am not sure that in the U.S. we are asking our students to respond to the latter part of this question. While we spend a lot of time helping students to make sense of the world, too often U.S. citizens believe that the world will come to us. Rather than exploring ways to reach out to various parts of the world, we are content with studying and trying to understand various cultures, without realizing that it is increasingly important for our students to know how to communicate on a worldwide platform. This point is just one of many that could be used to support the need for media studies in the classroom.
For the remainder of chapter one, Beach provides his rationale for teaching media studies but not before quoting a school board member regarding teachers showing movies. The school board member explains that showing movies does not require talent. While it is true that showing a movie does not require talent, the critical thinking skills required for analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating various texts including visual texts certainly does require brainpower. I think that too often the showing of a movie is synonymous with teachers taking the day off. Perhaps this is so because many of us can recall viewing a movie in a classroom without receiving a statement about the learning objectives. Or, perhaps, our teacher was taking the day off. Either way, teachers are now left to defend courses where the writing, filming, and yes, even viewing of movies is essential. I am aware of one elementary school where showing a movie or video clip is strictly prohibited. Fast-forward to my experience teaching high school, and I wonder where students have developed their deep seeded misconceptions about various populations of people different from themselves. Clearly the media and those movies that are banned from the aforementioned learning environment had something to do with these notions. If teachers were encouraged to bring these texts into the classroom for study, not only would an understanding of various people and cultures occur, so, perhaps, would a desire to connect with others. As Beach explains, [s]tudying media representations of gender, class, and race (1.5.1) helps students recognize that these are social and cultural constructions that are shaped and influenced by media texts” (4). Therefore, it seems appropriate and responsible for public education to take on the responsibility of teaching students, “[. . .] how media texts mediate their perceptions of the world” (4). Implementing media studies learning standards in the K-12 curriculum would help students reach far beyond the simple study of worldwide cultures; it would hopefully encourage a global communication and collaboration necessary for success in the 21st century.
This chapter begins by explaining that in the U.S., few states have adopted standards to support the teaching of media literacy. However, many other countries have meaningfully integrated media studies into school curriculum. The focus of these other countries is on worldwide communication. One example of this emphasis on global communication is a central question asked of students through Australia’s curriculum: “How do I make sense of and communicate with the world?” (Beach 2-3). This critical question struck me because I am not sure that in the U.S. we are asking our students to respond to the latter part of this question. While we spend a lot of time helping students to make sense of the world, too often U.S. citizens believe that the world will come to us. Rather than exploring ways to reach out to various parts of the world, we are content with studying and trying to understand various cultures, without realizing that it is increasingly important for our students to know how to communicate on a worldwide platform. This point is just one of many that could be used to support the need for media studies in the classroom.
For the remainder of chapter one, Beach provides his rationale for teaching media studies but not before quoting a school board member regarding teachers showing movies. The school board member explains that showing movies does not require talent. While it is true that showing a movie does not require talent, the critical thinking skills required for analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating various texts including visual texts certainly does require brainpower. I think that too often the showing of a movie is synonymous with teachers taking the day off. Perhaps this is so because many of us can recall viewing a movie in a classroom without receiving a statement about the learning objectives. Or, perhaps, our teacher was taking the day off. Either way, teachers are now left to defend courses where the writing, filming, and yes, even viewing of movies is essential. I am aware of one elementary school where showing a movie or video clip is strictly prohibited. Fast-forward to my experience teaching high school, and I wonder where students have developed their deep seeded misconceptions about various populations of people different from themselves. Clearly the media and those movies that are banned from the aforementioned learning environment had something to do with these notions. If teachers were encouraged to bring these texts into the classroom for study, not only would an understanding of various people and cultures occur, so, perhaps, would a desire to connect with others. As Beach explains, [s]tudying media representations of gender, class, and race (1.5.1) helps students recognize that these are social and cultural constructions that are shaped and influenced by media texts” (4). Therefore, it seems appropriate and responsible for public education to take on the responsibility of teaching students, “[. . .] how media texts mediate their perceptions of the world” (4). Implementing media studies learning standards in the K-12 curriculum would help students reach far beyond the simple study of worldwide cultures; it would hopefully encourage a global communication and collaboration necessary for success in the 21st century.
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