Reading and Discussion # 10

I found this chapter very interesting, because it's something I have been thinking about more and more as I spend time in the classroom and with high school students.  I chose some quotes that interested me to discuss.

"To help students acquire the competencies of digital citizenship, we have to do more than make students sign an acceptable use policy statement or post technology usage rules in the computer lab (p. 126)"

This short quote means a lot to me.  I have recently spent a lot of time being frustrated over the complete lack of education on internet usage that students I work with receive.  I spend a lot of time around high school students who display a complete lack of etiquette when it comes to technology, both online and in the real world.  However, what frustrates me even more is that many people seem to think these students should just know how to handle themselves on social media, or they should just know when is appropriate to text or call friends or surf the web.  My colleague and I just discussed this the other day, actually, and she made a great point.  She and I both came from the same generation of students who only just started using the internet when we were in high school.  She pointed out that it seems our generation has always generally approached technology and the internet with caution, because for us it was new and exciting and dangerous.  Students today were born into this era of technology.  They do not have the same fears and reservations.  Like any area in life, students need to be taught and guided to making the right choices.  How are they to understand what is and is not acceptable when they aren't being taught?!  I think schools should offer an entire class on this subject to YOUNG students, because kids today are using cell phones and social media at very young ages!

"More than 90% of American kids age 8 to 15 have seen online porn, and in fact, the porn industry takes active steps to attract children by "typo-squatting" -buying the domain names of frequently misspelled URLs.  At least 265 names of cartoon characters are linked to porn sites...(p. 128)"

This quote completely shocked me.  I never imagined the porn industry actively recruiting young children by preying on something as innocent as a typing error.  This gives me chills, because it reminds me a lot of the current social climate surrounding sexism and the objectification of women.  Most porn does an excellent job of pushing the objectification of women and reinforcing the rape culture that is present in our society.  This is even more incentive for educators to want to teach our kids how to avoid these things.  I don't think any parent is going to be able to wage war against the porn industry or the internet for that matter, and come out victorious on the other side.  Instead, this is testament to the fact that we need to equip our kids with serious tools to navigate the infested waters that are the internet.

'Many teens maintain high levels of secrecy involving their online activities and will not admit exposure to offensive content or participation in problematic behaviors (p. 129)"

This doesn't shock me at all.  I lived this.  When I was in high school my family got our first desktop computer along with a connection to dial up internet.  I quickly discovered chat rooms, and also discovered that I got  A LOT of attention from chatters claiming to be males my age.  One such chatter exchanged email addresses with me, and he sent an email that included the question "what color are your underwear?".  I was so naive, I thought it was harmless flirtation.  However, my parents found that email and did not take it so lightly.  I would have never EVER told them about what I was doing on the internet, because I thought I had it all under control.  When I reflect on that part of my life now, I feel scared for my former self.  Who knows what kind of creep I could have been talking to?  I thought everyone on the internet was legit!  This leads me to think that we should never assume our children are too innocent to get into trouble and are equipped to make good decisions when faced with issues on the internet.  We need to teach them how to avoid these dangerous interactions, and SHOW them what appropriate and acceptable interactions look like.

Weekly Reading and Discussion #9

This was an interesting chapter overall.  Here are three quotes that intrigued me:

"When parents and teachers stand on a soapbox and bemoan the problems of media culture, that's not an effective form of education (p. 113)"

This short statement is very powerful.  I see way too many parents, teachers, and leaders simply "bitching" about their views, through social media most of the time.  However, it is much more important to teach our children to differentiate right from wrong, good from bad, than it is to simply lecture them on what is bad without teaching them to decide for themselves!

"Some people think that media companies (like TV networks, radio stations, magazine, websites, or Internet service providers) simply sell radio or TV time, online banner ads, or space in a print publication.  But this is inaccurate.  Media companies are in the business of selling human attention, and it's sold in units by the thousand, depending on age, income, race, geographic region, and other characteristics of the audience (p. 114)"

It is important for us to have an understanding of how and why the media does things, if we are going to teach our students how to dissect and evaluate things the media shoves in their faces.  I thought this quote was interesting.  I always assumed media companies sold blocks of time, so it gives me a very new perspective to think in terms of selling human attention.

"Advertising's blend of fantasy and reality offers a little jolt of stimulation and a sometimes pleasurable escape from the routines of our everyday and often mundane lifestyles (p. 116)"

Two things ran through my mind when I read this quote.  First, I thought about how easy it is for people to find ways to stimulate our pleasure centers, and how this stimuli often brings on addicting reactions...we seek out these scenarios over and over to reactivate that pleasure.  I am currently attempting to cut sugar out of my life completely, and I have never been more aware of how companies use addiction to keep us buying products that are so obviously bad for us.

The second thought that occurred to me is that I am glad I do not lead a mundane life!  I am always on the go.  I am a busy person with many things that keeps me stimulated and excited, and sometimes downright exhausted.  There is no room for me to find pleasure in commercials, such as the quote suggests.

Media Deconstruction

Qwest is Becoming CenturyLink

I do not disagree with the deconstruction.  It’s well known that internet service providers (ISPs) in the US overcharge and under-serve.  There is very little competition in that market, so it’s easy for these companies to take advantage of their users with little worry for losing customer base.  In fact, although the ad shows the acquisition of Qwest as a means for CenturyLink to provide more for its customers, the fact is that the acquisition only further contributes to the monopoly of ISPs, and gives customers even fewer options to turn to when they are frustrated with lack of service through CenturyLink.  I do not know much about CenturyLink, but one could easily delete that and add in Verizon, Comcast, or Frontier and have similar gripes.  In fact, I am part of that under-served customer base.  For a year and a half I lived in a cabin in West Milford (Harrison County) minutes from town, and I could not get any type of internet service aside from expensive and slow satellite internet through Hughes Net.  Frontier, Shentel, Comcast…not one of these companies was willing to wire my house for internet.  This is in Harrison county, so I can hardly imagine the difficulties faced by people in rural New Mexico (I have friends who lived “off the grid” in Taos…it’s pretty remote in lots of places out there). 

What Affordability Means to AllTel

I agree with the claims made in AllTel deconstruction, as well.  When they showed the men in the bedroom I spent a few minutes trying to figure out what nationality they might be.  It looks like the creators of the commercial took a mishmash of several cultures to create the men in that bedroom.  While this is probably a protective measure, so no one minority group can raise concerns over the commercial, it also generalizes the interpretation of “foreigners”.  The commercial promotes racism by generalizing the immigrants.  They are playing instruments, dancing, speaking intelligibly, and they have a chicken with them.  This fits the stereotype that many Americans may buy into, but it does not represent actual immigrants.  I've seen more chickens in my suburban white friends’ backyards than I have ever seen with any immigrants.   

My interpretation of the CenturyLink commercial probably would not have been quite the same, because I did not know the facts about access that were shared in the deconstruction.  It’s easy to see that commercial and believe the message that they are joining forces with Qwest to reach more people.  However, the deconstruction provides information that refutes this claim.  I would have definitely deconstructed and interpreted the AllTel commercial in much the same way as the woman in the video did.  I especially am bothered by the portrayal of the immigrants, although the commentary made on the middle class also bothers me.  It is especially concerning when put into perspective with the actual costs of their service, which is not cheap whatsoever!

Weekly Reading and Discussion #8

According to Hobbs, “today, every teacher needs to be a media composition teacher. That’s because the power of authorship offers students of all ages a transformative learning practice.  When students create messages, they gain new knowledge while strengthening communication and problem solving skills (p. 84)”.

               

              I agree wholeheartedly with this quote and find it very important.  Teachers need to see themselves as many things, and experts of media is one of them.  When teachers have a strong understanding of media, they can facilitate high quality learning experiences for all students regardless of the subject of the class.

Although it is not a long quote, I was very interested to read Hobbs description of learning.  Hobbs states “Media composition practices promote intellectual curiosity.  As a learner mysely, I was lucky enough to fall in love with learning…Romance comes first.  Emotional involvement with the subject matter compels our interest (p. 88-9)”. 

               

              This quote struck me as very interesting.  It may seem obvious, but our students are not going to learn if they don’t have some emotional involvement with the subject matter.  For a lot of students, that emotional involvement is the fear of failure or bad grades.  However, that is not the type of emotion Hobbs is referring to.  Media composition can help students actually develop feelings for the subject matter out of curiosity, thus generating an authentic and meaningful learning experience.

n talking about documentary ethics in the classroom, Hobbs states “Scientists are stakeholders in maintaining a meaningful connection between representation and reality.  That’s why accuracy and transparency matter so much in scientific research (p. 93).”

                

              This quote interested me because my content area is biology.  I understand the importance of maintaining realistic connections within my work, but will my students get that?  I need to make sure I can help them distinguish the line between representation and more abstract connections to the material.  

My Magazine Cover

I chose to design my magazine as a free publication meant to debunk myths and inform the reader of the truth about the common core.  I am still not sure of my stance on the common core, but I have been highly annoyed with the lack of objective information concerning this new program.  I would like to find a resource like this.

I chose to use the graphic of a fence to demonstrate the idea that some of us are still "on the fence" about the common core and require more information to make our decisions.  I used bright colors to reinforce the headlines, and I used techniques to garner attention.  Those techniques include:

• Alliteration - Meet the Makers, Math Myths
• Idiomatic phrase - Meet the Makers
• Rhyming - Core Lore, Learn More About the Core

I chose to use those techniques because they fit well.  The rhyming and alliteration makes the articles sound interesting.  

Weekly Reading and Discussion #7

Media and media literacy activities, such as the one discussed in the text book, support the common core because they specifically address the standards put forth by the common core.  Media and media literacy projects provide experience with all three key shifts that occurred in the ELA content area.  First of all, these types of projects give students more experience with complex texts and academic language.  Students read and listen to/view many resources and hear language based around the subject.  In the case of the text, the students explore texts about Martin Luther King, Jr.

These projects allow students to gather information from reliable sources and use this information to back up their work, therefore citing literary and informational texts rather than just their own experiences and opinions. 

Finally, these projects give students the opportunity to build their knowledge base by providing them with content-rich media sources to learn from.  Students who partake in these projects learn from them because of their interaction with many types of media.

I like the idea of the common core.  It makes sense that a student should be able to attend school anywhere and be on the same page as other students at his or her level.  I like that the common core provides standards that link all states and schools.

My concern is that I don’t really understand the common core.  I was searching for other media text and found so much negativity directed toward the common core.  The biggest theme I found is that people are alleging that the federal government drives the common core, despite the fact that it is implemented on the state level.  The facts and myths page debunks this information, but many people seem to think it’s a lie, and that the government is still behind it all.  Many people seem to be upset with the change in math standards.  I saw lots of anecdotes on the internet regarding the way the common core has changed how students learn math.  I read comments that the common core insists on teaching students ways to do math that are labor intensive and cumbersome. 

I realize this is a highly politicized topic that is full of political rhetoric and fear-mongering.  I do not understand where all the naysayers are getting their facts.  I also do not understand why so many of these naysayers commonly cite the fact that teachers are rejecting the common core.  I haven’t heard any teachers I know complain about it.

What it comes down to is this: I am on the fence.  Until I have my own experience with the common core, I am going to remain a skeptic.  I found a media source from a media outlet that I know I can trust: NPR.  This article is another fact sheet that dispels myths, and after reading it I can have an answer to those people who are blaming the common core for changing how their children learn math. 

Deconstruction:

Who produced the document and for what purpose?

The article was produced by NPR, and is for the purpose of education readers on the truth behind the common core and the gripes that have come with it.

When was this produced and what is the historical context?

The article was produced in May, 2014.  This is around the time that states were adopting/rejecting the common core.  It was newly introduced and thus surrounded by controversy fueled by a lack of information.

Who is the target audience?

NPR is one of the more objective news sources around, but it is still followed by a majority of liberal-type thinkers.  NPR writes articles to address facts, and usually does not interject political stance or opinion into factual text.  Therefore, I want to say the audience for this article is everyone who cares to learn unbiased information about the common core.  However, many people will try to make the connection of the Bill Gates Foundation (which NPR debunked in a different article).  The Bill Gates foundation provides huge amounts of funding for NPR, and was also part of developing the common core.  NPR addresses this by saying that although they receive funding from the BGF that does not influence their reporting.

What are the messages communicated?

The article seems to examine the truth versus myth of the common core.  The main message is that there are lots of myths circulating about the common core, and many people are judging this program based on rumor and speculation.

What are the techniques used to attract and hold attention?

The FAQ style of the article attracts attention by boldly stating the myths and debunking them.  The article contains a photograph of a popular comedian, Louis C.K., because he publicly criticized the common core after helping his own children with math problems.  The use of a celebrity automatically draws attention to the article.

How might different people interpret this message differently?

Because the common core has become so politicized, this message can be easily interpreted differently depending on how the reader identifies politically.  Conservatives may think that because NPR produced the article, it is liberal BS.  However, it is my understanding that, next to Al Jazeera, NPR is about as objective as they come in terms of media sources in the US.  People who are already against the common core may read this and feel it is false or influenced by political or monetary gain.

Who might benefit from (or be harmed by) this message?

Those in support of the common core may benefit from this message.  People who are misled about the common core should also benefit.  This message might harm those who want to push the agenda of “thought control” with the common core, because it clearly debunks that theory.  Those working hard to make the transition to common core work may also benefit from the support of this message.

What information or perspective is left out of this message?

It seems there is a perspective of both for and against that is represented in this article.  The article directly cites the gripes that Louis C.K. had with the common core (via Twitter), thus representing the side of those who are unhappy or confused about the program.  The article itself serves to explain the purpose of the common core, and therefore represents the perspective of those in support of the program.

Is this an accurate and credible representation?

The sources check out.  The reporting is accurate and definitely credible.  Sources are provided, as well as other supplemental information to help convey the message.

How does this reflect the perspective or bias of the creator?

This article seems to show a little bit of bias toward the common core, but this may only be due to the fact that people have come up with some colorful theories to bring it down.  Stating the facts seems pro-common core when you read all the negativity and rumors out there.

Media Deconstruction

Who produced this document, and for what purpose?

This document was produced by TheBlaze.com.  According to the website, the company is out to seek the truth and claims not to have political party affiliation.  The website does, however, mention God and faith.  Although it is unclear, it appears the goal of this organization is to report news with a Christian stance.  The magazine is produced to disseminate the information that is also found on the website.

When was this produced, and what was its historical context?

This document was published in May 2014.  At this time, the country had just begun to adopt the common core, so the program was very new.  It instantly has become a political argument, and this publication seems to be grabbing onto it and running.

Who is the target audience?

Theblaze.com was founded by libertarian Glenn Beck, so it is likely targeting other politically conservative people. 

What are the messages communicated?

The main message that I see when I view this cover page is that the common core is bad because it is associated with “collective” thought.  The magazine describes this as a threat to our children.  I also get the message that this publication has Christian influences, because there are other headlines related the Christianity.

What techniques are used to attract and hold attention?

The biggest attraction on the cover is the logo.  The Blaze is bright red and huge.  It draws attention and then immediately the cover is noticed.  The word “collective” is large and bright.  The graphic of a thought bubble connected to the children suggests they are all thinking the same thing.  This graphic is simple but attracts attention and tells a story.

How might people interpret this message differently?

I think a big difference in interpretation would depend a lot on political party affiliation.  I generally identify with more liberal ideas, so when I saw this cover I thought “Oh geez, here we go with the fear-mongering”.  However, someone who identifies with libertarian/conservative viewpoints may see this as information that confirms their beliefs.  They may be more receptive to the message.  Likewise, a teacher will view this message  very differently than a non-teacher, simply because teachers know and understand more about the common core than those who are not on the front lines of education in this country.

Who might benefit from (and who might be harmed by) this message?

This message seems to have the most benefit for anyone looking to attack the common core, or blame education woes on the current political administration.  However, it is clear that this message can cause harm to the most important people involved – the students.  If a student sees this message and gets the idea that what he is learning in school is “collective” thought, or that his education is not valuable due to changes in curriculum, he might be less likely to become involved or may grow skeptical and detached.  This message also directly harms anyone who is working hard to utilize the common core and help students learn.

What information or perspective is left out of this message?

This message does not include the perspective of the positive changes the common core seeks to create in the education system.  It does not seem to include the perspective of teachers.  It seems to falsely represent the perspective of students by creating the impression that the students are thinking about the headline.

Is this an accurate and credible representation?

I do not feel this is accurate, and I am not sure whether or not it is credible.  The website claims no political affiliation, yet the publication dances on topics that are clearly split on party lines.  The article attacks the common core by accusing it of endangering the independence of our children.  I do not feel this is accurate, because it is loaded with opinion rather than fact.  I don’t necessarily feel it is credible, because who is theblaze.com to be commenting on education in the US?

Text and Subtext

The text includes:

TheBlaze (title)

·         Headline: Collective: The common core’s threat to our kids, our freedom, and our future.

·         Sub headlines: Duck Dynasty: Willie Robertson on the testing of faith and purpose; Higher ed: the top five ways colleges waste your money; World: mapping the rise of Christian persecution around the globe; Energy: it's clean, powerful, and reliable.   So why do we fear nuclear power?

The subtext includes:

·         All children will think the same because of the common core

·         The common core is a bad thing

Language of persuasion

The language of persuasion that is most clearly used is fear and explicit claims.  The headline states that the common core threatens our kids, freedom and future.  That is a huge fear inducing statement.  Describing the common core as “collective” also be viewed as an explicit claim.  This could also be viewed as “The Big Lie”, because it is clear that the common core is NOT out to threaten these things.  Timing is also a factor, because this magazine was published right at the time that common core was brand new and the public was just beginning to learn about it.

My Digital Story

My digital story is about my personal journey, and a journey within that journey.  I've had my share of diffculties in life, but they have been instrumental in determining the success of my future.  It's been one heck of a ride so far!

My digital story serves many purposes.  First of all, it raises awareness of a social issue in a small way by shedding light on the problems I dealt with as a young child.  Many people struggle through the same problems and feel very alone.   My openness about my personal struggles might help show someone else that they are not alone.  I also think my story serves to show a different side of a stereotype.  I have seen tough times as a child, but I was able to use that for good.  I am driven to help young people who have been through similar ordeals.

I found these common core standards.  I decided to choose from standards for 6th grade speaking and listening standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.5
Include multimedia components (e.g., graphics, images, music, sound) and visual displays in presentations to clarify information.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.6.6
Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate. (See grade 6 Language standards 1 and 3 for specific expectations.)