A taste of what is to come. The Trailer to our film.

Hobbs again and PLS

Let us start this post with a brief description of who this Renee Hobbs is. Renee Hobbs is "one of the nation’s leading authorities on media education...She received an Ed.D from the Harvard Graduate School of Education (1985), an M.A. in Communication from the University of Michigan (1981) , and a B.A. with a double major in English Literature and Film Video Studies from the University of Michigan (1979). There is her credibility.


Hobbs is currently investigating the conditions in which Latinos in North Philadelphia view and analyze Tobacco advertisements. This includes critically analyzing print tobacco advertising, TV public service announcements and tobacco product placement in movies.

Simultaneously she is working on a study of "the impact of media literacy education on students' academic performance, family communication and civic engagement." Hobbs focuses on media in both these exploits.

I feel Hobbs research is a great thing. Students should learn to be critical of the world around them. Media surely is a great source to tap upon.

PLS is all about being media literate. This includes using media wisely, effectively. I gave the introduction of Renee Hobbs so she could gain some credibility. That us exactly what we are talking about right now. Being able to judge the credibility of information from different sources.

Advertisements are everywhere. On the computer, television, radio, side of buses, walls of buildings. Media is a major part of this world, we need to learn how to filter the good from the corrupt information.

The goal of educators is to make students aware of what is out there. That wikipedia is very reliable, but never the only source. That is a perfect example, use google but not just google. I feel Hobbs helps us think critically. And she is very media geared which is what i like about her.

Renee Hobbs and The Six Principles

I like Renee Hobbs. I read her book and the six principles. I have come to realize the importance and great advantage media literacy can produce in the classroom. The six principles of media literacy stress "Media Literacy is the ability to access, analyze, critically evaluate, and produce communication in a variety of forms." If Students are acclimated to using media, it will make it easier for them to develop the skills listed earlier.

Hobbs's research project shows how media literacy helps incorporates a wide range of media such as film, television, advertising, the Internet, music, and popular culture. These methods motivate students to do their work, for it is interesting. This will help students fathom a deeper understanding, the material presented in class will be retained.
As teachers we strive to have our students looks at things with a critical eye. Our job is to hone that skill, that critical lens. I feel this is exactly what Hobbs is trying to do. Hobbs research project definitely connects with these six principles. Hobbs helps students develop an understanding of media, these activity will mold them in some positive way.

Satire

Web 2.0

After watching the video on web 2.0 i think that is great. I love the idea behind this video.
It shows the boundaries of pen and paper and how limitless digital technology is. Pencil and paper is limited, while the internet is limitless.
Web 2.0 gives us new ways to share our ideas with others. And around the world. Internet versus paper is a battle paper can not win. The internet is cleaner smoother faster and more effective. I realized this the second time i watched the video, the eraser part portrays a very strong message. It really made me realize how much cleaner and effective it is. I think all the erasures is what did it for me.

Warlick and site's i feel are useful

Having investigated the site's Warlick references in chapter 2, i feel these three site's are the most useful. Or to say differently, the one's i feel apply to me the most.
The question is not are they useful, because every site Warlick includes is without a doubt. Be it from effectiveness to entertainment to efficiency.

#1 Phraseexpress

Phrase express is all about efficiency. This program has a built in memory which remembers anything you type. It's purpose is to decrease the amount of typing and finish what you are trying to say as soon as possible. This is a tool, when mastered can word astronomically faster then conventional typing. This is going to be very popular. The parallel of Phrase express to T9word on our cell phones is a brilliant comparison.
A great thing also is that it helps correct your grammar. Any spelling error or punctuation is quickly corrected. I stress this as a program for time efficient people. Not those first starting to type. If a youth was to use this i feel it would greatly stunt the learning curve for i still make a huge amount of spelling mistakes and they should have to acknowledge them and learn to fix them. Phrase express is more for the experienced time efficient typer.


#2 The Way back Machine
This site files down publication dates for websites. If you do not know when a particular website was published, this is a helpful source. This is relevant anytime you are forced by a instructive power to cite a date. If you are submitting something, a project, paper, report, seminar, etc. This is pretty much your only choice to find the publication date if the site does not provide one. This is a necessity to the college student.

#3 Backflip
Back flip is a virtual bookmarker that lets you access the site's you have saved no matter your location. It does not matter what computer you are on, or where you are Back Flip lets you see those bookmarked pages.

Will Richardson and Rob Mancabelli's FETC conference presentation

This podcast has certainly strengthened my view of how important technology is becoming. Some things i found that were very interesting were the application of technology to journalism and politics.
Both Hilary Clinton and Johnathan Edwards have blogs. Hilary Clinton announced on youtube she was running for election.
I feel journalism is being changed the most though. Blogs are taking off and truly changing the way things are being looked at. But the real thing, is the addition of camera phones. I touched on this briefly when talking to Brian about his phone post. Now anyone across the world can on site become journalist, way faster then any professional could ever get there. And the perfect example that Will uses is the UCLA student who gets tased by the police officers.
The person was able to capture the event as it was unfolding. They heard screams and fired up their phone. Seven minutes later they had a documentation of the events that went on. The view linked to this post has over 946,000 views. I mean how powerful is that. An event that would have simply been covered by a newspaper with crude quotes and comments has been replaced by a true depiction of the event and it has been shown to a huge amount of people.
This idea links with what Rob and Will were speaking about. Rob states that a few years ago, the presentation they are giving would pretty much be lost. It would be a lost conversation, but now with podcast, it will be around forever. It can be shown to many people, and if will posts it on his blog even more people (which he did).
The Nate village story was very interesting to learn.
When it comes down to it; and this is a big issue that lot of us are struggling with also, is that these "tools are potentially valuable." We still need to protect children from public spaces and keep students on task (and many other things). But we getting very good at rendering these ideas and making everything so effective and applicable. And we will all continue to do so.

Maybe i'm thinking myself in a hole

Your all going to absolutely abhor me for this post. I know that before hand, and i apologize for something you should never apologize for, and that is speaking my mind. But i am writing this knowing, about 90% of people who read this will be very mad at my opinion (even though most will agree with me deep down).
I look at people(specific person's identity to be concealed), instant messaging, going on myspace, and facebook, for HOURS. Every single day. And i wonder, why? This person, has literally been going back and forth between myspace and facebook for about 4 hours. Does it really strengthen your friendships? Do you even enjoy it anymore? Or do you just need it to feed this sick obsession, that burning inside you.
I use to have myspace and facebook but one day i realized, i am gaining absolutely nothing with time spent on these site's. Absolutely nothing is gained from an hour, except maybe some jealousy between other's plethora of interaction. It truly boggles me. And it has completely revolutionized the accessibility of stalking. They have it down to an art now. I am not going to get into that though.
Maybe i am just thinking myself in a hole, because people watch television (the lowest form of entertainment) which completely drives me crazy. Today, when i was in subway, there was some crap judge judy spin off show on and the judge gave this fiery emotional speech and the "audience/spectators" clapped and i thought "isn't this suppose to be a court room? Isn't the judge suppose to maintain order instead of evoking a disturbance?" Everything is backwards. Our society has retarded itself. We now have a hit video game that simulates bowling. "You hold the remote in your hand and then you move your hand just like your going bowling, it's great its just like bowling."
Am i going f ing crazy or something? Why don't you just go bowling???!!!! It is getting dangerously close to becoming a world lived completely without person to person interaction. Technology is amazing and i love the advances but there needs to be some discretion.
Back to television. First of all, American Idol, EVERY REALITY SHOW, all absolute crap. Can we as a society put up a little resistance to the man brain washing us a little. You know why britney spears was popular? Because the people (record people) who are really good at their jobs wanted her to be. The girl is completely fake in every aspect. That was an example to segue into why Reality Shows are popular only because big production/broadcasting companies want them to be. Apparently actors seem to be "too expensive." These reality shows cut that aspect out so they can make the millions without the hindrance of paying for quality acting. And sitcoms will put the fake laughter in so if you don't hear the joke you know to laugh.
Thank God for Cinema, thank God for Major Motion Pictures. I am eternally grateful for those people being artistic and daring. My heroes, taking chances, getting out of their comfort zone, trying things that they know everyone isn't going to like. No prepackaged laughter or conforming methods proven to be successful. I live for people like Ritchie, Tarantino, Aronofsky, Coppola, and Fincher. I highly doubt anyone (chris+bri not talkin 2u) knows who any of those guys except Quentin, but those are the guys getting it done. Pi, Requiem for a Dream, Four Rooms, Lock stock, Snatch, Seven, Virgin Suicides, Lost in Translation, Pulp, KB1+2, Fight Club, the fountain, the grindhouse, zodiac.
So i am sorry for offending the Britney Spears, American Idol,top chef,top model, Judge Judy, Survivor, etc. fans. It is late, and i am pissed i couldn't fall asleep because of something i do not feel like discussing. Soo, do not take anything personal. You do what you love, and what makes you happy. F the rest, if you want to fly, fly. That was obviously a paraphrase. I do not want to even think about the grammar mistakes i just made and the abundance of areas where i did not clarify myself properly. My mind moves far to fast for my fingers, especially on rants. So do not hate me for smashing myspace and facebook, enjoy it, if you do. And escape if you still can.

Lies My Teacher Told Me

I am reading a very interesting book called "Lies my Teacher Told me " which isnt really about "teachers lying" but rather the fact that our textbooks keep out many details on purpose. It speaks about how texts (refering to mostly just history textbooks) turn normal people into heroes. They call this heroification. Herofivation is when a text turns flesh and blood individuals into perfect creatures without conflict.
Our job as teachers is to educate children, not lie to them. If we are going to cover up the truth, and simple feed them portions of the truth, we are doing a great disservice. In fact, i believe we are putting them at a deficit instead of an advantage.
The book makes a point of Helen Keller. Helen Keller was a women who was born deaf and blind, and with the help of a caring teacher successfully overcame those obstacles. She actually even graduated college. This is a truly remarkable story, and most people know of this. What very few people know is that later in her life she became a radical socialist. If we are going to prepare these children for the world, we never want them to be put in a situation were they seem naive, or ill informed and that is what these textbooks do. Helen Keller sang praises to a communist nation. Now, this may not look wonderful on her, and it may well sully her good name, but we are in the business of providing the truth.
Where this ties in with the class is that if we have technology in our classroom, if we have a media friendly, and internet ready classroom; we will never run into something like this. The world is at our finger tips. If a student feel something is incorrect they can post it on their blog and other can discuss it. If they want to learn more about a certain person, they can serf the net. We are in the business of fully educating our students with a wealth of knowledge, and the internet provides a limitless field. And with the addition of e-books different authors of "textbooks" will emerge (or at least i feel). Technology in the classroom is a wonderful thing that is changing every way we look at school. It is revolutionizing everything, and making it better.

History Teacher Becomes Podcast Celebrity

I was reading the New York Times and i stumbled upon a technology article. I thought it applied to us, at least mildly, so i thought i'd put a post up on it.

This article focuses on Lars Brownworth, a teacher from Stony Brook. It is a really great article about a his rise through the ranks and establishment as a truly powerful podcaster. His podcast is called 12 Byzantine Rulers. "In the digital era, this self-taught amateur has emerged." This is a great example of how anyone can learn this technology and be successful.
This is a very interesting article and it makes reference to other educational podcasts like “Word Nerds” and “Grammar Girl.”