Media Education

I am an English Literature Major. As such I have been often in the pool where I am encouraging my siblings and those around me to read more instead of watch television or play video games.

What I do really agree with is that there is a "special literacy" for media that people talk about and are expected to know. I was up at Standford with a friend and did not understand half the jokes and conversations. Later my friend showed me an assortment of around 6 YouTube videos that made sense of all those jokes. Therefore this is a very real "literacy" to me.

I am actually really struggling with this book because it makes sense, but I think I do have more of the mind set that classical literature is more nourishing to the mind.

I am looking forward to the end of this book and hearing how this literacy education should work out according to the author.

Tech Presentations

I was really impressed by the numerous presentations that we witnessed last week. This really got me thinking even after my groups presentation was over about the use of technology within the class room. For my group, the use of Google's Document Presentation application was amazing. You could drag and drop pictures and YouTube videos directly into the frames and even the copy, paste, and editing functions were flawless. It was the first time that I had really spent this much time creating a power point of this scope and I actually can say that I had fun doing it. I felt it was a piece of artwork.

Our presentation aside I then began to think of other ideas and applications for media and technology in teaching a story. I thought of how cool it might have been if we had actually acted one of the stories out, without words. The only sounds and conversations coming from the computer and media that was being used. This was intriguing to me and I thought further that one would be able to set the mood for say, the storm in Shakespeare's "King Lear" by having the screen flash with lightning and the room be dark. Example:

This to me was a really innovative and creative way of incorporating technology without actually needing to memorize lines or even really be an actor, yet still share a story in a fun, visual, and compelling way.

Does it only work on the weak minded?

Added (11 December 2010)

Media production

One of the great dangers of any media is that it teaches. Even if the author does not intend such an outcome the user of that media is receiving something. I think it is safe to say that there are many negative messages that can and are spread through all the medias. What was very impressive about this book "Media Education" by David Buckingham is that he aptly addresses that there are many motivators and forces behind a media that need to be addressed and taught about. Our students today are walking into a media mine field and they need to be equipped with the proper knowledge to be able to decipher through it. Buckingham mentions that looking at media production means looking at: technologies, professional practices, the industry, connections between media, regulation, circulation and distribution, and access and participation. This is of the utmost importance in my opinion because it is only after we have taught students these practices that they can begin to see the dangers, if any, that the messages of the media provide. Be it form of paper, airwaves, or light, these messages come from someone and with a purpose, even if that purpose is simply to enjoy.

Buckingham, David. Media Education. Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2003. Print. Pg. 53-70.

Why Mythology?

What is it that makes mythology one of the most interesting realms for the modern day storyteller?

Whether it be comics or Teen fiction books like the Percy Jackson Olympian Series. There is a influx of mythological stories that are being retold and the public are eating them up.

There are a few factors, I believe, that make mythology so appealing. Firstly, there is a mist that surrounds the stories that give writers and readers freedom to use thier imagination. Also, there there is a validity that time seems to have given to the stories so even though as a reader I am thinking this is a fiction and using my imagination I also am really wanting this to be real, and its not "so" farfetched. Finally, Mythology has an enchantment that is rooted in the touching of the mortal and the divine. It is a interesting look that is very vogue to question these divine figures through fun or terrible stories.

These are some thoughts and I would love to hear yours!