PSA Outline

Topic: Student's rights for freedom of expression.

3 Statistics/Facts to be used in my PSA:

• "But it is also the case that school administrators have a far greater ability to restrict the speech of their students than the government has to restrict the speech of the general public."
• "The First Amendment prevents Congress from abridging U.S. citizens' right to freedom of speech; the 14th Amendment extends this limitation to state and local governments."
• "While courts have generally decided the degree to which First Amendment rights apply within schools, some states have taken it upon themselves to pass additional legislation to ensure the protection of students' freedom of expression."

Audience: Students

Weekly Reading #10

"Online pranking videos provide a relatively safe and structured opportunity to explore the ethics of representation"

This is an intriguing idea because we have to take a look at what it means by relatively safe. Does it mean it is physically safe? Does it taking into account the mental safety of the pranker and prankee? Pranks that can seem harmless can cause mental instability for the both parties. The pranker can gain a sense of power that they cannot be touched and this can get them into situations where that is not the case. The prankee can go through an emotional/mental trauma from the prank and be uncomfortable in situations they were once comfortable in. This of course all comes in with the ethics of representation, how the prank is done and what effects are caused to the participants during the prank.

"Self-disclosure is the process by which one person lets his or her inner being, thoughts, and emotions be known to another."

In the book they talked about how self-disclosure can be good and bad in the classroom. It does facilitate discussions and helps them become more real for the students, but it worries me that it will go on too deep of a level and they will reveal things that they shouldn't. Some students can be understanding and not poke fun at the other students when they reveal this personal information, but there are students who relish in the opportunity to abuse this knowledge with social power. I think that it might be good for a one-on-one discussion, but maybe not so appropriate to a group discussion.

"A survey of social-media-using women ages 18-34 shows that 26% get up in the middle of the night to read text messages and 21% check Facebook during the night."

This quote just knocked me off my socks because it just seems absurd. I just can't imagine something being sent to me or on Facebook that I would need to check it in the middle of the night. I am not sure if it is because they wake up and use the bathroom, so they then check it before going back to bed. That situation is a little less surprising, but is still odd that they feel the need to check these media sources. I just wonder how this affects the restfulness of the people checking these media sources. If I had to guess, it probably affects their performance in school and at their work.

Media Deconstruction

• I agree with the claims made in both of the deconstructions, but not completely. 

• The Century Link ad gets it's message across, but as for it being a cover up, that is what a commercial is. A commercial is a short clip that makes your product look desirable even if it is not; the experience with the product is also individualized and some people may actually enjoy the product. It is typical for companies like Century Link to provide mediocre service and have some problems with their service. I like to think that these companies are not running at the top of their game every second of everyday just like any other normal human being. 

• The Alltel ad doesn't really promote racism or stereotypes because those opinions are created by the viewer of the commercial. Also, they could have just put a group of college students in that room that like to party and achieved the same goal without using a different ethic group. The ethic group they choose did give some comic relief because what they were doing made the viewer feel joy while the group of people were having fun. So, I think that it can be interpreted as racist if you take it that way and the family who is housing them does seem to have discomfort, but it might be just because that is not what they enjoy doing, which makes it just a personal preference and not an issue of race. Stereotypes are formed by viewer as well towards a certain race, but in this video the people in that room do not all look Hispanic to me.

•  My interpretation of the Century Link commercial is that it is a typical telecommunications company that that is stating that they too have the ability to connect everyone through the internet and phone services, in a large amount of places across the globe. This is slightly different from the other interpretation because I think they are doing the same thing every other telecommunications company is doing which is trying to get consumers to buy their product.

• My interpretation of the Alltel commercial is that phone plans are too expensive, but Alltel can offer an affordable option over it's competitors. My interpretation is slightly different because I don't play into the racism or stereotype part of the ad and take it more as comic relief that is provided and that it doesn't have to do with the race of the people performing the action. 

Weekly Reading #9

Chapter 6: Protection and Empowerment

"Media makers are not the enemy. Their job is to create stories that compel our attention, because attention is the commodity that has value in the market-place."

I think that this is a great concept to teach to student because they tend to blur the lines. After seeing something in a movie or TV show students are prone to reproduce the action because they think it will make them look "cool" in the eyes of their peers like it did in the movie/TV show. Having the students understanding and discussing why it is or is not a good idea to repeat these actions can help deter them actually performing the actions.

"Instead, she introduced a comparison-contrast activity in her health class to encourage all her students to examine their own sense of connectedness to various media personalities and reflect upon the contradictory messages about gender, race, and identity offered up by the mass media and celebrity culture."

This sounded like a great activity to do with students because it not only has students see what mass media does to a person's image, but also can help all the students come to a common understanding and get rid of misconceptions. Debate is normally a good tool to help students get to this common understanding and get all the information from all of the participants out in the open.

"Viewers are punked by stealth marketing when they interpret these messages as simple entertainment and are unaware of their persuasive."

This stealth marketing was eye opening because I don't know if I have actually seen these ads. This can be a good or bad thing for me because that means they are either not reaching me or are stealthed so well that I didn't notice their existence. I wonder if this is related to things such as product placement where it is not pointed out, but it is noted that the actors are using specific products. Something as simple as one of your role-models where Levi jeans; you may notice that they are wearing that type of jeans and thus feel a need to also wear those jeans because your role-model wears them.

Magazine Cover

The cover has a large title that has surrounded by some lightning bolts to imply that this is a magazine that reacts quickly to stories. It also gives the feeling that the magazine deals with next level content is always ahead of the curve. It has a simple bar-code along with the month and year it was published. The price of the magazine is listed on the cover and has the currency type to show that his is a magazine made in the USA and primarily sold there. I used a lot of different colors for the different texts so that each would eye-catching and make the reader want to look at all of them. This was complemented with different fonts styles as well to give each statement their own unique feel. Size was also a large factor in the text; the more important information is presented in larger fonts. The statements are all about making a better student that is on the next level of education compared to the competitors. The photos show that the common core not only gets the students thinking on a higher level, but also has them collaborating on creative project that is also on this higher level with the advanced materials they are using in the picture. The laptop and paper that the students are using is what gives the photo the advanced level feel. The laptop itself is a technological advancement that a lot of schools do not have access to and the paper looks important, but is it hard to tell what it actually represents. The paper being so hard to determine what it is makes it look more advanced than it may be because if the reader doesn't know what it then it is probably beyond them and thus on a higher level. I have inserted a question into the picture on the left to get parents to see how critical thinking that is going to be used with their students could also benefit them, this includes the parents in the learning which can give them the feeling that they are leveling up with their child. I used a plain blue background so that the text and photos would pop out more and not blend in with the busy background.

The media language techniques that I used in the magazine cover were: grammatical techniques, idiomatic phrases, and alliteration.

The media persuasion techniques I used were: association, explicit claims,  intensity, new, and symbols. I used association by stating that common core will "level up" their students mind, since leveling up is a good thing consists of obtaining and unlocking a higher state of being. Explicit claims were used by stating the price of magazine and in the statement, "A deeper understanding". The statement was neither true nor false, but suggests that it will give you a deeper understanding. Intensity was used in the statement, "Cooler Creative Classroom" because cooler is a comparative in that it is saying this cooler than other creative classrooms. The common core concept itself is a new idea which gives it the new technique. Symbols are seen with the two pictures on the cover. The first on the left side says that it will get the students mind thinking and the picture of the students on the right are working together on a creative project with a laptop that suggests that these students are being extremely creative and advanced in their work.

Weekly reading #8

“It was a process that I came to understand as having three phases: romance, precision, and generalization.”

This quote is directed at the way someone falls in love with learning. This process describes the process well and is exactly how I feel about the things I love. It does not only have to apply to a subject like Biology or English; it can be applied to anything you love, even a person you love. It can work this way because one gains an emotional involvement and then develops a need for precision where the two develop a common language and understanding of each other. Lastly, generalization of using the romance and the precision to explore new knowledge of each other and ways that are serviceable in a particular context or setting. This quote speaks the truth about learning and anything else that you could love.

“When adolescents have communicative power, it is inevitable that they will say something that makes adults uncomfortable.”

When students speak out like this there is a good and a bad side. The good side being that they give a new and fresh perspective on what the adults are saying and can see the hypocrisy in what they do. The bad side is in how they sometimes present these findings in a crude or vulgar type manner that takes away from the point they are actually trying to make. Teaching students that saying something that might make an adult feel uncomfortable is completely acceptable, but to do it in a way that it does not take away from the stance they are taking.

“Using creativity and imagination, as if working for an advertising agency, each students developed a way to ‘sell’ the element by using image composition tools to create propaganda poster.”

The idea for this project grabbed my attention immediately because of how fun it sounded. It made me wish that I was chemistry certified, but at least I am general science certified so maybe I can fit it into a general science class. I totally agree with how they say it will give students a reason to look deeper into their elements and elements of other students. If they have a good pitch or even a bad pitch students will want to look into the elements to “fact check” the pitch. Fact checking has grown largely in the adolescent community since the introduction of smart phones where students can Google for information and find out if what someone is talking is true or not in seconds from it coming out of their mouth. This makes other students want to become more accurate with their statements or they must enhance their ability to cover the truth.

Magazine Deconstruction

Authors and Audience:

• Who produced this document, and for what purpose?
• theblaze.com. It was produced to tell the “truth” about the material in their magazine.
• When was this produced, and what was it's historical context?
• This was produced in May 2014 which was only 4 months ago. The context is that common core is going to ruin our kids future and our own..
• Who is the target audience?
• Parents, because of the use of the word our that claims possession on the kids.

Messages and Meanings:

• What are the messages communicated?
• The messages are communicating that common core is going to threaten our kids future as well as our own. There are also featured articles at the top of the cover that seem to show a leaning towards christians. This makes the magazine feel more like a religious magazine and sends the message that this is what the christian community thinks.
• What techniques are used to attract and hold attention?
• The different font types grab your attention, the picture of the students and the words being in all of their thought bubbles as if the children are thinking this.
• How might people interpret this message differently?
• Some may interpret this message for what they want, which is that the common core will threaten their students and our future. It can also be interpreted as a religious bias towards education because of the christian basis the magazine appears to have.
• Who might benefit from (and who might be harmed by) this message?
• The parents may benefit from reading the article because they will learn about the common core, but it is probably biased to send a negative message. This can in turn harm the children because of the degree the parent may go if they take the common core as a threat and not read the article just to learn what the common core is and is about. The child could potentially be pulled from school and might receive a lower education, this is not to say that they will ,but it may happen.

Representation and Reality:

• What information or perspective is left out of this message?
• The perspective of the educator is left out of this message and is geared to the parents.
• Is this an accurate and credible representation?
• No, because in the title of their website is says breaking news and opinion. This means that opinion is a large part of their material and makes them less credible when delivering information.
• How does this reflect the perspective or bias of its creator?
• Being opinion base allows for the creator to say whatever they want on the subject which puts a major bias on the material.

Text:

• The logo for The Blaze magazine
• The Blaze moto “Truth Lives Here”
• advertisement for theblaze.com
• picture of students working and thinking the feature article “Collective: Common Core’s threat to our kids, our freedom and our future.”
• Previews for other articles in the magazine on the top of the cover.

Subtext:

• The students are concerned that common core with threaten their future and the freedom and future of their parents.
• students think common core is threatening
• common core threatens the future
• Our freedom will be taken away by common core
• Nothing good can come from common core

Language of Persuasion

• Bandwagon
• Association
• Fear
• Plain folks
• Extrapolation
• Slippery slope
• Symbols
• Group dynamics

Weekly Reading #7

The media literacy activity described in the chapter are examples of literacy practices support the Common Core shifts: complex texts, grounded in evidence from texts, and building knowledge. It accomplishes the complex texts shifts by having the students grow their vocabularies through conversation, some direct instruction, and a little reading for background knowledge. Grounded in evidence from texts is seen in the activity when they are looking at the magazine covers they have to make observations and base them on readings of what was happening in that time period. Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction is the keystone in this activity. This is a history class which is nonfiction, looking at views of Martin Luther King Jr. and comparing them to the views of Obama today are rich in correlating history to current events.


What do you like about the Common Core?

I like that the Common Core focuses on teaching across the curriculum and having students connect what they learn in the classroom to everyday experiences. By far the best part is getting students more into the critical thinking aspect of learning and pushing students to go further.

What concerns do you have?

The only concerns I have are not with the Common Core itself, but with the receptiveness of teachers who are given these standards. Teaching across the curriculum I think will be a real struggle for some educators because they don't want to have to learn all this new material about something that "isn't their subject."

Find another media text that supports your stance.

NEA Today

Use the critical questions to deconstruct this media text.

Authors and Audience:

Who produced this document, and for what purpose?

The document was produced by NEA (National Education Association) to state six ways the Common Core is good for students.

When was this produced, and what was it's historical context?

This was produced in May of 2013 when Common Core debates were heating up.

Who is the target audience?

The audience are parents and skeptics of the Common Core.

Messages and Meanings:

What are the messages communicated?

The messages are that the Common Core is good for students.

What techniques are used to attract and hold attention?

They give out six pros for the Common Core and avoid any cons for the plan.

How might people interpret this message differently?

Some people will interpret the message as the Common Core as a good thing with no faults and some will interpret this as a cover up for all the bad things the Common Core will cause.

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

It will comfort parents and educators, but may harm the Common Core because of rumors that could be spread of those things being a cover up for what would really happen.

Representation and Reality:

What information or perspective is left out of this message?

The cons are what is left out of this message.

Is this an accurate and credible representation?

For what is stated it is a credible representation, but is probably biased because it it on the National Education Association website.

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

Since it is on the National Education Association website there is probably a bias towards Common Core.

Digital Story Final Draft