Kindles, and Blogs, and Phones, OH MY!

I think that moving the classroom to a more media based learning environment is one of the smartest things we, as educators, can do. It is our job to meet the needs of our upcoming students, and being aware of their hobbies, culture, and strengths is important. However, I do not think that this means facebooking our students their homework. It simply means bringing in the technology that our future students have grown up with into their learning, making them more apt to consolidate their skills together. I was impressed that 7th and 8th graders were skilled enough to make a movie trailer, because I do not think that I could do this task without being taught the different programs. Her english class reminds me of two different classes I took in high school. I was in Journalism and we wrote for the school newspaper. In that class we learned about the different types of media, and how they affect our daily lives. Then we designed our own ads that would go in the paper using Adobe indesign and photoshop. It was a really intersting class, but was difficult to add the artistic ability to my writing level. The other class that used different medias was my visual communications class. There we had to pick apart the designs of adds by fonts, colors, pictures, the line of "golden proportion", and how different age groups preferred different outlines for their particular products. I really enjoyed learning about all of the different forms of medias in that class after studying the basic elements of design. From there we did screen printing, lino blocks, and black and white photography. Back on task, I loved the idea of bringing the classroom to the modern era. Paper and pencil doesn't cut it anymore. I mean seriously, I love blogging for this class. It's much better than preparing a summary after every reading and it allows all students to be involved with each others work. I love reading what my peers have to say about the assigned readings, because I feel we all have a different opinion or take on them. Another reason why I am so forward with this idea is because it allows for a student centered classroom. Like literature circles, it allows the student to make choices and have freedom in their own learning. This allows them to feel like they are taking owenership to their education, and allows the teacher to take a stand-back approach to teaching. This allows the teacher to observe and interact personally with students rather than by lecturing. If, however, I was going to teach this class I would need some skills with computer and programming skills. It might be beneficial for colleges to manidate particular classes in technology, so that we are not so far behind when we begin teaching.

As for advertising... I loved how the author described students. Images are everything, even here at Ship. How many students do you see walking the campus wearing a Northface, Sperrys, Uggs, American Eagles Jeans, and a hollister or express tee shirt on. It's hard to find one student who doensn't own at least one of the items above. Have you ever wondered, myself included, why we buy the things that we do? I HAD to have a Nike backpack in middle school, or I refused to wear one at all. What sways our opinions? It's interesting to look at how much logos, name brands, and the ads that sell these items affect our daily lives. I guess I always wanted to "fit in" but be a rebel at the same time. I remember buying Converse sneakers because they were considered "punk" and I was going through a phase where I wanted to piss my parents off. If we bring these ideas into the classroom, I believe that it will make students more aware of the products they buy and how they can brainwash and manipulate us. Advertising is HUGE. The superbowl for example makes millions of dollars on pepsi products and beer for a 30 second commercial. Ads sell lifestyles, not products. If you want to be a "prep" you buy hollister because that is what the cool kids wear. I think that it's important for our students to see this trend and become more aware of it as they buy more items on their own with their own money in the future.       

 

Lastly, I can't believe that the average 14-24 year olds read only about four whole minutes a day. I mean, if that 18-22 year old range is in college (just using the typical college ages not to offend those who aren't in that scheme) they HAVE to read basically to understand the content. I read about two hours a day. TWO HOURS! I'm not part of that steryotype that calls us the "dumbest generation." Thats all I have to say about that. :)


*notice all the pictures I placed are relevant BUT ALL LOGOS! How many can you name??