A Reaction to the Pedagogical Agent Readings

In this post I will be responding to the final two readings for the CI 5472 course, Conversational Agents and Their Longitudinal Affordances on Communication and Interaction by Aaron Doering, George Veletsianos, and Theano Yerasimou, and When sex, drugs, and violence enter the classroom: Conversations between adolescents and a female pedagogical agent, by George Veletsianos, Cassandra Scharber, and Aaron Doering.

One statement from the second reading, When sex, drugs, and violence…, that I found surprising came at the end of the article. It said, “Even though we expected the students who took part in this study to exhibit some off-task behavior, we did not anticipate such a widespread abuse and misuse of the pedagogical agent. Likewise, we did not expect to find that more than 40% of student social comments would be sexually explicit, flirtatious, expletive, or referencing drugs and violence.” REALLY? You give 59 middle school students, ages 14 to 15 (as referenced in the reading), a chance to talk to a computerized “person” who can’t defend herself, WITHOUT any supervision (again, as referenced in the article), and you’re surprised that the students were off-task and abusive? REALLY? Maybe you should’ve done a bit of pre-research on middle school students!

From personal experience I can say that middle school students in a computer lab, without supervision, are a bad idea. Colleagues of mine have had students who have stolen parts from computers during class. I have had students attempt to use the Microsoft voice software for less-than-savory purposes. They’ve also tried to reformat computers, erase items off of other students’ server files (if not their entire server identity), and ask the Microsoft “paperclip” some illicit questions. And all of that came with me walking around the lab for the entire period, watching the students!

I did find it interesting, though, that the adults from the other article did practically the same thing with their computerized agents. They used their agents more as social connections for small talk instead of using them to answer questions about their assignment. It was also interesting that, once in a small group of friends, some of the adults treated their agent in the same manner that the middle schoolers did. Each group wanted to test the limits of the technology instead of use it for its designed purpose. I think that this would be true of any new technology; people are going to want to test it before they actually use it for its intended purpose. It is similar to trying out a new video game without reading the instruction manual.

I also related to the adults’ frustrations with the technology in the article Conversational Agents… For example, they were frustrated when they know the agent would know the answer to their question if the human could just think of another way to ask it. Haven’t we all had similar issues with various Help programs and over-the-phone voices? I get very frustrated when I’ve enunciated something as clearly as possible and the disembodied voice doesn’t get it for the third time. As stated in both readings, this type of educational tool is still in its infancy. There is a lot of work yet to be done to make it better and more accessible.

On a semi-related note, I am somewhat uncomfortable with having a Gizmoz version of me online. I don’t like that my information, even as basic as my name and e-mail address, is now stored on another database somewhere, for something that I wouldn’t have done had it not been an assignment. I am a firm believer in privacy; it took many months of convincing to get me to sign up for FaceBook. I have my account set to the highest privacy setting, and I do not like that each action you take needs to access your information and your friends’ information in order to work. That’s a lot of information being spread around that could, some day, be stolen off a database. With all the identity theft that’s been occurring over the last few years I feel the less information about me in cyberspace the better. Also, as a teacher I do not want students to be able to access my personal information without my knowledge. I am very open in class and in person because I know what’s being said (and asked). I don’t want someone else sharing information about me, or worse, creating it. This probably sounds like a technophobe rant, but I just don’t think it’s prudent to allow your personal information out of your control. I get that in today’s technology-driven world it may be inevitable, but I would invite caution. I haven’t yet decided, as of the time of this posting, if I am going to continue keeping this blog, and the Gizmoz creation, active. Feel free to offer opinions and comments!

My Gizmoz Avatar

This is the web address to reach my Gizmoz site:

http://www.gizmoz.com/newsite/presite/itemPage.jsp?partner=studio&scene=13608459

Enjoy!

Teaching with Popular (Middle School) Culture

Assignment 1: Creating a Graphic Novel
Rationale-
Middle school students (and I’m sure some high school students) are addicted to graphic novels. For some of my students, this is all that they read. They can read through about 15 in a day! Rather than fight this trend, I decided to embrace it and work with it. I would rather have the students read what they want than not read at all, and some of the newer, non-manga graphic novels really do a good job of telling classic stories. I have also seen non-fiction graphic novels that are about historical events.

In this project students will be creating their own graphic novel as a class. I would use this with my Basic Language Arts class for two reasons. One, it is my smallest class and it will easier to handle a novel of 12 pages as opposed to 36. Two, this is the class where graphic novels are predominantly used.

Lesson-
On the first day of the project, as a class we would discuss what graphic novels are and how they are similar to and different from “regular” novels. Topics to be included in the discussion would be: showing rather than telling, read differently (panels vs. paragraphs), both have the elements of fiction (plot, setting, character, conflict), dialogue is in bubbles rather than quotes. As the discussion progressed, I would make a Venn diagram on the board and keep it up during the remainder of the lesson. After the discussion I would then ask students for samples of their favorite graphic novels, if they had them in class, and I would also provide some from the media center. We would spend the remainder of that day sharing and reading graphic novels. Student’s homework for the night would be to think of a story from their lives that they can tell in graphic novel form.

On the second day I would have students write their personal stories in prose. The stories do not have to be long, but they do have to have all the elements of fiction and a beginning, middle, and end. If students are having trouble with this exercise I would help them out by giving an example from my life, or guiding them to interesting events in their lives. Students in middle school, though, often don’t have trouble talking about themselves! This would take about half of the class time. After students were finished writing, we would go through and edit for word choice, spelling, etc.

On the third day, students would now begin transitioning from prose to graphic novel. I will have various page layouts available with different sizes of panels and formats. Students could also make their own pages if they wished. Each panel in the novel should flow from the beginning of the story to the end. Also, students will create a cover and title page for their graphic novel. I will have examples for them to look at from the books we used on the first day of the lesson. Other than these requirements, the students will be pretty much on their own. They will have about a week to complete their novels. My expectation is that the students took their time on them and that they are the best work that they could produce. Once all novels are finished, we will have a sharing day in class where students will display their novels around the room and the other students can read them and discuss them. Then, we will put them in the media center for the school to see.

The grading of this project is more open than some teachers might be comfortable with. The grade will be based on keeping up with the project’s deadlines, the grammar and punctuation of the story, the flow of the story, and whether or not the final project has something of a “final” feel to it (did the student put in effort to make it look done). Teachers can create their own rubrics/point values and emphasize other aspects if they wish.

Further Inspiration-
The following websites were my inspiration for this assignment:
http://www.absolutewrite.com/specialty_writing/self_pub_graphic.htm
http://www.wikihow.com/Create-a-Graphic-Novel
http://www.ehow.com/how_2085763_create-graphic-novel.html


Assignment 2: The Great Debate- Video Games
Rationale-
Like it or not, video games are a large part of today’s youth culture (and mine). There has been much talk about the influences these games have on our children, good, bad, or otherwise. In this debate, students will research the multiple viewpoints on the issue, decide which have merit, and use them in a class debate. Students will be using their critical thinking skills to decide what valid resources and arguments are and what they aren’t. They will also use their presentation and summarization skills.

Lesson-
I would start this lesson with an introduction to video games that includes their history, the various game formats (first-person, shooter, puzzle, role-playing, etc.), and a short survey of the class’s attitudes about video games and their uses. The survey would be a short (one page) sheet that asks if the student has played video games, which systems he or she owns, which types of games they enjoy playing, and how many hours per week are spent playing. I would tabulate the survey results for the next day’s class.

In class the next day I would share the survey results and we would discuss them. Were the results what the class had anticipated? If not, what was surprising? I would now introduce the students to the research part of the assignment. This part will be done in the computer lab, using our research techniques and knowledge about valid sources of information. This lesson will need to be done after our 8th Grade research unit, where we discuss Internet research techniques and quality of sources. I would allow at least two class periods for this part of the day. The students would be expected to find various web resources both validating video games as beneficial and criticizing video games as “mind-numbing.” I would make sure that they understood that they might fall on either side of the debate, and that they would want as much information as possible to provide a good rationale. I would offer some starting websites for both sides, listed below in the “Further Inspiration” section. I would, of course, expect students to also expand the search from these sites, and maybe into other topics related to video games.

After the web search, I would give students about two days in class to compile their information into two cohesive arguments. They would each write a brief (1 page) summary of their information on both sides. They would keep their notes/printouts, but working with a 1 page document will help narrow their scope a bit.

Finally, we would have the debate. I would divide the class randomly into the two sides, video games are beneficial vs. video games are unhealthy. I would then give them ten minutes to prepare their opening statements and choose a spokesperson. We would flip a coin to determine which side starts, and then each side (without interruption) would present their opening argument. After, the groups would get five to ten minutes to form a rebuttal. They would then present, and then we would open up “general discussion.” During the formal debate, students not speaking would be required to take some notes on the points being brought up so that they have something to include in rebuttals. During the general discussion period, students would be encouraged to take notes. This part of the lesson, if not handled respectfully, could get chaotic, especially with excitable middle-schoolers. Consider the type and size of class when formulating how to do this lesson.

As a concluding assignment, each student would be required to write what their opinions of video games are now as opposed to when we started the lesson, how those opinions were changed (if they were), and some of the things they learned during the research.

Further Inspiration-
Some sources for the history of video games:
http://www.pbs.org/kcts/videogamerevolution/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15734058/

Some websites on the positive aspects of video games (students, and you, can judge validity):
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.05/view.html
http://www.nhpr.org/node/20825
http://www.channel3000.com/education/4121724/detail.html
http://www.creativeteachingsite.com/videogames.htm

Some websites on the negative aspects of video games (again, students can judge validity):
http://www.apa.org/science/psa/sb-anderson.html
http://www.slate.com/id/2164065/
http://www.healthcentral.com/drdean/408/60891.html
http://www.epilepsy.com/info/family_kids_video

Students could also go to YouTube and work on this assignment; there are some videos of the history of video games and some videos associating video games with violence. A teacher might be able to show them in class, too.

Real vs. Fake News Assignments

Lesson 1: Jon Stewart vs. the Fool
In this assignment, students are going to compare The Daily Show’s host, Jon Stewart, to the character of the Fool in Shakespeare’s King Lear. While reading King Lear, we will have class discussions on the role of the Fool and why he was included in this play, and many other similar characters in other Shakespearian plays. Sample questions for the discussion would be:
1. Historically, what was a jester’s or fool’s job?
2. What does the Fool do in the play?
3. Does this character provide a service to Lear or to the audience? How so?

Next, we would examine some highlights of The Daily Show, especially using some highlights from the Bush administration years. Now a comparison can be made between Jon Stewart and the Fool, using very similar discussion questions.

Rationale: By doing this lesson, students are able to see a few concepts. One, they can see the roots of The Daily Show in an historical context (always know your history). Two, they can see that the role of the Fool was to spread the “truth” about leaders without the leaders knowledge (they were there to question the leader’s wisdom and provide an alternate voice). Three, they can understand that the “official” view of things isn’t always the best view to take.

Lesson 2: Writing a Parody News Article
In this assignment, students will be creating their own version of a news item found in a newspaper. I would bring in many different copies of different newspapers, some local, some national. Students would be given time to read through them and find some articles that interest them, with the understanding that we’re going to exclude a lot of the paper (sports, weather, celebrity gossip, etc.). Students would be allowed to share articles and discuss while I monitored. After this, the class would vote on the top five most interesting articles. I would then collect the papers for use later. After class, I would go and get corresponding articles from The Onion or a similar parody newspaper.

The following day, students will read these parody examples of these same stories and compare them to the accounts from the day before. A discussion would be had as to how the stories are different. Also, we would discuss how they both share information, but one is obviously a parody (assuming a discussion of parody was had before this lesson).

Finally, the class now receives their assignment. They are to create their own version of a parody news article. They can use any topic they wish, again with the understanding that it be actual news. They are to turn in an original/source article and their own work. After they are turned in I would display them and allow students time to read through their peers’ articles.

Rationale: Many students learn best through doing, not just reading or listening. By creating their own parody article, they begin to see how a person creating a parody needs to really be knowledgeable about the “real” story in order to do a good job. Also, everyone enjoys critiquing other’s works and laughing!

Assignment 3: Getting the “Real” Story
In this lesson, students will study Video News Reports (VNRs), especially those related to new prescription drugs, and the actual findings of the FDA or other sources. This lesson assumes that I can find examples of VNRs. The best examples of these are going to be of the diet drug Phen-Fen, and the pain drug Vioxx. Both had VNR examples that were shown during news broadcasts, then were quickly called off the market when it was discovered how damaging they could be.
First, I will show students the VNR examples. After viewing, I would ask students whether or not these drugs seemed too good to be true. Would they buy them, ask their doctors about them? Why do you think these were included during the broadcast? Would there also have been commercials related to these products during the program?
Next, I would show the FDA findings and then news broadcasts about their recalls. We would discuss how the stations were influenced to show the VNRs as is, without digging into them. We would also discuss how damaging this kind of “reporting” was to the general public and how to be critical viewers so it doesn’t happen to us.

Assignment 4: Credibility
In this lesson, students will examine the credibility of various news sources from many types of media. They will also look at how these institutions, people, and organizations gained their credibility and what groups are deeming them credible. We will look at radio and television news program hosts like Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, local television anchors, Jim Cramer (CNBC’s Mad Money), Oprah, and others.

First, we will look at how these people present their stories. Is there a slant or bias? Do they present all sides of a story? Do all sides of a story get equal air time? Are all sides presented in the same manner, or do some get ridiculed?

Next, we will look at who is watching and listening to these people. Do they have a defined audience? Who makes up their viewership/listening audience? We will examine demographic data to determine this, as well as trends in audiences.

Finally, we will examine how these shows are being marketed to a specific audience that is going to agree with the hosts’ points of view. Students will then interpret the findings by writing a short opinion essay. They will need to answer the following questions:
1. Does each person determine if the host is credible, or do the marketing departments?
2. If a source that you like is deemed credible, do you ever go look at alternate sources?
3. Does your version of news become “real” just because you (or someone else) has deemed the source credible?

News Analysis Lesson Plan

I would love to have my students critically analyze the local and school newspapers! We would do this in a very similar way to how we were asked to do the local television news analysis that went along with this assignment.

I would bring copies of the school paper in for the first part of the activity. We would brainstorm all the different types of articles the class would be likely to find in the paper (local, national, world, film and music critiques, etc.) and each student would list them in their notebooks. I would then give each student a copy of the paper and I would give the students time to read through the articles and classify them in their charts. I would allow some discussion during the activity, as students may want to classify articles in different ways. Their discussions could lead to talks about editorial responsibilities and privileges. After they were done categorizing, the class would look at how many items fell into each category. My predication is that there will be few “news” items and a lot of “fluff” items.

For the next part of the activity I would bring in copies of the local paper and we would do the same thing. This time, though, I anticipate the class finding much more “news” items and a lot less “fluff,” except in the Entertainment section. We could now discuss why there is such a large difference between the two papers. If the discussion didn’t get there on its own, I would bring up the following points: writing for different audiences, different writing ability (professional vs. student), and editorial processes and expectations.

Finally, I would ask the students to take one article from the school newspaper and rewrite it in the form found in the local paper.

Local News Reflection

Let me start by stating that I usually watch the 5:00 or 6:00 news; I’m rarely awake by 10:00. One major difference that I’ve noticed between the 5:00 and 6:00 broadcasts is the amount of sports coverage. Sports gets about 5 minutes of coverage at 6:00, but barely any at 5:00. Now, I’m not a big sports guy, so it doesn’t bother me in the slightest, but this got me to thinking about the reasoning behind the programming decisions being made. I think that the editors/programmers at KARE 11 view their 5:00 and their 6:00 audiences differently, perhaps based on Nielsen data. Maybe 5:00 viewers are more affluent, and therefore appear to have a preference for “real news” over sports-related content?

The diversity of the anchors and reporters was, in my opinion, fairly balanced. One anchor was male and the other was female. The head of the sports department was male, the meteorologist was female, and the reporting staff included a mix of male and female. The two anchors shared work reporting the stories; switching from one to the other for almost every story. This decision was made, I think, to appeal to a larger audience. The more representative your newscast, the more people you appeal to, the larger greater your ratings become, which leads to more advertising money coming in.

Something that surprised me, as I wrote the viewing log (above), was the lack of any real crime story. Usually, I’ve found that news programs will start with some reports of fires, gang violence, gun shots, or the like. Tonight, for whatever reason, out of the 30 or so items listed, only 2 could reasonably be argued as being “crime-related,” the two fire reports. Either bad things did not happen today (unlikely), or the program director felt that the other stories had more value than reporting on items that didn’t affect a lot of people. I say this because the majority of the stories seem to affect communities as a whole, like the U. of M. story and the Hecker Automotive story. I think that the news directors wanted to appeal to a larger audience, so they went with these broader stories. Again, this ultimately can bring in more advertising money to the station.

Also, it was interesting to note that the only “live” coverage of anything was the Hecker Automotive piece. It was also the starting story. I think that the producers put this story at the beginning because it was their only live story and the “action,” as it were, can entice viewers to stay tuned. After this lead-in, the stories were progressively less live for the first third of the newscast. It went down to reports that were live at one point, but then edited into a clip, then the anchors reporting on clips, then just the anchors reporting.

Finally, a very obvious appeal to the viewers was all the “teasers” to maintain viewership, right down to the very last story. A statement in Richard Beach’s book, teachingmedialiteracy.com, from a class participant, gives us the reason stations use them: “[R]esearch proves that most people change stations or turn the television off after the first 10 minutes.” I don’t blame the station executives for using them, but I would appreciate it if they used less of them; I’m not one for gimmicks.

Local News Viewing Log

KARE 11 NEWS, 5/17/09, 5:00 P.M.

Introduction: 23 seconds (Anchors read, video montage)- bus fires, Hecker auto. troubles, plane crash all being reported tonight

State/Local News: 4 minutes, 26 seconds (Anchors introduce, reporter live “on location”)- Customers in 15 MN counties complain about dealings with Hecker Automotive Group (trade-ins, license plates, vehicle titles), State Troopers raid 2 of Hecker’s homes, Hecker’s central headquarters, and 2 dealerships

Local News: 53 seconds (Anchors introduce, reporter “on location”, taped before broadcast)- Twin Cities businessman dies at Crystal airport, crashed own plane

State/Local News: 2 minutes, 35 seconds (Anchors introduce, reporter “on location”, taped before broadcast)- U. of M. cutting budgets an additional 4%-6% in response to Pawlenty’s budget cuts, tuition increases, some workers demonstrate

Local News: 1 minute, 47 seconds (Anchors introduce, reporter “on location”, taped before broadcast)- 2 Totino-Grade High School buses burned, suspected arson

National News, 29 seconds (Anchors report, video montage)- Republicans respond to Obama’s health care plan

Teaser: 27 seconds (Anchors read)- “Still to come”: airline loses 2 passengers, Kevin McHale out, weather

Commercial Break: 2 minutes, 16 seconds

National News: 30 seconds (Anchors report, video montage)- MySpace laying off 400 workers

State News: 1 minute, 30 seconds (Anchors introduce, sports dept. head reports, video montage)- Kevin McHale released from Timberwolves, no reasons stated, “More at 6:00”

Station Promo.: 29 seconds (Anchors report, screen shot)- “Hero Central”, food drive this weekend, “Visit KARE11.com for more information”

Teaser: 19 seconds (Anchors read)- “Coming up”: airlines, Minneapolis home sale, weather

Commercial Break: 2 minutes, 45 seconds

National News: 1 minute, 29 seconds (Anchors report, video montage)- Continental Airlines lost 2 girls when traveling, both ended up at wrong airports, eventually got to correct location

Anchors/Meteorologist Chat: 28 seconds- having own families on planes

Weather: 1 minute, 5 seconds (Meteorologist reports)- explains tornado scrawl at bottom of screen, which has been there for entire broadcast

Weather: 59 seconds (Meteorologist reports, graphics)- 24-hour forecast

Weather: 41 seconds (Meteorologist reports, graphics)- Radar/maps

Weather: 1 minute, 33 seconds (Meteorologist reports, graphics)- In-depth and Extended forecasts

Anchors/Meteorologist Chat: 13 seconds- Father’s Day plans

Teaser: 12 seconds (Anchors read)- “Coming up”: Minneapolis home sale

Commercial Break: 2 minutes, 28 seconds

Local News: 49 seconds (Anchors introduce, reporter “on location”, taped before broadcast)- Minneapolis home had estate sale, neighbors complained about it being piecemeal, sale stopped for now

Local News: 11 seconds (Anchor report/addition to previous story)- A parrot that was living in the home is being taken care of

Teaser: 27 seconds (Anchors read)- “Tonight at 10:00”: saving money with coupons, tips from local man

Teaser: 3 seconds (Anchors read)- promotion of final story for the broadcast

Teaser: 12 seconds (National News Promo.)- “Stay for these stories on NBC Nightly News, next…”

Commercial Break: 2 minutes, 10 seconds

International News: 30 seconds (Anchor reports, video montage)- gold beer stein created in Japan, along with other gold items

The Father in the Media Vs. the Father in Theology

The view of fathers today in theology is attempting to change the view the media has recently taken. The churches views are working more towards what was seen in the 1950’s and 1960’s, that fathers are heads of and leaders of the family.

In the November 1999 ELCA Newsletter, Master Builders (available online at www.elca.org), Ken Canfield, president of the National Center for Fathering, and a well-known evangelical speaker, “outlined the 4 ‘I can’s’ of fatherhood: involvement, consistency, awareness and nurture.”

Maria Hussein, in “Fatherhood: A Sacrifice and a Trial” (http://www.geocities.com/mutmainaa5/articles/fatherhood.html), shares the Islamic view of fatherhood. She states that “we have to keep striving to be worthy of our family's trust by keeping our households focused on serving Allah alone.” This comment is based in scripture, when Abraham is asked to sacrifice his son to Allah, and the son went unquestioningly.

The Jewish view of fatherhood is expressed in the book Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions by Yudit Kornberg Greenberg, “The Jewish father must ensure the viability of his child’s future. He is obligated to teach his child the Torah, teach him/her a trade, and even provide his child with swimming lessons.”

These portrayals of fatherhood differ from today’s media versions in that the father is again the head of the family and is very much in charge of his child’s life. This view of fatherhood has been gaining on the mass media’s view since the early years of the new millennium. The message that a father should be in charge of the family, or at least a large part of it, is, I think, more widely accepted now, like it was in the 1950’s. The media, with the continued spread of theology’s view, will need to accept it or be viewed as outdated and loose credibility.

The "Father" in the Media

I will be looking at the “father” media type for this assignment. I would like to credit Rick Filipkowski in our class for giving me the idea, based on my commercial selection for the commercial analysis assignment of earlier this week. I will be attempting to work through this type chronologically, as the media’s view of it has changed throughout the decades.

In the television series of the 1950’s and 1960’s, such as Leave It to Beaver, Father Knows Best, The Dick Van Dyke Show, I Love Lucy, and others, the father was in charge of going to work to support the family, and that was pretty much it. He would also discipline the children with “a talk,” or help his wife through this crisis or that, and these situations were the basic plot of the episode. In short, the father was the ultimate “head of the household” in television’s earlier years.

Films also ascribed to this view of the father. In the short film, A Date With Your Family (Simmel, 1950), which was shown in schools to educate children on proper behavior, “Dad” is treated like a god when he comes home from work. All others in the house wait for him to start eating, and “Mother” should have dinner waiting for him on the table after a “long day at the office.” Thank you, Mystery Science Theater 3000, for giving me this example!

The values that were the basis of these assumptions of the father figure were that a male needed to be in charge of the family because the children were too young and the wife too concerned with the children and keeping house. He was the only one who could keep a level head in times of turmoil and lead the house. These values came, in part, from the American government. After WWII much of the American citizenry viewed their government the same way. The federal government would take care of the country just as you, in turn, would take care of your family. The government would provide for you, guide you, and protect you.

This view of the father figure continued partially into the 1970’s, with shows like The Brady Bunch. Mike Brady was still in charge of financial matters and had “chats” with his many children (and step-children). A change here was the view of the father-figure as being more approachable, more like a friend than the authority of the house.

However, this decade also brought shows like All in the Family. Archie Bunker was still the authority figure in his own mind, but the viewers could plainly see that he was just as fallible as anyone else. This was a great shift in the media’s image of the father. “Dad” was no longer solely correct because he was dad; he could be just as wrong as anybody else. His authority was questioned more starting in this decade, and this questioning continues to be acceptable today.

In these decades the value assumptions were questioned and, ultimately, were changed. Father, it turns out, doesn’t “always know best.” In fact, he is sometimes very ignorant of the issues concerning the nation, or he simply is frightened of them. The valuation now was in questioning dad/authority. The media, with its coverage of the Vietnam War in the later part of the 1960’s and continuing into the 1970’s, allowed viewers to see what was actually happening overseas (see the Museum of Broadcast Communications website). After viewing some tough images, people questioned their government’s actions, and thus also were able to question the father figures that were being portrayed in the media.

In the 1980’s and 1990’s, and through today, the father type, as portrayed in the media, has taken itself even beyond Archie Bunker in terms of being a non-authority. Homer Simpson in The Simpsons and Peter Griffin in Family Guy are perfect examples of the modern image of fathers. They are not authorities on anything, not respected by their children, and often are guided by their wives rather than being the leaders of their household.

Films, too, portrayed the father figure this way. Adam Sandler in Big Daddy and Steve Martin in Father of the Bride both were arguably ineffective as the father figure. Yes, they ended up fine in the end, but you certainly wouldn’t have seen a dad in films of the 1950’s acting like they did. The value assumptions today are that dad, while certainly flawed and often incapable, will help out as best he can. He is still a leader in the house, but not the kind of leader that he was in the 1950’s.

What will fathers look like in the coming years? I think that you will see a return to a smarter, more authoritative father as some of us are looking for a more authoritative government (and those that aren’t looking for it seem to be getting it anyway).

Analysis of a Commercial

I will be using a classic 1980’s PSA (public service announcement) for this assignment. It can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-Elr5K2Vuo. It is from 1987 and has a father confronting his son about drug use.

Shot 1:
Description- A teenage boy is in his bedroom, listening to the stereo with headphones on and air-drumming. We can hear the music.
Techniques- fade in, establishing shot, long shot
Meaning- fading in allows the viewer to know the commercial has started, establishing shot shows that the kids is listening to music too loudly and is unaware of his surroundings, long shot shows typical messy bedroom

Shot 2:
Description- Dad walks into room, holding box, looks down at Son
Techniques- medium shot, low-angle shot
Meaning- medium shot allows a closer look at Dad’s face, low-angle shows authority of father from viewer’s/son’s perspective

Shot 3:
Description- Dad turns down stereo
Techniques- cut to stereo, close up of hand and stereo
Meaning- allows viewer to know that dad wants to speak to Son, and that Dad has the power in the situation

Shot 4:
Description- Dad shows box to Son, son takes off headphones and looks up at Dad in a concerned manner. Dad asks Son if the stuff in the box is his (the son’s). Viewer sees that the box holds marijuana. Son starts to squirm on bed and jumps back towards camera.
Techniques- high-angle shot from son’s point of view (p.o.v.)
Meaning- Dad has authority to question Son

Shot 5:
Description- Dad says his wife found the drugs in the son’s closet
Techniques- high-angle shot from son’s p.o.v.
Meaning- Same as Shot 4

Shot 6:
Description- Son begins to make an excuse about one of his friends placing it there
Techniques- high angle shot from Son’s p.o.v.
Meaning- Same as Shot 4

Shot 7:
Description- Dad interrupts Son’s excuse
Techniques- low-angle shot
Meaning- shows Dad’s anger by him interrupting his son, low-angle shot shows authority from Dad’s p.o.v.

Shot 8:
Description- Son says, “Look, Dad, it’s not mine.” Dad asks, “Where did you get it?” Camera is on box and Son
Techniques- medium shot, voice off-screen
Meaning- having the mid-shot with the son and the box allows the viewer to see the son flinching from the box of drugs, while having the dad question off-screen further emphasizes his concern with this issue

Shot 9:
Description- Son continues to protest, won’t look at Dad, shot shows both Dad and Son with box in-between. Dad asks Son who taught him how to do “this stuff.”
Technique- long shot
Meaning- Allows viewer to see discomfort of Son, as well as Dad’s anger

Shot 10:
Description- Son responds to Dad’s question by saying, “You, alright!”
Technique- close-up of Son
Meaning- Having a close-up of the Son shows the viewer that he is embarrassed before he answers because he is facing away from the camera, then turns to look at the camera (and up at his dad) in order to answer.

Shot 11:
Description- Dad looks shocked
Technique- close-up of Dad, no sound
Meaning- Going to a close-up of the dad’s face allows the viewer to see his shame, and having no sound at that particular moment emphasizes it.

Shot 12:
Description- Son, still looking up at Dad, finishes exclamation, “I learned it by watching you.”
Technique- close-up of Son
Meaning- Same as Shot 10

Shot 13:
Description- Another shot of Dad looking shocked, Narrator says, “Parents who use drugs have children who use drugs” as the PSA fades out. The words “Partnership for a Drug-Free America” fades in at the bottom of the screen.
Technique- close-up of Dad, voice-over, fade out, fade in.
Meaning- Again, close-up of Dad shows shock of Dad. Having the Narrator (voiced in an old-man voice) gives the statement over the Dad’s face and the fade-out gives a feeling of severity and gravity to the message and the situation. The fade-out allows the viewer to know that the PSA is done. The words fading in at the bottom of the screen allow the viewer to see who sponsored/created the PSA.

Teaching Film Techniques in the Classroom

There are a few ways I would like to teach film/editing techniques in my classroom in the future. One way would be to have the students read a Shakespearean play and then watch a film version of it, and perhaps a stage version if the timing is right. After reading the play and discussing what the class thought of the stage directions, line delivery, and so on, we would then watch the film version and compare what we thought to how that particular director envisioned it. It would be optimal if I could get a copy of the particular play on DVD with a director’s commentary track. The class would then know for sure why the director made the choices he or she did. If we would also be able to watch a live stage production and do a “chat” with the cast and crew after that would be excellent. By doing this activity students will have a chance to see how director’s interpretations can influence the mood and feel of a play.

Another way I would like to teach these concepts is to have students create their own Reading Rainbow-type programs. Reading Rainbow was a literacy program on PBS in the 1980’s and early 1990’s. LeVar Burton hosted, and each episode featured a children’s book that some famous person read to the audience. Then there was a ten-minute “extra” feature that related to the story; for a book about farming they might tour a farm. For the last two minutes the program had real kids recommending books to other kids. I might need to find a copy to show today’s classes; they might not be familiar with the program. I would have small groups of students each choose a children’s book to read. They would then create a program through which they could present their book to the class. The groups could do this in any way they want: live-action, animation, a mix of the two, whatever. This will give them first-hand experience with the terminology of film production. It will also allow them to act as hosts, directors, producers, animators, and whatever else they would decide to do for their presentation. I could even have the students bring their projects to the elementary schools to do a presentation.

Yet another way to teach this topic would be to have students act as film critics, something every teenager enjoys doing anyway. They would each need to watch a film of their choice and critique it using the terminology that they learned from the unit. They can create a review of the movie for a newspaper. Aspects of the critique should include: lighting, music, dialogue, scene composition and flow, and how easily relatable the storyline is.

Finally, students could create their own programs/commercials for a school news show. They would be in charge of the entire production, including story choice, editorial pieces, production, and anchoring. I would act more as facilitator for this project instead of instructor. This would definitely be an end-of-unit activity, as it would be totally run by students.

Analysis of a Film Scene

I will be using scene 29 from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Jackson, 2002) for this assignment. In this scene, Gollum, a computer-generated character obsessed with a ring, experiences a great internal conflict.

It may be necessary, for those who are unfamiliar with the story, to describe Gollum for a moment. Gollum is a character who could easily be argued as having multiple-personality disorder. His two “sides” are Gollum and Smeagol. Gollum, the dominant personality, is willing to do whatever is necessary to regain possession of the ring around which the film is based. He will lie, cheat, steal, and kill to get it back. Smeagol is the submissive personality. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone and is looked upon as weak by Gollum.

The scene starts with a medium-shot of the other two characters in the scene, the hobbits Frodo and Sam, sleeping. This is also the establishing shot of the scene. They are on the border of Mordor, a dark and forbidding country. The mood and setting is established by using low-key lighting and a blue lens, which creates the feel of night and gloom. The lighting stays the same throughout the scene.

The music also helps to relate the scene to the setting. It is sorrowful and a bit creepy. Mordor is a land in Middle Earth that has been tainted by evil; it is basically part volcanic wasteland and part swamp. Very few creatures live there, and the ones that do aren’t very nice. The music influences the audience in this scene to feel some of the despair that our characters are feeling at this point in the film series.

The camera then uses a zoom lens to get a close-up shot of Frodo holding a chain, which holds “the ring,” a fact established in the previous film of the series. We then hear Gollum’s voice off-screen. By having the lines of dialogue come from off-screen, and while the other two characters are sleeping, the fact is established that Gollum is doing or planning something that perhaps he shouldn’t.

The camera then zooms back out of the close-up of the chain and we see Gollum for the first time. Gollum finishes his first line looking away from the camera at the two sleeping hobbits and then looks into the camera with a look of contempt on his face. By having Gollum look directly into the camera, the audience can get a sense of his mood and deep desire for the ring by his facial expressions. The camera stays in mid-shot range during Gollum’s first few lines.

Next, a cut is made to a medium close-up of Gollum. It is here that the audience will now see this character’s personalities play out. The camera pans from left to right and, at the end of the pan, we get to hear from Smeagol, the submissive personality. Smeagol delivers a few lines and the camera pans back right. At the end of this pan we hear again from Gollum, the dominant personality. Most of the remainder of the scene is a series of short cuts between each of the personalities and the voicing of their sides of the main argument. Doing the shot this way really brings out the internal struggle that this character is facing.

As the argument ensues, the camera zooms in to a more close-up shot of Gollum each time he speaks. His final accusation in the argument is that Smeagol is a murder. By having the camera get closer to Gollum during his arguments, and being in close-up range for his final point, emphasizes for the audience the severity of the accusation.

The camera then cuts back to a mid-shot of Smeagol and we see the reaction that this accusation has brought about. Smeagol is downcast, almost crying. The camera then cuts back to Gollum and zooms back out to a mid-shot. The discussion continues, and eventually the camera zooms back in on Gollum stating that he is the reason this character has survived so long. By zooming back in, the audience can see the intensity of the emotions in Gollum.

The camera again cuts to Smeagol, who has a realization that he doesn’t need Gollum’s influence anymore. It then cuts back to Gollum’s close-up, which shows the absolute puzzlement of this aspect of the character. This happens for a few more cuts as Smeagol asserts his personality for the first time in many years (at least 50 if you following the chronology of The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings). Each shot of Smeagol shows his increasing joy as he tries to banish Gollum, and eventually succeeds. The scene does one last cut to where the audience has established Gollum’s point of view to be, only to discover that it is Smeagol still! By doing this, the audience realizes that Gollum is, in fact, gone, and only Smeagol remains on both sides of the argument. Smeagol then does a celebratory caper as he (and the camera) move towards the two sleeping Hobbits once more. Good has triumphed, but for how long?

Media Literacy Rationale

The Burnsville district’s current curriculum for media literacy is the Minnesota state standards. Over this summer, curriculum scope and sequence work is being done to match what the district is doing to the standards to see if we are meeting them and, if we are not, how we can go about changing. I have a copy of the K-12 English/Language Arts standards at home. The media literacy sub-strand for Grades 9-12 states that, “the student will critically analyze information found in electronic and print media, and will use a variety of these sources to learn about a topic and represent ideas.” There are ten benchmarks within this standard. My district currently has an advertising unit in 9th Grade, and a Media Literacy course requirement at the high school level. We also have a research unit in 8th Grade where we discuss reliability of websites, plagiarism, and finding various sources of information.

The local community’s attitude towards the value of media studies, in my belief, is split between thinking that it is necessary and thinking it is an “extra”. Burnsville is a suburb with an aging population, a conservative base, but also with many new immigrant families. Voter-approved levies have barely passed (within 100 votes) in the last two elections. I can see some parts of the community not readily agreeing to the idea of media literacy being important. However, I can also see younger segments of the population understanding that it is necessary for students to know how to navigate the vast amount of information that is available.

Media literacy is a crucial aspect of the language arts curriculum, as well as other areas of learning. As stated in the Kaiser video, Key Findings on Kids and Media, children today spend, on average, 6.5 hours a day, seven days a week, working with various forms of media, often using more than one form at a time. This is more time than students spend in class at school! Our students are subjected to thousands of messages a day, sometimes by choice, often not. With the sheer number of hours spent with media, and the vast amount of often conflicting messages our students are getting, it is ridiculous to not teach them how to view media effectively. I want my students to know how to sort valid information from whatever media they’re using, and how to avoid invalid messages. I want them to understand how the media shapes their lives in terms of attitudes, beliefs, purchases, and their community.

A comprehensive media literacy curriculum, starting in early elementary school, can help students do all of these things. It can create students who don’t simply view a YouTube rant; they view and analyze its message, source, and audience. It can create students who use the various sources of media for their own ideas, using web design, film, and video techniques to spread their own messages. It can also create adults who will join tomorrow’s workforce ready to work with the new technologies that are going to be a part of their jobs.

I would like this course to show me how to use the current online media outlets (wikis, podcasts, blogs) because I haven’t had much experience with them. I can then use my new skills next year to show my students how to use them and begin the process of creating the vision stated earlier.

Response to Intro. and Ch. 1, Part 2

After my group’s first chat, I wanted to add something more to my previous post. We were chatting about ways that students transfer from “traditional” to “new” media, and what those terms meant. I think that “traditional” media means, basically, print media (newspapers, magazines, books), and “new” media means non-print (web, television, etc.).

I’m 29, and I learned mostly through traditional media in school. We had computers and computer classes, but they seemed more additional things in elementary and junior high school than anything else. Not until high school and college did we actually have classes on how to effectively use the web for research.

I think that this causes a big disconnect with today’s students when we become teachers. Teachers have a tendency to teach how they were taught because it worked for them. That doesn’t necessarily mean, though, that it will work for our students. This is a tough lesson for us to learn. Today’s students are more apt to go right to Google to do research instead of to the traditional non-fiction section of the library. If we can think of ways to show students that both methods are valid and can give you a much broader range of information, we are doing them a much larger service.

Response to Intro. and Ch. 1

I will be responding to the Introduction and first chapter of Richard Beach’s textbook, teachingmedialiteracy.com. There was one area specifically that I connected with during my reading, the “Advantages of Using the Web” section of the Introduction.

In the “Advantages…” section, Mr. Beach stated that his students “can readily access visual images, video clips, magazines, and newspapers on the web anytime and anywhere.” While I do not disagree with this out of hand, I do think that there are limitations that he does not address.
The first is that of socio-economic status. A percentage of students at my school do not have access to a home computer because their family is a new immigrant family. They are working to attain funds to support the basic necessities of food, shelter, and clothing; they often cannot even afford medical insurance, let alone a computer. This problem is further exacerbated by the current economy. Yes, families can go to the local public library and sign up for computer time, but that does not help those who have few if any transportation options, like a high school freshman who’s parents work nights with only one vehicle.

Another related issue, at least at my school, is that of limited in-school computer facilities. My school has three computer labs; two have thirty computers, one has seven. None of the labs is large enough for all students to have their own computer. Often a class cannot get into a lab because they are full months in advance.

My district has a “big brother” Internet policy. Many websites are blocked; even the Lego website, which I would’ve used for my Lego/Computer Club. A teacher needs to fill out a request form, submit it to his or her building principal, the principal then sends it to the district office and, after review, the site can be unblocked. The process takes, at minimum, three days. By that time the website the teacher wished to use could have changed or been deleted. Also, the process can work in reverse; a teacher can request that a particular site be blocked just as easily.

Finally, there is a person at the district office whose sole job is to monitor computer usage at all schools. I had my students in the lab a few years ago; they were typing research papers. When the students were done I allowed them to go to an educational website and play. As any good educator would, I walked around and monitored. No student was on what I would’ve considered a questionable website. The phone in the lab rang; I answered it. It was the district computer person asking me who was on computers 13 and 21 and what they were doing. I told the district monitor that they were playing an educational game. He told me that I needed to have them get off the computers because they were playing streaming games, which apparently wasn’t allowed. When I looked in our staff handbook I saw nothing about online streaming anything. I am amazed that a district can afford to pay an administrative position to sit and watch computer usage, but can not or will not purchase enough computers or bandwidth!

I would love to have my students have as much access to computer media as Mr. Beach’s students do. Until such a time as the economy improves and more students have home access, or the district gets serious about upgrading their technology and changing their archaic policies I will need to make do with what little I’m provided.