Class 16 - Academic Research Topic Reviews

INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS: We discussed topics and articles students had found for the Academic Research project. Scroll to the bottom of this blog to see the assignment.

NEW BLOG ASSIGNMENT: I am replacing the original blog topic (Electronic News) with the following, due Sunday 2/28 at midnight:

 

Write 2-3 sentences about your Academic Research project and post a related media clip or image that you might want to use in your PowerPoint presentation. You don't have to commit now to using the clip. If you find your clip on YouTube or another site that includes an embedding code, you should embed it so that viewers do not have to go to another Website to view it. If you use an image, post it in the blog rather than using a link. If you are having trouble embedding or posting an image, click "help" in blogger or ask a classmate for help.

 

COMMENTS:  Please comment on classmates' blogs, and check their comments on your blog. When you comment, save the URL (Web address) of the blog post. At the end of the quarter, you will e-mail me the URLs of your comments. You can comment on any week's blog posts, not only the ones I suggested.

 

QUIZ REMINDER: The quiz or essay question from today is due Tuesday 3/2. For the essay question, the length is 1-2 handwritten, double spaced pages. Typing is not required.

 

HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 12 - Public Relations - and complete the workbook page.

 

 

Class 15 - Bowling for Columbine

DVD: We viewed the second half of Bowling for Columbine which examines gun violence in the U.S. and possible media links.

Class 14 - Electronic News

ASSIGNMENT: We discussed the "Academic Research/Annotated Bibliography" assignment. Topics and two printed articles are due in class for review on Thursday, Feb. 25.  You can view the assignment and all deadlines at the bottom of this page (scroll down).

DVD: We viewed the first half of Bowling for Columbine which examines gun violence in the U.S. and possible media links.

HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 12 "Public Relations" and complete workbook assignments.

BLOG 7 - INTERNET (due Sunday 2/21 at midnight): On Wikipedia.org, look up “social networking websites.” How many sites are listed? Which sites have you heard of? Do you know of any that aren't listed? Research and describe a site you’ve never heard of. How do you use social networking? Which sites do you use? Describe in 2-3 sentences one incident in which social networking got you in trouble or really helped you out. (If you have never used a social networking site, then interview someone who has.) Comment on one or two classmates' posts. 


NOTE: Blog 8 (Electronic News) will be replaced by a different blog assignment next week.

Class 13 - Internet

DISCUSSION - We discussed the pros and cons of online classes, Internet addiction and how students view professors "friending" them on FaceBook.

YOUTUBE: Several students showed their YouTube blog entries.

JEOPARDY: We played Internet Jeopardy. Group 3 won. They have not yet collected their chocolate prizes.

HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 11 - Electronic News. Complete workbook for Ch. 11.

Class 12 - TV

DISCUSSION: We discussed viewing habits and  favorite shows. We talked about characters who reinforces stereotypes and those who defy them.

HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 10, complete workbook.

DUE TUESDAY: Quiz make-ups.

BLOG Week 6: Television

Find and describe an online video (from YouTube or another video site) that explains or explores topics that are mentioned in the textbook. Videos should be under 10 minutes in length and should not be one that a classmate has already posted. For each video, give a link to the video and include:

· The length of the video
· A description of the video in your own words
· The name of the corresponding chapter in our textbook
· A course related quiz question to go along with the video
· An answer to the quiz question

An example: Social Media Revolution



Length: 4:22

Description: Stats and facts concerning Social Media's accelerated assimilation into mainstream culture.
Chapter 2: Media Impact, Chapter 10: Internet, other chapters.
Quiz Question: In comparison to Facebook, which reached 100 Million users in a matter of months, how many years did it take for Radio to reach 50 million users?
Answer: 38 years.

Class 11 - Radio

DISCUSSION: Students wrote on the board the radio stations they listen to, including satellite and Internet radio. We discussed the formats, including rap, hip-hop, rap, public and campus stations and latin. No one seemed to listen to country, the most popular format in the U.S.

SHOW & TELL: We looked at a telegraph and Morse Code. I forgot to show the other stuff -- radio scripts, old radios, and a transistor radio (see picture)  like the one I listened to as a youth. These were approx. 3x5 inches and ran on a 9-volt battery. They were kind of like the iPods of the day, but the only content was AM radio.

HISTORY: We listened to a brief clip from "War of the Worlds" and watched a clip about CKLW , a 1960s-1970s AM station in the Detroit area.

VIDEO: We watched a video about racial stereotypes in the media. On Thursday, we will discuss current examples of shows, movies, ads etc. that break away from old stereotypes, and those that perpetuate them.

QUIZ: Due to mechanical failure, we didn't have a quiz today. Instead, students will complete the Chapter 8 page in the workbook, and hand that in Thursday.

HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 9 - Television, complete workbook page. We will have a Ch. 9 quiz on Thursday.

Class 10 - Recordings

DISCUSSION: Students wrote as many music genres as they could think of, and we discussed which genres developed from sources that the musicians could have heard only through recordings (most of them). We discussed the wide influence of African roots on many American styles of music, including rock'n'roll. We looked at Wikipedia's list of music styles.

POWERPOINT: The history of formats, the growth of the recorded music industry. We watched the trailer for "Recording: The History of Recorded Music", Internet music collaborations, Elvis Presley's "outrageously sexual" performance of "Hound Dog" on the Milton Berle Show, backmasking of Beatles songs and Internet music collaborations.

SHOW AND TELL: Edison's cylinder, shellack records, vinyl 45s and LPs, 8-track tape, and album of recordings of "Louis Louis" and a page from a book about the song and the FBI's investigation into its lyrics.

HOMEWORK:  Read Chapter 8 - Radio and complete the workbook assignments.

BLOG FOR Week 5: Movies or Recordings - comment on two fellow students' blogs

Write 1-2 sentences about your favorite movie of 2009 and why you liked it. Write 1-2 more sentences about your all-time favorite movie and why you like it. In which format(s) did you first see these movies? Add links to both in rottentomatoes.com or IMDB.com, or the movie's Website. Bonus: find and embed a trailer for one or both of the movies.
OR
Write 1-2 sentences about your favorite sound recording of 2009 and why you liked it. Write 1-2 more sentences about your favorite oldie and why you like it. In which format(s) did you first hear these recordings? Add links to Amazon, YouTube or other sites where others can listen to your recordings (or samples). Bonus: find and embed a performance of one of your recordings.
ANOTHER BONUS:
If you have been involved in creating music by collaborating with others over the Internet, post a link (or embed) to your collaboration. Write 1-2 sentences about what was involved.

NOTE: If you have questions about how to add user-friendly links, how to embed, or how to make your blog more beautiful, watch this 15-minute video, or click on the Web address below to find it broken up into 2-3 minute segments.

A Beginner's Guide to Blogging with Blogger

Class 9 - Movies

DISCUSSION: Students indicated which Oscar-nominated movies they had seen and voted on the most likely to win Best Picture:  Avatar.  We discussed the Top 5 movies of the past weekend and which we had seen. Most people had seen Avatar.

SHOW AND TELL: We discussed the concept of "persistence of vision" by passing around a deck of cards and viewing Eadweard Muybridge's horse photos. We also looked at 8mm and 16mm film.

POWER POINT: We looked at clips from silent movies, the Jazz Singer, the "pre-Code" movies that showed liberated women, the three movies worst ever made (from the DVD 50 Worst Movies ever made), movie cliches and product placement.

JEOPARDY: Group 4 won.

HOMEWORK: Read Chapter 7 (Recordings), complete workbook Chapter 7. List all of the musical genres you can think of.

INTERNET SEARCH PROJECT: It's late, but I will still accept it!