Game Review Article; Ready Player One

 Please write a review of the Atari 2600, NES or Sega game you played. Your article should include the following:

1. A researched historical background. Include information (usually in your introduction) about who wrote or designed the game, who produced/published the game, when it was made/published, or other details about the makers of the game...you might also include information about how popular the game was (if it was), and its impact on the game industry. Remember to attribute your sources when including this information! 2. Write about what the game is...what's the story or the objective for the player? How do you score points or win? Who are the characters? What's the setting? How many "levels" does the game include (or how long might this game take to play?) 3. Your experience playing the game. Describe the play experience. Did you enjoy the game (why or why not?), do the graphics and/or the sound contribute to the overall effect of the game? Is the game too easy, too hard, or just right? What makes the game "fun" (or not)? 4. Consider what might improve the game. Compare the game to others like it. This is also a good place to talk about the history or impact of the game. 5. Then leave your final "grade" or state your opinion of the game. Should we buy or play it? Why or why not? Give the game your "final score." Your game review article should be between 300-500 words in length and include an appropriate title to draw the attention of the reader. Please format your article in 2 columns! Additionally, please begin reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Aim to complete LEVEL ONE (pages 10-166) by Dec. 3.

how to write great video game reviews

YouTube video   ‪5 minutes‬

How to Write a Video Game Review: 10 Steps (with Pictures)

https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Video-Game-Review

Ready Player One ( PDFDrive.com )

Introduction to Video Games

Our next unit will cover video games. Play some video games to introduce you to our next unit: Digital Gaming and the Media Playground. (Please use headphones when playing any game--you will need, for the most part, to allow Flash)

• Online games
• More online games
• Even more online games

ON YOUR BLOG: (15 minutes) Write about your own experience playing video games (not just these...any video games you've played). Do you have strong early memories of playing video games? If so, what were they? [You might focus on one or two--or start a series of blog entries featuring a different game memory/experience per week!] What impact did they have on you? To what extent did these games define (or are still defining) your childhood? Make sure you include photos or videos or hyperlinks in your blog post for full credit!

Blog Post: Popular Social Media Networking Sites of 2020

Take a look at the attached article: The Most Popular Social Media Networking Sites of 2020. Read the article. Notice the graphs. Think.

Then: On YOUR blog, post a reaction to the social media programs you use or have used in the past. Comment on the following, using the article to support your claims: 1. Which sites are most popular that you use? Why are they popular in your opinion? 2. Are these sites popular only in America or also abroad (throughout the World)? What might be significant about this fact? 3. Are the sites listed ones you use (or want to use)? Are they accepted and used by your peers? Why or why not use them? What do the sites you use for social media do for you personally? 4. Looking at the graphic charts, what information or details seem to be important? Why might this information be important to a typical user or consumer? 5. What do you predict is the future of the social media that you consume or use? [Will this site continue to be used and gain popularity, or is this just "popular culture" and will fade away in a year or two...?] 6. What other details do you want your blog readers to know about these social media trends? When you have COMPLETED your blog post, please send me a comment stating that you have done so and the date you completed the post assignment.

The Most Popular Social Networking Sites In 2020 - BroadbandSearch

https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/

Media Technology Slideshow Presentations & Chapter 1: Part 2

Blog Activity: Please post a personal and/or full response to one of our discussion questions on YOUR blog. Remember that you will want to send me your blog URL and update it. You may also include any of these questions to answer in a blog post on YOUR blog: A. Drawing on your experience, list the kinds of media stories you like and dislike. You might think mostly of movies and TV shows, but remember that news, sports, political ads, and product ads or commercials are also usually structured as stories. Conversations on Facebook or Twitter can also be considered narratives. What kinds of stories do you like and dislike on Facebook or another Social Media platform, and why? B. Cite some examples in which the media have been accused of unfairness. For example, in the reporting of the BLM movement, the Me Too movement, or election coverage... Draw on comments youve heard from parents, teachers, religious leaders, friends, news media, and so on. Discuss whether these criticisms have been or are justified. C. Pick an example of a popular media product (books, films, tv shows, radio, music, video games, news coverage, newspapers, social media, internet sites, etc.) that you think is harmful to children. How would you make your concerns known to the masses? Should the product be removed from circulation or banned? Why or why not? If you think the product should be banned, how would you go about it (protests, demonstrations, writing letters, calling your senator, waving a flag, writing an editorial, tweeting, etc.)? D. Make a critical case either defending or condemning the way Media represents Comedy Central’s South Park (or another satirical tv show), a live TV or radio talk show that has a particular poltical bias, a hip-hop or other musical group, or TV news coverage of the ongoing wars in the Middle East or another political issue. Develop and explain your position in your post. E. Although in some ways postmodern forms of communication, such as e-mail, Tik-Tok, Snapchat, smartphones, Facebook, and Twitter, have helped citizens participate in global life, in what ways might these forms harm more traditional world or native cultures? Make sure you turned in your homework ?'s for chapter 1, part 1! Also, just a note to remind you to keep your homework in a safe place. The questions you answer will likely appear on assessments throughout the course. WRITE YOUR POST ON YOUR BLOG...there is nothing to submit here for that activity! However, today we will get started on our Mass Media Slide Presentation Topic. Choose and sign up for one of the following slideshow presentation topics in the attached google doc below. Use your time in the lab to begin researching the inventor & invention that helped develop mass media. Take notes on your topic for your presentation and slides. You will be asked to share your research with the class in an oral presentation. This project is NOT due yet. We will continue working on it next week. Make sure you have signed up for your topic in the shared google doc below!

Rubrics & expectations for your project:

Use Google slides (with or without Pear Deck or other add-ons) or Prezi to incorporate your answer (remember to make your presentation PUBLIC so anyone can access and see your work!): What should you know about your topic? 1. Find out (and be able to explain) what your topic is. 2. Research specific interesting details (not all details!) about your subject. 3. Research how your subject influenced or impacted technology that came after it (convergence). 4. Note if your technology is still being used today (or how has it changed?) YOUR SLIDES: should include: A. A title page with your name on it and the name of your subject/invention/topic. B. 1-3 slides about your subject (introduction of the person or culture that created the invention); if your topic includes more than one person or object, you should prepare 1 slide per object/subject/person, etc. C. 1-3 slides about the invention (What is it? How does it work? What did it do/what does it do? 1 slide describing what effect or impact the invention has had on other inventions or ideas (mass media) that came after it. If you have more than one invention to cover, please include a separate slide for each invention! D. A works cited page in MLA format. See MLA format for help. (You may use a citation machine to help you--see attached resources below...!) E. You may include a short video in your presentation if you need to. Videos should not be more than 1-2 minutes in length. F. Your slides should be designed to appeal to a viewer/peer student. Use pictures! They are worth a thousand words! NOTE: You may only have 15 words on a slide! (Your overall project grade will be affected if you have more than 15...!) G. Use note cards for your presentation details about your subject matter. You may use as many note cards or your notes as you need to explain your subject and invention to your audience (us).

Please submit your slideshow projects in Google Classroom for your presentation. IMPORTANT: Before submitting, please make sure you make your presentation PUBLIC so we can see your work!

We will be using Culture & the Media as our textbook. Please read pages: 58-77* (this is the page # of the digital copy you should download. The physical page #'s you should read are between 16-35.) [Please download a copy of this textbook and save it to your computer. To save the file, open the text from the attached PDF copy below. In the top right-hand corner, click on the 3 dots ... This will open an options window where you can "OPEN A COPY" of the text. Once you have a copy open, you can download the PDF to your computer. We will be using this book throughout this course this year.] HOMEWORK: After reading complete the following questions that correspond to the chapter: Surveying the Cultural Landscape 6. Describe the skyscraper model of culture. What are its strengths and limitations? 7. Describe the map model of culture. What are its strengths and limitations? 8. What are the chief differences between modern and postmodern values? Critiquing Media and Culture 9. What are the five steps in the critical process? Which of these is the most difficult, and why? 10. What is the difference between cynicism and criticism? 11. Why is the critical process important?

Mass Media Technology Slideshow Project

Mass Media Slide Presentation Topic. Choose and sign up for one of the following slideshow presentation topics. Begin researching the inventor & invention that helped develop mass media. Take notes on your topic. Design your presentation using Google Slides. You will be asked to share your research with the class in an oral presentation.

• Oral/Written Era: technology mostly delivered through oral/early written traditions (circa 1,000 BCE to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
• Egyptian hieroglyphs
• Mesopotamian cuneiform 
• Ancient Greek theater & the invention of theater
• Print Revolution: 100CE (China) to about 1045. Development of movable type (printing press)
• Cai Lun & The invention of paper in China
• Rome & the invention of the codex or bound book
• Gutenberg & the printing press (movable type)
• The Electronic Era: the rise of the Industrial Age (1800's) until about 1930's.
• Benjamin Franklin & the Saturday Evening Post (early newspapers)
• Samuel Morse & the telegraph
• Nikola Tesla & The Tesla Coil & the wireless
• Guglielmo Marconi & the long-distance radio 
• Charles Babbage & the "difference engine" (early computer)
• Alexander Graham Bell & the telephone
• Thomas Edison & the phonograph
• WKL Dickson & the Kinetoscope/Kinetograph
• William Friese-Greene & movie cameras & early color film
• George Eastman & film
• The Digital Era: 1930's through 1990's (the rise of computers/internet, etc.)
• John Logie Baird (the mechanical television) & Philo Farnsworth (the electric television)
• Tim Berners-Lee & the World Wide Web
• Martin Cooper & the cell phone
• Vic Hayes & Wi-Fi 

Rubrics & expectations for your project:

Use Google slides or Prezi to incorporate your answer (remember to make your presentation PUBLIC so anyone can access and see your work!):

What should you know about your topic?

1. Find out (and be able to explain) what your topic is.
2. Research specific interesting details (not all details!) about your subject.
3. Research how your subject influenced or impacted technology that came after it (convergence).
4. Note if your technology is still being used today (or how has it changed?)

YOUR SLIDES: should include:

• A title page with your name on it and the name of your subject/invention/topic.
• 1-3 slides about your subject (introduction of the person or culture that created the invention); if your topic includes more than one person or object, you should prepare 1 slide per object/subject/person, etc.
• 1-3 slides about the invention (What is it? How does it work? What did it do/what does it do?
• 1 slide describing what effect or impact the invention has had on other inventions or ideas (mass media) that came after it. If you have more than one invention to cover, please include a separate slide for each invention!
• A works cited page in MLA format. See MLA format for help. (You may use a citation machine to help you.)
• You may include a short video in your presentation if you need to. Videos should not be more than 1-2 minutes in length.
• Your slides should be designed to appeal to a viewer/peer student. Use pictures! They are worth a thousand words!
• You may only have 15 words on a slide! (Your overall project grade will be affected if you have more than 15...!)
• Use note cards for your presentation details about your subject matter. You may use as many note cards or your notes as you need to explain your subject and invention to your audience (us).
• You will prepare and present your "presentation" in class next week.

HOMEWORK: None. Continue to create your slideshow. Prepare your notes for a presentation next class.

Mass Media, Chapter 1 Discussion; New Vocab; Blog Post Reactions; & the Introduction to Your Technology Research Presentation

Chapter 1: Mass Media, Part 1: 

Let's begin class today with a discussion:

• Which form of mass media is most popular with your generation in your opinion? [books, newspapers, magazines, phones, radio, tv, movies, computers, internet, cellphones, etc.] Is this the same form of mass media that your parents (or grandparents) favor? What might account for the change in preference?
• The chapter talks about the cultural context in which the media operates. How have media representation/media narratives impacted our reception of them?
• Do you believe that mass media actually "circulates the culture" of an individual? Can you cite an example that supports your belief?
• Greek philosophers argued between the value of oral vs. written communication (philosophers believing that written communication threatened public debate). With the working class, at the time, being generally illiterate and economic and education gaps so vast, do we see any similar arguments between then and now? Which form of communication is better in your opinion: oral or written expression/debate? 
• The printing press “fostered the modern idea of individuality”, however, it also fostered the rise of capitalism. Does modern print (magazines, newspapers, etc.) promote individuality or commercial conformity? Which is better for our society? Which is better for you personally?
• Do you see any issues in media convergence or cross-platform? Should major corporations (Amazon or Apple or Microsoft or Google or Facebook, for example) have holdings in information broadcasting? What negative factors could arise? What about the positive?
• The chapter mentions media-multitasking and our ability to access multiple different platforms of media and information while simultaneously being able to talk or discuss with others about it. How do you think this plays a role in “cancel culture?”

After our discussion, please post a more personal and full response to one of these questions on YOUR blog. Remember that you will want to send me your blog URL and update it. You may also include any of these questions to answer in a blog post on YOUR blog:

A. Drawing on your experience, list the kinds of media stories you like and dislike. You might think mostly of movies and TV shows, but remember that news, sports, political ads, and product ads or commercials are also usually structured as stories. Conversations on Facebook or Twitter can also be considered narratives. What kinds of stories do you like and dislike on Facebook or another Social Media platform, and why? B. Cite some examples in which the media have been accused of unfairness. For example, in the reporting of the BLM movement, the Me Too movement, or election coverage... Draw on comments youve heard from parents, teachers, religious leaders, friends, news media, and so on. Discuss whether these criticisms have been or are justified. C. Pick an example of a popular media product (books, films, tv shows, radio, music, video games, news coverage, newspapers, social media, internet sites, etc.) that you think is harmful to children. How would you make your concerns known to the masses? Should the product be removed from circulation or banned? Why or why not? If you think the product should be banned, how would you go about it (protests, demonstrations, writing letters, calling your senator, waving a flag, writing an editorial, tweeting, etc.)? D. Make a critical case either defending or condemning the way Media represents Comedy Central’s South Park (or another satirical tv show), a live TV or radio talk show that has a particular poltical bias, a hip-hop or other musical group, or TV news coverage of the ongoing wars in the Middle East or another political issue. Develop and explain your position in your post. E. Although in some ways postmodern forms of communication, such as e-mail, Tik-Tok, Snapchat, smartphones, Facebook, and Twitter, have helped citizens participate in global life, in what ways might these forms harm more traditional world or native cultures?

Make sure you turned in your homework! Also, just a note to remind you to keep your homework in a safe place. The questions you answer will likely appear on assessments throughout the course. 

Important Vocabulary:

• Communication: the creation and use of symbol systems that convey information and meaning (includes languages, codes, motion pictures, etc.)
• Culture (from a media studies POV): the symbols of expression that individuals, groups, and societies use to make sense of daily life and to articulate their values. A process that delivers the values of a society through products and meaning-making technologies. 
• Mass Media: cultural industries (the channels of communication) that produce and distributes songs, novels, TV shows, newspapers, movies, internet services, games, & cultural products to large numbers of people (consumers). 
• Mass Communication: the process of designing cultural messages and stories and delivering them to large and diverse audiences through media channels.
• Convergence: the overlapping process of growth or obsolescence of a media product as it is improved, reused, or rebranded again and again.
• Oral/Written Era: technology mostly delivered through oral/early written traditions (circa 1,000 BCE to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
• Print Revolution: 100CE (China) to about 1045. Development of moveable type (printing press)
• The Electronic Era: the rise of the Industrial Age (1800's) until about 1930's. 
• The Digital Era: 1930's through 1990's (the rise of computers/internet, etc.)
• Social Media: programs (online) that allow people from all over the world to have ongoing online conversations, share stories/experiences, or sharing interests and information.
• Linear Model of Mass Communication: Outdated model of communications. Senders transmit messages through mass media channels to a large group of receivers. Media functioned as a message filter. With more media (primarily the internet/digital sources), gatekeepers cannot regulate or control the spread of media easily.
• Cultural Model: Individuals bring diverse meaning to messages, given factors and differences in their culture (age, gender, education, etc.) to interpret, accept, or reject messages.
• Selective exposure: People seek messages and produce meanings that correspond to their own cultural beliefs, values, and interests.

Mass Media Slide Presentation Topic. Choose and sign up for one of the following slideshow presentation topics. Use your time in the lab to begin researching the inventor & invention that helped develop mass media. Take notes on your topic. 

Design your presentation using Google Slides. You will be asked to share your research with the class in an oral presentation. This project is NOT due yet. We will continue working on it next week.

• Oral/Written Era: technology mostly delivered through oral/early written traditions (circa 1,000 BCE to the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
• Egyptian hieroglyphs
• Mesopotamian cuneiform 
• Ancient Greek theater & the invention of theater
• Print Revolution: 100CE (China) to about 1045. Development of movable type (printing press)
• Cai Lun & The invention of paper in China
• Rome & the invention of the codex or bound book
• Gutenberg & the printing press (movable type)
• The Electronic Era: the rise of the Industrial Age (1800's) until about 1930's.
• Benjamin Franklin & the Saturday Evening Post (early newspapers)
• Samuel Morse & the telegraph
• Nikola Tesla & The Tesla Coil & the wireless
• Guglielmo Marconi & the long-distance radio 
• Charles Babbage & the "difference engine" (early computer)
• Alexander Graham Bell & the telephone
• Thomas Edison & the phonograph
• WKL Dickson & the Kinetoscope/Kinetograph
• William Friese-Greene & movie cameras & early color film
• George Eastman & film
• The Digital Era: 1930's through 1990's (the rise of computers/internet, etc.)
• John Logie Baird (the mechanical television) & Philo Farnsworth (the electric television)
• Tim Berners-Lee & the World Wide Web
• Martin Cooper & the cell phone
• Vic Hayes & Wi-Fi

Again, this project is not due yet. Rubrics & expectations will be covered next class.

Baseline Article: A New Beginning

Today we will begin a baseline writing article to start us off for this year's portfolio. We'll also cover some key points in the first part of chapter 1 and we'll update our old blogs. With time remaining, take a look at the ePub book: Media Studies: A Graphic Guide.

If you didn't do it yet, please work on your homework chapter (Mass Media, pages 3-15). Read and answer the vocabulary questions on the GOOGLE CLASSROOM ASSIGNMENT FORM. Submit your work today for full credit.

HOMEWORK: Complete your baseline essay. If you didn't already, read chapter one, part one: Mass Media, pg. 3-15 and answer the questions as directed in our Google Classroom (you're late if you didn't complete and turn this in today!) Update your writing blog and send me the URL in the question posted on our Google Classroom.