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. 

Media Studies: Career Research; Chapter 1

Today, let's move forward with our lesson. You should have viewed the Introduction to Media Literacy. If you did not, please do so--you'll be tested on some of this information in your formal assessment for this chapter (Mass Media). Today, we'll research a possible career in Media Studies. 

After viewing the video, take 30 minutes to research potential programs in Mass Media from area colleges. 

After your research, use some of the 30 minutes time to respond to this question:

How might you measure up? What kinds of courses would you have to take if you pursued a Media Studies or Communication program? What does the major cover or entail? Would you want to major in this field? (Please include why or why not? in your answer...)

Please post your answer in our Google Classroom for participation credit. 

The rest of our class will be spent either finishing your response or working on your homework. 

We will be using Culture & the Media as our textbook. Please read pages: 45-58* (this is the page # of the digital copy you should download. The physical page #'s you should read are between 3-16. 

After reading complete the following questions that correspond to the chapter:

Culture and the Evolution of Mass Communication

1. Define culture, mass communication, and mass media, and explain their interrelationships.

2. What key technological breakthroughs accompanied the transition to the print and electronic eras? Why were these changes significant?

3. Explain the linear model of mass communication and its limitations.

The Development of Media and Their Role in Our Society

4. Describe the development of a mass medium from emergence to convergence.

5. In looking at the history of popular culture, explain why newer and emerging forms of media seem to threaten status quo values.

HOMEWORK: Read chapter one, part one: Mass Media, pg. 45-58 (3-16) and answer the questions as directed here and in our Google Classroom. Submit your answers in Google classroom when complete. 

Welcome Back, Class of 2023!

 Welcome back, class of 2023! I hope you all had a restful summer.

This year is partly devoted to media studies (mass communication) and journalism (non-fiction writing). What you learn here can help you improve your writing skills, give you an opportunity to examine national and international issues, improve your use of conflict and characters in your plots, play and experiment with media (blogs, television, radio & film scripts, podcasts, magazines, comic books, video games, photography, etc.) as well as make you a better critical thinker. Primarily, this course will hone and continue to develop your writer's craft and your writer's voice. The other half of your year (with Ms. Gamzon) will focus on the craft of writing with an in-depth look at how to write effective poetry, fiction, and plays.

Anyway, after checking in with you and our classmates, we'll review our course criteria and work on a writer's "manifesto" (I'll collect these by end of day Wednesday).

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Check your student email daily! If I (or other teachers) contact you, it will likely be through email when we are not scheduled for class.

Check your Google Classroom! All assignments (required work) and helpful resources will be posted there with due dates, directions, and feedback.

Check this blog each class period for agendas, deadlines, educational information, advice, and a whole lot of links to enhance your education. You can sign up for email alerts when I post new material.

This blog is a resource for your learning. All you have to do is read and click. Homework assignments and helpful guides or suggestions on how to proceed or succeed on a task will be available here as well as on our Google Classroom site. (See links on this page for connections to Google Classroom, my district website, and the Creative Writing Department website).

You are responsible for reading and interacting with the material I post on Google Classroom and the blog. Please make sure you download and save the course-specific textbooks available in the resources on Google Classroom. You can even access these materials on your cell phones.

Make sure that when you are in class using a Chromebook that you do the following EACH DAY:

• Log in. Make sure you are using Google Chrome. 
• Open a TAB and go to our classroom BLOG: https://sotamediastudies.blogspot.com
• Open a SECOND TAB and go to GOOGLE CLASSROOM: https://classroom.google.com, etc.
• Keep both TABS open during class or as instructed. It's also a good idea to open a THIRD TAB in Google to take class notes (or write class notes by hand if you prefer...)  
• Zoom links for classes will be posted on Google Classroom.
• Please ask your parent/guardian to accept my invitation to Google Classroom. I will be sending announcements and reminders to them through that system (usually 1/week).  

If you're absent or missed something in class, please check the Google Classroom or blog to get caught up. As indicated above, each new class period usually includes a new post. If you have a question about an assignment and are too embarrassed to speak to me in public (or you have a question that you think you will forget to ask), feel free to use the comment section. Be aware comments are meant for help or questions, not to communicate with friends and peers. It is your responsibility to talk to me about your needs. This is your education. Make it worthwhile.

On our link page and in Google Classroom, you will also find some useful tools for this course. During the course, I will direct your attention to these tools for your use in this class and for use in The Craft of Writing.

Today, after learning about the course and responding in class, let's begin with a writing exercise. This will be due Wednesday, September 16 by the end of the day. 

HOMEWORK: Complete your baseline essay. Read chapter one, part one: Mass Media, pg. 3-15 and answer the questions as directed in our Google Classroom. Submit your answers in Google classroom when complete. 

District News: The Opening of the School Year

 The District has adjusted the start of our school year to include four Superintendent’s Conference Days from Tuesday, September 8 through Friday, September 11. Students will begin their classes online on Monday, September 14. 

See you then!