Second Monday

Interesting how much can be learned in a brief time span. (Contrasted with how much time I seem to lose in front of the monitor on any other given day.) Working in groups on our salad ads was very entertaining. I was impressed with the quality of the imagery, and the imaginative ads and copy that were created. It's really a challenge to work within the time constraints of this much abbreviated "quarter," but all the teams rose to the occasion admirably. And came up with some gorgeous images and clever captions.

In speaking previously of time lost in front of the computer - I really enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Remembering those commercials made me a little nostalgic, to be honest. And were they ever a representation of a particular decade, in terms of dialog, fashion and content. We've gained so much in quality, but lost the perception of "innocence" of previous generations. Didn't Wrigley try to bring back the "Doublemint" twins concept a few years ago? It would be interesting to see how many originals have been re-tooled for today's audiences.

Media Literacy: Day Three

no easy answers
The questions aren't always that easy, either. I did welcome the change of pace of "The Price of Misinformation in the Media." Corrupt politicians (just finished watching the Jim West piece on Frontline), terrorists, green deceivers...it's all so depressing. (The fact that it's now tomorrow and sleep still seems like hours away isn't a factor, I'm sure...) It was nice to read that I'm overweight because I exercise too much. Oh, pardon me... I forgot to insert common sense here. So, today we learned a little of the decisions and deadlines that force editors to publish stories based on timeliness, relevance and space constraints. Magazines have deadlines, too, of course, but seriously? Did they proof check only for spelling errors and not content?

Wow. How about that swampland, huh? "Appearing on the show gives a person with no credibility recognition they don't deserve and can persuade people to make a dangerous health decision." (Rebecca Scritchfield, 2009) People will generally believe what they want to believe - and if they don't question the authority - or the logic behind the "science" - do they get what they deserve? Thankfully, this error-fraught story was addressed, and no overweight athletes were harmed in it's telling. Whew, I knew not to blame my routine scone-and-coffee breakfasts.

Media Literacy: Day two

Very interesting day. I'd like to think I'm not overly pessimistic about the integrity of those who work within my chosen field (although, to be honest, I did not choose public relations - I chose graphic design - the location of the office and the whim of administration chose my current job title). I'm a little afraid of "guilt by association," especially after today's discussions, readings and listenings...

The old adage, "...absolute power corrupts absolutely" has had truth and meaning in every century, of course - it just feels so heightened in today's culture. Had I been a peasant toiling away on the countryside instead of sitting in front of a computer linked to 2/3 of the industrial world, I might not have questioned the excesses of the monarchy. (OK, I'd have complained and commiserated with my friends and family - but due to technological limitations (absences), the impact of my sentiments would not have traveled far. Secrets were far easier to keep in the good old days.

I didn't realize the extent to which I doubt the honesty of big business. My faith is Christian, my political leanings are conservative, I'm grounded in middle class America - but I never miss an episode of The Colbert Report or The Daily Show. (Colbert's "Word of the Day" is one of my iPhone apps, as well.) Feels like the only honest news on the air. I'm probably an odd demographic. Or just odd. Humor, for me, is as essential as breathing. And I find the need to laugh even greater this week, when I start to comprehend that a handful of corporations are ruling the "civilized" world through their greed and need for power, coupled with (supported by?) our need and greed for senseless "news" (think Lindsay Lohan, et al., - sigh -) and ceaseless advertising. Mostly I'm proud to be an American. Other days I'm a bit embarrassed when I flip to the BBC.

persuasions
So, after we've made commercials obsolete with devices like Tivo, and product placement has saturated our culture, is it true that "we've ceased to be a culture at all?" ("The Persuaders," Frontline, pbs.org) If "electioneering" is all that our political candidates and their lobbyists are focused on, are we still a democracy? If as humans we function with 80% of our emotions, and only 20% of our intellect, will it take five of us to create one intellectual?

Have I been persuaded, informed or entertained through these massive, all-inclusive advertising efforts? Yes, of course. Guilty as charged.

Have I been critically thinking about what's behind the message, or about the psychology driving the sale? Not always. Not enough. We can't fast forward through an entire show to avoid the yammering (and occasionally, I must admit, hilarious) sales pitches. We can't fast forward through our lives to avoid them, either. Side thought? I have to admit it does like I've missed several years of my life - like Adam Sandler in that movie I admit I sat through one night - but only because I saw Christopher Walken on the screen - not that I dislike Adam Sandler, necessarily - but, to get back to the point, some portions of my life are certainly more blurry than others. Hmmm, I can still remember when television actually had periods of dead air at night. Before the birth of QVC. Obviously, there must not have been enough subliminal or overt messages flashing in my direction on those days. I'll have blame the kids, certainly not my choices...

distractions
I often want to rewind my car's radio like my television - because too often I'm guilty of not really living in the moment. "What did he just say? When was that concert? Did I miss my turn?" We can't rewind our dependency on entertainment, I suppose, but after today, I'm more tempted than ever to remove that dependency from my home. But then I'm afraid I couldn't do that to Comedy Central - even if I only watch two shows on their entire network. Maybe a little corruption's not always a bad thing.

Media Literacy: Day one

corporations and psychopaths, hmmm?

As expected, this is going to be a fast two weeks. Blink and I might miss it. It's a guarantee that I'm going to miss something, anyway. I thought all weekend about the idea that a corporation is equal (legally, that is) to a morally-bankrupt (psychopathic) person, with all the assumed rights of one. It lives solely for it's own sake - or for those of it's stakeholders. Not a staggeringly new thought, I suppose. But I hadn't thought of it in quite those terms before. Reckless disregard for safety, apparently lacking the need for social norms or the need to abide by our laws (make 'em up or change 'em as the need dictates), incapable of feeling guilt, deceitful...ah. Makes a girl feel all warm and fuzzy.

It's been made more clear as time goes by (as citizen journalists become more vocal - er - verbal?) that corporate giants are like icebergs. We need to find that big pile of ice below the surface. Chances are it won't be pretty. But exposing the danger (ok - that's a stretch - we're not all miniature Titanics crashing blindly to our demise) - but knowing who's in the background, who's pulling the strings, who is attempting to dictate all we read and hear, is kind of liberating.

Are they all bad? Yeah, probably. Am I being pessimistic? Yeah, probably. Is Disney evil? Does Google really intend to "not be evil'? Is Starbucks closing in on world domination?

We'll have to ask Dr. Evil. For now, I'm eager to learn more.

plns and ples, please

On the whole, I see my personal learning environment as a way to organize and strengthen my work assignments, learning objectives and social needs. Using a structured system can help me to take control of the process - by helping me to manage the content, set goals, and communicate with my peers and experts in the fields that interest me most. And I’ve learned quite a bit about the areas in my work and education that are lacking (maybe too much?), especially regarding my concept of social media.

A few months ago I was fairly dismissive of sites like Facebook and Twitter – but lately I’ve had to reassess my prejudice. Obviously, the sheer volume of information coming in doesn’t equate to value, nor is the sentiment often revealed on social networks necessarily shallow. When I look thoughtfully, or purposefully, I can see that these new tools can enhance my education as a student, and my career as a graphic artist.

I was struck by this quote recently, while searching about professional learning networks, regarding in the social nature of learning: “Learning becomes as much social as cognitive, as much concrete as abstract, and becomes intertwined with judgment and exploration.” I need to retrace my steps and find the source of that quote! By itself, technology isn’t going to dictate our success – but maybe it’s through our engagement of the social context (needs? aspirations?) into these technologies that does.

My head argues that all this information can only help; that using these new connections of information will impact my work, and my education, in a positive way. But I’m starting to feel like I’m losing my sense of self? Ironically, the more I use the aggregator tools to read and learn, the less connected I’m starting to feel. I get so excited about learning something new, but it fades quickly as I’m rushing off to the next task. Maybe it’s the frustration of trying to learn something new so quickly, without allowing myself the time to absorb it. Maybe I just need more chocolate.

A non-teacher trying to think like one...

Since most of my classmates (which is an odd term, as all our classes are online; classdigimates, maybe?) are educators, I often am stymied by my place in this setting. It's difficult to move past the theory of education, or my understanding of teaching - which are based largely on my experiences as a student in neolithic times. I was a child of the 70s, and survived typing term papers on an IBM Selectric. (Oh, the horror - life before digital cutting and pasting...oh the lost hours spent with typewriter ribbon and whiteout...)

But the goal of being literate in this present - and future - era of technology must clearly involve skills like reading, writing and arithmetic. The concept of 21st century literacy may be far more comprehensive, and potentially more richer, than those learned back in the day. But some questions occur to me, such as what do students need to know, when knowledge is just a mouse click or two away? And how we really discern between good and bad knowledge, when so much content is user-generated? What does this mean for the value of the information?

Motivated by Ken Robinson's concerns about creativity, and its absence in the classroom, I've been doing more reading on the subject. I highly recommend reading "Out of Our Minds." Just started "The Element" last night. I'm very very grateful that I went to school at a time when funding for the arts was encouraged. I came across this video the other day, an interview of Howard Gardner, a little intro into his theory of multiple intelligences, which complements Robinson's creativity premise of learning.

wireless future of medicine

This is a fascinating TED talk. As a diabetic, I'd like to know how accurate these technologies are (will be?). Also didn't know that the stethoscope was invented in 1816. I'd say we're do for an upgrade.