Module 3: Media & Technology Production

Posted on June 12, 2017 | Leave a comment

From the readings, I gathered a few points that were of interest to me. I also just so happen to meet a friend over the weekend whose job was in post-production for some films. He happened to have mentioned that he was working on a Marvel film that’s coming out in the next year or two, so of course, my friends and I started to flood him with questions about the film and his work. From what he told us, media production is often very hard work, CGI artist can spend hours on end to work on a scene for a project that might only see very short screen time. Like how he worked on a scene for 2 months but the director only used 2 seconds of it at the end. From what he explained and the readings, it seems like each project is broken down into different components that overlay. Traditional methods for media production would be done in more linear methods, completing pre-stage, prod-stage then post-stage in that order. But now, the stages can be blurred, and multiple stages can be going on at the same time. My friend said he has been working with measurements and data for scenes and characters in his scenes without ever meeting the actors, and though he knows the storyline, his team aren’t the only ones on the job.

The three stages of media production do not only apply to films but any type of Media production.  Even making a short presentation to be used for the public on powerpoint would require the same stages. Teaching students that technology is just a tool would limit a students’ perspective and mindset about what can be done with the technology. Before the computer age, new technologies may really have shortcomings and limitations that need to be brought up as there were no such things as “updates” for technologies. It was always one item replacing another physically, and eventually, the old item becomes obsolete. But with the digital computer age, replacing a technology doesn’t necessarily mean we are creating more obsolete items anymore. What can’t be done today in one application doesn’t mean it won’t be able to tomorrow. Students need to be taught that they can still dream big, even if what they want to do can’t be done at the moment, it doesn’t mean it can’t tomorrow.

Leave a comment

Posted in Electives, ETEC 531

Module 2: Media Education & Literacies

Posted on June 12, 2017 | Leave a comment

Importance of Media Education

Media Education is the process when we learn to be media literate and be “able to critically understand the nature, techniques, and impacts of media messages and productions.” –  as defined by Media Literacy Week. (2014)

What are the goals of media education? Is media education important enough to be required?

Goals of Media Education can be simple but yet hard to achieve completely in one shot but is a long process in making. Hobbs (2009), points out in his article that media education has been developing and progressing to help children build communication, creativity, and critical thinking skills. Students need to gain the ability to analyze media messages and interpret them properly.  Media education is very important in our current day and age. People need to know where the information they are reading or listening about came from and the background of who wrote it. Being able to analyze this would allow them to know how credible the information is.  It’s very commonly seen now, especially on social media, of people who read then share articles they come across on social media without fact checking. When such information is brought into the classroom, though it may be the most current information/news, it may not be the most accurate. Spreading incorrect information as if it’s correct would not only be misleading but can also be very damaging to learning.

Turkle mentioned in the previous module’s reading that it lack of empathy is increasingly visible in face-to-face conversations because everyone is so focused on looking down at their phones. Starring at the phones for the latest updates and tweets seems more important now, so the content online becoming exponentially crucial. Because of this, media education is gaining more and more light in many classrooms and teachers are also starting to use more media technologies to “teach”. Like speaking the language of the new age.

References:

Davis, C. & Turkle, S. (2015, October 7). The flight from conversation. The Atlantic, 1-8.
Hobbs, R. & Jensen, A. (2009). The past, present, and future of media literacy education. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 1, 1-11. http://jmle.org/index.php/JMLE/issue/view/1
What is Media Education? (2014.). Retrieved June 06, 2017, from http://www.medialiteracyweek.ca/about/what-is-media-education/

Leave a comment

Posted in ETEC 531

Module 1: Media Semantics

Posted on June 2, 2017 | Leave a comment

Media and technology

My attempt at the questions “What is the difference, if any, between media and technology?” and “Why is it important that we carefully define media or “the media”?

My initial look at media and technology for a difference raised an internal question of how are they similar, but when I thought about it more. I realize the two has more similarities than presumed. Media can mean a medium used to get something from A to B, just like a technology. But media can also mean the press or public release. So when thinking of a difference, I started to think more about how both are used. To me, Media seems more like a one-directional use for news releases and etc, whereas technology is actually the actual tool instead. Of course, now we also have New Media where it can be a tool and a media, however, another way of looking at New Media would be simply any technology that’s newly improved to present media better.  I think that being able to define media and “the media” is important for helping us understand how each can be used or was used and most important understand the results from the use. By defining the terms, we can also understand its purpose.

My thoughts:

Turkle made a strong point about a noticeable decrease in people’s ability to conduct face-to-face conversations effectively due to a diminishing capacity for “empathy”.  I recognize it as a strong argument because I too fall victim to this problem, and most of the time, I don’t even realize it. Even as I read the articles and make this post, I’m distracted by simple/short messages my sister is sending me from the bedroom next door about a matter that can be dealt with face-to-face in 2 seconds.  More than often now, I would find that my students have trouble understanding or relating to things I’m telling them, regardless of how many examples or a number of explanations I’ve given and I wouldn’t know why. I resulted to thinking that it’s just because they are young or that they have always lived sheltered lives, but then I found that they can understand the most complicated things if it was on or done through their phone. And in some case, from my observations,  some stories that are read from their phones give them different sets of reactions than if they heard it on the radio. It makes me wonder if it’s because they are visual learners half the time, and so can only understand and relate when they actually “see” what I’m saying. But one other point I found interesting in the article, was about our need to suppress our empathy in order to “fit in” in the mobile age. If this was the case, why bother wth emojis?

Another point I found interesting in the article that resulted in a question, was about our need to suppress our empathy in order to “fit in” in the mobile age. If this was the case, why bother wth emojis? Why use them for emotional expressions?

Leave a comment

Posted in ETEC 531

Lesson 2.1: Unpacking Assumptions

Posted on June 2, 2017 | Leave a comment

GOOD USE= EFFECTIVE USE?

  • What is a good use of digital technology in the math and science classroom? What would such a learning experience and environment look like? What would be some characteristics of what it is and what it isn’t? How might a learning experience with technology address a conceptual challenge, such as the one you researched in the last lesson?

A good use of digital technology in the math and science classroom is hard to define. But in my attempt to answer this question, I asked myself a few questions.  “What makes a digital technology a good addition to a math and science classroom? Should it be useful in helping teach content? Should it be good because it’s multifunctional and not just for math and science? or Is it the easiness of the technology the reason it is a good use of technology as its simplicity results in frequent usage? ” A good use is perhaps another way of saying a good addition to the classroom, and a good addition is perhaps so because it’s easy to use and can help students understand the math and science content easier. Regardless of why or how we classified a digital technology to be of good use, one commonality that can be seen is definitely on the frequency of use. If it’s good and useful, it’s used, and in my books, a good use if when something is used often enough that the frequencies offset the cost of the item.  A math and science classroom with the correct digital technology(s) shouldn’t require a lot of tools,  and definitely not a lot of unneeded or unused equipment. An effective learning environment that yields positive learning experiences should just have “the right amount” of technologies, so if one very effective tool can be found, just one if ten then so be it.  Either way, in my opinion, it should not be a space that has more technologies than students. Perhaps this is why now, more and more traditional classrooms are having their classrooms’ traditional technologies replaced by digital ones, as one digital technology can have functions that replace two or more devices, saving space.

With the right technology, conceptual challenges can be addressed as it would help students understand and see the same course materials from different perspectives and not just from their imagination. It can also better present materials that are hard to explain.  This can alter one’s learning experience greatly.

Leave a comment

Posted in ETEC 533, Module A

Lesson 2.2: Video Cases

Posted on June 2, 2017 | Leave a comment

STARTING THEM YOUNG

I watched the videos for a few of the case studies specifically 2, 3,  and 5. They gave me a glimpse of how far education has come over the years.  I noted down a few similarities and differences that teachers pointed out in one way or another from their experiences though the settings were different.

  • Teachers pointed out that the technologies integrated into their lessons helped greatly, aiding students with understanding content, and allowed teachers to get through materials faster without having to slow down or explain repeatedly.

This point seems quite important in my perspective as the curriculum covers a lot of material that can’t possibly be all taught without the school year unless teachers teach integrated lessons. The integrated lessons with the help of technology can present more content in a simpler method saving more time.

  • The students were often pushed further as they worked with the technology, pushing them to make more connections and face challenges, take ownership of what they were learning

Pushing them further by making them challenge themselves more creates for more opportunities of exploration in the subjects.

  • Teachers’ often acted as coaches and not information hubs, facilitating and setting goals instead of just regurgitating information to the students.
  • A lot of time and effort is needed to create a successful program.

Another common factor in these learning environments is the noticeable great amounts of time that teachers have put into making the lessons work well with technology. Often times, the teachers in the videos started out being the first in their schools to use such integrated teaching methods and have to learn and “teach” as they go. The educators also notices the decreasing need for students to ask teachers for answers and coaches students in the lessons instead of give straight answers.

  • The STEM learning environment creates an equal platform for all students in the classroom regardless of what background they came from.

As students now all come with different prior knowledge and different backgrounds, these STEM learning environments  due the integration of technology that most students in the classroom may not be familiar with, creates an equal learning environment for all students.

The biggest point I noticed with the videos is the mentions of how schools and school districts gain more technologies for classrooms every year, and the grades that are exposed to them are lowering every year. I understand that it’s to prep the students for future successes, but  I can’t help but wonder if is it really a good thing that the age of exposure keeps dropping?  It’s like how students now know how to find the definition for a word on google, but can’t use a dictionary. Or how a students needs to use their phone to figure our how many days it is till end of the month and when asked why they didn’t just do the math themselves, their reply was simply “Why do I need to do the math when an app/calculator can tell me on my phone”.  To have all these technological skills is great, but I can’t help but wonder what happens when all technologies stop working and humans have to use traditional “old-school” skills again.

Leave a comment

Posted in ETEC 533, Module A