media decal

What a great semester!

2009-05-04T21:11:00.001-07:00

Dear Media Decal Class of Spring 2009,

Can't believe we had our last decal session today! It's been a fun and challenging semester and we've learned so much! Seeing all of your presentations was so awesome because they represented taking all our knowledge about media's harmful effects and actually doing something with it. I hope that can be your experience time and time again as we continue to be bombarded by the media.

We've really enjoyed getting to know you all through our discussions and dinners this semester and we sincerely hope to continue these relationships (and ot just on facebook -___-). So good luck on your finals and remember, don't be a stranger--ya'll are welcome to drop by the decal or join us for dinner next semester...just send us an email to find where we're meeting!

- Josh, Stephany, Gina and Calvin

Last Decal Potluck!

2009-04-30T00:38:00.000-07:00

Main Entrees (bring at least 10-15 servings):

Emily and Pauline
Daniel and Wynn
Josh
Stephany
Calvin
Gina

Salads (bring at least 10 servings):

green salad with dressing: Kevin
pasta salad:
fruit salad or fruit: Monica
potato salad: Lily
some other interesting salad or a repeat of the above:

Appetizers:

Suceli
Mirna
Susan
Jessica Fuh
Christina

Desserts (bring at least 10-15 servings):

Jessica Tsai
Ali
Bianka
Nancy

Drinks (bring at least 2 types):

Vasso
Jenny
Stephanie
Anna

Utensils, Cups, Plates and Napkins (bring at least 30 count):

forks, spoons, knives, and plates: Stella

Cups and napkins: Vijayta

Week 10 Homework

2009-04-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

Please do the following readings. They're short but good.

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2004/10/65365

http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2008/PIP_Teens_Games_and_Civics_Report_FINAL.pdf.pdf
(only read 1st 9 pages)

http://www.macfound.org/atf/cf/%7Bb0386ce3-8b29-4162-8098-e466fb856794%7D/CIVIC_POTENTIAL_VIDEO_GAMES.PDF
(pgs 5-10)

Presentation Guidelines:

10 minutes for a group of 1-2 people, 20 minutes for a group of 3 or more people
Please email me your presentation (i.e. powerpoint) by Sunday afternoon of the day BEFORE your presentation date.

Presentation Calendar:

April 20th (next week): 1) Daniel, Kevin, Wynn 2) Jenny, Lily
April 27th: 1) Susan's group 2) Vasso's group 3) Pauline's group 4) Jessica's group
May 4th: 1) Bianca's group 2) Anna's group

Random interesting picture:

Reminder: Bring your Time Logs!

2009-04-12T20:28:00.000-07:00

Reminder: Bring your time logs tomorrow!

Week 8 Homework

2009-04-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

Please print out the lyrics to a popular song and analyze them, paying special attention to issues we've discussed in class: gender roles, violence, views on romance, etc.

Analysis should be minimum one page, double spaced.

Also, please read the follow article.

Week 7 Homework

2009-03-18T13:27:00.001-07:00

As usual, please answer the following question with at minimum a one page, double spaced response.

Choose a movie or TV clip that depicts a situation you have experienced in your life. (ex. college life, dating, work, etc)
Did the clip accurately represent your experience or did it miss the mark?
Can your experience only be explained through the relation of the clip itself (ie "...it was like that movie...")
Do movies/TV accurately represent everyday life or do we model our lives after movies/TV ?

Please read the following articles:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/arts/television/02stan.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-alderman/shame-tv-why-humiliation_b_86500.html

Week 6 Homework

2009-03-10T08:28:00.000-07:00

1. Bring in a print advertisement and do a one page, double-spaced write up describing how the advertisement you found portrays women or men. Is this portrayal positive or negative? Is it clear what product is being sold?

2. Read the article below.

Expert from “Meaning and Ideology” be Judith Williamson

But it is too simple to say that advertising reduces people to the status of things, though clearly this is what happens when both are used symbolically. Certainly advertising sets up connections between certain types of consumers and certain products; and having made these links and created symbols of exchange it can use them as ‘given’, and so can we. For example: diamonds may be marketed by likening them to eternal love, creating a symbolism where the mineral means something not in its own terms, as a rock, but in human terms, as a sign. Thus a diamond comes to ‘mean’ love and endurance for us. Once the connection has been made, we begin to translate the other way and in fact to skip translating altogether: taking the sign for what it signifies, the thing for the feeling.

Advertisements are selling us something else besides consumer goods: in providing us with a structure in which we, and those goods, are interchangeable, they are selling us ourselves. And we need those selves. It is the materiality and historical context of this need which must be given as much attention as that equation of people with things. An attempt to differentiate amongst both people and products is part of the desire to classify, order, and understand the world, including one’s own identity. But in our society, while the real distinctions between people are created by their role in the process of production, as workers, it is the products of their own work that are used, in the false categories invoked by advertising, to obscure the real structure of society by replacing class with the distinctions made by the consumptions of particular goods. Thus instead of being identified by what they produce, people are made to identify themselves with what they consume. From this arises the false assumption that workers ‘with two cars and a colour TV’ are not part of the working class. We are made to feel that we can rise or fall in society through what we are able to buy, and this obscures the actual class basis that still underlies social position. The fundamental differences in our society are still class differences, but use of manufactured goods as a means of creating classes or groups forms an overlay on them.

Week 5 Homework

2009-03-03T17:31:00.000-08:00

1. Please write a one page, double-spaced response to the following prompts:

Are video games today too violent? If so, give examples.
Have you ever felt like you (or a friend) play too many video games?
What are some positive aspects about video games? Are there any?

2. Read the article below.

The Attraction Factors of Online Gaming, by Nick Yee

There are three main Attraction factors of MMORPGs (massive multiplayer online role-playing games, i.e. Everquest or World of Warcraft) that encourage time investment and personal attachment. One of these is the elaborate rewards cycle inherent in MMORPGs that works like a carrot on a stick. Rewards are given very quickly in the beginning of the game. You kill a creature with 2-3 hits. You gain a level in 5-10 minutes. And you can gain crafting skill with very little failure. But the intervals between these rewards grow exponentially fairly quickly. Very soon, it takes 5 hours and then 20 hours of game time before you can gain a level. The game works by giving you instantaneous gratification upfront and leading you down a slippery slope. And it overlays different reward cycles so you're always close to some reward - whether this be a level, a crafting skill, or a quest. One interviewee stated:

"The game is set up to make you want the next best thing. "Oh look what that guy has! How do I get that?" The answer is always to spend more time online either getting higher level to go camp the item, or to just go camp the item (or slight variation, camp the quest items that result in the new item). But you are rewarded for playing more. Better items, more freedom on where you can go." [male, 21]

A more elaborate analysis of the rewards cycle can be found in the Virtual Skinner Box essay.

The other main Attraction factor is the network of relationships that a player accumulates over time. There are several reasons why relationships of a platonic or romantic nature occur so frequently in MMORPGs. The anonymity and computer-mediated chat environment facilitates self-disclosure, and many players have told personal issues or secrets to online friends that they have never told their real life friends or family. The high-stress situations inherent in the game also help build trust and bonds between players very rapidly. Of course, another important reason is that the games were designed so that you have to group to achieve most goals. You can find a more elaborate analysis of the formation of online relationships in the Online Relationships presentation.

A network of online friends encourages players to invest more time to the game for several reasons. First of all, a player now plays to catch up or remain around the same level as their friends. The pace is set by the player that increases their power levels the most, and oftentimes causes a chain reaction of others trying to catch up. Secondly, a playing schedule, whether tacit or explicit, may be created and there is an expectation that each player will show up to join the group. And finally, the more friends you have, the more obligations you have to fulfill. If you play as a "cleric" character in the MMORPG called Everquest, you have the ability to heal other players and will often be asked for help by other players. If you play as a "druid" character, you may be asked for assistance in teleporting them around the virtual world. Many of these requests take a substantial amount of time, but this is all part of the normal expectations of what friends do for each other. Being in a guild (the term used to describe a team of online players) is one way in which these obligations become structured and recurring. Thus, having a network of friends encourages both a higher level of personal attachment and time investment.

The third, and final, Attraction factor is the immersive nature of these virtual environments. This factor works by encouraging players to become attached to their characters and the virtually valuable items that they own. The immersive nature also encourages players to become personally invested to what happens to their characters, and to be empathetic towards their characters. In the same way that a movie or fairy-tale enchants you, the immersive quality of MMORPGs tries to enchant you with a fantasy, and make you feel that you are part of something grand and extraordinary.

Clearly, these three Attraction factors are not equally attractive to different players. Data collected for the Facets study showed that individuals who are competitive, aggressive and rational are more likely to be interested in the achievement and rewards cycle of the game. Female gamers are more likely to be interested in the relationship aspect of these games. And gamers who are imaginative and open-minded are more likely to be interested in the immersive quality of MMORPGs.

http://www.nickyee.com/hub/addiction/attraction.html

Week 2 Homework

2009-02-09T22:56:00.001-08:00

1. Please write a one page, double-spaced response to the following prompt:

Choose a form of media and discuss how you represent your identity through that medium. How does this compare to how you represent yourself in person?

Do these mediums have a positive/negative effect on your relationships?

2. Read the article below.

Friend-o-nomics
By Scott Brown

Thanks to Facebook, I never lose touch with anyone. And that, my Friend, is a problem.

Hey, want to be my friend? It's more than possible; it's probable. We may already be friends—I haven't checked my email in a few minutes. And once we are, we will be, as they say, 4-eva. A perusal of my Facebook Friend roster reveals that I, a medium-social individual of only middling lifetime popularity, have never lost a friend. They're all there: elementary school friends, high school friends, college friends, work friends, friends of friends, friends of ex-girlfriends—the constellation of familiar faces crowds my Friendbox like medals on Mussolini's chest. I'm Friend-rich—at least onscreen. I've never lost touch with anyone, it seems. What I've lost is the right to lose touch. This says less about my innate lovability, I think, than about the current inflated state of Friendonomics.

Think of it as the Long Tail of Friendship—in the age of queue-able social priorities, Twitter-able status updates, and amaranthine cloud memory, keeping friends requires almost no effort at all. We have achieved Infinite Friendspace, which means we need never drift from old pals nor feel the poignant tug of passive friend-loss. It also means that even the flimsiest of attachments—the chance convention buddy, the cube-mate from the '90s, the bar-napkin hookup—will be preserved, in perpetuity, under the flattering, flattening banner of "Friend." (Sure, you can rank and categorize them to your heart's content, but who'd be callous enough to actually categorize a hookup under "Hookup"?)

It has been argued that this Infinite Friendspace is an unalloyed good. But while this plays nicely into our sentimental ideal of lifelong friendship, it's having at least three catastrophic effects. First, it encourages hoarding. We squirrel away Friends the way our grandparents used to save nickels—obsessively, desperately, as if we'll run out of them some day. (Of course, they lived through the Depression. And we lived through—what, exactly? Middle school? 90210? The Electric Slide?) Humans are natural pack rats, and given the chance we'll stockpile anything of nominal value. Friends are the currency of the socially networked world; therefore, it follows that more equals better. But the more Friends you have, the less they're worth—and, more to the point, the less human they are. People become mere collectibles, like Garbage Pail Kids. And call me a buzz kill, but I don't want to be anyone's Potty Scotty.

Second, Friending has subsumed the ol' Rolodex. Granted, it's often convenient to have all of your contacts under one roof. But the great thing about the Rolodex was that it never talked back, it didn't throw virtual octopi or make you take movie quizzes, and it never, ever poked you. The Rolodex just sat there. It was all business.

Third, and most grave, we've lost our right to lose touch. "A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of Nature," Emerson wrote, not bothering to add, "and like most things natural, friendship is biodegradable." We scrawl "Friends Forever" in yearbooks, but we quietly realize, with relief, that some bonds are meant to be shed, like snakeskin or a Showtime subscription. It's nature's way of allowing you to change, adapt, evolve, or devolve as you wish—and freeing you from the exhaustion of multifront friend maintenance. Fine, you can "Remove Friend," but what kind of person actually does that? Deletion is scary—and, we're told, unnecessary in the Petabyte Age. That's what made good old-fashioned losing touch so wonderful—friendships, like long-forgotten photos and mixtapes, would distort and slowly whistle into oblivion, quite naturally, nothing personal. It was sweet and sad and, though you'd rarely admit it, necessary.

And maybe that's the answer: A Facebook app we'll call the Fade Utility. Untended Friends would gradually display a sepia cast on the picture, a blurring of the neglected profile—perhaps a coffee stain might appear on it or an unrelated phone number or grocery list. The individual's status updates might fade and get smaller. The user may then choose to notice and reach out to the person in some meaningful way—no pokes! Or they might pretend not to notice. Without making a choice, they could simply let that person go. Would that really be so awful?

I realize that I may lose a few Friends by saying this. I invite them to remove me. Though I think they'll find it harder than they imagine. I've never lost a Friend, you see, and I'm starting to worry I never will.

Week 1 Homework

2009-02-02T21:00:00.000-08:00

Read:

1. http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/family/tv_affects_child.html

2. The excerpt from "Amusing Ourselves to Death" entitled "The Huxleyan Warning."

Also, write a one page double-spaced reflection which answers the following questions:

1. Describe your interactions with media when you were a child.

2. Were these interactions positive or negative?

Spring 2009 Syllabus

2009-01-30T13:51:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the Media Decal, Spring 2009! We're all really looking forward to getting to know you and talking about these media-related issues.

You can find the syllabus for Spring 2009 here.

See you in class!

Homework Assignment #6

2008-10-21T15:12:00.001-07:00

Homework Assignment #5

2008-10-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

As usual, please answer the following question with at minimum a one page, double spaced response.

Choose a movie or TV clip that depicts a situation you have experienced in your life. (ex. college life, dating, work, etc)
Did the clip accurately represent your experience or did it miss the mark?
Can your experience only be explained through the relation of the clip itself (ie "...it was like that movie...")
Do movies/TV accurately represent everyday life or do we model our lives after movies/TV ?

Homework Assignment #4

2008-10-10T10:58:00.001-07:00

Bring in an advertisement and describe how it portrays women or men. Is this portrayal positive or negative?

Homework Assignment #3

2008-10-02T17:57:00.001-07:00

Apologies for the late post.

As usual, please write a one page single spaced result to the following prompt.

Are video games today too violent? If so, give examples.
Have you ever felt like you (or a friend) play too many video games?
What are some positive aspects about video games? Are there any?

Homework Assignment #2

2008-09-16T00:24:00.000-07:00

Please write a one page, double-spaced response to the following prompt:

Choose a form of media and discuss how you represent your identity through that medium. How does this compare to how you represent yourself in person? Do these mediums have a positive/negative effect on your relationships?

Homework Assignment #1

2008-09-08T23:36:00.001-07:00

Please write a one page, double-spaced response to the following questions:

What kind of experiences did you have with media as a child/youth? Were they positive or negative?

End of the Semester Dinner!

2008-04-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

After class, we thought it would be nice to have dinner together at House of Curries on Durant and Telegraph. We know it's a busy time, but if you want to eat with us, you're all welcome to join us!

Guest Speaker: Richard Sterling

2008-04-14T19:27:00.001-07:00

Next week, our beloved faculty sponsor, Richard Sterling, will be giving a guest lecture along with one of group presentations on TV. Here's a brief biography on Richard Sterling, a current adjunct professor at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education:

Richard Sterling is the executive director of the National Writing Project. Formerly he was a faculty member at Lehman College, where he was also director and founder of the Institute for Literacy Studies, a research unit of CUNY. He also directed and founded the New York City Writing Project and the New York City Mathematics Project. In 1992 he received a grant from the DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund to develop a national project of teacher research groups in 12 cities across the U.S. As national director of this Urban Sites Network, he worked with teachers and faculty from all regions of the country to develop a body of practitioner-based research documenting educational practice. Richard Sterling is working to extend the work of the Urban Sites project to both rural and urban settings and to develop ways to close the gap between university researchers in education and practitioners in the field. His publication highlights include co-authoring ”The National Writing Project: Scaling up and Scaling Down,’ in Expanding the Reach of Reform: Perspectives from Leaders in the Scale-Up of Educational Reform (RAND, 2004). He is currently working on projects for new teachers under a grant from the Stone Foundation and on issues of adolescent literacy under a grant from the Carnegie Corporation. Since 2003, Mr. Sterling has chaired the advisory group to the College Board's National Commission on Writing in America's Families, Schools, and Colleges.

Is There Not A Correspondence?

2008-03-11T23:53:00.000-07:00

Is There Not A Correspondence?

Next week we will be discussing the affects of movies. For your assignment, write the usual one page, double spaced paper on:

A movie or television show that portrayed a situation you have experienced, such as:

College life
Dating
Work
Cultural & Ethnic experiences (Joy Luck Club, American Me come to mind)
Or other "specific" "real life" "experiences"

Is There Not A Cause?

And then write about how true to life that film was to your experiences. Did the film accurately capture your experience? Or did the film entirely miss the mark? Or did the film become so ingrained and foundational to the culture, that your experience cannot be thought about outside the context of the film ("It was unreal the way we looked into each others eyes/I made that last second 3-point shot/dove out from that out-of-control, burning vehicle/etc., like something out of a movie!").

Is There Not A Cost?

Then, discuss the implications, if any, of forming perceptions based on movies and television.

Video Game Week

2008-02-25T20:22:00.000-08:00

Hello Golden Bears,

As you may have heard, next class will cover the issue of video games and its effects on minds. Next week's homework will take the form of an interview. As usual, it need only be one page double-spaced.

As we saw in the video clip in class today, there are many reasons offered by those who play video games for extensive periods of time (addicts) and those who are friends and acquaintances with those same people, in explanation of their habits. We heard opinions arguing for and against these video gamer trends.

For your assignment, interview someone you know who plays a lot of video games. The purpose of the interview is to uncover why someone will be willing to commit a large portion of their time to playing video games. Although I do not have any set questions you must ask, some suggested questions can be

What is it about video games that is so satisfying to the player?
What motivations do video game players have for playing games for long hours?
Have they ever missed important events or commitments to play video games?
Do friends from online gaming networks take priority over friends from "real life?"
Can someone be addicted to video games? Compare it to other kinds of addiction. Do they have anything in common? Or is it all an exaggeration?
Is there a need to justify the amount of energy and time spent on video games?
And other questions

Also, pay close attention to the kind of language used by the video game player's responses. Is there any sort of value system that his/her language reflects (ie., as we saw in the video clip in class, much of the video game players' language had to do with inclusion and being part of a greater community. One interviewee referred to players like himself as "Smashers.")

Once again, have fun and be creative with the questions. Try to get at the heart of what motivates avid video game players.

Yours,

David

Fun Day!!!

2008-02-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Here's the list of food and supplies for the potluck today if you forgot!

Soda - Nick, Raymond
Cookies - Heather, Monica
Entree (Pizza) - Lawrence
Chips - Carli, Desteni
Salsa - Desteni, Yejin
Cups/Plates - Daniel
Napkins/Forks/Spoons/Knives - Matt
Dessert - Blanca, Hector, Stephany, Linda, Johanna and Lindsay (Fruit)
Salad - McCabe, Brittney
Other - Carlton/David, Laura, Maria (lemonade), Rosalie (tuna pasta), Jessica (something wonderful), Michelle (chicken)

Looking forward to all the fun, food, and bonding!

Children and Media

2008-02-05T12:57:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Thank you for coming and participating in the discussion on children and media. This will be an online forum where you can leave comments and we can continue thinking and talking about how the media has desensitized us (especially with our children).

Question to think about and/or discuss:
Is the loss of innocence from media's desensitizing effects from the media even a problem? Are we just overreacting?

Enrollment: Spaces Left!

2008-01-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

It turns out that there is still room in this DeCAL for upper division students to sign up for Education 198. We will try to extend the lower division limit...

Here are the ccn's:
Education 98: 23674
Education 198: 23977

Try and sign up ASAP before I open it up to everyone else. If you missed the first day of class, it's ok, just sign up and we'll see you this coming Monday!

-Carlton

One More Class Left!

2007-11-25T22:16:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I hope all of you had a peaceful and restful break!

Tomorrow, we'll be finishing up the group projects and doing course evaluations! We really want to know what you think of this DeCAL!

So far the projects have been great, and we're looking forward to see the other ones left! I hope everyone has been comfortable about scheduling the group presentations, and thanks for your understanding!

See you tomorrow,
Carlton

Final Projects

2007-11-13T23:34:00.000-08:00

Hey guys,

Just a reminder that final projects will start next week. In addition to any research you have done, please include personal experiences, opinions and commentary on the various topics you are presenting. Be ready to present this Monday 11/19, and let us know if you need tech help/advice concerning your projects (i.e. powerpoint, running videos off your computer or on the class projector, etc).

We look forward to seeing what you have prepared!

Laura

Guest Speaker: Richard Sterling

2007-10-30T15:03:00.000-07:00

Here's a brief bio:

Richard Sterling is the executive director of the National Writing Project. Formerly he was a faculty member at Lehman College, where he was also director and founder of the Institute for Literacy Studies, a research unit of CUNY. He also directed and founded the New York City Writing Project and the New York City Mathematics Project. In 1992 he received a grant from the DeWitt Wallace-Reader’s Digest Fund to develop a national project of teacher research groups in 12 cities across the U.S. As national director of this Urban Sites Network, he worked with teachers and faculty from all regions of the country to develop a body of practitioner-based research documenting educational practice. Richard Sterling is working to extend the work of the Urban Sites project to both rural and urban settings and to develop ways to close the gap between university researchers in education and practitioners in the field. His publication highlights include co-authoring ”The National Writing Project: Scaling up and Scaling Down,’ in Expanding the Reach of Reform: Perspectives from Leaders in the Scale-Up of Educational Reform (RAND, 2004). He is currently working on projects for new teachers under a grant from the Stone Foundation and on issues of adolescent literacy under a grant from the Carnegie Corporation. Since 2003, Mr. Sterling has chaired the advisory group to the College Board's National Commission on Writing in America's Families, Schools, and Colleges.

See you on Monday,
Carlton

Music Homework

2007-10-23T06:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I hope everything is going well and that you enjoyed the topic of movies and TV. I thought it was interesting to see how our notions and values of love, family, gender roles, violence and moral relativism can be shaped through this medium as well as desensitized with much exposure to visual media.

Next week is a double feature. We'll spend the first half covering Music. So for homework, look at any top list of most popular music (BillBoard, ITunes, etc.). Pick any song in the top 5 and look up the lyrics. Bring a copy of the lyrics as well as a paragraph analysis on what values the lyrics convey.

After we cover Music, we'll have time to work on group projects, so bring any material or ideas you've gathered!

Have a good week,
Carlton

Movies and TV Homework

2007-10-16T12:53:00.003-07:00

Hey guys,

We apologize for the delay in posting homework. Next week we will be discussing the effects of movies and television. To prepare, please write one page explaining how a particular movie or television show portrays college life and how accurate (or inaccurate) this portrayal is based on your own college experiences. If you have extra room, you can also discuss to what extent these shows/movies are affected by actual college life, and to what extent actual college life is influenced by these shows/movies. Have fun with this assignment, and see you next week!

Laura

Video Game Week

2007-10-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

Hello Golden Bears,

As you may have heard, next class will cover the issue of video games and its effects on minds. Next week's homework will take the form of an interview. As usual, it need only be one page double-spaced.

As we saw in the video clip in class today, one of the marketing researches conducted interviews with people he considered to belong to cults. What he found was that many of these people, regardless of what cult they belonged to, gave similar reasons for their membership.

Although video game players are not necessarily cult members (although your assignment may argue otherwise), interview someone you know who plays a lot of video games for your assignment. The purpose of the interview is to uncover why someone will be as committed to playing video games as they are. Although I do not have any set questions you must ask, some suggested questions can be

What is it about video games that is so satisfying to the player?
What motivations do video game players have for playing games for long hours?
Have they ever missed important events or commitments to play video games?

Also, pay close attention to the kind of language used by the video game player's responses. Is there any sort of value system that his/her language reflects (ie., as we saw in the video clip in class, much of the cult members' language had to do with inclusion and being part of a greater community. One interviewee even said, "It is all about being part of the Tribe.")

Once again, have fun and be creative with the questions. Try to get at the heart of what motivates avid video game players.

Yours,

David

Advertising Homework

2007-10-01T19:28:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone,

We hope you all had a fun time today doing "media-free activities." That "surround sound stereo speakers" was pretty amazing, huh?

So homework for next week:

1. Project prospectus (one per group)

2. Advertising homework: find a print or online advertisement with a male or female on it (no write-up).

That's it, and have a good week!
Carlton

Week 4: Fun Day!

2007-09-24T23:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, the day has finally come. The day you've all been waiting for--Fun Day! We're going to start off with a delicious potluck as well as some games (media-free) so we can have some fun and get to know the class better. The other half will be a period of brain-storming and group formations for the final project.

For details regarding the final project, check out the course syllabus.

Look out for an e-mail reminder regarding food for the potluck!

Have a great week,
Carlton

Barbie Article

2007-09-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

Hey guys,

Here is a link to the article I was telling you about during class last week. The author discusses the fears her mother had about her playing with Barbie, and the concerns the author has about similar influences on her daughter. The link also has information about the audio clip we listened to in class.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5595146
(Scroll to the bottom to find the Barbie article).

See you tomorrow as we discuss New Media!
Laura

Recap and New Media Homework

2007-09-17T21:32:00.000-07:00

Hello Folks,

It's me, David, on here tonight updating our blog. After talking with Laura and Carlton tonight, we all agreed how much we enjoyed having all of you in our DeCal and hearing your different perspectives. It should be an enjoyable and thought-provoking semester!

Anyway, here are the homework questions due next class, which will cover New Media:

1.) Discuss how a particular form of New Media (Facebook/Myspace, email, AIM, iPod, etc.,) shapes your identity online. How is this online "identity" the same or different from your identity in the real world? And only if you want to get a little deeper, you can ask how the medium itself already has certain limitations and expectations built in? (Ex., Myspace Top 8 friends = you can only choose eight close friends as your favorite, etc.)

2.) Has New Media had a positive or negative effect on your friendships/relationships? Give some examples.

As always, the papers only have to be one page double-spaced. Try to have fun with it and see if there are some new and creative ideas you can explore about New Media for next class discussion.

Take care and all the best,

David

Children and Media Homework

2007-09-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

Hi,

We hope you had a fun experience this past Monday! Our next class will be on Children and Media!

For homework, please write one page double-spaced reflection on these two questions:

1. Describe your interactions with media as a child.
2. Would you characterize these interactions as positive or negative?

Also, please read this article before the start of next week's class:

That's it! Have a great week!

Week 1: Introduction and Ice-Breakers

2007-09-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Class begins today (9/10) at 5pm in 170 Barrows! We'll have a time of introduction, an overview of the class, and getting to know one another. Hope to see you all there!

Interesting Article by Chuck Colson

2007-08-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

Are Images Making Us Illiterate?

July 19, 2007

Are Americans gradually becoming illiterate? It’s not because we never learned to read, but because we’re relying more and more on images instead of words.

A debate about this recently broke out on THE POINT -- BreakPoint’s blog site. One of the BreakPoint staff wrote about the frustrations of test-driving a new car: “There were many buttons and knobs with pictures on them instead of words,” she wrote. “What did they do? One of them had a picture with a big “X” painted over it, as if someone had made a mistake and crossed it out.”

Response from our blog readers was fierce.

“You’ve hit on one of my biggest pet peeves,” one blogger wrote. “I experienced the exact same thing with a rental [car] recently with the most perplexing image. [It] looked like a tire on fire. Why would anyone want to push that button?”

Another blogger noted that 300 years ago, “Businesses created signs [with] an image that would tell people what their business was, such as a shoe,” because most people were illiterate. Today, he says, “because we are relying more and more on images, we are becoming illiterate.”

It’s the same story with cell phones and TV remotes -- which is probably who so many of us have difficulty using them. If you order furniture from Ikea, the assembly instructions include no words at all: Just a series of pictures of how to put furniture together. It’s like trying to read hieroglyphs. At McDonalds restaurants, illiteracy is assumed: the cash registers contain little pictures of burgers and fries. The reason, in part, is that more and more immigrants do not speak English.

This increasing reliance on images over words can lead, not only to colossal frustration, but to spiritual illiteracy. As the late Neil Postman wrote in his book, AMUSING OURSELVES TO DEATH, the medium of communication actually helps shape the way people think. The printed word requires sustained attention, logical analysis, and an active imagination. But television and video games, with their fast-moving images, encourage a short attention span, disjointed thinking, and purely emotional responses.

It’s something to think about when we’re attempted to gorge on television or video games—and a reason to fight back against our culture’s insistence that virtually everything can be reduced to an image. Give your family a good lesson: read a book together.

Welcome to the Media Decal!

2007-08-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new blog! Fall 2007 is just about to start! More details about how to enroll in this DeCAL class! Check back for updates.

media decal

What a great semester!

Last Decal Potluck!

Week 10 Homework

Reminder: Bring your Time Logs!

Week 8 Homework

Week 7 Homework

More than a Face Presentation

Week 6 Homework

Week 5 Homework

Week 2 Homework

Week 1 Homework

Spring 2009 Syllabus

Homework Assignment #6

Homework Assignment #5

Homework Assignment #4

Homework Assignment #3

Homework Assignment #2

Homework Assignment #1

End of the Semester Dinner!

Guest Speaker: Richard Sterling

Is There Not A Correspondence?

Video Game Week

Fun Day!!!

Children and Media

Enrollment: Spaces Left!

One More Class Left!

Final Projects

Guest Speaker: Richard Sterling

Music Homework

Movies and TV Homework

Video Game Week

Advertising Homework

Week 4: Fun Day!

Barbie Article

Recap and New Media Homework

Children and Media Homework

Week 1: Introduction and Ice-Breakers

Interesting Article by Chuck Colson

Welcome to the Media Decal!