This is a class blog by and for the students of Watertown High School in Watertown, MA USA. Please feel free to comment on our posts!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The POWER POINT & EDUCATION VIDEO FINAL
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT ALL STUDENTS KNOW THAT IN ORDER FOR THEIR EDUCATION VIDEOS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THE NATIONAL COMPETITION THEY MUST BE DONE BY THIS FRIDAY!! SUBMISSIONS ARE CLOSING EARLIER THAN I EXPECTED. AHHHHHHHH!
THAT MEANS SOME OF YOU WILL HAVE TO COME TO THE LAB AFTER SCHOOL IF YOU WANT YOUR VIDEOS IN THE COMPETITION IF YOU ARE NOT DONE. YOU CAN ALSO WORK ON IT FRIDAY AFTER SCHOOL--I WILL BE THERE TO HELP!
ALL SUBMISSION MUST BE THROUGH YOUR PERSONAL YOUTUBE ACCOUNT. IF YOU DON'T HAVE ONE THEN MAKE ONE!
HERE IS THE INFO FOR THE POWER POINT ASSIGNMENT:
* These will be part of your final grade for this quarter so make these good!
STEPS TO MAKING AN AWESOME POWERPOINT: YOU HAVE 3 LAB DAYS TO WORK ON IT!!! CHECK SCHEDULE.
1) Gather information in GOOGLE DOCS (provide links and references otherwise it is plagiarism)
2) Gather Pictures, videos, and Links (hyperlinks for references)
3) Put it all together in your Powerpoint
4) Practice what you will say for your presentation.
TOPICS: MASS COMM I
Ben: Music: Regge Evolution
Eric: Music Rock: Evolution
Ryan: Music: Rap Evoulution
Julia: Social Networking
Emily: Social Networking
Dina: New Journalism vs. Old
SaDaryl: Sports Broadcasting: Radio, TV, and Magazines
TOPICS: MASS COMM II
Matt: Audio Streaming: Pandora Radio
Dan: Video Streaming: Youtube
Laura: Social Networking
Vanessa: Hello Kitty Empire
Margy: History of Radio
Melissa: History of TV
Oliva: History of Filmmaking
Joe: Evolution of social networking
If you need more help making your Powerpoint here are some resources:
GOOGLE: HOW TO MAKE A POWERPOINT
How to make hyperlinks in Powerpoint
How NOT to use Powerpoint
Good Luck! Ms.V
Monday, October 26, 2009
THIS WEEK'S ASSIGNMENTS
Day7: Tues Oct 27th: First Grade Education Video
Day1: Wed Oct 28th: LAB --Start Power Point
Day 2-no class
Day 3: Friday Oct 30 Friday--EducationVideo Re-edits
Day 4: Monday Nov 2 LAB: Continue Working on Power Point
Day 5: Wednesday Nov 4: Final Education Videos-Edit
Day 6: Thurs. Nov 5 LAB: Final Power Points-Send to Ms. V
Day 7: Friday Nov 6:Watch Education Videos ( Final Grade)
MASS COMM II
Day7: Tues Oct 27th: First Grade Education Video
Day1: Wed Oct 28th: LAB --Start Power Point
Day 2: Thursday Oct 29 LAB--Work on Power Point
Day 3: Friday Oct 30th--Education Video Re-Edits
Day 4-no class
Day 5: Wednesday Nov 4:Re-Edits & Exports
Day 6: Thurs. Nov 5 LAB: Finish Power Points, send to Ms. V
Day 7: Friday Nov 6: Watch all Education Videos (Final Grade)
Power Points will be graded and need to be send to Ms. V on Thursday Nov. 5th e-mail: msventurawhs@gmail.com
I'm Beautiful
It's funny how comedians' jokes always come full circle. A few words in the beginning of the act that are slipped in here and there. Maybe, I dunno, a poem by Langston Hughes. How that no matter what anyone says to us, we're still here. And I think too many people take that for granted. I remember at one point during Dr. Mykee's presentation where we all laughed at Hector being called a taco. That's just as bad as calling him a taco, just like Furious laughed at his buddy Rick's joke. There are Hectors and Keishas out there; people who are the butt of jokes. I think that more than one person was inspired by our assembly today. I know I was.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Educational Video Rubric: Due Oct 27th
ALL VIDEOS ARE DUE TUES OCTOBER 27TH
A: SUPER AWESOME PROJECT:
Good Attendance
Always on time—less then 2 Tardies
Voice over or video
Images correspond to voice over or video
Transitions
Text
Music
Youtube videos
Great Effort
B: Because you are Trying!
Voice over or video
Images correspond to voice over or video
Transitions
Text integration
Music
Youtube
Fair Effort
C: Can’t hurt to try harder
Bad Attendance
Lots of Tardies
Voice over
Images barely correspond
Poor Effort
D: Did you even try?
Everything in C….plus
F: Frankly, you are wasting space.
Terrible Effort
Do you have a pulse?
A: SUPER AWESOME PROJECT:
Good Attendance
Always on time—less then 2 Tardies
Voice over or video
Images correspond to voice over or video
Transitions
Text
Music
Youtube videos
Great Effort
B: Because you are Trying!
Voice over or video
Images correspond to voice over or video
Transitions
Text integration
Music
Youtube
Fair Effort
C: Can’t hurt to try harder
Bad Attendance
Lots of Tardies
Voice over
Images barely correspond
Poor Effort
D: Did you even try?
Everything in C….plus
F: Frankly, you are wasting space.
Terrible Effort
Do you have a pulse?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Invisible Children and Mass Media
Mass communications is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time. It is usually understood to relate to newspaper and magazine publishing, radio, television and film, as these are used both for disseminating news and for advertising (Wikipedia).
The website for Invisible Children has many techniques through which information is distributed to the viewer. There are many videos, live chats, and constant new uploads and news, which ensure a broad audience. The filmmakers elicit an emotional response by making their videos full of pity and fear for the Anacholi children who are massacred and abducted in Uganda, and fear over what the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) will do in the future. The combination of these elements gives the audience a sense of urgency, prompting them to sign up with the organization or helping by donating 3 dollars a week, joining the "Schools for Schools" program, and signing the petition for Joseph Koney's arrest.
In addition, the movie "The Rescue" shows how people in America, New Zealnd, Scotland, and other countries (a total of about a hundred cities) all join to protest Africa's longest lasting war by getting "abducted." The most important idea is that even though most of the people who protested had never been in Africa, the power of mass communication encouraged them to gather and protest a cause. When they were in Unganda the creators of the Invisible Children created videos that were very powerful and later on got attention by creating a movie.
By choosing celebrities to resuse the "abducted" participants is a very smart way to attract the world news, because they are so high profile. The abducted gathered at Harpo Studios and Oprah responded, thus attracting a huge audience.
In my opinion, one of the most effective ways to protect the children in Uganda is to create a permanent news agency that reports on all the children who are abducted and organize a union of countries in support of the children of Africa. This union can have meetings and the countries' representatives will decide how to improve the current situation.
The website for Invisible Children has many techniques through which information is distributed to the viewer. There are many videos, live chats, and constant new uploads and news, which ensure a broad audience. The filmmakers elicit an emotional response by making their videos full of pity and fear for the Anacholi children who are massacred and abducted in Uganda, and fear over what the LRA (Lords Resistance Army) will do in the future. The combination of these elements gives the audience a sense of urgency, prompting them to sign up with the organization or helping by donating 3 dollars a week, joining the "Schools for Schools" program, and signing the petition for Joseph Koney's arrest.
In addition, the movie "The Rescue" shows how people in America, New Zealnd, Scotland, and other countries (a total of about a hundred cities) all join to protest Africa's longest lasting war by getting "abducted." The most important idea is that even though most of the people who protested had never been in Africa, the power of mass communication encouraged them to gather and protest a cause. When they were in Unganda the creators of the Invisible Children created videos that were very powerful and later on got attention by creating a movie.
By choosing celebrities to resuse the "abducted" participants is a very smart way to attract the world news, because they are so high profile. The abducted gathered at Harpo Studios and Oprah responded, thus attracting a huge audience.
In my opinion, one of the most effective ways to protect the children in Uganda is to create a permanent news agency that reports on all the children who are abducted and organize a union of countries in support of the children of Africa. This union can have meetings and the countries' representatives will decide how to improve the current situation.
Matt's Media Midterm
Invisible Children, like other NGOs, would be nothing without support. One of the most efficient and fastest ways to gain this support is through the spread of mass media and communication. Almost half of their website is dedicated to media and news about the organization. The one video on the website that struck me was the Roadie Application video. This message the video sent was something like "hey you, here's what I'm doing to make a change, and you can do the same thing." The roadie video was an invitation to join the movement to end Joseph Kony's child soldiers, and it was all a piece of the mass of communication coming from Invisible Children.
The amount of media that Invisible Children used in their documentary of "Rescue Me" was also amazing. They branched out to local news stations to spread the word - that in itself is mass media! On top of that, they got moguls from various cities to increase awareness and in the world. They even got Oprah, one of the most influential women in the world, to put in a good word. The traveling buses of Rescue Riders was another form of mass communication, even if media was not directly involved. The coming together of these 100 cities and 100,000 people really demonstrates the power of mass communications through social networking sites.
But as we all know, more can be done to help the cause. Invisible Children is working on a project now, to get a bill passed by Congress, that would end Joseph Kony's reign in Uganda. They need to rally support for this bill so it can be sent through the Senate and the House of Representatives in order to arrive on President Obama's desk. We all have to share our voices through mass communication and media, and together, we can make a difference. Together, we are free.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Mass Comm and Invisible Children
The Invisible Children Organization applies various forms of mass media to raise awareness about the tragedy in Uganda. According to dictionary.com, mass media is defined as "A means of public communication reaching a large audience." This organization uses video, television, websites, public protest, along with other means of communication to get their message out to a wide range of people throughout the world. The members of Invisible Children are experts in how to quickly and effectively get information about their cause available to the world to view.
They use Video, whether it be a movie or clip on YouTube, to capture the attention of viewers around the world to rapidly send information to multiple viewers at once. They travel around to schools and other events showing their movie to large audiences so they can spread their message to people who may not be able to go online and look up the information or to people who have not heard about this cause before. In my own experience I had very little knowledge about what this organization was until representatives showed me and my school the video they had made which made realize what a good cause it was based on first hand footage and facts about what was happening to the children of Uganda. The website is also a form of mass-communications because it provides specific information and facts to anyone who views the website and since the website is available at any time a large audience is able to learn about what the Invisible Children's cause is.
The rally that Invisible Children members came up with called The Rescue is also a form of mass-communication. This event took place in cities around the world where supporters of the Invisible Children organization slept outside in public parks until it was covered by a news station and a well known celebrity or "Mogul" as they called them, publicly spoke on behalf of the organization to help raise awareness. This was a very effective form of mass media because they were able to get Senators and celebrities such as Oprah, to speak publicly and raise awareness on national television, and for the politicians involved, were able to make a bill that went to congress. The Invisible Children organization heavily relies on mass-communications to send their message to the world because it is a non-profit organization and they need to find the most efficient way to contact a large audience.
By: Eric Dupuis
They use Video, whether it be a movie or clip on YouTube, to capture the attention of viewers around the world to rapidly send information to multiple viewers at once. They travel around to schools and other events showing their movie to large audiences so they can spread their message to people who may not be able to go online and look up the information or to people who have not heard about this cause before. In my own experience I had very little knowledge about what this organization was until representatives showed me and my school the video they had made which made realize what a good cause it was based on first hand footage and facts about what was happening to the children of Uganda. The website is also a form of mass-communications because it provides specific information and facts to anyone who views the website and since the website is available at any time a large audience is able to learn about what the Invisible Children's cause is.
The rally that Invisible Children members came up with called The Rescue is also a form of mass-communication. This event took place in cities around the world where supporters of the Invisible Children organization slept outside in public parks until it was covered by a news station and a well known celebrity or "Mogul" as they called them, publicly spoke on behalf of the organization to help raise awareness. This was a very effective form of mass media because they were able to get Senators and celebrities such as Oprah, to speak publicly and raise awareness on national television, and for the politicians involved, were able to make a bill that went to congress. The Invisible Children organization heavily relies on mass-communications to send their message to the world because it is a non-profit organization and they need to find the most efficient way to contact a large audience.
By: Eric Dupuis
Invisible Children Use Mass Communication to Promote Their Cause
Invisible Children is a non-profit organization created by three young filmmakers who traveled to Africa in search of a story and found a great tragedy. Their mission now is to get the United States government to intervene in Northern Uganda, stop the fighting, and save Joseph Kony's child soldiers. This organization utilizes many different forms of mass communication to get the word out about their mostly unknown cause. They attempt to reach as many people as possible through the use of various forms of multi media, which range from their widely used Twitter Page to the documentary they created.
In addition to spreading the word through their Facebook Group, Invisible Children send representatives to communities and schools across the country. These representatives show parts of the great documentary about the ongoing war in Uganda and what Invisible Children (IC) hopes to do about it. The creators of IC really know how to use movies to inspire people. Their films are professionally made, powerful, moving, funny, well edited and exciting. Also, they sell t-shirts and wrist bands as a way to advertise themselves even further.
IC has an amazing, well organized, and highly graphic intensive web-site that really invites one in and is easy to navigate. It has many videos that are a fun way to learn about how you can get involved in this exciting group. They also have their own music which is on sale on itunes and have formed many strong partnerships such as the one explained in the video below.
The organization also holds many events to raise awareness. One such event was called The Rescue which was held on April 25, 2009. It consisted of "85,000 activists who gathered in 100 cities across 10 countries to “abduct themselves for the abducted” and stand in solidarity with the child soldiers. Participants wrote letters to their elected officials and rallied for a political or cultural figure to come and “RESCUE” them by making a public statement on behalf of the child soldiers. The story was covered by over 40 international media outlets, including CNN International, The Oprah Winfrey Show, MTV, E! News, and the Huffington Post. (wikipedia.com)" This event would not have been possible without excellent handling of mass communication. The organizers used twitter, their cell phones, and email to constantly stay in contact and informed on the situation.
IC does such a good job of using mass communication that I can't think of a whole lot more that they could do. They should definitely try to get more press in things like magazines and more spots on television so that older people who are less inclined to use the internet can still learn of their cause. In addition I think it would be good if some of the schools that IC got involved had their own IC Blog. I am in WHS's Invisible Children Club and have already talked to Mr. Buck about creating our own blog to keep track of our school's individual accomplishments. I think the more there is about this group out on the web, the better.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Invisible Children Raises the Bar for Mass Media.
Invisible Children is a movement to get the United States government to stop the killing in Northern Uganda
and the rescue of Joseph Kony's child soldiers. The amazing aspect of this non-profit organization is how they organize
people and rally support for their cause. The first step that Invisible Children (IC for short) takes is to get the message
across of what they everyday people like you and I to do. This is accomplished through groups on Facebook and Twitter
feeds and visits to schools and communities.
After people are aware of such a cause, they want to know why they should
After people are aware of such a cause, they want to know why they should
support it. This is where the powerful footage and narrative of the IC videos come in. The videos such as this one are
excellent ways of conveying the raw emotion and sadness of the situation in Uganda. Once people are on board and
supporting IC, they sport t-shirts, banners and other paraphernalia that promote the IC cause. This is akin to a type of
advertisement for the cause. The viral spread of such a powerful issue is a perfect example of modern mass media. Free
Invisible Children could further their cause and fan base by branching out to other forms of media. As of now, IC is
mainly limited to the Internet. If they could get some time on television as an actual program it would get the message out
to more people, mainly older people who don't use social networking as much as younger folk. Obviously you can't get a TV show
overnight, so perhaps they can start with commercials, TV spots, TV spots during big events (football games) and then specials
on channels such as History, Discovery and others.
This would be another excellent way to effectively spread information.
overnight, so perhaps they can start with commercials, TV spots, TV spots during big events (football games) and then specials
on channels such as History, Discovery and others.
This would be another excellent way to effectively spread information.
I would like to just comment about the IC project as a whole. In the main video, you see how hopeless it seems at
some points. The project looks like a failure when Oprah fails to come out and address their cause. But the team stands strong and
doesn't give up. I feel that this is an important lesson we can all learn from. I can relate this to my experience rowing and
I'm sure everyone else can relate it to something in their life. If you believe in something, you should never back down or
give up until you truly cannot continue. There is always a chance, and as long as the dream is alive and you believe,
anything is possible (for example, the 2008 IRAs where Cornell walks back and beats Yale, I know I couldn't help but have
another rowing reference so forgive me).
Want to learn more? Click here.
Want to see more videos? Click here.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
MASS COMM BLOG “TAKE HOME MIDTERM.” DUE TUES, OCT 13
The Mid-term Assignment is to create an original BLOG posting about how the organization Invisible Children uses mass media & communications to raise awareness about their mission. Be sure to include specific examples from the website and in class videos as well as references to how mass communications is define. Include other resources in your blog, but do not forget to cite—otherwise it is plagiarism!
Finally, provide ideas for new & creative ways for the organization to disseminate information to the public.
DO NOT POST, SAVE AS DRAFT. ONLY THE BEST WILL BE POSTED!
Blog must be at least 3 paragraphs.
Due, Tues Oct 13
INVISIBLE CHILDREN WEBSITE
Finally, provide ideas for new & creative ways for the organization to disseminate information to the public.
DO NOT POST, SAVE AS DRAFT. ONLY THE BEST WILL BE POSTED!
Blog must be at least 3 paragraphs.
Due, Tues Oct 13
INVISIBLE CHILDREN WEBSITE
Friday, October 2, 2009
EDUTOPIA
What is EDUTOPIA?
Find a video, blog, or article and blog about it.
Be sure to answer some of these questions:
Why did you pick this article, blog, or video?
What is the objective and purpose of the material?
What is your opinion?
http://www.edutopia.org/video
We will work on this in class.
Find a video, blog, or article and blog about it.
Be sure to answer some of these questions:
Why did you pick this article, blog, or video?
What is the objective and purpose of the material?
What is your opinion?
http://www.edutopia.org/video
We will work on this in class.
Reflection.
In my Intro to Media class I am learning alot, in intro to media im learning to interact with others and learn how to use the internet more.The intro to media class is a fun class so far .It gets kinda difficult at times but im learning to try and step up.When we watch videos and blag at the beggining of class that is my favorite part of the class :)
The into to media class is beggining to be a great class.
The into to media class is beggining to be a great class.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
How is this music video a form of mass communication?
HOW IS VIDEO A FORM OF MASS COMMUNICATION?
YOU CAN WATCH IT MORE THAN ONCE.
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