Stock Market Crisis All Over?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26958549/displaymode/1107/s/2/

I frequent the MSNBC website because I like to know what is going on in the world I'm living in. I love looking at their "Picture Stories" because it adds variety to the pages and pages of text. This week the site featured photos of stock exchange woes around the world. It was definitely an eye opener because most of the news has been about the stock market at home. I caught a glimpse outside America's "crisis" bubble.

This photo essay featured stock exchanges from around the world. My favorites were the markets in Paris and Pakistan. The Paris picture has some urgency about it. It may just me my personal interpretation because lost of people here are a little nervous and there is movement in the photo. I have no idea what the information on the monitors means and his desk is piled with papers. This is definitely an area I am not familiar with (the stock exchange) and the processes and language is unknown. I am only able to get meaning from the visual elements I understand.

I like the Pakistan photo because the person pictured is sleeping. I don't know why he is sleeping but I can't help but think it's because there is nothing he can do. He is waiting for further instructions or a specific alert via phone or e-mail. I notice all the fans and it reminds me how hot is is there. The computer monitor is something familiar and it becomes my grounding point.

There are captions with the photos but they are vague. I am left with my own interpretation. My interpetation is based on what I have been seeing and experiencing here in America. I have seen the worried analysts and reporters on the news and I try to follow everthing that is going on. I am only seeing one side and it has been somewhat negative with fear. I keep hearing words like recession and depression and crash.

I think these photos could be used in a classroom to show how biased, one-sided information affects the way we interpret media. Sometimes we can't help the lack of information but we can find out as much as we can. I also think it is important to recognize that we don't know all sides and it is alright to admit it sometimes. I will never know the inner workings of the New York Stock Exchange but I can find out how things that go on there will affect me. These photos can be interpreted in a classroom using the information the students already know and then the teacher can give them more information or send them places to find more info. I guess the main lesson would be to take into account biases and how they can affect interpretation.

Adventure Racing!

I was able to visit my family this week and as I was watching TV, I noticed some old Nintendo games on the floor around the TV. As I looked through them I remember all the fun my brothers and I had with these games. I picked up a game and put it in the console and began a game. All these memories of Christmas and fun competition came back. The game I started playing was Beetle Adventure Racing. This was such a fun game because we could race the new beetle bug cars and make them honk their horns.


I definitely had nostalgic reasons for play this game. As I played I remembered short cuts and the special boxes I was supposed to get. While I played my family watched as I crashed into everything. My 13-year-old brother was telling me which roads to take and where forgotten shortcuts were. We were all laughing and remembering what we found so interesting about these video games.

As I looked analytically at this game I noticed that you needed to place pretty high in each race and gather the most points you could so you could unlock more features and cars in the game. As I was playing, my brother told me how he used a "cheat card" to he could start with the best cars. I wondered what this game was trying to say? It was definitely fun to play but it brought out a competitive side in it's players. I shows how persistence and shortcuts can help us win races. This can be a positive or negative lesson.

I think this game can be used as a teaching example by asking students how they won the race. What did they need to know before to be successful? Did they need someone to teach them the controls or did they they already know what the buttons did? What is the objective? I think it would be beneficial for students to break down the game and see all the parts. How does the game work? Why is it so entertaining? What elements make the game more enjoyable but have nothing to to with the race (i.e. music, sound effects, etc.)? I think this type of critical thinking is a good exercise to show students collaboration.

'Cause we Rock!

Over the weekend I got to spend time with my 10 year old sister. She is really into the Disney Channel and its media. She had been wanting me to watch Camp Rock for a few weeks. I was finally able to watch it with her and was pleasantly surprised at what I saw.

It was everything I could have expected from a Disney Channel Original Movie. It had songs, young celebrities, and a definite moral. It reminded me a lot of the Prince and the Pauper and Cinderella. It's about a young girl, Mitchie, who really wants to go to Camp Rock that has produced famous kid artists like Connect 3 (played by the Jonas Brothers). The only way Mitchie is able to go to this camp is if her mom works in the kitchen. She is of course ashamed of what her mom does since everyone else comes from wealthy families or they are children of huge stars. This movie is basically about Mitchie's journey to fit in at camp while accepting her true self.

This movie had some pretty blunt themes. Toward the end of the movie the mom gives Mitchie a talk about how she needs to accept herself and stop trying to "fit in." She tells Mitchie that she is special and important because she is unique. If others don't accept her for her true self then they aren't worth spending time with: Moral #1.

Moral #2 comes from the bully Tess. She is mean to everyone throughout the entire camp. As an older critical thinker I could see that Tess was mean mean to compensate for the lack of attention from her mom. She held her popular status anyway she could. Putting down others made her feel better (until the little people stood up to her). In the end, Tess got what she deserved and had to apologize to the people she hurt. This shows kids that being mean and lying will get you into more trouble later and you won't have any friends.

I think the blunt morals/themes were great for kids because they like it right up front. They don't know exactly how to find deeper meanings in media texts through critical analysis. This movie works great because it presents real-life situations that the kids can relate to. The dialogue and parental guidance helps guide the kids right into the morals.

Interaction with this media can be used as a teaching example because it addresses issues kids see in school everyday. This is the world kids live in. The situations in this movie are taken right out of every local school in the nation. I think after watching this movie kids can engage in discussions about their school experiences. I talked to my sister about this movie. I think she can relate and that is why she likes it so much (not to mention the songs are extremely catchy). I think bluntly stated morals and themes can help younger kids know what to look for in other forms of media. This movie can help kids know what to do in specific situations at school and help them be problem solvers.

Raising the Bar? What bar?

It's interesting how quickly a commercial can get into your mind and plant an advertisement. I recently saw television ad for a TNT drama Raising the Bar. The commercial was only about thirty seconds but the message was provocative and quite clear.

It started with a deep announcer voice telling when and where the show could be seen. The voice over played during a montage of episode clips. As the commercial was coming to an end the screen went grey and bold, white words filled the middle of the screen as the voice over announced them: Sex, Justice, Betrayal. I couldn't believe what I was hearing! I couldn't believe how blunt this commercial was. I realized that this was a cable ad but most homes today have cable.

As I tried to analyze this ad I realized it was a social statement. This ad says quite a bit about what audiences like to see in their primetime dramas. There is hardly any video media out there that doesn't have some kind of sexual reference or scene. Sex sells and that's why it's there. It's sad when the "wholesome" films and shows that don't carry sexual references get cancled or don't sell as many copies.

I think this ad could be used in a class room by asking students what it is saying about the society they live in. After a short discussion the students could make a list of similar ads or shows that would capture the same audience or portray the same messages. This activity could be done in groups. Each group could give a mini presentation on the media they chose and the characteristics that are being portrayed by society. After the presentations the students could engage in a class discussion about how to personally filter out unnecessary themes or subject matter. The discussion could include how to avoid harmful media and how to get out of situations containing such media.

Need an agent? Get Smart.

This week's media encounter was with the movie Get Smart. I've been pretty excited to view this film and it finally made it's way to the dollar theater (wahoo). This was definitely not a disappointment. I think Steve Carell his hilarious and Anne Hathaway is gorgeous. This film was about a secret agent, Max, that wants desperately to go out and work in the field. He is CONTROL's best analyst and The Chief doesn't want to let him go. This film covers Max's journey from office analyst to field agent. This was definitley a entertainment viewing.

As I have had time to think and analize the film, I realize that there was substance there. The film was all about CONTROL vs. KAOS. Now, if that isn't explicit I don't know what is. I think what made the film so funny was the common sense. Everyone thinks of secret agents as super-smart people with a huge vocabulary and and equally sizable brains (most of the time this is propbably true) but this movie shows the "normal" side of agents. As Max goes about completing his mission he speaks what he thinks and isn't afraid to look stupid. He isn't afraid to ask questions and he utilizes every resoruce available to him.

I think these ideas can teach a lot to children. I think a certain age group would be able to view this film and then engage in a class discussion on what they got from it. It definitely teaches about asking questions and gaining information. I think it is extremely important that children understand that if they don't understand something they need to ask for clarification. Most of the time the majority of the class has the same question but everyone is too timid to speak up.

This film can be used as a teaching example by showing it to teachers/educators and then sending them off create an activity that can help children ask more questions and show them that they can be as smart as an agent. Agents are problem solvers and helping a student understand how to recognize problems and solve them can be extremely benificial.

Some game ideas could include an agent game. Present the students with a problem facing the world, their school, or their community. Have them get in groups and brainstorm ways to solve it. Have them write or design a "secret plan" to get "citizens" involved to help solve the problem. I think people, in general, learn better when they have to work for or find the information.

Facing Facebook

So this weeks first media encounter was definitely Facebook. I'm sure I'm not the only one who perused this site this week. Networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are becoming a huge part of teen and adult life. I am constantly on the lookout for friends who have recently joined or new picture posts.

Facebook, as everyone already knows, is a social networking site. The main page tells simply exactly what to expect: "Facebook is a social utility that connects you with the people around you." It goes on to list its uses:

It's understandable purpose and uses prevents confusion for potential users. Also the layout seems simple enough for those who have basic website navigating skills.

So how would one go about analyzing Facebook? Well for starters the simple and informative sign up page lets users know that it is user friendly and productive. After signing up, the user enters into the ultimate network. They can join groups, add friends, share pictures and thoughts. The status update lets others know at a glace what the user is doing.

I have been a Facebook user for a couple years and it has been interesting to watch it evolve and shape itself around the users. The creators of Facebook have listen to the outcrys or praises of its users. When I first joined Facebook, there were some elements that weren't exactly user friendly so users protested by creating groups. There were groups about all the things everyone hated and all the users who agreed joined the groups. The creators took note and things changed quickly. I have used Facebook to keep in touch with long distant friends and relatives and to stay updated on their lives.

I think Facebook can be used in the classroom to teach students how to network and to show them the power of the Internet. I think an important lesson could be about what is “safe” and appropriate to put on the Internet. As the networking sites have boomed employers are taking advantage. Most sites have places to describe skills and interests or display samples. These sites are becoming individual impressions to the world. If an employer sees questionable pictures or comments of a potential employee on their personal page they might reconsider hiring this person. In the classroom we could teach how to stay professional and still have fun on networking sites. We need to engage in discussions and examples of who has access to their personal pages and how to prevent dangerous or embarrassing situations.