Media and Teenagers

These are some sites that cover the topic of how teens are affected by media:
~ http://ced.appstate.edu/departments/ci/programs/edmedia/medialit/ml_adolescents3.html
~ http://teenagerstoday.com/articles/1065.php?wcat=329
~ http://teenagerstoday.com/articles/2959.php?wcat=329
~ http://teenagerstoday.com/articles/1029.php?wcat=329
~ http://news.com.com/Teens+and+media+a+full-time+job/2100-1041_3-6141920.html
~ http://teenagerstoday.com/articles/cat_329.php

Essay on Media

A good topic for the essay is propaganda in media. Some good sites include:

~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda
~ http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Propaganda_techniques
~ http://www.thematzats.com/propaganda/prop/sld003.htm
~ http://library.thinkquest.org/C0111500/proptech.htm

Effects of Internet

If anyone is doing a paper about internet, I found a good site that has research data and survey results regarding the impact of interent on people.

http://www.pewinternet.org/about_mission.asp

Child/ TV site

Here is another site I found with data regarding children and television:

http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/Zero-to-Six-Electronic-Media-in-the-Lives-of-Infants-Toddlers-and-Preschoolers-PDF.pdf

Question/confirmation...

Does anyone remember when the media paper is actually due by? I know it is Sunday - but did I hear Professor Crandall say by midnight on Sunday as opposed to completed before class? Did anyone else hear that? Thanks :)

Research Advice

Hey guys. Did u guys try Mt.SAC's library web site? You can access to alot of articles from there for freeeeeee..... :). I thought it might be helpful. ttyl

Ryan.

Media Influence on Children

I'm bit overwhelmed with the short period to complete a 8~10 pages essay. I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about the media, and after printing and reading few different articles about the media, I narrowed it down to the topic above. Still, it's a lot of information to process... If anyone knows where I can find more specific info on this topic, please help me.

Wandering Professor

Thanks for the very polite comments or complaints about discussions wandering. These points are well taken: focus must be the responsibility of the professor, not that of the students. Likewise, when the professor fails to make something clear, surely that is not the fault of any student.

Students make a large commitment to coursework, a commitment that often goes unacknowledged. Students should insist on satisfaction. When the prof wanders or fails to explain something clearly, a question usually helps everyone. A question that appears later, in the blog, for instance, may be helpful as well.

None of this means that any student bears responsibility to produce questions or produce "the right questions," let alone to organize the class. But hopefully the opportunity to respond will reduce the frustration of learning in an imperfect environment from imperfect instructors.

Effects of Media on Women in Society

I am doing my paper on the title of this blog. If you come across any related articles please shoot me a link. Thank you!

F.A.I.R., just FYI

Anyone who wants to write about US media and news might want to check out Jeff Cohen, the founder of FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting). He gave a lecture in Oregon that's available on Google Video. To get there, go to Google Video:

1. Go to http://www.google.com


2. Choose the "VIDEO" link right above the text field to search


3. Scroll down and find the lecture in Oregon


4. The interview with Amy Goodman is pretty good too, but most of the info is the same.
   

(This is all just FYI for anyone interested; it's not assigned reading.)

Essay 1

For essay 1, are we suppose to write about something related to political issues those readings we did for this course? I'm a little confused.

"On Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau

This essay by Thoreau is amazing. Although a little long, once a reader delves into the writing, eye-opening information is found. The ideals of Thoreau are still carried on today and have impacted many important figures. Mohandas Gandhi was impressed by the essay and wrote a translated synopsis for it. Martin Luther King, Jr. was also so moved by the essay. The essay was published at 1849 in a magazine. Thoreau wrote it while in jail for having refused to pay his taxes. He disapproved of giving his money away to the Mexican-American War, a war that would spread slavery's territory into Mexico. A well-known line from the essay is, "That government is best which governs least." Many see this ideal as a bit anarchist, but Thoreau simply meant that a government is best when it doesn't interfere too much with its people. At that time, when government officials didn't even require search warrants and homeowners had to house and feed any soldier that demanded them to, this was a big problem. The ideals of the First Amendment have been brought up by works like this essay. Henry David Thoreau impacted many to petition for their rights and beliefs and has impacted our system of government today.

OK, this doesn't count as a post but I need to know what happened to my comment!
I commented under sharkyspys comment and when I went to view my comment it wasn't under my own heading. I did it in class as a test just fine now it's not working. So now to view my own comment I have to click on sharkys comments. Is this normal?

critical thinking

Yes, I couldn't agree more. It seems the longer I'm alive the more everything takes this analyzation process. I'm glad you are enjoying your ASL class! It is fun, but even that if you get into it far enough has it's own politics. I'm a sign language interpreter at another college and the interpreting process is also very analytical. It's done simultaneously while the speaker is talking so you have to intake the english language and quickly anaylze and convert it into your outgoing translation in sign. Sore brains are definitely the blessing and curse of being a human; it's that we can and therefore must reason.

Critical Thinking Comment

Is it just me or does anyone else have a sore brain? I understand that many things should be questioned and verified - however, there are certain things that we accept as "constants" because they are the exact same everyday we encounter them. I have a psychology class and Speech 1A class at the same time I am taking this class and all three utilize critical thinking. I have such a headache after working on research for all three classes! Needless to say that I love my American Sign Language Class!
Ok, on to the matter at hand - if we studied a poem, that has 11 lines, for hours - how are we going to get through, let's say, Thoreau's "On Civil Government" by the end of the semester? I know it is important to analyze materials and determine what is more than likely accurate, and what is a fallacy. I also realize that by the end of this class I will be able to write a more convincing and supported paper regarding an idea or concept. I must say it is very interesting to see the different ways that people think, and the different ways people perceive the same message. I always thought that Thoreau was a naturalist, I never realized that he had something to say about the government. The writing was definitely an eye opener. I question how someone can actually determine what someone was thinking when they wrote a particular piece without actually talking to them. Seeing the different ways that each of us interpret a "message" reinforces that question even more. Mr. Crandall makes the question even stronger when he points out that there are many ways to define a particular item, such as a chair. When reading something - how do we know what the writer envisioned, unless they spell out every single little detail? I know I will get a lot out of this class (including some potential counseling sessions) and look forward to the rest of the semester.

Test Post

this is a test...

test

test post

Test

Test Post

Test Post

Very well set.

How to Comment

The second kind of blog entry is a comment. That's an entry specifically in response to someone else's blog post. You may not that it's displayed differently. It won't be displayed with the general entries in the blog, so to read the comments, you'll have to scroll down to the end of the article and click on the comments link.

If you do, you'll see the previous comments on the left and a text-field you can enter text into on the right. Go ahead and enter your comment, hit PUBLISH THE TEXT, and it should be listed with the rest of the comments.

How to Post

Since this is a forum for students, the instructor will not generally post here unless there's some administrative thing to broadcast between classes. However, those who have not blogged before may appreciate some brief instructions.

So, there are two types of entries that will be credited. One is a post; one is a comment. To post, or to edit a post, one has to sign in. (At the top right of the denim-blue field you have a link that reads "Sign in" or "Sign out." If it reads "Sign in," you will need to click on it and provide your email address and your password before you can post.)

Once you're signed in, you can click the link that says "New Post."

You should get a text-box with a field at the top left that says "Title:" and a field at the lower-right that says "Labels for this post:". You should use both.

The title of the post provides the large letters that mark each separate post. They make it easy for readers to spot your post, to have some kind of idea what you're writing about, and to tell where posts stop and start.

The Labels field classifies your post, probably by topic. Labelling may become VERY useful for you and your colleagues as the semester progresses. On the opening screen of the blog, you may notice that there is a list of labels to the right of the column for blog entries. As the semester progresses, these will be listed most-common label towards the top. As the semester progresses, you will be able to get progressively more information by topic just be clicking on the proper label in the labels-list: this will call up the entire list of blog entries for that particular label. So, for everyone's ease and efficiency, please label each post.

A couple of optional hints:

1) You can edit your posts directly onto the text field, or you can edit them in a word processor or text editor. Editing onto a word processor or text editor and saving the file back somewhere else means you have less risk of losing your work, which can happen in the text field either by server communication problems or just by clicking on the wrong icon at the wrong time.

2) The preview link by the upper right of the editing window should prove useful.

I have not yet tested how much play we are allowed in the Edit HTML link, but those tempted to edit their own raw code are encouraged to experiment at will.

How to Use the Blog

Students will make more or less two entries in the blog per week. The number of entries need not be exactly equal each week, but students must not altogether wait until the end of the semester.

To get on the blog, supply the instructor with an email address and a username. Please do NOT use a recognizable username. Initials, for example, are too recognizable. The instructor will print and pass a list of student names and usernames to the class. These lists will be for the use of class members only.

Blogger.com will email you with the invitation to join the blog and an URL where you can start a Google account and join the blog. You will be able to choose a password at that time and manage your own password. That means you need to remember your own password: the instructor will not know it.

Possible topics for blog response includes anything relevant to the class, its administration, your own related projects, and anything else that you might feel comfortable discussing in a classroom environment.

Class Outline

Outline - MtSAC 1C # 097357 Critical Thinking 8-12:15 Sunday

3/4 - Procedures, parameters, software, signups.
READ - About Toulmin: http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/reading/toulmin/
Langston -Hughes' "Harlem": http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=640
- Start "On Civil Government" Henry David Thoreau.(for week 3)

3/11 - Toulmin analyses. Logical fallacy.
Read about fallacies - http://www.logicalfallacies.info/. Find fallacies for discussion.

3/18 - Bring Fallacies. (View WMD montage. Discuss Thoreau.)
READ - About media - http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/spiroagnewtvnewscoverage.htm
- Chomsky's Propaganda Model http://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/2002----.htm
- Noam Chomsky: "Resort to Fear” http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20050716.pdf

3/25 Bring W3 Sites/ addresses. Start Essay 1.

4/1 - Essay 1 due, on media. View Shakespeare. Discussion.

4/8 EASTER WEEKEND

4/15 - Find Critical readings. Discussion. Choose debate topics, teams.

4/22 - Essay 2 Due. Fallacies. Conferences, debate preparations.

4/29 Conferences, debate preparations. Fallacies

5/6 Conferences, debate preparations. Debate. Fallacies.

5/13 Debates. Fallacies. Research papers.

5/20 Debate preparations

5/27 Debate preparations

6/3 Debate preparations. Debates. Fallacy Assignments. LAST BLOG ENTRIES.

6/10 Debates. / presentations. Essay 4.

6/17 Finals.