Extra Source Video

This video recaps some important tips about integrating technology into the classroom.

Adolescents in the Digital Realm

What Surprised Me

                I grew up in a time when Facebook and social media was just emerging. As long as my homework and chores were done, my parents didn’t limit screen time. Looking back on it now, I wonder if it’s because I am considered a “digital native” and my parents “digital immigrants”. (Prensky) If they knew more back then about social media, would they have allowed such free reign or would they have placed a limitation in place and also require me to “friend” them so they could monitor my posts?

                

Reviewing the adolescent interview, I was interested to see that parents now have to actively limit screen time or determine the appropriate age that children are mature enough to be able to use social media. I was also surprised that when I asked the student about using social media in the classroom, she was clear that it is used more for building friendships and it almost seemed as if she didn’t want it to cross into the realm of education.

The Take Away Points

                The reading that inspired most of my questions was the Living and Learning with New Media article. I was also inspired by the NPR Interview as well. One item that really stood out was the idea of how adolescents respond to each other through media. The MacArthur Foundation article states:

 “Most youth use online networks to extend the friendships that they navigate in the familiar contexts of school, religious organizations, sports, and other local activities. They can be “always on”, in constant contact with their friends via texting, instant messaging, mobile phones, and Internet connections.”  (Ito, pg. 5)

This seems to contradict the opinion expressed in the NPR interview that texting and internet communication actually eliminates the idea of “being on” because it allows the message recipient time to construct a response at any time they feel comfortable doing so. When I asked the young girl about if she talked to her friends on the phone she responded with that she usually texts friends. It seems that there is less pressure using written types of communication instead of face-to-face or on the phone. For instance, “when Turkle asked teens and adults why they preferred text messaging over face-to-face conversation, they responded that when you’re face-to-face, you can’t control what you are going to say, and you don’t know how long it’s going to take or where it could go. (NPR)

Friendships definitely seemed to be the most important aspect of adolescent technology usage. On more than one occasion my interviewee mentioned that she and her friends shared items on social media quite frequently. She even clarified that since one friend could not have Facebook she would keep this friend in the loop by letting her look on too. In this day and age, digital presence is an important part of developing a social circle. With adolescents, there may be a participation gap since parents may limit or restrict the use of social media sites.

Technology for Learning

                

There is also a lot of discussion around using social media for educational purposes. However, will that really be the most effective option? It seemed to be clear that the interviewee was happy using tools already in her classroom like the smart board, iPads, and computers. When given the option of using a social platform in class, she seemed to be against it. Just because students like social media does not mean they need to learn that way. What if students prefer social media to be just that, social? That’s not to say that other interactive digital platforms can’t be used. It’s more about keeping your digital social presence separate from your digital learning sphere. This way my interpretation of the answer I received anyway. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Citation

 Ito, M., Horst, H., Bittanti, M., Boyd, D., Herr-Stephenson, B., Lang, P.G., Pascoe, C.J., & Robinson, L. (2009). Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project.Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Retreived from http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/files/report/digitalyouth-WhitePaper.pdf

S. Bennett & K. Maton, (2010). Beyond the ‘digital natives’ debate: Towards a more nuanced understanding of students’ technology experiences Journal of Computer Assisted Learning (2010), 26, 321–331 Retreived from http://www.karlmaton.com/pdf/2010BennettMaton_JCAL.pdf

Prensky,Marc. (2001). Digitial Natives, Digital Immigrants. Retrieved November 5, 2016 from https://moodle.esc.edu/pluginfile.php/1809534/mod_assign/intro/Digital%20Natives%20-%20Digital%20Immigrants.pdf

 In Constant Digital Contact, We Feel ‘Alone Together’. NPR. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2012/10/18/163098594/in-constant-digital-contact-we-feel-alone-together

Inspired by all assigned materials within the module. Image found through google image search and belongs

More Than Meets The Eye

     When I read the assignment regarding advertisement deconstruction, I instantly remembered the Miss Dior Cherie commercial that I saw for the first time quite awhile ago.The point that it stuck out in my mind is exactly why I wanted to analyze it further.

     There is much more to advertising than simply sharing information about a product. What initially attracted me to this particular clip was the upbeat French music and the whimsical balloons. Even though I'm not sure of the meaning of the song in English, as online translation tools seemed a bit inaccurate, it was still a very catchy tune. The bright colors and overall adventurous feel was also very appealing.

 I started by taking a look at the deconstructing a video advertisement document posted in the module. The prompts and questions within the document helped me to choose items that could be analyzed. It also made me think of analyzing novels for literary elements. It took many views to find visual metaphors, and the product hidden in frames where I initially did not notice it and more. This topic seemed to fit many ideas expressed in the Serafini text.

   

  Specifically there are several elements that Serafini noted such as color and scale. As indicated in my analysis, the colors used in the advertisement had a more feminine feel and included shades of reds, blues, and yellows. The Serafini text stated that each color could have several different meanings. For the purpose of this post, I will only choose meanings relevant to the advertisement. Reds are stated to stand for power, warmth, energy and activity which seemingly fit well with the overall theme of an independent fun-loving main character. Blue tones are stated to represent restfulness, and serenity. These items also fit in with the theme of relaxing and treating yourself. Yellows portray happiness, which is the overall emotion of the video clip. (Serafini pg.58)

    
    Serafini also described the importance of size and scale. It took several views for me to identify how many times the product appeared in the advertisement clip. In certain sections, the bottle of perfume dominated the scene and was larger than the surrounding objects. Serafini indicated this was a crucial part of design as larger items draw the eye in. In other scenes the perfume bottle was not the main focus. My conclusion is that the designer wanted to emphasize the other exciting elements in the frame so that the perfume was assumed to be related to the joyous adventures. (Serafini, pg. 58-59)




Serafini, Frank (text pgs 10-25; or kindle locations 1435-1438). Reading the Visual: An Introduction to Teaching Multimodal Literacy. Teachers College Press.

Miss Dior Cherie: Advertisement Deconstruction

Whimsical. Adventurous. Independent. Feminine. Playful. Wouldn’t you want to have some of the experiences that the leading character in this advertisement is showing? The purpose of this advertisement is to sell Miss Dior Cherie perfume. It is directed exclusively to captivate a female audience. The upbeat French music paired with soft ladylike colors helps to create the perfect ambiance for the message being portrayed.

Foreshadowing Balloons

                In the opening scene, we see a few balloons floating away in a pale blue sky. This is sort of youthful and playful as children often have balloons and sometimes let them free. The balloons float in their own path without any sort of direction or structure. This is foreshadowing the style of the young woman who is the main character of the advertisement. As the balloons are drifting about whimsically, the young woman is also about to peruse around town whimsically doing anything she pleases, seamlessly without a care in the world. The message here is that you can relax and go with the flow in any manner of your choosing.

Independent Adventure

                Next, we see the young woman looking out of a backseat car window in awe. Since she is in the backseat, it gives the audience the assumption that she may be in a taxi cab. From here, we may conclude that the young woman is on vacation and vacation is a great time to be adventurous and explore. This is precisely what the young woman does next.

 The woman walks around town independently wearing a pale pink dress. Alone, she happily does some sight-seeing around a gorgeous picturesque fountain, stops to see the beautiful flowers through a shop window, carefully chooses a decadent pastry, takes herself for a bike ride, tries on a designer gown, and goes shopping all before plopping down on what appears to be a comfortable hotel suite bed for a moment of rest. We then see her using the perfume before heading back out on the town to indulge in a pastry and kiss a man. Our main character is then carried away by a bushel of colorful balloons right before the brand name is sewn across the screen using a silky-smooth material. Overall these items reiterate that you can be perfectly happy exploring on your own, without another person.

Fountain of Cleanliness and Youth

                When you think of fountains there are a few things that may come to mind. The clear water in the advertisements can be a metaphor for showering, which links to cleanliness. When you stand near a fountain especially if the wind is blowing, you may get sprayed with water. Spraying is exactly what you would do with Miss Cherie perfume. The fountain can also be analyzed to reference the fountain of youth as many women may wish to be younger. We also see the appeal regarding freshness with the use of flowers in multiple scenes. This idea is two-fold as we can conclude that flowers smell wonderful and also that the woman is looking at “fresh cut flowers”. The desire to be young and fresh is definitely targeted by the advertisement.

Product Placement

                Throughout all of the adventures described above, the product is sometimes tucked away almost to appeal to your subconscious. In other frames, the perfume bottle is blatantly engaging. The product makes its first debut in the sweets shop, but it is not the main focus. To the left of the perfume bottle, there are brightly colored treats that are pink, yellow, peach and orange that catch the viewers eye. In the first few views, it appears that they woman is selecting her treat by pointing to which item she would like. Upon closer inspection, it appears that her finger strategically happens to be pointing in the same direction as the perfume bottle. This represents that the perfume is also a treat along with the idea of “treat yourself.” Perhaps, the company is suggesting that you treat yourself by buying their perfume.

                The perfume bottle appears again in the woman’s hotel suite and again appears to blend in as opposed to stand out. Contained in the frame, we see a pair of yellow sunglasses, beautifully colored cherries, a magazine with a glamorous woman on the front, a bright pink book, a carefully wrapped box that we may assume to be jewelry, a paper weight, and a part of a vase filled with flowers. All of these items have a very feminine feel to them and follow the same theme of treating yourself, relaxing, and adventure.

                In the next perfume bottle sighting, the woman is spritzing some on her neck before heading out to her next set of escapades. Shortly following, she is seen holding what appears to be an extremely large bottle of Miss Cherie perfume and joyfully looking through the bottle as if It were a looking glass. This fits the idea of youth and playfulness. The product isn’t shown again until the very end of the advertisement.

Lavish Luxury

All of these elements combined, gives women the idea that they too can be like the woman in the advertisement if they wear Dior Miss Cherie perfume. The French music along with feminine elements and a carefree approach portrays the idea of adventurous freedom. The video clip as a whole also has a luxurious feel to it as the clothes, jewelry box, and imagery appears to be high end. The leading lady’s carefree attitude can also give the impression that she has no financial concerns, which is a very desirable position to be in. While the advertisement is entertaining to watch and lifts spirits, it is also creating an unrealistic expectation. Any woman could choose to roam around freely in a desired destination, but this perfume won’t cause that to happen. The perfume also won’t take your cares away, or make you young, but it may make you smell nice.

Note: I used the Deconstruction a Video Advertisement document posted in the module to get ideas about what to analyze and how to proceed. http://www.mediaed.org/handouts/DeconstructVideoAd.pdf

Acoustic???

              We have come quite a long way since the 1970’s when Marshall McLuhan discussed his acoustic idea.  In the very first line McLuhan states “One of the big flips that’s taking place in our time is the changeover from the eye to the ear.” This seemed like an incorrect statement as we rely on both audio and visual communication instead of one or the other. However, I was surprised by the description of the next line which described that we “are now suddenly confronted with the problems of living in an acoustic world which is, in effect, a world of simultaneous information.” Now this I completely understand as we are using multiple senses on a variety of platforms. So, which one is it? Is McLuhan saying we are going out with the visual and in with the “acoustic” or is he saying that the term “acoustic” to him means mixed media with both visual and auditory components? (McLuhan, pg.1)

Tools and Techniques

            McLuhan may have been quite ahead of his time to wonder about more than just passing along messages, but instead focused on how we interact with the platform we are using to communicate and how it impacts the user.  He explains that his theory “is a transformation theory, how people are changed by the instruments they employ.” ( McLuhan. pg.4) With this type of explanation I think that McLuhan may be utilizing Serafini’s idea of Multiliteracies. While back in the 1970’s there were not as many communication options, you can still identify that McLuhan predicted that there was more to moving messages from one point to another as he describes. Serafini concluded that in new media multiple literacy types are present, we cannot be limited to visual literacy solely. Instead we can utilize critical literacy, media literacy sometimes simultaneously. I believe that McLuhan was working to predict a similar theory in saying that it is not just visual communications that we rely on anymore. ( Serafini Pg. 26)

Green

            In terms of Green’s theory I think that McLuhan was operating in the Critical Literacy Mode as he was actively looking for more information regarding the tools used to convey messages. The larger mass audience that he refers to may be operating in the operational realm as they may not have been as engaged and analytical about the messages being exchanged. (Green)

Thoughts and Opinions

            Throughout the entire video, I wanted to go back in time to the 1970’s to see if I could relate more to what McLuhan was discussing or describing. While some concepts were clearly understood, and explained, other subjects I felt very lost as if I needed more information to make any sort of logical sense out of it. I am still unsure if my interpretation of his speech is correct.

Citation

McLuhan, Marshall. (1970) Living in an Acoustic World. University of South Florida. Retreived from http://www.marshallmcluhanspeaks.com/media/mcluhan_pdf_6_JUkCEo0.pdf

GREEN’s Three Dimensions of Literacy Diagram

Serafini, F. (n.d.). Reading the visual: An introduction to teaching multimodal literacy.

 All images found through google image search and belong to their rightful owners.