Patrick Dougherty

Emergent Media is an extremely relevant and interesting class. It’s about new communication formats evolving in the present and it’s effect on our lives. From Unit 1, understanding media literacy, to Unit 10, the sports money cycle, it kept me engaged.

I really liked the online nature of this course, but not all online classes are alike. I thought Dr. Magolis’ video lessons were really well done and easy to follow. And if you put the video speed at 1.5, the classes went very quickly. I also liked the standard flow of the class. The routine in week 1 was the same in week 11. For an online class, this is very important.

The only part of this class I didn’t like was the blogging. Personally I don’t enjoy blogging and I am not a fan of WordPress.

My last thoughts on this class was that the grading was fair, but there is a lot of work. However, as long as you kept ahead of it, it was fine. I would definitely recommend this class to my friends…not only because I like its relevance, but because the online aspect was great.

According to the notes, the changes in media technologies have made it easier for marketers, governments, and criminals to invade your privacy. So, what can we do to protect our privacy? Here are a few ways to accomplish this:

1. Make a list of the things you can do to reduce and even eliminate threats
2. Remove private information
3. Be vigilant
4. Correct inaccuracies
5. Continually monitor threats
6. Download software to protect your computer from threats to your privacy
7. Disallow cookies

According to Potter, media literacy is “a set of perspectives that we actively use to expose ourselves to the mass media to interpret the meaning of the messages we encounter.”

Media literacy is essential in our digital world. Information is available at exponential rates and without media literacy we could not keep up and media would control us.

By developing a high degree of media literacy, our appetite for a wider variety of media messages will grow. In addition, increases in media literacy, allow us to learn more about how to program our own mental codes, rather than letting the media do it for us. And lastly, media literacy gives us more control over the media.

Reference

Potter, W. James. Media Literacy. 9th ed., Sage, 2019.

According to Potter (2016), we live an information-saturated culture, and this is growing at an accelerating pace. Moreover, social media continues to be the fastest growing area for media exposure, being consumed mostly on smartphones and other mobile devices.

To be honest, I can’t imagine life without social media. It is a part of everyday life. I check Instagram, twitter, YouTube, etc. several times daily.  It’s where I access sporting and general news, where I access funny and interesting videos and pics.

I understand that social media has its negative effects. For instance, according to a study by the Child Mind Institute (2020), social media and text messages that have become integral to teenage life, are promoting anxiety and lowering self-esteem.  However, social media is also “company”. It gives you something to do when you have nothing to do. It eliminates the awkward moments when you are by yourself.  In the past, would you do while you stood alone?

I understand the negative side effects – constantly checking, day or night.  That cannot be good. But I think with a little self-awareness, it’s not so bad.

References

Potter, James. Media Lieracy. 8th ed., Sage Publications, 2016.

Ehmke, Rachel, and Rachel Child Mind Institute. “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers.” Child Mind Institute, 2020, childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/. 

I just joined this class – Emergent Media. According to the Dr. Magolis’ syllabus, the course develops a students’ media literacy knowledge and skills – preparing them for an expanding technological society.

According to Potter (2016), Media literacy is a set of perspectives that we actively use to expose ourselves to the media and interpret the meaning of the messages we encounter. Perspectives are formed from knowledge structures – built with skills, information and drive (personal locus).

Information saturates our lives. We need to understand how to process it. In order to begin this process we need to understand the different tools to transmit this information. One such tool is a blog. This week we created our own blog.

I’ve never been a person who read blogs, so I’m not that keen on writing a blog. However, I’ll keep and open mind to see how it develops.

Potter, J. (2016) Media literacy. 8^th edition. Los Angeles, CA: Sage