I remember watching Barney tapes as a young age to the point where they were practically ruined. I remember watching the Dukes of Hazard as my mom, grandma, and I put up the Christmas tree and decorated it. I remember Grease being rereleased in theaters when I was young, and my mom taking me to see it, and choosing a seat in the back on the isle because I always danced along with the musical numbers (I was that kid). I don't remember listening to the radio a lot, but I remember my mom playing Alan Jackson tapes all the time, and that being my first response when someone asked me who my favorite artist was. That was also my first concert when I was six years old.
2. What commercials or advertisements do you still remember from your childhood?
8. Do you have a favorite commercial or advertisement?
It's funny, but the first thought that pops into my head are the GEICO commercials. I remember the very first ones they made where the gecko was getting calls meant for the insurance company. Now he's their spokesperson! I also remember the commercial with the squirrels. You know the one. It's my all-time favorite!
3. Do you remember desperately wanting to buy something as a child based on an advertisement? What was it? Why did you want it?
A Barbie car! I wanted one of those things so badly! Now that I think back, there was no reason for me to have it. My grandparents had a small orange four-wheeler that I rode around our property, so I didn't need a Barbie car also, but I remember wanting one more than anything. I also still joke with my mother that I'm still waiting for that Barbie car.
4. What are your recollections of using social media?
5. Describe a negative experience with social media.
6. Describe a positive experience with social media.
I'm combining these questions, simply because they go together and I don't feel like I have a lot to say about this. I was late to the social media bandwagon. I never had a MySpace. I hated the idea. I was against Facebook until I was in my third year of college. I still don't understand the fascination with SnapChat. Depending on how you choose to define social media, I would say my earliest uses involved using AOL Instant Messenger. There isn't really anything positive to that experience, and I don't know that I have any outstanding positive experiences with social media other than being connected to people I never see. As for negative, though, I dealt with some bullying through AIM when I was in middle school, though I didn't realize that was what it was at the time. Nowadays, I see too many politically motivated and inaccurate posts on Facebook by people who choose not to be educated, which I would classify under negative experiences as they make me avoid the site for long periods of time.
7. Describe your current media viewing habits.
I don't have a lot of time for TV or movies or really a lot of things. Which means that when I do decide to watch something, I'm usually binge watching using Hulu or some other streaming website that can provide that for me. Usually, if I can, I'm watching these on my iPad, because it's easier to view when I'm getting ready for bed instead of my computer. I also hook my laptop up to my television and watch that way. I haven't gotten completely into Netflix just yet...
9. Have you bought something recently because of an advertisement?
No. I'm more likely to buy something because I've seen it or heard about on YouTube, though. Things like makeup or other beauty products.
10. What have you read or heard recently on the radio, TV, or Internet that has caused you to have a strong reaction? Describe and explain.
I tend to avoid anything related to politics (both world and local) because I mostly just get angry. I get very distressed by people who are blatantly closed minded (which is why I avoid Facebook a lot). I have enough stress and anxiety of my life, and this is one that I avoid.
15. What approach to media literacy do you most closely align?
I've always felt that I fell in the middle of these two approaches. I don't think I fully started to understand media literacy until college, and that's far too late. I see evidence of people who have no media literacy skills at all, and it scares me how easily they are manipulated. But I also don't feel that media literacy is limited to just what we see and hear digitally. A newspaper or magazine article can be just as manipulating, so it's important that those techniques are taught as well. I think fostering a love of literature is also important. Not only are books a wonderful distraction, but sometimes they explain the faults in society far better than anything a newspaper could write.
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2. Has your relationship with media changed over time?
Yes. I started off very much against social media in my high school years. I was determined that I would never have a Facebook. Now I have several social media accounts. I mostly just post pictures of my dog and try to keep up to date with people I don't see often, so I'm not totally involved. I still find myself standing by my belief of not overly sharing information online, especially personal information.
3. Has your understanding of what it means to be literate in the 21st Century changed or evolved because of this course? How?
5. Why is it important to incorporate media literacy practices in your current or future teaching practices.
6. How will you incorporate media literacy into your future teaching practices?
My experience in this program has all worked to make me better understand literacy in the 21st Century. It's all worked together to make me understand how important it is to understand what's out there. I work with middle school, and I feel like that the perfect age to start questioning what your told in the media. I've already worked on digital media lessons with my seventh grade students, and I feel they are mature and opinionated enough to really get into it.
After Christmas Break, my kids will be reading The Hunger Games, and there are so many different lessons about the world I can teach them with this novel. One of the areas I really want to focus on, though, is the use of media in the novel. I think this an excellent example in literature of just how manipulative the media can be.
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