PLAYERS TAKE A KNEE

Colin Kaepernick, first NFL player to take a knee,
 is supported by fellow NFL player 

What would you do if you had status as an athlete, artist, or performer and you were upset about the ongoing racial inequality in your country?  

Watch this video of athletes Malcolm Jenkins (Philadelphia Eagles) & Anquan Bolden (former NFL player) explain their reasons for kneeling during the National Anthem.

https://www.si.com/nfl/2017/10/15/nfl-national-anthem-protests-week-6-players-teams-list

The issue of racial inequality and anti-black racism has exploded in the United States since the election of President Trump in January 2017.  Some say it has to do with the continued police brutality against the African-American community.  Others say it has everything to do with Donald Trump siding with white supremacists.  What is definite is that racial injustices and anti-black racism continue to plague our neighbours in the south, and NFL players are taking the matter into their own hands....or knees.

As many of you know, Colin Kaepernick (former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers) was the first NFL player to take a knee during the National Anthem as a way of protesting the continued police brutality of African American people.  (Currently, he's a free agent who has yet to be signed by any NFL team).  Since then, dozens of players have joined him in his cause, and there have been a variety of reactions from fans, not to mention President Donald Trump.

Just recently, the issue has exploded, dividing fans and the NFL.  Kaepernick hasn't been signed this season and is now suing the NFL for collusion.  The NFL is talking with its players trying to figure out a way to appease them and their fans.  The "taking a knee" protest has caused quite the stir. 
Read through some of the articles posted below and comment on what these NFL players are doing and why.  Do you agree with what they have been doing?  Why or why not? Would you risk ridicule to stand (or kneel) for what you believed in?  What would you do? 

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/football/nfl/colin-kaepernick-nfl-grievance-1.4355950
https://www.si.com/tech-media/2017/09/24/donald-trump-nfl-national-anthem-protests-rich-eisen
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/nfl-protests-poll_us_59e11ff6e4b03a7be580adc6

Dove Ad Gone Horribly Wrong

Just last week, Dove published an ad that was criticized on social media for being highly racist.  It shows an African American women removing a top and revealing a white woman. 

The intention for the ad was to show that Dove's gentle cleanser works well for all skin types and tones.  However, the racial under'tones' cannot be ignored.   

Regardless of the backlash, model Lola Ogunyemi, a Nigerian woman born in London and raised in Atlanta, explained to The Guardian newspaper that she was not a victim in this ad.  She feels that she represented the strong women of colour around the world.  

Take a look at the ad, at media criticism and at Lola Ogunyemi's response to the criticism.  What is your opinion of this Dove campaign? 

Links to media:

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/model-racist-dove-ad-defends_us_59dcd000e4b0208970cfcdf6

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/10/i-am-woman-racist-dove-ad-not-a-victim

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJssvw1LQbI

Blogging Rules 101

Image Source : socialmedia.biz

 Having an online presence can be a lot of fun, but also holds a lot of responsibility!  Here are some key tips to remember when creating posts for your blog.
- Don't divulge personal information: use your FIRST NAME ONLY, don't give any details with regards to contact information, home address, phone numbers, last names of friends or relatives, instant messaging names, age, or birth date.

- No questionable photos of you or anything else: If you wouldn't show it to your grandma, don't post it on the web! Avoid posting photos of yourself.

- Remember the internet is permanent! Anyone on the Internet can easily print out a blog or save it to a computer.

- Use blogging provider sites with clearly stated terms of use, and make sure they can protect the actual blogs, not just the user accounts, with password protection. (Even so, it's better to assume anyone can see it.)

- Avoid trying to "out-do" or compete with other bloggers.

Image Source : livethegoodlifewithsara.com

- Keep it clean and positive: Our blogs are reflective of our Catholic values. Sexist, racist, homophobic, or any type of oppressive and offensive language will not be tolerated!

Welcome to Blogging!

Welcome to the 2017/2018 grade 10 Media Arts/Comm course.  I am happy to have you all as students in this new and exciting school year.  For this blog unit we will be sharing some news, stories and events that involve digital media along with various other forms of media.

http://markdalton.net/tag/blog/

As part of your media arts / communications technology course you will be required to create and maintain your own media arts / communications blog. Blogging has quickly become a very popular form of communication and online journaling.


Through this course your will be required to reply to six different media / technology issues or topics that will be posted here for you to respond to on your own blog. Each response must be no less than 300 words and should have discussions relevant to media arts and communication technology. You will also be required to respond to 6 other people's blogs with thoughtful ideas and comments with a 100 words (min). The evaluation for this unit is found in your unit guide. Once you have completed all tasks (which will take you several months) you will submit your unit guide, with a list of the six blogs that you responded to, for evaluation.


Happy Blogging!
Ms. Powell and Ms Arturi

Vrai ou Faux?

You might have heard of the issue about fake news.  Especially during the lead up and aftermath of the recent US election. With candidates and other politicians claiming damning stories about them as fake news.  But what exactly is fake news?

Basically, Fake News is made to fool the public. Why? multiple reasons.
1) To get people to click on the link so they go to the webpage and advertisements load (clickbait).
2) Misinform the public to sway opinion.
3) Someone lies to a news outlet and they report it
4) Fake news for profit. Those ridiculous magazines at the grocery store that says Brad Pitt is an alien. Believe it or not, people buy those on a weekly basis.
5) People are jerks.

There is a very good article on the Globe and Mail about fake news. Read it and take the quiz at the end. When you are done, answer the following on your blog: How did you do? Are you susceptible to being fooled? What have you learned about spotting fake news?

Blocked!

A few weeks ago, the Toronto District School Board (aka"The Public Board") had to block access to Instagram, Snapchat and Netflix because their networks couldn't handle it.  It is no surprise when their tech head says that access and use of those services are mostly recreational (for fun).  If students and teachers wish to use those sites, they will have to rely on their own data plans.  This block is temporary and will end on June 30.

This poses a few questions which I would like you to answer in your blog.

1. Knowing that the internet is a valuable research tool, do you think students and teachers should be allowed to access sites and services that are purely recreational? Why?
2. If our school board blocked those services and sites do you think the students in our school be more productive? Less productive? No change? Explain your answer.
3. After reading the article. After thinking about and answering the previous questions; you most likely have an opinion about this situation.  Look at some of the comments at the bottom of the article. Which one really resonates to you, either positively or negatively. How would you respond to that comment?

Twitter Wars - How Far is Too Far?

Twitter is one of those things that you really need to use carefully. You can share experiences, thoughts and ideas with anyone who stumbles upon your hashtags and handles. BUT those shared thoughts and ideas can lead to all-out confrontations with random people who think differently than you. Make an enemy IRL and it is 100% certain you will be trolled on social media and you either block them and forget about it or you fight back. Most of the time, people choose to fight back and that's when war happens.

​

Wars on Twitter have been raging on since it's very beginning. It is impossible to avoid. The world is filled with people of different beliefs, upbringings, personal preferences, and unfortunately - prejudices.

Some Twitter wars are entertaining because of the sheer stupidity of how they started. You can Google "Celebrity Twitter Wars" and be greeted with dozens of arguments. My personal favourite is the Wendy's Vs. McDonald's Twitter war...which is practically one-sided because McDonald's do not defend themselves and the person running Wendy's Twitter account is pure savage. He/she even roasts people coming to the aid of McDonald's.

Sidenote: Watch the movie called "The Founder". It is about the expansion of the McDonald's empire and is really well done.

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Then there are Twitter exchanges that have gone so far that they have to be resolved in an actual court of law. The following article is about a Toronto woman and man getting into a heated battle online and it turning into a legal battle. It's a tale of respect, stalkerism, anger, and harassment.​

Once you have finished reading the second article, post a response in your blog. In your response, answer the following questions:

1. How did this make you feel?

2. Who do you think is right/wrong? Why?

3. Do you think actions/posts/tweets done online/social media should be punishable by law?