FAKE NEWS is NO NEWS

The idea behind Fake News is to turn people's attentions to situations that have no real truths, and it's all done through social media.  There's proof that fake news around the 2016 US presidential elections was out of hand.  Evidence even points to Russia meddling in the election by having created false posts on Facebook in an attempt to encourage the public to vote for Trump.  Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a professor of communications at the University of Pennsylvania, has even written a book entitled "Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President."   This book outlines some examples of how the hacking came to be, and how they got away with it,

Fake news is everywhere, because as long as people are connected to the internet anyone can make anything up.  So, we need to be extremely vigilant and smart when it comes to deciphering what's real and what's not real.

Take a look at the infographic above, and do a mental check of the suggestions you might actually use. Do you analyze the information you see on social media?  If so, what of the 8 suggestions do you consider when you get news online?  Do you see an advantage of using any of the above points?

Give an example of fake news that you have seen.  How did you eventually determine that it was, indeed, fake? 

My Culture is NOT A Costume

Where at that point in the year again - the dreadfully frightful Halloween night!  As in all Halloweens many of us will be scrambling to come up with creative costume ideas that will rattle cages and may scare the jeepers out of our friends.  

However, the one thing that we will all need to avoid for this event is the wearing of inappropriate and culturally insensitive costumes.   

Click on the link below, My Culture is Not a Costume, and take a look at the video.  In it Teen Vogue asks six women about Halloween costumes that co-opt their cultures.
  
My Culture is Not a Costume

What is your response to the video and to the the costume issue around Halloween?  What is your experience when it comes to Halloween and inappropriate costumes?  How can we deter people from wearing such costumes?  

Knock The Vote 2018

As we all know, Toronto is going through its own municipal election.  However, there is also an election taking place south of the border in the United States called the Primary Election.  

A primary election is the process by which voters can indicate their preference for a candidate in an upcoming general election.   A problem that takes place in all elections in voter turnout, primarily the lack of representation when it comes to young people.  

As a way to address this issue an organization called "Knock The Vote"  created a video and published it as a public service announcement.  It's now being televised across the States.

Take a look at the Knock the Vote video link below.  Please note: there is some inappropriate language in this video.  

Don't Vote: A Knock the Vote Campaign

Once you've seen the PSA create a response in your blog explaining your thoughts on the commercial.  How did you respond to the ad when you first watched it?  What do you think of the ad?  What does it say about those who go out and vote? Do you think the ad will work in persuading the youth of America to go and vote?  Explain your response.  

Nike Takes a Knee with Kaepernick

You all know the story of Colin Kaepernick.  If not, here's a snippet.

In 2016 Colin Kaepernick played as a quarterback for the NFL team, the San Francisco 49er's.  It was during the American National Anthem where he knelt on one knee to protest racial injustice.  It was that action that caused a firestorm of controversy. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-V3OtQwLpdw

The response from America was divided.  Some people responded negatively demanding for the removal of players who took actions against the National Anthem, while other people walked out of games.  Whereas, those who responded positively applauded Kaepernick's actions.  Some NFL players followed suit and started to take a knee as well. 

One thing is for certain - Kaepernick has been a free agent ever since.  He has not worked as a football player since then. 

Nike however, has taken advantage of Kaepernick's role as a National figure by hiring him for their brand.  Over the summer, Nike decided to take Kaepernick's image and place it in an ad with the ad reading "BELIEVE IN SOMETHING.  EVEN IF IT MEANS SACRIFICING EVERYTHING."  Take a look at the ad below.

Make sure to also take a look at the commercial.  The link is below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hIc_epqfI0

So, here it is again.  People are, once more, divided.  Now Nike seems to be in the centre of a firestorm.  Where some people are burning the Nike logo or their shoes, some are buying as many Nike products they can afford. 

Actor Jenifer Lewis at the 2018 Emmy's

Do a little research and explore the types of responses these Nike ads are getting.  What do you think about the way people are responding?  In your blogpost tell us what you think of these ads.  Do you think Nike's main goal is to turn a profit?  Do they truly care about racial injustice?  Does the public's response affect you at all?  If so, how?  

More and more celebrities are taking stances against certain issues like the one mentioned above, so we are bound to see more activism and more demand for justice. This is just the beginning.

Blogging Rules!

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 2018/2019 grade 10 Media Arts/Comm course.  

We are 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

#metoo #timesup

WOMEN'S MARCH 2018

Washington Women's March

Last Saturday was the anniversary of the Women's March.  Across the globe thousands of people showed up to support the movement.  Lately, women, along with some men,  have come forward sharing stories of inappropriate behaviour in the form of sexual harrassment mostly by men in positions of power. 

Oprah Winfrey at 2018 Grammy's

The media have been all over this.  Find some excerpts of media stories that depict the #metoo #timesup movement.  Where did all this come from?  What are some stories coming from this movement and what have you seen in terms of award shows, talk shows and/or coverage that support the women/men behind these stories of harrassment and the protection of women's rights?

Tell us what you think of this movement and why you think it's important.