Boring 48 Minute Lectures

   

"Critical Media Literacy Resource"
http://www.learningtoendabuse.ca/learn/media-violence

  

I possibly forgot to mention that my history class is a technology based class; which basically means everything is done online- on computers, phones, iPads, TVs, and smart-boards. There is no usage of books and paper. It's essentially a paper free environment. Pretty cool, right? So to get used to this no-paper setting, my teacher spent a class giving a boring forty-eight minute lecture about the art of media literacy. Just kidding! My teacher is much cooler than that. It is scientifically proven that humans learn better by doing rather than being told what to know. So we got to explore the field of virtual media through a few activities like playing A Google a Day, visiting the one and only Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus Website, and then finally, reflecting, (yes we did do educational stuff), on what we learned.  

     Google was nice enough to create a game where three questions are asked to the player who must find the answer. These questions, however, aren't your everyday multiplication facts; they are carefully structured so that pieces of information are put together to give the final answer. Google provides a modified search engine, minus all the junk websites with false information, to help the player answer the question. It may sound complicated but it isn't as bad as it seems; I suggest that you should give it a try. I personally enjoyed A Google a Day by gathering little clues that led to the final solution, it reminded me of a scavenger hunt. The activity also reminded me that Google doesn't function by typing in a complicating question and pressing enter. It was frustrating trying to find answers because it's almost impossible for Google to give correct answers all the time, so it took a little bit of guess and check, as well. 

     I don't know if you've heard of the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus website; I didn't until my teacher told me about it. Whether or not, that website is a completely unreliable source- because there's no such thing as a tree octopus!! I totally fell for it at first, until I read the whole website. Then I started to get more and more suspicious, because first of all it didn't make sense and also because the website was not accurate, authentic, and reliable.

     These are the three words that came out of our reflection. Every source must pass the three word test, it must be accurate, or correct and as exact as possible; it must be authentic, or genuine; and it should be reliable; or a trusted source. If all a source falls under these categories, it may be used in school for projects and assignments.

     After this lesson on media literacy, I walked with more knowledge on how to use the internet wisely. The internet is a deep and dangerous place filled with inaccurate, unauthentic, and unreliable information. Since my class will be using technology and the cyberspace very often, it is necessary to look out for "spoiler" websites (as Google refers) and work with safer websites. I can't wait!