I can’t ever remember having a candid and open conversation about media – not in schools and not in my home. There were unwritten rules that were established, but nothing explicitly stated. I knew that I had to leave the door of our computer room open at home and that if something inappropriate showed up, I should turn off the screen. Honestly, this seemed like enough for me. I was never a techy, never spent extended amounts of time one the Internet, and even still don’t have a Facebook page. After reading Hobbs though, I’m realizing that there is more involved in media than simply dirty images and blatantly offensive material. There are subtle messages being taught and displayed in everything that is viewed – in YouTube videos, ads on television, games that are played. Everywhere a person turns around both online, and in their everyday life, they are being bombarded with messages, both good and bad.
I agree with Hobbs that there needs to be discussion about what students are viewing and how they are viewing. I thought about how I would help student’s process this information and how they could decide what was appropriate for them, and I think that for me as a teacher, I would want to have classroom discussions. I think that it could be really interesting and insightful to show different advertisements and talk about what they are selling, but more than just selling, what means they are using to prove their point. If you notice home security commercials, they will show a lonely woman sitting by herself, which has nothing to do with thieves or home security. But that image instills fear and helps the viewer seem vulnerable. If I could show students different commercials like that, we could begin to talk about the messages that are being given. After talking about the hints that are being given, we could talk about the different things that students view online – like the YouTube videos that Hobbs mentions – and then discuss how they feel about the things they view and participate in.
The more I think about this topic, the more I realize that there is really no way to monitor every single thing that students do while they are online – as the students teacher or as their parent. Really the only thing to do is to teach the students how to monitor themselves. The more I have been in teaching classes, the more I have realized how important it is to me as a teacher to have my students form their own opinions and have confidence in what they are doing. In order to do this, I think that students need to be presented with an unbiased description of the consequences of their decisions. I would hope that as a teacher, I will be able to help students feel comfortable and confident in themselves enough to decide for themselves what they will view and how they will interpret the things they see. I would also hope that students will be able to have enough faith me in and in themselves to share what is happening with them online. I would hope that they would report cyber bullying or want to discuss what they are doing online when no one can see.
I guess the problem is that I just don’t really know how…
1 comment:
Alyssa, I also never remember having a real conversation about media use in my house or in school, other than “Don’t go places you aren’t supposed to,” which if you think about it is an awful way to educate a child about using their resources. I remember, however, there being restrictions on time online, a password protecting the computer so my parents could control the amount of time spent on the computer, and the computer being in a public space. Keeping our home a safe place was important to my parents, and I appreciate that. At school, however, I wish they had talked a little more about internet safety. I was not necessarily an adventurous kid, but I know there were other students who would enter in random web addresses and came up with some crazy stuff. It is important to teach students how to avoid getting viruses on computers and to not abuse internet privileges.
I love what Joseph Smith says about teaching truth: “I teach them correct principles and they govern themselves.” I know that this is generally applied to spiritual or religious education, but I feel it has its place in the classroom as well. In the end, we have no control over our students’ actions. Our job is to teach them information and skills that will help them in their lives, not to control their choices. If we extend this idea, we find that we cannot control what students do on computers in their free time. All we can really do is teach them what we believe to be right and correct and hope they will govern themselves within those teachings. That, and provide standards for while they are at school, of course. We do have jurisdiction there, and it is important that we have specific rules and procedures in that setting.
Because of that, it is important to have a detailed and informative disclosure document at the beginning of the semester that is read by both the student and the parent. This helps a student understand what is acceptable within the classroom, and hopefully will translate to other parts of their life. The internet is such a wonderful resource, it would be a shame to ignore in a class or other setting, but it is important to know what is good and helpful when you use it and how to avoid trashy or unhelpful websites.
I thought your comments on use of visuals in commercials were also interesting. In TMA 101 we just finished our unit on visual language and it is fascinating to see how advertisers, artists, and directors play with our minds to direct our thoughts and encourage certain kinds of thinking. For example, during World War II the propaganda posters were highly influential in recruiting men and women for the war effort. The Uncle Sam “I want YOU” posters, we are drawn immediately to his eyes and then his pointing finger through use of contrast and color. His intensity is emphasized by the dark ink around his eyes and the dark blue behind his light hand. This creates clear focal points for the viewer. Also, the coloring is reminiscent of American flag, a symbol of our country. This patriotic picture was an inspiration to men enlisting in the army. We see examples of manipulation through image all around us, and it is crucial to teach our students about these things so they can make informed decisions and understand the messages constantly barraging them.
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