Digital Media Literacy Final

For my final project I decided to discuss how new media has changed learning.  New media is immediate on-demand access to content through computers, smartphones, and other devices.  It has changed learning by allowing students to share and access information, along with allowing students to learn through educational apps and games.  In my project I decided to focus on two key concepts, which are how can you use new media and why it is important to start using it in the classroom.  I also listed ways in which you can use new media for learning, and how it is beneficial to students.  My research on this topic was mostly done from online websites with articles on the same topic and the Digital Media Literacy Course Pack.  I think my project adequately covers the topics that we have discussed in class because I explained what new media is and how it helps education.  From my research on this topic I now know how new media is changing learning and how it is helping students.

http://prezi.com/oby_wzqg0acz/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Image Source: learningmatters.tv

The Digital Divide

The digital divide stops people that do not have the access to internet, computers, telephones, and other kinds of technology from advancing in society.  These people cannot afford these technologies and therefore lack the resources that are provided from these technologies that can help them with their careers and education.  The digital divide also widens the gap between the rich and the poor, along with minorities and non-minorities.  Since the rich and non-minorities have more access to these digital resources they continue to advance in society, while the others are left behind.  The digital divide also harms children in low economic situations because they are not able to fully take in the resources that the internet provides and they are not able to use the computer in order to complete assignments that are given in school.  This makes the digital divide harmful to the poor, minorities, and children.

Image Source:
http://www.socialfish.org/2012/02/data-on-the-digital-divide.html

Remix Culture

Remix culture impacts many content creators in a multitude of ways.  Remix culture allows existing materials to be remixed into a new product.  This allows content creators to use previous ideas and remix it to make their own unique product.  However, this allows other people to use your product and ideas to make their own content, and they may or may not credit you for your ideas.  This can lead to a conflict as to who has the rights to the design and ideas.  As a content creator this can help and harm me because other's people's product can help inspire me to create my own, but at the same time my ideas can be stolen and used without permission.

Image Source: http://blogs.uoregon.edu/sbeattie/portfolio/artifact-8/

New Media

New media has forever changed the way people talk and communicate with each other and how we access information.  Three important distinctions about new media is the unlimited access to information through the internet from the past to real time, the vast means of communication through social media and cellular devices, and new technology being interactive with the user.  These distinctions make it easier for people to gather mass amounts of communication quickly and be able to connect and share items with people across the world.

With today’s quick pace society, new media has satisfied the demands of being able to have a fast relay of information to different sources along with being able to access this information just as quickly.  It also helps people have a faster way to communicate with each other and an easier way to send and share different types of media and data with one another.

With how quickly technology is advancing and evolving, new media can now be accessible through a multitude of devices that can even fit into the palm of our hand.  New user interaction, such as touch screens, makes using these devices much easier and simpler.  Technology has helped make networking a lot easier as well.  Because there are now so many new ways and forms of communication and connecting that did not previously exist, local, national, and international networking is made possible for anyone by allowing people to connect online.

New media has also impacted the way we learn, communicate, and create culture.  Because of new interactive technology, there are now different and innovative techniques that teachers can use in order to make learning more fun and less difficult.  It also helps students to have more information and resources available to them in order to help them excel in school, while allowing students to be able to present their work and findings in new ways and through easier means by using software and media such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, videos, photos, and other useful outlets. 

With the new generation a new culture of online sharing and communicating is being created that will forever change society and the way we interact.  Technology will continue to advance, and in the future more new media will appear that will help improve and simplify the lives of people everywhere.

           

Opinion: Do you think Epic 2014 offers a true vision of media in the near future? What is your vision of media in the near future?

I do not feel like Epic 2014 offers a true vision of media in the near future.  Media and technology is constantly making improvement and advancements, and most previously printed things are now online.  Therefore, why would we revert back to print?  I think in the near future there will be more devices created to make the accessibility of information easier and more convenient, and there will be more improvements to cell phones. 

Image Credit: http://simpsonsquare.com/

Sources:

YouTube Epic 2014

http://www.newmedia.org/what-is-new-media.html

Getting the Correct Sources

The YouTube video "Evaluating Online Information" helps students and anyone that is looking for credible sources find it.  The actors and narrator in the video point out how crucial it is to make sure that an online author is credible and is using accurate sources and information.  It also tells the viewers to make sure that the date on the articles that they are viewing is recent in order to avoid outdated information.  The video also points out the flaws in using Wikipedia as a credible source, while teaching you how to find a reliable source in their reference section.  Towards the end, the video provides an example of a credible source and shows you how to check to make sure the source actually is reliable.  In all, the video was very informative and helpful and will surely help anyone who is looking for information on how to evaluate online sources.

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRKhHjpbJhU
Image: http://archosaurmusings.files.wordpress.com/

Media Introduction

Hello HU 17!  My name is Victoria Jones. I am a freshman, Journalism major, from Columbia, Maryland.  I am very excited to be attending the prestigious Howard University, and being able to embark on a new chapter in my life with a school with such history and culture.  I look forward to creating new memories and experiences.  I also cannot wait to meet my fellow Howard classmates and getting to know my class, the class of 2017.

Photo credit: Howard University

#SCOMHU120

Exploring the Roots of Black Inferiority

     Tom Burrell's book, Brainwashed: Challenging the Myth of Black Inferiority, is an insightful and eye-opening book that explores the reasons why African-Americans are considered less than and not equals to other races and why African-Americans can not come together as a whole.  His research goes back to the time of slavery as the cause of this myth of black inferiority and root of the problems that are plaguing the black community today.  In this book not only does Burrell challenge this myth, he lists solutions to end this way of thinking and to help the black community come together.
      This book tackles many issues that are current today such as black-on-black homicide, black hypersexualization, the broken structure of the black family, and much more.  While exposing the root of these problems Burrell forces the reader to not only see the ugly truth of why the African-American population is broken, but confront it as well.
     Being in the field of Communications and Journalism, this book helped me to learn how I can become part of the solution by using media to help promote positive and healthy images that would help heal the wounds that African-Americans still harbor from slavery.  It has opened my eyes as to what needs to stop happening and what needs to start happening, and how I can help fix what is broken in the black community.

Photo Credit: http://aalbc.com

Viewing Setbacks From A Different Perspective

     A setback is a setup for a comeback! That is the main theme and title of Willie Jolley's motivational book.  This book is sure to lift a downtrodden spirit and help people find new ways to turn their setbacks into massive and successful comebacks.  No matter how big the obstacle is that you face, Jolley emphasizes the importance of using the regression as experience and a lesson to be learn.
     Even though A Setback Is a Setup for a Comeback was published in 1999, the wise words that were spoken still ring true today. As people today are struggling to find jobs and are depressed about the economic condition of the country, this book can surely help any person find a way to turn their misfortunes into a fortune and make a turnaround in their life.
     As a student preparing for a degree in communications this book showed me that while I will surely face a challenge or an obstacle in my journey there is always a way to turn the negative into a positive and with a little perseverance and hard work I can overcome it.
     Reading this book can easily help steer you on the right path in life and help you to see that there is no reason to fret over a setback.

Photo Credit: http://www.goodreads.com

Senate Plans to Lower Interest Rates on Student Loans

     An article in The Washington Post discusses the Senate's approved plan of lowering interest rates on student loans.  This news comes as a relief to many students across the United States, including me.  As a student who is now entering my freshman year in college, I am wondering the same thing that most students in my positions are: How am I going to pay for college?  One of the most used options by students to help pay for college are student loans.  But with interest rates sorrowing, it is becoming more difficult to pay these loans off.

     The Senate's approved plan will set interest rates using the value of the 10-year Treasury bill and a percentage add-on, which will then lock on rates for the duration of the loan.  For the coming year, undergraduates, such as myself, can look forward to a locked in interest rate of 3.86 percent with PLUS loans locking in an interest rate of 6.41 percent.  While all the graduate students who plan on attending school in the coming year, can see rates set at 5.41 percent.  All are which are currently lower than the current rate.

     This surely comes as a relief to many college students who are struggling to figure out how they will pay off these student loans.  However, this plan is in no way a permanent reform and could lead to rates higher than the current rates within just five years.

     Hopefully this plan will be a stepping stone to help lower the cost of college for students and make the experience more affordable.  With myself starting a degree in communications, I now know that I will have a lower interest rate on my student loans and it will make me obtaining my degree that much easier and little less expensive.


Source: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-approves-plan-to-lower-interest-rates-on-student-loans/2013/07/24/b612df0c-f46d-11e2-aa2e-4088616498b4_story.html?hpid=z1
Photo Credit: http://www.libertynews.com