Convergence Culture Chapter 3

"The Film need not be well made, but it must provide resources consumers can use in constructing their own fantasies: "In order to transform a work in to a cult object one must be able to break, dislocate, unhinge it so that one can remember only parts of it, irrespective of their original relationship to the whole." "...the cult film need not be coherent: the more different directions it pushes, the more different communities it can sustain, and the more different experiences it can provide, the better..." (Jenkins, p 100)

This is how I want my school year to be for my students. I realize that they may not be able to regurgitate every ounce of intellectual nuances I espouse, however, if they can take bits and pieces and in retrospect take the foundations and principles that I attempted to establish and create value of their own, I would have done my job. I want my lessons to be able to touch all learners and evoke experiences on their individual levels to embed a more meaningful impact.

I didn't know what to call it until now, but I was apart of the "knowledge communities" caught up into The Matrix. I remember looking at forums and fan based chats and websites that focused on different aspects of the movie that were most significant to the group. I myself were caught up in the fight/action scenes, like the video above, but I notice how these scenes influenced the pop dance culture and "moves" were developed based on the action sequences in the movie.



If I can use what my student are caught up and and research the "knowledge base communities" and use the same marketing ploys used by these major organization and adapt it to my classroom, I think the world of education would change dramatically. Wow! I'm loving this class.

Convergence Culture Chapters 1-2

As I was growing up, I was one of those kids who paid close attention to commercials. Saturday mornings when I would wake up at the crack of done, I looked forward to Snap, Crackle and Pop singing my morning in with perfect harmony with my gracious bowl of cereal. Cereal commercials were my favorite and whatever commercial I liked best that morning determined what cereal I would ask my mom for when the current box was close to empty. I realized then how much of an influence marketing was on me at that point especially when conversations about Saturday morning commercials ensued in the vacant lot during pick-up baseball games. What interested me most what when I noticed when certain commercials would play. I recalled never seeing cereal commercials during the afternoon programs; Transformer commercials during G.I. Joe and G.I. Joe commercials during Transformers. As I'm reading Convergence Culture by Henry Jenkins, I can recollect G.I. Joe battle plans we would concoct based on the commercials and the television show itself. I we were the "Loyals" that Jenkins referred to when he talked about the marketers looking at the emotional, social and intellectual aspect of the consumer. But, as soon as the battles became redundant, we became emotionally detached thus spelling the end of Optimus Prime and G.I. Joe with the kung fu grip. Until today where marketers re-engaged our generation by bringing the nostalgia to the 21st Century. Stephen Sommers and Michael Bay have listened to the "inspirational consumers", you know, the ones who still have all of their orginal G.I. Joe and Transformer action figures and once again allowed them to relive our moments and, at least for me, watch my own boys take my old toys and compare them with the new age figures and re-enact the same battles. Yes, I'm sure it will get old for them to, just like Survivor and American Idol and died off in many "been there done that" spirits, but somebody will find something to reconnect the people emotionally to draw us... or them back in.

Comment on Julia & Julia by Lori McConaughy

Hey Lori,

I know exactly how you feel when watching Julia & Julia after my wife dragging me to see the flick on our much coveted date night without kids. However, my thoughts throughout the movie was, wow, how much money is her family about to make due to the reemergence of Julia Child's ghost. You are right, everything we see on the big screen is nothing more than a huge marketing ploy to get you to consume the product ambush that will ensue with popularity of the film. I thought about Henry Jenkins' comments about Survivor and how the world people buy into the phenomenon to the point of obsession and then you can sell them anything. Julia Child's Wikipedia page has grown since the movie's debut. Well, anyway, enjoyed your viewpoint and blog away.

Image used with permission from wikimedia commons
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Julia_Child.jpg

WK1 Show Me What You Know Project

Using technology in the classroom is what sets me apart in my classroom. As I learn more about Web2.0 tools and various 21st Century skills, I do what I can to find a way to implement what I've learned within my classroom curriculum. I signed up for Full Sail in order to enhance what I know and become a more efficient and effective impact on today's learner. So.. let me share a little of what I know... Just press play



I also enjoy using animoto for photo storage and display. Check this out.



One of my favorite applications to use is GarageBand. I use it personally for recording my own vocal tracks when teaching a song to my praise team. I'll record each part individually on top of the music track and give a copy to each member for rehearsal purpose. My own little studio. However educational uses are explained here...

(This is the audio version only. If you want to view the audio with images, access the second podbean player and go to the website.

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With Images

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http://imaginebeingbetter.podbean.com/2009/08/08/podcasting-with-garageband/

Onto video... I use imovie, screenium and screenflow to use and produce movies in my classroom. I have a website where I place tutorials for my students to use for specific projects. Go ahead and click the link and take a look. http://web.me.com/imaginebeingbetter/SmittieProjectTutorials/Tutorial_Introduction.html When you're done come on back for more.

Hopefully you noticed the tools I was attempted to teach my students. Which brings me to the last thing I would like to mention.



I like to use various Web2.0 tools in the classroom like:


or



I also like to use mapping tools like Mapvivo and wikispaces (which you can't get to because my subscription does not renew until the school year begins) However, if you looked at the tutorial website, there was a tutorial for using our wikespaces page. Finally, I love you blogger to post information. During our last project I used a project blog: Smittie Is Watching to guide my students through their projects. I had them set up an RSS feed to their project blogs so that whenever I made an update announcement, they would automatically get the feed on their blog sites. The tutorial site and the podcasting sites both utilize iWeb which I'm getting better at and will probably use exclusively this coming school year.

Hope it wasn't too much.

Holla'

Month 9 and Doing Fine... well, just OK!

This is Week 1 of MAC (Media Asset Creations) EDM613. I'm very excited about the way this all beginning. I can’t believe that this program’s life span has gone by so quickly. I just finished my last GSM project, drank some water, took a deep breath and dove right into the next class. I’m excited about this month because it looks like I’ll have the opportunity to finally hone in on my media strengths and see how it all fits together in making more of an impact in the lives of my immediate and future students and staff. I figured I would go ahead and start my blog and make it apart of my vCard, especially since the tutorial was so well done. I enjoy having an instructor that doesn’t just say here, go do this, but instead, leads by example by actually instructing you on how it is to be done most effectively and having his/her personal example to guide us. So, let’s get this party started!