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Pedagogical Agents

I really don’t know where to start in my reaction to these articles. After reading, I no longer feel that these Conversational Pedagogical Agents are very useful in the context of learning. Actually, I would like to qualify that statement and say that only applies for undirected use of CPAs. Since a huge majority of the students in both of the articles used the CPA for reasons that have nothing to do with the educational purpose intended, I would say they were better off without using the CPAs, especially in the case of the high school students, because they just end up getting abused. Regarding the inappropriate comments made to the CPAs, I have to wonder about the set-up of the students work environment. I don’t remember reading about it in the article, but especially in the case of high schoolers, their position in relation to one another could be a factor for the overwhelming amount of improper comments. For example, when I was in 9^th grade, AIM was a really big deal. AIM, for those of you who may not know, is basically a way to chat with people one-on-one, but with many conversations between you and another person simultaneously. Anyways, one of the “people” that you could talk to was SmarterChild (at least I think that’s what his screen name was). He was a form of CPA that was online to answer questions. He could also tell you movie times at any theatre, play games such as hangman and trivia, and show you cool pictures. Anyways, the point is that my friends were much more apt to ask SmarterChild inappropriate questions when there were a bunch of people who could laugh with him. SmarterChild was a lot less entertaining when you were by yourself. That said, I think students would be more likely to behave in this manner towards the CPA if their peers were with them. Is it possible that everyone’s computers were next to each other? Could this be a possible scenario?

This is a tangent, but I thought Asimov’s robot laws were interesting and I realized I had seen them before; they are the exact laws that are used in the move I, Robot with Will Smith! Awesome. Since this is a media class I thought I’d mention it J

Both of these articles also implied, at least somewhat, that the CPAs would potentially be treated differently depending on the gender. The Veletsianos et. al. article states that they, “found that participants applied gender stereotypes to computers even though the only suggestion of gender was vocal cues.” This also supports the idea that humans tend to project human-like qualities on the CPAs. This information can be used to create a better CPA character that the students respect. This was also addressed in the article and examples were given such as: A character with glasses, a name beginning with Mr. or Dr., or positive occupational roles. However, I wonder how this would play out in terms of the gender problem that both articles referred to. Can you have a respected CPA that is a woman? How would that woman become the proper authority figure? Would applying the changes that Veletsianos et. al. suggested be enough to garner respect?

The fact that only ONE student said ‘thank you’ to the CPA is incredible. However, I don’t think this shows the disrespect that these students show their authority figures; rather I believe it is an effect of the students realizing that the CPA is not a real human. No one is reading these transcripts so literally nobody knows what is being said in these conversations. Actually when I think about it, if I had to ask a CPA for information today I don’t know that I would say ‘thank you,’ and it isn’t because of my lack of respect. I don’t say thank you to my Word document when it opens either. Hmmm, this is interesting to think about; would that mean I would be disrespecting the CPA?

Overall I think these articles are really interesting and it makes me want to work with CPAs to see what it’s like, especially in an educational capacity.

Media in Classrooms

One relevant article I found on the web is entitled “Why Teach Media Literacy?” http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/media_literacy/why_teach_media_liter.cfm This article complies many responses from different sources. One author states how it’s important to be able to decipher when the media is falsely representing something or someone. You shouldn’t trust everything you hear and it is an important skill to be able to know what stories and articles a viewer/listener/reader should trust. Another author, Len Masterman, writes that it is critical to the future that media studies be taught. The media is only going to have more of a presence in the future and it is important to “understand how mass media influence society.” This same website also has another great article, “The perfect Curriculum,” by Rick Shepherd http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/educational/teaching_backgrounders/media_literacy/perfect_curriculum_intro.cfm This author caught my attention by writing this statement,

“If we put the child at the centre of the curriculum, and recognize children as first and foremost makers of meaning, then the centrality of media education is obvious. Children have vast amounts of information thrust upon them - much of it from media sources, much of it verbal or written, much of it visual, much of it manipulative. It is the child's task to make sense of it all, to construct reality from this information.”

The child is surrounded by media and if we are trying to get to the children learning, it must be applicable to their world. The child also has to be able to decipher the mass amount s of media portrayal that he/she will be exposed to and therefore it must be taught. This article also points out that because of the fact that the student’s life is centered on it, it is a good opening to teach critical thinking. I agree with this statement because it at first glance it seems more “fun” to do some critical thinking about a favorite television show or movie than a regular old boring English book. Using media could be the way to get students interested in applying critical thinking to other subjects. Media literacy also opens door to analyze society’s view on topics such as gender, race, or other typically stereotyped subjects.

Now that I have read about more reasons why media literacy should be taught, I decided to search for some articles that show different ways of applying media to the classroom. This search turned up a lot of sites, but interestingly enough, the most popular means of media in the classroom seems to be blogs! I did not know blogs were used this frequently or at so many grade levels. The article “Blogging with Students,” by Sandy Scragg, especially recommends this learning device in the field of English. Through this channel, students can hold discussions with teachers, authors, scientists, and other students. They have more references to turn to then they would if the discussion took place in the classroom.

Another article, “Strategies for Using Media in the Classroom,” states that using media actually helps students “digest and retain” information. Showing a video clip for a few minutes peaks a student’s interest and because it is a fun activity, the students are more likely to remember the content of that lesson. The memory of the video clip will stimulate memory of the critical thinking that came along with it. The students could even learn to generalize and apply the critical thinking to other video or television clips.

Keeping all of this in mind, I have created two assignments.

Assignment One

This assignment is aimed at high school students. In this assignment, before having discussed media portrayal in class at all, students will be asked to write a one page paper. This paper will include what the students believe are two positive influences of the media as well as two negative influences of the media. A discussion will take place the next day in class with the teacher making a list on the board of everyone ideas for both positive and negative influences. The students will then be separated into small groups where they will discuss questions such as:

1) Overall do you think media has more positive or negative influences?

2) Why does the media choose to portray images that the class deems to be negative influences?

3) If the media is presenting ideas that are negative influences, then why does society show interest in these ideas?

I think this assignment will start students thinking about the media and different ideas it portrays to society.

Assignment Two

This assignment incorporates the articles I found listed above because it deals with students understanding of why it is important to be able to analyze media. For this assignment students will pick their favorite television show. The will be asked to answer the following questions about that show:

1) Who is this show’s audience?

2) What values are being shown as important? Do you believe these values to be important? Are they applicable to your daily life? Are they realistic?

3) What message is this show attempting to send to its viewers?

4) Why is the show appealing to you?

For example, if I was a student in this class and my favorite show was, say, Gossip Girl, I would define its audience to be heavily female pre-teens and teenagers. Some of the values that are deemed important in this show are fashion and popularity. These values are not substantial and in effect the characters are very one dimensional, therefore, it is important to analyze why the show would place their emphasis on these superficial principles. By answering these questions the student is beginning to understand how the media selects its content and to whom that content is being relayed. For example, after answering these questions a student will see that Gossip Girl is targeting a young audience and relaying the idea that it is cool to be popular and beautiful. Young girls are very susceptible to follow these ideas and students need to begin thinking about why this show would revolve around such superficial values: ratings. This assignment will start students thinking about why it is important that they understand how the media works and what they should and shouldn’t believe; or at least make them aware of how to think critically about media messages. All media channels work to serve their own ends are reporting the most valid ideas and information isn’t the first objective.

News vs. 'Fake' News

Assignment One: Comparison of Fake News Sources

In this lesson, students will compare two types of fake news. First we will watch a segment of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. I will ask the class to notice what stories Jon Stewart and his crew choose to provide a parody of. We will discuss as a class some questions such as:

1) What types of stories were the most humorous?

2) Which ones were the most entertaining for you?

3) Why are these stories entertaining?

I would then pass out two sample articles from The Onion. The class would read these quietly to themselves and then break into small groups and discus the difference between these two types of ‘fake news.’ Some questions for this discussion would be:

1) What are some differences between The Onion and The Daily Show?

2) What differences are inherent in having written news and visual news?

3) What are some similarities?

My rationale for this assignment is that I believe it is important that the class understands how these ‘fake news’ sources implement their use of humor to produce news. For example, the article we read for class states how Stewart creates a montage of the term “stunned,” together with his over-exaggerated facial gestures draws attention to the fact that the official news sources depend on providing their audience with entertainment in order to increase the number of viewers. This provides an answer as to why viewers are likely to choose ‘fake news’ over ‘real news.’

Assignment two: Create a ‘Fake Newscast’

In this lesson students will use what they have learned about ‘fake news’ and apply it to creating their very own news segments. The students will be separated into small groups of three or four. The students will be given several different types of newspaper articles, all of which are hard news stories: either national or local news. From these articles they will choose one and create a skit that portrays what they have read or seen on the previous ‘fake newscasts.’ The presentation should be about 3-5 minutes and all group members must participate. They have one class period to think about and discuss what their presentation will include. The next day they will present their newscast to the rest of the class. Following the presentations a class discussion will be held with questions such as:

1) What changes did you make to the original news article?

2) Did you find any misrepresentations in the articles? Did you choose to emphasize these in your newscast?

3) What elements did you choose to make your newscast more entertaining than the original story?

My rationale for this assignment is that drawing on my experience, I believe I have always learned better if I analyze or perform a take on my own rather than simply reading about it. In making an actual newscast the students will understand how informed they must be, not only on the news article itself, but on what parts of the article might be invalid or misrepresented.

Assignment 3: Comparison of ‘real’ vs. ‘fake’ news sources

In this lesson the students will be shown two video clips: one official news clip and one ‘fake’ news clip. They will then be divided into small groups and given a worksheet to fill out. This worksheet will have an empty table with two columns: ‘real’ news, and ‘fake’ news. Here the students will have to fill the table in with the components that describe each of those categories. The students will then work separately to complete the rest of the worksheet which includes:

1) Summarize, in a few sentences, the main points that you have learned from the table.

2) Make an argument about which news source is better.

Here the students are forced to really think about which news source is more credible and informative. They understand the major differences that each news source chooses to portray. In this activity the students will learn how not only official news can be educating, but ‘fake news’ can also be informative.

Assignment 4: Analysis of Bias

In this lesson the students will be shown a few ‘fake’ news stories as well as read some official news articles as a class. The subject of bias will be explained to them and they will be given an example of how news carries bias. For example, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart is inherently biased because it is a liberal based show and therefore aims its stories at a heavily liberal audience. The class will discuss some ways in which BOTH the ‘real’ and ‘fake’ news present biases. The discussion will also draw attention to the intended audiences of the news sources and how that affects the bias of the individual stories. Because of this activity, the students will understand that both ‘fake’ and ‘real’ news will have bias and neither one is credible all the time.

Activity for Critical Analysis

In order to learn critical analysis of the news I would show about 15 minutes of the news broadcast during class and instruct the class to take notes on what they see. They should write down what story is the longest and shortest, as well as what the content of the different stories are. I would then split up the students into small groups and have them discuss what they just saw. I would pass out a list of discussion questions that are as follows:

1) What stories were the longest? Shortest? Why?

2) How many of the stories were news as opposed to entertainment stories?

3) How much time is spent on weather and sports compared to hard news stories?

4) What were the most interesting sections to you? What were the least interesting?

5) What do you notice about the role gender plays in the news stories as well as within the newscasters themselves? What about the role race plays?

Then I’d bring the class back together and go over the answers as a group. I would then introduce the concept of news bias and brainstorm with the class the reasons why the news anchors would want to report more on sports, weather, and entertainment stories than hard news stories. I could then point out (using question 4) how their interests shape what the newscasters chose to report on.

News Analysis

The newscast began with a bombardment of stories. I thought it was unusual, and if I’m honest, somewhat annoying that the first story was a rather longer one about Brett Farve. It gave the impression that he was the most important story. I’m sure the station placed the story first to gain attention from the audience and prevent them from turning the channel after finishing the 9:30 program. After that the anchors spoke so quickly it was hard for me to keep up. I created a panicking feel for me, as if I would miss something if I blinked or turned away for a moment. This is purposely done by the news station to keep viewers attention.

There were many short 20-50 second segments and only a few that were longer than a minute. The longest, by far, was the segment on sports. Here Brett Farve was discussed again and in addition an interview clip was shown of him. Apparently the news believes this is what the audience wants to know about. What was surprising to me is that the investigative report on Iranian protests seemed only to be a blurb. They had a reporter on location and still the clip was only 27 seconds. That and the layout of Obama’s budget plan were the only items of national importance and they were both less than 50 seconds combined. This aims to the “Joe Plumbers” watching that feel the Farve stories are more applicable to there daily life and therefore more interesting. The news aims to please!

Towards the end of the newscast, when the weather and sports were reported on, the rapid panic attack I was having fizzled away. The newscasters became very calm for these segments and even joked around with one another. This leaves viewers with a much less intense and happier note as the newscast comes to an end. This satisfactory feeling is likely to bring a viewer back the next night to watch the news again. This is especially true as the main entertainment story of the night, the tree that was caught on tape as it was hit by lightening, was the only news story told after the final commercial break. This leaves viewers with the feeling that news does in fact report on interesting and even happy events. Viewers are more likely to watch that news channel again if they don’t feel that all the news stories they’re hearing are sad and depressing. I believe this is why the news becomes so casual and light hearted towards the end of the segment.

The appearance of the newscasters was impeccable. The men all had gelled hair and shirts with beautiful ties. The women all had suit jackets and skirt and very shiny lip gloss. This physical appearance is a must since this network is broadcasting for ratings and popularity. Kare11 also mention there website several times in attempt to gain attention from a wider audience and satisfy there current viewers with more information that can be found on the site.

Viewing Log

For this assignment I chose to watch the 10:00 news on Channel 11. This was much faster paced than I expected, but luckily I managed to get all the stories.

VIEWING LOG

Story	Time
Sports: Will Brett Farve be joining the Vikings?	3:08
Top Story: In Champlin, MN a driver under the influence hit and killed a pedestrian and mother of two on the side of the road.	1:40
Local News Story: Amber Alert issued for a small boy.	53 Seconds
Health: First Minnesota death of a child from the H1N1 virus	47 Seconds
Local News: The man responsible for a scheduled rape set up on the internet is now going on trial	31 Seconds
Local News: The man arrested for file sharing in 1997 is now going to court again after gaining a appeal.	25 Seconds
National News: Barack Obama’s outlook on the budget plan	17 Seconds
Weather: Penn Lake is drying up worse this year than any year before it. The neighbors are petitioning to attempt to get the pump turned back on that was recently turned off. It is responsible for pumping rain water from other places into the lake.	2:10
Local News: A rescue worker was rescued from a mudslide safely after almost an hour of attempts	26 Seconds
Local News: A Deputy who was shot in the head last year is now battling complications, while his partner who saved his life was honored with a heroic award.	34 Seconds
National News: Iranian protests are becoming incredibly dangerous and violent	27 Seconds
Weather: Colorado may not see a real summer as they are battling very severe storms.	16 Seconds
Ads	3:44
Consumer: Taxes on sodas and that effect on weight and time spent with family	47 Seconds
Consumer: Gas prices rising higher than ever this summer	41 Seconds
Entertainment: Free admission to the Observatory on 6/16/09	1:05
Weather: Weather in the Twin Cites today as well as forecast and evening temperatures	3:40
Ads	3:36
Sports: Sports highlights for the day, including Brett Farve again	4:13
Ads	3:55
“Before We Go”/ Entertainment: Home video of lightening striking a tree recorded by a viewer.	55 Seconds