Media Literacy Students Create Video
Posted on July 16, 2008
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Some interesting Web 2.0 sites
Posted on July 16, 2008
We love to follow the latest (and sometimes greatest, though not always) interactive websites - web 2.0. Here are a few who have made recent headlines.
YouSendIt is a file delivery service with over 7 million registered users. The funding will be used to grow subscriptions, and to develop content delivery and management services.
The service enables users to send large files to any email address. Users can send files from the website or through plug-ins for popular applications such as Photoshop and Outlook.
For those whose appreciation rises to the level of obsession there’s ScrnShots, a Website for uploading, sharing, and talking about screen shots. Of course, you can upload and share screen shots on plenty o existing services such as Flickr, SlideShare, or Screencast. But ScrnShots is all about creating a community around screen shots specifically. You can go there and see the most recent, the most viewed, and the most commented on screen shots. You can upload your own, and discuss them.
Gaia Online is a self-described “teen hangout” that mixes elements of an avatar-based virtual world with mini-games, a social network, and a community forum. Members are rewarded for participating on each component of the site with an online currency (Gaia Gold) that can be used to purchase in-game virtual goods. Much of the site’s traffic comes from its forum, which ranks among the most active on the internet.
SynthaSite, an AJAX-based webpage editor that lets users create websites by dragging-and-dropping, has relaunched with a new interface that it hopes will make the site more appealing to casual web designers. While most of the feature set will stay the same, the company believes that the new interface will expose users to features that were hidden in confusing menus in the last iteration of the site. One of the most useful features of SynthaSite is its integration with Picnik, an online image editing site. Users can easily manipulate the images they’ve uploaded to SynthaSite using Picnik’s browser-based editor, with the changes seamlessly reflected in their SynthaSite library.
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Connecting your online worlds together
Posted on July 16, 2008
I’m a huge advocate of using online interactive media to connect people. After all, there are so many people around the world that you share interests with, so why limit yourself to your local geographical area? This is especially true when trying to connect with people professionally.
I pride myself of having this blog, having a LinkedIn profile, being on Twitter (which I commonly refer to as “useless technology”), and having an otherwise broad online presence in the online educational community. So I feel like I’m well connected… but in different places. I wish I could be connected to everyone I have connections with online, but have to visit only a single website.
Since that dream isn’t possible at the moment, I’ve taken myself to building my LinkedIn network. Here are some ways I’m doing it.
- Give them my Hotmail and Gmail accounts to look for contacts. This doesn’t always work though, since I rarely check mail through those sites and the address books are pretty bare.
- Upload my computer’s address book. This is a better option, but I’m concerned about privacy - mine and my contacts’. LinkedIn promises they won’t contact anyone in my address book unless I specifically say they can.
- Look at my friends/colleagues/contacts on other sites. I’ve looked through my contacts on Twitter and Classroom 2.0 to add colleagues from there. This seems to work, but I just have to make sure that I’ve had real contact with those people, and not just try adding them because I simply lurk on their Twitter page (or vice-versa).
As I build my LinkedIn network, I hope to make better connections with colleagues and friends who I share interests and industries with. Bringing them all together is the hard part, but interacting with them once they’re there should be easy.
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Rabbit and Bear Paws
Posted on July 11, 2008
Our friends over at Rabbit and Bear Paws have released a new graphic novel. As you may remember, they created a media literacy comic starring these lovable Native American characters for Understand Media. We’re so glad the creators have created a comic about Native American culture devoid of stereotypes and negative portrayals. We suggest checking it out!
Here’s a fun trailer for their new graphic novel.
Disclaimer: We’re in no way associated with Rabbit and Bear Paws. We just really like what they’re doing.
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Sushi and Sashimi love TV!
Posted on July 8, 2008
Here at Understand Media, we believe it’s better to teach kids about the good and bad things in media, rather than simply saying “you can’t watch that!” In an article entitled “Censorship vs. Media Literacy“, we advocate teaching kids to analyze their world. After all, parents can’t always be with their kids while they experience media, and so it’s better to get them prepared before sending them out into the world… then they’ll know how to make their own choice.
The point is driven home with our new video “Sushi and Sashimi Love TV”. Watch it and let us know what you think!
If you can’t watch it on YouTube, watch it on TeacherTube.
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