IPT286- Tip for Geography Teachers

Hey, here is a cool website I found that would be helpful for Geography teachers trying to use technology to be more interactive with the students. It's from FactMonster.com, the site has a lot of quick, cool tips for technology for teachers of all subjects. The application I thought was cool is called "Where in the World". It's an interactive map that has questions describing certain places, and once students guess where the place is there is a link for the name of each country that pulls up information about that country. Nothing too advanced, but it could be interesting for any map work in Geography classes.

Rhetorical Analysis for Song Lyrics

Deep Blue Something- "Breakfast at Tiffany's"

You'll say, we've got nothing in common
No common ground to start from
And we're falling apart
You'll say, the world has come between us
Our lives have come between us
Still I know you just don't care

And I said, "what about 'Breakfast at Tiffany's?'"
She said, "I think I remember the film
And as I recall, i think, we both kind of liked it"
And I said, "well that's, one thing we've got"

I see you, the only one who knew me
And now your eyes see through me
I guess I was wrong
So what now, it's plain to see we're over
And I hate when things are over
When so much is left undone

And I said, "what about 'Breakfast at Tiffany's?'"
She said, "I think I, remember the film
And, as I recall, I think, we both kind of liked it"
And I said, "well that's, one thing we gots"

You'll say, that we've got nothing in common
No common ground to start from
And we're falling apart
You'll say the world has come between us
Our lives have come between us
Still I know you just don't care

And I said, "what about 'Breakfast at Tiffany's?'"
She said, "I think I, remember that film
And, as I recall, I think, we both kind of liked it"
And I said, "well that's, one thing we gots"

1. The argument of these song lyrics is that the audience and the speaker should continue their relationship because they have common interests such as both liking the movie ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s”.

2. The audience includes a man or woman that is currently in a relationship with the speaker, but feels the relationship is falling apart, that he/she shares no common interests with the speaker, and is apathetic to the future of the relationship.

3. The goal of these song lyrics is to get the audience to recognize or remember the common interests he/she shares with the speaker so the relationship can be salvaged and continue.

4. The speaker tries to accomplish the goal of salvaging and continuing the relationship by using several elements of rhetoric.

Pathos- The speaker uses the element of pathos by provoking memories, and thus the emotions of love or interest that the audience previously had for the speaker. By bringing up the movie of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, the speaker is calling attention to emotions of enjoyment and pleasure that were most likely shared when both the audience and the speaker watched the movie.

Logos- The speaker also uses the element of logos in the attempt to salvage the relationship. The speaker brings up counterarguments that the audience is predicted to have such as “we’ve got nothing in common”, “we’re falling apart”, and “our lives have come between us”. The speaker uses logic by stating that because they both shared a common interest in the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, they have a common base to start from and logically, they will have enough similar interests to continue having a successful relationship.

Sufficient- Overall, these lyrics lack sufficient evidence to support the argument that the speaker and the audience should continue their relationship. The only argument the speaker makes is that they both share a common interest in one film, and therefore, that is a sufficient basis for a quality relationship. There is no rebuttal to the counterarguments of the audience that “the world has come between us” to explain how they could adjust their busy lives to make the relationship work. There is no counter to the argument that the audience just does not care, and it is doubtful that the mention of one film will remedy the apathy of the audience.

Relevant- The evidence produced by the speaker is not exactly relevant to several of the counterarguments made by the speaker. The statements of “the world has come between us, our lives have come between us, still I know you just don’t care” infer that the audience feels their lives are too busy or their lifestyles are just too different and the audience does not care enough to change that. The only response the speaker has is bringing up one film that they both shared a common interest in, irrelevant to the argument that they are both too busy. Also, the speaker in the second verse talks about how the audience used to “see” the speaker, but now the speaker realizes this is not the case anymore and their relationship is over. This is not evidence relevant to trying to persuade the audience to salvage the relationship, but rather just brings up past injustices.

5. Due to its insufficient and irrelevant evidence, these song lyrics are not effective in accomplishing the goal of salvaging and continuing the relationship between the audience and the speaker. Although there is an effective use of pathos in bringing up memories and emotions of love and pleasure with the mention of the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, this singular argument does not effectively counter the several arguments made by the audience, of different schedules, changing lifestyles, and overall apathy towards the relationship.

PLN

Google Reader

Twitter

Google Reader: For my sources for Google Reader I chose Secondary Social Studies & Technology 2.0 which is a website that takes social studies lessons for junior high and high school students and explains how technology can be used to teach the lessons. It also has ideas, questions and comments from other Social Studies Teachers. Another source I chose is PBS Teachers which gives great lesson plans and ideas for all types of teachers. Another source is Teaching with Technology-National Council for Social Studies. This source is once again helpful in learning how to adapt technology specifically to the social studies with feedback from teachers across the national board. I also chose to follow Twitter4Teachers-Social Studies and CNN News to get feedback with short tweets from real Social Studies teachers and keep updated with breaking news. I also am following my fellow group member Whitney Cox's blog and our class Diigo group.

The most useful source I subscribed to however, was EFL Classroom 2.0. This blog was an Edublog Award Winner and is specifically geared towards helping teachers with English Language Learning Students in their classroom. I found this extremely helpful because I am getting my ESL endorsement, and this is a useful tool in knowing how to incorporate technology to help my ELL students.

On Twitter I am following Twitter4Teachers- it gives quick tips and helpful hints for teachers of all subjects. I also am following a basic Social Studies Teaching group that gives tips specifically for history and civics classes. I'm also following CNN News so I can get the latest news, which is very helpful for teaching Social Studies Classes. Oh and I'm also following Rick West!!! He gives updates that are helpful as always for teaching with technology and he gives great tips for using technology for the gospel!

Engl 312-Rhetorical Analysis for TV Commercial

Old Spice Commercial-Click me!!!

1. The argument of this TV commercial is that the overall quality of life for men will improve if they use Old Spice deodorant.

2. The audience includes women that are in a relationship with a man and is concerned about the way their significant other smells.

3. The goal of this advertisement is to get women to buy Old Spice deodorant for their significant other.

4. The commercial tries to accomplish its goal of getting women to buy Old Spice deodorant for men in several elements of rhetoric.

Ethos- The commercial uses the element of ethos to appeal to authority. The commercial does this by using a physically attractive male who immediately demands your attention at the beginning of the commercial by commanding “look at me, now look at your man, now back at me”. This immediately builds up a sense of respect and authority from the speaker, and helps build up the credibility of the commercial.

Pathos- The commercial uses the element of pathos to appeal to certain emotions, specifically sexual appeal and humor. The speaker is an attractive male who does not wear a shirt for the entire commercial, conveniently displaying his athletic physique. The commercial is subconsciously projecting the emotion of sexual appeal, and persuading women to buy Old Spice deodorant because then their man will be just as attractive. The commercial also has several random comments such as tickets turning into diamonds, and the speaker suddenly appearing on a horse to appeal to the emotion of humor in the commercial. By inserting humor, the commercial is more memorable and people associate this good emotion with Old Spice deodorant.

Sufficient- Despite the effective use of the element of pathos, the commercial in reality lacks sufficient evidence to support its argument that Old Spice deodorant will improve the overall quality of life for men. There are no statistics, no studies, no personal witnesses, or any other solid evidence to support the claim.

Accurate- The commercial also is not completely accurate because it is not completely fair because it makes the mistake of the “straw-man fallacy”. It sets up an extremely weak counterargument of saying that men need to “stop wearing lady-scented body wash”. Any men’s deodorant would be appealing compared to women’s body wash, however, most men probably do not use ladies body wash, therefore making this an inaccurate counterargument.

5. Despite its inaccuracy and lack of sufficient evidence, the commercial is effective for an audience of women in a significant relationship. It appeals to the emotion of humor, making it funny and memorable and something women will most likely remember to mention to their significant other, and most likely buy.

Word Count: 445

English 312 Rhetorical Analysis-Still Advertisement

1. The argument of this Advertisement is that the Kimberly-Clark Kleenex Company is killing the Canadian Boreal Forest because they are cutting down trees to make facial tissues.

2. The audience ranges from teenagers to adults in the U.S. and Canada who care about the environment, endangered animals, the fight against global warming and the Boreal Forest of Canada. The audience also includes those who have access to a phone or internet and can contact the Kimberly-Clark Company to voice their complaints with Kleenex.

3. The goal of this Advertisement is to contact the Kimberly-Clark Company to voice a complaint against Kleenex and to stop buying Kimberly-Clark Kleenex facial tissues.

4. The Advertisement tries to accomplish their goal of stopping consumers from buying Kleenex by using all three elements of rhetoric. The Advertisement uses ethos by appealing to authority with the endorsement of GREENPEACE on the bottom right-hand corner of the advertisement. This is a well-known organization among environmentalists, and this will help build up the credibility and authority of the advertisement. The advertisement uses pathos by posting a picture of a Kleenex box with cut-down trees as the design on the Kleenex box to emphasize the idea that buying a box of Kleenex is the same as killing several trees. It appeals to the emotion of guilt, by making buyers of Kleenex feel guilty for destroying the environment. It also appeals to the emotion of guilt with its instructions of how to kill the Boreal Forest being simply 1. Pulling out a Kleenex tissue, 2. Putting it to your nose and 3. Blowing. The oversimplification of this once again draws attention to the simple act of blowing your nose being the same as killing trees. The advertisement also uses logos to persuade the audience not to buy Kleenex tissues. In the fine print, it explains how the Kimberly-Clark company contributes to the destruction of the Canadian Boreal Forest by cutting down trees for its facial tissues. The advertisement also explains how the forest is home to several endangered species of migratory birds and is an aid in the fight against global warming. The fine print also explains how the Kimberly-Clark company could use more recyclable products to make its tissues, using logic to persuade the audience to stop buying Kleenex and tell Kimberly-Clark company to use different products.

5. The Advertisement is effective for an environmentalist audience that is concerned about the Boreal Forest. However, the logos or logic is not completely convincing because it is unclear what exactly the “more recyclable products” or alternative to Kleenex would be. Blowing your nose is an issue everyone faces, and the need for a disposable tissue is there and the advertisement does not effectively propose an alternate option.

Word Count: 450

ABOUT ME! -IPT 286

So this is my first post for IPT286, and I thought I would start by sharing a little bit about me. My name is Amanda, I'm 20, and a Social Science Teaching major. I also have a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language. I'm from Fort Collins, Colorado and I love to play soccer, run, and do just about anything outdoors. This is a picture of me in Jerusalem, where I lived for four months this summer, and my background template is also a picture I took of Jerusalem. My real passion is to travel and learn about other cultures.

Another one of my interests is politics and keeping up with current events which is why I am often checking websites such as CNN to read the news. In my sidebar, you'll find a list of links to some of my favorite websites and just some things I'm interested in such as listening to music on grooveshark, and wearing Calle street soccer gear. You'll also find a list of the other members of my group and their blog URLs. I also like to be fun and somewhat random which is why you will find the fish gadget in my sidebar as well. (Feed them, it's fun!) I'm excited for IPT 286 because I consider myself a rookie with technology, and I'm excited to learn how to use it to be a more effective and interesting teacher.