Multimedia Project- Instructional Video

Here is my instructional video for my multimedia project. The UEN Standard falls under Human Geography for 9th Grade- NGS 9: Understand the characteristics human populations on Earth's surface, NGS 10: Understand the characteristics and complexity of Earth's cultural mosaics.

Lesson Objective: Students should be able to: 1. Define race. 2. Explain what makes human populations different. 3. Analyze the effectiveness of "race" in categorizing human populations.

Instructional videos would be extremely useful in the classroom especially for teaching material that has more emotion involved. For example, the use of music, photos and text in this video presents the concept of "race" in a much more effective way than just lecturing would. Also, since students today are immersed in a world of technology, showing instructional videos is something they would be more familiar with and they would be able to relate to. Instructional videos would also be good for student projects. I've always been an advocate of giving options for final projects such as posters, powerpoints, book reports or an instructional video. Students could use them in a social studies setting for book reports, videos about certain wars or battles, or biographies of famous people. It would be a creative way for students to present the knowledge they have learned. Students could do mini "documentaries" as well for a history class, or for a psychology class they could video-tape themselves doing social experiments or interviewing people. I had a teacher that had a project for a psychology class where we had to break a social-norm and write about our reaction and others' reaction. It could be a good idea to tell students they could get extra credit if they made an instructional video of their project.

English 312- RA for Paper A

Paper A- "Mosque in New York City: Not the LDS Church's Problem?"

1. The argument of this paper is that the NYC mosque because it will significantly improve the future growth of the LDS Church.

2. The audience of this paper is the LDS Public Affairs Department who is not making any public statement concerning the mosque being built in NYC.

3. The goal of this paper is to persuade the LDS Public Affairs department to publicly support the building of the NYC mosque.

4. I attempt to persuade my audience of my argument through several elements of rhetoric including:

Ethos- I raise the credibility of my argument by inserting quotes from authoritative figures such as President Packer and President Hinckley, talking about the need for positive Muslim-LDS relations. By quoting this respectable individuals, I appeal to my LDS audience, and thus my argument gains more credibility.

Logos- I use logic to validate counterarguments, and yet refute them with simple logic. An example of this is when I state that the Church does like to remain politically neutral; however, in their LDS Newsroom statement it says they will make a stand on issues that affect the Church or basic morals. I give examples of previous times the Church has made a public stand on an issue, such as in the case of illegal drug use with Peyote Indians, and the Church making a stand on Proposition 8. I use logic to explain how supporting the building of the NYC mosque is an issue that could be of just as much importance because it could make the difference in the Church's growth in the Middle East. Through my use of examples and logic, I attempt to persuade my audience to achieve my goal of supporting the mosque.

Relevant- The material that I use including quotes, past examples, and logic are all extremely relevant to my audience. I really focused my argument to fit my audience, and used examples and quotes that would be relevant to them. The topic of the building of the mosque is also a hot topic right now, and one that the LDS Church would be concerned with.

Sufficient- My paper contained sufficient evidence to prove my point. I recognized several valid counterarguments such as the concern of Islamic values in a Christian society, sensitivity issues surround the location of the building site, and the Church's concern to make a public stance. I backed every one of these arguments up with evidence including quotes, past examples and even pathos to emotionally awake my audience's senses to my claim.

5. Due to my use of ethos, logos, and my relevant and sufficient evidence, I would say that my paper is successful in attempting my goal (although, I might be a little bias :) ). I feel that it is well structured, organized, and I have plenty of evidence to support my claim. However; in reality it would be hard to approach my actual audience and present this point because there are higher authorities the LDS Public Affairs Department responds to such as the First Presidency.

IPT 286- Participation

Check out this trailer for the new documentary "Waiting for Superman". It's a documentary about the public education system in the United States and I think it would be really interesting to see, especially for us current and future teachers. This trailer made me also think of technology and how a documentary about education is a way to spread an idea or opinions about education on a national and international scale. I think it's extremely important for teachers to be informed on what the public opinion on education is, and to go above and beyond the duties of their classroom to be a global citizen. Technology is a great way for this to happen, and an important way for ideas to be spread on a scale that it never could before.

Also, just a thought about podcasts from the voicethread this week. I'm not sure if anyone in this section is also a TESOL minor, but I thought podcasts would be a great way for ESL students to hear and learn English in a more effective way. I found this website for ESL students that has podcasts to help ESL students learn songs native kids know, jokes in English, and "listen and repeat" broadcasts. This would be an excellent way to incorporate ESL students into not only the English language but the culture of technology.

Engl 312 Rhetorical Analysis -Encounter

"BEST LOTION IN THE WORLD"

The encounter is an interaction between a sales lady at a kiosk in the mall and myself.

1. The argument of this encounter is that I need this lotion from Israel because it is the best lotion in the world.

2. The audience of this encounter is myself, a 20 year old poor college student who is fairly concerned with having somewhat beautiful skin.

3. The goal of this encounter is to get me to buy this lotion.

4. The speaker tries to persuade me to buy this lotion through several elements of rhetoric:

Ethos: The speaker stated that the lotion comes all the way from Israel so it is very rare, and thus very valuable. The speaker explained how it is made from minerals that can only be found in the Dead Sea and these minerals are the best in the world for skin treatment. By explaining where the lotion is derived from, the speaker was building up the credibility of the product, and thus the respect I should have for its quality. The speaker also went on to explain that she was the manager and was leaving to head back to Israel the next week so she offered me a very "special" deal by cutting the price of the lotion in half. She then went on to explain that she could only do this because she was the manager and I would not find this kind of deal anywhere else. By stating her position as the manager and reducing the price for me, the speaker was attempting to increase her ethos, or her authority and power, thus demanding some level of respect from myself.

Pathos: The speaker also attempted to use pathos to sell the lotion to me. The speaker came up to me right away as I was walking buy her kiosk and kept exclaiming how beautiful I was and how handsome the man I was with was as well. The speaker kept trying to ask me questions and get to know me, thus using pathos to instill flattery and a sense of connection with me, so that I would be more persuaded to buy her product.

Relevant- The speaker also found out I was traveling to Israel the next summer and she started talking all about beautiful land of Israel, thus using the emot ion of excitement to help raise my interest in her, and therefore her product. The lotions and products she was selling are from Israel, and therefore she felt it was relevant to keep describing the land the product came from.

Sufficient- The speaker kept explaining how this lotion was the "best lotion I could ever find", but there was very little evidence to support her claim. She said the minerals were the most rare in the world, but this was not only questionable, but also did not lead to prove that this lotion was the best lotion I could find. The speaker claimed that this lotion was of such a high quality that I would not need to use as much, and therefore it would last longer than other lotions but there was no way to prove or test this.

5. Although the speaker used the rhetorical element of ethos effectively, the lack of sufficient evidence made the speaker unsuccessful in her goal of getting me to buy her lotion. Her use of pathos seemed overly dramatic, and did not instill the intended emotions of connection and excitement about the product that was needed. Her failure to provide me with logos or logic to support the claim that this lotion really was indeed the best lotion in the world was one of the biggest factors in making this encounter unsuccessful. The speaker's argument was also very bold, and this took away some of the credibility. The speaker also failed to take into account her audience, being me, a very poor college student with little money to spend on expensive lotion.

Multimedia Project- Week 1 Storyboard

Click here for a link to my storyboard

This week has been really fun viewing and thinking up an idea for an instructional video. It makes me think about how much more interactive my learning could have been growing up if teachers had this technology available to them. I'm not exactly tech "savvy" either so I always get nervous when I'm asked to do new things with technology, but this project is another example of how my confidence had been built with technology.

For this assignment, I decided to do an instructional video for a Human Geography or World Geography class, which is something I am hoping to teach. I took the idea from a teacher at Oak Canyon Junior High who several years ago gave me his lesson plan with full permission to use it in any way.

While I am gathering material for this video, I have a few questions. One, I'm still working out the kinks with copyright issues and I'm wondering if I am only allowed to use a photo from the CreativeCommons section of Flickr, even if I site another photo and use it for educational purposes. Also, I have a PC and I have been wondering if as a teacher there would be any benefits to getting a Mac versus a PC. I know Macs are good for creative things such as iPhoto and iMovie and I was wondering if in the future it would be a good idea as a teacher to get a Mac. Just a question :)

Rhetorical Analysis for Music Video-Engl 312

Taylor Swift- You Belong With Me

1. The argument of this music video is that dating popular people is not always the best because there is usually someone else who may be less popular but is a better friend and knows the audience better.

2. The audience is teenagers who are watching this video and are dating or are concerned with dating "popular" people, but find themselves unhappy with their relationships.

3. The goal of this music video is to get the audience to realize he/she would be happier if they left their "popular" significant other, and dated someone who has been their friend for a long time.

4. The music video tries to accomplish this goal through several elements of rhetoric.

Pathos- The video shows scenes of the speaker (Taylor Swift) writing "I Love You" on a sign that the boy she is trying to persuade cannot see, thereby evoking the emotion of sympathy for the speaker because of her seemingly unrequited love. The music video also shows scenes of the speaker dancing in her room and being funny, thus using humor to try to get the audience to realize how much fun this person is, and this helps the audience relate the speaker to a person in their own life that could be a potential relationship.

Ethos- The music video uses prominent characters such as well-known singer Taylor Swift and an attractive younger actor to play the roles in the music video. By using Taylor Swift to play the "quirky best friend", the audience will give more credit to the idea that dating the most popular kid in school is not always most important, because someone as successful as Taylor Swift endorses the idea.

Typical- This music video is representative of the teenage audience it aims for; however it does seem to have the fallacy of Ad Populum, or it seems to jump on the "band wagon" of sappy teenage relationships. This video would still however, probably be acceptable to the audience it aims for and the audience would be able to relate to it.

Relevant- This music video gives information that the audience can relate to and that is relevant to the goal of persuading the popular boy to go for his nerdy best friend. The scenes of the speaker (Taylor Swift) just wearing baggy t-shirts sitting alone on the bleachers contrasted against the popular girl that is a cheerleader and is the center of attention is relvant to the goal. It is a scene that would be acceptable to the audience because it is something they are familiar with in their own environment, and this helps the speaker with the ultimate goal of relating this video to the lives of the teenage audience.

5. This video is effective in its use of STAR elements such as being typical and relevant; however, I feel it lacks sufficient evidence to support its claim that best friends who are not popular make the best partners for a relationship. I feel like the audience may be informed, but not necessarily persuaded to feel that way. I also feel like the argument while although may be relevant, is not exactly original and therefore might lack interest with the audience. There is good use of ethos and pathos; yet, once again, the argument is cliche and therefore I do not feel it is a strong argument.

Copyright: Bill of Rights Content Trailer by Brandon R

This is a video from YouTube that was made to introduce the Bill of Rights for a civics or social studies classroom. All of the images used were educational images and they appeared like they could have come from a Creative Commons website. However, there were no citations given for where the pictures were retrieved from so a person could not go and find the pictures if they wanted to, which is a violation of Copyright laws. Also, an entire song of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes was played, and although the song was downloaded off iTunes and the name of the song was listed, I believe this could hurt the business of the song and prevent it from being purchased in the future because the whole song is played and put on the internet.

While I was watching this video, I had a question concerning copyright laws for when I am a teacher. As a teacher, could I just take a video like this and show it in my classroom? How does it work with getting videos other people have made off of YouTube? This would be useful to use as a teacher but I'm unsure about what the copyright laws are on that. . .If anyone knows that would be helpful!