Artifact # 7
Ethnography: An Ethnography is a study of culture, or in this case how a culture is affected by factors such as mass media. This artifact is a series of webpages that features one school and its students in an in-depth look at media's influence. (Use the "Back" button on your browser to return to this page from the Ethnography Page)
Context
I created this in my CI 3750 class in Fall
of 2001 with a group of my peers to analyze the impact of mass media on
children, school, and society today.
Impact
Through this project, I became more aware
of the influence of mass media, which often shapes their perceptions of
society in general. I plan on using this project in my classroom
to make students more aware of how society is affected by what is displayed
through the mass media, thus transferring the ideas presented to their
own lives.
Alignment
This information for this webpage was gathered
over a few months while my group and I were interns at an elementary school.
We divided the project into several areas: mass media found around the
school facilities, students' possessions, students' attitudes, and reactions
to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. We used digital cameras
to capture evidence mass media such as drink machines in the schools and
what brands of clothes the students were wearing. Once we had gathered
our observations, we put them in a webpage format. By using this
format, not only can the group members use the information to improve awareness
of media but other educators, parents, and students will also have the
opportunity to ponder mass media's role in society (Technology Standard
IV
B).
Because I have experienced the growing awareness
that I have about mass media, I would like to have my students conduct
their own Ethnography so that they may also become more educated about
the world they live in that is dominated by media. Through this project,
I as a professional have evaluated the way that I plan to use technology.
Since technology includes video tapes, television, and the Internet, I
need to evaluate these sources carefully to only use materials that will
support my students' learning. This learning includs what ideas they
may develop subconsciously after being exposed to "negative" images within
the media, such as "sugary candies are healthy." (Technology Standard V
B).