And the winner is...

Context -- I know that you think I'm going to blog about the Oscars, but that is later. This blog is about the winner of the Dove Creme Oil Body Wash ad that sponsored the awards program and was chosen by viewers. Both ads played early on in the show. We were told that over 1,000 entries were judged and we would get to chose between the final two. It was not difficult for me to chose. B was it! When the winner was announced later in the show, B won! What was amazing to me was that the commercial was made by a woman from Mantua,Utah.

How I could use this in class -- It would be fun to have students create original commercials for products. I have them create print ads for real and imaginary products, but I haven't had the technology to create real video ads. What fun that would be! I guess I should keep a better eye out for contest like this.

Watch the ad here http://dovecreamoil.msn.com/Gallery.aspx?pID=236515&s=m&source=PROMOnonengagedancdnewGallery

The Making of a Super Bowl Commercial

Context --
While I was looking for ads for my students to analyze, I came across the Making of FedEx Pigeon Super Bowl Ad. It was fascinating for me to get behind the scenes and see part of what goes into making a short commercial. I have been behind the scenes several times since I have been in a couple of commercials, was an extra in a film, and duh! my daughter worked on Paramount Studio for two TV shows.
Here is the commercial:

How I would use it in class --
I used it because I wanted the students to see behind the scenes. One of the PR people mentioned that they had seen several "boards" before they chose this one. My students will be making storyboards when they do production. They also showed how they did some of the special effects. It was really interesting. And when I can find the link to the show, I will publish it here.

Super Bowl Ads

Context --
For me the only reason to watch the Super Bowl is for the ads. This is always fun.
Although I missed the midsection of the game (I preferred to watch the Hinckley biography), I did catch several that I liked and thought were persuasive. My favorite were: Audi Godfather, Bridgestone Tires Squirrel, Planters Unibrow, CareerBuilder Spider, and eTrade Baby. I also like the FedEx Pigeon, but more on that later.
How I would use this in class --
I had the students analyze theses ads looking for these elements: What claims are being made by the advertiser and how they are made. Use the rhetorical triangle to discuss the power of the argument. Are there logic fallacies? Consider what you have learned about images. What ideologies are embedded in the ad and what could their impact be on members of society? Is there intertextuality that must be understood by the viewer?
CareerBuilder Spider

eTrade Baby

Planters Unibrow

Bridgestone Squirrel

Audi Godfather

Sorry, I just had to add one more -- the talking stain!

Republican Debates

Context --
My students are in the midst of a unit on argumentation. We have just done an activity about logic fallacies. I was searching for some debates to have the students pick out the fallacies in the candidates' arguments. When I logged onto nytimes.com there they were! The Republican Debates had just taken place the night before and nytimes had video and transcripts there for the analyzing. It was really fun to see how many fallacies were made ( by McCain).
How I would use it in class?
I used it and I would use something similar in the future. My students are voting this year, so they really were interested in what was said. I may go here again later in the campaigns.

How Fast Can a Message Travel?

Context--
Our communication technology has allowed us to communicate within seconds. I have really appreciated email for communicating with my sons on missions. My first son, Ryne, was in Mongolia truly in the middle of nowhere, but was able, when there was electricity, to email me weekly. Zak is now in Netherlands, which is a hub of technology, but we are able to communicate within seconds.

The power of this technology was really evident on Monday after President Hinckley died. My students showed up in church clothes. I asked if there had been a Morningside, but they said they dressed up in honor of the Prophet. They had gotten text messages inviting them to do so. I was really touched that they would wear uncomfortable clothing in his honor (although that was how I dressed every school day of my young life). Later on the news it was reported that students from Idaho to Arizona had dressed up for Hinckley! The word had really spread! I wondered who had started this chain text message. I found out on Sunday with my Sunday school class that several people must have had the same idea. One of my students, independently, thought of it and started his own chain. Several students got many differently worded messages.

How I could use this idea in class --

This is just a high-tech version of the telephone game. It could be interesting to start a message in class and see how long it takes to get back to us. What ways could this technology be put to good use? What ways could it be a real problem? These would be thought-provoking questions and ones they probably haven't thought of yet.

Podcast

Context --
In our media class we created podcasts using Garage Band as our editor. It was fun and I am pleased with what I accomplished. I like listening to This American Life and wanted to do something similar for awhile. I am writing about my life in snippets for my students as models of how they can write about their lives, but more importantly, for my children and grandchildren. I think they have enjoyed watching me struggle with the experiences. I have shared my childhood stories, one about wetting my pants in 2nd grade, and what I thought about when I wrote them. This has authenticated the writing experience for them seeing me doing the same writing they do and struggling with the same issues.

How I could use it in class --
My experience creating my podcast will be one that I share with my students as well. This year, instead of simply writing a memory, my students will be creating a podcast of their memory. I feel this is more valuable to them. They still have to do the good writing like in my past assignment, but now they can add their own voice to it. They will have a permanent record of their voice telling a story when they were 16. These will be really fun to share on my class website. The assignment will also give them some technology experience many have not had, that is using Garage Band. I am a lucky teacher in that our school has a traveling Mac lab for exactly this purpose.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1XpffMxBrA