Multimedia for Social Change

I am extremely proud of each of you and everything you’ve accomplished this semester. I am unsure if I’ve mentioned this in the past (although I probably have lol) but this is the firstCOMMcourse I have taken and I just want to thank each of you for making this class enjoyable. I’m used to being stuck in a classroom with every day “busy” work and constrained to the weekly expectations listed on the syllabi.  I found this course to be extremely insightful and refreshing and I have learned a great deal from each of you. Each of you deserves recognition for your accomplishments as you all have done a great job this semester -you are all AMAZING –good luck in your future endeavors.

I have read over and will continue to read over the comments you all have left for Stasi and I. we should have our Final “Final” (;-)  version of the project up for you guys to check out no later than Wednesday afternoon. Also, I have commented on each of your final “presentations” Great job once again guys and gals! And Good Luck to you Professor!!!!

-kOr

“Games for Change” is an extremely interesting concept that I was not aware of previous to this workshop.  Just as other technological tools in our society, video games have become a platform for establishing awareness and mobilizing change. Ms. Ruiz came in to demonstrate how games can be generated from anything; random ideas, words, games, activities, experiences, interest –anything! But it wasn’t until we began playing the games that I realized how easy it is to (at the very least) come up with ideas for creating new games. The first game we played and one that I found quite interesting (and was probably the simplest game of all) was the terrorist game. The rules were simple as the game requires you to “shoot or not” the interesting part of this game is that if you decide to shoot then you see people surround the dead body, grieve over the body and as a result terrorist are duplicated. If you continue shooting then you end up with an entire community of terrorist which I found to be extremely interesting.

In terms of games being an actual avenue for promoting change, I think it is a relatively good one. In terms of awareness, the games are a GREAT way to open people’s eyes and gain interaction on the issue. Although I really do support this avenue for change  as it is extremely creative, innovative and fairly accessible, I believe that no matter how sophisticated “games” for change can be they are still “games” and carry the connotation of being such (no matter what the underlining issues are being promoted). Also, while discussing a few games in class Liz (I believe) mentioned that there is a game that promotes interconnectivity within communities. A game where you help your neighbors with grocery’s, while walking the streets conversing with neighbor which essentially promotes community etc. But what I immediately found interesting about this game Is that although it promotes all the right things people are still in the house practicing versus physically being out in the street practicing. My point is that while games can be positive, they also inadvertently keep people tuned into their computers rather than out promoting physical interaction among people – really making a difference. With this being said, I do recognize that many of these games have donation links and links that lead to more information about the topic. This exercise was definitely one of the best this semester!

FIOB ROCKS!

http://prezi.com/mvo0vzmimtco/fiob-project/

Hey Everyone!

I found this weeks’ class on “mobilization for social change” to be extremely insightful. The professor presented some very interesting comparisons on global use of internet and cellular devices. When I think of technology, I automatically think of internet and social networks along with the use of cellular devices. Just as the discussion about the “internet access divide” once again I was surprised to see the differences in internet access compared to cellular usage around the world. It definitely makes sense that more people would have access to cellular devices considering the variation of opportunity there is between the two (cell phones are more affordable and accessible).

Considering this, it makes sense to establish creative ways to use them not only as mobile phones but as a way to mobilize change amongst communities. There are so many applications on phones these days, applications that come with the most basic plans that can be utilized to benefit people and communities. I found the website [I forget the name, help please!] that monitors international social mapping to be VERY interesting. This is extremely beneficial for communities that are in need for certain things such as; water as discussed in class and for people who wish to raise awareness about things occurring in their community. I also found the activity that we practiced in class to be extremely exciting and interesting. Essentially, what’s happening here is people are making internet engagement accessible to all, to even people who may not have physical access to a computer and it think this idea is genius

As discussed, technology is extremely beneficial and can be used for various reasons social change being one. However, all of this internet- techno talk makes me wonder about the drawbacks of these specific devices. I am an individual who falls in the grey area of technology innovation -I believe that it is extremely beneficial as I’m sure everyone else would. However, subsequently technology really makes me wonder where things are headed. Aside from the lack of face to face interaction which is definitely (in my opinion) a drawback in which I admire Liz for not having text messaging, I wonder how far (and fast- at the rate we seem to be) can we continue to innovate and technologically progress? Now this may seem a bit extreme, but I am really terrified to live in a society/world that is solely based around technology innovations, where everything is “backed-up” by technology… It scares me to think that people cannot function manually and that if something happened our society would not function without it. We have created a co-dependent society. A society that is fully dependent on technology, which is something man made that depends on man for its’ continual innovation. I think people forget this and it has led people to question their own capabilities and knowledge thinking that computers are far more competent than people. While in some cases this may be true, I have read a lot about this and have even experienced it for myself. For example, when I am writing a text message I often get words that are underlined insinuating a “misspell” which has caused me to question my own knowledge, something I know to be right. It causes me sit around and think to myself “I know this is right” default to browsing the internet for reference only to find out that of course I am right. Obviously this is a very minimal case of what I am trying to argue but I have read reports on people who face this on a regular bases, people who question their own skills because of internet/computers thinking they are more reliable and competent than a humans.

I don’t know…It just scares me that we are a society so dependent on technology  that people can’t see beyond it. It reminds me of the housing economic crisis…this form of dependency is Americans weakness and what would happen if it suddenly disappeared?

Very scary….

Here is an updated timline! We thought it would be a good idea for Odilia to see the interview before we upload it. so we are just waiting to hear back from Odilia! other than that we are pretty much on track Also, Stasi and I realized that we showed the wrong footage in class on Wednesday, so we will be showing the final version of our first video next week for you all. 

Hi Class!

Peace & Happiness

As you know, Stasi and I have been facing difficulties getting interviews with the elders for our project. For this reason, we decided last week (and we presented to you) to focus more on the “youngsters” in creating a type of “language preservation” video for our final project. We took your advice and decided to work on each interview individually and upload them to FIOB’s YouTube account as well as their Facebook account! Fortunately, we were able to meet with Odilia (leader of the organization) this past Friday and she loved this idea! FINALLY, everyone is on the same page and our relationship is finally starting to blossom in to something really nice We sat and talked informally for a while about our interest and Spring break, it was very productive and I definitely felt a sense of comfort Odilia mentioned that she had a few interviews arranged with elders, so Stasi and I will continue conducting interviews for our utilization and or just for the organization’s keepsake.

More Frowns than Smiles

It has been an EXTREMEMLY difficult process for Stasi and I. The story is very ironic and humorous even (to an extent! lol).  Stasi and I both are not what you would consider “tech-savvy” individuals and together that “non-tech-savvy-ness” (for lack of a better word) just escalates! (Funny, you’d think two heads are better than on? not in this case lol) Stasi and I met last Tuesday to in the IML to work on editing the footage we currently have. However, things definitely did not go as planned L  We uploaded all the footage we had from my video camera (which took approximately 30-45 minutes because neither of us are familiar with Final Cut Pro) on to a hard-drive. We were working closely with IML staff in doing so, and they even saved everything to our drive. Unfortunately, for some bizarre reason… the hard-drive crashed! And as a result Stasi and I had to start uploading and editing from scratch!!!! It was definitely frustrating and the IML staff had no idea why this happened. So, as we were upset and disappointed we kept our composure and were given another hard –drive to work with. Just as last time the staff helped us upload the footage and save it to our new hard drive. Everything was saved successfully and Staci and I now had our footage saved

But Wait….!

This past Saturday Staci and I met at the IML to edit with hopes of getting our first video up and running today Monday April 4^th. Unfortunately, as we retrieved our new hard-drive and attempted up open Final Cut, we learned that our NEW HARD-DRIVE had crashed!! Again, the IML staff had no idea how this could happen and Stasi and I were highly upset because we knew it was nothing we had did… they uploaded and saved everything for us and when upon leaving the drive was in their possession. So, once again Stasi and I must start from scratch which has delayed our first video upload. This was a great inconvenience because our time is already limited due to scheduling complexities. I am still trying to stay positive about everything; I know it will all work out.

That is my update! Also, I figured you guys would enjoy some pictures from last years Zapoteca celebration

Hi Everyone! I realize that it has been a while since you’ve received an update about how things are going with our organization, FIOB. Ironically, Staci and I both were absent last week, so I apologize about the delay. However, sadly to report there hasn’t been much interaction between Staci and I and the organization. Before Spring break Staci and I got together to edit some of the footage that we had got at the Zapoteca conference the weekend before class that week. Due to Spring break complications with Staci and I and the leader of the organization leaving for Mexico, Staci and myself were unable to conduct any interviews over break. Before break we sent out an up to date calendar to Odilia (leader of the organization) and Rosalinda (another young woman who has been accommodating us through the process) to be sure that everyone is on the same page in terms of dates, times and deadlines. We have communicated back and forth with Rosalinda, but unfortunately she and Odilia were unable to schedule interviews for Staci and I (they are having a difficult time getting a hold of the elders). Unfortunately this has complicated both Staci and my position a great deal because essentially we don’t really have a project to work on! As of now we have is footage of the “youngsters” and some footage from past events. This is a great start! But we are hoping to get in to contact with at least a few elders so that we can conduct our interviews and get the ball rolling. And for some reason is that is not the case we hope that we have enough time to create another project….everything is up in the air! :-/ but we are staying positive

-kOree

Youth Media -a captivating topic that is probably one of the most significant topics of discussion in today’s society. Discussing youth media is essentially discussing the future of our entire existence.  We can all agree that, media in today’s world is central to everyday living and communicating amongst dispersed peoples. There are many questions to be asked and avenues to explore when discussing this topic but the authors of this research did a good job in unraveling the major functions of digital media and some issues that arise as a result.

The overall summary of the Living and Learning with New Media project was interesting however it did not take me by surprise. I am not shocked to find that digital devices have become “fixtures of youth culture.” In fact, I think that was probably one of the most predictable outcomes of the project. The project recognized that the internet provides “self-directed” learning beyond what is taught in classroom or “face to face” interaction. The internet allows for a variety of information, and in addition, allows for a great deal of autonomy in doing so (which is limited in a classroom environment). The project also mentioned that the internet creates “specialized knowledge groups” which are either friendship or interest-driven. Friendship-driven interest groups are groups of people that engage for example in social networking websites -where they associate with people they already know in their personal lives. This was slightly interesting to me; I hadn’t noticed how much time people spend on social networking websites “socializing” with people they ALREADY know! Kind of humorous actually  

What I did find EXTREMELY interesting, however, is the fact that youth may be struggling with identity and autonomy as a result of this “new world” or media epidemic. This was extremely interesting to me. In particularly because I am very interested and skeptical to a degree of the “power” that digital media has in contemporary America (world). “Power” meaning the dependency that we as people put in to computers and digital devices. Recently, I’ve been thinking about the relationship between people and computers and it is extremely scary to me. As beneficial as computers are, and as much as they have served to catapult our society, they have simultaneously handicapped society and subsequently have created a co-dependent world where people and technology need each other in order to sustain. This dependency is scary, and the fact that there is not detachment from this ever-growing process is even scarier. This dependency has created an entire new world with new innovations which have enabled learning new technological skills that have become NECESSARY in order to participate even at the most minimal level in everyday American society. Although computers have helped erase markers for status and authority, people have no idea how to do things manually anymore, -they always have to resort to computer assistance and or computer reference and I think it’s very unfortunate.

As I mentioned before, I do recognize the advantages of computer technology, but how much further can we advance technologically? How much more can be done electronically? Now that I think about it, it was slightly difficult for me to read this project from an unbiased standpoint due to the fact that I already have certain feelings about youth media and technology.

 -kOree

Presenting our project plan to the class was definitely an eye-opener for me. Previous to this project, Staci and I were completely overwhelmed with the concept of the last assignment -the documentation of 12-15 women and their personal stories. For this reason, we felt more or less relieved upon receiving this assignment as an alternative. It wasn’t until we actually presented the project plan to the class that I (Although I can only speak for myself, I am sure Staci felt a similar way) realized how difficult of a task we had at hand. While presenting the plan, I noticed that I stumbled a great deal and may have seemed a bit uncertain about the plan. Although this was not the case, it was at this moment that I realized how much work is involved with not only creating the project, but in simply explaining it (lol). We were extremely relieved to have another project I we failed to realize the complexity of it. What I find very admirable, intriguing and interesting about FIOB is their passion for who they are, where their headed and how far they have come. They are extremely passionate and they want to document every aspect of the organization’s progress.  

Although the concepts are extremely admirable, I found the feedback from the class presentations to be very beneficial. It helped me realize the great deal of work that lies ahead for Staci and I. I particularly like the idea about creating a YouTube channel to upload out footage weekly for the organization. This way (considering neither Staci nor myself are “tech-savvy”) we can alleviate the idea of having a crisp cut/clean edited documentary. Also, before the feedback Staci and I had not thought about subtitles which would have played a SIGNIFICANT role in this project if we had continued in the direction we were headed. It seems a bit humorous but this probably would not have crossed our mind without the feedback from our peers.

Staci and I have talked about our new plans and we are in the process of coming up with a plan that works to accommodate both parties. We really want to make sure that the organization is happy and completely fulfilled with the end product so we are currently creating a new plan The feedback from the presentation REALLY helped us, thank you! And Wish us Luck!!    

-Koree

Hi guys! Things have been hectic! However, I am happy to announce that the meeting with our organization (FIOB) leaders last Wednesday went very well! We had a VERY rocky start but Staci and I met with Odilia and Rosalinda, another young woman who will be working with us on this project and we sat down and got a genuine feel for one another. With this, we were assigned a very different project then the only originally proposed at the start of the semester. Odilia realized that the project she proposed which involved documenting the personal stories of the women involved in the organization was a bit optimistic. This project would have required an abundance of time and assistance which is feasible, but would be extremely difficult due to time constraints and language barriers. I knew it was going to be a difficult semester from the first meeting with FIOB. The first meeting we sat through was entirely in Spanish and although it was very confusing it was extremely interesting.  Although there was a language barrier, you could still hear the passion in the voices of the speakers while they were telling their personal stories about struggle and perseverance. It was slightly uncomfortable at times due to the fact that neither Staci nor myself had a clue what was going on or what was being discussed. Odilia soon realized that the language barrier may play a bigger role than she had originally anticipated and decided to change the project to accommodate Staci and myself. We will now be working with English speaking members of the organization on a VERY interesting project. Wish I could tell but you will have to wait and see our presentation this Wednesday!

I am extremely excited :- )