My Media Literacy Autobiography

Brainstorming my Media Literacy Autobiography

1.     What are your earliest recollections of watching television, going to the movies or listening to the radio? Growing up, we did not have cable television until I was about ten years old. We had an extensive movie collection. I think this is why I get funny looks from my husband when I respond to something that happens with a random movie reference that he has never even heard of. I remember we first got cable television when I turned ten, and I also got a television that year for my birthday. I loved watching shows like Wishbone, Rugrats, Hey Arnold, and Doug. As for listening to the radio, I always had to listen to what my parents were listening to. When I was with my mom, it was country music (which I cannot stand, now), and with my dad it was always the oldies station.

2.     What commercials or advertisements do still remember from your childhood? I honestly could not remember any distinct advertisements or commercials, so I asked my husband if he remembered any. Once he started talking about ones he remembered, it started to make me remember them, also. The Tang commercials, the Campbell’s commercial where the little boy is a snowman that melts, the Nesquick commercials, and basically any other 90’s item that is not around or popular anymore.

3.     Do you remember desperately wanting to buy something as a child based on an advertisement? What was it? Why did you want it? I remember growing up that once Thanksgiving came and went that the toy commercials got more and more prevalent. I remember waiting for the commercials to see what toys were going to be out for Christmas.

4.     What are your earliest recollections of using social media? My earliest recollections of social media are Xanga, Myspace, and AOL Instant Messaging. I would spend much of pre-teen and early teenage years typing in Xanga, arranging my Top Friends on Myspace, and messaging my friends on AIM.

5.     Describe a negative experience with social media? The problem with social media is that it is too easy to access people. For example, when my husband and I first got married, he had his phone number on his Facebook (not a good idea). A girl that he knew as an acquaintance started texting him. It ended up causing problems because she was relentless. We eventually had to go get him a new phone number and change the privacy settings on his Facebook.

6.     Describe a positive experience with social media? Instead of focusing in on a personal experience, I wanted to see something positive I just saw on Facebook today. A soldier took a picture of a little stuffed fish that was sent to him in a care package with a note from a little girl that this was her friend that protected her from monsters, and she wanted it to do the same for him. I loved this story and that it was being spread all over the globe by means of social media because it highlighted some good in the world during a dark time.

7.     Describe your current media viewing habits (binge watching Netflix shows on iPad). My husband and I both have certain shows that we watch, and we watch them as an entire family. My favorites are Pretty Little Liars and One Upon a Time. Shows we like to watch all together are Biggest Loser, American Ninja Warrior, and Ink Master.

8.     Do you have a favorite commercial or advertisement? My family (not sports fans) always jokes that the only reason we watch the Super Bowl is for the commercials. My husband, who is a sports fan, never finds this funny. I think my favorite commercials are a tie between the Sonic commercials with the 2 guys in the car (because I find them hilariously ridiculous) and the Mayhem commercials for All State (because I love the sarcastic attitude of the character).

9.     Have you bought something recently because of an advertisement? We went Christmas shopping on Black Friday and we purchased 2 games that my oldest son saw that he really wanted. He saw the commercials on TV and got really excited.

10.  What have you read or heard recently on the radio, TV or Internet that has caused you to have a strong reaction? Describe and explain. I would have to say that everything on the news and social media about what happened in Paris caused me to have a strong reaction of anger and fear. I was angry that someone would hurt others like this, and fear because of the state of the world today.

11.  When do you think you became media literate? Give an example. I would say that when I got into middle school was when I became media literate. I was going online to search for information, whether for pleasure or for school.

12.  Do you consider yourself digitally literate? Explain. I believe that I digitally literate. I know how to find information online, I know how to evaluate information online, and I know how to work my way around many different forms of digital technology.

13.  Find 3-5 quotes from the course reading that cause you to have a strong reaction. Reread your reaction. Do you still find these quotes powerful? Why? Why not?

"As a result, when inappropriate sharing or relational aggression happens on Facebook and Myspace, its impact can reverberate across many aspects of school life" (Hobbs 124).

"There are many things that I claim to 'know' that I know only from mediated experience" (Hobbs 72).

"School leaders can inspire educators by helping teachers make large and small steps toward embracing new ideas and instructional practices" (Hobbs 170)

I still find all of these quotes powerful because all three show a different part of media literacy: the importance of using digital media responsibly, recognizing what one knows, and the importance of working together.

14.  What course reading or video impacted your thinking the most about the importance of developing the digital and critical media in school?

15.  What approach to media literacy to you most closely align:​

As much as my love and devotion to books is, I must say I fall more under the media literacy movement. As a Teacher Librarian, I focus a lot of my units on finding information using digital media and teaching them how to read and valuate the information.

After you answer the questions review your answers and then answer these questions:

1.     What role has media played in your life? Media has always played the role of a luxury in my life. In my childhood, media was not very relevant because there was a lack of it, and when I got older, it became a way of communicating with others or looking up things that interested me.

2.     Has your relationship with media changed over time? Now, with my job, media is more of a necessity. I use media to look up information for lessons, and I teach digital technology skills. I still use it as a luxury for communication, but it does hold a more prevalent place.

3.    Has your understanding of what it means to be literate in the 21st century changed or evolved because of this course? How? My understanding of being 21^st century literate has changed from just being able to find information to being able to use the information, evaluate the information, and deconstruct the information.

4.     What, if anything, do you notice about your own experiences with media that can help inform your future teaching practices? I think that I could use my experiences in order to show my students the positive and negatives of media so that they can use their better judgment when using media.

5.     Why is it important to incorporate media literacy into your current or future teaching practices? I think it is important to incorporate media literacy into my teaching practices because it will better prepare my students for the future. Media literacy is becoming more and more of a necessity in this 21^st century world.

6.     How will you incorporate media literacy into your future teaching practices? I love the idea the one video gave of teaching students how to find stories in the world and how to tell these stories.

 

If you are the protagonist of the story you have just told. What kind of story is it?

A member of a band of bold adventurers! I see life as an adventure, and I love to experience it with those around me (although I have a little reading grasshopper in me, too.)