Technology and Social Change: Re-Examining Key Assumptions
Mest3 Internet Lessons 1-3
1. Unit 3 MEST3 Critical Perspectives Lesson 1: What is so special about the Internet? The Impact of New/Digital Media
2. MEST3 Critical Perspectives Two pre-set topic areas... The Impact of New/Digital Media Representations in the Media Both areas examine media issues and debates, theory and wider contexts, and build on AS study (media concepts) Each candidate will need to produce TWOindividual case studies Exam... Section A – unseen stimulus materials (1hr15mins) Section B – one question from a choice of four (1 hour)
3. What is the internet? The internet is a truly multi-media experience: all forms of information are found there including: text documents photographs video movies videogames audio recordings computer programs TASK (individual) – List THREE sites for each media form
4. ‘Penetration’ In 2007, nearly 15 million households in the UK (61 per cent) were connected and 84% of them had a broadband connection (National Statistics 2007) TASK (whole class) – Establish what percentage of the class has a broadband connection Suggest THREE reasons why it is higher or lower than the figure quoted above
5. The ‘Information Revolution’ The internet has been called: “the most important medium of the twentieth century” (Briggs and Burke 2005, 244) and: “an application that will usher in The Information Age” (Castells 1996, 328) TASK (small groups) – Appraise these two quotations Do you agree with Briggs and Burke? What does Castells mean by the ‘Information Age’?
6. How much information? TASK (pairs) – Estimate: How much information is in circulation on the internet (in gigabytes) What proportion of the world’s population can now go online The number of people who could access the internet in 1995 The number of people who can access the internet in today
7. Answers… The current amount of information in circulation on the internet is estimated at 28 billion gigabytes) A fifth of the world’s population can now go online. That figure that has risen worldwide from just 25 million in 1995 to 1.4 billon today
8. The Gutenberg Revolution 550 years ago, the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg meant that the number of books in existence rose from a few thousand to 20 million in just 25 years This led to the Reformation, the Renaissance and the scientific revolution in which centuries-old modes of thinking were radically questioned TASK (small groups) – Illustrate this revolution with THREE examples of how society and its beliefs changed in the 15th/16th centuries?
9. The Internet Revolution What centuries-old modes of thinking are in the process of being changed by the internet? nature of information communication privacy community online safety business culture copyright TASK (small groups) – Arrange these in order of significance: Where have traditional ideas been changed most? Examples?
10. Plenary What is so special about the Internet? List FIVE things you have learnt
11. Unit 3 MEST3 Critical Perspectives Lesson 2: What is wrong with the internet? The Impact of New/Digital Media
12. Criticisms Is the sheer amount of information available on the internet a cause for concern not celebration? Andrew Keen likens web pages and blogs to the activity of a million monkeys typing nonsense in his book ’The Cult of the Amateur - How Today’s Internet is Killing our Culture’ TASK - Suggest THREE other ways it could be argued that the internet might be ‘killing our culture’?
13. Criticisms: Pornography One study of web searches found that approximately one in six queries to search engines were about sex in 1997, but by 2001 the figure had fallen to one in 12 (Spink et al 2002) Tanya Byron in her review for the government on children’s use of the internet and videogames (2008) reported that 57% of 9-19 year-olds had come into contact with pornographic material online, 38% in the form of a pornographic pop-up advert TASK (pairs) – Hypothesise what the effects of this might be, for audiences and for society in general. In what ways could it be harmful?
14. Criticisms: The Accuracy of Online information Unlike print media, the accuracy of much of the information published online is not subject to proof reading or editorial checking. This leads to many errors being published and sometimes incorrect information is deliberately posted in order to mislead or deceive Even a website that is perceived as being trustworthy like Wikipedia can contain serious errors. For example in 2005,Wikipedia incorrectly stated that the journalist John Seigenthaler had been involved in the assassination of the US president John F. Kennedy in 1963. And, in 2008, Gurvinder Sahota was listed on Kate Griffin’s page as her favourite student when, in actual fact, it was unlikely she even knew who he was
15. Some online sources A report on BBC News Online An article on Wikipedia A film review in the comments section on IMDB An academic paper available at a US University website An online study published by OFCOM TASK (pairs) – Rank the above in terms of their likely accuracy. Justify your answer for each example.
16. Who do you trust? A 2005 study by Sonia Livingstone and Magdalena Bober found that the majority of students trusted online information as much as they trusted information in printed books 38% of UK pupils aged 9 to 19 never questioned the accuracy of online information and only 10% said they were skeptical of it 66% of 9 to 19 year olds who went online regularly had not been given any guidance about how to judge the accuracy of online information TASK (whole class) – Establish how the students in this class compare to these figures published Suggest THREE reasons why it is higher or lower than the national figures
18. Unit 3 MEST3 Critical Perspectives Lesson 3: How does the internet change audiences? The Impact of New/Digital Media
19. Audience Research Task (individual) - Estimate: How much you have spent on books this year How many books you have read this year How many web pages you have read this year How many Facebook profiles you have read this year How much TV you watch each day How long you’re online for each day How many hours of music you listen to each day How long you’re on your mobile phone every day
20. Research Teams Task – 4 teams (twos) – one two questions each Set up a research station Send a researcher out into the field to gather data Make sure you survey everyone in the class Calculate the average figure for your research question Interpret your findings – propose THREE reasons for your results (in relation, for instance, to the development of technology, the changing nature of audiences, and the specific make-up of your sample)
21. Digital Ethnography One way to study new media/internet audiences is to take an ethnographic approach. Ethnography is a method of research that studies people in social situations, usually by having the researcher observing them during regular extended periods of time. In this way the ethnographic approach places primary importance on the context in which behaviour happens. This means that ethnographers tend to reject experimental methods that attempt to lift human behaviour out of its social context.
22. Kansas State University Study TASK (individual) - While watching the following video, note down the survey data in relation to the questions you’ve just answered about yourself A Vision of Students Today TASK (pairs) - Compare the class’ media consumption with those in America. Suggest reasons for similarities/differences
23. Homework TASK (individual or pairs) – By Wednesday 7th July Set up a new individual blog called MEST3 Critical Perspectives Post up the address in the comments section (of ‘The internet: Everything you...’) on Macguffin13before the deadline On your blog, post up your written summary/response to: The internet: Everything you ever need to know Create a ONE MINUTE video that consolidates your learning about the impact of new/digital media so far(you should use Premiere or Movie Maker); post it on YouTube (you may need to set up an account); and embed it into your blog Include text (summarising some of the information you’ve learned + some new research); images (moving or still; shot yourself or found online); and an appropriate soundtrack Answer the key questions - What is so special about the internet? What is wrong with the internet? How does the internet change audiences?
