Meme oh meme
Postman writes in Chapter 4 that memes are “contagious patterns of cultural information that are passed from mind to mind and directly shape and propagate key actions and mindsets of a social group”. Memes are important to understand and acknowledge, especially as educators of young people. While some memes are an integral part of our culture for only a short time, most last for significant periods of time and shape some aspect of our society in one way or another.
Successful memes share three characteristics that support the idea that educators must understand old and new memes. These characteristics include fidelity, fecundity and longevity.
Fidelity refers to the ease of spreading the meme. Soldier Boy’s “Crank that Superman” video is a great example of a meme that spread because of YouTube. Nearly everyone under the age of 21 has seen this video and probably knows the dance. Adaptations and variations flooded the internet after the release of this video, demonstrating its popularity. YouTube allowed Soldier Boy to gain instant fame because of the millions of views his video received.
Fecundity refers to the quickness that the meme spreads and becomes popular. Most successful memes spread throughout the internet and other media in a number of days and become popular instantly. An example of this is the popularity of the iPhone. As soon as this product hit the market, thousands of people purchased this new technology immediately. Phones with basic email capabilities, cameras and standard phone applications became a thing of the past almost over night. The iPhone revolutionized the cell phone, raising the standard for all Mobile companies.
Longevity refers to the amount of time the meme survives and is an integral part of our society. The more successful the meme, the longer we can see its implications in our culture. Facebook is a great example of a meme that will probably last for a very long time. This social networking site has advanced tremendously since its start, adding new applications almost every day, and expanding to include people of all ages.
One meme on the internet is a website that promotes an idea similar to the concept in the movie “Pay it Forward”. This site emphasizes the importance of people doing good deeds to help others out. From this site, you can gain ideas of small acts of kindness that can become “viral”, such as paying the fee for a toll for the person in the car behind you, or paying for a coffee for the next guest in line. The mission of this website is to inform people of this concept of doing a thoughtful action that helps someone else out, and then giving them a card that reads “Now it’s your Turn”, instructing them that they should do a good deed for someone else and then pass that person a card. As more people engage in this act of reaching out, the world can become a more generous place. This site also has links to other web pages about acts of kindness, such as Peace Day, the My Hero Project, and others.
Viewing the World through Metaphors
Neil Postman writes that “through metaphors, we see the world as one thing or another” (155). Take the metaphor “these natives are no better than animals”, a common saying from the past and in literature such as “Things Fall Apart”. This metaphor implies that one group of men, usually white, powerful men, feels they are better than another group of men. Whether this belief stems from ignorance about the natives’ culture, skin color, or other characteristics makes no difference. White men see the world through this metaphor, believing that natives who do not embrace technology and current worldly lifestyles are no better than animals. Taking this metaphor a step further, men justify taking over natives’ land, sometimes brutally raping and killing them, by their vision of these humans as animals. They do not have to treat the natives equally because their status as a living creature is below their own. Through this metaphor they have created by viewing the world a certain way, they feel no connection to the natives, or remorse for their negative actions toward them.
A common belief about metaphors is that only writers and poets use them, when in fact biologists, physicists, historians, linguists, and every day people use them to frame their view of the world and to make connections to other content areas. Metaphors help us to become what Postman calls “time-binders”, meaning that as humans, we can learn from the past and transfer the knowledge to the future. We do this through using symbols by learning to abstract details of reality (159). Humans provide meaning to words. Without assigning a word to an object or idea, the word has absolutely no meaning about anything that exists in the world.
Postman talks about the importance of including a technology education class in schools, although it may take a long time before this is a core subject. He cites 10 Principles of technology that support his argument of including such as a subject. One of these principles is that “All technological change is a Faustian bargain. For every advantage a new technology offers, there is always a corresponding disadvantage” (Postman 165). A simple example of this principle is the availability of social networking through the internet. While this allows many advantages such as the ability to connect to others who are physically far away, it also comes with disadvantages, such as a diminishing sense of connecting physically to others. Another principle is that “a new technology usually makes war against an old technology. It competes with it for time, attention, money, prestige, and a ‘worldview’” (Postman 165). We need to look no further than computers, phones, and TVs to see how this occurs in our society nearly every month.
Podcasting as an Educational Tool
As technology is advancing at a rapid pace and computers have become an everyday household item, podcasts have started to become more popular. As Richardson puts it, a podcast is a “creation and distribution of amateur radio” (pg 110). Although some podcasts are more professional than others, anyone can create a podcast and talk about anything they would like on it. Podcasts are available through iTunes and can be found all over the internet. Due to their increasing popularity, you can find a podcast for almost any topic or interest. John Green, author of “Looking for Alaska”, has his own podcast, titled Nerdfighters.
Podcasting can be a great tool to use in the classroom. Richardson provides many examples of current podcasts and ways to incorporate podcasts into a curriculum and using them as a means of communication. One of these podcasts is the Madrid Young Learners Podcast. This site is a communication thread between English speakers and non-English-speaking listeners to ask and answer questions via comments.
Other ways to effectively use podcasts include:
- providing a virtual tour of the school for parents/new students
- relaying information for parents who are interested in what their child is doing in school
- a visual and audio representation of any assignments that were done in class or should be completed for homework for absent students
- creating projects where students must make their own podcasts (this hits GPS such as writing for an audience, and public speaking)
- creating podcasts that connect students to other students around the country or world
Podcasts are even available for teachers to help embellish lesson plans and provide a medium for relaying information to students other than the teacher standing in the front of the classroom and lecturing. Grammar Girl provides numerous lessons and tips on using grammar and writing.
Correction to Individual Digital Media Project
Meghan and I have decided to change our topic for our digital media project. We were having a hard time trying to narrow down our topic of reality t.v. Instead of focusing on that, we are going to do our project on the difference between northern and southern dialects. We want to show the different terms used for the same thing (such as pop vs. soda), and why people in these regions talk differently. We also want to work in stereotypes that these two areas have against each other just because of the way they talk.
Delicious and Social Bookmarking for Education
When I first heard about using social networking in the classroom, I was not thrilled about the idea. I thought that incorporating these types of websites into the curriculum would have more benefits than downfalls. Although I am still weary about their use because of students’ safety, parental dislike, and the inability to control every site, I am starting to warm up to the idea of including social networking in the classroom. When I read about delicious, I started to see a new way that social networking can benefit students and teachers, without very many risks. Delicious, and other social bookmarking sites, allow you to bookmark favorite websites, so that others can visit these sites and comment on them. In order to allow others to search for these sites through delicious (without knowing your site name), you tag these sites according to their topics. For example, my delicious site features links to sites on using digital media in the classroom. My sites are tagged so that anyone searching for “digital media in the classroom”, or “twitter in the classroom”, can view my sites when they use these tags.
Visit my page on delicious and view the sites I bookmarked!
Social bookmarking can be very beneficial in the classroom in many ways. Students can create their own page on delicious, or other sites such as diigo. As they collect websites beneficial to current topics in class, they can bookmark and tag these sites for their peers to view. These sites are very beneficial for group projects. Rather than having to meet up at someone’s house or a common location, students can share their current research through these sites. This also allows the teacher to monitor which members of the group are working, and which members are not participating. If students are doing individual research projects, they can view their peers sites to find beneficial information for their projects. Although this can lead to some students falling under the social loafing effect, making a standard that students must have at least a few (3-4) unique sites bookmarked on their page will keep students from simply copying each other. This will allow struggling students to use their peers’ pages as starting points for their research, until they can discover other pages to make their own. I am much more open to the possibilities of using social bookmarking in my classroom than social networking.
Social Networking in the Classroom
Incorporating social networking websites such as Facebook
and Twitter into the classroom is starting to become more common. Almost all high school age students use at least one of these sites. Teaching students how to navigate through these sites, and the proper way to use and distribute information on these sites will keep students safe from internet predators, and help them discover a tool for collaboration. Although I have a Facebook account, I am not as obsessed with my page as many of my friends and colleagues are. I primarily use my site to connect with my family and post pictures. Facebook makes additions and changes to its site nearly every day, and I have trouble keeping up with it. I am weary about using social networking sites in the classroom because of my inexperience with these sites, and the potential danger of including these sites. Perhaps I am pessimistic because I have seen so many friends put personal information and pictures on their sites, without using privacy settings. Of course, if I were to use any of these sites in my classroom, I would monitor my students’ pages to ensure their safety. However, I want to be realistic in that I can not keep tabs on what every single one of my students puts on their sites at all times. Zach Miners wrote an article about using Twitter in the classroom. In this article, teachers talk about the positives and negatives of using social networking in the classroom. Bob Alexander, a language arts consultant at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, says that “kids aren’t just digital natives—they’re ‘digital savages’ and ‘digital cannibals.’ They master technology at an alarming rate…and they find ways to adapt it to practices other than what was originally intended”. Alexander touches on the exact reason why I am weary about using social networking when I teach.
I am much more optimistic about using blogging sites, such as WordPress, in my classroom. These types of sites allow less opportunities for students to post inappropriate or personal pictures, personal information about where they live and where to find them, and other information that can set them up as a target for predators. Many schools ban sites, such as Facebook, from schools, making it impossible to access these sites in my classroom. I also am unsure about using social networking sites because of parents. Even if required for assignments, many parents may not allow students to have a Facebook account because of potential predators and their child’s misuse of the site.
A positive of using social networking in the classroom is that these sites can facilitate collaboration, so that students do not have to physically meet for group work, or to share ideas. If students are working on projects, they can contact each other through social networking to ask questions, offer suggestions, and collaborate in many other ways. Students can also add resources to their pages that they find useful. Their peers can access these resources by visiting their classmates’ pages. One assignment that uses Facebook that I like is to have students create pages for characters or authors from texts we read in class. This can be a fun way to learn without writing a paper or giving a formal report. One teacher made a page for Boo Radley, which is a great example of this type of assignment.
Digital Media Project
For the digital media project, I am going to be working with Meghan Evans. We are planning on using moviemaker for our final presentation. Although we are still unsure about our topic, we are thinking about doing it on America’s obsession with reality t.v. We want to narrow this topic down, but are unsure how to do so at this point. This topic interests us because we have talked a lot about media portrayal in this class, and we both loved “The Hunger Games”, which directly relates to reality t.v. We are thinking about choosing a few reality t.v. programs to focus on to narrow down our topic, such as American Idol and Jersey Shore. Our hope is to inform our audience about why Americans are so obsessed with reality t.v., while also showing how these programs are more scripted than many Americans believe.
“The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins
If you have not read “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins, go to your nearest Borders, or jump on Amazon, and buy it immediately. This book is impossible to put down once you start reading it. Collins creates characters that you will love and hate. Her book is multilayered and full of multiple messages that appeal to all ages and genders.
Although this book is considered science fiction because it takes place in a futuristic society, the comments made on reality t.v., government control, and technology applies to our world today. These issues pull in readers, forcing them to analytically think about these issues throughout the novel.
If you have ever seen the movies “The Gamer”, or “The Condemned”, you have an idea of the reality show that “The Hunger Games” portrays. However, “The Hunger Games” takes this idea of people fighting to the death, with the one survivor being the winner, to a whole new level. These games involve 24 children, one male and one female from each district, fighting to stay alive in an isolated environment controlled by the “Gamemakers”. The children must use their survival skills to kill one another and remain the sole survivor.
But what happens when you fall in love with another contender? How do you kill someone you grew up with? These issues arise in “The Hunger Games”, and Collins shows what happens when people must choose between their own survival and their relationships with others.
Collins’ commentary on reality t.v. through this novel makes readers think about our programs that have all of America obsessed. For the most part, these shows, such as American Idol, The Real World, Survivor, etc. are harmless. She turns the idea of harmless reality t.v. into a life and death reality show in her novel, showing how far reality t.v. can go, and commenting on America’s obsesion with watching these programs. Even though the Hunger Games takes 23 childrens’ lives every year, everyone in Panem, the futuristic North America society, watches these games on t.v. While the people living in Districts are forced to watch, citizens of the Capital enjoy the brutality and even place bets on their favorite contendors. How much do Americans love reality t.v.? Enough to watch children suffer and die? Or is this going too far? Collins also shows how reality t.v. is not necessarily an accurate portrayal of the way people act. Katniss, the protagonist, hides her feelings about Panem and her emotions whenever she is on t.v. She does not want to seem weak, frightened, or angry with the entire nation watching her. Not only does she do this to keep from seeming like an easy target, she does it for sponsorship. The more likable she appears, the more sponsors will send her tools to survive the Hunger Games.
The commentary on reality t.v. goes even further as Katniss and Peeta, her district 12 counterpart, show the world that they are in love. Whether this love interest truly exists, or they are simply faking it for publicity sake, their relationship helps their sponsorship and survival. This shows that Americans are drawn in to watching “real” love stories and the drama that revolves around intimate relationships.
Play the Hunger Games and see if you would survive.
“The American Experiment”
Postman’s chapter 7 is titled “The American Experiment”. In this article, he talks about the multiple experiments that America has gone through and is continuing to go through. Our culture in the United States is all about experimenting. Since we are the youngest society in the world, and one of the most technologically advanced, we are always experimenting to see what we need to be successful, and what works to make the best society possible. One of the experiments he discusses is the experimentation with technology. Will technology help us to become a better nation, or will technology be the spark of our downfall? Students are often shielded from this question in schools. Teachers seldom talk about technology and its affects on our society and culture.
When I was in high school, only about 4 years ago, my teachers used very little technology in the classroom. Although I took a class that taught me to type very quickly with great accuracy, I never really learned how to use any applications besides Microsoft Word and Powerpoint. Part of what makes technology seem dangerous to so many people, is their lack of knowledge and experience with it. If teachers were to incorporate more technology into their classrooms, and teach students how to effectively use different forms of technology, society would become much more comfortable with it, and learn to use it for constructive reasons to better our society.
As Postman says, we need to experiment with technology, to find an answer to our question. He remarks that “the story says that experimenting and arguing is what Americans do. It does not matter if you are unhappy about the way things are. Everybody is unhappy about the way things are. We experiment to make things better, and we argue about what experiments are worthwhile and whether or not those we try are any good.” (pg 142) Without experimenting with technology, we will never know whether its use can benefit our society. If people remain ignorant about technology, it will always seem scary and futuristic. Embracing technology, learning about it, and teaching students about its function and use, would help our society discover an answer to our question.
“Little Brother” by Cory Doctrow
“Little Brother” is a well-crafted novel about the benefits and downfalls of the technology that is rapidly taking over our society. Marcus, the protagonist, fights for his city’s freedom against the DHS, The Department of Homeland Security, in charge of monitoring the civilians of San Fransisco wherever they go.
This novel brings up many different viewpoints of using technology to regulate citizens. Although microchips planted into brains is not a part of this Science Fiction novel, the DHS uses other techniques to closely watch over citizens, in hopes to arrest possible terrorists. The novel shows many downfalls to the Patriot Act, which comes in to place after a bombing at the beginning of the novel. Should everyone be subjected to close scrutiny and watched in case of suspicious activity? Or does this violate the Bill of Rights? Marcus argues throughout the novel that our rights are completely violated when the DHS makes arrests because of people engaging in “irregular” or “suspicious” activities.
The novel becomes somewhat satirical as Marcus and his fellow “X-netters” find ways to throw off the DHS, and use technology against them. This shows that seemingly advanced tools of tracking and arresting terrorists can be easily manipulated, and proves that people as young as early teenagers can use technology to make situations seem different than they really are.
While the main theme of the novel is the destructive nature of using too much technology, many parts of the novel show the strengths of technology. For example, all of the high school students no longer carry multiple text books, notebooks, pencils, etc. Instead, they all have a certified laptop, called their “School books” that includes all of the materials they will need in class. The laptops block applications other than school work, and appear to be a good model of a beneficial tool in the near future.
As I have been thinking about a project I am in the process of doing, another important theme from this book came to my mind. Not only does using too much technology become destructive, but the government also uses technology to control people. By monitoring their passes to take public transportation, their credit cards when they makes purchases, their individual gait as they walk anywhere, and much more, they are literally stalking every American. They can find a person almost anywhere, and know details about their tendencies. The government attempts to control every person in this novel, taking away their freedom and rights. Cory Doctrow does a great job showing both advantages and disadvantages of technology, making his novel a perfect fit for a unit on technology in the classroom.
