ALTERNATIVE ENERGY INFOGRAPHIC

There is a great deal of media resources that allow us to have a bigger impact when presenting ideas, this one happens to be one of my favorites. It is very comprehensive summarizes research data in a simple and creative way, and it makes it very easy to create a high quality product in very little time and with very little effort.
Acquiring the skills that make us better communicators is not negotiable as teachers. given the chance I would use this skill over and over and try to pass it on to my students.

CREATING A MAGAZINE COVER

Who is the publisher? Myself

Who is the intended audience; what do you (author) hope the audience will do?
My intended audience are people who are interested in gardening and hopefully they will be inspired to start a small vegetable garden as a family activity to bring together young and old.

What is appealing in the cover?
A picture of a loving grandfather connecting with her grandchild in a special way.

How are headlines, colors, and font styles and sizes used?

They were specially chosen to give you a sense of happiness and well-being

What are two adjectives that could describe how you look on the cover?
Friendly, familiar

What are you trying to communicate?
I am trying to communicate the audience about the beauty of activities such as gardening, that can be shared by all members of a family.          

REPRESENTATION, BIASM, AND STEREOTYPES

 Representation

Representation

If we were to suddenly appear on Earth as visitor from a different planet and we were suddenly exposed to media, there would be an awful lot of contradictions in what we see. We would probably come to the conclusion that there are alternate realities, and we would be partially right. There is only one reality, but the perception of reality can be very different and it can be manipulated by the media in many ways. There is what we see, what we think we see, and the thought, memories and desires that come to mind when reality is represented in different ways by the media.
Depending on the purpose of it, representation can be very precise, close to reality or it can be accurate, which means it is so often represented like that, that we already think it is real.
I chose this picture because it is an unusually accurate representation of reality, and the case is, they are not using it to help their sales, but to compile with government regulations.

Biasm

Biasm

We are biased, there is no point in denying it, in just about every judgement we make, from the very trivial, to the presidential campaigns, we are biased, so we shouldn't really expect media not to be biased, what we have the responsibility to do, is be very aware of it, and make our students aware, the have to learn to be responsible media expectators and not be influenced by it. Specially when it comes to principles, or things involved with thier health and well-being. The article I chose to represent this idea of Biasm is from Esquire Magazine and it was written by a gourmet, this might not be the way I see it or maybe if I were british, food wouldn't be so important, it is entertaining and I happen to share his point of view, but I can and won't take his statement as the absolute truth.
I think is important to teach students the habit of looking at the name of the author and doing a little background research, and maybe they can guess what the bias is of what they are reading.





Stereotype

Stereotype

Attractive, sensual, good humored, loved, strong, fit, caring, important, influencial, rich, fashionable. Who doesn't want to be it? but do we really obtain one of this attributes by possesing a certain car, wearing a brand of clothing or splashing on the perfume in the advert? of course we don't, but it's what the media is trying to sell to us, and we often buy it. Stereotypes are everywhere we look, they seem to follow us around and it's hard to ignore them. Handsome men are always rich and viceversa. If you don't like meat, you are probably a hppie who practices yoga.

If you can achieve to have a stereotype free class, congratulations, you are my heroe, because it is practically imposible. But like all the other concepts, it doesn't do you any harm unless you are not aware of it, can you imagine to actually believe that people in Holland wear wooden clogs, or that everyone in china looks the same. People who are informed don't believe this things, although they will still picture clogs and tulips when they think of Holland. The difference is in the judgement.

Technical Codes

Two Magazine Ads

The codes on the Sandwich Thins are:

Symbols- The green color shows relation with nature, being healthy
     The objects in it is a pack of cigarettes and a single one.
Written- Buzzwords are doctor, smoke and Camels
 Catch phrases- More Doctors Smoke Camels than any other cigarette!      
Technical Codes Jr.- Camera angle is from the front making them look serious, very     
                                    straightforward.
Framing and lighting to add on the seriousness.

The codes on Camels are:

Symbols- The color makes it look serious, being successful
     The objects in it are just the sandwich thins which are multi-grain bread
Written- Buzzwords are thin, diet, calories and select.
 Catch phrases it is an excellent source of fiber, with      
             only 100 calories each.
Technical Codes Jr.- Camera angle is from the top making them look smaller, maybe even
                                   thinner.
No framing and lighting is not too bright.

Two TV Ads-YouTube

Pepsi kick Mexico
In this TV ad we find that they use music and and catch words like “despierta”
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes
In this TV ad they use metal elements to imply strength, we can find the “you and only you” written code and the catchphrase: “You are what you eat”. They also use camera angles, framing and lighting to make the man look fit, healthy and attractive.Two Movie Title Sequence

Two Movie Title Sequences

Codes on “Supersize Me”
This movie title sequence uses the kind of colors that make you think of food.

Codes on “Thank You for not Smoking”
In this example the main code is a catchphrase which is the inverse of something they’ve heard everywhere, plus the colors and elements.

Reflection on the importance of Technical Codes Knowledge skill in our 21st Century Learners

There are different ways to provide a good education, but as teachers one thing is for sure, we have to be very aware, and very conscious of everything that can influence the information that goes into a student’s brain because it may affect their intelectual development and their academic performance.
We have to be aware of this in two different levels, to be able to make students critical thinking when it comes to media, and to be able to communicate concepts and ideas more efficiently.
There is a lot to be learned when it comes to technical codes, I had a few Ahhhh! moments while watching the video and later on while I was doing some research on the subject. The codes are so powerful that some of the effects they have on people are unexpected and potentially dangerous effects. For example, I found that:

• The color orange didn’t exist in Europe before the fruit was brought from Asia.
• Napoleon died because of his affection to the green color
• White wasn’t generalized as the color for wedding dresses until 1950, black used to be very common.
• In Asia, people who are mourning wear white
• Pink used to be a very masculine color up until the second half of the 20th century.
• During the middle ages, people had to wear different color of clothes according to their social status.

That is just talking about color, there is a lot to be said about codes, but one thing's for sure, as educators we can profit from knowing them, so we can be selective, critical, help our students be the same and also to improve our communication skills.

Lesson on Codes in media

Objective- Students will learn to be critic with media and it’s relationship with their health and the decision making skills.

Materials- Worksheet, projector, computer links to videos (provided here) and adds (provided here).

1. Provide students with the attached worksheet.
2. Show them the YouTube videos, magazine ads and movie title sequences.
3. Instruct them that they will have to fill the chart provided as a worksheet. They have to look at them and explain how it makes them feel, if they would buy the product and why?
4. Let them watch and fill in the chart. Share as a class.
5. Have a class discussion about the main purpose of advertisement, they will probably answer: to sell a product.
6. Brainstorm about what kind of techniques media uses to sell a product, or get you to do or prefer something specific.
7. Tell students they will watch a video about how media creates adds that relate to us to convince us to buy or prefer, certain things.
8. They should now finish completing the columns in the chart that refer to codes.
9. Instruct them to write a reflection on how the selection of media they observed relates to their HEALTH.
10. Share as a class and wrap up by telling them the importance of being critic on everything they see on the media.

Name: ____________________________________ Date: ______________________

Reactions to Ads

	Sandwich Thins	Camels Cigarettes	Pepsi Kick TV Ad	Kellogg’s Corn Flakes TV Ad	Supersize Me Movie Title Sequence	Thank You for Smoking MTS
Do you find it attractive?
What does it make you think about?
Would you buy it?
Second View
What codes can you see?
Would you  buy the product now?
Reflection How does this add relate to your health?

Chipp Kidd on the Importance of a Book Cover Design

If we were in 1980, talking about the relevance of a book cover design would have been simpler, or at least I think so. There is, like Chipp Kidd says, something very special about a book, the way it smells is one of those things, but I bet the most important of those things is by far the cover design.
The illustration above shows a very original cover for El Quijote de la Mancha, I got it from a site called Lobulo design . Since the book is a classic, and people will know what it is about, resources must be found to get into people's minds and wake their interest
When you see a book in a book store, the cover speaks to you in ways much more diverse than just "buy me". whenever I am reading a book I close it every now and then to look at the cover and it gives me great satisfaction when those things that the cover said to me before I started reading, are confirmed by the content of the book.
I have read a couple of the books that Kidd talks about in the video, and mine had a different cover, it was equally beautiful and appealing to me, but strangely enough it told me different things about the book, and I am convinced that my opinion and enjoyment of the book was very much influenced by the  design of the cover. The book was My Name is Red by Ohran Pamuk, and unlike the story Kidd tells on his cover, I was more attracted by the mysterious art of the courts illustrators than by the story about a murder.

Even these days, when a lot of what we read comes in the form of a pdf file, we cannot underestimate the importance of a good book cover design, and I think in general, and more than before, images still speak to us and take us places.