for this assignment you will 1 keep 2 days of media logs and 2 write a reflective essay for media

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Goal

Many people are unaware of just how much they use media. It is important for us to have an awareness of the various types of media that inundate our culture and the degree to which we use those media. This is a component of media literacy. This first assignment is designed to get you reflecting on your own media consumption and improve your media literacy. You will also reflect on some concepts introduced in the chapter about the impact of the mass media on individuals.

Instructions

For this assignment, you will 1) keep 2 days of media logs and 2) write a reflective essay.

PART 1 (Media Logs):

Please keep a daily record of your media use for two days. Track your use of all of the following (even if you don’t use something, please make a note of that).

  • Computer– online (browsing the web, shopping, looking up info for a class…)
  • Computer–offline (typing an essay)
  • TV (on a tv set, phone…?)
  • Newspapers/Magazines (paper copy or online?)
  • Radio/ Music
  • Stereo/CD
  • Books
  • Telephone (to make phone calls, to text, for social media, for GPS/maps, etc…) Note what you are using your phone for.
  • Video games
  • Other

Keep track of: 1) the time periods when you use it and 2) what you are using it for.

For example:

  • 9:10 – 9:30am – Phone – I used my phone to talk to my parents
  • 9:30 – 9:50 – Phone/Music – listened to music on my phone while I was getting ready
  • 10: 10 – 10:30 – Phone: listened to music in the Uber to school
  • 10:10 – 10:30 – (Phone: during same time period in Uber), I also scrolled through Instagram on my phone
  • etc…

You may turn in your “Media Logs” as a list, a table, in columns, bullet points, an Excel spreadsheet, a photo of your hand-written notes, or in whatever format you choose.

PART 2 (Essay):

In addition to the 2 days of logs, please write a reflective essay that discusses what you learned about your media use by doing this assignment.

To help you get started, you may want to think about some of the following questions. You do not have to answer all of these.

  • What did you learn? Did anything surprise you? Did you notice any patterns in your media use? Has your media use changed over time? Why do you use some forms of media more or less? What role do you think media plays in most people’s lives? What are the positive impacts of different types of media use? Negative impacts?

By the deadline, please submit:

  1. media logs (2 days of logs)
  2. reflective essay (minimum of 2 pages, double spaced)

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Submission and Grading

  • Length: Approximately 2 – 4 pages, with a minimum of 2 pages
  • Double-spaced, 1 inch margins, 12 point font
  • Please submit your assignment as a document (Word, PDF). Please do not use Pages, as the instructor can’t open this file. The following document files can be attached: .doc, .docx, .ppt, .pptx, .pdf, .xls, .xlsx, .rtf, .txt
  • The associated rubric (see below) will be used to provide formative feedback on your submission. Before submitting your assignment, you can use the Rubric to evaluate your own work and make sure your assignment fulfills the requirements.