Midterm Reflections: Has it moved from your Short Term to Long Term Memory yet?

http://www.abacon.com/slavin/t60.html

1. After studying media for eight weeks now, I've learned that repetition and structure helps move ideas from your short term memory to your long term memory, hence the daily quizzes. I've also learned that the media I see daily has been scientifically broken down to such a psychological measure that we can quantify how persuasive and effective a piece of media is.

2. One of the most important things that I have learned so far is not to accept all arguments against t.v. as solid factual statements. I started out reading about media with Jerry Mander's "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television" and came away hating t.v. Now I've learned to critically analyze those arguments that I agreed with and see the flaws within them. I've expanded my knowledge and resources on the subject to form better opinions.



3. One thing I would do differently the first half of the semester would be to be more familiar with social media and use it in an opportunist way in order to better myself for the class. Knowing about what I'm learning about before I learn about it would help build connections between the psychological aspects and real world participation. Yes, that would mean I would probably have a twitter account.

4. One thing I would like Rob to do differently is focus more in depth and spend more class time on the readings we have instead of having us read it and then just give a paragraph blog post on what we read with little to no discussion on what we posted or the ideas brought up in the book.

5. The power tools have been useful by showing us the psychological means in which they break down media to make it the most effective on the consumers, such as the 29 persuasive techniques. However, it does feel somewhat like brainwashing with the constant repetition of them in order for us to memorize word for word what is on three sheets of paper.
The quizzes are a good means to make sure we stay on top of our homework and absorb the necessary information we need to come away from this class as intelligent media analysts.
The course blog has been one of the most useful tools of this course so far. It is a nice online meeting place for the course where I can find all the information I need on assignments and thoughts of fellow classmates. Instead of fumbling through my folder trying to find a syllabus to see what is due next, I can easily check the blog and know what I have to do for the course without any hassle.



My personal blog, The Nurre Address, had been a surprisingly fun adventure for me. I have never run a personal blog before, so I was fairly hesitant on posting on it since I feel most blogs I see tend to be self revolving and uninteresting to other people. This has stayed true for me, but I now have a different way of looking at blogging. Instead of creating content for the internet, I enjoy creating content for myself. Using what happens in my daily life, whether it's a new band I got into or decorating for halloween (post coming soon), it gives me a means to take that and present it in a creative manner that people may happen upon.
The books have been very interesting. As I stated in question 2, the books have helped shape my new view on the media world today. They have expanded my resources and knowledge I feel more than any other tool we have used in this class. "Amusing Ourselves To Death" has been my favorite so far, being along the lines the the Four Arguments book I had read in a previous year. Feed, however, was a different story. I understand the important themes it raises and the knowledge we can gather from it, but the book itself as a novel annoyed me greatly. From the "futuristic" slang to the in book advertisements, it was something that I had to force myself to read while all the time I was cringing.