Instagram for 13 and under ....

Blog Post #2

Instagram oh Instagram ...

https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-instagram-how-to-use-guide

I seem to have a love / hate relationship with this app.  On the one hand I really love seeing amazing photographs.  Being a photographer myself, I follow many other amazing artists - and their works inspire me.  But on the other hand there is certainly a whole bunch of not so great stuff being posted.

So many of us so quickly jump into the different social media apps without care or concern with the rules.  How many people just sign up and bypass the rules.

Instagram has the rule, like most other social media apps, that you must be of age 13 or more to join ... but if we are all being honest - we very rarely look at those rules ... and there are certainly many on the app that are under the age of 13.  These rules are obviously here for a reason, and I'm not here to argue the merit of that.  

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/online-kids-social-media-age-requirements-david-salama

However to help combat the amount of under age users, last year Facebook and Instagram decided to launch a new version of Instagram - just for those ages 13 and under.

Read the following article:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/facebook-instagram-for-children-under-13

So tell me - on your own blog answer the following questions:

• What do you think about the new versions of social media apps for younger kids?  
• Do you think there is any merit in these apps?  
• Did you have any social media apps before the age of 13?  
• Do you think that the regular version of these apps is just fine for younger kids to use?  is it safe?
• Any other thoughts about social media and age limits?
• Discuss...

Celebrity Slaps ...

Blog Post #1 - 2022

Chris Rock (R) previously joked about Jada Pinkett Smith in 2016. (Mandatory Credit: Getty)

I'm sure by now that everyone has already heard what happened at the Oscars the other night.  Heck - I am pretty sure that within minutes a good chunk of the world new all about how Will Smith went up on stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face.  

At the Oscar's the other night Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinket-Smith's haircut, her husband, Will Smith, did not like the joke and went up onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock on the face. He then went and sat back down - while shouting "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth".

I'm not here to discuss who is right and who is wrong, who's actions were justified or not.  The point is - celebrities are often held to a higher standard than most.  There is an expectation that celebreties act better, be better, do better than the rest of us.  The actions that happened the other night certainly does not reflect that at all.  

In addition, the actions of that night were completely unfair to the other people at the event - there were many worthy people who deserved to be recognized for their hard work - and now when anyone talks about this years oscars this is the first thing that likely comes to mind.  

Now certainly Will and Chris's situation is not the only time we have seen celebrities behaving poorly.

So in your own blog post, please create a post and discuss the following:

• - Do you think that celebrities should be held to a higher standard than others?  why or why not?
• - What do you think of the Oscar's situation? What is your opinion on each person involved  and how they acted or didn't act?
• - If there is a celebrity that you like or admire - how would you feel if they did something like this? Do you or would you feel less about them? 
• - Can you find another example of something similar where a celebrity behaved other than expected out in the public eye - what happened? what was it all about?
• - Is there some sort of accountability that celebrities should be held to when then behave poorly.
• - What are some of your opinions and final thoughts? about the event at the Oscars or about celebrities in general?

Blogging Rules

  

Image Source : socialmedia.biz

 Having an online presence can be a lot of fun, but also holds a lot of responsibility!  
Here are some key tips to remember when creating posts for your blog.

- Don't divulge personal information: use your FIRST NAME ONLY, don't give any details with regards to contact information, home address, phone numbers, last names of friends or relatives, instant messaging names, age, or birth date.

- No questionable photos of you or anything else: If you wouldn't show it to your grandma, don't post it on the web! Avoid posting photos of yourself.

- Remember the internet is permanent! Anyone on the Internet can easily print out a blog or save it to a computer.

- Use blogging provider sites with clearly stated terms of use, and make sure they can protect the actual blogs, not just the user accounts, with password protection. (Even so, it's better to assume anyone can see it.)

- Avoid trying to "out-do" or compete with other bloggers.

Image Source : livethegoodlifewithsara.com

- Keep it clean and positive: Our blogs are reflective of our Catholic values. Sexist, racist, homophobic, or any type of oppressive and offensive language will not be tolerated!

Welcome Gr 10's - 2022!

  Welcome to the 2022 Grade 10 Media Arts/Comm Course!

We are happy to have you all as students in this new and exciting school year.  

For this blog unit we will be sharing some news, stories and events that involve digital media along with various other forms of media.

http://markdalton.net/tag/blog/

As part of your media arts / communications technology course you will be required to create and maintain your own media arts / communications blog. Blogging has quickly become a very popular form of communication and online journaling.

Through this course your will be required to reply to six different media / technology issues or topics that will be posted here for you to respond to on your own blog. Each response must be no less than 300 words and should have discussions relevant to media arts and communication technology. You will also be required to respond to 6 other people's blogs with thoughtful ideas and comments with a 100 words (min). The evaluation for this unit is found in your unit guide. Once you have completed all tasks (which will take you several months) you will submit your unit guide, with a list of the six blogs that you responded to, for evaluation.


Happy Blogging!
Ms. Arturi and Ms Powell

The Stolen Scream

 Blog Post #4

The internet is a big place full of tons and tons of content.  As digital artists the internet can be a great place to share our work .. but it can also be a slippery slope where your work can be stolen without your knowledge.  Heck - how often have you simply done a google search looking for an image to put into your own project?  How many of those times did you stop to see if it was an image you were actually allowed and given permission to use?  Watch the following video.

After watching the video - what is your reaction to what has happened to this artist?  How would you feel if this happened to you?  Can you find other examples of an artist who had something like this happen to them?  Tell me about them and their situation.  Have you found any information about the laws behind this?  What are they?  What are some suggestions you have as an artist that you can do to help with this kind of situation?

Deep Fakes ... For Good????

Blog Post #3

On my drive down this morning I was listening to the news - and there was a story about how the Harry Potter portraits are becoming a reality. 

The company, MyHeritage.com is using Deep Fake technology to recreate moving portraits of your deceased family members.  Check out this article and this article to see what I mean.

Here is a link as well to the website where this magic happens.

The news coverage has been interesting to say the least - and it varies with reactions such as "creepy" all the way to "wonderful". 

So you tell me.  after learning about Fake news - do you see this as a good use or a bad use of this technology.  Would you like to have these kinds of portraits around your house?  What could some of the pros and cons be of having this technology widely available for the public consumption? Tell me what you think!

Can Photoshoppers go too far???

Blog Post #2

Watch the following video from PBS News Hour ...

What happens when photoshop goes too far?

and then watch this Ted Talk ...

Lastly watch this video from a major photoshop artists by the name of Erik Johansson

So between the three videos - photo editing and manipulation is discussed.  On the one hand - photo editing is a good tool when used properly.  However, there is always the good side and the bad side of things.  

After watching the videos discuss your responses to the videos. What are some key points you got from each video? Now that you have the power of photoshop at your fingers - think about how it could be best used. Do you think there is a line that shouldn't be crossed? Are you ok with any kind of editing?  If so why or why not?  See if you can find some examples to help support your thoughts and post them to your blog.