Despite the fact that sarcasm is often held to be the lowest form of wit, a mockumentary can be a great way to introduce students to a topic. This beautifully crafted video gives plastic bags the full nature documentary treatment, and in doing so provides a humorous way for students to approach a very serious topic. For environmental leaders, this can provide a great jumping-off point for school-based action. From a Media Studies perspective, it also provides a way for students to think critically about the distinction between content and presentation. This can lead to discussions on the production of persuasive, emotive content that is not necessarily grounded in truth (such as propaganda).
Tag Archives: video
Margaret Gould Stewart: How YouTube Thinks About Copyright
http://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_stewart_how_youtube…
Copyright is an area of immense interest for me: I cannot say exactly why, but I think it is to do with the interplay of creativity, reward and culture. I mostly think of copyright as being a battle between the content creators and content users, with each trying to find the best deal for themselves. Lawmakers, swayed by one side or the other, pass legislation to maintain a balance of some kind (currently far too much in favour of the creators). And technology provides a landscape which is constantly changing, requiring all players to exert effort to maintain equilibrium for themselves and the system as a whole. At the core of copyright is the issue of our culture, and specifically how we create, transmit and enjoy its artifacts (such as music, video and books).
Of late, we have seen many attempts by content creators (recording artists, move directors) and their representatives (MPAA, RIAA) to block technological developments that they see as harmful to their interests. This often leads to a strong perceived delineation between bad/evil/greedy creators and poor/choiceless consumers. In many instances this delineation seems to be fair and accurate, for example when Paramount attempted to claim copyright over someone’s footage of the public filming of movie.
However, every so often we catch a glimpse of developments that are distinctly more subtle in their effort to create benefit for all. My standard examples of these instances are Creative Commons and the Open Source movement. Having watched this fascinating video, I think I might now have a third example. The video deals with YouTube’s automated efforts to allow content creators to have control over their content in such a way that uses economic incentives to encourage them to permit remix and reuse. This softly-softly approach seems to be a great way to get big corporations interested in the power of participatory culture, whilst allowing them to maintain ownership over their content.
From an information technology perspective, the video provides great insights into the way that YouTube uses technology to process, analise and make decisions upon huge numbers of videos. It also illustrates many interesting points regarding information processes, and shows that systems are not just composed of technology, but also consist of people, policies and data. I think many students will definitely be interested to see what happens behind the scenes on the world’s most popular video sharing platform.
I am certainly interested to learn more about YouTube’s efforts in this area, and would love to see this system fulfill its potential to empower individuals to create culture rather than simply consume it. As to whether or not it will, who knows, but given Google’s long history of pushing the envelope when it comes to copyright, it just might.
Golf Ball Deforming on Impact
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMqM13EUSKw
Each of us has our own understanding of the laws of physics. These beliefs are formed through personal experience (falling out of a tree), classroom education (an apple falls out of a tree) and much more. My own experience has taught me that the way we experience physics everyday is not the whole story, it is simply the way things are under “normal conditions”: change these conditions and everything can change. In relation to this, most people would say that golf balls are solid objects. However, as shown in this brief clip, fire one hard enough at another solid object, and it starts to display some very liquid properties. In real-time this deformation would be too quick to see, giving a truly educational example of the gulf that exists between our perception and reality.
Interestingly, as an avid golfer I have seen photos of golf balls deforming on impact, but the extent of the deformation shown here really took me by surprise. I would guess that the speed of impact is significantly higher than the 160km/h that good golfers can achieve
Gever Tulley on 5 dangerous things for kids
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/gever_tulley_on…
As a parent and a teacher, I am keenly aware of the need to provide children with a safe environment in which to grow up and learn. However, at a certain point, too much safety begins to deny children the opportunities to assess and take risks, to push themselves, and to learn what is and is not safe and acceptable. Children need these experiences to develop confidence, self esteem and common sense. Personally, I feel that by denying children the opportunity to take suitable risks (owning pen knives, hiking, making bike ramps, etc.), we are pushing children to take unacceptable risks (taking drugs, driving under the influence, unprotected sex, etc). In this video, Gever Tulley gives examples of dangerous things we should encourage children to do, for these very reasons. With proper guidance, these activities can really help children to develop a better understand of themselves and the world around them.
Right, I am off to play with fire…it is, after all, educational.
No Arms, No Legs. No Worries
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciYk-UwqFKA
Nick Vujicic may have neither arms nor legs, but what really sets him apart from most of us is his attitude. Whilst it is hard to imagine someone with more to complain about, he maintains an extremely positive outlook on life. In this video we see him use his unique outlook to move and motivate high school students, showing them that being different does not have to mean being limited. If you ever feel like complaining, you might want to stop, remember this video, and then think about whether you really have anything to complain about.
Damien Walters 2010 Parkour And Free Running
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1oMa3gZPg4
I like to think I am not generally given to hyperbole, but this might be the most amazing video I have seen this year. Damien Walters is a practitioner of parkour, which is “the physical discipline of training to overcome any obstacle within one’s path by adapting one’s movements to the environment” (Wikipedia). In this video we see him practice and perform his moves, and it is literally mind blowing. Using a combination of strength, balance, grace and feline dexterity he truly does overcome any obstacle in his path. Watch and enjoy this inspiring testament to the endless adaptability of the human body, mind and spirit.
Michael Specter: The danger of science denial
http://www.ted.com/talks/michael_specter_the_danger…
In an age where we rely so heavily on technology, more and more people are starting to doubt and deny the science that underlies it. In this fascinating talk, Michael Specter discusses the danger of such denial. Examples include the supposed link between autism and vaccinations, the growth of alternative medicine and, controversially, genetically modified foods.
This video is a great tool for engaging students to think critically about important issues, such as the nature of truth and information (e.g. why do some ideas become so well established despite a complete lack of empirical evidence?). From this, students can be asked to consider the misleading role the media often plays in this process, and how the scientific community can respond.
To fully understand the power of denial in the face of evidence, we need not look further than the current debate over climate change as a destructive and man-made phenomenon. This is a hypothesis backed by the vast majority of scientists worldwide, yet corporations, governments and the media are denying the need for immediate action.
One of the first news reports about this thing called “Internet”
http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2010/04/17/news…
This extremely dated video clip introduces video to a new craze sweeping the world: Internet. When you need something to remind students that there was life before the Net, this is the resource to use. It also provides a view of the Internet as it used to be: text only, giving students a path to understanding how technologies adapt and evolve over time. Students can be asked to consider how dependent they are on particular technologies, and how there school and home lives might be different if the Internet did not exist. How would these changes translate into the working world? What are the effects of the Internet on today’s globally connected economy?
Ocean debris turning Hawaiian beach ‘into plastic’
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8639769.stm
It is easy to assume that if we make a mess, we can simply clean it up. However, this is not always the case, as shown in this disturbing video, where a Hawaiian beach is slowly turning into plastic. The video introduces us to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge collection of plastic waste that has gathered in the Pacific Ocean. As the waste is weathered, it does not break down, but simply gets broken into smaller and smaller pieces. Some of this plastic gets deposited on land, and the smaller parts become mixed in with beach sand. On the beach in question, there is no way to separate out the sand from the waste, presenting a seemingly unsolvable ecological disaster. Efforts to pick up larger pieces of garbage have proved equally futile, as more simply washes ashore. On top of these problems, there is also the worrying issue of plastic being consumed by birds and marine animals, who either die as a result, or pass the toxins up the food chain.
This video really drives home to what a great extent we have despoiled our planet.
Rives tells a story of mixed emoticons
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/rives_tells_a_story_of_mixed_emoticons.html
This video is really interesting; and comes to the heart of how we use language as a social semiotic (i.e. a socially constructed set of common meanings and understandings). Language is changing. How can this be used in teaching? Get students to write a story using only emoticons; and then rewrite it in more formal language. See if students can guess the meaning of each other’s work. How is communication altered?