TECH1002 - Studies in Media Technology

Studentship Task - Week 4

This week's studentship task is to re-cap some of the topics and ideas that have been covered so far in this module. Once you have worked your way through this task you should write an individual blog entry in your 'personal hub' blog (Blogger or Wordpress) entitled "Week 4 - online learning material"

1. The task
Work through this studentship learning material

2. After completing the task
Write an individual blog entry (150-200 words) in your 'personal hub' blog. The blog entry should provide feedback about this week's directed study task. You should include:

what you feel you have learned following this directed study task
your response to this task
what you liked about this task
what you didn't like about this task
what could be done to improve it, or make it more interesting or informative?
whether this task has been useful for your learning for this module

How to use

All of the information for this directed study task is on this page, scroll down to see more.

Key Terms - Basic Definitions

Find the correct defintion of Culture

Creation and use of technical means
A 'whole way of life'
The way that we experience the world ‘second-hand’ through media
The way that audio/visual activities contribute to the daily lives of most people

Culture - A 'whole way of life'

Key Terms - Basic Definitions

Find the correct defintion of Media Culture

Creation and use of technical means
A 'whole way of life'
The way that we experience the world ‘second-hand’ through media
The way that audio/visual activities contribute to the daily lives of most people

Media Culture - The way that audio/visual activities contribute to the daily lives of most people

Key Terms - Basic Definitions

Find the correct defintion of Technology

Creation and use of technical means
A 'whole way of life'
The way that we experience the world ‘second-hand’ through media
The way that audio/visual activities contribute to the daily lives of most people

Technology - Creation and use of technical means

Key Terms - Basic Definitions

Find the correct defintion of Mediation

Creation and use of technical means
A 'whole way of life'
The way that we experience the world ‘second-hand’ through media
The way that audio/visual activities contribute to the daily lives of most people

Mediation - The way that we experience the world ‘second-hand’ through media

Traditional Media

Traditional media developed particularly in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Here are some examples of traditional media.

Traditional Media Production Process

The traditional media production process involves 3 key parts; producer, audience, text.

With changes in the media production process the audience may also be thought of as the user and this changes the relationships.

Mass Media

Traditional media is often known as 'mass media'. A mass medium is an organised technology that allows mass communication to take place.
Mass communication is communication from the few to the many.

Which of the following are examples of mass media?

Book
Newspaper
Magazine
Television
Cinema
Radio

All of these are examples of mass media.

Can you understand why each of these can be described as mass media?

New Media - Examples

Here are some examples of new media.

New Media - Offers

The term new media has been used since the 1970s by researchers, it's use saw a growth in the 1990s and the term has since changed its meaning.

New media can be thought of as an amalgamation of traditional media with the interactive opportunities offered by computing and communication technologies.

What does new media offer?

On-demand access
Interactivity
Participation

All of these are offered by new media.

New media offers the user on-demand access (access anytime, anywhere),
interactivity and participation.

New Media - Tools

New media tools can help you to:

Connect: people with information and services
Collaborate: with other people
Create: new content, services, communities, and channels of communication that help you deliver information and services

New Media - Theory

One idea relating to New Media

Vin Crosbie (2006) says only three media exist:

Interpersonal Medium

examples include conversations, letters, telephone call, text messages, emails (one-to-one)

Mass Medium

examples include lectures, plays, books, cinema, radio (one-to-many)

New Medium

new communications medium – digital, internet, web convergence
individualized, mass, equalized, reciprocal communication

New Media - Characteristics

McQuail suggests that there are seven characteristics of new media (2005, p.143).

Which of the following feature in McQuail's list?

autonomy
connectivity
interactivity
media richness
mediation
personalisation
playfulness
privacy
representation
social presence (sociability)

The following feature in McQuail's list:

autonomy = feeling in control of content and use, independent from source
interactivity = two-way communication between user and source
media richness = involving more senses, being more personal
personalisation = content and uses are personalised and customisable
playfulness = entertainment, enjoyment
privacy = solitary behaviour, individualistic choices and responses and frequently anonymity
social presence (sociability) = the sense of personal contact with others when using a medium

New Media - Culture

McQuail (2005) suggests that there are 4 main categories of new media.

Here are some examples for each of these categories:

Interpersonal communication media: examples include emails and mobile phone text messages
Interactive play media: examples include videogames and virtual reality environments
Information search media: examples include browsing the Internet for information and using the
interactive facilities on your television to find the latest football scores
Collective participatory media: examples include activities on the Internet such as wikis and group blogs

Social Media - Characteristics

Mayfield suggests five characteristics of social media (2007, p.5).

The 'Social Media Characteristics' bubble below gives Mayfield's five characteristics of social media.

Social Media - Methods for using social media

We use an increasing number of social media in our daily lives.

Which of the following are examples of medthods for using social media?

Blogs
Chat rooms
Micro-blogging (e.g. Twitter)
Online Forums
Podcasts
Social networks
Wikis

All of these are examples for using social media.

Can you think of any more examples?

Social Media - Community and Network

Social media often brings people together. Two ways in which this can happen are through virtual communities and online social networks.

Here are explanations for each of these terms:

Virtual community: a community (group) that communicates or interacts online
Online social network: online social structures where people are interconnected using network tools
and software

Online Video - Two methods of collaboration

There are two methods of collaboration in the creation of online video.

Here are explanations for each of these terms:

Crowd funding: people pool their money or resources to support efforts initiated by other people.
Crowdsourcing: outsourcing tasks to many people through an open call.

Studentship Task - Week 4 - Task reminder

1. The task
Work through this studentship learning material

2. After completing the task Write an individual blog entry (150-200 words) in your 'personal hub' blog. The blog entry should provide feedback about this week's directed study task. You should include:

what you feel you have learned following this directed study task
your response to this task
what you liked about this task
what you didn't like about this task
what could be done to improve it, or make it more interesting or informative?
whether this task has been useful for your learning for this module