Mass Communication: Living in a Media World, 6th edition

Ralph Hanson

Media Literacy Exercises

Chapter 1

Media Literacy Exercises

Media Use Diary

The goal of this exercise is to learn more about your own media behavior in terms of how you use the media and how much you use them.

For one week, keep a diary in which you log all your media use. Record the medium you used, when you used it, and what kind of material you were consuming (i.e., what show you were watching, which book you were reading, what social media network you were posting to). After you have completed the diary, calculate the total amount of time you spent with each medium (newspapers, books other than textbooks, magazines, recorded music, radio, television, movies, and the Internet). Then write a 500-word essay that draws some conclusion about how you use the media, what benefits you derive from the media, and how you think your media consumption might affect you.

NOTES: The goal of this assignment is to get students to engage in some introspection about their own media use. While many students will just go through the motions of the assignment, a number will make some real discoveries about their habits.

As always, feel free to use whatever grading scheme works best for you. Here is a criterion-based system, where I assume that most students will complete the assignment in a competent manner and should earn a grade of B:

  • To earn a grade of B, the student must include all the basic elements: media log, total, and an essay (350–500 words). The thing to watch for in the essay is a connection between the media log and what they say in the essay. Poorly done assignments will have exactly the same media behavior each day and an essay that does not connect to the log.
  • To earn an A, the student must analyze the media behavior in light of material covered in class or that the student has read in the text.
  • A student may earn a grade of C if the essay is short, or if student omits totals for each medium.
  • Consider a grade of D or F if the essay falls to a single short paragraph or if the log is omitted.

Media Fast

In an attempt to explore the pervasiveness and functions of media in your individual life, you are to abstain from media use for the period of 24 hours. (Textbooks and other course assignments are not included.)

After you have finished your “fast,” you are to write a 500-word essay describing your experience. When writing this essay, you should include the following:

  • When did you conduct your fast? Be specific.
  • Based on what we have covered in class, describe the uses and functions of media in your life. During your media fast, how did you fulfill these uses and functions?
  • Which mass media were most difficult to avoid? Why?
  • Were there any consequences or benefits from avoiding media?
  • What did you learn about your media consumption from this fast? Are there any changes you would make to these habits?
  • Is it possible to live in a democracy without mass media? Can you be an active participant in the United States? Why or why not?

As always, feel free to use whatever grading scheme works best for you. I use a rubric-based system, where I assume that most students will complete the assignment in a competent manner and should earn a grade of B.

Grading Rubric

Levels of Achievement
Criteria / Deficient / Less Than assigned / As Assigned / Superior
Length
Weight 20.00% / 0 %
Assignment is significantly under length / 70 %
Assignment is under assigned length / 85 %
Assignment is approximately 600 words / 100 %
Assignment is fully developed essay that goes beyond basic assignment
Required Content
Weight 30.00% / 0 %
Assignment omits significant details / 70 %
Assignment is vague or incomplete on one or more of the required details / 85 %
Assignment includes day, date, and time of cleanse; discusses what was missed; discusses difficulty of avoiding media / 100 %
Assignment contains all required materials; elaborates on details
Analysis
Weight 40.00% / 0 %
Assignment omits significant details / 70 %
Assignment is vague or incomplete in one or more of the required details / 85 %
Assignment's analysis includes required discussion of media functions and learning about media use / 100 %
Discussion of functions and media use adds understanding beyond basic concepts
Democracy
Weight 10.00% / 0 %
Assignment does not discuss role of media in a democratic society / 70 %
Assignment makes vague statements about role of media in a democratic society / 85 %
Assignment discusses specific functions of media in a democratic society / 100 %
Assignment analyzes how media use affects citizens functioning in a democratic society

Alternative Methods of Encoding and Decoding Media Messages

The goal of this exercise is to learn more about the way a message is transmitted affects how you perceive and react to it. Review the section on the process of mass communication. From your reading of the chapter, you know that the type of medium you use will affect how you receive the message. With this exercise you are going to experience alternative ways of receiving mass communication messages. Do one of the following:

  • Watch a movie or television show with the closed captioning on your TV turned on and the sound turned off. (Your television must have the captioning turned on in order to do this. You may also use the subtitles on a DVD with the sound turned off.) Be sure to include the name of the show you watched, what channel it was on, and the date and time you watched it. You can learn more about the captioning process at the National Captioning Institute (
  • Watch a show that features described video. Described video is the other side of closed captioning in that it describes the visual information from television programs to those who can’t see. Descriptive video originated at public television station WGBH in Boston in an effort to expand program accessibility. Described video is currently available for some programs on PBS, Nickelodeon, and many DVDs (including Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas). If described video is available for a program, it will be broadcast as the Secondary Audio Program (SAP) on stereo television sets. Listen to at least one half-hour with your eyes closed and the described video turned on. Be sure to include the name of the show you watched, what channel it was on, and when you watched it.
  • Listen to at least one-half hour of a book on tape by one of your favorite authors. Be sure to include which book you listened to, the name of the author, and where you got it.

The goal of this exercise is not to understand what it is like to be blind or deaf; rather, it is to experience alternate forms of media transmission. In a brief essay (400–500 words), explain what you did and what you learned from the experience. How was your media experience different from your usual way of consuming programming? What did you gain from the new methods of encoding? What did you lose?

NOTES: The goal of this assignment is to force students to separate the message from its normal context. Experiencing familiar content (a football game, a sitcom, a movie, a novel) through a new channel lets students see how much the medium that is used affects the delivery of the message.

As always, feel free to use whatever grading scheme works best for you. I have used a criterion-based system, where I assume that most students will complete the assignment in a competent manner and should earn a grade of B.

  • To earn the grade of B, the student must clearly state what was viewed or listened to, when the media consumption took place, and analyze the experience using specific examples from the item listened to or watched.
  • To earn an A, the student needs to connect what was read about encoding and decoding media content in addition to meeting the standards for a B.
  • A student may earn a C if the essay is brief, if the essay simply focuses on how much the student would hate being blind or deaf, or if the essay has no connection to the specific program.
  • Consider a D or F if the essay falls to a single short paragraph or if specifics about the program are omitted.