Christmas Break Book Reviews

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book really opened my eyes to the impact of one man on the way I live today. The guy was insane, but the quirks and portrayal Isaacson presents Jobs with makes me want to like him, and now cheer for his products. I have always secretly wondered why I felt a closer affinity with Apple over Windows - even when making defensive statements to my wife as she mocked my MacBook for one reason or another. Now I better understand. Jobs' minimalist and emphatic love of design shaped his world and his passion for perfection. His end-to-end business model combined with his drive for the rebellious image make for a fascinatingly ironic combination that I find very compelling.

If you don't like Apple, or Steve Jobs, or Pixar movies, or digital music, or a host of other things that change the way we currently live - that is fine. But you really should read this book to better understand why things are the way they are!


Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now by Douglas Rushkoff
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Though it was a bit difficult to get through, this book is an important read for anyone interested in the evolution of our current digital culture we now live and interact in. I thoroughly enjoyed Rushkoff's insights on time, human interaction, contact, and context. I could be wrong, but I felt that in reading this I was getting a really good introduction to current themes of media theory and digital culture conversation.

Rushkoff basically says we are living in a state of unrest, confusion, and downright chaos due to the fact that we can no longer make sense of our identities and world through linear models. This postmodernist frame of mind he calls "present shock", a state in which we are continually seeking after the elusive present due to our conception of time, trade, entertainment, connection, and purpose. Though he did offer lots of gloom, and at times felt somewhat like he was on a rant, I felt that the book was a little more even-balanced than some.

Even if you don't buy his argument, or feel a sense of solemnity, there is so much packed into Rushkoff's pages that deserve your time. His writing is almost poetical and I feel like I could have spent much longer than the time I did in order to process and think through the different sections of the text. Some books you can skim or read the spark notes on, but really you should just take the time to read this one.

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A Media Literacy Community

#medialiteracy on Twitter, NAMLE, MakingCurriculum Pop, and Facebook seem to be pretty good places to discuss education and many other ideas. However, I know of no Google+ presence revolved around media literacy. I wonder if I can cultivate a small network of teachers, researchers, and interested people oriented around Media Literacy on Google’s social networking platform? I think it would be great to also have homeschooling educators, parents, and even students too!

What is media literacy? 

I love these points below which are posted on the National Association for Media Literacy Education website. While they are helpful to better understanding the field, the definition of media literacy is by no means final or secured. 

• Media refers to all electronic or digital means and print or artistic visuals used to transmit messages.
• Literacy is the ability to encode and decode symbols and to synthesize and analyze messages.
• Media literacy is the ability to encode and decode the symbols transmitted via media and the ability to synthesize, analyze and produce mediated messages.
• Media education is the study of media, including ‘hands on’ experiences and media production.
• Media literacy education is the educational field dedicated to teaching the skills associated with media literacy.

The Community

I have created the community on G+ and started actively working with it about a week ago. The image above is the icon for the group, and I am hoping to build a network of interested people who have things to say or who are just curious about what is being said. The purpose of a G+ community in my mind is not necessarily about gathering cool content, as it is an opportunity to ask questions, share ideas, and engage with others about important issues. Since I am obviously no expert of media literacy, I don't expect to be teaching or handing information to others in a didactic fashion. Rather I see this group as a chance to expand what I am reading and learning about, especially as I begin teaching grade school this fall. 

I am currently reading Media Literacy Is Elementary by Jaff Share. Near the beginning of the book he states, "We live in a multimedia age where the majority of information people receive comes less often from print sources and more typically from highly constructed visual images, complex sound arrangements, and multiple media formats." We spend a great deal of time teaching youngsters to learn how to spell, write, make arguments in essays, and so forth -but how often do we help them understand or deconstruct advertisements, films, and other forms of pop culture? If this is what they are consuming all the time, shouldn't we try and help them better understand these "highly constructed" media messages? I am all for kids reading, I think that is one of the most important activities they can do. In fact I think reading and becoming acquainted with good literature can help students understand issues of technology and media better than almost anything else. However, in our media drenched world where people are getting information in other ways we need to adjust our teaching to include more forms of media than the written word. 

Media literacy should be a very important part of every student's educational experience, at least to some degree. Please Join me and the Media Literacy Community and share the group with your friends.

Medical Media Madness

Jack prepares to do CPR on Charlie as Kate looks on in "Lost"

Have you heard about the recent arguments surrounding the death of an 87 year old woman in an independent care facility? Even though "she had chosen to live in a facility without medical staff and wanted to pass away without life-prolonging intervention" there has been public outcry and talks of doing some big investigation into why the staff member refused to obey the pleadings of the 911 dispatcher. Interestingly enough, instead of recognizing the dying woman's wishes (including her family's), the media and much of the public seem to paint this whole situation as a big problem, when in reality it really isn't that bad. Note the tone of the CNN clip below . . . 

In this amazing podcast from WNYC's RadioLab some astonishing statistics are given about life-prolonging intervention, which may cause you to think differently about this situation at the care center. Check it out.

So apparently, most people when asked if they were dying would gladly welcome life-prolonging procedures such as CPR, breathing tubes, etc. On the flip side, the majority of folks when asked how they want to die say things like, "peacefully in my sleep" or "at home near my family." These two scenarios actually don't go well together. According to this story, only 8% of all people who are given CPR actually live at least a month afterwards, and a whopping 3% survive without any major repercussions or serious side effects for a substantial period of time. With these facts in mind, it seems that the 87 year old woman who died without CPR may have been wiser than the media is letting on. 

As a matter of fact, in this same RadioLab story, the majority of doctors say they would never receive any kind of life-prolonging treatment. Painkillers are the only substance doctors say they would request if they were in a life or death situation.

But what about in Lost when Jack revives Charlie by whacking him on the chest (See the header image on this post)? What about all those episodes of ER where people are miraculously saved? Or this slightly awkward clip from Jurassic Park when a boy is electrocuted and then brought back through some chest thumping and quick breaths? Surely Hollywood wouldn't lie!?

Well, researchers who watched loads of TV shows and movies (I wouldn't mind that research job!) found that 75% of the time, characters were revived through CPR, defibrillation and so forth during their stretch of media consumption. But remember,  the actually number is 3% of all people who receive such treatments survive in real life!

We all knew that we shouldn't go to Hollywood to tell us how to live or attend to our health needs. But what we may not have been aware of is what we have learned from years of media influence regarding what can or can't be done medically. The CNN story above vilifies the worker who refused to perform CPR on a dying woman. Yes, I admit that at first glance it seems terrible. But in the end, if an aged woman wants to die when her time comes - it isn't our place to tell her "no! you must keep living - even if it means living an unhealthy and unsatisfying life." 

Careful critique and deconstruction of media messages is not only important in education, but can obviously be good for our health! What other parts of life are influenced by the media that we may not be aware of? Love, the ideal man and woman, and much much more. What do you think? 

Screen shot from "Disaster: Day of Crisis" for Wii courtesy of Buttonmasher.co.nz