Week 5 - Media & Information Literacy

In Week 5, we discussed Photoshop and how it can affect the accuracy of a picture and the message that it portrays. We all asked ourselves the question, "Is what you see TRULY what you get?" We finally determined that we should probably not take things at face value all the time because sometimes things just aren't what they seem! You should always give things a second look. We looked through a series of pictures and saw how the originals differed from the Photoshop version. Not only does it make the original look different, but often times it gives the picture different meaning as well after it has been altered.

In Advertising, I think the importance of Photoshop is huge. We use this software all the time to make our products seem "cool" or "what you WANT". However, there is a line you have to draw because you don't want to give your consumer a falsified idea about the what the product can do for you. Sometimes, as we saw in the Dove movie in class, advertisers can give people the idea that a model looks a certain way when really the final product was Photoshopped. I have a problem with this because I think that we should really be focused on being truthful in this industry. Most people take things for truth when they see them on a billboard or on a page in a magazine, but we should really focus on giving the consumer the facts they need without all the puffery.


This is an example of a Photoshop picture that if someone saw they would probably immediately understand that it is not real.

In this example, if the person was only shown the picture on the right they may envy the skin of the person or how tan she is. When really, she is not that way in real life.

Week 3 - Web 2.0

In Week 3, we discussed Web Technology. Web 2.0 is taking the internet by storm. It is associated with information sharing and is commonly used on sites like, Myspace and Twitter. A Web 2.0 site allows its users to modify the content of the website and interact with other user while online. A 2.0 site differs from another type of site because it is interactive while a 1.0 site just has information and does not provide the audience with a way to communicate their thoughts.

Networking is a huge part of Advertising. Meeting people and making connections is key to be successful in this field. Since we all know that technology is changing fast it is also just as important to be able to communicate quickly. Web 2.0 allows an advertisers to connect and chat directly with a client to solve any issues that may arise when developing a campaign.



This video discusses how Web 2.0 is helping business and changing it for the better.

Week 2 - Educational Technology

In Week 1, we discussed that value and importance of educational technology. We put together a definition of educational technology by first defining education and then technology. Education is learning or causing mental growth. Technology can be tools and techniques we use to get processes done in a quick fashion. We sometimes refer to educational technology as "E-Learning". If we think into the past and the way people learned, it is a lot different than the methods we use today. For instance, the audio book has now become the e-book. It is important to understand that technology is always changing and at a very fast rate. We all know that a disadvantage of technology that it can be expensive. However, we know that most people are interested in technology and if we could harness this interest and get people focused on learning in a new way it could greatly benefit them in the long run.


In the field of Advertising, educational technology should not be taken for granted. There are people who are constantly providing this field with new ways to benefit the growth of the products that they are promoting. Programs, like photo editors, video software, etc. have allowed the industry to give the ultimate appearance to their products and to reach a wide audience.




This video shows how learning in times past and how it has changed in the presence.