Ms. Reyes' Blog

Profile Piece

smreyes — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:43:44 +0000

Native American Times wrote an excellent story on Ron Cooper. It starts with a quick hook, and and a short nut graf. Following is a long quote that explains why he is doing what he is doing. There are a lot of quotes and history incorporated throughout the story and ends nicely with a quote from his wife.

Closest Thing To A Slice-Of-Life Story.

smreyes — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 01:53:27 +0000

I scoured the Register Guard. I searched the Oregonian. I got desperate, so I even googled and yahooed the words “slice of life” and “newspaper”. Nothing. Not even Wikipedia had a smattering of a trail to follow. Then I started aimlessly blog hopping, starting with random Oregonian writers. Technically… I don’t know if what I found fits into the guidelines for a slice story, but it is the closest thing I’ve found and so I decided something was better than nothing.
Brooklyn Tweed posted a blog about shelter, a specific kind of yarn and how it is dyed. It’s a very specific article, on just the dying process which would typically be boring, except for the fantastic photos. Tweed gives good analogies, such as “the process is like mixing paint colors,” and “wool confetti.” The lede was not as interesting as it could have been, but the photo that followed acted as part of the lede (since the nut graf was hidden on the computer screen until I scrolled down). When I saw the photo I understood that the author was talking about: yarn! The following paragraph then explains exactly what shelter is. Typically, this doesn’t follow the “fly on the wall” stance that traditional stories follow (the article is first person), and it does border on the line of a “how to”, but at least it’s not a profile piece, nor take the issue much larger. It stays well honed, and offers room for future related articles.

Academic Journal1

smreyes — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 20:56:28 +0000

Summary: Cross cultural communication, linguistic differences, and the inability of teachers to understand cultural relevance makes learning difficult for children who are multicultural.

Topic: Leave No Child Behind
Category: Academic Research
What is it? Academic Journal
Title: Multicultural Special Education: Effective Intervention for Today’s Schools
Publication Information: Intervention in School & Clinic, Jan2007, Vol. 42 Issue 3, p148-155, 8p, 3 illustrations; (AN 23438014)
Author: Obiakor, Festus E.

Location: Print Journal
Accessed: March 12, 2009

Support:
National Center for Education Statistics, 2001, found unequal statistics
United States Department of Education, 2001, found unequal statistics
Education for All Handicapped Children of 1975, mandates teachers to intervene
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990, 1997, mandates teachers to intervene
H. Grossman, thinks teachers treat minorities more harshly than their peers

These sources represent acts, statistics, and people who are in support of minority students. Two laws require educators to intervene before mandated testings, statistics have proven more multicultural children are placed in specialized programming, and researchers have found teachers treat minorities different than their peers.

Source Analysis:
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is a research and academic campus. Researchers that have a focus on impacting economic development are able to find grants for research projects.

Audience and Agenda:
This site has about 51, 453 viewers. They tend to be young, Asian, males who has children. They are more affluent, and are college graduates.

Usefulness:
This article mentions that there is a high percentage of minorities who are placed in special education because of teachers disability to understand multicultural learners. Since some teachers may not realize they are emphasizing weaknesses in multicultural learners and are labeling them as special education when they are really average learners. There is a reason why minorities are more likely to drop out of public school. If children are not challenged in their coursework because they were placed in a special education program then it is understandable that there is a division among students. This source is also important because for schools to be successful and for the the benefit of all students multicultural education needs to be included as part of the curriculum.

Works Cited:
http://www4.uwm.edu/about_uwm/
http://www.graduateschool.uwm.edu/research/
http://graduateschool.uwm.edu/research/researcher-central/grants-101/
http://www.quantcast.com/www4.uwm.edu

Audio Slideshow Reflection

smreyes — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:48:56 +0000

After viewing my 30 photos I was positive I had a story until I noticed our slideshow limit of two minutes. I wasn’t sure that was enough time for my subject, Eli Mazet, to say “hello”. As I went over to the home of Eli I thought about the visual story, and how I needed to make sure my story had a definite ending. When I photographed Eli he had talked the entire time. I was really kicking myself for not bringing the audio recorder that day because I was concerned his mood may not be different and would create a different story from what I shot.

Starting with double the photos I needed for the slideshow, I painfully deleted photos one by one until each photo lasted the minimum three seconds. Once I thought it was complete, I realized I wanted all of the photos of what he created at the very end so I rearranged again. I had viewed all of the photos individually a few times so when I created my slideshow I didn’t realize three seconds wasn’t long enough at all! The viewers needed much more time for each photo. Hindsight, I probably included enough photos for three audio/visual slideshows, and I should have brought the audio recorder the day I shot the photos. I could have then recorded natural sound and really pushed my audio to the maximum amount of time to allowed more time per each photograph.

Eli told me the Register Guard was picking up a story on the Mazet Studios and their opening of the new studio. I am in the process of making the photos available to the RG to offer for possible use when they run the story. I am so passionate about photography that whether they choose to or not, I had a great experience learning about blown glass and combining audio and visual. I wish we had more time this term to do more than one audio slideshows so we could refine what we are learning from our own processes.

Ericka’s Should Question

smreyes — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:36:55 +0000

Ericka is researching whether the United States should focus on green job development. She wanted to choose a topic that would have a global impact, and thought the topic would be impacted by the recent economic downturn. The Oregonian had an article on green jobs in the Portland area because Oregon boasts the largest availability of green jobs. RenewableEnergyWorld.com examines the pros and cons: to need to start development and research immediately, and green jobs are dangerous and consequently as an underdeveloped area the jobs are often underpaid. She also mentioned Business Week’s article on American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Stimulus) which believes green jobs will reverse the economy but the agenda is overly optimistic and compared it to FDR’s New Deal package.

Reflection on Photo Assignment Part 2

smreyes — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:04:19 +0000

Top 10 Countdown List For Taking Good Photos:

10. Use the rule of thirds.

9. Try visual variety.

8. Get in close to your subject.

7. Pay attention to the details.

6. Make sure people don’t have poles or trees growing out of their head.

5. Be aware of the direction of light.

4. Catch candids.

3. Avoid posed photos.

2. Don’t cut off feet or hands.

1. Take a photography class.

Reflection on Photo Assignment Part1

smreyes — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:31:28 +0000

I knocked on doors, made contacts, and filled out paperwork. I received permission to shoot a day late, and arranged to have the microphone for over 24 hours. I thought I had all of my i’s dotted and t’s crossed. Then plan A fell through because of a misunderstanding in communication and I had to come up with a plan B. After I signed paperwork I was sure I didn’t need a Plan B. After a quick moment of freaking out and then disappointment, I started making phone calls. It was really challenging to find someone to photograph within one day. I found many people were interested but were out of town!

While on assignment my person sat at a table and got up twice. The table was a built-in unit so I was limited to where I could shoot from, and the speed of work changed from one piece of art to the next restricting the photos I could take. Pre-visualizing before I arrived didn’t happen. I didn’t know the set up of the studio, or what the lighting would allow so it was ineffective. If I did this assignment again I would plan to shoot both plan A and plan B and save any extra photos for a later assignment.

When I went to lunch with a friend, the owner of the restaurant noticed the camera around my neck and began asking questions. Within a few minutes I realized I had photos of his seven year old son although the owner and I had never met before! This really put a good ending to a good day of shooting. I think everything happens for a reason and had my first plan worked out I would have never made that connection.

Journalistic- Mainstream3

smreyes — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 05:24:59 +0000

Summary: This is an overview that states not all children are ready to enter kindergarten and are some are not receiving adequate pre-school instruction that would help make schooling more effective. This article argues different options for students to be able to be successful including: the school day must be longer, pre-school must be publicly funded, lowering the mandatory minimum school age to six, and including pre-school in the permanent school records.

Topic: No Child Left Behind Act
Category: Journalistic-Mainstream3
What is it? An article in an Oregon newspaper

Title: My Turn Leave Fewer Children Behind With More Funding
Publication Information: The Oregonian, Sept. 23, 2004
Author: Alman, Kris
Location: http://www.oregonlive.com/
Accessed: Feb. 2, 2009

Support:

Kris Alman, nonpracticing endocrinologist, Member of the Montclair Elementary Site Council, and stay at home mom

National Education Goals Panel

Jerry Colonna, Beaverton School District Superintendent

Rep. Mark Hass, D-Raleigh Hills of Oregon

Sen. Charlie Ringo, D-Beaverton of Oregon

A mom, who has written an article on No Child Left Behind, mentions a fifteen year plan to have students at a state of preparedness for school. Yet students are still behind when the fifteen years is completed. The superintendent states that poorer children are almost two years behind that of their peers when they start school and the representatives were pushing to return back to a day long kindergarten.

Source Analysis:
The Oregonian appeared in December of 1850 and remains one of the oldest newspapers in the West. During that time it was started as a conservative medium.

Audience and Agenda:
The Oregonian.com has a monthly readership of about 31, 100. They are mostly middle aged caucasian females and likely have children from zero to two years old. They are a less affluent audience and have a college education.

Usefulness:

This article shows that students being ready for school was a concern more than fifteen years ago and that Oregon schools have yet to fulfill their first goal. This is important because it was almost a local precursor to No Child Left Behind Act.

Works cited:

http://libweb.uoregon.edu/govdocs/indexing/newspaperhistory.html
http://www.quantcast.com/oregonian.com

Journalistic-Mainstream4

smreyes — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 20:57:40 +0000

Summary: ABC’s investigation of the No Child Left Behind Act includes a report card of the current program.

Topic: No Child Left Behind Act

Category: Journalistic- Mainstream

What is it? Transcript of ABC News on Good Morning America

Title: Report Card: No Child Left Behind, Five Years After It Was Implemented, Is the Program Really Bettering Education?

Publication Information: Good Morning America, ABC News. May 29, 2007

Author: Cuomo, Chris; Shipman, Claire.

Location: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Politics/story?id=3221230&page=1

Accessed: Feb. 1 2009

Support:

Congress, national legislature
Chris Cuomo, Anchor and Reporter
Claire Shipman, Reporter
President George Bush, President when act was enacted
Senator Barack Obama, supporter of Act
Senator Hillary Clinton, United States Senator
Stephanie Nelson-Butler, English Teacher at Suitland High School
Susan Freiman, Staff Development Teacher at Viers Mill Elementary
Diane Sawyer, Anchor

These sources represent people who are involved with the No Child Left Behind Act. Legislature past the act, a newsman who reported on the subject, and senators who were running for presidency during an aired segment of the report.

Source Analysis:

ABC is the operator of the third most popular network. It has over 230 network affiliates, owns ESPN, operates the publisher Hyperion, and is the tv division of Walt Disney. It started as part of RCA as the Blue Network in 1927 until an FCC ruling prohibited the ownership of more than one network. In 1996 Disney bought the station for $19 billion dollars.

Audience and Agenda:
The audience is over 13 million monthly viewers, with 11 million residing in the United States. They tend to be older, affluent, and educated.

Usefulness: This report doesn’t state or offer what criteria it used for it’s investigation, or where the investigation took place. Even though ABC’s investigation found some schools are succeeding they still questioned the unequal division of monetary support, teacher quality, the education of special needs children and also English language learners. Those are four important factors to consider when evaluating the No Child Left Behind Act.

Works Cited:
http://www.quantcast.com/abcnews.go.com

Journalistic-Alternative1

smreyes — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:46:39 +0000

Summary: Through the 2007 Achievement Through Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) Act schools would be required to evaluate students’ knowledge of technology in the classrooms.

Topic: No Child Left Behind Act

Category: Journalistic-Alternative1

What is it? Online publication

Title: No Child Left Behind Could Get a Boost For Tech

Publication Information: InformationWeek, May 24, 2007

Author: Jones, K.C.

Location: http://www.informationweek.com/news/global-cio/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=199701868

Accessed: Jan.30, 2009

Support:

Lucille Roybal-Allard, U.S. Representative D-California

Ruben Hinojosa, U.S. Representative D-Texas

Judy Biggert, U.S. Representative of R-Illinois

Ron Kind, U.S. Representative of D-Wisconsin

Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) Program, supports disadvantaged schools

The Consortium for School Networking, supporters of the bill

The International Society for Technology in Education, supporters of the bill

The Software Information Industry Association, supporters of the bill

The State Educational Technology Directors Association, supporters of the bill

Don Knezek, CEO of the International Society for Technology in Education

Keith Krueger, CEO of the Consortium for School Networking

Ken Wasch, president of the Software

These sources agree that students should be prepared in technology as part of the Leave No Child Behind Act. The U.S. State representatives introduced the ATTAIN Act which would support the EETT program. All of the other groups supported the bill as part of the LNCBA that would have been reauthorized.

Source Analysis:
This source is a multi-media brand that focuses on information and technology, and doesn’t have advertisements. As part of the multimedia they have a magazine, an online magazine, research reports, and events.

Audience and Agenda:
This site has a readership of 432, 000. Most are technology professionals. The readers are mostly older Asian males who are without kids. They tend to be more affluent and also college or post college graduates.

Usefulness:

This report can be used to compare what came of the idea surrounding the importance of technology as part of education and more recent accounts of classrooms with access to technology.

Works Cited:
http://www.informationweek.com/aboutus.jhtml
http://www.quantcast.com/informationweek.com