In the groups you have been working with all week, make a Prezi presentation of media usage in a country you of your choice You can look at Reporters Without Borders’ 2018 World Press Freedom Index for inspiration. Some things might be easy to find out, others a bit harder, and others yet again might be impossible… but let’s try! 🙂
Find out:
do they have a free press or any kind of censorship? Why/why not?
do they have state media or not? What could be the importance of this?
What are the biggest newsproviding media in this country?
Who owns these media?
How many use these?
Are they politically minded – liberal, conservative etc? If so, how is this seen?
Find the three biggest newsproviding media in this country and look at their frontpages: compare headlines, choice of causes, focus, read a story from each and comment on the journalism. Also, find them on social media; check out their Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram account. How are they on social media? Many followers? What kind of profile do they have here? What kind of cases are their fronting on their social media?
The presentations should be ready at 11 today.
Here are some previous student answers to look at for inspiration as well.
(Picture from http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS8FoV_CqN1-EetgwddDzbfaFYsOlAufiupBdzDTGLm6l8ty-F1)
“Spotlight” is a film dealing with real events, and how investigative journalism lead to reveal several crimes committed by members of the Catholic Church.
Investigative journalism is an important part of the media – it takes time and serious effort to do research and to find out the truth about a topic. It can be expensive, and therefore many do not make it a priority. But the work and the findings are important for the freedoms and protection of freedoms in our society. Read more about investigative journalism here.
Choose two of the questions on the film study work sheet (if you have lost it you can find it on It’s Learning under Resources) and write a blog post where you discuss your answer to these questions.
At the end of the post, sum up briefly what you learnt from this film, and how you liked it.
Unfortunately, this issue is still very relevant… Read more about that here
Gran Torino is a film released in 2008 that features Clint Eastwood as the main character as well as him being the director. Today’s subject day will be dedicated to watching and working with this film. It provides a range of topics to discuss, from multiculturalism and cultural differences, to various socioeconomic challenges, and shows a number of approaches to the value of human life.
We will primarily work in groups: before we watch the film by studying and discussing the film poster, and after the film we will delve into discussions around possible themes that come to mind while watching it. The end result will be an individual blog post that you publish on your own blog at the end of the day, based on questions handed out in class and the group discussions during the day.
Many of us dream (or have done so) about studying somewhere that is else – experiencing a different country, culture and climate while getting a degree at the same time.
Having spent time abroad can also look good on your resume when applying for future jobs, it might say something about your ability to adapt to new settings, to working in a language not your own, and your sense of adventure.
Find a real university that offer this study program and find out what you need to do to apply there. Grades, college interview, personal statement, recommendations from teachers??? How much does it cost to study there? Do you need some sort of student visa – how do you get that? http://www.ansa.no/ is a website that offers a lot of information about these sort of things.
What kind of student activities do this town offer? What do you want to do in your spare time? Plan this too.
Where will you live? Find a place – look at actual listings for apartments or student dorms in your chosen city. https://www.goabroad.com/articles/study-abroad/best-student-accommodation-websites
What about the culture in this country – are there rules of behavior you need to adapt to? Communications, festivals, food, religions…
Make a prezi, a power point or a video where you present your study plans. This will be graded orally.
There is no required LENGTH – I know how much you love to ask about that, but if you want a good grade you should make sure that you answer all the assignment asks of you.
You are also to write a personal statement, which will be graded as well. We will work with how to write a personal statement in class, so save that for then.
Has a simple presentation, does not look at the audience, bound by script, no creativity
Has some contact with the audience, somewhat free from the script, uses some creativity in his/her presentation
Has good contact with the audience, knows the script by heart, creative and independent presentation
Content
Simple content, has worked very little with different sources, shows little independent thought and research. Answers only some of the assignment given.
Good content with some independent research, has clearly worked with different sources. Answers the assignment.
Independent and well-researched content, and a thorough answer of the assignment. Explains and gives examples.
Pronunciation
Has a clear Norwegian accent, struggles with pronouncing a lot of words
Has a good pronunciation overall, struggles with some words.
Pronunciation and accent are close to, or, flawless
Vocabulary
Has a simple vocabulary, uses a lot of repetition and little variation.
Has a broad vocabulary, with some more advanced words. Shows that he/she understands the words they use.
Has an advanced and varied vocabulary, varies in sentence structure and length. Understands and are able to use and explain difficult concepts and definitions.
“My Son the Fanatic” is a short story written in 1997 by Hanif Kureishi about a father and a son living in London, and struggling to adapt. The father left Pakistan and loves England, he wants to become as English as possible, because “you can do almost anything here.” The son has never been outside England, but still struggles to find his place in the English society, and is looking for something else, going back to the culture and faith of his ancestors, and becoming more and more angry with the society he sees around himself – the society his father is so in love with.
“Free for All” is a short story written by Moin Ashraf in 1999. This story too depicts a father and a son, this time in the US, the father doing everything “right” to become an upright and successful man in his new country, and being frustrated at seeing his son leaving the ideals of his own country and tradition. It is a culture clash, between a son who has grown up American, and a father who still looks back to and values of his Pakistani homeland.
Write a blog post where you EITHER compare these two stories in terms of father-son relationships and the question of identity and belonging, OR discuss what these two stories say about being an immigrant, and raising a family in a different culture. What are these two stories saying about multiculturalism?
Write a blog post of your impressions so far of the main character(s) in the novel you are reading. What do you know about this person and how do you know this – through dialogue, descriptions or in other ways? What about their relationship to other characters you have been introduced to? Write 2-3 paragraphs by Monday, January 28.
