Your Online Media Connections to Education

Think a bit about the ways that media...both online and off...have influenced your education through the years.

What sort of lessons do you remember learning from Sesame Street? Mr. Rogers? Other children’s programs?

Have you ever used a video game for learning?

Do you use Facebook or other social meda for any other classes? Do you find it helpful or does it get in the way?

When I was young, I learned many lessons while watching TV shows like Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers. From watching Sesame Street, a few lessons that I learned were how to count, the alphabet, and being nice to others. A few things that I learned from watching the show Mr. Rogers was also to be nice to others and to just be a good human overall. These were great shows for young kids to watch because both of them showed really valuable lessons to learn from. Another show that I watched when I was young that taught me valuable lessons was a show called Out of the Box. It was a show about two people who played games, danced, told stories, and made arts and crafts. This show taught me about creativity and imagination which I think is a very important thing for young children to learn about. In middle school, one of my classes used D.S's and Ipod touches to play different games to strengthen our brains. One game that I really enjoyed was called Big Brain Academy which was made up of small games it's purpose was to strengthen different learning skills such as memory, concentration, and problem solving. I personally enjoyed learning this way because the games were actually pretty fun and it was a new and exciting way to learn. The only time I used social media for a class was when I was in high school and one of my teachers used Facebook to make announcements and put out reminders of due dates for assignments. I thought that this worked pretty well because I was on Face book frequently anyway and it was a convenient way for me to see her posts. I think that it can be useful in that way but not everyone has a Face book, so it would only be effective if everyone in the class had one.

I think your response is very accurate and I can relate well to it. I certainly can say I watched those shows as well, and from a young age I believe those shows did teach us various things. Also, growing up I had the iPod touch and Nintendo DS, but I don't recall using it as a learning tool but I am sure I have picked up certain things from using them. Secondly, I found social media to be helpful with learning by the use of twitter to keep up with announcements. Twitter in my opinion was more helpful with learning and seeing political announcements from various politicians. Personally, the video game that I can certainly say I learned the most from would be games such as assassins creed for xbox or certain xbox games. With the xbox games I mostly picked up vocabulary words, and rarely some history. Overall , in the era we live in , media does influence us both positively and negatively, its on us to use media to our benefit and get the most out of it.

I definitely agree with you. I think that all of these different things that many of us use like video games, electronics, and social media can be good tools to use and of course everyone has their own preference about which ones help them more to learn or stay informed which is okay.

It might sound a little silly since I know it isn't exactly a show for learning but I learned to be good to animals by watching Pokemon and to have . Another was a show called Between the Lions and it taught me how to love reading. We didn't have much growing up and I wasn't always able to watch television. So my dad would order me ZooBooks to learn about marine animals which were my favorite since I lived near the ocean.



I used a video game of sorts when I was in boot camp in Great Lakes. During Battle Stations (our final "exam") we had to practice identifying threats on the bridge using a screen and interactive software. The entire experience is very immersive.

I use YouTube often for tutorials and ideas if I can't quite figure something out. Tiktok also has the random helpful video but usually those pop up when I'm not looking for anything and just browsing. Facebook is too distracting and generally just hosts political memes and people with bad attitudes but I do use Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp if I need to get in touch with people for class projects and stuff.

I think social media can be extremely helpful. Facebook messenger is better for group messages than SMS and Tiktok sometimes gives useful, little life hacks that I had never considered and can put to use. I think it can get in the way if you let it, but if you have the discipline, social media is a fantastic tool.

I remember distinctly, watching sesame street at the upstairs floor of a daycare. While many images are slightly blurry from that time, I remember the television being hung high on the wall, and the big red monster speaking to his goldfish. Thinking back, I am unable to remember any of the lessons that originated from the television show. Oddly enough, years later, at a work event, I met with a woman who played Maria on Sesame Street for over 30 years. While I do not remember the show personally, the actor gave a presentation on the importance of diversity in the media and how she, played one of the first afro-latina women on network television. While i do not have a memory of its influence, having individuals that look like myself, can always be beneficial, as it shows young children their ability, their talents, and that they are valued. Additionally, I remember distinctly playing a "sonic" video game that my father placed on the computer, which taught very entry level addition. While i was terrible at this game, which, in the long run, reflected on my math skills in college, I think it may have assisted me during my early years. As well as assisting me with my comfortably with the computer.