Friday, January 24, 2014

CHS New Media Class (MP2) Book Podcast

This year, we're trying something different in New Media.  At the start of the marking period, pairs of students selected a book from a list provided by the instructor, read the book, then participated in a podcast recording in front of the entire class.  Students presented the subject matter and their opinion of the book and answered questions from their peers.  A number of books inspired some lively discussion!

The podcast is 2.5 hours long (good books generate great conversation); below are the show notes with the approximate time each podcast starts.  Enjoy!


Ellipses, the CHS New Media Podcast (Download the file via right click + Save Link As)

Episode 1

Introductory song: Twitter Tweetin’ by Carrie Dahlby (courtesy of Music Alley)

Announcers: Chris Napoleon and Francesca Resnick

1 minute: No Safety in Numbers by : Podcast by Ms. Gesin and Francesca
  • Summary of the Book
  • Personal opinions on the book and its characters
  • How the book relates to the The Breakfast Club
  • Criticism of the book
  • Closing Summary

28 minutes: The Dinner by Herman Koch: Podcast by Ashley and Shannon
  • Summary of the Book
  • Thoughts and predictions of how the book will end
  • Analysis of the characters
  • Comparison between the United States and the Netherlands, where the book takes place.
  • Personal opinions of the book
  • Closing Summary

41 minutes: Free by Chris Anderson: Podcast by Megan and Jake
  • Discussion about how companies make money from free services.
  • Story about the Monty Python Youtube channel and marketing plan.
  • Four separate Free Marketing Plans discussed in book
    • Direct Cross
    • The Three Party Market
    • Freemium
    • Non-monetary Markets
  • Overall opinions of book
  • Closing Summary

1 hour: Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie: Podcast by Jackie and Margaret
  • Summary of the Book
  • Personal opinions of the book and of the TOMS business plan  
  • Personal experiences that relate to the topics discussed in the book
  • Discussion about the future of the business world  
  • Closing Summary

1 hour 15 minutes: What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis: Podcast by Ailsa and Chris
  • Summary of Book’s main points
  • Analyzing Google’s philosophy
  • Customer Service Discussion
  • Discussion about the openness of the web
  • Overall Opinions of the book followed by class debate and discussion
  • Closing Summary

1 hour 40 minutes: The Facebook Effect by David Kirkpatrick: Podcast by Andrew and Ronak
  • Purpose and importance of the actual Facebook Effect
  • Comparing/Contrasting “The Facebook Effect” and “The Social Network”
  • How Mark Zuckerberg really started Facebook from his dorm room
  • Exchange of opinions on David Kirkpatrick’s writing and questionable objectivity as author.
  • Discussion of Mark Zuckerberg’s character and personality
  • Analysis of David Kirkpatrick’s predictions about Facebook in the future
  • The Importance of Facebook in modern society
  • Closing Summary

1 hour 59 minutes Monkey Wrench by PJ Tracy: Podcast by Evan and Jake
  • Summary of the Book
  • Opinions of the Book
  • Class-wide discussion regarding violent video games and mass shootings.
  • Observations of the actual reality of the book
  • Audience questions and answers about which video games they wish were real
  • Are violent video games and weak gun laws the cause of these shootings?
  • Closing Summary

Closing song: Facebook Me by Jeff Kornberg (courtesy of Music Alley)

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