The Chatterbox

*Has time after class* "Say you'll do it at home later..." Group reflection   Our group relied heavily on technology to keep our work on track. We created a Google Space to chat and share notes and arrange video meetings. To avoid difficulties due to different schedules and work styles, we used action plans (linked below) to keep track of our various responsibilities. While the intense nature of the Spring Institute made it hard to coordinate group work at times, we all valued the opportunity to work together and learn from each other's varied perspectives.  Part A action plan Part B action plan  From Shelby: "I found that the diverse experiences were really valuable when examining these ideas. With an educator, journalist and strategic communicator with very different personal backgrounds, we had a variety of experiences to draw from." From Rebecca: " Through this process we learned that we could have better utilized Google Workspaces to keep our docum...

Introduction In his book Reset , Deibert calls for us to take stock of the disturbing times we find ourselves in and have critical discussions about our use of digital technology (2020). No other event in the age of social media has significantly exposed the "painful truths" (Deibert, 2020) of the platforms as the release of the 2021 Facebook Papers. We will explore who was behind the release of Facebook's internal documents, what the media, public and government response was and what, if anything, has changed.  Please see the full infographic here . Analysis The Facebook Papers scandal reveals that Facebook prioritizes their profits even when presented with data that its current model causes significant societal harm. Rather than strategizing solutions for the issue, Facebook chose to rebrand their company and focus on emerging virtual reality technologies. Whistleblower Frances Haugens expressed concerns about the addictive nature of immersive environments, how the Meta...

Introduction What are deepfakes and why should we care? While easily accessible technology isn't perfect (as shown in the video above), the potential impact may be profound. The Benefits of Deep Fake Technology Deepfake tech has roots in personal and social entertainment. Snapchat incorporated the face swap feature into its collection of filters as early as 2016 (Keogh, 2020). Users eagerly swapped faces with their friends to share with the niche community. Humans have a profound sociological relationship to television media, which Marshal McLuhan studied extensively. Deepfake technology has the potential to expand our ability to reimagine our relationship with digital media on an individual, social, and cultural level.   "Televisual tech shaped a psychological and social environment where the starting point for the personal and political agency was  imagination " (Paulos, 2017, p. 84). Television tech has evolved into deeper layers of sharing and imagining within our di...

Introduction The Chatterboxes were initially interested in approaching our analysis of publication issues of The Edmonton Journal, from a social lens. We based our preliminary primary source collection on social issues that dominate the headlines - then and now. Our search was narrowed to the month of May, the same month as the MACT program Spring Institute. We inquired with a former journalist, Sharon McCann who worked prior to 1990 and asked what day of the week was recommended for stories that would reflect world issues. Our source suggested Wednesday or Thursday as an ideal day for big news stories, citing the publishing process by day pre- 1990.  Through Ms. McCann we learned that Monday wasn’t great because there was a weekend break; journalists had meetings to decide the week lineup, and pass out assignments. Tuesday was running down sources and first draft work. Wednesday could be editing and possible production, but photos or stronger side stories, and fact checking could...

Sharon McCann i s a retired 71 year old travel enthusiast from Gander Newfoundland, Canada: a eastern island province known for their big hearts and kitchen party chats. The town of Gander's most notable media recognition is undoubtedly the Broadway musical Come from Away. Come from Away celebrates Gander for its sense of community, kindness and generosity in the wake of redirected flights arriving in their town following the plane hijackings and destruction of September 11th, 2001. Sharon has an extensive education, including graduate studies in Journalism from Carlton University. Sharon worked as a freelance travel writer for the Edmonton Journal for many years. Prior to retirement, Sharon worked extensively in media literacy, radio production, and film classification here in the province of Alberta. Throughout the 1990's and early 2000's Sharon was travelling the globe discussing issues surrounding the media landscape. Rebecca and Sharon sit down together in the den of...

Introduction  Welcome to The Chatterbox team blog. Members Rebecca, Shelby and Grace all related to frantic Kermit and felt it was the perfect GIF to represent our team. As a teacher, communications strategist and journalist, we all spend plenty of time behind a keyboard. Additionally, we all felt the pace of these three weeks is moving around this rate.