Rhetorical Arts: Digital Divides

Online learning is a type of education that has gained widespread popularity over the past years. It has been known to improve the quality of education and help students be better equipped for the years to come where they are expected to live on their own and use the education they have been given. Although it is true in many cases that online education does work and can be helpful to many students there are still a couple problems that need to be addressed: the lack of human interaction and the drop-out of rate of these students due to this lack of communication. In most online learning formats, the student is on their computer by themselves, learning things from a computer with no feedback from a teacher or instructor. Without this feedback, students can become lazy and not motivated to work hard and so as a result they will drop out. Therefore, this human interaction is needed to help students reach their full potential.

There have been many studies done that show that online learning is most effective when it is done in a classroom where there is a presence of teachers. This presence of teachers allows students to be able to learn online but still be able to get real human interaction help if necessary. When students only have a computer in front of them the computer will not know if they are doing their homework or not so it can be much harder for them to stay focused and stay in this type of learning environment.

Thus, something needs to be done to keep online learning an option for students while ensuring them that they will get the same benefits of this learning that they will get in a traditional classroom setting. In a study done in 2010 it was reported that students learning online perform better on average learning the same material than the people learning the same material in a traditional classroom setting. This may very well be true but many people have argued that human interaction will always be better than computer interaction. Therefore a solution needs to be created in order to ensure that students will be able to learn on their own but still have access to direct contact with teachers and professors if necessary. Some solutions that have been proposed are using methods of teaching like mobile blogging for students or discussion boards for students.

For my social media campaign I will use Facebook and Twitter to raise awareness to people of the main problems of online learning and help find solutions to the problem of drop-out rates. I will do this by trying create catchy and useful hash tags on the Twitter page in order to grab the attention of the students who have actually dropped out of online education and provide them with some possible solutions and suggestions. I will also list some quotes from people who have had difficulties with online learning with the hashtag #I’manonlinedropout so that I can encourage other students to share their stories with online education. With responses it will be easier to make sense of why online learning drop-out rates are so high even though it has been claimed that is it is more effective than traditional classroom learning. I will also list some statistics. On Facebook I will list mostly solutions of what could be helpful in making online learning more effective and I will add pictures. I will use more pictures here, because I think that since Facebook is the most used social media site it will be more beneficial to focus on solutions to online learning and support those with motivating pictures. By using Facebook and Twitter I can reach my target audience of students who are already in online learning and the students who are debating whether or not it would be worth it to join. Students need to know what they are getting into before they decide to learn online. They need to know the advantages and the disadvantages.

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My problem is the human disappearances in Mexico; specifically those caused by government officials such as police officers, politicians, and members of the military. I will be focusing mainly on recent events that have made this problem much more known. After the mass disappearance of 43 students in the state of Guerrero, this issue wet viral and the Mexican government was forced to do something. The United Nations had contacted the Mexican government before to ask them to keep track of all the disappearances, but this time they specifically asked Mexico to come up with a solution that will actually end this humanitarian crisis. (Reuters News Agency) The disappearance of the 43 students was already really helpful to get the word out about this problem. Protests were made all over Mexico and in other countries as well. In my social media campaign I will use a Pinterest board, it will have images of protests and political cartoons that have been made as a form of protesting the Mexican government.

As I contemplate the possible solutions I keep thinking about body cameras, like the ones that U.S police officers have recently begun to use. I feel as if these cameras will help resolve the huge problem of corruption as well as enforced disappearances. If police officers, politicians and military personnel know that the human rights commission is watching them they will hopefully abstain from criminal acts such as corruption, or kidnapping civilians. This might also keep these people from silencing the press, recently the press has become more fearful of the effects of what they are reporting and how they are reporting news. While I was doing my research I came upon several articles in Mexican journals that were obviously edited so not to harm the reporter. Also I found a lot of anonymously written sources. When I finally came across a spanish written article that didn’t show any obvious censorship and was helpful.

For parents, the TV can be a respite from taking care of their children. Although the TV is a convenient source of entertainment for their kids, parents should be aware of the content their children are exposed to. Its been widely accepted that TV viewing has reduced the average child’s daily physical activity. However, many parents are unaware of how exposure to TV food advertisements influences their children’s diet. Advertisements have been shown to have a profound affect on children’s opinions and desires. Children are particularly vulnerable to the manipulative strategies that are used in advertising campaigns. Studies have shone that a matter of seconds exposed to an advertisement can cause children to have an affinity for the product. Food companies are aware of this, and in some cases have done explicit research on how to best exploit children and develop brand loyalty from a young age. Thus, children who watch TV are more likely to pester their parents for foods high in sugar, fat and calories. The majority of these foods lack the essential nutrients needed for the mind and body of a developing child. The development of food preferences can make it very difficult for parents to introduce or endorse foods to their children that have nutritional benefits. By reducing child’s exposure to food advertisements, parents have a better chance of reducing their child’s risk of obesity. Studies have shown that food habits developed at a young age often translate into habits later in life. Thus, those exposed to more junk food early on, are more likely to become obese as a child, and maintain obesity into adulthood.

A social media campaign targeted at parents will be the most efficient way to create awareness and address this issue. Parents play an essential role in a child’s nutrition and overall well being. Thus, my social media campaign will provide parents helpful hints on how to encourage a healthy lifestyle for their children in a time-savy, inexpensive, and manageable way.

So far I have created a Pinterest Board, and have started a Facebook Page.

https://www.pinterest.com/olive3912/

https://www.facebook.com/TVandChildObesity

My technology is called “Save the Rave”. It will be an app that provides people at music festivals to have access to the medical tents if/when necessary.

To give you all the basic perception of a modern day rave, it is a venue filled with lights, DJ’s and an audience full of people dressed in all sorts of crazy fashions, creatively dancing to the pulsing beat of the music. One of the biggest factors that pull people into the rave scene is the idea of PLUR. PLUR stands for peace, love, unity, and respect. People show their pride in PLUR by wearing beaded bracelets, called “rave kandi” in which people trade with a known handshake.

Urban dictionary: “Picture it: the music is pumping, the lights are shooting through the smoke filled room, ur body moves as if taken over by the beat, u look around, u smile and realize that at that second every person in the room with u is your best friend. There is no judgement, no worries, nothing but a solid beat, a good vibe, and the knowledge that everyone around you truly understands what it is to be at peace with everyone else. They are willing to love anyone for who they are without judgement. You can feel the unity that comes from knowing that you are truly above all worries. And you realize that everyone, including yourself, respects everyone and everything around them. Then you realize the music is hoppin, the people are groovin, and u and everyone around u have entered a world most people can only dream of.”

Sadly, this seemingly awesome belief of PLUR is also sometimes a connection to the underlying drug culture in raves.

Many people use drugs at raves, but there are also many cases in which people are spiked unknowingly. All types of drugs including marijuana, mushrooms, methamphetamine, acid, cocaine and most popularly ecstasy and molly are used at raves. But this can happen to anyone, and the sad truth is that many of the accidents that occur result from people getting unknowingly drugged.

With this in mind many of you might think it would be more beneficial to have more prevention and security to take away the possibility of people overdosing, but that is more difficult than the public presumes. People have become more creative in how they sneak in drugs; from putting it in their socks or undergarments, to using empty packs of “feminine products” to hide them, all of which are undoubtedly “uncheckable”areas. And as the rave and drug culture grow, the number of drug related deaths increases as well. One of the most recent tragedies occurred in one of New York’s most popular festivals, Electric Zoo. Last year, at Electric Zoo, there were 2 deaths and 4 hospitalizations within the first two days of the three day festival. This resulted in the cancellation of the last day due to a presumably “bad batch” of molly that was going around the rave.

In hopes of avoiding any more of these tragic situation, solution is to make help more accessible and faster. I plan to create an app that will have features that directly connect to the medical tent within the venues. When downloading the app people will be given the option to create an account where they would put fill in their name, email and emergency contact information, and a picture. And once he/she is at a festival they can “check in” to the location to have their profiles on immediate access.  This profile would make it easier for the paramedics to identify who to look for and who to call if things turn for the worst. For those who download the app on site, or just don’t want to create a profile, there will be an option to skip the “create your profile” step and just be under anonymous. The way this technology will work, is that locators and direct messages will be accessible in both the app and monitors in the medical tent. With this the paramedics can be informed of the condition of the person, where they are, and in simple terms what is going on. And the person in need of help or with someone with the person can have consistent contact with the paramedics through instant messaging. Within the first aid tent there will be people in charge of the monitors which would display any messages or alerts that are sent from the users of the app, and will also pinpoint the person’s location using triangular gps and display their profile( if they have one) once a message is received.

But the only way this app will work is if we can get people motivated and excited about downloading it. The whole factor of “It won’t happen to me” is a popular mentality among our generation. So I plan to use social media sites, and in-person promotion to promote the importance and convenience of the “Save the Rave” app. There will be a team of people at all the festivals wearing “Save the Rave” t-shirts, telling people about the app, giving away bracelets, and t-shirts to everyone who downloads the app. I will have an instagram to post pictures at the events we will be involved with, a twitter to promote and share all the information about where we are, what we do, and how to rave safely, and a facebook page to engage with the audiences of other “raver-friendly” pages such as : Insomniac Events, the EDM Network, Dada Life and other DJ pages. With that in mind ,I would  also partner with companies such as Insomniac, Live Nation, and Uni-tech to gain access and connection to the audience and events. These companies would also be able to supply me with the wifi and credentials needed to run this “program”.  Back to the social media aspect, there will be many promotions and giveaways to create an engaged audience. For example I would give away 2 tickets to EDC to who ever is the 1,000th like, or something similar to that. But these sites will also have articles that can educate people about the effects of using these drugs, and how to try to avoid getting spiked at these festivals.

The app will not only have these features, but it will also have clear instructions on what to do for your friend while you wait for the paramedics to arrive. There will be options to choose, based on your friends condition, that will tell you what to specifically do to help him/her.

I think this technology can turn the rave scene into a safer environment, where there are less drug related accidents. If people are more educated about the harmful effects of drugs they will not only have the tools to make smarter decisions and not take drugs,but they will also be able to call for help if someone around them needs it.

social media:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Unofficial-Save-the-Rave/1566948666901051

https://twitter.com/savetherave15