2 minute read
Chapter 15: Digital media formats
LEARNING INTENTION
Examine various forms of digital media to identify the theme, purpose and intended audience of the text.
LEARNING OUTCOME
3.1 Analyse a piece of digital media text to identify the theme, purpose and audience.
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
We are living in the digital age where everything that we can read in print can also be read online. Digital media can encompass any media that is present in an online format including: blogs, digital news, reviews, listicles, videos, .edu websites, .org websites, .gov websites. Digital media text is defined as exclusively dealing with text (words) in an online format. To analyse these texts, the theme, purpose and intended audience of each needs to be identified.
SAMPLE
MATERIALS
Digital devices with internet access eLearning platform: Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom Microsoft Word/Google Docs
ACTIVE LEARNING METHODOLOGIES
Reflection journal Throw the ball Sticky notes Think-pair-share Pair work
PRACTICAL SKILLS
Infographics Excel: bar chart, PIE chart, line graph, timetable Comic strips
OBJECTIVES
By the end of this chapter students will be able to:
Define
Theme Purpose Intended audience Mainstream media Describe Explain Evaluate Create Niche media Why theme, purpose and intended audience is important to recognize in digital media texts How theme, purpose and audience affect the content and delivery of digital outlets How mainstream media and niche media caters to different audiences. Tables identifying theme, purpose and audience SAMPLE
ACTIVITY 1: THEMES In small groups, students will access the first news page of the following websites, read the titles on the page and record in a table (created in Excel) how many times the content falls under the common themes of mainstream media.
ACTIVITY 2: THINK, PAIR, SHARE Niche media texts are more likely to cater to a smaller audience tailoring the themes of their website to their interests. It is unlikely that any .gov, .org or .edu websites could be classed under niche websites. Students will identify the theme of the following websites from reading the headlines.
SAMPLE
ACTIVITY 3: THROW THE BALL Decide what the purpose of each digital media text is. You could throw a soft ball to students around the room choosing a text or purpose at random. If the student gets an answer wrong or can’t decide what the answer is, they must sit down. Last student standing wins.
ACTIVITY 4: STICKY NOTES In small groups, students will brainstorm names of websites and apps that would appeal to the following groups of people:
Male child Female teenager A PhD holder Single adult A makeup artist A hurling player A teenage billionaire A homeless child
ACTIVITY 5: THEME, PURPOSE AND AUDIENCE Students will identify the theme, purpose and audience of the following links. SAMPLE PAUSE & REFLECT In your reflection journal describe: Three things you learned in this section Two things you already knew One thing you would like to learn more about
