Evan Reynante

  It is easy to identify with fictional stories and their characters. We see these through many different forms of media, books, tv shows, movies, video games, etc..., we find relatable and/or likeable personalities that are humorous, skilled, adventurous, quick-witted, or even larger-than-life. Something we all hope to be, in some shape or form. Once you can identify a piece of yourself in a story, you can easily form a debate, which can escalate when you believe one movie/TV show is better than the other in the pop culture universe. In this week's discussion, I looked at the classic comparison of Star Wars vs Star Trek, a debate that has likely been going on for decades now. A primary discussion forum is linked below the blog.  After reading the discussions online, three takeaways can be made on what  not to do  during this type of online communication. The first is never to fault someone else for having a different perspective than you. Second, never let language ...

  Stephen Edelston Toulmin was born in 1922 and dedicated much of his professional career to developing ways to objectively analyze moral reasoning. Over his career, he developed a sequential model consisting of six components that could assist in any form of rebuttal, argument, or analysis of beliefs. The following components are the foundation of his model; they include Claim, Data/Grounds, Warrant, Backing, Rebuttal/Reservation, and Qualification.  Although I was never formally introduced to the Toulmin Method before this discussion, I have experienced components that encompass this model; what is interesting is that this same approach can now be applied to online communications. The internet is filled with different perspectives, and it may be beneficial to understand the Toulmin Method to better understand different biases we may find. For example, the news media is filled with highly politically charged stories. From immigration to economic issues, many stories seem to b...

Podcasts relate heavily to the expression of opinions and thoughts online. It differs significantly from other mediums like social media posts or reading an article. Listening to a podcast is just like listening to people converse in person. It is also easy to view many podcasts quickly, as you can easily listen to them as background noise while doing something else. Of course, podcasts are still subject to the same negatives of online expression, mainly the fact that misinformation can be common or that it can apply to an online "echo chamber" that would only express opinions that the viewer wants to hear and support their beliefs and nothing else.  The podcast series that I chose was Twin Cast. A podcast about comics and toy collecting. Podcasts relate a lot to the theme of people sharing their opinions online to a broad audience. Like many other podcasts, this one features two people talking about their opinions on recently leaked Hasbro toys and, later, their opinions on ...

  The rise of social media and the internet has allowed people to reach a much larger audience than any method previously used. The number of people you can voice your opinions to on the internet dwarfs the number you would reach by writing in the newspaper, writing in a book, putting up a billboard, or even yelling in the street. Of course, this has done a lot of good, like allowing information and knowledge to spread faster and on a much larger scale. However, it also has several consequences, like allowing people to spread hate and misinformation on a wider scale. Many people have taken advantage of this to advertise or spread their beliefs online. Several key factors affect how effective this will be. One of the more important factors is the bias present in the media a person might frequent. For example, a person who frequents a social media group or follows many people who favor one political party and often watches a news program that favors the same party is more likely to...

 The business that I chose to write about is McDonalds. McDonalds is a name that needs no introduction, everyone knows what it is, and they are a giant in the Fast Food Industry and have the 3rd highest number of locations of any fast food chain, only behind Subway and Starbucks. Of course McDonalds didn't become this way by accident and they have been able to adapt well to changing times with and the ever increasing need for online marketing. Looking at their website the overall design is a lot more plain then one would expect but it isn't something that  takes away from the approachability of the website. There are no fancy colors or ads to drive viewer's attention  away from important details like the top bar showing links to the menu, downloading the app, my McDonalds rewards or the list of different promotions for their various food.            On the social media side McDonalds will have ads featured over any social media avai...

  According to Prensky, what is the immigrant/native divide, and how has it affected how students learn? According to Prensky, Modern-day students navigate educational life and, in general, think a lot differently than previous generations due to the easy accessibility of technology. Nowadays, technology is more accessible than ever, and we have constantly been around it. I have always been surrounded by technology throughout my life, so it is easy to forget just how crazy and impressive it is that the world changed so rapidly in just a few years, a fact that I am reminded of whenever my mom talks about her college experience. Preskey calls this new generation of students "digital natives." Meanwhile, people who grew up in an era without easy access to technology fall under the umbrella of "digital immigrants." This divide has caused specific issues within the classroom. For example, according to Prensky, digital natives are more used to a fast-paced life and will e...