Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/732
Browse
4 results
Search Results
Item An examination of the effects of digital media on the communication of science(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2014) Jepson, Katherine Marie; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Dennis AigScience communication has never existed in a vacuum. As communication technologies evolve, so do the strategies of scientists. A historical analysis of this relationship reveals major influences that have filled information gaps left in the wake of new communication technologies. I have identified three such influences that affected 20th Century scientific communication: the corporate, the military-industrial, and the need for 'visibility' in the visible scientist. The cultural framework of the existing communication strategies has always shaped the pursuit of science. To remedy this problem, scientists need to embrace the new media landscape and become the primary communicators of their work. Transparency is the key to the successful dialogue of science.Item The effects of student created digital media on understanding and motivation in a middle school science classroom(Montana State University - Bozeman, Graduate School, 2014) Heisler, Jennifer; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Peggy Taylor.As technology progresses, teachers must constantly evaluate what tools are best practice for learning in their classroom. Student created digital media provides an avenue for students to express their learning and engagement in the classroom while practicing 21st century skills. This study looked at the effectiveness of student created digital media projects versus a traditional approach and their effect on learning and motivation. Utilizing qualitative and quantitative methods, this study found very little difference between these two approaches.Item Fiber optic vines on the third wall : cultivating natural media in the digital age(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2009) Bendick, Eric Louis; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Ronald Tobias.Twenty-thousand years ago, the earliest known depictions of natural forms were inscribed by primitive man onto the surface of the "third wall" . . . be it cave, grotto, overhang, or alcove. Today the myriad representations of our natural world, along with the expanding cosmic narratives of 'natural history' that animate and describe such characters within an ornate epistemological framework (part-science: evolution, thermodynamics, ecology, and part-social criticism: environmental justice, sustainability, conservation) proliferate in ever-increasing mobile permutations; not only in our textbooks and living rooms, but also in our cars, on billboards, Jumbotrons, laptops, cell phones, and portable media players. Throughout history, changes in representational 'mode' (across and through new technical mediums) have ushered in significant narrative metamorphoses, formal innovations, and accompanied revolutionary transitions in symbolic language. The focus of this paper is to assess the implications of recent technological shifts, especially those characterized by the widespread contemporary adoption of digital technologies and the emergence of vast, interconnected networks of computing power, on the representation, production, and distribution of 'natural world' (both science and social) new media content. Through a detailed survey of popular case-studies, analytical research, and data trends, this paper will analyze new media models both from within and without as they relate to digital publishing, non-linear content creation, social networking, and the increasingly permeable interface between consumer and producer in our contemporary mediascape. Finally, this paper applies formative research to prescribe a more general use of 'best practices' in new technology which may facilitate a more progressive and participatory moment in post-industrial 'natural world' media-making, in concert with peers and fans, corporations and collectives, and open to interpretation, cross-pollination, and synergistic hybridity. It is no exaggeration to remark that this technological transformation will forever change the way we learn, evaluate, and participate in a global dialogue whose subject is none other than the globe itself. As our ancestors surely harnessed the power of the 'third wall' to communicate in both personal and broad strokes, so this essay seeks to re-imagine the 'digital third wall' as a place of increasing ubiquity, intimacy, contention, and epistemological power throughout the evolving realms of scientific and social natural representation.Item Networked empowerment : the internet as medium for environmental filmmaking(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2007) Shoemaker, Jennifer Anne; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: William NeffWhether the Internet represents a true revolution in human communication or is merely a much-hyped relative to existing media is the subject of much debate. However, regardless of whether the Internet represents revolution or just evolution, it does provide a unique and unprecedented opportunity for environmental filmmakers to engage viewers in a thoughtful dialogue about how to improve the quality of our natural environment and the health of its inhabitants. This thesis examines how the Internet's capacity for nonmarket individual production and peer collaboration provides the basis for a new Internet film aesthetic that filmmakers can use to share stories of environmental crisis and hope. Specifically, the essay explores three storytelling techniques that work well within the medium of the Internet - the use of personal voice, the encouragement of community participation, and an embrace of a nonlinear structure. The thesis concludes by arguing that, rather than abandoning traditional, market-based media and relying exclusively on the Internet, environmental filmmakers have the most potential to affect change by creating films that can be adapted to work in a variety of media. The Internet may not be a revolution in itself, but it can be used as a tool for environmental filmmakers who seek to revolutionize our society's views about the environment and our place within it.