Reference no: EM133513457

Discussion Post: Find Commercial

What we learn depends on where we put our attention. As a matter of fact, the first job of an infant is to learn how to pay attention to the high-value behavior of the people around him, and to disregard sparkly objects that his significant caretakers do not consider important.

Technology is a powerful teacher, the supreme "sparkly object." But the purpose of the Internet is the same as the purpose of TV to a previous generation. Why is it possible to turn on a TV and watch interesting programming for free? Because the purpose of TV is to sell you stuff. Commercials are the point of TV, and the programming is a means to get you to view the commercials. And why is it possible to turn on the Internet and play tons of games, connect with friends, and see tons of interesting content? Because the purpose of the Internet is also to sell you stuff. Sometimes ads pop up on Internet sites. But sometimes the ads are indirect; the website you view is collecting information about you that is then sold to an advertiser. Or the number of hits a website collects verifies its popularity, and advertisers on that site are guaranteed their ad will attract a verifiable number of eyeballs.

How well do students understand the underlying structure of the Internet? If we use technology for learning and teaching, how much do we need to take into account the attractiveness of the sites to learners who cannot understand why the technology is available?

In this discussion we'll go back to a simpler time, and study TV. You will examine how an advertisement--be it a TV commercial, a print ad, a radio ad, or a website--uses media to direct your attention to the advertisers' highest value: insuring you purchase their product.