Photo Analysis - Obama

Caption: President Obama meets with National Incident Commander US Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen for a briefing on the BP oil spill at Coast Guard Station Gulfport in Gulfport, Mississippi, on Monday.

This image of Obama during the BP oil spill gives me the most confidence in his leadership abilities because of the basic assumptions based upon connotation and denotation. 

Observations
President Obama's posture is attentive and responsive. His hands are being used as he's talking, but they are not tense. His hands are not clenched but yet active. His head is tilted towards his audience. His face is calm yet concerned. His eyes are direct but relaxed. His mouth shows that he is responding. The shot is far enough away to include the surroundings but not close enough to make me wonder what parts of the picture I am missing. There are maps and a flag on the wall behind him all pertaining to the topic of discussion. Clothing colors are in the blue family. Obama is obviously depicted and he is African American, middle-aged man, but to his left is a Caucasian male who seems to be slightly older than Obama. This Coast Guard Admiral is listening to Obama very attentively. The camera is angled straight at eye level, but it cuts off at the table which is also waist level.

Meaning
I believe that this photograph is spontaneous. The message behind the photograph seems to be that Obama is talking about the issues at hand in a calm yet concerned manner. Questions this photo raises: What are they talking about? The caption of this picture gives a tremendous amount of detail. If I were to write a new one then not as much clearly presented information would be given. 

This image makes me more confident in the President's leadership abilities because he is presenting himself well. He comes across very genuine, real, calm, cool, and collected in this photograph. 

ThinkAloud and ISTE NETS Standard

Standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning
and Creativity.


B: Engage students in exploring real-world issues
and solving authentic problems using digital tools
and resources


This ThinkAloud shows that I am able to look at real world issues and examine them creatively with technology. It also shows that I am able to look online at various resources and find reputable resources and identify biased ones. By detecting credibility through online sources, students will be able to discover accurate and useful information to explore real world issues. I will use this to show how there is useful information online, as well as biased and unreliable sources. I will use to to have students find current issues that interest them, and show them how to find accurate information and be informed on the subject.

Website Analysis

This article is in support of arming teachers in  schools. I could only find one decent article relating to the subject that was mostly qualified.

Article 1 - http://news.discovery.com/human/could-arming-teachers-work-20130102.htm

1. Is there an author? Is the page signed?

Yes, Eric Niiler

2. Is the author qualified and/or reputable? An expert?

He is a reporter who researches topics, including this one. He is not an expert, but he asks people who know more than him. 

3. Who is the sponsor?

Discovery News

4. Is the sponsor of the page reputable? How reputable?

Yes, very. 

5. If the page includes neither a signature nor a sponsor, is there any other way to determine its origin?

N/A

6. Are there links that take you outside of the site?

Yes

7. Is the information reliable and error-free?

Yes

8. Is there an editor or someone who verifies/checks the information?

Yes

9. Where doubt exists, can the information be cross-checked with a reliable source?

Yes

10. Does the information show a minimum of bias?

Yes

11. Is the page designed to sway opinion?

To some extent, yes

12. Is there any advertising on the page?

To other articles on the site, yes 

13. Is the page dated?

Yes

14. If so, when was the last update?

January 3, 2013

15. How current are the links? Have some expired or moved?

Very current

16. Is there an indication that the page has been completed, and is not still under construction?

The topic of discussion is still in debate, but the article ends without need for additional construction.

17. If there is a print equivalent to the Web page, is there a clear indication of whether the entire work is available on the Web or only parts of it?

Entire work is posted.

18. What topics are covered? How in-depth is the material?

"Could Arming Teachers Work?" "Can Gun Laws Save Lives?" "US Guns by the Numbers" "Where the Gun Laws are Most Lenient"

If all the links are followed, the information can be very detailed.