ELA10 - New Media (2 credit), CSS, Cizeron

Learning Target (Curricular Competencies): Construct meaningful personal connections between self, text, and world Explore how language constructs personal and cultural identities

An E-Zine is an online magazine - it's really just a website that focuses on a particular theme or topic.

• Click here to read the Wikipedia definition for an eZine.

Let's look carefully at some online magazines. It is a chance for you to begin reflecting on what kind of website you would like to produce.  Before you begin to make these decisions, you need to reflect on how a website can be organized and what its components should be. Examining what others have done is a good way to begin.

• How to Start Your Own Online Magazine is a good detailed resource including outlining and designing.
• The New York Times Upfront A news magazine for teens.

There are many ways to create an eZine. An eZine can be very sophisticated or it can be more like a newsletter. You can do whatever you wish, but you are going to create a glorified newsletter-type eZine that will include pictures and articles written by you.

After learning about eZines, you need to pick a topic that you would like to create an eZine around.  It should reflect your sense of personal and social responsibility:  contributing to community and caring for the environment; solving problems in peaceful ways; valuing diversity; building relationships.

Choose a social issue but pick something you would enjoy learning about and supporting as you create your eZine.

Some of which include:

1. 1. 1. Religion. With the various prayer or religious gatherings and places of worship for some denominations, the followers of the religion tend to interact and form social bonds amongst each other. As depicted by some religious groups, these tend to be strong and held by the web of values shared by these groups.
      2. Gender identity. The way we identify ourselves makes a great social difference in terms of the way we people interact. For example, gay bars as a social meeting place for the gays. Additionally, there are other joints which only attract women or seem to be frequented by men only.
      3. Government and social life. It is pretty obvious that the government follows our social media postings and hence putting a lid on what views can be uttered and what can’t. It is indeed possible to spread rumors or certain politically induced comments on social media. Therefore, governments all over the world seem to want to be involved in setting or upholding laws which govern their people’s interactions on social media.
      4. Separation of church and state.
      5. War. Several wars have brought division in people’s social lives, for example, a person living in America, having an Arabian affiliation can be singled out on what they post on social media. It has, therefore, become mandatory for governments to ensure that people are using the social media platforms responsibly.
      6. Family and single parenthood. This involves one parent walking out with their partner. This may affect the kid’s growth in terms of criticism from their peers and also their mental and emotional health which affects their social life.
      7. Drugs and alcohol abuse. Drugs have subsequent health and emotional issues through addiction and general usage which in turn changes a person’s social behavior.
      8. Social media and bullying. Some cases of bullying have been described as sources of suicidal thought and behavioral changes.
      9. Social media has been associated with a bad company among the youth hence disadvantages in social and moral values.
      10. Materialism. Trends in fashion among others have had a significant impact on how teenagers communicate with their peers and also those not of their trendy peers and family members.
      11. Obesity and social life. Fat shaming has had some root in its victims’ social lives.
      12. Education disparity. Inequality in educational quality is described and defined by race in many communities as well as financial status. For example, If you live in a poor neighborhood or are a minority, there is a huge chance that the schools you attend may lack most essential facilities hence a totally different way of interaction with the other cultured kids.
      13. Social life and the economy.
      14. Poverty and social life. In most communities, the economic status always defines a person’s social status.
      15. National pride and identity. The sense of belonging always has a say in a person’s social identity and status. The way citizens of a country communicate is different with that of immigrants and natives.
      16. The internet versus the social life.
      17. The power of advertisements. In some cases, people have been attracted into buying certain types of products that they now define with that particular brand against their rivals through extreme advertising.
      18. Suicide and the social media.
      19. Procrastination. Particularly with topics for an essay on social issues, students mostly have other fun things to do instead of doing assignments. This may improve social lives but may ruin academic excellence.
      20. Racism. Being one of the worst types of categorization in the contemporary world, racism has altered the social lives of people. This refers to the sense of belonging where people tend to identify with their people.

Source: https://customessayorder.com/blog/topics-for-essay-on-social-issues

1. Write three articles related to a topic you pick. Click here for a list of social issues.
• You can do one in first person (you can use "I" in one story).
• You can do a review of another website on your topic or an event that is associated with your topic (example: for gay rights, you might write about a Pride parade)
• You can write about someone who likes the topic a lot (for example, professional blogger).
  
• These are only suggestions but each article MUST have a different angle--something new about the topic. These are your choices; be as creative as you can!
2. Include at least one picture for each article--either one you have taken or one you are using from the internet.
3. Organize and place the stories and pictures in your eZine.
4. You must have at least one related link to another site with information about your topic.
5. Whatever site you are using, you may have to take some tutorials on how to use the site. This could take some patience and time. Make it as appealing as you can. Have fun with it!

Here is a fantastic example; the only thing missing is a link to another related website, which is a requirement.  Click on "Explore".

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