Melinda's Self-Reflection on Innovative Pedagogy

This unit of work, Youth Popular Culture and Texts, has encouraged me to critically reflect upon my knowledge and skills in digital media and my understanding of youth today. It has encouraged me to consider new and more interesting ways to engage youth through their experiences of participatory culture. As my school moves towards 1:1 eLearning I am excited and informed about how to transform pedagogy through innovative practices, rather than be apprehensive and mystified. My students build their social identity through their online experiences and I see it as my responsibility to be familiar with this digital world and use it to engage my students in an educational setting. I see that there is an opportunity to create more innovative pedagogy that bridges the digital divide across in and out of school use of media.

As a literacy support teacher I am in a unique position to broaden the definition of literacy to a new form of literacy in the 21st century. This would include the ability to communicate effectively in social media, underpinned by an understanding of cultural identity. My students have already completed assessment that required them to blog their knowledge on certain topics. These blogs were in essence a mashup of existing knowledge on topics such as Gospel stories; or a personal reflection on the experience of reading fiction. These were solely written text blogs but could be taken further to include both audio and visual texts. Ito (2009, p.9) suggests that literacy and communication will rely more and more on audio and visual media, which could be incorporated more into the classroom to reduce the digital divide. By producing media for their peers, the students are not only focussing on the content but the social connections that can be created. As Ito mentions, "Young people today expect to be able to appropriate and circulate media for their own self-expression" (2009, p. 6). In another unit of work, I would also like my students to create book trailers to engage with wide reading using an audio-visual component.

I would like to increase opportunities to build a shared culture as part of the text production process. My English students are often asked to write creative short stories or narratives. However, the reader of these texts is most commonly a very small group made up of student, parent and teacher. There is an opportunity to publish these stories online on sites such as www.storywrite.comwww.storywrite.com to build a shared experience. Whilst the content and writing skills of the storywriter are crucial to a successful story, it is the sharing of the material and the peer response that can be just as important as what is being said. The connection and communication create a sense of belonging and identity. Many of the members of my school's Writer's Club who use this site to share their work attest to the sense of camaraderie and cultural identity that emerges from participating in this online forum.

A concept I would like to explore further is the use of a wiki to organise and enhance student tasks such as my current Year 12 English unit 'Reading across Cultures'. Not only would a wiki be useful in organising their reflective journals, plan, speech and multi-modal resources for their oral; but it would open up opportunities to link to other like-minded students and readers/authors of texts and make their work truly public rather than limited to an artificial classroom audience. I have created my own wiki for reflection on becoming a TL and found this medium flexible to meet the needs of the user and the audience. I have also created wikis for English units on our school's intranet which is accessed by both teachers and students. This has brought together a wide range of resources of different mediums. However, these wikis do not include any student production or publication. This current wiki type does not acknowledge that our students are happiest in a participatory culture. There is no consideration of the elements of a participatory culture, as outlined by Henry Jenkins in his white paper on media education for the 21st century (2006, p.7). This is one challenge I set for myself - to embrace a more interactive and socially connected curriculum that encourages production and sharing of my students' contributions.

In an IT professional development session held at my school last week (on the use of Microsoft OneNote and ways to link resources), one of the teachers commented that OneNote doesn't change what we do, but how we do it. There will be stages of acceptance, understanding and implementation as our school moves towards 1:1 computing. I think that this teacher's comment shows that 'how we do it' with technology requires new skills; however, it also shows that we require more consideration of 'what we do'. I think that teachers require more professional development on ICTs; media forms; youth practices and social identity in a participatory culture; and new media literacies to enable them to evaluate the ways technology can effectively transform pedagogy.

The way technology has emerged and transformed education in the past 10 years is outstanding. The possibilities seem endless but this is not something to be afraid of - instead something to get excited about. I know that my teaching has improved through the advancement of technology and the innovative pedagogical ideas that are beginning to emerge to utilise the tools available. The internet is a powerful resource that belongs in the classroom, and with sound pedagogical consideration, will empower our students and enhance their learning.

References

Ito, M. (2009). Media Literacy and Social Action in a Post-Pokeman World. NFAIS conference keynote address. Retrieved September 26, 2010, from Queensland University of Technology Course Materials Database.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the challenge of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Chicago, Illinois: The MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from Queensland University of Technology Course Materials Database.

Transformations and Reflections

A self-reflection from Michelle:

Looking at concepts such as participatory culture, identification and individualisation, credibility, commercialisation, digital media literacies and social media, it is easy to say to myself “But I teach lower primary school, the students are just children – they can’t / don’t need to do any of that yet!” and indeed, that is a sentiment I have heard in many staffrooms along with “It’s too hard and I don’t understand it”.  These excuses however are the easy way out, leaving the issue for teachers of students in older grades to deal with.  Is this the best solution for my students though? I doubt it.  My students might be young, but they are already experimenting with digital media, and it is my responsibility to them to make sure that when the time comes, they are ready for all that the future has to offer them.

I think Jenkins et al. crystallised my thinking on the issue with the acknowledgement that before students can engage appropriately with the new participatory culture and digital media, they must be able to read and write; far from a situation of pushing aside old skills to make room for new ones, it is one of expanding the competencies which we require of our students (2006, p.19).  Here then was my answer and the bottom line when it came to integrating digital media into my teaching: the students had to have the necessary groundwork in order to participate in the new digital media culture.  My goals then are these:

·         To prepare my students to take part in the new digital media culture

·         To integrate digital media where appropriate to the learning needs of my students

·         To encourage my peers and colleagues to do the same

The age and abilities of my students make the issue of utilising digital media tools and technologies an interesting one; after all, many of my class of Grade Three students are still struggling to master traditional literacies and typing a password and username correctly can be quite a challenge for some.  This however, is no reason not to bring digital media culture into my classroom, and in many ways the age and inexperience of my students makes it all the more imperative that they are taught how to protect themselves online and navigate the internet safely. 

Despite their inexperience, and the challenges which the internet poses, many of the students in my class play Moshi Monsters, an online game where among other things they have the chance to “chat with new friends”.   The implications of this for students with no conception of the potential repercussions of chatting with strangers online are frightening.  Two students in my class have already received messages through the game from suspicious individuals, which prompted both a class discussion and discussions with parents.  My next step in digital media education will be to add lessons on cyber-safety into my citizenship and social skills lessons by integrating the stories and teaching activities from CyberSmart’s Hector’s World.

As important as basic literacy skills to students’ abilities to use digital media are skills in accessing that media.  Accordingly, just as I teach spelling, handwriting, reading and writing, I also teach my students typing and basic computer skills.  This is something I have begun this year, but the interest from my students and their parents, as well as the improvements I have seen in my students’ technological abilities, are enough to ensure that it is something I will be integrating into my teaching from now on.  It is my hope that by introducing and practicing these skills early in the year, I will be able to provide my students with the opportunity (and new skills required) to publish their work digitally, in multiple media forms, and share it with others not only within the school and at home and but perhaps even with other students around the world.

I must note also the recent success I have had with a young student with Asperger’s Syndrome who has missed a lot of school previously and is struggling to catch up and to stay on task but is highly interested in computer games and has a goal of becoming a game designer.  I have begun teaching him to create computer games of his own using the GameMaker 8 software and through this process he has developed a renewed interest in reading, writing and mathematics, seeing their relationship to success in his goals.  He has also developed a great deal of self-confidence through sharing his creations online with other students.  This situation has proved to me the importance of incorporating students’ interests in new digital media culture into the classroom.

Despite the age of my students and their sometimes limited levels of literacy, I can still make a difference in preparing them to participate in new digital media culture.  Every opportunity I provide for them to develop skills and knowledge in digital media is an opportunity to close the ‘Participation Gap’ (Jenkins et al., 2006, p.13) between the students who have access to a computer at home, and those who don’t.  Every time I teach my students to analyse and question media texts, is a step towards addressing Jenkins et al.’s ‘Transparency Problem’ and every opportunity I take to help my students consider privacy, safety and citizenship issues, I am helping them to deal with Jenkins et al.’s ‘Ethics Challenge’ (pp.14 – 17).

It is clear to me that each of us as educators, regardless of the age of our students, can take steps to encourage them to develop the skills, knowledge, ethics and confidence to be successful participants in a digital media culture.

Trailmeme: 'blazing' links on the web

Melinda previews the Trailmeme web 2.0 tool and the way it promotes the 21st century literacy skill of navigation.

The internet is a vast frontier of information and experiences. Navigating this complex digital world requires skill and critical thinking. The 'Trailmeme' web 2.0 tool encourages users to be critical and purposeful when navigating the internet. It maps the user's journey across websites and creates relationships between selected websites.  Information on the internet comes from multiple directions and can be unreliable so any tool which improves the user's ability to consider the credibility of sources and meaningfulness of content is worthwhile. The YouTube clip below introduces Trailmeme to new users.

Henry Jenkins' description of contemporary learners as 'hunters' can be applied to the experience of navigating the internet. 'Hunters' must scan a complex online landscape in search of signs and cues in the pursuit of particular knowledge. Jenkins states that students require the literacy skill of being able to "identify the relationship between seemingly unrelated developments within a complex visual field". A curriculum which fosters the skill of navigating the net will encourage the ability to identify relationships between like ideas and make valid connections.

Teacher librarians have the ability to teach information literacy skills that are useful for navigating the world wide web. This tool allows teacher librarians to demonstrate that the research process involves reflection and connections. Teachers could use Trailmeme to check students' research journey and synthesising of sources. John Seely-Brown states that "the real literacy of tomorrow entails the ability to be your own personal reference librarian—to know how to navigate through confusing, complex information spaces and feel comfortable doing so." Trailmeme enables students to put information literacy skills in action in a productive and meaningful way.

Trailmeme documents a student's judgements about what they view and read on the web. However, this site also gives them an opportunity to not only share their journey but to assess other people's web journeys. Other established trails, such as this one on the topic social networking, can be built upon to strengthen the network of sites on the particular chosen topic. The use of this web 2.0 tool requires one of the most important 21st century literacy skills, that being navigation. Students can navigate through the vast pool of information on the web and arrive at a meaningful destination.

References

Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the challenge of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Chicago, Illinois: The MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from Queensland University of Technology Course Materials Database.

Seely-Brown, J. (2000). Growing up digital: how the web changes work, education and the ways people work. Change, March/April, pp.10-20. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from http://www.johnseelybrown.com/Growing_up_digital.pdf

Shareworthy: the new newsworthy

Melinda's blog reflects on the topic of media literacies and social action raised by Mimi Ito in her 2009 NFAIS conference keynote address. 

The millenial generation have grown up surrounded by digital and virtual worlds. They are fascinated with new technology and are vocal and active when interacting with others in the digital world. Their desire to make and share their ideas digitally gives them an opportunity to create and interpret popular culture in new ways. Youth form an identity through their interactions with media and popular culture. Today's youth also gain an affinity with their peers by interacting in a digital environment. Being a part of a virtual community allows youth to not only become part of a peer culture but to define themselves. The new ways of interacting with media online enable youth to not only assess whether something is newsworthy, but more importantly surround themselves with things that are 'shareworthy' which defines and shapes their identity.

The integral nature of technology in the lives of the millenial generation is well summarised by John Seely-Brown: "Today's digital kids think of information and communications technology (ICT) as something akin to oxygen: they expect it, it's what they breathe, and it's how they live. They use ICT to meet, play, date, and learn. It's an integral part of their social life; it's how they acknowledge each other and form their personal identities." In her keynote address, Mimi Ito focuses on the aspect of identification where social media has the ability to connect and mobilize youth today. 

Online social communication takes place in a shared culture with shared social practices. The focus of this online social communication is the connection with others, not just the content that is being shared. There are many opportunities for self-expression and to create connections with like-minded peers. This self-expression is happening at the interpersonal level, not the commercial level, which means that teens get to share what's on their mind. What we see posted online is not necessarily newsworthy in a commercial sense but 'shareworthy' from an amateur or interpersonal point of view. 

Making and sharing media is a core facet of online social communication.  Ito suggests that making and sharing media has become fundamental to how we relate to others. It has become natural for youth to share media through a variety of online affiliations, expressions or circulations such as social networking sites, YouTube or blogs. "The practice of online social networking can be seen as empowering, as it is a way to voluntarily engage with other people and construct identities, and it can thus be described as participatory." (Albrechtslund 2008) These social practices have become ubiquitous and routine in youth online culture. When this happens, technology becomes an indispensible part of youth identity. 

Popular culture has always been an important part of the lives of youth in any modern generation. Today's youth actively participate with popular culture rather than passively absorb its features. Unlike previous generations, youth today have the ability to 'mashup' popular culture in ways that were not so readily available to previous generations. Previous generations predominately relied on key publishers to produce popular culture media, but the millenial generation are publishers of popular culture media themselves. 

Today's youth can be interpreters and producers of popular culture through their making of media that they share online. Interacting with social media has produced what is commonly known as the 'gift economy'. Youth 'gift' the digital content they create in a culture Henry Jenkins describes as a 'bottom-up media generated culture'. This shared media can then be modified by others which in turn creates more. The making and sharing of media in a participatory culture is awash with personalisation and remix (Ito 2009). This interactive digital media phenomenon is about engagement, communication and identification. 

The way youth use new media is empowering. The internet allows today's youth to connect with family, friends and those with whom there is a shared interest or identity. Ito states that the content they are communicating with others about is subordinate to the social connection and presence that experiences like social networking can provide. Kerry Mallan suggests that social networking technologies make life online "More interesting, more connected, more complex". There is an opportunity here for educators to harness the innovation youth today use in their interactions with each other and popular culture; and their enjoyment of self-expression and connecting with others online. A bridge built between the serious and the playful is where Ito suggests that energy and engagement can occur.

Today's youth depend on their connection to the cyber world for information, relationship building and entertainment. Educators should attempt to harness the ability of the internet to make connections by teaching new media literacies in the classroom. Jenkins recommends that classrooms see more sharing of visual and audio media to enhance social connections and cultural identity. Ways of socially interacting with online communities is a new 21st century literacy skill that needs to be recognised.

Once a sense of belonging is established via online interactions, social mobilisation or activism is a possible outcome. Ito focuses on gaming as an example of how media mobilises kids to do something with it. Belonging to the social gaming culture has social currency with peers; and a sense of belonging occurs when they are involved in the shared social vocabulary of gaming. Active participation in the online gaming community invites collection, strategising and trading activity between gamers. This collective intelligence between like-minded individuals creates meaning, skills and knowledge using the language of new media. Students should be encouraged to participate in knowledge seeking in collective online experiences such as online tutorials and forums. This takes place in a heterarchical structure, which enable students to participate in a collaborative democratised environment.

Today's youth are generators of media content, not just consumers. Educators must find opportunities for youth to contribute to or modify content rather than just use or absorb knowledge. Producing knowledge could be in the form of reviewing film, writing stories and reciprocal critique of each others' work. For this to occur, digital media production skills need to be taught alongside basic literacy skills.

As online producers of media, youth also need to be explicitly be taught the ethics of these experiences. Areas such as copyright, privacy, security, cyberbullying need to be taught alongside the multi-modal literacies required to participate fully in the digital world. Sharing media may be natural to youth today, but we as educators have the responsibility to teach social media like any other media. Students have the right to become media literate, and themselves become ethically responsible users and producers of new media.

Some may say that what teens consider as 'shareworthy' is trivial and insignificant. It is our duty as teachers to harness their engagement with the digital world and teaching media literacies to enhance their communication and mobilisation of ideas.

References

Albrechtslund, A. (2008). Online social networking as participatory surveillance. First Monday. 13 (3). Retrieved 26 September, 2010, from http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2142/1949

Ito, M. (2009). Media Literacy and Social Action in a Post-Pokeman World. NFAIS conference keynote address. Retrieved September 26, 2010, from Queensland University of Technology Course Materials Database.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Confronting the challenge of participatory culture: Media education for the 21st century. Chicago, Illinois: The MacArthur Foundation. Retrieved July 19, 2010, from Queensland University of Technology Course Materials Database.

Mallan, K. (2009). Look at me! Look at me! Self representation and self-exposure through online networks. Digital culture & education, 1 (1), pp. 51-65. Retrieved 27 September, 2010, from http://www.uic.edu/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2142/1949

Seely-Brown, J. (2004). Learning in the Digital Age, Retrieved 30 September, 2010, from http://www.johnseelybrown.com/learning_in_digital_age-aspen.pdf retrieved

Communicate Create Connect Collaborate

Michelle’s response to Judy O’Connell’s keynote address to the “Flat Classroom Project 2010-1” (posted on “Hey Jude” February 7, 2010)

            Judy O’Connell’s keynote address to the Flat Classroom Project 2010-1 demonstrates quite clearly that the main concepts behind this global collaborative project are participation and digital media literacy.  With an aim of ‘flattening’ or lowering classroom walls and enabling communication, interaction and collaboration between students from all over the world, the project calls on students to work together to expand possibilities for global understanding.

           

            It is clear from O’Connell’s keynote address that the project, inspired by Thomas Friedman’s “The World is Flat”, provides students with all the benefits of participatory culture with opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, creative expression, skills development and an empowered conception of citizenship while simultaneously, for these students at least, addressing the issues of the transparency problem and ethics challenge identified by Henry Jenkins (Jenkins, Clinton, Purushotma, Robison & Weigel, 2006, p.3).  The project fosters skills in many of Jenkins’s new media literacies, including Play, Distributed Cognition, Collective Intelligence, Judgement, Transmedia Navigation, Networking and Negotiation – all skills which will prove invaluable to these students in the future.  Students are provided not just with opportunities to practice the technological competencies of working online within social and collaborative networks, but are also reminded to consider the social and ethical implications and responsibilities of a networked world with a timely reminder from O’Connell to never forget the significance of their “digital footprint” and its potential impact on their future.

           

Through meaningful tasks built around global consciousness and utilising new media and participatory culture, students in the Flat Classroom Project are learning the social and core media literacy skills they will need to be equal participants in tomorrow’s world (Asselin & Doiron, 2008, p.12; Jenkins et al., 2006, p.21) as they undertake to build bridges to a future world of interaction, collaboration and partnerships in social, cultural and business environments (O’Connell, 2010).

Participatory culture in education? The Flat Classroom Project has got it covered!

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References:

Asselin, M., & Doiron, R., (2008). Towards a Transformative Pedagogy for School Libraries 2.0. School Libraries Worldwide, 14(2), 1-18.  Retrieved August 21, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals.

Jenkins, H., Clinton, K., Purushotma, R., Robison, A. J. & Weigel, M. (2006). Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21^st Century [Occasional paper]. Retrieved August 20, 2010 from http://digitallearning.macfound.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=enJLKQNlFiG&b=2108773&ct=3017973&notoc=1

O’Connell, J. (2010, February 17). Flat Classroom Project: Fresh Start in a New World. [Blog entry on Hey Jude blogsite]. Retrieved  September 23, 2010 from http://heyjude.wordpress.com/2010/02/07/flat-classroom-project-fresh-start-in-a-new-world/