Importance of New Literacies In An Era of Participatory Culture
What is a participatory culture?
A participatory culture is one in which the public does not act only as consumers but contributors or producers. They are often labeled as prosumers which are most often applied to the production or creation of published media. Media devices and technology have allowed consumers to publish their work through the internet.
Why are new literacies important in the classroom?
Social media and technology have been a game changer in our lives and in the business world. It has made a huge impact on the way we communicate and share information instantly. And now new literacies are being integrated into the classroom in order to help students reach new competencies levels K-12. The use of media literacies allows social interaction and cultural experiences that will help students interact with a diverse audience, especially with online audiences.
Exposure! Exposure! Exposure! One example is to break students into several groups and assign them a research topic. (Example-WWI) Instead of solely using text-based research provide them the opportunities to use video clips, audio clips, and images. This will help them build their media navigation shills and work on identifying credible sources. From there, students will have the opportunity to network and collectively put their research together.
To help aid the process and understand the teacher will present examples of several technology literacies that will incorporate participatory culture.
I agree with your post about how students need to make sense of their world around them.
ReplyDeleteI like how you say exposure three times with exclamation points, because it's true. In order for students to understand technology and integrate it into their every day lives, they need the exposure of it. And not only that they need exposure to it in a safe environment.
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