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Media Literacies |
Traditional pedagogy is not adequate in teaching media competencies. In order for media literacy to grow holistically, pedagogy needs to be based in situated practice, immersion into an authentic community; overt instruction, collaboration with the support of more advanced peers; critical framing; examining learning objectively to gain insight to the larger picture; and transformed practice, applying new knowledge to situated practice (New London Group, 1996). This virtual makerspace will immerse you in the experience of these key pedagogical elements, as well as position you to apply this pedagogy in your own classrooms.
Historically, professional development on technology has consisted of an expert-led demonstration in a context-barren environment. Teachers are not given opportunities to explore, apply, discuss, or collaborate using the new technology. This results in poor uptake of the new tool. For educators to truly engage with, and utilize technology and media, it must be introduced holistically, through design (Mishra, P., Koehler, M.J., 2006). Immersion in a makerspace provides educators with the opportunity to learn this technology through design, which significantly increases the chance of uptake and application in the classroom.
Historically, professional development on technology has consisted of an expert-led demonstration in a context-barren environment. Teachers are not given opportunities to explore, apply, discuss, or collaborate using the new technology. This results in poor uptake of the new tool. For educators to truly engage with, and utilize technology and media, it must be introduced holistically, through design (Mishra, P., Koehler, M.J., 2006). Immersion in a makerspace provides educators with the opportunity to learn this technology through design, which significantly increases the chance of uptake and application in the classroom.
The growing need in the workforce for workers that are creative, innovative, adaptive, and responsive means literacy needs to be redefined to include technology and media literacies.
Core media literacies (Jenkins, H., 2009) include:
Core media literacies (Jenkins, H., 2009) include:
Appropriation(The ability to remix existing products)
Up to now, education has emphasized the creation of original products. More and more, the value of appropriation and remixing (with attribution to the original authors) is being recognized. This allows one to begin with a springboard and think beyond the basics of early attempts.
Collective Intelligence(The ability to access the expertise of others in problem solving)
Accessing the knowledge of others allows people to bring their strengths to a project, while allowing others to contribute additional strengths. This allows for a much more complex product than one would be able to produce singly. nisi.
Networking and Negotiation(The ability to collaborate with people in various contexts)
Possibly one of the most valuable skills in the ability to embrace and function within multiple communities with varying cultures. This may include the cultures of the people participating, or the culture of the virtual community. Flexibility and adaptability are crucial to developing this skill.
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Distributed Cognition(The ability to utilize tools to enhance one’s work)
Utilizing tools to compliment one’s cognitive processes allows one to accomplish much more than would be possible without the assistance of tools. For example, Scratch allows one to code complex projects without being fluent in any coding language. The program itself takes care of the coding language while the user simply clicks, drags, and drops building blocks.
Transmedia Navigation(The ability to take explore the possibilities across mediums)
The ability to create in one medium or platform is no longer enough. One needs to be able to utilize multiple mediums to communicate various elements of a project. For example, a website base complimented by external videos, resources, activities, and wikis.
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Through a virtual makerspace for teacher professional development, educators are able to enhance their own media literacies; a necessary step in developing these literacies in our students.
Media Literacy in Action!
Joseph Gordon Levitt has recently launched a collaborative online community that aims to be a large-scale production company. Take a look at this take on media literacy!
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Listen as Salman Khan, founder of Khan Academy, discusses media literacy in terms of the power of video, interactivities, and a flipped classroom.
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Watch a summary of what media literacy is, and what it takes to be media literate in today's world.
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