Dr. Pam Wilson

COM 103

Reinhardt University

January 19, 2011

What is literacy?

Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read and write.

But are those skills enough to be able to communicate effectively in the 21st century?

Why do we need to be literate?

“Literacy involves a continuum of learning in enabling individuals to achieve their goals, to develop their knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in their community and wider society.“

So—what do we need to know to be “literate” in the 21st century? What kinds of skills? If we expand “read” to mean interpret and

understand, and If we expand “write” to mean produce or

create, Then we can create a new definition of

literacy for the 21st century

The United Nations (UNESCO) defines literacy as

the "ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts.”

Questions about 21st century media literacies (from media scholar Henry Jenkins) What does it mean to be "literate" and how has this

changed in a world of new communication technologies? What social skills and cultural competencies do young

people need to be able to fully participate in the digital future?

What ethical choices do young people face as participants in online communities and as producers of media?

What can Wikipedia and Facebook teach us about the future of democratic citizenship?

Jenkins, continued

How effective is YouTube at promoting cultural diversity?

How is learning from a video game different than learning from a book?

What do we know about the work habits and learning skills of the generation that has grown up playing video games?

Who is being left behind in the digital era and what can we do about it?

Michael Wesch, cultural anthropologist who studies Information and New Media Literacy A vision of students today http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o&f

eature=mfu_in_order&list=UL Information R/evolution http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4CV05HyAbM&f

eature=channel The Machine is Us/ing Us http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g&fe

ature=channel

Elizabeth Thoman and Tessa Jolls, “Media Literacy: A National Priority for a Changing World” (2004)

The convergence of media and technology in a global culture is changing the way we learn about the world and challenging the very foundations of education.

No longer is it enough to be able to read the printed word; children, youth, and adults, too, need the ability to both critically interpret the powerful images of multimedia culture and express themselves in multiple media forms. .

Framework for media literacy [Thoman and

Jolls]

Who created the message? What creative techniques are used to attract

my attention? How might different people understand this

message differently than me? What lifestyles, values, and points of view

are represented in–or omitted from–this message?

Why is this message being sent?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeJf2rTb67w&feature=related

(10th grade project: overview)

Key aspects of media literacy Understanding the constructed nature of

all media messages, and the fact that creative strategies and choices are always involved in producing any media message or text

Understanding how media work: providing gratification, setting agendas, cultivating worldviews, exercising ideological control

Understanding your roles as citizens, consumers and producers: how to be a critical consumer and producer and to use media to enhance your role as a citizen

But….it’s not all about being on the receiving end of messages (advertising, movies, books, magazines, radio, television, emails….)

According to a 2005 study, more than one-half of all teens have created media content, and roughly one third of teens who use the Internet have shared content they produced.

This number will be much higher today, don’t you think?

Have you created and shared media content?

How and where?

Facebook (postings, photos) You Tube (videos) Blogs Gaming Audio/music Comments on blogs and sites ……

participatory culturesA participatory culture is a culture with relatively

low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations,

and some type of informal mentorship (the most experienced

help teach novices)

members believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another (at the least they care what other people think about what they have created).

Henry Jenkins

Forms of participatory culture

Affiliations — memberships, formal and informal, in online communities centered around various forms of media, such as Friendster, Facebook, message boards, metagaming, game clans, or MySpace)

Expressions — producing new creative forms, such as digital sampling, skinning and modding, fan videomaking, fan fiction writing, zines, mash-ups)

Collaborative Problem-solving — working together in teams, formal and informal, to complete tasks and develop new knowledge (such as through Wikipedia, alternative reality gaming, spoiling)

Circulations — Shaping the flow of media (such as podcasting, blogging)

New Media Literacies for Participatory Culture

a set of cultural competencies and social skills that young people need in the new media landscape

shifts in focus of literacy from one of individual expression to community involvement

involve social skills developed through collaboration and networking, in addition to

Traditional reading/writing, research skills, technical skills, and critical analysis skills taught in the classroom.

The new media literacy skills include  Play — the capacity to experiment with one’s

surroundings as a form of problem-solving Performance — the ability to adopt alternative

identities for the purpose of improvisation and discovery

Simulation — the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real-world processes

Appropriation — the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content

Multitasking — the ability to scan one’s environment and shift focus as needed to salient details.

New media literacy skills, continued Collective Intelligence — the ability to pool

knowledge and compare notes with others toward a common goal

Judgment — the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources

Transmedia Navigation — the ability to follow the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities

Networking — the ability to search for, synthesize, and disseminate information

Negotiation — the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms.

The New Media Literacies http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=pEHcGAsnBZE