The texts this week truly spoke to me. I grew up in a household that valued technology but also restricted its use. There was one computer accessible in the family area and it was only used for class projects and computer games. Cable and video games were not available until I entered 6th grade. My parents allowed my Aunt and Uncle to purchase a PS2 for my brother and me. Reading through the articles I was struck by the different approaches to technology and I consistently thought about how this affects children as they age. Typically, there are social aspects to consider. For example, in the text Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out there are many references to technology affecting social lives but they do not address how this continues to affect these children as they become adults. The ability to discuss TV shows that “everyone” else has watched (the most relevant for me is Game of Thrones) is something that is glossed over but is relevant for children and adults alike.
Of course, a main thread throughout the articles was the place of technology and media in learning. Teachers and parents often dismiss the learning value in media that is not labeled as educational. Parents think this primarily because they do not think of the connections between social media and the workplace environment. This was highlighted in Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out but was reinforced in Digital Media Literacies: rethinking media education in the age of the Internet. The most interesting aspect of this article to me was that it is dated after only seven years. The article highlighted the differences between traditional literacy and digital literacy. Of course, some skills will not be tested officially but will be tested in social situations for personal privacy and security. “children need to know when they are being targeted by commercial appeals, and how the information they provide can be used by commercial corporations.” (Buckingham, 2007, p. 48) This relates back to the purpose of school; is school supposed to create competent individuals or complacent workers? Teaching students about how to keep their information safe (don’t send it automatically to Microsoft) is something that I do not believe is emphasized enough and I agree with Buckingham that it should be emphasized. Of course, technological literacy uses the same components as traditional literacy. “There are many different social and cultural practices which incorporate literacy, so, too, many different “literacies””. (Gee, 2010) It is not just about students being able to use computers and technology in a strictly educational way but instead using them to develop as a whole individual. These students need to be able to work with others and understand not only the material in context but also be able to apply their learning to other facets of their lives. There has been a major shift that education can not seem to keep up with. Children need more interaction with technology to reach their full potential as adults and adults need interaction with technology to make sure they do not fall behind. (Jenkins, 2009) The interesting thing to me, is that the increase in workload is ignored. When research papers were assigned a few years ago they would take around a month to finish since students of all ages would need to go to the library and physically research materials. Now, we are expected to synthesize materials in a week or less because these are available to us. This same shift has occurred in the work environment as well. Where employees used to “unplug” on the weekends not they are constantly connected and expected to respond to work related queries. There is no escaping it. Even with all of this societal pressure to integrate technology teachers must still send permission forms home for our students to use the internet (in purely educational pursuits) and parents still say no. Typically it is the fear of the internet that stops them from giving consent. The true core of all these articles is that online and offline life are no longer separate. Unless a person wants to cut themselves out socially it becomes very difficult to stay offline. Though these articles focused on “youth” it is so clear to me that there is very little difference between social expectations in the adult and child spheres. Unless children are exposed to digital media early and are consistently updated as the technology changes they will fall behind as adults. This is not only in social spheres but also in marketability for employment. Technology is already integrated into most aspects of our lives, it is up to us to make sure that our youth are aware of the benefits and dangers it presents before they discover it on their own. Works CitedBuckingham, D. (2007, November 1). Digital media literacies: rethinking media education in the age of the internet. Research in comparative and international education, pp. 43-55. Gee, J. P. (2010). A stituated sociocultural approach to literacy and technology. In E. A. Baker, The new literacies: multiple perspectives on research and practice (pp. 165-193). New York: Guilford Press. Horst, H. A., Herr-Stephenson, & Robinson, L. (2010). Media ecologies. In M. Ito, S. Baumer, M. Bittanti, D. Boyd, R. Cody, B. Herr-Stephenson, . . . L. Tripp, Hanging out, messing around, and geeking out (pp. 29-78). Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Jenkins, H. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: media education for the 21st century. Cambridge: MIT Press. Mizuko, I., Horst, H., Bittani, M., Boyd, D., Herr-Stephenson, B., Lange, P. G., . . . Robinson, L. (2008, November). Living and learning with new media: summary of findings from the digital youth project. chicago: John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
1 Comment
Susan Reynolds
10/1/2017 03:57:05 pm
Hi Elizabeth,
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AuthorEllie E. Archives
November 2017
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