April 19, 2007 assignment

Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century

Participatory culture is a new term for me. "Teens who have created media content and have shared it" are part of the participatory cultures. I have had strong bias about media (phones, my space, gaming, xxx, instant messaging, etc...) in the past. I must confess that this digital immigrant is beginning to be swayed - rather, convinced about the positive outcome possibilities there are if good technology, good instruction, and good training and appropriate scheduling are in place. As I read about the reletively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, the support youth experience when sharing their creations, the informal mentorships that evolve, the belief that their contributios matter, and the feelings of social connection I could only think "this is what I want from our students". Especially those who are isolated and experience feelings of marginalization. Or the one who lack social skills, the coolness factor or don't have the clothes mojo. I wonder that the benefits might outweigh the reasons for educators to stay with the status quo.
The article mentioned five potential benefits of implementing the four forms of participatory culture (affiliations, expressions, callaborative problem solving and circulations). The benefits are the kind of things I have, in the past when I taught students, wanted them to develop/do. Participatory culture promotes peer-to-peer learning, a changed attitude toward intellectual property, diversification of cultural expression, development of skills valued in the workplace, and, a more empowered conception of citizenship. Knowing these things will assure students succeed... or be left behind this article states.
Concerns? Unequal access, learning to "see", and the breakdown of tradition (education as we know it).
"Schools have been very slow to react to the emergence of this new participatory culture", this comment in the article reminded me of an educatonal lecture I attended by Hill Walker of University of Oregon. Professor Walker stated that educational reform (referring to any new 'cutting edge' educational change) takes, according to his research, 20 years for the paridigm to shift. Is this because the ones providing the education are left in the dust, uneducated, uninformed and unskilled?
How would one sole teacher even begin to implement instruction for the 11 skills named the "New Skills"? We do education because we want our students to become full participants to society. How will this shift happen? Who will lead us? What will leave the plate of educators if these things are found to be necessary?
It is true that many students are frustrated with school. I wouldn't have my current job if this weren't true. It has always been true that youth gain skills from their informal learning communities, butthe face of these informal learning communities has changed. It is also not new that youth respond best to project based instruction that is relevant. There is the key word. Relevant. What is relevant to our youth?
Because I support teachers in their work with youth that experience a multitude of barries to their education, page 9 resonated with me.

NOT DONE YET MORE TO COME>>>