Week 12 Reading: Top 5?

The reading and subsequent questions asks me to rank my motivation for digital and media literacy, which seems to parallel the same type of motivation for becoming a teacher. I have been and done a lot of different things in my life, while many may have difficulty making the connection to teaching, I can see that I have on some level always been a teacher. To understand this ideology I need to offer my definition of what teaching means to me... a teacher is someone that facilitates greater learning, while at the same time increasing their own knowledge base (not just content knowledge but also strategies, modification to content activities, self reflection...). This helps me to bring the top five list into context and focus on the true goals of education. The old adage of "is it ignorance or apathy? followed by the answer... I do not know and I do not care!" could be the reason many people do not get involved in raising awareness to issues that can and do change the world. Teaching critical digital and media literacy has been a necessity since the masses learned to read, not since the development of the written word because during that time the elitists spread their ideology without opposition from the masses. The world in which we now live demands critical thinking skills and a strong foundation in digital and media literacy.

My #1can and does have a broad interpretation: "to build students' ability to be active, thoughtful "readers" or interpreters of media messages in their cultural environment." This builds on the theme I have been talking about for a large part of the class... underlying motives, crossing the line, and the ability to form your own opinion. I hear on a daily basis students regurgitate someone elses views as their own, but when they are asked to think about what they just said or defend their position they are at a loss for words... why because when you parrot the ideas of others you can only say the words you have been taught and no words of your own. If you can build a student's ability to "think critically" then they can find their own words (no longer ignorant) amidst all the rhetoric, which calls them into action rather than remaining passive (apathetic).

The Second on the list closely follows the first: "to strengthen discrimination skills in distinguishing between high-quality and low-quality messages." This does not revert all the way back to the opening week and Neil Postman's speech, but has a certain BS alarm or detector attached to the skill. This company has made this idea a very profitable company in that they will help you market your web content to advertisers.

Number #3 " to use their own voices for advocacy and social change." This also continues to build on the first two quotes in that once students' start to gain the skills of being active thoughtful readers and discerning high vs low quality messages the logical third step is for them to start advocating change or promoting social awareness like the PSAs or ReelWorks projects we have already experienced. I learned a very valuable lesson from my parents (mostly my dad) understanding that I have always been fiercely independent, which was "the best helping hand you'll ever find is at the end of your own arm," to which they added, "use it to help yourself and others." I recognize that if you learn how to learn with the goal of turning that learning into thinking (meta-cognition) then you go beyond content to possibilities and with possibilities comes the ability to affect change. Rushkoff in his book, "Program or be Programmed" put forth the idea that one needed to be educated in the realm of "code writing" in order to write programs lest you become one who gets programmed. If you can enable student to see the value in critical thinking skills they will become advocates of change.

The last #4 and #5 are two that closely deal with the actual tools or skill needed for digital education..."improve writing and communication skills .... and develop student skills in using technology tools." the empowering of creativity was in the running, but lost out to the actual tools because I really felt that if you possess the skills than you will access your creative side and create. The idea is also a further exploration of the many different registers we use depending on the audience we are addressing. The in-formal vs formal and which is more appropriate for the situation also offers the many different types of media to best convey your point... from a 6 second "VINE" to a 140 character "Tweet" at #hmuigotstufftosay (not a real address). The possibilities of media types is growing everyday and sometimes, an old school essay will work, but music videos have revolutionized the way we listen to music (for those of you old enough can remember the idea of adding lights to music as a visual cue). Students need basic instruction on how to use technology in their everyday world.


Citation:

Hobbs, R. (2011). Research as Authentic Inquiry. In Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin Press.