"And, while students may be using social networking/digital tools such as
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, blogs, and YouTube for largely
entertainment purposes, they also need to learn to use these tools for
academic purposes (Beach, Anson, Kastman-Breuch, & Swiss, 2009a)."
This struck me as an important point. Without instruction in critical media literacy, I believe that a lot of what students are doing online as far as social media and entertainment is not going to benefit them as much as it would if they had the skills to evaluate what they are reading and seeing, as well as what they themselves create or post. Academically, students will be much better prepared to succeed if they learn to use what they do on the computer everyday for fun to enhance their academic experience and make it more meaningful.
Beach, R. (2011). An american perspective: Justifying uses of digital tools to foster critical media literacy. The Journal of Media Literacy, 57(1&2), Retrieved from http://www.journalofmedialiteracy.org/index.php/current-issue/145-an-american-perspective-justifying-uses-of-digital-tools-to-foster-critical-media-literacy
In this video, a veteran teacher describes his adoption of digital tools in the classroom, and how this has transformed him into a "facilitator".
I love your related resource. That is exactly what we are trying to do at North Marion. We are trying to step back as instructors, and transform into facilitators of learning. It is a very hard transition, but doable.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I think that kids would love having a class based on Facebook or Youtube. It would be a fun way to teach them how to critique media.
ReplyDeleteFacebook, Twitter and other social networking sites are places I do not believe we need to interject school. If you listen to kids, who use these sites, they don't believe that the older generation should be using them. They feel that they have ruined the sites. I don't think kids want these sites used for school purposes, they feel these are their places of escape and we are interfering. Maybe it is just the high school aged students, but I don't think they would go over well.
ReplyDeleteStudents constantly use social networking tools, so why not use these tools to incorporate essential educational skills. I also enjoyed the comics. I am not amazed that my five year old nephew can operate smart phones. It's a typical skill for young people to have.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with you Harmony. They can all use the technology but being able to apply it in more meaningful ways has to count for something.
ReplyDeleteGreat Point. Of course our students know how to use technology and sometimes they even know more than we do. But do they know how to use it other than for purposes of socializing. Do they know how they can use it in future careers. This is where teachers help we can show them educational ways and lifelong benefits of how to use technology now and in their future. Great Post.
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