Benefits of Participatory Culture - Research Paper Example

A participatory culture is one with few barriers to the expression of one’s artistic creativity or civil engagement as well as a tendency to support the creation and sharing of media especially on a digital platform (Jenkins et al 2006). More than a half of teens have created media content a third of whom have used the available social media such as Facebook, twitter and other platforms to share it with their peers and friends globally and locally. The study found that such culture has allowed young people to educate themselves and each other and it has played a major role in reducing intellectual poverty as well as increasing social cultural diversification (Jenkins et al, 2006). In the emerging media landscape the focus of literacy has been radically changed from being focused on an individual to a communal involvement, the new model for literacy inculcates a myriad of skills acquired through collaborative networking such as multitasking, distributed cognition simulation and appropriation among others. The study surmises that teachers and parents have crucial roles to play in promoting and adding value to the new experiences that the children acquire online, their children is ultimately there are issues in which children would benefit from. The study cites real life examples of the participatory culture such as Blake Ross, the founder of Firefox browser, he was hired by Netscape at age fourteen and by then he had developed (not in school) programming and web design skill. He was frustrated by the decisions made by the corporate bosses an through the participation of hundreds of people in an online community, he developed Firefox which now has over 60 times as many users as Netscape. Josh Meeter has a similar story and he created the Clayman animations, which through networking, found their way to Stephen Spielberg and sparked off a promising career in movies. According to Jenkins these youth possess and display skills in politics, management creative leadership and many others, which they ironically did not learn in a formal setting, indeed many of them quit school out of frustration. According to the Jenkins et al (2006), the culture facilitates for increased participation by all the members and even those who do not participate feel they have the power to do so should they want to, the youth link in these symbiotic partnership online and each feels they are benefiting or contributing something. Participatory education, plays a vital role in shifting the focus to the student in relation to their content, thus the students who use media such as cameras to create content not only shows content but also what “they” can do. In the emerging media landscape the focus of literacy has been radically changed from being focused on an individual to a communal involvement, the new model for literacy inculcates a myriad of skills acquired through collaborative networking (Bull et al, 2008). Thus, meaning emerges collectively, this is diametrically opposed to the traditional school setting, based on collective experience, ability, and creativity this report is consequently aimed at encouraging teachers to keep up with the youth’s new reality. Ultimately, this will covertly determine the aspects of their office or school work the will advance or retrogress in since many of the activities in online platform are actually more practical than the schoolwork. The study affirms against popular believe that teachers should take an active part in the education of the youth in participatory culture, since there is a common belief, based on true facts, that students tend to understand the new media than teachers and parents. In a study titled “Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education” the writers say that teachers have been taking the initiative and using in their teaching the content created by students on blogs outside schoolwork (Bull et al, 2008). The internet presents several avenues for informal learning for youths and Bull et al, claim that the non- school setting such as online groups motivate children intrinsically thus they are self-driven and are not constrained by the barriers which may exist in schools and curriculums. Thus, the children can make maximum use of their creativity in this liberal learning environment and the association of fun and freedom make inspires them to learn more. While the original focus on participatory learning in the initial years was its potential, today focus has been directed to issues arising in the inequality that results from different levels of exposure to media technology based especially on economic and geographical separations (Joseph et al, n.d). The laissez faire attitude assumed by some teachers is questioned concerning three core issues that pose challenges to the participatory culture among learners; one is the gap participation and equality of access to the media resources, which result in inequalities among students. The study also calls attention the youth’s potential inability to examine the system as they are immersed in it, thus they may not understand its impact, on them including the negative influence (Jenkins et al, 2006). Some game shows for instance portray violent behavior and the youths, who constantly play these games, may sub-conscious acquire or copy the violent tendencies they admire and aspire to achieve in the game. The third core issue is ethics, many youths learn their skills in a largely unsupervised environment however in the professional world, and they will be forced to learn the consequences some of their work may have in the real world. The skills and experience of teachers will be thus useful in delivering the content and the mentalities of the youth into a world outside the media platforms with which they are not familiar(Joseph et al, n.d ). Ultimately, in Jenkins study and the others quoted herein, there is a consistent focus of certain themes such as creative and the liberalization of education by moving if from the traditional classroom and letting the students interact interactively with the content and their peers. The role of the teacher is still considered important especially in addressing the inequalities as well as directing and facilitating transparency in the participatory culture. In addition, the skills learnt by the youth online will still at some point need to be brought to bear in the “outside” world; thus, the teachers and parents have the onus of providing the social skills. These associations, allow the young creative to assimilate both worlds through a variety of means including the encouragement of dynamic dialogue ultimately providing an outlet for the efforts of the creative process (Bull et al, 2008). As a future teacher, I find the studies discussed herein especially illuminating since they help me to understand the learning and teaching methods that work best with students although they may not always be the traditional classroom. As such, I can keep myself up to date with the latest developments the participatory culture of my students, for me to address the three core challenges proposed by Jenkins’s study. As a teacher, I need at least basic knowledge on how students interact with the online and media resources as well as have an understanding of how big or small role they play in the development of individual students. Ultimately, education today, as the studies have demonstrated, is depending more on the students motivations and less on teacher’s direction, ergo, as teacher, I will in future focus more on finding out what motivates the students. Online platforms, give the students a chance to develop their creativity and share with peers, as a teacher I will ensure to inculcate aspects of this in the learning by giving learners group activities to be carried out online. I would also work on reducing the restrictions on ideas and scope to harness their creativity and assist them nurture their ideas even those that are not necessarily in mainstream curriculum so we can grow together in knowledge. References Bull, G., Thompson, A., Searson, M., Garofalo, J., Park, J., Young, C., & Lee, J. (2008) “Connecting Informal and formal learning: Experiences in the age of participatory media”. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education. 8(2), 100-107.Print. Jenkins, H., Katie C., Ravi P., Alice J.R, Margaret, W. (2006). “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century” McArthur Foundation. Retrieved from http://digitallearning.macfound.org/atf/cf/%7B7E45C7E0-A3E0-4B89-AC9C-E807E1B0AE4E%7D/JENKINS_WHITE_PAPER.PDF Joseph, B., Kelly C., Jesse, V., and Margo, F. (n.d). “Leveraging Digital Media to Create a Participatory Learning Culture among Incarcerated Youth an Edge Project Worked Example, the first in a series” Mac Arthur Foundation; global kids. Retrieved from http://www.workedexamples.org/projects/leveraging-digital-media-to-create-a-participatory-learning-culture-among-incarcerated-youth Read More