Confronting the challenges of participatory culture
Subtitle: media education for the 21st century
By: Henry Jenkins with Ravi Purushotma ... [et al.].
Series: The Macarthur Foundation reports on digital media and learning
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Cambridge, MA
Language: eng
Number of pages: 129
ISBN-13: 9780262513623
Subjects: Media literacy; Media literacy -- Study and teaching; Mass media and culture; Mass media in education
Description: "Many teens today who use the Internet are actively involved in participatory cultures--joining online communities (Facebook, message boards, game clans), producing creative work in new forms (digital sampling, modding, fan videomaking, fan fiction), working in teams to complete tasks and develop new knowledge (as in Wikipedia), and shaping the flow of media (as in blogging or podcasting). A growing body of scholarship suggests potential benefits of these activities, including opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, development of skills useful in the modern workplace, and a more empowered conception of citizenship. Some argue that young people pick up these key skills and competencies on their own by interacting with popular culture; but the problems of unequal access, lack of media transparency, and the breakdown of traditional forms of socialization and professional training suggest a role for policy and pedagogical intervention. This report aims to shift the conversation about the digital divide from questions about access to technology to questions about access to opportunities for involvement in participatory culture and how to provide all young people with the chance to develop the cultural competencies and social skills needed. Fostering these skills, the authors argue, requires a systemic approach to media education; schools, afterschool programs, and parents all have distinctive roles to play."--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Executive summary; title: The needed skills in the new media culture; title: Enabling participation; title: Why we should teach media literacy: three core problems; title: What should we teach? rethinking literacy; title: Core media literacy skills; title: Who should respond? a systemic approach to media education; title: The challenge ahead: ensuring that all benefit from the expanding media landscape.