The whole time I was reading this article, I kept thinking about how much freer and how much more engaged students could feel if teachers would only bring new technology, and the teaching methods that would be based on that technology, into their classrooms. Teens are already a part of the participatory culture, which allows them to have artistic expression, to create new things, to share what they have created, and to pass their knowledge on to others. This is the environment that I believe most people would want to learn in, why not bring it into a classroom? I think that teachers have been creating atmospheres like this, but there is a whole new medium that they must get on board with. Students are a part of this new, cyber community and it would be detrimental to their development as citizens of their community if we do not allow and help them learn to be active (and informed) members.
Teachers need to incorporate media learning into their curriculum for more reasons than just creating a more engaging environment. As Jenkins mentions, there is a “need for policy and pedagogical interventions” to help solve “the participation gap, the transparency problem, (and) the ethics challenge.” I love the quote that says, “Educators must work together to ensure that every American young person has access to the skill and experiences needed to become a full participant, can articulate their understanding of how media shapes perceptions, and has been socialized into the emerging ethical standards that should shape their practices as media makers and participants in online communities” (pg 4). While many students pick things like this up at home, through their own experience, or from their peers, there is often a need for guided learning. What better place than in a classroom? I hope, as a future teacher, to give my students opportunities to use the skills they have, and also to teach them how to most effectively approach the online mediums they have access to.
The article also discusses the importance of play and simulation in a student’s process of gaining media literacy skills. Play shapes “children’s relationship to their bodies, tools, communities, surroundings, and knowledge.” It requires experimentation and, often, the knowledge that if things don’t work out, they can start over again. This can be applied to classroom settings. I think that as a teacher, it would be smart to give students time to experiment and play around with the new concepts you are teaching in a variety of ways. They should be able to apply their new knowledge to something that they are interested in, which means that as a teacher you need to know what your students are interested in so that you can assign projects and assignments that will benefit them.
Simulation is also an important part of media literacy skills. Video or online games place the player in a situation where they are forced to experiment and try things to get out of the problem. People learn from doing. As teacher, we can have a more interactive classroom if we will put students in positions where they have to problem solve their way into an answer. I have heard of classrooms where a character from a book is on trial, and every member of the class is an active part in determining whether or not the character is guilty. Every student is involved in the decision process and is a part of figuring out what is true or not. It forces them to use different thinking patterns than they would if there were simply listening to a lecture. As Jenkins states, “Educators have always known that students learn more through direct observation and experimentation than from reading about something in a textbook or listening to a lecture” (pg 25). I believe that as a teacher, we need to come up with more interactive ways of teaching and learning, incorporating the skills that students know (or should know), and allowing them to have freedom in the activities they are engaging in.
1 comment:
This article is fascinating with a lot of information and good ideas for teachers to be more successful with media especially. The way in which he described play was eye opening to me I had never looked at it through his lens before. Jenkins main point about play is, “play the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem-solving”. My experience with play thus far in my education had been one where I saw it as a way to let students freely express themselves and fell comfortable to find new discoveries about oneself. From this article I learn it is more than that. Its taking those moments of free expression and discoveries and using it to problem solve. It has a clear cause and effect relationship.
A pertinent point Jenkins makes is as educators and people in general we overuse the word fun. It does not hold a lot of deep meaning. It is a label we put on an end of the lesson or activity. “That was fun”! Instead of using the word fun Jenkins introduces the word of engagement. Engagement is a powerful word that brings depth to a description. The mode of active engagement encourages experimentation and risk-taking. In this article he goes on to describe the level of engagement children posses when they are playing games. This act of play brings intense amount of engagement and devotion to their act at hand. This intensity and feeling of engagement can be transferred to the classroom. It is a challenge for the teacher to create lessons that capture this level of engagement so the feelings the students they feel during the game is the same feeling created in the classroom. As an educator it is important to draw upon what your students enjoy and interact with on a frequent basis. With challenges brings great opportunities to try new things and “play”, experiment and problem solve through your interactions with your surroundings. A word of wisdom from Jenkins concerning worries with incorporating play into the classroom--“Part of what makes play valuable as a mode of problem-solving and learning is that it lowers the emotional stakes of failing: players are encouraged to suspend some of the real world consequences of the represented actions, to take risks and learn through trial and error.”
With play there is simulation. Simulation is closely related to play. Simulation is the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real world processes. This is a skill that I am not as well versed in compared to play. “Educators have always known that students learn more through direct observation and experimentation than from reading about something in a textbook or listening to a lecture. Simulations broaden the kinds of experiences users can have with compelling data, giving us a chance to see and do things that would be impossible in the real world”. This explanation of simulation is very helpful. The part that says, “giving us a chance to see and do things that would be impossible in the real world” this shows the affect simulation can have on someone or something. When we expose ourselves to new forms of simulation it will expand our cognitive capacity. As educators we want to be constantly progressing. Learning is a trial and error process. A difficult thing about simulations is students can increase their learning only when they understand how to read them. As a teacher I want to teach my students how to manipulate and interpret simulations so it can help them progress.
In the beginning part of your post you discuss the type of environment that is created when a teacher use these skills of play and simulation and create a routine of using media and how that creates a comfortable place to learn and freely express. I hope all teachers can have the same aspirations to incorporate these tools into their classrooms so they can have excellent opportunities to impact their students.
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