Week 2 Blog #3- Media Literacies

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2009

The following quote was taken from ERIC. The article was written by Jason Ohler for Academe (May-June, 2009). I think this quote, which starts his article, states the reality of the modern juxtaposition of learning.

"Being literate in a real-world sense means being able to read and write

using the media forms of the day, whatever they may be. For centuries,

consuming and producing words through reading and writing and, to a

lesser extent, listening and speaking were sufficient."

Unfortuantely, it also brings to light the essential problem with most education systems. We as educators are teaching outdated materials for a group of students who, a) will never need it, and b) see no value in it. Although I and most educators think that the teaching of Shakespeare is necessary for a good education, if we consider honestly how often a student will use that knowledge, we couldn't help but realize that it makes little sense to teach it. Only actors, all but rarely, need to study Shakespeare in depth.

Is itno longer appropriate to teach new learners old stuff? How do we, the educators, change? What is needed before we can change?

Although I don't have all the answers, I do know that the onset of online education is a start. Those of us who have ventured into thisnew type of learning are learning not only the content of our courses, but also the importance of the new-medias that are available to online learners.

Literacy used to mean that you knew how to effectively communicate, through reading, mostly, but also in the ares of writing, speaking and listening. At least that is the standard educators have been pushing for the last half-century. Initially, the only classroom use for computers was deemed the reading-and-testing of students in reading programs, like Read 180, and others. This was called Media literacy. Andrew Trotter wrote in his article in Education Week (2008) the following quote:

"I think it has been challenging for teachers and educational

institutions in the formal school space to incorporate all of these

[communities]," Ms. Ito said. "Part of what we're seeing is a

generational gap" between parents and teachers, on one hand,

who tend to perceive the online spaces as threatening, and young

people, on the other, who view them as full of positive potential.

The researchers found that young people commonly use online networks to pursue two different types of activity — one that is friendship-driven and one that is interest-driven.

We now consider Media Literacy to be the abilities a person holds for managing the computer, its programs, and all the websites of the internet. This is the power fo future learning that teachers need to harness. This is the new media literacy.

Reference List

Ohler, Jason (2009) New-Media Literacies Academe, v95 n3 p30-33 May-Jun 2009. 4 pp. (Peer Reviewed Journal) Retrieved September 12, 2009

Trotter, Andrew, ( 2008) Much of New-Media Learning Said to Occur Informally, Education Week; 12/3/2008, Vol. 28 Issue 14, p8-9, 2p, Retrieved September 12, 2009

Posted by Bonnie at 3:20 PM