Media Literacy
Geek Speak. The computer/media/technology terms like, blogging, wikis, uploading, downloading, forums, twittering, social networking, role-playing games to some may be the lingo of "Geek Speak." To some these words are familiar, and to others these terms are alien. Yet, these words/things we as educators should know and should teach to our students because they are part of the media/technology being utilized today. These terms all incorporate media literacy, which includes collaboration and communication.
When I think of literacy, I am reminded of reading skills of my own students. I have students who read above an 8th grade level, yet I have some who below a 1st grade level. Obviously there is a wide range of reading skills when it comes to my students' skills of reading fluency and reading comprehension. Ultimately though the goal for these students is to increase and improve their literacy skills.
I think there should be a similar goal of increasing media literacy for our students. Similar to reading literacy, Media Literacy requires some skills of reading. Beyond needing reading skills, students need to know how to give feedback to others, receive feedback, write, use and navigate around various sites. We should promote the importance of collaborating though technology. Web 2.0 tools are used "to connect people in order to boost their knowledge and their ability to learn" (Alexander, 2006).
The people to people connections are a huge part of the media literacy of today. And many educational institutions are utilizing media in their curriculums, along with social networking. Yet, as teachers we need to approach utilizing social networking in our classes in a mindful way. "students may perceive instructors' attempts to incorporate such social technologies for educational purposes as intrusions into their space. Innovative teachers who wish to adopt social software tools must do so with these attitudes in mind" (McLouglin & Lee, 2008). Though we should be mindful of "intruding" on our students personal lives, it is best to incorporate socialization through the medias we present and utilizing within our classrooms. Facebook, Ning, and myspace are some well know social networks.
Sharing information is also a huge part of media literacy. "Our social tools remove older obstacles to public expression, and thus remove the bottlenecks that characterized mass media. The result is the mass amateurization of efforts previously reserved for media professionals" (Shirky, 2008). Wikis, blogs, emails, social networks are all tools on the internet where information can be shared.
Though I have not gone to far in depth on media literacy, I hope the message is clear. In today's day in age we should promote and use "Geek Speak." By using technology and Web 2.0 tools we are promoting finding and sharing information, collaboration and reading and writing skills. Ultimately, it should be our goal to increase and improve our students media literacy skills.
Resources
Alexander, B. (2006,March/April). Web 2.0: a new wave of innovation for teaching and learning? EDUCAUSE. Retrieved on September 13, 2009 from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0621.pdf
McLoughlin, C., & Lee, M. J. W. (2008, June/July) Future learning landscapes: transforming pedagogy through social software. Journal of Online Education, volume 4, issue 5. Retrieved on September 13, 2009 from http://innovateonline.info/index.php?view=article&id=539&action=article
Shirky, C. (2008). Here comes everybody: the power of organizing without organizations. London: The Penguin Group.
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