Participatory Media and Citizenship Education An Opportunity for Social Studies to Help Youth Have T

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Participatory Media and Citizenship EducationAn
Opportunity for Social Studies to Help Youth Have
Their Say

• Gayle Thieman, Joe OBrien, John Lee, Elizabeth
  R. Hinde
• American Educational Research Association
• April 14, 2009 215-345

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(No Transcript)
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• How is technology making their world different
  from ours? Why should this matter to social
  studies?

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Session Objectives

• Present the 21st Century Skills and Social
  Studies Map
• Demonstrate maps potential to bridge the digital
  disconnect and transform classroom instruction.
• Engage participants in a discussion of challenges
  and opportunities for integrating technology into
  social studies instruction.
• Discuss the implications for pre-service and
  in-service teacher professional development and
  public policy.
• Suggest a research agenda on the use of
  participatory media to support youth civic
  engagement.
• Offer participants the opportunity to post
  comments on implementation of the map in their
  practice.

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Digital Divide vs. Digital Disconnect

• Yet more students are coming to school with cell
  phones, media players, game devices, and laptops

• Teachers cite K-12 students lack of technology
  at home as a barrier to incorporating technology
  into their lessons

Students need to learn how to use multiple
technologies as tools for learning,
communication, and participation, both locally
and globally.
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• Educators may be the most out of touch with the
  shifting citizen identity patterns of youth.
• (Bennett, 2008)

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Young people are well versed in social use of
emerging technologies but less able to use
technologies for academic and civic purposes.
Need to draw connections between students
online social and consumer oriented experiences
with civic matters.
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NCSS Members support

• More attention to studying controversial issues,
  multicultural and global issues
• Greater emphasis on integrating technology into
  the curriculum
• Stronger linkages of social studies learning to
  social responsibility and civic action
• (NCSS Curriculum Standards Revision Committee
  hearings, NCSS, Houston, 2008)

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Research indicates

• Many districts and teachers do not address
  controversial issues in the classroom
• Students do not develop participatory skills
  relating to civic action and do not learn how to
  engage in civic action
• (Torney-Purta Lopez, 2006)

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• Lenhart, et al, found that generally civic gaming
  experiences are related to higher engagement in
  the real world.
• Hartshorn and Van Fossen (2008) also found that
  civic gaming experiences positively affect civic
  engagement. They specifically studied players
  involved in MMORPGs.
• So, civic gaming experiences (experiences
  involving civic action in virtual worlds) are
  positively related to civic engagement in the
  real world.

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How might teachers enlistyoung peoples
enthusiasm for using digital media in the service
of civic engagement?
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Democracy
requires active citizens participating with many
voices, critical inquiries, alternative
representations, and dissent.
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If we ask the children to critique the world but
then fail to encourage them to act, our
classrooms can degenerate into factories of
cynicism. While its not a teachers role to
direct students to particular organizations, it
is a teachers role to suggest that ideas need to
be acted upon and to offer students opportunities
to do just that. (p. 5)
Civic Engagement
Bigelow, B., Christensen, L., Karp, S., Miner,
B., Peterson, B. (Eds.) (1994). Rethinking Our
Classrooms Teaching for Equity and Justice.
Milwaukee Rethinking Schools.
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Partnership for 21st Century Skills
http//www.21stcenturyskills.org

• Creativity and Innovation
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
• Communication
• Collaboration
• Information Literacy
• Media Literacy
• ICT Literacy

• Themes
• Civic Literacy
• Financial, Economic, Literacy
• Global Awareness

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21st Century Skills MapNCSS Partnership for
21st Century Skills
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Media Literacy is
a new understanding of literacy that
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Education must move
from primarily focusing on the collection of
information and facts,
to concentrating more on the connections between
people and information and power.
Carmen Luke (2006)
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Creativity and Innovation

• HS students create a simulation, role play, or
  webquest on a current or historic event (e.g.,
  global climate change). Product can be presented
  to a local school with analysis of most creative
  and innovative elements in each of the products.

Mike Schlotterback, Fisheye Photography
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Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

• Census bureau to predict outcomes of upcoming
  election. Display election projection
  supporting information on a digital map. Create a
  podcast that suggests election strategies that
  political parties might use for their candidates.

• MS students use online databases (www.census.gov)
  to determine immigration patterns and compare to
  changes in community demographics
• HS students use county voting patterns,
  demographic socio-economic data from US

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Communication

• Elementary students choose an area from state
  history, organize a storyboard on the person,
  place, or event and use digital tools to create
  a presentation to share with other students and
  community members.

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Collaboration

• MS or HS students watch documentary video of
  historic event and read online first-hand
  accounts (e.g. Israel-Palestine conflict in
  Gaza).
• Students use collaboration list serve or Skype
  Video Chat , or asynchronous discussion forum
  (Blackboard, Moodle) to discuss and compare their
  findings with students in other parts of the US,
  Israel, and Palestine. http//www.mercycorps.org
• Students reflect on experiences in small group
  discussions (on or off line)

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Information Literacy

• Elementary students use online survey tool to
  collect data about local attractions their family
  likes to visit.
• Create a spreadsheet, evaluate, use graphing
  tools to display their findings, and use digital
  images to illustrate favorite places.

• MS students analyze digital information about how
  transportation systems have changed over time
  (digital photos, aerial photos, satellite
  images).
• Analyze connection to demographic changes and
  historic events

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Media Literacy

• MS students analyze how media format influences
  media messages.
• Use history websites primary sources to compare
  contrast historic current presidential
  election campaigns.
• Hypothesize how 19th 21st century media
  influence political campaigns

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ICT Literacy

• Elementary students examine interaction of human
  beings physical environment, land use, towns,
  local ecosystem changes (e.g., mining in Lead,
  SD)
• Compare dated aerial photos of the local
  community to recent satellite images.
• Compare and evaluate the changes.

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What are the challenges and opportunities for
integrating information and communication
technologies into social studies instruction?
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What are the implications for pre-service and
in-service teacher professional development and
public policy initiatives needed to link
participatory media literacy with citizenship
education?
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What are some potential research questions on the
use of participatory media?
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Questions. Round I

• What are the effects of news sites and search
  engines use of algorithms that favor popularity
  over quality or diversity on users?
• What are different approaches to a recommender
  system for participatory sites and the
  implications/effects of each?

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QuestionsRound II

• In an increasingly participatory global media
  culture in a multicultural society, what are the
  effects on student understanding (Mark Dueze,
  Journalism, v 7 , 2006.)
• What are the effects on student
  understanding of various religions in the U.S. as
  they engage with relevant religious and ethnic
  media ?

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Questions Round III

• What is the effect of participating in an online
  civic MMPORG (Massively-Multiplayer Online
  Roleplaying Game) on students understanding of
  an ethnic group? (Digital Games Young Black
  Men, Games Culture, 2008.
• What is the effect of participating in an online
  environment on the formation of young peoples
  civic , cultural and social identity?

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QuestionRound IV

• What is the relation between youths widespread
  use of participatory media outside of school
  their socialization in school?
• What are emerging/existing social norms of an
  online environment?
• How are they alike and different from those in an
  offline environment?

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QuestionRound V

• What are the implications of a shift from a
  consumer orientation toward media and its content
  to a producer oriented online one where users
  have a worldwide audience? (i.e. my going to a
  movie made by others to making my own uploading
  to YouTube)
• What are the implications of an online public
  commons operated by the private sector?
  (YouTube, TeacherTube)
• What is the relation between users/content
  producers and service providers/publishers of
  users content?

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QuestionRound VI

• What effect does maturation in an age of
  continuous instantaneous connectivity have on
  young peoples sense of place time, and their
  formation of their personal identity?

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• What are the most critical questions that we as
  social studies researchers ought to address to
  best serve the field and K-16 social studies
  learners?

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Voice Thread

• Capturing student voices just got a lot easier.
  Digital storytelling made easier.

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Blog Talk Radio

• Making on the scene reporting more accessible

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Creative Commons
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Teacher Tube
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Flickr