Weekly Reading #2

1. What is Henry Jenkins main arguments about Wikipedia?

• In a world where many young people are turning to Wikipedia as a key source for information, educators need to understand what is going on well enough to offer them meaningful advice and guidance.
• Describing it as an encyclopedia emphasizes Wikipedia as a product rather than focusing attention on the ongoing process by which its community pools information, debates what knowledge matters, and vets competing truth claims.
• Wikipedia is not a finished product, rather a work in progress.

2. What is "participatory culture"?

Participatory Culture is the core social skills and cultural competencies that young people need to acquire if they are going to be full participants in this new media environment.

A participatory culture is one where there are 

• relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, 
• there is strong support for creating and sharing what you create with others, 
• there is some kind of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced gets passed along to newbies and novices, 
• members feel that their contributions matter, 
• members feel some degree of social connection with each other at least to the degree to which they care what other people think about what they have created.

3. What is the relationship between "old literacies" and "new media literacies"?

“Old media literacies” were to help young people understand their individual expression as media consumers and producers. 

“New media literacies” are to help young people better understand their community involvement in this emerging digital culture. They are a set of cultural competencies and social skills which young people need to participate in collaboration and networking.

4. What are the reading and writing behaviors associated with "new media literacies"?

The reading and writing behaviors associated with "new media literacies" include,

• the ability to negotiate and evaluate information online, 
• recognize manipulation and propaganda, and
• assimilate ethical values.

5. According to Henry Jenkins why is it important to teach "new media literacies" in school?

It is important to teach “new media literacies” in school to prepare young people for their future, both in school and the workplace.  

Students need opportunities for:

• peer-to-peer learning, 
• a changed attitude towards intellectual property,
• the diversification of cultural expression, 
• the development of skills valued in the modern workplace, and 
• a more empowered conception of citizenship.

6. What can young people learn through contributing or even consuming Wikipedia?

• Through utilizing Wikipedia in the classroom, young people can learn what it is like to work together within a knowledge culture. 
• Participating in the Wikipedia community helps young people to think about their own roles as researchers and writers in new ways. 
• It allows for collaborative writing in real-world contexts.
• Collective Intelligence — the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others towards a common goal.
• Judgment — the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information source.
• Networking — the ability to search for, synthesize and disseminate information.
• Negotiation — the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative sets of norms.

7. How do you feel about Wikipedia after reading or listening to Henry Jenkins? Do agree or disagree with his arguments? Why?

After reading Henry Jenkins' article I feel that I would utilize Wikipedia in my classroom. I agree with him that we as teachers need to understand that Wikipedia is a work in progress and we should have skepticism. By understanding Wikipedia, we can create real-world writing lessons that teach new media literacy skills that are necessary today.  

The online resource I found that supporst my position for using Wikipedia for learning in school is an overall successful case study.

From Wikipedia to the Classroom: Exploring Online Publication and Learninng, GVU Center, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology conducted a case study to create authentic writing experiences for students. They created a project that leverages the Wikipedia model of collaborative authorship with added support for disciplinary practice and authentic assessment. Students write about topics that interest them and publish their work in an online information resource, thereby creating a real world venue for writing. Assignments are structured to encourage disciplinary practices like citation and evaluation of information sources. Teachers assess students’ final product and consider collaboration and revision as critical features of high-quality work.

By Anna Volgina

Resources:

Jenkins, Henry. (2007, June 26). What Wikipedia can Teach us About New Media Literacies (Part One). Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2007/06/what_wikipedia_can_teach_us_ab.html

Jenkins, Henry. (2007, June 27). What Wikipedia can Teach us About the New Media Literacies (Part two). Retrieved from http://henryjenkins.org/2007/06/what_wikipedia_can_teach_us_ab_1.html

Forte, Andrea & Bruckman, Amy. From Wikipedia to the Classroom: Exploring Online Publication and Learninng, GVU Center, College of Computing, Georgia Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://www.cc.gatech.edu/~asb/papers/forte-bruckman-icls06.pdf

Picture Source:

Volgina, Anna. Retrieved from  http://blog.nus.edu.sg/citations/page/30/