Create, Collaborate…Connect classroom learning. How ... · is exploring the new media literacies...
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How students’ interest-driven activities can inform their classroom learning. Create, Collaborate…Connect Educators make necessary distinctions between “formal” and “informal” learning. Lying outside these boundaries are the spon- taneous, interest-driven activities young people pursue during their free time. These activities are fueled by a passion and an ex- citement that any teacher would love to see in the classroom. Young people learn negotia- tion skills as they move between communities with differing social norms, for instance; they learn to think of themselves as authors when they write and critique fan fiction. Students’ interest-driven practices can illuminate and inform what is taught in both formal and informal classrooms, and classroom content can help learners apply new knowledge to their own interest-driven experiences. In the panels here, we follow Jesse, a typi- cal online 15-year-old, as she navigates between school, an after-school program, and connecting with friends. In each setting, Jesse is exploring the new media literacies of appropriation, networking, and negotiation. (For the complete list of skills, see page 9.) In English class, she learns how Herman Melville appropriated and remixed material from many different sources in writing Moby- Dick, then at home she uses similar techniques while searching media databases and remixing elements from TV shows, movies, and pop music to create short videos called fanvids to share with an online creative com- munity. In between, Jesse and her after-school program classmates ex- plore issues of copyright protection and content ownership and then videotape skits about the topic to post on the program’s blog. Back in English class the next day, the teacher asks Jesse to describe fanvidding to the class, seeking to relate the ethics of Melville’s artful borrowing to his students’ own activities in manipulating and sharing media today. —Anna van Someren AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM: How Creative Commons Licensing Works Jesse and the other participants work in small groups to learn about Creative Commons’ al- ternatives to copyright licenses. They use what they’ve learned to write and perform skits illustrating how the licenses work. Jesse is nominated to videotape the skits, and later she uploads them to the after- school program’s blog. NML Skill: Appropriation • 16 • Spring 2009 Threshold www.ciconline.org/threshold A Cable in the Classroom Publication Threshold Spring 2009 • 17 • Illustration by Tim Read ENGLISH CLASS: Herman Melville, Master Remixer Jesse’s teacher draws comparisons between Herman Melville’s quilt-like writing style in Moby-Dick and current appropriation practices. Today’s activity centers on the history of annotating and ornamenting texts, and Jesse and her classmates collaborate on suggestions of words, images, audio clips, and movie scenes to post on the interactive whiteboard to create a multimedia remake of Melville’s text. NML Skill: Appropriation—the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content. Participatory Culture Characteristic: Shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to community involvement. AT HOME: Hanging Out with Interest-Driven Learning Jesse uses her laptop and the editing application iMovie to create a video to share with a fanvid online community. She and a friend pick a song performed on American Idol and TV scenes from several Gossip Girl episodes. Jesse’s friend is searching a media database, looking for a specific scene, while Jesse is working on a rough cut, trying clips in different orders to match the beat of the music. NML Skill: Networking—the ability to search for, synthe- size, and disseminate information. Participatory Culture Characteristic: Relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement. ENGLISH CLASS: When Is It Okay to Appropriate? Jesse shows her first fanvid in class and explains how her cre- ative process is similar to the way Melville used appropriation in his novel. She explains that fanvidders remix TV scenes, music, and other media in the creations they share online. NML Skill: Negotiation—the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms. Participatory Culture Characteristics: Strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations; some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices. OUT AND ABOUT: Texting About a Fanvid Contest Jesse is never without her phone, and on the way to school the next day she remembers to text her friend about a con- test she learned about online to mash up Moby-Dick and the popular TV series Lost. Her message says “contest online 2 make lost/mobydick vid wanna try it?” Participatory Culture Characteristic: Members believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another.
Transcript of Create, Collaborate…Connect classroom learning. How ... · is exploring the new media literacies...
How students’ interest-drivenactivities can inform theirclassroom learning.Create, Collaborate…Connect
Educators make necessary distinctionsbetween “formal” and “informal” learning.Lying outside these boundaries are the spon-taneous, interest-driven activities young people pursue during their free time. These activities are fueled by a passion and an ex-citement that any teacher would love to see inthe classroom. Young people learn negotia-tion skills as they move between communitieswith differing social norms, for instance; theylearn to think of themselves as authors whenthey write and critique fan fiction. Students’interest-driven practices can illuminate andinform what is taught in both formal and informal classrooms, and classroom content canhelp learners apply new knowledge to their own interest-driven experiences.
In the panels here, we follow Jesse, a typi-cal online 15-year-old, as she navigates between school, an after-school program, andconnecting with friends. In each setting, Jesseis exploring the new media literacies of appropriation, networking, and negotiation.(For the complete list of skills, see page 9.)
In English class, she learns how HermanMelville appropriated and remixed materialfrom many different sources in writing Moby-Dick, then at home she uses similar techniqueswhile searching media databases and remixingelements from TV shows, movies, and popmusic to create short videos called fanvidsto share with an online creative com-munity. In between, Jesse and herafter-school program classmates ex-plore issues of copyright protectionand content ownership and thenvideotape skits about the topic topost on the program’s blog.
Back in English class the nextday, the teacher asks Jesse to describe fanvidding to the class,seeking to relate the ethics ofMelville’s artful borrowing to his students’ own activities in manipulating and sharing mediatoday.
—Anna van Someren
AFTER-SCHOOLPROGRAM: How Creative Commons Licensing WorksJesse and the other participantswork in small groups to learnabout Creative Commons’ al-ternatives to copyright licenses.They use what they’ve learnedto write and perform skits illustrating how the licenseswork. Jesse is nominated tovideotape the skits, and latershe uploads them to the after-school program’s blog.
NML Skill: Appropriation
• 1 6 • S p r i n g 2 0 0 9 T h r e s h o l d w w w . c i c o n l i n e . o r g / t h r e s h o l d A C a b l e i n t h e C l a s s r o o m P u b l i c a t i o n T h r e s h o l d S p r i n g 2 0 0 9 • 1 7 •
Illustration by Tim Read
ENGLISH CLASS: Herman Melville, Master Remixer Jesse’s teacher draws comparisons between Herman Melville’s quilt-like writing style in Moby-Dick and current appropriation practices. Today’s activity centers on the history of annotating and ornamenting texts, and Jesse and her classmates collaborate on suggestions ofwords, images, audio clips, and movie scenes to post on the interactive whiteboard to create amultimedia remake of Melville’s text.
NML Skill: Appropriation—the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content.
Participatory Culture Characteristic: Shifts the focus of literacy from one of individualexpression to community involvement.
AT HOME: Hanging Out with Interest-Driven Learning Jesse uses her laptop and the editing application iMovie tocreate a video to share with a fanvid online community. Sheand a friend pick a song performed on American Idol andTV scenes from several Gossip Girl episodes. Jesse’s friendis searching a media database, looking for a specific scene,while Jesse is working on a rough cut, trying clips in different orders to match the beat of the music.
NML Skill: Networking—the ability to search for, synthe-size, and disseminate information.
Participatory Culture Characteristic: Relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement.
ENGLISH CLASS: When Is It Okay toAppropriate?Jesse shows her first fanvid in class and explains how her cre-ative process is similar to the way Melville used appropriationin his novel. She explains that fanvidders remix TV scenes,music, and other media in the creations they share online.
NML Skill: Negotiation—the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives,and grasping and following alternative norms.
Participatory Culture Characteristics: Strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations; some type of informalmentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced ispassed along to novices.
OUT AND ABOUT: Texting About aFanvid ContestJesse is never without her phone, and on the way to schoolthe next day she remembers to text her friend about a con-test she learned about online to mash up Moby-Dick and thepopular TV series Lost. Her message says “contest online 2make lost/mobydick vid wanna try it?”
Participatory Culture Characteristic: Members believetheir contributions matter, and feel some degree of socialconnection with one another.
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