Week 2 Post - Henry Jenkins

What is Henry Jenkins main arguments about Wikipedia?

Henry Jenkins stresses that Wikipedia is one of the new ways that we are learning and exploring information, but it must be noted that the accuracy of this information is unreliable; however it can lead to some very reliable sources. A student must be prepared to do additional research on the information obtained from Wikipedia to locate a credible source. He states that you must realize Wikipedia is not a bad source of information, but you should be skeptic about the information you locate and find a reliable source that pertains to the same information. One thing that he mentioned that I found very interesting is that sites such as Wikipedia or just Web 2.0 features are to the new generation as what Rock and Roll was to the baby boomer generation. It is important to understand that we need to engage in conversations and then be able to research and discover accurate sources to back the information that we are discovering. Wikipedia is not a collection of articles but rather a collection of conversations about a topic or piece of information.

I found his discussion about SOPA and ethics to be very interesting. I actually had my students to research information about SOPA and create presentations about SOPA in my classroom this year. Students were outraged by the restrictions in this law - and what I found interesting was that they were not only outraged on a personal level but also on an educational level. Students complained about how this would effect school, and how were they suppose to do research without access to the internet. I found it inspiring that the students were able to see how this would effect their personal use of the internet and their educational uses of the internet. Henry Jenkins explains that we need to talk about the ethics related to this. That no we do not need to take the access in, but we must understand how to ethically use the information. I thought this was a great point.


What is "participatory culture"?

Call of social ship and participation in a community discussion. Students must now be able to participate in the literacy. It is no longer an age where you produce a written paper turn it in and get a grade - that is the end of communication. Today in new media literacy - it is an expansion on the skills. The student will produce a written work that will then be circulated on a social basis and go through multiple phases that produce discussion and expansion on the written work to continue the learning beyond simple reading and writing. Students must obtain these participation skills to effectively participate in society.



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

Old Literacies involved reading and writing, and the new literacies of today include not only reading and writing but also expressions, conversations, and problem solving. So how is this affecting both generations - well not only are the younger generations finding new ways of communicating and expanding literacies but they are also changing the world of literacy for the older generations. New literacies is not replacing old literacy - because simply put students can not participate if they can read and write (old literacies). Basically we are expanding on what do the students need beyond reading and writing to get the new literacies.


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

The social interaction, importance of participation, and forms of mentor-ship are some of these skills the students need to learn beyond the reading and writing skills of literacies. These are about what can we do together, what can we lead together. How ideas circulate is how we write them. How does the information we write travel. Participation in a community and social skills to be full capable to be literate in the new definition.



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

Henry believes that it is important for students to first know the old literacies - how to read and write, but he also believes that it is important for students to learn the new skills of what we call new media literacies. Only 50-55% of our students have participated in media literacies on the web that means that we still are lacking at least 40% of our students who have not. We need to make sure that we are teaching the importance of these new literacies such as the social skills and community involvement to all of our students and provide theme with opportunities to do just that in the classroom. Literacy is now more than a written paper but it is a written document that is then expanded on discussed and circulated - usually in a digital format with the new features of the Web 2.0.


What can Wikipedia teach us about "new media literacies"?

Wikipedia can provide us with a source of locating ideas and involvement in a community discussing information and ideas concerning important learning topics; however it is crucial that we successfully teach our students that this information is not always accurate. Even though the information may not be accurate they are still learning many valuable skills of new literacies. The information the do obtain may be great starting points for further research which can lead to credible sources which can then be cited and used to produce a successful document - and thus students have participated in all areas of the new media literacies skill set.