Must Read
Anybody who is either a parent or educator should read the new White Paper from the MacArthur Foundation, "Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century," which was written by Henry Jenkins and a team of concerned educators.
According to a 2005 study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life project (Lenhardt & Madden, 2005),more than one-half of all American teens—and 57 percent of teens who use the Internet—could be considered media creators. For the purpose of the study, a media creator is someone who created a blog or webpage, posted original artwork, photography, stories or videos online or remixed online content into their own new creations.Most have done two or more of these activities.One-third of teens share what they create online with others, 22 percent have their own websites, 19 percent blog, and 19 percent remix online content.
Contrary to popular stereotypes, these activities are not restricted to white suburban males. In fact, urban youth (40 percent) are somewhat more likely than their suburban (28 percent) or rural (38 percent) counterparts to be media creators. Girls aged 15-17 (27 percent) are more likely than boys their age (17 percent) to be involved with blogging or other social activities online.The Pew researchers found no significant differences in participation by race-ethnicity.
If anything, the Pew study undercounts the number of American young people who are embracing the new participatory culture.The Pew study did not consider newer forms of expression, such as podcasting, game modding or machinima. Nor did it count other forms of creative expression and appropriation, such as music sampling in the hip hop community. These forms are highly technological but use other tools and tap other networks for their production and distribution.The study does not include even more widespread practices, such as computer or video gaming, that can require an extensive focus on constructing and performing as fictional personas.Our focus here is not on individual accomplishment but rather the emergence of a cultural context that supports widespread participation in the production and distribution of media.
The document also presents a great advocacy argument for targeting resources toward those dependent on public networks and against moronic anti-connectivity legislation like the Deleting Online Predators Act.
If you want to learn more, the Center has a lot of terrific educator-oriented material about Building the Field of Digital Media and Learning, and I have some how-to tips for parents at "10 Principles for the Digital Family."
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