Jenkins’ paper on the challenges of participatory culture focused on a set of cultural competencies and social skills that the youth need to navigate the omnipresent media landscape. Beginning with and building on the traditional skills of literacy, research and critical analysis he proposed a list of additional attributes that must be cultivated; performance, simulation, approbation, multi-tasking, distributed cognition, judgment, collective intelligence, trans-media navigation, networking and negotiation. Jenkins approach to understanding the evolution of the three traditional skill is from an ecological view. that is, he suggests that we look at the digital technologies from an inter-relational perspective (technologies, communities and activities they support). Jenkins also stated (I think this is the crux of the issue) that to be a full participant of a society that avails itself to these communication technologies one must possess the above skills, possess the knowledge to use the skills, adopt an ethical framework for interaction and be self-confident.
This is all a bit overwhelming if librarians (new/experienced) continue to offer the keys of information to a society with the traditional resources of yesteryear. I’ll get back to this point in a bit…I recently witnessed how the use of machinima transformed a “boring and stupid” English assignment to “explore the meaning of parody” into an exquisite learning experience for four high school teens. Instead of writing a script for either a play or a movies to perform or film (both creative activities) the group decided to produce a machinima based on the movie I Am Legend. Their title, I Am Forgettable. The tools were XBOX, Halo Reach, Imovie, Final Cut Express, a microphone, TV screens (2) and a script created by the four based on their favorite scenes from the original movie. The level of collaboration needed to pull off the event in a successful and timely fashion was high and every one of Jenkins’ criteria for being a full participant in the community of four was in evidence. The activity was playful, engaging and transformative. And successful.
Now back to my point about libraries and resources. In the beginning of the 21st century museums began to look at their physical space differently. Instead of a static and stogy exhibition space that no one seemed to want to visit there was a move to create a common community space. Libraries are finally following suit trying to find their niche in the struggle to garner the attention of the public. The library’s resources have always been the key that opens the gate to information and knowledge which appeals to the society it serves. The resources were originally paper materials. Then it was computers and databases. Now, I think, it should include technology and the space that allows interaction akin to my above example. If media literacy is a set of competencies that every citizen is going to be expected to possess then libraries should adapt their “collections” to facilitate that societal need.
Jenkins said,”It matters what tools are available to a culture, but it matters more what that culture chooses to do with those tools.” I admit it. I love the smell of musty books, but I believe libraries should be working to help shape what our cultures do with the tools of our contemporary society.
No comments:
Post a Comment