Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture – Media Education for the 21st Century (Part Two)

Abstract

According to a recent study from the Pew Internet & American Life project (Lenhardt & Madden,2005),more than one-half of all teens have created media content,and roughly one- third of teens who use the Internet have shared content they produced.In many cases,these teens are actively involved in what we are calling participatory cultures.A participatory culture is a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement,strong support for creating and sharing ones creations,and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices.A participatory culture is also one in which members believe their contributions matter,and feel some degree of social con- nection with one another (at the least they care what other people think about what they have created).Forms of participatory culture include: Affiliations memberships,formal and informal,in online communities centered around various forms of media,such as Friendster,Facebook,message boards, metagaming,game clans,or MySpace). Expressions producing new creative forms,such as digital sampling,skinning and modding,fan videomaking,fan fiction writing,zines,mash-ups). Collaborative Problem-solving working together in teams,formal and informal, to complete tasks and develop new knowledge (such as through Wikipedia,alternative reality gaming,spoiling). Circulations Shaping the flow of media (such as podcasting,blogging). A growing body of scholarship suggests potential benefits of these forms of participatory cul- ture,including opportunities for peer-to-peer learning,a changed attitude toward intellectual property,the diversification of cultural expression,the development of skills valued in the mod- ern workplace,and a more empowered conception of citizenship. Access to this participatory culture functions as a new form of the hidden curriculum,shaping which youth will succeed and which will be left behind as they enter school and the workplace. Some have argued that children and youth acquire these key skills and competencies on their own by interacting with popular culture.Three concerns,however,suggest the need for policy and pedagogical interventions: The Participation Gap the unequal access to the knowledge that will prepare youth for full participation in the world of tomorrow. The Transparency Problem The challenges young people face in learning to see clearly the ways that media shape perceptions of the world. The Ethics Challenge The breakdown of traditional forms of professional training and socialization that might prepare young people for their increasingly public roles as media makers and community participants.