Weekly Reading #2 - Jenkins

1. What is Henry Jenkins main arguments about Wikipedia?  Wikipedia is here and we need to integrate it in an appropriate manner.  It is a part of the culture.
2. What is "participatory culture"?  A participatory culture is, amongst other things, a community with low civic engagement (not much face to face interaction), Some form of social interaction, Strong support from the community and information mentorship.  Basically it is a community that works together to assist each other.  I love the analogy of building a sand castle with strangers to participatory culture.
3. What is the relationship between "old literacies" and "new media literacies"?  Old literacies (reading and writing) are fundamental literacies and "new media literacies" are dependent upon those basic fundamental skills.  One cannot have the "new" literacies without a foundation of the old.
4. What are the reading and writing behaviors associated with "new media literacies".  Jenkins summarizes it as four components:  Collective Intelligence, knowledge of more than one; Judgement, the ability to critical examine and evaluate; Networking, how to locate and syntesize information; and Negotiation, or the ability to appreciate the viewpoints of others.
5. According to Henry Jenkins why is it important to teach "new media literacies" in school?  Critical thinking skills need to be taught so that young consumers of knowledge have the skills to independent evaluate information and not to follow the masses "just because." 
6. What can young people learn through contributing or even consuming Wikipedia?  Young people can learn about critical thinking and the process involved in creating information.
7. How do you feel about Wikipedia after reading or listening to Henry Jenkins? Do agree or disagree with his arguments? Why?  Jenkins provides a very different view of Wiki.  I had never considered it as such a broad resource.  The idea of using Wiki to teach such a variety of skills is thought provoking.  I particular enjoy the way discusses it as collective intelligence.
8. Find an online resource that supports your position on using Wikipedia as a resource for learning in school. Summarize the argument being made in the resource and explain how it supports your position.  In Wikipedia: Friend not Foe the authors discuss the merits of utilizing Wikipedia as an entry point for research, not an end all.  "After introducing students to Wikipedia, teachers might begin by using the site as an entry point." (Crovitz &  Smoot, 2009)  Much as I've oftenn felt about Wikipedia, these authors support that Wiki can be an asset.  They discuss how one might use collective classroom knowledge on a familiar topic by placing that information on the blackboard and then challenge the students to compare that information to Wikipedia.  Students are learning a variety of skills, including critical thinking.

 

1. Find an image that relates to Wikipedia and schooling.Embed the image in your blog and provide proper attribution.

Crovitz, D., & Smoot, W. S. (2009). Wikipedia: Friend, not foe. The English Journal, 8(3), 91-97. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.fairmontstate.edu/stable/40503515

Glasbergen, R. (2013). Todays cartoon: Cartoons for newsletters, presentations, advertising, and more. http://www.glasbergen.com/education-cartoons/?album=4&gallery=89