Take-Away Quotes:
"A central goal...is to shift the focus of the digital divide discourse from questions of technological access to those of opportunities for participation and the development of cultural competencies and social skills needed for full involvement" (xiii)
"Better than dealing with each technology in isolation, we would do better to take an ecological approach, thinking about the interrelationship among different communication technologies, the cultural communities that grow up around them, and the activities they support" (7)
"...affinity spaces...and explores why people learn more, participate more actively, and engage more deeply with popular culture than do with contents of their textbooks" (10)
"Empowerment comes from making meaningful decisions within a real civic context..."(12)
PARTICIPATION GAP (15)
"Middle-class youths are more likely to rely on resources and assistance from peers and family within their own homes and thus seem more autonomous at school than working-class children, who often must rely more heavily on teachers and peers to make up for a lack of experience at home" (18-19)
"One important goal of media education should be to encourage young people to become more reflective about the ethical choices they make as participants and communicators and about the impact they have on others" (26)
Remaining Questions
How do we ensure that students will be responsible, reflective participants in a digital culture?
What role do educators play in shaping and teaching the literacy skills that students need to become empowered with the tools to actively engage with their world? How can they better access the information they need to address the inequalities, issues, and concerns that are reflected in their community?
In what ways can using digital literacy bridge the disparity between low culture/high culture and thus, the world (filled with low culture) and the classroom (a space traditionally seen as high culture)?
To begin the conversation with students with their level of interaction with technology, I have included some surveys (that can be modified) that might be useful to get a sense of students and their relationship with technology.
Survey 1
Survey 2
