Interview SA

For this assignment I interviewed PK, a 16 year old tenth grader who the daughter of a family friend. My first question was how old  was she when she started using a computer.  I was surprised when she replied 2 years of age.  She recounted how she would sit on her mother's lap while her mother was on the desktop and that was how she learned to navigate a computer.  She has had her own cell phone since the  age of 12 and presently has a iphone.  She stated that she spends anyway from 4-5 hours a day on her laptop, and constantly texts or responds to text.

The purpose for her online activity in her words, "to stay connected to my friends, and have fun".She has profiles on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and she had a MySpace page when she was 10.  She showed me her pages and I must say they are very impressive wth the graphics.  She also plays video games and her favorite in NBA Y2K.  I asked her what she would do in the event she ever lost her phone and the look on her face was priceless.

I asked her how often does she actually call her friends and she basically said it's all about "texting".  I took this to me that she would rather text then talk.  She is a big fan of "selfies" and her and her friends post new "selfies" on a daily basis and even have a "selfie" stick.  As for school, she says she uses the internet at school for research purposes and there is software on the school computers that dont allow for social media sites.  In her room she has a flat screen TV, laptop and a kindle that she uses for reading books.  She says she is always on her phone, texting or posting on her social media sites.

The only thing I was really surprised at was the age she started but in retrospect there is nothing for me to surprised about.  This is the digital age and children start at very young ages.  She was very forthcoming and seemed to enjoy being interviewed about her digital uses.

Final Project Prep SA

For my final project I have chosen to research “Participatory Culture”.  Why did I chose this?  Well to start I grew up in a time when participatory culture  meant something totally different does it means now.  The Boy Scouts, playing intramural teams sports, bowling leagues, etc.. are all examples of the participatory culture that I grew up with.   Today however, it means according to Wikipedia, “a neologism in reference to but opposite to a culture in which private person's act not only as consumers but contributors and producers as well.  Participatory culture is further defined as a culture with low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement and strong support for creating and sharing one's creation (Jenkins et al. 2009).  I find this topic very intriguing and look forward to thoroughly researching it further.

Annotated Bibliography



 User generated content, You Tube and participatory culture on the Web: Music learning and teaching in two contrasting online communities.

1.  Waldron, Janice. Music Education Research, Sep2013, Vol. 15 Issue 3, p257-274, 18p; DOI: 10.80/14613808.2013.772131, Database: Education Source

This article uses  information from New Media researchers to show how user generated content (UGC) can be used for music learning and teaching in on and off line settings and it does this by comparing two different online music communities.  I will use this in my research for my final paper because it focuses on using media as a teaching tool and it incorporates elements of participatory culture.

2. Learner Generated Designs in Participatory Cultures: What They are and  How They are Shaping Learning
:Kim, Beaumie; Tan, Lynde; Bielaczyc, Katerine. Interactive Learning Environments.Oct2015, Vol. 23 Issue 5, p545-555. 11p. DOI: 10.1080/10494820.2015.1067974.

This article discusses the validity of giving learners control of their learning postulating that an emerging culture exists where the focus is on how  the learners doing, knowing,  and identifying experiences are integral to how they actually learn.  This article uses the intersect of social identity and experiences.  I am using this article in my research because I believe that this type of learning design is important when trying to understand how participatory culture works.

3. The Civic and Political significance of Online Participatory Cultures Among Youth Transitioning to Adulthood
: Kahne, Joseph; Lee, Nam-Jin; Feezell, Jessica T.Journal of Information Technology & Politics.Jan-Mar2013, Vol. 10 Issue 1

This article uses a broad based study to support the contention that there is a direct link between online participatory cultures and the development of civic and political interaction.  This is significant to me because my proposed project is based in part on youth becoming more and politically and civic minded by becoming more active in their communities.  I will most assuredly use this article for my final paper.

4. The Proverbial Rock and Hard Place: The Realities and Risks of Teaching in a world of Multiliteracies, Participatory Culture and Mandates

Jacobs, Gloria E. . Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Oct2012, Vol. 56 Issue 2, p98-102, 5p, 1 Diagram; DOI: 10.1002/JAAL.00109, Database: Education Source

This article discusses challenges that educators face today because of top down teaching, or instructions from people who live in Ivory towers, testing mandates, or standardized tests that many argue are not standardized at all and the diversity of the student population and how Multiliteracies participatory culture may help to alleviate some of these challenges.  I will use this in my research.



5. Reading Moby-Dick in a Participatory Culture: Organizing  Assessment  for Engagement in A  New Media Area

Hickey, Daniel T.; McWilliams, Jenna; Honeyford, Michelle A. Journal of Educational Computing Research.2011, Vol. 45 Issue 2, p247-263.

This article uses research on an assessment framework called participatory assessment to design a tool for knowledge building and a social model of learning guided by the following questions:
How to leverage skills and the mindset the youth already have using new media technologies as an enhancement to their use of traditional texts
How can innovative practices be used given the realities of classroom and school
I will use this article in my research because I believe it germane to my topic of participatory culture.