One of the most interesting aspects of the readings, for me, was the ways presented in which we can increase our students digital literacy and critical thinking through collaboration.
In the article, DIY Media Creation (Curwood, Fields, Lammers & Magnifico), usage of online spaces were discussed in regards to how they are used. Examples were given about a site which provides a place for creative writing, created and moderated by writers from the New Yorker. It provides great opportunities for writers to share their creation, blog about other works and also give feedback to others. 50 years ago, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis used a peer group called the "Inklings" at the local pub, to read, edit and get feedback on their work such as The Hobbit and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Today, we can post information and have other from all over the world give constructive comments and suggestions. This, in addition to other examples, really drove home the fact that we can use online communities to connect with other around the globe in connectivist environments to learn and grow with each other.
Adding to this idea, is a chapter in DIY Citizenship: Critical Making and Social Media. The chapter entitled Making Publics: Documentary as Do-It-With-Others Citizenship, (Rose) discusses this same idea in terms of the creation of documentaries.
The chapter discusses that the documentary, often a media format that has been used by professionals to argue one side of a social, political or environmental issue,
can be used with input from a wider audience due to advancements in recording technology. In the past, one needed proper equipment to record, edit and disperse the films to the wider community with proper monetary backing. The suggestion given in the chapter was that, due to the saturation of technology in our culture, it is now possible to create documentaries that easily include multiple perspectives on a particular issue. Because one can use portable devices to go anywhere to talk with anyone about anything, we have the potential to teach and learn from each other about the wider view of any issue. We do not need to wait for large organizations or companies to create documentaries with a particular spin. We have the capability to get to the real heart of issues, hear from all perspectives and maybe, just maybe, broaden our own views to see things more clearly. Do-It-With-Others has some great potential....so long as we can all be better listeners and keep an open mind.
I would welcome ideas from any readers about how you have used online communities in your classroom or organization to help connect with others. Has anyone created a documentary style video using multiple perspective? In what classes might this be useful?
Fields, Deborah, A. (2014) . “DIY Media Creation.” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 58(1),19-24.Retrievedfrom https://uoit.blackboard.com/webapps/blackboard/execute/content/file?cmd=view&content_id=_826902_1&course_id=_28823_1
Rose, Mandy (2014). Making Publics: Documentary as Do-it-with-Others Citizenship. In M. Ratto & M. Boler (Eds.), DIY Citizenship.(201-212) Massachusett: MIT Press. Retrieved from Amazon.com.