This digital “participatory age”
Recently a colleague and I made a presentation at the Virginia Society for Technology in Education conference on social media. Our talk entitled, “Using social media to support learner generated content” offered participants a chance to consider the growing connect and disconnect on this topic. In our experiences, college students were typically not as engaged with many of these popular social media tools. Our review of the research and noted authors also supported these findings. Noted author Henry Jenkins offers a poignant discussion around this topic of what he terms the “participatory culture“.
Today another twist on this conversation is highlighted in the Washington Post within the article, “Lack of computer access hampers some students“. Another interesting discussion about the “digital divide” that currently exists with many across our nation. While many of us find ready access to internet connectivity at work, home and in leisure settings — such is not the case for all.
Several years ago this digital divide related to a lack of computer access for many whereas today this speaks to a different concern. Today we face a challenge where all cannot always have internet access to the range of technology resources many are afforded. And in an information rich society such as ours, this is an important concern.
As educators, this presents a challenge. For many of us, directing students to the wealth of tools and resources on the web is the right thing to do. Teaching students how to utilize the various social media tools to acquire and manage information makes sense. Incorporating educational websites and resources adds richness to the content. In many instances this also affords those with differing learning approaches a way to actually access the content. Yet, how do we approach this perplexing issue of digital participation? Is this a time for open wifi access for all?
Tags: access, Learning, Technology, Universal Design for Learning