Importance of new literacies in an era of participatory culture

A participatory culture is one where each member is contributing through creating and sharing their own creations with members of a community. In this supportive community, members feel that what they do matters and they care about what others think of their contributions. There is a passing down of information and skill from most experienced to less experienced members. There are different forms of participatory culture such as affiliations, expressions, collaborative problem-solving, and circulations. The "Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century" paper suggests that we should think about new media literacies as social skills, not necessarily personal expression of individualized skill. One of the best things associated with the participatory culture is the idea of belonging and contributing something meaningful to a group. In a classroom, encouraging group collaboration and participation can help with group cohesion and student engagement in the learning material. If individual members feel that they are a part of the larger whole, they will be more willing to take ownership of their learning and what they bring to the table. I think the important part is to remember that it is a supportive environment and that people care about what the other members think and are willing to mentor others. The participatory culture is about collaboration, not individual top down learning. 

The importance of new literacies in an era of participatory culture sets an expectation that participating members will have some new literacy skills in order to be a member; otherwise, students will miss out on important opportunities. The opportunities can be individualistic and relate to gathering, understanding, and applying information. They could be collective, regarding future educational and career opportunities. They could also relate to missing out on belonging to a group that is creating and producing new things in the world.

The new literacy skills mentioned in both the Reilly article and Jenkins-White article provide suggestions for incorporating these skills into the classroom. As an instructor, the idea of being a guide or coach for learning is appealing to me on a personal as well as on a professional level. There is a great deal of pressure on the teacher to be the expert and to know all, but being a guide feels like a more supportive and inclusive approach to learning and leading a class.