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Deep Divers
A deep dive is when one’s attention has be caught by something interesting and they decide to find out more on the subject (Gasser & Palfrey). We do it every day, through search engines such as Google or Wikipedia. Sometimes spending hours upon hours researching the subject. Embarrassingly, the last thing I did a “deep dive” on was myself, or rather, the other person with exact same name as me who is more famous (she is a movie producer). Or how about my research the EDCI 353B paper. I spent 8 hours straight at the computer, finding fan sites and fan videos, articles, and documentaries. Youth today have access to more information than ever before, with a lot of it being credible, or more often than not, a not so credible rant or opinion on the subject.
One presentation that really impressed me was Aimee's, on online resources and information. She made this point that the online resources can be used in two ways. One was to use it for what it was intended, so a history site would offer material that could be studied, and second, the teacher could use it to teach the text, so critically analyze the point of view or bias. I really liked this idea because it is so easy to type in a word and have one million hits, many of which are not credible, but our students may not know this. We can make them aware of the amount of misinformation out there so that when they read an article online they are able to criticize the content of the information.
Grazers
It is opposite to a “deep dive” in the fact that youth are browsing surface information, scanning the content for condensed information (Gasser & Palfrey). They are able together information from a variety of sources, “absorbing news all day long on various websites, their understanding of current events is superficial and limited to headlines” (Gasser & Palfrey, p. 24). The reason for grazing is instant results. Youth of today want the information right away and would rather get the main points of the story rather than read a long-winded explanation. This becomes a vicious circle as the “pure information” articles are reducing our ability to focus our attention for longer than a minute.
What we have to compete with as English teachers would probably be the accessibility of synopsis and ready-made character analyses of books being studied. They are just a simple search away. Our students would rather find out what happens in a book, play, or poem, in a paragraph rather than read the material. We can take advantage of this and explore these sites. Offer them as a starting point, maybe to help decode some Shakespeare, but then take the information further. Help develop analytical minds.
Coauthors/Cocreators in a Digital Environment
Youth (and other internet users) are cocreators of the internet space. On the web, many sites have public access in which anyone can collaborate on creating “massive open documents” (Johnson, 2005, 170). As I discovered and as Eli presented, “fan sites” are everywhere for almost everything and anyone. They range from “capturing nuances of a show”, fan fiction, or commentary on latest events and developments.
The possibility of everyone having access to creating the environment is as concerning as it is thrilling. In a world where youth are seeking to be noticed or find acceptance, making a podcast, blog, or a video diary is one way of them getting the chance to speak their opinion. Again, educators can take advantage of this by having students create their own blog or video diary about what they are learning. For example, students can keep a chapter by chapter blog of a novel study (very similar to the “traditionally out-of-date” reflection journals). Students could also immerse themselves in the book, so they could create a video diary of a character within a novel.
My conclusion
Though education is a little behind in incorporating technology and the world of youth in the classroom, we can step up and take the initiative. I would definitely feel competent enough to lead explorations of the digital environment or cultural trends. If I was not completely sure of myself, I could just do a “deep dive” and find out more on my own time. I believe that we are life long learners. We educate students, but in turn they educate us and it is important for us to consider a variety of approaches to teaching.
Citations:
Gasser, U., and Palfrey, J. Learners (Chapter 11). From Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digival Natives. New York: Basic Books.
Johnson, S. (2005). Everything good is bad for you. New York: Riverhead Books.
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