PBS FRONTLINE's digital_nation is full of great clips and sound bytes. Addressed in that film by many of people interviewed as what Arne Duncan refers to as the "Opportunity Gap." This opportunity gap sounds very similar to what many of us are calling the "Production Gap." I have taken the important clips related to that topic from that documentary, added clips from a keynote speech by Alan November, interviews with Seymore Papert, and clips from old public domain ephemeral films from the Internet Archive. Combined, I feel it both explains and makes the case very well for addressing the production gap as a social justice issue.
Filling the Production Gap from Carl Anderson on Vimeo.
View this clip on Blip.tv
View the abridged version on YouTube
While school filtration policies play an important role in sustaining the production gap because they limit our ability to engage students in tools and with information as content producers they are not the only issue. What is more important are practices of pedagogy and I think the video makes this clear. So, how do we fill the production gap? Here are four simple prescriptive steps:
- Open access to read/write web resources (stop blocking blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networking, and vodcasting sites like YouTube)
- Create a learner-centered learning environment (tailor learning experiences to individual student interests, needs, and abilities)
- Engage all students as content producers.
- Provide all students with a thorough and honest digital literacy education so they understand the levity of what they post online and are able to manipulate the web to meet their academic and entrepreneurial needs.
2 comments:
Excellent mashup here Carl! I think that #3 in your list is absolutely essential. Students have to be producers of content. However, if we are flitering too heavily, we will also filter out the ability to produce in a way that is meaningful.
I fought for our district to lift many of blocks in place for students. I had students doing research on breast cancer, but the school's filters wouldn't let them have access to certain sites because of the words. Pic searches are also out right now. Students need access to information and as teachers it is our job to show them the right and wrong ways to access and use the information.
Once the students have the access, they can be creators of wonderful content.
Post a Comment