Youth Perspectives on Literacy within New

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May 20, 2012 - Mestrado em Engenharia de Mídias para a Educação. Master en ... particularly while negotiating between 4 different languages. Ubiquitous ... to explore the changing relations between youth, education and media. Through ... aprendizaje. ...... need for greater media literacy activities in the classroom.
Master Européen en Ingénierie des Médias pour l’Éducation Mestrado em Engenharia de Mídias para a Educação Master en Ingeniería de Medios para la Educación Master Ingénierie des Médias pour l'Éducation (Faculté des Lettres & des Langues, Université de Poitiers, France) Mestrado Ciências da Educação (Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Portugal) Máster Universitario en Estrategias y Tecnologías para la Función Docente en la Sociedad Multicultural (Facultad de Educación, UNED, España)

Youth Perspectives on Literacy within New Communication Spaces: A case-study approach to Understanding New Media in Education. Student: Mitchell Peters Research Director: Dr. José Julio Real García © 2012 EUROMIME

UP/France

UTL/Portugal

UNED/España

Acknowledgements I would like to make a special thank you to all those colleagues, professors, and friends that helped me elaborate this project with encouragement and insight. The last two years have been immensely educational inside and outside of the classroom, particularly while negotiating between 4 different languages. Ubiquitous learning was a part of the process. I would like to make a special dedication to Silvia Lavandera Ponce, whose patience, intelligence, and generosity made this work possible. Elaborating social research in a different linguistic and cultural context is a richly challenging and rewarding experience, and I would not have been able to understand the richness and depth of the Spanish culture and history without her enormous heart and support. In addition, I would also like to thank my tutor Dr. Julio Real, for sharing his classroom as a laboratory as well as sharing his rich experience teaching with technology. His guidance and encouragement was indispensible. I would also like to thank Wilmer Angel for his technical and formatting skills when things were on the line. He was also a big part of my language learning while in Spain. Additionally I would like to thank Roberto Aparici for his generosity in introducing me to the field of Educomunicación. His insight and advice were essential in formulating my theoretical framework as well as in reaching my results and final conclusions. The Latin American and Anglo-Saxon worlds of media education can learn a lot from each other. I look forward to being a part of future dialogue. Finally, I would like to thank the Euromime Consortium for an opportunity of a lifetime. Never in my dreams would I have thought studying at three different universities, in three language contexts, would be possible. Thank you to all my colleagues who helped me survive the linguistic challenges of such a program.

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Abstract English Abstract: The current research project represents an ethnographic case study at IES Parque Lisboa in Alcorcón, Spain. As a general objective, the study aimed to explore the changing relations between youth, education and media. Through a youth-centered approach, the aim was to give voice to youth within the scientific research surrounding information and communication technology, digital media, and learning. The research aimed to contribute in a qualitative way, the documentation of youth practices, understandings, and experiences with digital media. In this sense, the specific objective of the current research was to explore how youth perceive the changing role of ICT and media in their everyday lives and how it relates to changing conceptions of literacy.

The

research results suggest that youth express significant experiences with traditional concepts of literacy, while having high confidence in their audiovisual communication and media literacy competencies. The data suggests that an increased focus on media literacy education may help bridge discrepancies between actual and perceived literacy competencies in the 21st century.

Key words:

media literacy, critical pedagogy, educomunicación,

participatory media, new literacies, youth studies

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Résumé Français:

Ce mémoire de recherche représente une étude de cas éthnographique menée au Lycée Parque Lisboa d'Alcorcón en Espagne. Comme objectif général, cette étude vise à explorer les relations changeantes entre jeunesse, éducation et médias. À travers une approche centrée sur la jeunesse, le but de cette recherche scientifique était de donner la parole aux jeunes à propos des technologies de l'information et de la communication (TIC), des médias numériques et de l'apprentissage. La recherche prétendaient contribuer par le biais d'une démarche qualitative avec la documentation sur les pratiques des jeunes, leurs compréhensions et leurs expériences avec les médias numériques. Dans cette optique, l'objectif spécifique de recherche était d'explorer la manière dont la jeunesse perçoivent le rôle changeant des TIC et des médias dans leur vie quotidienne et comment cela touche aux conceptions de littératie. Les résultats obtenus semblent montrer que la jeunesse exprime des expériences significatives avec les concepts traditionaux de littératie, bien qu'ayant une confiance élevée en leurs compétences de communication audiovisuelle et d'alphabétisation numérique. Les données suggèrent qu'une concentration plus importante apportée à l'éducation aux medios devrait aider à construire des divergences entre les compétences d'alphabétisation actuelles et celles du 21ème siècle.

Mots-clés: éducation aux medios, pédagogie critique, educommunication, médias participatifs, nouvelles littératies, études sur la jeunesse

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Abstrato Portuguese:

Este projeto de investigação representa um estudo de caso etnográfico na IES Parque Lisboa em Alcorcón, Espanha. Como objetivo geral, o estudo pretendeu explorar as relações variantes entre juventude, educação e mídia. Através de uma abordagem centrada nos jovens, propõe-se dar voz à juventude no âmbito da investigação científica em torno das tecnologias da informação e da comunicação, mídia digital e aprendizado. A pesquisa pretende contribuir de forma qualitativa, com a documentação das práticas juvenis, interpretações e experiências com mídias digitais. Neste sentido, o objetivo específico da investigação foi explorar a forma como os jovens percebem do papel transformador das TIC's e dos media em suas vidas cotidianas e como isto se relaciona às mudanças nas concepções de alfabetização. Os resultados da pesquisa sugerem que os jovens expressam experiências significativas com os conceitos

tradicionais

confiança na comunicação

de

alfabetização,

audiovisual

embora

tenham

e nas competências de

grande

alfabetização

mediática. Os dados sugerem ainda que um maior foco na alfabetização dos media pode ajudar a diminuir a distância entre as competências de alfabetização atuais

e

percebidas

no

século

21.

Palavras-chave: alfabetização mediática, pedagogia crítica, educomunicação, mídia participativa, novas alfabetizações, estudos da juventude

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Resumen Español:

Nuestro trabajo de investigación representa un estudio etnográfico de caso del IES Parque de Lisboa de Alcorcón, Madrid. Como objetivo general nos propusimos explorar el cambio de relaciones entre jóvenes, educación y medios. A través de una investigación centrada en los jóvenes queríamos dar voz a los propios jóvenes dentro de una investigación científica entorno a la información y la tecnología de la comunicación, medios digitales y el aprendizaje. La investigación tuvo como objetivo contribuir de una manera cualitativa a través de la documentación de las prácticas de los jóvenes, los entendimientos y experiencias con los medios digitales. En este sentido, el objetivo específico de la presente investigación fue explorar cómo los jóvenes perciben el papel cambiante de las TIC y los medios de comunicación en su vida cotidiana y cómo se relaciona a los cambios en las concepciones de la alfabetización. Los resultados de la investigación sugieren que los jóvenes expresan experiencias significativas con los conceptos tradicionales de la alfabetización, si bien tienen gran confianza en su comunicación audiovisual y las competencias de alfabetización mediática. Los datos sugieren que un mayor enfoque en la alfabetización de los medios de comunicación pueden ayudar a las discrepancias entre las competencias de alfabetización reales y percibidos en el 21stcentury. Palabras

clave:

Alfabetización Mediática,

Pedagogía

Crítica,

Educomunicación, Media participativa, Nuevas alfabetizaciones, Estudios de jóvenes.

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Table of Contents INTRODUCTION)...........................................................................................................................................)9! I.!STUDY!INTRODUCTION!...............................................................................................................................................!9! II.!!RESEARCH!PROBLEM!..............................................................................................................................................!10! THEORETICAL)FRAMEWORK)................................................................................................................)17! I.!CHAPTER!INTRODUCTION!........................................................................................................................................!17! II.!!MEDIA!LITERACY!IN!THE!GLOBAL!VILLAGE!.......................................................................................................!20! III.!!!NEW!LITERACIES!AND!NEW!LEARNING!...........................................................................................................!29! III.a.$Globalization$and$Multiliteracies$...........................................................................................................$31! III.b$Technology$as$Globalized$and$Globalizing$..........................................................................................$32! III.c$Network$Society$...............................................................................................................................................$33! III.d$Citizenship$in$the$21st$Century$..................................................................................................................$34! IV.!!CRITICAL!PEDAGOGY!.............................................................................................................................................!35! V.!TOWARDS!A!CONVERGING!MODEL!........................................................................................................................!38! RESEARCH)OBJECTIVES)AND)QUESTIONS).........................................................................................)41! I.!OBJECTIVES!.................................................................................................................................................................!41! II.!RESEARCH!QUESTIONS!............................................................................................................................................!43! RESEARCH)DESIGN)....................................................................................................................................)45! I.!RESEARCH!DESIGN!....................................................................................................................................................!45! II.!ETHNOGRAPHIC!CASE!STUDY!METHODOLOGY!...................................................................................................!47! A.$Ethnography$..........................................................................................................................................................$47! B.$CaseFStudy$Methodology$..................................................................................................................................$49! III.!EMPIRICAL!DATA!COLLECTION!AND!ANALYSIS!..................................................................................................!50! IV.!RESEARCH!SETTING!AND!SAMPLING!...................................................................................................................!53! A.$Setting$......................................................................................................................................................................$54! A.$Sampling$..................................................................................................................................................................$55! DATA)ANALYSIS).........................................................................................................................................)58! I.!CHAPTER!INTRODUCTION!........................................................................................................................................!58! II.!!INDIVIDUAL!COMPETENCIES!.................................................................................................................................!59! 1.$Use$..............................................................................................................................................................................$60! 1.A!Balanced!and!Active!Use!of!the!Media!..................................................................................................................................!61! 1.B.!!Advanced!Internet!Use!and!Web!2.0!Skills!.......................................................................................................................!62! 1.C.!Computer!and!Internet!skills!...................................................................................................................................................!63! 1.D.!!Web!2.0!practices!........................................................................................................................................................................!64!

2.$Critical$understanding$......................................................................................................................................$66! 2.A!Knowledge!About!Media!and!Media!Regulation.!.............................................................................................................!67!

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2.B.!User!Behaviour!..............................................................................................................................................................................!72! 2.C.!Understanding!Media!Content!................................................................................................................................................!73!

3.$Communicative$and$participative$abilities$..............................................................................................$74! 3.A.!Social!Relations!..............................................................................................................................................................................!75! 3.B.!Participation!in!the!Public!Sphere!.........................................................................................................................................!76! 3.C.!Content!Creation!...........................................................................................................................................................................!78!

III.!YOUTH!PERCEPTIONS!............................................................................................................................................!82! 1.$Towards$Literacy$.................................................................................................................................................$83! 2.$Towards$New$Literacies/$Media$Literacy$.................................................................................................$85! 3.$Towards$Social$Media/Participatory$Media$...........................................................................................$88! IV.!SUMMARY!AND!THEORY!GENERATION!...............................................................................................................!89! 1.$$Individual$competencies$......................................................................................................................................$89! 1.A.$Use$..........................................................................................................................................................................$89! 1.B.$Critical$understanding$..................................................................................................................................$90! 1.C.$Communicative$and$participative$abilities$..........................................................................................$91! 2.$$Youth$Perceptions$...................................................................................................................................................$91! 2.A.$$Towards$Literacy$............................................................................................................................................$91! 2.B.$$Towards$New$Literacy/Media$Literacy$................................................................................................$92! 2.C.$$Towards$Social$Media/Participatory$Media$......................................................................................$92! CONCLUSION)...............................................................................................................................................)95! I.!RESEARCH!CONTEXT!AND!CONTRIBUTION!TO!THE!FIELD!.................................................................................!95! II.!!RESEARCH!APPROACH!............................................................................................................................................!95! III.!!EVALUATION!OF!RESEARCH!OBJECTIVES!..........................................................................................................!96! 1.!INDIVIDUAL!COMPETENCIES.!..................................................................................................................................!96! 2.!!YOUTH!PERCEPTIONS!TOWARDS!LITERACY!.......................................................................................................!97! IV.!LIMITATIONS!AND!DIFFICULTIES!......................................................................................................................!100! V.!FUTURE!LINES!FOR!INVESTIGATION!..................................................................................................................!100! VI.!FINAL!WORD.!.......................................................................................................................................................!101! BIBLIOGRAPHY).......................................................................................................................................)102! APPENDIX).................................................................................................................................................)108! I.!!SURVEY!ON!YOUTH!AND!LITERACY!....................................................................................................................!108! II.!!SURVEY!ON!MEDIA!LITERACY!INDIVIDUAL!COMPETENCIES!........................................................................!113! III.!SEMI!STRUCTURED!GROUP!INTERVIEW!GUIDE!.............................................................................................!118!

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Index of graphics Graphic$1$Media$Literacy$Conceptual$Framework$___________________________________________________________________________$24! Graphic$2$Characteristics$of$Research$Setting;$IES$Parque$Lisboa,$Alcorcón,$Spain$________________________________________$54! Graphic$3$Structure$of$Spanish$Public$Education$System.$ ___________________________________________________________________$55! Graphic$4$$Age$Distribution$of$Survey$1$_______________________________________________________________________________________$56! Graphic$5$$Gender$Distribution$of$Survey$1$___________________________________________________________________________________$56! Graphic$7.$$Youth$Responses$From$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$6$______________________________________________________$61! Graphic$8.$Youth$Responses$from$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$7$_______________________________________________________$62! Graphic$9$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$5$___________________________________________________________$63! Graphic$10$$$Responses$to$Youth$and$Literacy$Survey.$$Questions$C.5$D.1$and$D.2$__________________________________________$64! Graphic$11$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$10$________________________________________________________$67! Graphic$12.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$11$ _______________________________________________________$67! Graphic$13.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$13$ _______________________________________________________$68! Graphic$14.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$14$ _______________________________________________________$68! Graphic$15.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$15$ _______________________________________________________$68! Graphic$16.$$Media$Literacy$Assessment$Graph$Representing$Final$M.L.$Levels$in$Europe$_________________________________$71! Graphic$17.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$20$ _______________________________________________________$72! Graphic$18.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question.$21$_______________________________________________________$72! Graphic$19.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$22$ _______________________________________________________$73! Graphic$20$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$8$_________________________________________________________$73! Graphic$21.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$23$ _______________________________________________________$75! Graphic$22.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$24$ _______________________________________________________$75! Graphic$23.$$Youth$Response$to$Media$LIteracy$Survey.$Question$25$________________________________________________________$76! Graphic$24.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$26$ _______________________________________________________$77! Graphic$25.$Youth$Responses$to$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$27$ _______________________________________________________$77! Graphic$26.$$Youth$Responses$from$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$28$____________________________________________________$78! Graphic$27.$Youth$Responses$from$Media$Literacy$Survey.$Question$29$____________________________________________________$79! Graphic$28.$$Youth$Responses$to$Media$LIteracy$Survey.$Question$23$_______________________________________________________$79! Graphic$29.$Youth$Response$from$Youth$and$Literacy$Survey.$D.3$and$D.4$_________________________________________________$80! Graphic$30.$Response$from$youth$and$Literacy$survey.$question$D.6$________________________________________________________$81! Graphic$31.$Response$to$Youth$and$Literacy$Survey.$Question$D.8$__________________________________________________________$82! Graphic$32.$$Sample$of$Youth$Responses$to$Youth$and$Literacy$Survey.$Question$B.1$______________________________________$83! Graphic$33.$$Response$to$Youth$and$Literacy$Survey.$Question$B.2$__________________________________________________________$84! Graphic$34.$Youth$Responses$to$Literacy$Survey.$$Question$B.5$______________________________________________________________$85! Graphic$35.$Responses$to$Youth$and$Literacy$Survey.$Question$B.6$_________________________________________________________$86! Graphic$36.$Response$to$Youth$and$Literacy$Survey.$Question$B.7$__________________________________________________________$87! Graphic$37.$Response$to$Youth$and$Literacy$Survey.$Question$D.9$__________________________________________________________$87! Graphic$38.$$Responses$to$Youth$and$Literacy$Survey.$Questions$$C.1,2,3,and$4$ ____________________________________________$88!

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Introduction I. Study Introduction Among most societies, sleep is the majority activity in which we participate, consuming roughly one third of our lives. Subsequently, according to numerous quantitative studies, the next most common endeavour of the modern industrial life is being exposed to media messages. As we’ve entered a new global communications environment, the rate and scope of media exposure is now unparalleled in history. We are now progressively spending more and more time in front of one digital screen or another.

Accordingly, this

transformation merits critical reflection and transformative action across all aspects of human life.

Recent and revolutionary developments in global

communications have transformed all disciplines of study, and nowhere is it more visible than in education. The project of public education tasks society with passing on the knowledge, values, and skills that will allow students to fully participate in their adult lives. Accordingly, the following study explores the changing relationship between education, youth, and the media. Its aim is at understanding the changing role of literacy in the everyday lives of youth within a new global communications ecology. The story of recent times has undoubtedly been the interaction of human and technological progress, catalyzed by a revolution in information and communication technologies. We are fast approaching the global digital divide, when more citizens will be living out their lives online, than offline. In the last decade, thousands of volunteers have worked collectively from all over the world to construct the largest open-access knowledge project in history; Wikipedia. With rapid and discontinuous change being a constant, we now live in unparalleled times, and the sweeping and dramatic impact of globalization is difficult to dispute. As many authors have noted, the penetration of Information

9

and communication technologies around the world has reshaped almost every aspect of contemporary life, including how we communicate, consume, produce, learn, and work (Jenkins, 2006. Castells, 2000). Youth today are emerged in a new ecology of ubiquitous digital media, almost permanently connected, and frequently interacting with mobile smartphones, mp3 devices, tablets, video game systems, digital cameras, laptops, and home computer systems in what network sociologist Manuel Castells refers to as the new communication space. He presents a powerful hypotheses on this new communication space as an innovative trend characterized by “the emergence of a new form of communication related to the culture and technology of the network society, and based on horizontal networks of communication: what I call mass selfcommunication”(Castells, 2007). Youth today live within new spaces of mass-self communication and consequently becomes essential that we ask whether we are passing along the skills and competencies to participate in such new social, cultural and learning spaces. How can we make sense of the phenomenon of ubiquitous digital media penetrating deeper and deeper into the everyday lives of youth? And how should schools respond to such radical changes in relations between education, media, and youth? Accordingly, this study explores the implications for teaching and learning within the midst of a revolutionary shift in relations between education, media, and youth. Through a qualitative case study, the following investigation introduces readers to the dynamic concept of literacy in education while exploring the state of media literacy within Spanish high schools.

The research situates itself in a

period of global transformation, where processes of globalization influence education policy and practice within national boundaries. In this sense, the research will also situate Spain within the European Union, as well as being influenced by global trends in education policy and practice. Further, the research also explores youth perceptions on literacy and the changing relations between media, education, and adolescence.

This chapter introduces the

research problem and presents the context of the study.

II. Research Problem

10

The root of the following research lies at the intersection of education and communication. It lies in the ways that we succeed and fail to teach students to communicate effectively in order to fully participate in their community, public and economic lives. A pioneering global force in media literacy education, the Canadian Association for Media Literacy proclaims “the fact that the media have remained outside the school curriculum at the same time as they have come to dominate so many aspects of our society, and indeed, our individual consciousness, is a tribute to their power to influence us on levels of which we are unaware” (AML website, 2012). Accordingly, the locus of the current research lies in the fundamental question of why we should be teaching youth media literacy.

Moreover, the current research is also rooted in the

problem of whether we are doing an effective job of teaching youth media literacy with an aim at civic participation and critical pedagogy. In addition, giving youth voice within scientific research is important as we transform from a teacher-centered learning model to a student-centered framework. As Castells (2007) notes, the rise of mass self-communication has immense implications for society, as communication and information have historically been the fundamental sources of power, counter-power, of domination, but also liberation and social change.

He recognizes the

fundamental battle being fought in society is the battle for the minds of the people. This communicative battle is waged everyday inside and outside of school, through formal institutional messages to informal communication happening on the playground or at home. Increasingly, digital media messages are penetrating the lives of youth in a hegemonic manner.

What are the

implications of a Silicon Valley hegemony in the new mobile communication spaces, where Facebook, Google, Youtube, Apple, and a selection of other dominating technological forces shape the lives of citizens around the world? What does it mean that the largest and most profitable software and hardware producers on the planet exist in a singular geographic location? Youtube, the world’s most popular video sharing service, turned seven years old in May of 2012, at which point 4 billion videos were being watched daily, and 72 hours of raw video were being uploaded a minute (Youtube Video, 2012). At eight years old, Facebook has 901 million users, over half of which access through mobile devices, likely both inside and outside of the classroom 11

(Sengupta, Semini, 2012). It’s 28-year-old billionaire founder, Mark Zuckerburg, has managed to amass more information about more people than anyone else in history. Living in a global village, Zuckerburg controls the information and communication of the global villagers creating a powerful and dominating networked hegemony. Yet, are we using social networks as learning strategies in school? And are we teaching students to think critically and reflexively about their use of social media? And finally, are students consuming social media messages more than they are producing messages? What are the implications of these radical developments that have happened so rapidly and profoundly that many educators have not had time to think how to adapt their teaching methodologies? We live in a global communications environment where the quality of information we receive, and our subsequent ability to discern such information, largely influence our life-choices and ensuing actions (U.N.E.S.C.O., 2011). In such an environment, it is critical that students receive the skills to navigate an increasingly digital media environment, and not only become judicious consumers of media, but more importantly, critical producers of media with an aim to promote democratic principles and civic participation.

The current

project is a part of a stream of educational research that aims to advance critical pedagogy in education to promote equality, justice, participation and democratic principles. Moreover, a critical pedagogy in education aims at teaching youth to make positive transformations in their community and allows them to participate fully in their lives. Consequently, the current research aligns itself with the work of Brazilian educational philosopher Paulo Freire, who affirms that “education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate the integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system, or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world.”(Freire, 1970; p.16). Driven by advances in information and communication technology, there has been a proliferation and diversification of media and information sources in the daily lives of youth.

Through vast media and information networks,

knowledge and information is accessed and shared by citizens on a global level. International educational organizations such as U.N.E.S.C.O. are among those 12

responding to the challenges encountered through this phenomenon. Through policy documents and research their work is aimed at promoting the ability “to assess the relevance and the reliability of the information without any obstacles to citizens’ making full use of their rights to freedom of expression and the right to information” (UNESCO, MIL 2011; p.11). It is from this context that the struggle for media literacy is waged. Directly linked to civic education, media literacy is participatory by nature, and focuses on teachers as the principal agents of change in ensuring students benefit from learning in ways that allow them to fully participate in their public, community, and economic lives. As the U.N.’s Alliance of Civilization notes “Children and youth from industrialized societies spend at least double the time immersed in electronic media (television, internet, video games, DVDs, radio, cell phones, etc) than they do receiving formal education in schools. Much of the media they consume is aimed at selling them products or ideologies. Frequently this generation of young people spends half as much time as the previous generation participating in “family” conversations”(U.N.A.O.C., 2012).

The following investigation is motivated

from such radically new developments in society and from a need to reimagine the public education project. Many media educators have spent their careers evangelizing the merits of their work. They have become so intimate with the rationale for the value of media literacy in education that they are capable of defining the objectives with ease. As David Buckingham notes, many will begin with quantitative data about the significance of media in the lives of children (Buckingham, 2011). The data is strikingly clear and provides an immense rationale for further and expanded research.

Children spend astonishing amounts of time exposed to

digital media, more time than in school, and more time than previous generations participating in “family” conversations.

Thirty years ago, Len

Masterman (1980) pointed out that children spend more time watching television then they were spending in school.

In his Manifesto for Media

Education, Buckingham indicates that surveys repeatedly suggest that children, in most industrialized societies, spend significantly more time engaging with the media than in any other activity other than sleep (Buckingham, 2011).

This

claim appears to be potent enough to warrant significant curriculum attention to media education within the classroom, and yet the media as an object of study is still largely missing from the curriculum (E.A.V.I. 2009). As numerous media 13

educators suggest, a major disconnect exists between classroom literacy activities and student literacy experiences outside the classroom (Goodman, 2003). Given

such

massive

and

far-reaching

networked

and

communicative developments, media literacy has penetrated education research, policy and practice. As many note, media literacy education is at a point of opportunity (Buckingham, 2005), developing signs of “normalcy”(Cappello, 2011) but also at risk and in danger of becoming marginalized amongst an overcrowded curriculum influenced by global forces and in competition with similar concepts, such as digital literacy (Buckingham, 2009). In a globalized era curriculum theorists such as Kathryn Anderson-Levitt indicate there is now an “international obsession with inter-national rankings of learning, with learning defined as achievement on a particular set of international achievement tests.” (Anderson Levitt, 2008; p.363) She continues that this new fascination has set in motion

a

powerful

sequence

of

events,

resulting

in

impoverished

understandings of learning, less pedagogical control in the classroom, and most immediate, a narrowing and homogenization of curriculum globally (Anderson Levitt, 2008).

Global curriculum convergence becomes problematic when

national education programs become preoccupied with international rankings, and subjects such as media literacy become overlooked and marginalized. Media literacy research, policy and practice have accordingly exploded on a global level.

It is an immensely researched field, developing different

traditions across linguistic and geographic boundaries (Torrent, 2011. FrauMiggs & Torrent, 2009).

Nonetheless, there are still gaps in the research, and

this is particularly true in relation to youth concepts of literacy and creative media production among youth (Kafai & Peppler, 2011). Critical analysis of media messages across a variety of forms has dominated media education for decades (Kellner & Share, 2007), however a majority of media education scholars today advocate for production as a critical component of media education curriculum (Buckingham, 2003. Kafai and Peppler, 2011). Given the history of media education as critical analysis, it is not surprising that media literacy skills have remained focused on analytical processes and less on creative production, and that only a small amount of academic research exists on creative media production among youth. 14

An explosion of new media practices in education as well as the integration of ICT’s in our global communication environment has had, as Cappello et. al note, “normalizing” effects on the practice and scholarship of media literacy globally. Media literacy research and practice has become commonplace in most industrialized societies, fuelled, in part, by international educational organizations such as UNESCO, the European Commision and the Alliance of Civilizations. As an example of such normalcy, Capelo, Fellini, and Hobbs apply Kuhn’s scientific revolutions analysis to the state of media literacy (Cappello, 2011). Their analysis provides a contemporary understanding of the state of media literacy globally. Kuhn’s analysis proposes that science does not develop in a step-by-step linear process, but instead functions as a progression of continuous revolutions throughout which new powerful ideas replace outgrown older theories and previously accepted ideas. Cappello et al explain that “this process is conceptualized as a linear sequence, beginning with a period of consolidation of a paradigm, followed by work conducted as normal science, a period of time during which all the efforts of the scientific community are inside the paradigm. At some point there comes extraordinary science, a period of time when doubts are raised about the strengths of the paradigm.

This is

followed by a paradigm shift, called a scientific revolution by Kuhn, where the old paradigm is replaced by a new one”(Cappello et. Al, 2011; p. 66). Many media education researchers would argue that media literacy has undergone a scientific revolution in the last 40 years, and that we are now entering a period of normal science. This phenomenon can be evidenced by the large traditions of Media literacy

across

geographic

and

linguistics

boundaries

throughout

the

industrialized world. These traditions are predominately bound to the AngloSaxon model seen across the United States, Canada, England, Australia and New Zealand, and the Ibero-American Model seen across Spain and Latin America. Despite divergences within the two dominant traditions of media education, there is now more communication and interaction between the models, as evidenced by the current research and researcher; an Anglo-Saxon researcher

working

within

an

Ibero-american

research

context.

Notwithstanding such advances in research, theory, and practice, there is an immense amount of work to be done in order to advance media literacy practice within the classroom.

The current research seeks to expand knowledge 15

surrounding the relationship between youth, media, and education, and promote teaching methodologies that support media literacy among youth. Further, the implications of globalization on education policy and practice will be treated within the study. Educational technology, new literacies and digital media cultures are all processes of globalization and need to be understood with a global perspective. It is thus imperative that the current research is situated in various contexts, from regional to global. This will be accomplished through a case study at IES Parque Lisboa in Alcorcón, Spain, in understanding the relationship between youth, media, and education as processes of globalization.

16

Theoretical Framework I. Chapter Introduction The objective of the following chapter is to elaborate a theoretical framework from which the research project will situate itself. The research will draw from three distinct yet interrelated theoretical positions in order to provide a framework for inquiry. These include critical pedagogy, media education, and new literacies.

When working in unison, they form an effective and

comprehensive theoretical foundation from which a critical media literacy pedagogy can emerge, grounded in communication, dialogue, and participation. In addition, these positions are effective in developing the research problem through an analysis of the ways youth construct their identity in relation to changing concepts of literacy. The aim of this chapter is to elaborate the features and characteristics of each position while looking to ways they may be useful in resolving as well as framing the research problem. The three positions used in this research are complementary and overlapping as they represent theoretical positions in the educational sciences. Within each theoretical position, there exist several complementary approaches to teaching and learning. Each distinctive position is in effect influenced by previous theoretical and pragmatic work developed throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. That is to say, they all represent an instructional methodology that is reflected in the relationship between teacher, student, and knowledge. Within each position, there are underlying values and epistemological foundations about the aims of education. Further, these epistemological roots often share 17

similar references.

For instance, the pioneering work in critical pedagogy

elaborated by Paolo Freire and his succesors have had a significant influence on the Ibero-American tradition of media education as a process toward media literacy. The current project will enter into conversations with similar research taking place across Europe and throughout the world. In particular, it will enter into dialogue with media literacy research that has taken place in Spain as well as throughout the European Union.

These research projects are

often supported by civil society groups such as the European commission and include organizations such as the European Viewers Interests Association, the U.N.’s Alliance of Civilizations, as well as nationally funded research efforts, such as the Government of Spain’s Citizen Media Competency Study (Ferrés i Prats. Et al. 2011). As is expressed in the pioneering study on the assessment of media literacy levels produced by the E.A.V.I., “it is inevitable that Europe should be at the forefront of the discipline of media literacy. Historically, Europe has served as a cradle of (media) civilization, as well as a focus for the coordination of debate, criticism, and unchecked invention. Europe has been at the centre of the philosophical, literary and technical evolution of media, grounded as it is in a tradition of communication and interaction with its roots in public engagement and civic participation. It is therefore natural that Europe should take the lead in addressing the development of media literacy as a social and scientific imperative”(E.A.V.I., 2011; p.4). As an historical pioneer in media civilization, it is imperative that European countries elaborate effective media literacy frameworks as well as applications for their citizens. The elaboration of the current chapter will provide theoretical perspectives in the development of media literacy as it relates to education and youth. This framework will then be used in exploring how students perceive the changing nature of literacy, as well as relations between education, media, and youth. A review of the literatures and framing of theoretical perspectives is an integral part of this scholarship. While engaging with texts that others have produced, including scientific articles, books, research documents, policy papers, and conference papers, this chapter aims to accomplish several tasks. According to Kamler and Thompson (2010), there are 4 key tasks accomplished within a review of the literatures. These include mapping the field of inquiry 18

and examining previous work in the field from which the current investigation is built. Determining which methods, studies or ideas are most relevant to the research is also an important element of a literature review. From these tasks, the research will develop a rationale, or a purpose, by identifying gaps in previous research and scholarship on the relationship between youth media and education. Through a review of theoretical work as well as current research in the field, an argument will be developed which emphasizes why the current research is needed as well as what particular contribution it will make to the field.

Through the steps outlined above the research will situate itself by

offering a contribution of knowledge to the media education community. In his team's 2006 policy paper for the MacArthur Foundation on Digital Learning, Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century, lead author Henry Jenkins discusses media change and the critical need for a new paradigm toward media-literacy across all disciplines. Concerning the role of public education, Jenkins argues that all disciplines must take responsibility for assisting students in mastering the knowledge and skills critical to living in a media dominated environment (Jenkins, 2006 b). More often than not, media education becomes a marginalized add-on subject, which will get taught if there is room in an already overcrowded curriculum. Additionally, in his 2006 book Convergence Culture, Jenkins asserts that media change is affecting every aspect of contemporary life, and thus understanding this process through media literacy is paramount in student learning success (Jenkins, 2006a). Like globalization or multi-cultural education, media education should represent an immense paradigm shift in teaching and learning, reshaping the way we teach across all existing subjects. The participatory methodology which Jenkin’s team elaborates within its 2006 policy paper represents a major work pertinent to the current research project. It, too, uses the convergence of media education and the new literacy movements to advance education in order to meet the needs of today’s students. The current research project uses and builds upon the findings and key constructs represented within Confronting challenges of Participatory Cultures (2006 b). Within a western, Anglo-Saxon context, new literacies and media education have been extremely influential paradigms for education research. The MacArthur Foundation has become a visible force in funding new research 19

that addresses the culture of convergence and learning in a digital age. As their website affirms, “The MacArthur Foundation launched its five-year, $50 million digital media and learning initiative in 2006 to help determine how digital media are changing the way young people learn, play, socialize, and participate in civic life. Answers are critical to developing educational and other social institutions that can meet the needs of this and future generations. The initiative is both marshaling what it is already known about the field and seeding innovation for continued growth.”(MacArthur Foundation, 2011). Prominent researchers such as Henry Jenkins, Howard Rheingold and Mizuko Ito have been lead authors on policy papers and digital learning platforms, such as Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project. Furthermore, influenced by education theorists such as John Dewey and Paulo Freire, who influenced generations of progressive educators, there is a considerable amount of research at the intersection of critical pedagogy, new literacies, and learning in the digital age. Despite considerable momentum in our understanding of digital learning, there is a critical need for new research and practice before we can evaluate the limits and possibilities of teaching and learning with participatory media. The following three sections will trace the historical development of the fields of media literacy, critical pedagogy, and new literacies. Further, it will reference seminal texts, key figures, as well as identifying the major debates, ideas, and constructs within the field.

II. Media Literacy in the Global Village The current research problem traces it’s origins within a 20th century phenomenon; the integration of electronic media and information and communication technology in society as a whole, and within the teaching and learning process in specific.

Further, the development of a global

communications network in the last half of the 20th century leading into the first decade of the 21st century has been a significant catalyst in the historical development of the field of media literacy. The educational process that linked the study of education and communication technologies was first seen across the Americas and Europe during and after the Second World War (Aparaci, 2003). Within this phenomenon, there are two strong global traditions for which the 20

study will reference: the Anglo-Saxon model and the Ibero-american Model. Media literacy education and communication for education (educomunicación) is rooted in the pioneering work of various 20th century education and communication scholars from across Europe, North America, and South America, including Dewey (1917, 1926), Freinet (1946), MacLuhan (1964), Freire (1970), Althusser (1970), Prieto (1980), Masterman (1985) , Postman (1985), and Kaplun (1998).

Although numerous definitions exist across cultural contexts,

there are common working definitions of media literacy among which include the European Commission definition as “the competence to cope, autonomously and critically, with the communication and media environment established within and as a consequence of the ‘information society”(EAVI 2009). A more succinct definition was proposed by participants at the Aspen Media Literacy leadership Institute as “the ability to access, analyze, evaluate and create media in a variety of forms” (Centre for Media Literacy, 2012). In addition to pioneers in the IberoAmerican tradition of educomunicación, there is a strong contemporary research community operating throughout various regions of Spain. Spanish media scholar Roberto Aparici notes that, in a Ibero-American context, the field of educomunicación is the intersection of two fields of study, education and communication sciences. It is also known as “recepcion critica de los medios, pedagogia de la comunicacion, educación para la television, pedagogia de la imagen, didactica de los medios audio-visuales, educacion para la comunicación, educación mediatica (Aparici, 2010).

Many of these communication and media scholars work together to

advance the field of ‘educomunicación1’ through collaborative research projects, conferences, academic publications, and coordination of scientific journals. The field is widely researched and many important figures contribute progressive methods for advancing the field of media literacy in Spain and beyond. These include the elaboration of conceptual frameworks, policy documents, and

1

Educomucación is a term which can most closely be translated to Media Education in

the Anglo-saxon model. For the purposes of this study, we will understand that both Media Education and Educomunicación are processes which have a shared goal towards ‘Media Literacy’.

21

competency frameworks organized around dimensions and indicators. Significant figures in the Spanish school of educomunicación include Roberto Aparici, Joan Ferres, Jordi Torrent, Agustin Garcia Matilla, Alfonso Gutiérrez Martín, Manuel Castells, Ignacio Aguaded Gomez, José Manuel Peréz Tornero, and Sara Osuna, among many others. These authors have collaborated to create seminal work in the field of media literacy research and education.

These

include the publication of the leading journal for education and communication, Comunicar, a 2011 national study on media competencies among Spanish citizens (Ferres et al. 2011), numerous important books in the field, including Educomunicación: mas alla del 2.0 (2010), and Comunicación Educativa en la Sociedad de la Información (2003). In addition, many of these authors have made important contributions to European and International organizations, such as UNESCO’s media education platform, European Commission funded research documents, the U.N.’s Alliance of civilization media literacy platform, as well European Viewers Interest Association (E.V.A.I).

With influence

throughout Europe as well as in Latin America, these scholars will continue to advance the Latin tradition of ‘educomunicación’. Spanish education and communication scholar Roberto Aparici (2010) explains that different media literacy movements existed throughout the 20th century with little dialogue between them throughout the Americas and Europe. In England, Len Masterman cites the publication in 1933 of Culture and Environment: The training of Critical Awareness by F.R. Leavis as the antecedents of what is today Media Literacy. Throughout the post war period, there were simultaneous developments of Media Literacy. in the U.S. and the U.K., known as Media Education.

In the 1970’s Non-governmental

organizations developed with the specific intent of relating media and education. Media scholars and specialists in the Anglo-Saxon context began to link their work across Canada, U.S., U.K., and Australia, as did their Latin counterparts who linked the development of popular education movements with the work of Paolo Freire (Aparici, 2010).

Different associations and

organizations emerged to move media education forward across the occidental world. A notable example, considered a pioneering organization in the world, was Canada’s Association for Media Literacy, considered to be the ‘most influential media education organization in North America (AML, 2012). Aparici explains that the Anglo-Saxon model become the hegemonic voice in 22

Latin America, clarifying that the dialogue between the two models was often one-sided. Although the Anglo-Saxon model, to some extent, acknowledged the role of Paolo Freire and critical pedagogy in media literacy education, other pioneers in the Ibero-American educomunicacion tradition were often ignored, including Daniel Prieto Castillo, Mario Káplun, and Francisco Gutíerrez (Aparici, 2011). Media-literacy, as Hobbs et al. explain, is a highly contextualized activity which takes many different forms dependent on varying cultural and learning environments.

It's philosophical origins can be seen as an extension of the

practice of rhetoric developed during the 5th century B.C., highly connected to the oral and critical thinking skills essential to the art of politics (Hobbs et al. 2009). Toward the middle of the 20th century, media-literacy education was explicitly developed to teach an expanded concept of print-based literacy, in line with the rising electric media age. In the 1960's, a concept began to emerge that we should begin to teach about the media, and not through the media. Where students should begin to reflect critically about the power and influence of the mass-media, and have an intimate understanding of the effects of mediaproduced messages have on society. This was the foundation of what is today called 'media-literacy'.(Goodman, 2003) We've come a long way from a classical era of orality, and our current communicative and cultural competencies are vastly different from the Guttenberg model. The concept of media literacy can be problematic due to it’s polysemous character.

Because it is open to multiple meanings and

interpretations, many argue that we must provide a clear definition, framework, as well as approaches which can be useful across different educational traditions. What’s more, among the Anglo-Saxon and Iberoamerican models of media education, the term media literacy competes with other terms and concepts which add confusion to an already marginalized discipline: media education, digital literacy, information literacy, educational communication (educomuncación en Espanol), and media studies. The aim of this section is to elaborate a framework for understanding media literacy and its role among youth in promoting engaged and active participation in society. In order to move forward, it is important to elaborate the distinction between media education and media literacy. A framework used by the 23

European Commision to understand this dynamic relationship is that “media education” is a process of teaching and learning and “media literacy” is the result of this process (European Commission, 2007). The conceptual map below, Graphic 1,

illustrates the associations and approaches used in a

European framework for Media Literacy (European Commission, 2007)

Democracy

Intercultural dialogue

Right to information

Teaching ethics and values Family education

Freedom of expression

Interaction with the media

Participation in the public sphere Regulatory authorities

Informal education

Formal education

Professional s

Participation and active citizenship

Media education

Media Literacy

Reading and writing lit.

Solving problems

Audiovisual lit. Personal autonomy

Critical thinking

Digital lit.

Critical and creative abilities and skills

Access Analysis Evaluation

Creative and production skills

Informed selection

Semiotic and cultural skills

Technical skills

Communicative skills

Graphic 1 Media Literacy Conceptual Framework 16

(European Commission, 2007)

24

Undeniably, the global nature of our media communication environment has also influenced the global reach of scholars addressing the relationship between education, youth, and media. This can be seen, for example, in the way Brazilian pedagogue Paulo Freire (1970) has resonated in North America and Europe.

Further, we can see the way Canadian media scholar Marshall

McLuhan (1964) foreshadowed the implications of globalization through the explosion of electronic media and communication tools into the daily lives of 1960’s North America.

Capello et. al (2011) express that a shared global

theoretical framework is beginning to emerge. Within a global communications ecology, Capello et al. (2011) point to a consolidation of theoretical perspectives and academic traditions that are converging to create a global media literacy movement. Historically, however, the field has been divided among different theoretical roots, academic postures, and disciplinary perspectives: Marxian and neo-Marxian theories of culture, educational activism, history of communication and culture, cultural studies, critical pedagogy, critical theory, and empiricism, etc. (Capello et al. 2011).

Evidently, academic posturing and epistemological

positions are still capable of fractionalizing the field of media literacy. Specialists and practitioners may have different visions or positions about media literacy, however, Capello et al (2011) point to the emergence of a metatheoretical or epistemological viewpoint that constitutes media literacy as an independent discipline. Interdisciplinary by nature, media literacy education is now a cross-disciplinary field connecting education, sociology, media and cultural studies, as well as psychology, as well as sharing conceptual frameworks, vocabulary, and research methods. As has been outlined previously, Europe has positioned itself in the forefront of media literac as a discipline in the beginning of the 21st century. Europe has long had aspirations in becoming a world leader within the information society, attempting to prepare its citizens for participation in an unparalleled global society.

Europe’s undeniable rich cultural heritage, it’s

traditions of democracy, intellectual freedom, religious tolerance, uncensored publications and open debate have placed it in an opportune position in becoming a global leader in media literacy (E.A.V.I. 2009).

There are

considerable resources about the origin of the field funded by organizations such as the European Commission.

The European Commission has

commissioned the Autonomous University of Barcelona to complete a 25

comprehensive study on the current trends and approaches to media literacy in Europe. They affirm that in order the concept of Media Literacy, we must understand the dynamic history of literacy. Today’s concept of Media Literacy is a model that is explicitly linked to the new global communications ecology within which we are today situated. The study explains “from an historical point of view each stage of the development of communications – in terms of codes, techniques and mediums- correspond to a specific development of the communicative and cultural competences and in consequence a different literacy model. Seen in a different way, they have always initiated new power struggles over access to the means of creating and disseminating information”(European Commission, 2007). communicative

and

Media literacy is undeniably a new model of cultural

competences

often

unrecognized

within

educational systems struggling to teach traditional concepts of literacy. A significant milestone in the discipline of media literacy education was the Grunwald Declaration in a 1982 UNESCO conference. This declaration was a precedent to further milestones in the history of media literacy, including the Alexandria Proclamation on Information Literacy and Lifelong learning (2005), and the UNESCO Paris Agenda (2007), all which have explicit relations with media literacy education (U.N.E.S.C.O. MIL, 2011). Spanish media literacy scholar Roberto Aparici also explains the field of M.L. was further pushed into a global context when UNESCO published the 1984 document La Educación en material de comunicación” (Aparici, 2010).

In addition, there exists an

abundance of frameworks, conceptual approaches, curriculum resources, studies and models of media literacy education.

These include UNESCOs Media

Education Kit (2007) and UNESCOs current initiative «Training the Trainer on Media and Information Literacy curricula», as well as the Alliance of Civilizationsm multi-faceted support of media literacy, European Commission’s Study on the current trends and possible approaches to Media Literacy in Europe, and UNESCO’s most recent Media and Information Literacy Curriculum for Teacher’s (2011) with practical applications for educators globally.

Many of these documents attempt to bridge theory and practice

through pragmatic curriculum approaches. Nonetheless, what is missing now, according to Torrent and Frau-Miggs, among others, is turning high ideals, romantic principals, innovative research, and groundbreaking policy documents into “operational applications” (Frau Miggs & Torrent, 2009). In other words, 26

despite 60 years of theoretical and practical development, there is still a critical need for greater media literacy activities in the classroom. Youth today live in a global communications landscape dominated by ubiquitous digital media.

The advent of the digital age in chorus with

traditional print-based, television, film and radio media has created a hypermediated environment. This point is unmistakably evident today, however, pioneers of media and communications theory, such as Marshall McLuhan, explored the effects of electric media on society. In his seminal work, he coined the now famous phrase “the medium is the message”(1964). Today it appears McLuhan’s cryptic prophesy on the effects of electric media: television, radio, and telecommunications, has never been more powerful. As McLuhan scholar Mark Federman explains, “We can know the nature and characteristics of anything we conceive or create (medium) by virtue of the changes - often unnoticed and non-obvious changes - that they effect.” (Federman, 2004)) McLuhan's observations on the disruption of the linear literary mind in favour of electric media, which was then being blasted into 1960's North American homes at unprecedented rates, acknowledged and celebrated the transformative power of new communication technologies. McLuhan also sent a warning about the threat the power which information and communication technologies posed, and the risk of being oblivious to that threat. The electric media of the 20th century, according to McLuhan, tyrannized the strong hold of print-based text on our mind and our senses. We were no longer fixed into the private and isolated reading which characterized half a millennium of the Guttenberg press (McLuhan, 1964). He theorized our unity and interconnectedness through new communication technologies. What he saw emerging was the equivalent of a tribal village on a global scale. Appropriately, McLuhan's second most famous quote emerged, what he referred to as the “Global village”. Most educators in the Western world are acutely aware of this reality, integrating multi-cultural perspectives across many disciplines.

Many, however, fail to make the

connections the effects of media have in our globalized world. An appropriate example in our world today is the phenomenon of video-sharing sites pioneered by Youtube. Using a Mcluhan analysis, we can see that Youtube has created deep and penetrating changes, perhaps non-obvious or unnoticed. However, these changes have profound impact in our audio-visual communicative world. The message is not the content of the Youtube video, the message is that 27

anybody, anywhere in the world, can upload and share their audio-visual message. Writing

on

the

effects

of

the

shift

to

information

and

communication technologies Nicholas Carr wrote, The Shallows, an exploration of how brain plasticity, cognitive development, and our dependence on technological progress intersect to create real and lasting changes in the ways our brains work. Specifically, he argues that our networked society has caused shifts from deep linear thinking to short, dispersed reflection (Carr, 2010). Building on the theories of McLuhan and others, Carr's position advances media theory for the 21st century. Carr extends McLuhan's analysis, that the linear mind characterized by our half millennial literary dependence is in the midst of dissolution.

McLuhan claimed the electric media of the 20th century was

“tyrannizing” the dominance of text over our mind and senses. What was emerging, then, was “the technological simulation of consciousness, when the creative process of knowing will be collectively and corporately extended to the whole of human society”(McLuhan, 1964). As internet penetration continues to proliferate the planet, knowledge explodes exponentially through unparalleled collaborative media projects, and online content reaches astronomical figures, McLuhan's prophesies continue to bring meaning to our social world. We can now ask, applying a McLuhan analysis, are we oblivious to the threat of our digital-media dominated age? What are the consequences of a media illiterate citizenry incapable of reading the dynamic messages within our society? Accordingly, our understanding and approach to literacy must shift. The Centre for Media-literacy has therefore modernized a mission statement for media education in the 21st century. “The convergence of media and technology in a global culture is changing the way we learn about the world and challenging the very foundations of education. No longer is it enough to be able to read the printed word; children, youth, and adults, too, need the ability to both critically interpret the powerful images of a multimedia culture and express themselves in multiple media forms. Media literacy education provides a framework and a pedagogy for the new literacy needed for living, working and citizenship in the 21st century. Moreover it

28

paves the way to mastering the skills required for lifelong learning in a constantly changing world.” (Jolls et al. 2005) A final note supporting the critical need for a media literacy education is the deeply troubling developments encountered in global media change; the concentration of media ownership. Media concentration is a process whereby progressively fewer organizations or individuals control an increasing share of the mass-media. As John Downing notes in the Sage Handbook of Media Studies, “research documents media concentration across all areas that make up the media industries, with many industries reaching “highly concentrated” status, indicating that the industry is dominated by a handful of firms.”(Downing, J. 2004) At the same time, there has never been a greater opportunity for citizen engagement and participation in media making. As media concentration continues with the rise of economic globalization, most media scholars point to an urgent need to pass along the communicative and cultural competencies for citizenship participation.

These competencies are

outlined in the European Commissions study on current trends and approaches to media literacy. They can be summarized in four areas of ability: access, analysis, evaluation and creative production. Further, the skills are explicitly related to areas of personal development which include consciousness, critical thinking, and problem solving abilities. (European Commission. 2007) What must now happen is for theory, policy, and practice to converge in the classroom in order to pass along the cultural and communicative competences that will allow students to benefit from learning in ways which allow them to fully participate in their daily lives.

III. New Literacies and New Learning “Literacy: Reading the word and the world” (Paulo Freire, 1987)

29

The historical development of new literacies2 as a discipline has a shared affiliation with the rise of media literacy as a constituted discipline. Both the fields of new literacies and media literacies share similar trajectories, conceptual frameworks, and theoretical perspectives. Both fields are explicit appeals for an expanded conception of literacy. The call for an expanded view of literacy comes from what many educators view as an increasing disconnect between literacy experiences inside and outside of the classroom.

The communicative and

cultural competences traditionally found within public education are being disrupted and displaced by the rise of new communicative spaces that require new competencies and skills and emerging knowledge. This section will explore the theoretical framework related to an expanded view of literacy within a period marked by continuous and rapid change. As numerous media educators have suggested, (Buckingham 2005; Goodman, 2003) there has been an increasing disconnect between the literacy taught in mass public education program's throughout the world, and the forms of literacies students experience outside of school in their daily lives.

The

consequences of this disconnect are manifold and reflect a major challenge today in education research, policy and practice. The current disruption of traditional literacy by the dominance of digital multi-media and ICT's has been theorized by numerous researchers, pioneered in the Anglo-Saxon tradition by the New London Group (1996) in their seminal essay, “A Pedagogy of MultiLiteracies”. Subsequently, work in the field of new literacies has exploded, particularly in recent years through wide research in North America and Europe. Literacy advocates call for a new approach to literacy education in response to the changing social and learning environments facing students and teachers. They refer to such an approach as new literacies. This new approach argues that the proliferation of communication channels in modern life, in combination with increasing cultural and linguistic diversity in the world call for a much more complex, nuanced and broader view of literacy than is exemplified by

2

New literacies is also known as multi-literacies, originating through the work of the

New London Group (1996). For the purposes of this study, the concept will be referred to as new literacies.

30

traditional print-based, static conceptions of reading and writing (New London Group, 1996). At the heart of their essay, the New London group explore the shape of social change and the re-imagination and restructuring of the education project to enable students to critically engage with their world and shape their future through fulfilling employment and community participation (New London Group, 1996).

A pedagogy of multiliteracies is a call to action for

educators in the face of both global change and media change as a way to accommodate learning for the 21st century (New London Group, 1996). A shift in understanding what it means to be “literate” today is critical in teaching youth to be able to fully participate in community, public, creative, and economic life. In our failure to address new literacies, critical for coding and decoding knowledge and power within society, including in our increasing networked global communications ecology, we will ignore the pressing elements and skills necessary to educate an active, engaged, creative citizenship. Australian new literacy educators Colin Lanskshear and Michele Knobel further propose that “los nuevos alfabetismos están relacionados con una forma de pensar emergente y en evolución y que la idea de los alfabetizmos ‘nuevos’es una manera útil de conceptualizer lo que podemos considerer como un component

de

la

“dialéctica

alfabetizadora”

que

se

está

desplegando”(Lanksheare, 2010; p.43). III.a. Globalization and Multiliteracies The sweeping and dramatic impact of globalization is difficult to dispute. Global social change has transformed individuals, communities, and nationstates.

The starting point for the discussion of new literacies was the shape of

social change. The authors of the New London Group explored contemporary social change and its implications on individual’s capacity to participate in public, community, and economic life.(New London Group, 1996) It is therefore valuable to understand the source of this fundamental shift which has taken place in society, one which has significant implications for the ways we communicate, educate, and participate in our daily lives. In the simplest terms, globalization can be characterized by the

31

increasingly interconnected and interdependent networks of people, ideas, capital, goods, and services around the world. The dominant ideology behind the phenomenon of global integration is driven by a neo-liberal model of economics, promoting a near universal trend of market deregulation and privatization.

Following neo-liberal ideology, the unregulated integration of

international financial markets advanced a seemingly unified world economic system (Lo Bianco, 2000).

Beginning in the 1980’s, rising into the 1990’s and

early 2000’s, neoliberalism dominated national economic policy throughout the majority of the world, leading to unparalleled economic integration in the shape of networked global financial markets. The implications and character of such a system are evidenced by the sweeping global economic collapse of 2008 from which we are still struggling. Arguably, the most influential element of the global economic system is facilitated by the revolution in information and communication technologies. Instantaneous and ubiquitous communication technologies have been a dominant force of global integration and interconnectivity, the implications of which are seen across cultural, social, political, and economic spheres. It is in this context that we can begin to understand the shape of social change, and the influence for which globalization is accountable for such change. III.b Technology as Globalized and Globalizing One of the most salient features of globalization is the role of technology as inherently globalized and globalizing. That is to say, technology is both a cause and effect of globalization. The internationalization of communication was a significant force in shaping global integration in late 19th and early 20th centuries.

John Thompson explores the key developments of global

communication networks by focusing on three instrumental developments; the global expansion of underwater cable networks, the growth of a network of international media organizations covering exclusive geographical areas of operation, and the expansion of global networks of organizations concerned with the allocation of the electro-magnetic spectrum (a precursor to today’s satellite and internet driven mass-media landscape) (Thompson, 2000; p.203). These processes originate in the 19th century and rose to dominance in the 20th century, becoming a prominant feature of daily life and vital to the expansion

32

and influence of globalization into the 21st century.

These systems of

communication laid the foundation for the emergence of revolutionary technological advances in the post-WW-II era. Originating out of Cold War military intelligence, the internet has come to represent the vehicle for the proliferation of technology in our world today (Targowski, 2006). Its implications are both far-reaching as well as unprecedented, relevant in terms of how individuals read, write, view, construct knowledge, and communicate information online.

This is particularly

significant to the expansion of new information and communications technology that has transformed the ways in which individuals make meaning across a variety of social and cultural contexts.

Indeed, this is the fundamental

motivation behind a New literacies approach within education; the internet has catalyzed unprecedented changes to how we read, write, view, and communicate that it is now essential to evaluate what it means to be literate in the 21st century. As Coiro et al (2003), affirm about the discontinuous influence of the internet, “No previous technology for literacy has been adopted by so many, in so many different places, in such a short period, and with such profound consequences.

No previous technology for literacy permits the immediate

dissemination of even newer technologies of literacy to every person on the Internet by connecting to a single link on a screen.

Finally, no previous

technology for literacy has provided access to so much information that is so useful, to so many people, in the history of the world”(Coiro et al. 2008; p.3). The static construct of print-based literacy, a dominant element of the last 500 years of civilization, is no longer. The expansion of new information and media ensures a continuous and rapid process of change in the way we read, write, view, listen, construct knowledge, and communicate information. (Coiro et al. 2008)

In this way, it is vital to explore the implications of technological

globalization and the new forms of literacies that it has shaped. III.c Network Society As the Internet’s network influence on education increases, the Web 2.0 platform has emerged to transform information and media consumers into

33

producers.

Web 2.0 is perceived as the second generation of web design and

development, characterized by a user-generated transformation of the internet which has facilitated unprecedented communication, information sharing, and collaboration between the internet’s 1.2 billion users. The scale and nature of the Web 2.0 platform has previously never been seen. As Manuel Castell observes, "what has changed is not the kind of activities humankind is engaged in, but its technological ability to use as a direct productive force what distinguishes our species as a biological oddity; its superior capacity to process symbols"(Castells 2000; p. 101). In the new information and communications era, an individual’s capacity to process these symbols is increasingly dependent on their ability to interpret multi-modal meaning.

That is to say, with the ascendency of

Information and Communications Technology, meaning is represented not just in a written-linguistic mode, but increasingly modes of meaning interact with oral, visual, audio, gestural, tactile, and spatial patterns of meaning. In Castells’ observation, he presupposes our species’ ability to process multi-modal meaning. However, in the decade since his claim, there has been an enormous shift in the context in which we view symbols in our daily lives. Our capacity to process symbols is consequently becoming inadequate as we continue the dominance of print literacy while marginalizing the variability of making meaning in different social and modal contexts. Within the new information and communication revolution, catalyzed by globalization, discontinuity is now a constant. III.d Citizenship in the 21st Century An increasingly relevant element of globalization in the 21st century is the mobility of humans around the world. The sheer scale of human mobility has created a global phenomenon of multi-culturalism on an unprecedented level. This phenomenon has brought about large implications for literacy, as individuals require interacting and working across different cultural contexts. The pattern of global movement generates a need for understanding of different linguistic contexts, while at the same time, the consequences of globalization bring about the dominance of English as the lingua mundi(Lo Binaco, 2000). Citizenship in the 21st is intrinsically global.

The unparalleled human

population transfers in all areas of the world alters the relationships of nations, communities, and individuals.

As many observers note, the technological 34

revolution demands a new approach to literacy, in this same way, the emergence of global mobility demands a new approach to both literacy and lingualism. In this sense, new literacies must integrate Multiligualism. One of the most relevant features of modernity and ‘new’ capitalism is the diffusion of technologies and its implications on aspects of the daily lives of individuals around the world.

Arguably the most influential feature of

technology diffusion has been the revolution of communications technologies that advances modernity in a discontinuous process away from the traditional, altering the business structures and practices of the 20th century industrial period (Giddens, 2000). In 1996, the authors of the New London Group set out to explore the shape of social change by defining an expanded conception of literacy in the face of rapid global change.

Social change has been most fundamentally

influenced by what many refer to as processes of globalization; the increasing interdependence and interconnectivity of our world. The shape of global change has dramatically affected our communicative and cultural competencies.

A

Pedagogy of Multiliteracies is a call to action for educators in the face of global change as a way to accommodate learning so as students may benefit from the new public, private, work, and educational lives they will encounter in their future. In a global era, we will need the multiple skills required to negotiate through the changing landscapes of our social, learning, and economic lives. An expanded vision of literacy is needed in order to prepare students for the new communicative and cultural realities they will face in their communities and in their places of work.

IV. Critical Pedagogy Education theorist Paulo Freire pioneered a fundamental element of both media literacy as well as an expanded vision of literacy more generally. He has proposed a re-imagination of contemporary education within his seminal book, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970). His polemic vision of society affirms that "education either functions as an instrument which is used to facilitate integration of the younger generation into the logic of the present system and bring about conformity or it becomes the practice of freedom, the means by 35

which men and women deal critically and creatively with reality and discover how to participate in the transformation of their world."(Freire, 1970; p.16) The practice of freedom and emancipation is central to critical pedagogy. Freire used a marxist and anti-colonial critique to construct a philosophy of education developed through work with illiterate, landless peasants in Brazil. emerged is an educational approach referred to as Critical Pedagogy.

What It is

described by cultural critic Henry Giroux as an “educational movement, guided by passion and principle, to help students develop consciousness of freedom, recognize authoritarian tendencies, and connect knowledge to power, and the ability to take constructive action (Giroux, 2010). Engaging youth to take action in issues which matter most to them using contemporary communicative and cultural competencies is indeed an extension of critical pedagogy. In particular, critical pedagogy is a fundamental instructional methodology to allow students to take action through inquiry-based research, what Freire calls problem-posing education. This action is aimed to shape change in learner’s communities. It is a foundational element of the Ibero-American tradition of media literacy, and has become an increasing component of the Anglo-Saxon model.

Paolo Freires intellectual journey spanned almost half a century, evolving and varying as political and cultural contexts changed throughout his lifetime. He has left an undeniable impact on education theory and practice, not only in Latin America, but also throughout North America and Europe. Among his most known works is Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970). The ground-breaking publication proposes a new dialogical relationship between teacher, student, and society, and rejects a traditional student-teacher dynamic based on what Freire calls a banking model of education.

Within this model, “education

becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories, and the teacher is the depositor”(Freire, 1970; p.72). The rational of this foundational work is the liberation of oppressed classes in Brazil’s sizeable rural population who suffered social exclusion, often through a lack of communicative competencies within society. He encouraged supporters to liberate themselves and their oppressors, however warning not to in turn oppress their former oppressors, but to become “restorers of the humanity of both”(Freire, 1970)

36

What is notable is that many of Freire’s students have gone on to make immense contributions to the fields of education and communication, or media literacy education, including Mario Káplun, Roberto Aparici, and Henry Giroux, among others.

The connection, thus, between critical pedagogy and media

education is inherently explicit. A fundamental approach to Freire’s philosophy is that teachers and learners should “learn to read reality so that they can write their own history”(Freire, 1970). Freire believed that through action, reflection and participation, what he called praxis, teachers and learners could dialogue in order to take control of their lives, and accordingly take transformative change in their communities.

Contemporary critical pedagogue Tony Monchinski

describes praxis as “thinking about what and why you’re going to do before you do it and then reflecting on what you did, how you did it, and how it turned out” (Monchinski, 2008; p.1). Using a praxis framework, the model which Freire proposes, seamlessly designed for a critical media literacy framework, is one which uses an inquiry-based, problem-posing method of learning where students are transformed into co-investigators with their teachers, and engage in learning projects for which the students themselves want to learn more about. Freire distinguished between progressive and conservative models of education, and their approach in teaching the subject matter. According to Freire, a conservative program seeks to hide the reasons for a variety of social problems while progressive educational practices tend to use learner-centred subject matter that tend to reveal the reasons for those same problems. As Alfonso Torress Carrillo (n.d.) explains, a “progressive model seeks to unsettle the learners, challenging them so that they realize that the world is not finally given and can therefore be changed, transformed and re-invented”(Torress, n.d.). Further, a Freirian analysis to a banking model of education views such a framework as “myth-creating irrationality”, while an inquiry based, problemposing method offers a “critical and dynamic view of the world. Finally, a critical pedagogy stresses learners and teachers to take an active, reflective, and critical participation in their education in order to transform their communities, and in turn, their world (Freire, 1970). As Freire would suggest, one of the most important questions raised by education leaders around the world is; how can we ensure that students benefit from learning today so that they may shape their world and 37

participate fully in their adult lives?

As Freire realized, the method

marginalized populations can use to overcome exclusion and poverty has been through the acquisition of the dominant communicative and cultural competencies. Historically, this has been through print-based literacy, but as has been previously revealed, the changing nature of literacy requires students to develop a critical consciousness capable of coding and decoding an expansive array of multi-media messages across various platforms. At the root of a critical pedagogy is advancing education to serve social transformation, justice and equality. Providing students today with participatory communicative skills and cultural competencies can become a powerful strategy for promoting educational and social equity.

V. Towards a Converging Model Understanding the essential need for critical pedagogy, new literacies and participatory media competencies in the lives of youth, it is also relevant to explore patterns of media production and consumption among youth. In particular, this is essential when access to participatory media making is explicitly linked to social indicators, namely socio-economic background. For example, in the U.S., roughly 27% of the adult population completes a university or college degree (Hobbs et al. 2008). As media researchers Hobbs and Jensen discover, students who have at least one parent with a graduate degree are much more likely to create media content, both online and offline, than those without (Hobbs et al., 2008). Further, in “The Participation Divide” authors Hargaetti et. al. conclude, “while it may be that digital media are levelling the playing field when it comes to exposure to content, engaging in creative pursuits remains unequally distributed by social background. (Hargaetti et al., 2008; p.252)

As numerous media researchers argue, failing to distribute skills,

knowledge, and access to critical literacy and media production only reinforces inequities in access to knowledge and power which already plague highly marginalized and stratified societies. Freire’s analysis of social exclusion, and a teaching methodology based on participation, dialogue, communication, and liberation are equally as important today as they were in 1960’s rural Brazil. Undeniably, critical pedagogy provides an important theoretical framework in order to elaborate a media literacy education, one that offers an expanded vision of literacy in order to promote social justice and equality. 38

There are numerous examples of media educators who use the convergence of critical pedagogy, media literacy, and new literacies to meet the learning needs of students within a new global media ecology. Steven Goodman is one such example, and he is passionate about the role of critical literacy and media production in promoting greater community engagement, youth empowerment and social inclusion. For thirty years he has facilitated youthproduced documentary films using a participatory method.

His model of

critical video production, outlined in his book, Teaching Youth Media(2003), is an indispensable resource for media educators.

His model of education

incorporates the three theoretical perspectives used within this research, and offers a pragmatic look at what the model looks like in action. Speaking from a North American perspective, he outlines the state of media education across the United States, critiquing the failure of schools in addressing the media as the predominant language of youth today. He further discusses the inability of the U.S. school system “to recognize the social and cultural contexts in which students live.”

He argues this phenomenon “has resulted in a profound

disconnect”(Goodman, 2003) between what students learn inside and outside of school. In his mission, Goodman is arguing for schools to build 'critical literacy' skills and habits which will allow youth to “analyze, evaluate, and produce print, aural, visual forms of communication” as well as "understand how media is made to convey particular messages and how they can use electronic and print technologies themselves to document and publicly voice their ideas and concerns regarding the most important issues in their lives.” (Goodman, 2003; p.17) Goodman calls on educators to understand how student’s experiences outside of the classroom shape the kinds of literacies and critical thinking skills they bring into the classroom. In an age of media dominance, bridging the media-literacy gap inside and outside of school is essential. Goodman’s work will serve as an appropriate method specific to the current research being undertaken. As numerous authors note, a failure to address the increasing media participation gap, compounded by a lack of media literacy education and a narrow view of literacy in general, will produce long-term consequences in the new social and learning environments we are facing. This includes increasing educational and social inequity as well as social exclusion. To further this point, sociologist Steven J. Tepper and former chairman of the National endowment for 39

the arts Bill Ivey, writing in the Chronicle of Higher Education (May 16, 2006) described what they see as the challenges ahead for educational and social equality in an American context.. “Increasingly, those who have the education, skills, financial resources, and time required to navigate the sea of cultural choice will gain access to new cultural opportunities........At the same time, those citizens who have fewer resources—less time, less money, and less knowledge about how to navigate the cultural system—will increasingly rely on the cultural fare offered to them by consolidated media and entertainment conglomerates..., such citizens will be trapped on the wrong side of the cultural divide. So technology and economic change are conspiring to create a new cultural elite—and a new cultural underclass. It is not yet clear what such a cultural divide portends: what its consequences will be for democracy, civility, community, and quality of life. But the emerging picture is deeply troubling.” (Tepper et al., 2006) The convergence of the three theoretical positions highlighted within this chapter are capable of building a strong foundation from which future pedagogy can emerge to confront some of the deeply troubling patterns developing within our society. This chapter served to introduce three theoretical positions used to frame the current research that include media literacy, new-literacies, and critical pedagogy.

These positions will be used to elaborate a qualitative

research design that will use an ethnographic case-study methodology, presented in later chapters.

40

Research Objectives and Questions I. Objectives According to a recent study, American youth spend 8.5 hours a day in front of a digital screen, often using 2 or even 3 digital devices at the same time (Centre for Research Excellence, 2009). The research also repeatedly shows that youth spend significantly more time engaged with media than on any other activity besides sleep (Buckingham, 2011). In response to such major shifts in social and learning environments (New London Group, 1996; Bauman, 2000; Castells, 2000), through the advent of ubiquitous digital media in the lives of youth (Carr, 2010; Buckingham, 2003, 2011), many education researchers suggest that the most effective strategies for teaching media literacy is to engage students in creating and sharing their own media (Goodman, 2003). Following these developments, the current research explores concepts of literacy among youth within Spanish high schools within new communication spaces.

In this

sense, the current study is interested in exploring the way new information and communication technology has affected youth perceptions on literacy and changing relations between education and media. In addition, through an ethnographic case study the research will observe how this phenomenon relates 41

to the disruption and dissolution of traditional literacies in a transformation towards what many scholars refer to as new literacies or multi-literacies (New London Group, 1996, Lankshear & Knobel, 2009). The general objective of the current investigation is to explore the changing relation between youth, media, and education through a case-study at IES Parque Lisboa in Alcorcón, Spain. The research aligns itself with other education researchers such as Douglas Kellner (2007), Henry Jenkins (2006), Roberto Aparici (2010) and Howard Rheingold (2010), who contend that the development of a critical media literacy makes possible a radical reconstruction and re-imagination of education. Moreover, a growing body of research (Jenkins, 2006; Ito, 2008; Gutiérrez Martín, 2010; and Ferrés i Prats, 2010) suggests that emerging participatory cultures facilitate social change through increased peer-to-peer learning, a diversification of cultural expression, development of emotional intelligence, and an increased conception of engaged and empowered citizenship, making education more responsive to the challenges of a democratic, global, and multicultural society. In this sense, the specific objective of the current research is to explore how youth perceive the changing role of ICT and media in their everyday lives and how it relates to changing conceptions of literacy. A further aim is to contribute to future research in the field of literacy education with a view towards a re-imagination and a re-think of the aims of education within a rapidly changing society.

In this sense, the objective of the

research is to advance pedagogy that promotes critical reflection among youth surrounding media use, engages youth in new communication methods with an aim to promote positive transformations in their communities and in their everyday lives. As Howard Rheingold proclaims in a keynote address, “learning to use participatory media to learn and speak and organize about issues might well be the most important citizenship skill that digital natives need to learn if they are going to maintain or revive democratic governance”(Rheingold, 2008; audio recording).

In a world where media power and ownership are more

concentrated than ever before (Downing, 2004), everyday citizens now have increased access to the tools and resources to produce and distribute their own 42

media. British media scholar David Buckingham affirms, “ it is hard to deny that the relations between young people, the media, and education are currently undergoing fundamental and far-reaching change”(Buckingham, 2003; p.2). Consequently, numerous media educators hold that youth now more than ever need the critical skills, knowledge, and behaviors to shape their changing world through a critical media literacy education. We have an opportunity today to connect the excitement and attraction surrounding digital media toward active and engaged civic participation among youth.

Harnessing this potential is

essential to building skills and knowledge for youth to shape change in their world surrounding the issues they care about most.

In the 21st century,

education must be responsive to the challenges of living in a democratic, multicultural, and global society. Among the objectives of the current research is to contribute to the field of media literacy education with an aim to create a more just and sustainable world through active participation and communication. The current case study will meet with youth within a class in a Spanish high school and through observation, surveys, and group discussions, will explore the theme of literacy and the changing characteristics between education and media, in the lives of youth. In this sense, the research will also explore assumptions that schools have failed to address the media as the predominant language of youth today.

An additional assumption of the

research, following Jenkins and others, is that the rise of a global media culture has produced transformative effects in all dimensions of society, including how we interact, communicate, learn, create, produce and consume (Jenkins, 2006a).

II. Research Questions Understanding that literacy is explicitly linked to social inclusion, civic engagement, achieving life-goals, and societal participation (Akerman et al, 2006), it is vitally important to understand and evaluate the changing nature of literacy pedagogy today. As numerous social researchers have affirmed, our social world has rapidly transformed amidst a significant technological revolution and a rise in cultural and linguistic diversity (New London Group, 1994).

Equally important is understanding the implications of media change

through the rise of a global corporatized digital-media culture as well as a global communications ecology (Jenkins, 2006, Castells, 2000, 2004, 2007).

As Jenkins 43

describes, old and new media have collided in what he describes as convergence culture where the flow of content crosses multiple media platforms characterized by increasing cooperation between multiple media industries, as well as the migratory behaviour of media audiences who will chase the content they desire almost anywhere (Jenkins, 2006a). The locus of the current research lies in exploring the dynamic nature of literacy and the role of media-literacy in education today.

According to Howard Rheingold, literacy is “the most

important method human's have used to introduce systems and tools to other humans, to train each other to partake of and contribute to culture, and to humanize the use of instruments that might otherwise enable commodification, mechanization and dehumanization”(Rheingold, 2010a; web citation).

The

current research will explore this theme by posing the following questions; How do students in Madrid, Spain, relate their understanding of literacy today within a new global communications ecology? How do these understandings change the relationship dynamic between youth, media, and education?

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Research Design “Understanding the role of digital media in the formation of youthful identities requires an approach that is clear sighted, unsentimental, and constructively critical.” ( David Buckingham, 2008; p.19)

I. Research Design As has been stated in the introduction, the aim of this research project is to explore the way a new global communications ecology, fueled through information and communication technology and digital media, has affected youth relations towards literacy. Further the research aims to understand the changing relations between youth, education and media. An objective of the research is to observe how this phenomenon relates to the disruption and dissolution of traditional literacies in a transformation towards what many researchers refer to as new literacies or multi-literacies (New London Group, 1996; Lankshear & Knobel, 2010). In accordance with the general features of a qualitative study, as Cohen et al.(2007) express, a naturalistic research project should begin with a single focus or problem to address. The general objectives and singular problem of the current investigation will be realized through a case study at a high school in Madrid, Spain. The research aims to transcribe and interpret the ways youth understand their own association to I.C.T., new media, and learning as it relates to changing notions of literacy. The goal is to capture youth perceptions and attitudes about literacy in an attempt to understand how new media and information and communication technology is meaningful to their lives, as well as in relation to their education. In order to reach this goal, the youth-centered study was undertaken using a qualitative approach defined by an ethnographic case study.

The study was designed to document the

perceptions, attitudes, and practices of youth in relation to our new global

45

communications ecology. Accordingly, two research questions emerged: How do students in Madrid, Spain, relate their understanding of literacy today within a new global communications ecology? How do these understandings change the relationship dynamic between youth, media, and education? By exploring the transformation between education, media, and youth within a descriptive study in Alcorcón, Spain, the current research transcribes and translates youth perceptions in a world rapidly transforming under the influence of Information and communication technology. The youth-focused research was a deliberate attempt to give voice within scientific research surrounding media practices, opinions and attitudes of youth. Although there are various large-scale studies on media practices and competencies in relation to education, particularly in an Anglosaxon context (Jenkins, 2006; Ito, 2008; Buckingham, 2007), but also in a Spanish context (Ferres et al. 2011; O.N.T.S.I., 2011), however these studies are often quantitative in nature and fail to give voice to youth.

In Spain, for example, there was a comprehensive study

undertaken by a group of researchers aiming to measure media competencies among citizens (Ferres et al. 2011), however this investigation was more broadly focused, with a citizen-wide approach. As American researcher Mizuko Ito affirms, “What is generally lacking in the research literature overall is an understanding of how new media practices are embedded in a broader social and cultural ecology”(Ito, 2008; p. 6). The selected method has been an attempt to embed the research in the social and cultural ecology of youth.

This is

particularly critical as Ito affirms that youth today are engaging in media in ways profoundly different from that of other generations, and that these practices are tied to long-term and systemic changes in our communicative and cultural landscape (Ito, 2008). The current research is designed to address how current practices may affect systemic changes in future educational policy and practice. The youth-centered research was focused in one specific geographic site,

46

the (Instituto de Ensenanza Secundaria, IES) Parque Lisboa, in Alcorcón, Madrid.

Within the first of two distinct surveys, verified by a panel of 5

experts3, the research focus was on A. youth attitudes towards literacy B. Attitudes surrounding participatory media C. use of participatory media tools. The second survey used a media literacy dimension created by the European Association for Viewers Interests (E.A.V.I.) used to measure Individual Media Literacy Competencies. This dimension was identified within the framework of a European wide research program on the Study on Assessment Criteria for Media Literacy Levels (2009). It was an ambitious project that attempted to measure media literacy levels across Europe through the identification of two dimensions; Individual Competencies (I.C.) and Environmental Factors (E.F.) (EAVI, 2009). This research borrowed the E.A.V.I. Individual Competencies framework within a questionnaire in order to gain an understanding of youth perceptions surrounding their own media competencies.

The individual

competencies are broken down into two dimensions I. Personal Competencies and II. Social Competencies. These two dimensions are then divided into three categories: A. Media Use B. Critical Understanding and C. Communicative Abilities. These three categories made up the second questionnaire, which was delivered at the end of the research phase.

II. Ethnographic Case Study Methodology A. Ethnography The current investigation uses an ethnographic or naturalistic approach. It also applies a critical qualitative research design.

In addition, it

will also use a case-study framework. Following theorists such as Habermas and his Frankfurt school predecessors including Adorno and Horkheimer as well as Carspecken (1996), such a design will employ a constructivist, interpretive, post-

3

The 5 experts consulted in the Survey Design were: 1. Maria-Luz Cacheiro,Profesora de

la U.N.E.D. 2. Jorge Valdivia, Profesor de la Universidad de Concepción de Chile 3. Domingo J. Gallego, Profesor de la U.N.E.D. 4. Catalina M. Alonso García, Profesora de la U.N.E.D. 5. José Armando Salazar Ascenio, Profesor de la Universidad de la Frontera, Temuco, Chile

47

positivistic, and postmodern perspective (Cohen et al., 2007). The fundamental purpose of a critical qualitative approach, according to Cohen et al., “is intensely practical, to bring about a more just, egalitarian society, in which individual and collective freedoms are practiced, and to eradicate the exercise and effects of illegitimate power” (Cohen et al. 2007; p.26). Further the study emphasizes an attempt to understand social phenomenon through direct observation, interaction, transcription, translation, and analysis.

A review and analysis of

the research literature will help place the ongoing research within context. However, according to Eisner, the principle instrument within naturalistic and ethnographic research is the researcher (Cited in Cohen et al. 2007). Further, as a pioneer in the field of ethnographic research, Malinowski affirms that social research must examine social phenomenon through the eyes of the participants (Cited in Cohen et al. 2007). He observes that the primary role of ethnographies is “to grasp the point of view of the native, his view of the world and in relation to his life”(Cited in Cohen et al. 2007; p. 167). A significant objective of the current research is to provoke sociocultural knowledge from research participants in ways that allow interpretation and transcription so as to make their social behaviour understandable.

This objective will aim to relate the

observed social behaviour and their implications to educational contexts in order to advance teaching and learning inside the classroom. Further, it is an aim of the current research design to contribute to education in ways that advance social justice and democratic participation through new literacy competencies. It is understood that an ethnographic research methodology is inextricably linked to particular physical, psychological, social, and cultural contexts in which they are formed. Aligned with media literacy education, the model of analysis that I will apply will be action oriented, that is to say, active participation will be highly integrated in the course of research (Walliman, 2001). Within the current research design, I will apply the theoretical frameworks of critical pedagogy, media-literacy and new-literacies. Exploring the views of students in relation to dominant conceptions of ‘literacy’ in concert with a review of the literature on media education within Spain and Europe will allow me to provide insight into the realities and complexities of integrating media literacy within the classroom.

48

According to Carspecken, three principles are investigated in all social research: “social action, subjective experience, and their conditions”(Carspeken, 1996). Using this framework, the social action explored will be the lives of high school participants inside and outside the classroom, and in particular, their behaviors and attitudes towards new media tools. The subjective experience will be the views, attitudes, and beliefs held by the participants in relation to the changing nature of literacy, media, and education. The conditions will be the public education system, the broader community, including the social and cultural ecology of the participants. This includes a micro setting of IES Parque Lisboa high school, to a macro setting of a global communications ecology. Within a new global communications ecology, information and communication technology play a dominant role in the changing framework for contemporary communicative and cultural competencies. Understanding and interpreting the social action of youth, their subjective experience, and their related conditions will be an important task of this ethnography. As Ito explains (2008), the strength of an ethnographic approach in studying youth media practices is that it enables documentation of young people’s understanding, experiences and practices with new media and literacy. In addition it allows researchers to draw from various empirical data to identify significant categories or structures that determine new media practices and attitudes about social phenomenon, including new conceptions of literacy. She continues that ethnography is not suited for “testing existing analytic categories or targeted hypotheses but asks more fundamental questions about what the relevant factors and categories of analysis are”(Ito, 2008; p.7).

By asking

fundamental questions about youth conceptions of literacy, the current project aims to analyze how youth view literacy today in an ever-expanding communications environment dominated by digital media as well as how education can respond to such new social and learning environments. B. Case-Study Methodology Within an ethnographic approach, the research will apply a descriptive case-study methodology. Collecting data in a descriptive method is designed to deal with complex social issues.

A case-study approach is a

common category of ethnographic or naturalistic inquiry, and is considered an 49

investigation into a specific social phenomenon in its real-life context (Cohen et al, 2007). Researchers such as Stake (1995), Yin (2003), as well as Baxter & Jack (2008) consider the case-study approach to be founded on a constructivist paradigm. Within this paradigm, constructivists contend that truth is relevant and dependent on one’s perspective (Baxter and Jack, 2008). According to Yin, a case study should be used when “you want to cover contextual conditions because you believe they are relevant to the phenomenon under study”(Cited in Baxter & Jack, 2008; p. 545). The context of the current study examines new relations between youth, media, and education, which have undergone radical changes in recent times. The phenomenon under study is thus, the penetration of ubiquitous media into the daily lives of youth and it’s implication for teaching and learning. Numerous

researchers

note

disadvantages of a case-study methodology.

possible

advantages

and

According to Adelman (1980),

cited in Cohen et al.(2007), advantages include: case-study data being “strong in reality” but difficult to organize, whereas non-case-study data may be “weak-in reality” but easier to organize. They often allow generalizations, with particular strength lying in their attention to subtlety and complexity of the case itself. In addition, case studies recognize the complexity and ‘embededness’ of social truths while also contributing towards social action, an objective of this study. The results of case studies, may be directly interpreted and put to use in policy and decision making processes. Finally, case studies often present research to the public in a more accessible form than other kinds of research projects (Cited in Cohen et al. 2007). Disadvantages in the use of case studies may be the narrowness of the results, lacking the ability to become generalizable. Due to the fact that they are not easily open to cross-validation, their results may be biased, personal, selective or subjective. Finally, they are often susceptible to researcher bias, which may affect results (Cited in Cohen et al, 2007).

In

addition, Spanish researchers Recio and Rasco remark “que el studio de caso busca ofrecer un reflejo complete, fiel e imparcial de la realidad; una vision quitativa” (Vasquez & Angulo, 2012).

The current project will favor the

strengths found within case-study research.

III. Empirical data collection and analysis

50

Multiple Data sources are common practice in both ethnographic and case study research, and the current study incorporates various sources. Using various data sources collected from ethnographic visits with high school youth, the empirical data analysis will use a seven-step approach which features grounded theory in order to generate research results. Data sources integrated a variety of methods, including surveys, group interviews, group discussions, participant observation, field notes and documents as well as engaging youth participants through the use of social networks (Google +). Grounded theory, according to Cohen et al. (2007), is an important method for theory generation in naturalistic research. Corbin (1994, Cited in Cohen et al. 2007; p.491) remark that “grounded theory is a general methodology for developing theory that is grounded in data systematically gathered and analyzed.” Grounded theory has several features, foremost being that theory is emergent, and thus derives from data, not vice versa. A pioneer in grounded theory, Glaser (1996, Cited in Cohen et al, 2007) affirms that grounded theory “is the systematic generation of a theory from data” (Cohen et al., 2007 p. 491). It is recognized as an inductive process in which patterns emerge from the data, and where the researcher discovers these patterns and generates theory accordingly. An analysis of the data collected in combination with a discussion with the scientific literature, will be the basis for the research results, interpretations as well as future lines of investigation. As Cohen et al. explain, “data analysis involves organizing, accounting for, and explaining the data”(2007). Lankshear and Knobel (2004) also distinguish between two types of researcher generated data, contextualized and decontextualized (2004), recognizing that researcher generated data is collected deliberately and systematically. The majority of the data collected within this research project was decontextualized, that is to say outside the realm of normal classroom activities, which includes surveys, group discussions and interviews. Many of these approaches are what Lankshear & Knobel (2004) refer to as “interventionist” strategies. Due to ethical issues during class visits, recording group interview was prohibited within the school. During my 12-week research period within the classroom, I visited once a week for a 50-minute class period, during this time I led the class in semi51

structured group interviews during which I focused on questions relating to A. attitudes towards literacy. B. Attitudes toward participatory media C. use of participatory media tools, and D. Individual Media Literacy Competencies. The method used within each group interview session varied, and included semistructured group interview using a power-point presentation as an interview guide, photo analysis using ppt, video analysis of two media messages (advertisements) using a media literacy inquiry-based analysis (5 key media literacy questions)4, as well as a social media (Google +) strategy. The content of the

semi-structured

interviews

often

came

directly

from

the

online

questionnaires, as well as other methods, including the five key questions for media literacy inquiry, used by the Center for Media Literacy (CML, 2012). During each session, I made notes during our discussions, and recorded student perspectives and attitudes to the semi-structured interviews. After each session I made field notes of our discussions and transcribed in as much detail as possible the events that took place. I would also write reflections later as ideas or concepts came to me after the visit. The data analysis will involve a seven-step process outlined by Cohen et al. (2007), following an ethnographic case-study approach.

The

objective is to commence ‘progressive focusing’ of the data throughout the research phase, beginning with a wide-approach to the data and progressively filtering in order for the most salient features of the data to emerge (Cohen et al. 2007). The analysis will begin with the establishment of dimension for analysis, proceed by creating relationships and linkages between the dimensions, following will be the creation of speculative inferences in the data, summarizing, seeking negative and discrepant cases, and in conclusion will be theory generation using a grounded theory methodology (Cohen et al. 2007).

The

objective will be to contribute to an understanding about youth perceptions towards literacy inside and outside the classroom.

4

Center for Media Literacy. The Five Key Questions for Media Literacy is a inquiry tool

used by the CML as a foundation of media literacy education. Retrieved March 2011 here: http://www.medialit.org/reading-room/five-key-questions-form-foundation-media-inquiry

52

Among data collection, the group interview was the most commonly used technique.

In specific, a group interview based approach to ethnographic

research encourages a distinctive type of researcher generated data; dialogical. Carspecken (1996) explains that such data is generated through dialogues between researcher and researched that are seldom natural. He continues that research participants will often talk during interviews in ways that they rarely do in their everyday lives, often because researchers are frequently much more engaged in listening and encouraging answers than within other contexts (Carspecken, 1996).

It is within this process where participants have a

possibility to democratize the research by giving youth participants a voice. During the research period, it also became apparent that the researcher and researched role fell into an institutional framework, as well as into traditional teacher-student roles where participants would give answers that adults were seeking to hear. The aim of the research project was to give voice to youth surrounding their conceptions of literacy, and subsequently, the implications for classroom teaching. Collectively, the research included a two and a half month visit with

the

(IES)

Parque

Lisboa

Institute

within

an

Information

and

Communication Technology class with a population of 15 students. It included 8 visits of semi-structured group interview discussions, two distinct internetbased questionnaires5 filled out by the ICT class as well as 25 other students within the school, to give a total sample of 40 youth participants. In addition, a google + group was created and used as a method of sharing information as well as the source of the internet-based questionnaires and participant observation. Online social network practices could be observed and interpreted in order to view how youth adapt to new methods of communication and interaction within the classroom setting.

IV. Research Setting and Sampling

5

The first Survey had 40 respondents and second survey had 23 respondents.

53

29! Classrooms!

15!Digital! Projectors! 4!Digital! Whiteboards!

92!Computers!

No!Speci^ic! Digital! Learning! Policy!

52!Teachers!

608!Students!

Characteristics!of! IES!Parque! Lisboa\! Medium!Socio\ Economic! background.!

No!core! course!on! Media! Literacy!

Graphic 2 Characteristics of Research Setting; IES Parque Lisboa, Alcorcón, Spain (Real, J. 2012) A. Setting The research setting of this particular research project was the (IES) Parque Lisboa Institute in Alcorcon, Madrid Spain. Particular contact to this school was accessed through Dr. Julio Real, who arranged for time to be available within his class on Information and Communication Technology, part of the Bachilereta 1 course within the Spanish Public education system. Image 1. Provides context of the structure of the Spanish education system and the Bachillerato system, which is broken into two years, Year 1 and Year 2, and into three distinct streams; Arts, Science and Technology, and Humanities Class visits were scheduled each Wednesday morning from April 9 until June 13, 2012. Throughout this time, the research setting was face to face meetings in the classroom, as well as dialogue and interaction through social networks.

54

Graphic 3 Structure of Spanish Public Education System. (Ley Organica de Educacion, 2006) A. Sampling

55

Age)Breakdown)of) Participants) 18! 5%!

17! 18%!

15! 42%!

16! 35%!

Gender)Breakdown)

Female! 40%!

Male! 60%!

Graphic 4 Age Distribution of Survey 1 Graphic 5 Gender Distribution of Survey 1 The population for the study was selected through an opportunistic sampling method.

Cohen et al. (2007) define this form of selection as

convenience sampling, when researchers select from whoever happens to be available during the research phase. Through Dr. Julio Real, I was able to access a class of 15 students once a week over a 2 and a half-month period. The students who participated in the group interviews and online surveys were in their first year of the Bache laureate program (Bachillerato 1), within a class entitled Information and Communication Technology. The sample attempts to reflect the attributes, factors, characteristics or criteria of Spanish youth within a public school setting.

It is evident that this sampling is a very small

representation of youth in general, however for the current project, it was accessible and allowed for a sustained period of engagement within the school. In addition to 15 students used for group interviews throughout the 2 ½ month 56

study, 25 other anonymous students within the school were given an online questionnaire, at two different occasions.

The first questionnaire had 40

respondents, and the second survey had 23 respondents. The second survey has low numbers as it was collected in early June while many students were preparing for exams and finishing the school year. Although responses are low, it adds valuable dimensions to the research data.

57

Data Analysis I. Chapter Introduction In the previous chapter, the research design was presented, an ethnographic case study approach was introduced, and the method of data collection and analysis was clarified. In addition, the case study setting was presented. The objective of the following chapter is to present the data analysis and results of the research, in an attempt to respond to the research questions and objectives. The primary sources of data will be analyzed in discussion with contemporary scientific literature and relationships and linkages will be created in order to produce results that will meet the objectives of the research, as well as respond to the research questions. Following Cohen et. Al (2007), the data analysis will use a seven-step process appropriate for ethnographic and naturalistic research. The first step of the process has been to establish units of analysis within the data. Following has been the creation of a ‘domain analysis’, where categories or dimensions are established, and where an analysis between each category will be completed. Within this study, the two major dimensions are A. Individual Competencies in relation to Media Literacy and B. Youth Perceptions towards Literacy. Step 3 will be to establish linkages, associations, and relationships between the domains.

Step 4 involves the elaboration of speculative inferences where 58

explanations for observed phenomenon are posited, and where hypotheses generation begins, aiming to feed into theory generation. Following will be step 5 where summarizing occurs with an aim to review the major features, key concepts and issues, as well as constructs and ideas confronted in the research. Step 6 involves discovering negative and discrepant cases within the research with an emphasis in finding contradictions or discrepancies which must be resolved in the final step, theory generation.

This final step involves the

generation of a theory which is derived from the data. This phase is invaluable and requires a process of interaction between data and theory “until the theory fits the data”(Cohen et al, 2007. P. 185). This process is referred to as grounded theory. The aim of the data analysis is to present results of the research which are loyal to the objectives of the investigation; exploring how youth perceive the changing role of ICT and media in their everyday lives and how it relates to changing conceptions of literacy.

II. Individual Competencies The dimension used to explore youth perceptions about the changing role of ICT and media in their everyday lives was derived from a framework created by the European Viewers Interest Association. Within the E.A.V.I. model (2009), the current study adopts the Individual Competencies framework, presented below, (Graphic 6), which, according to E.A.V.I. were identified on the basis that “the symptoms of media literacy are manifested in the capabilities of the individual”(E.A.V.I 2009, p 31). Further, they define an Individual competency as “a personal individual capacity related to exercising certain skills ( access, analysis, communication). This competence is found within a broader set of capacities that increase the level of awareness, critical analysis and the creative capacity to solve problems”(E.A.V.I 2009, p 31). Within this study, the dimension of Individual competencies, was explored using two methods; semi-structured group interviews, and an online survey. The results from both methods will be analyzed here, and be compared to current Spanish and European wide media literacy assessment studies.

The individual

competency dimension is further broken down into three categories, which will be explained and analyzed below.

59

policy is carried out in the context of availability, and certain aspects of availability are conditioned or influenced by context.

Graph 1: Structure of the Media Literacy Assessment Criteria

COMMUNICATIVE abilities

Social

Participation Social Relations

Competences

INDIVIDUAL COMPETENCES

Content Creation

CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING Knowledge about media User Behaviour Competences (web) Understanding Media content

Personal Competences USE skills

Balanced and active use of media

Advanced Internet use

Computer and Internet Skills

MEDIA AVAILABILITY

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

Mobile Phone Internet

Radio Television

Newspapers Cinema

MEDIA LITERACY CONTEXT Media Education

Media Literacy Policy

Civil Society

Media Industry

The Individual Competences are illustrated by the second level of the pyramid, which begins with Use, a secondary pre-requisite of media literacy development. Use is the intersection between availability and operational skills. They are practical skills with a low degree of self-conscious awareness.

Graphic 6 Media Literacy Competency Framework. I. Individual Competencies and Environmental Competencies (E.A.V.I., 2009; p. 8) Study Assessment Criteria for Media Literacy Levels Final Report edited by EAVI for the European Commission

p. 32/92

Final Report Brussels, October 2009

1. Use

60

Information and communication technology use in a new global communications ecology, according to the E.A.V.I. framework, is divided into three themes, A. Balanced and Active Use of Media, B. Advanced Internet Use and C. Computer and Internet Skills. These categories relate to the operational skills required for the effective use and access of media tools.

Within this

domain analysis, results of the respondents and group interviews will be analyzed in order to gain insight into how youth perceive their individual competencies in relation to media use. 1.A$Balanced$and$Active$Use$of$the$Media$

Balanced)and)Active)Use)Of)Media) Totally!Disagree! 4%!

Totally!Agree! 57%!

Disagree! 4%!

Agree! 35%!

Graphic 7. Youth Responses From Media Literacy Survey. Question 6 According to the E.A.V.I. framework, a balanced and active use of media refers to “The use of media by the individual in everyday life, with reference to the functions and type of media (newspapers, cinema, books, mobile telephones, etc.) are manifestations of use and therefore a reliable indicator for this Component” (2009, p.37). Throughout group interviews, as well as within the survey, students responded to this concept.

Within the survey, 92% of

respondents believed they had an active and balanced use of the media. In contrast, data from the group interview and field notes revealed that students perceived overall that they had an active use, however that most of the use was concentrated on Internet and mobile platforms.

The underlying association

according to the data is that the majority of youth participants perceive that they have an active and balanced use of the media, however they may have trouble

61

identifying what a balanced use of media involves. Put another way, from observation and group interview sources an emerging hypotheses may be that youth have difficulty distinguishing what a balanced use of media may look like, and that youth media use is concentrated in mobile and internet platforms. 1.B.$$Advanced$Internet$Use$and$Web$2.0$Skills$

Advanced)Internet)Use)and)Web)2.0) Skills) Totally!Disagree! 4%!

Totally!Agree! 22%!

Disagree! 22%!

Agree! 52%!

Graphic 8. Youth Responses from Media Literacy Survey. Question 7 Following the Individual competency framework outlined by the E.A.V.I. study, an advanced use of the Internet demonstrates “a sophisticated level of media use. Activities such as Internet banking, e-government and buying by Internet are reliable indicators of the individual’s use of the media”(EAVI, 2009, p.37). Within the data, 74% of respondents agreed that they had an advanced use of the Internet. However, within group discussions nuances emerged about Internet use, and discrepant data arose about youth Internet use. For example, according to the E.AVI framework, advanced use of Internet constitutes online shopping, managing online financial accounts, or online learning platforms. Many youth, due to age specific activities, often do not interact the same way as an adult would online. In addition, advanced Internet use requires a process of learning and evolution that develops over years and as life responsibilities evolve. For instance, in group interviews, all youth noted that they’re parents paid their mobile phone accounts which meant they never checked their accounts online. Very few youth interviewed made frequent online purchases, managed financial accounts or mobile accounts online.

All interview

62

respondents confirmed they were confident in managing their online identities, possibly linked to increased awareness in schools and through public service announcements discussing the threats and risks of using online identities. 1.C.$Computer$and$Internet$skills$

Computer)and)Internet)Skills) Disagree! Totally!Disagree! 0%! 0%!

Totally!Agree! 30%! Agree! 70%!

Graphic 9 Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 5 Computer and Internet skills are understood to be essential in individual competencies towards media literacy, as digital media has become ubiquitous in the lives of youth penetrating deeper and deeper into their daily activities. In addition, the ubiquity of computers in all dimensions of life in combination with increasing wireless environments has transformed access to the Internet into a permanent phenomenon.

Computer and Internet skills then, become

indispensible in the lives of youth in order to develop media literacy. They are, the paper, pencil, and textbook of the industrial model of education. Given the ubiquity of computers and Internet in the lives of youth, it is not surprising that 100% of respondents agreed that they have adequate Internet and computer skills. However, the data does not portray the distinctions and nuances of the skills that youth have. It does show us that youth participants perceive that they have adequate internet and computer skills, however it fails to portray what type of activities are completed using these perceived skills. It is important however, in relation to the pedagogy of tomorrow’s classroom, to understand that youth perceive that they are competent using the Internet and computers. Future curriculum could include greater forms of evaluation and assessment surrounding this skill set.

63

The participating class fell within a course on Information and Communication Technology, therefore it is not surprising that respondents believe they have strong skills in relation to Computers and Internet. However, online survey respondents also agreed that they had adequate skills. Considering students had to access an online survey also influences the data. Respondents need a minimum of skill to access the questionnaire. The ICT course at Parque Lisboa was an elective course, and in response to why they had chosen to take the course half of the students indicated it was to avoid having to take a French class.

Others indicated it was because of the teacher, while

roughly half answered it was because the content of the course was interesting to them. 1.D.$$Web$2.0$practices$$

Web)2.0)Learning)Practices) Inside)of)School))

Digital!Storytelling! Photo!Sharing! Video!Sharing!

Web)2.0)Practices)Outside)of) School)

Chats! Social!Media! Forums! Blogs!

Web)2.0)Personal)Practices) OUTSIDE)of)School)

Wikis!

0!

5! 10! 15! 20! 25! 30! 35! 40!

Graphic 10 Responses to Youth and Literacy Survey. Questions C.5 D.1 and D.2 This is an additional sub-category that I have included that is not found within the E.A.V.I. framework on Individual Competencies. However, it allows the data collected on the use of Web 2.0 practices by youth within the study to complement the Use framework used in assessing media literacy criteria. In addition, it also allows a more nuanced portrait of youth media use inside and 64

outside the classroom, and how they relate to the changing nature of literacy. According to one of the most popular, controversial, and revolutionary web 2.0 platforms, the open-source encyclopaedia Wikipedia defines Web 2.0 as “a concept that takes the network as a platform for information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web” (Wikipedia, 2012). In addition, the use of Web 2.0 skills are directly related to advanced internet and computer use, as well as media literacy, which is the ability to access, analyze, and evaluate media messages across a variety of modes. As can be seen in table ??, there are distinctions in the way youth respondents use Web 2.0 tools inside the classroom and outside the classroom. In addition, there are discrepancies between personal use of these tools (likely linked with entertainment and leisure), and personal learning. Within an analysis of the data, it can be viewed that the two dominant Web 2.0 tools used for learning both inside and outside of school are Wikis and Blogs. In general, these tools associated with learning both inside and outside of school contexts are much more associated than the tools youth use in their everyday lives. Learning focused Web 2.0 tools can be viewed as text based networked extensions of traditional concepts of literacy.

The underlying

association between the Web 2.0 tools used in learning environments is that they appear to be mono-media text-based expressions existing in networked spaces. It is, therefore, possible to infer that multi-media information sharing are more common forms of personal use of Web 2.0 tools and that learning activities centered in educational institutions are more associated with extensions of textbased mono-media production and sharing. The data expresses that student learning is centred on a technological or instrumental approach, what media scholar David Buckingham (2009) would call a technocratic view. Often the use of Web 2.0 tools in classes fall under the concept of digital literacy, an instrumental approach to the mechanical use of networked tools on Internet platforms. Buckingham affirms that “digital literacy is often much more narrowly defined, and much more instrumental, than the rather grandiose aspirations that characterize discussions of media literacy” (Buckingham, 2009).

Further, Aparici asserts that “ cuando se habla de

alfabetización informatica y digital se refieren a una destreza instrumental y 65

mecanica, es decir, conocer la herramienta sin considerer los profundos cambio que conlleva la introducción de una tecnologia en un determindado ámbito”(Aparici, 2003; p.31). The distinctions and similarities between Web 2.0 tools used inside and outside the classroom, and those used in the everyday lives of youth identify unique underlying associations which can be helpful in understanding how youth perceive new media in their lives. This in turn can help understand how youth perceive the changing role of media and ICT in their lives in relation to changing notions of literacy.

In addition, linking youth

practices in relation to Web 2.0 activities inside and outside the classroom may help promote greater multi-media and multi-modality learning and student motivation. 2. Critical understanding Critical understanding of media use is a fundamental element of media literacy education. This has been a theoretical foundation from the originating work of media educators and critical pedagogues. Indeed the EAVI proclaim that “critical understanding is the most important aspect of the relationship between the individual and the media.”(EAVI, 2009; p.38). The category of critical understanding is further broken down into three subcategories that have been explored through an online survey as well as through group interviews. These categories include A. Knowledge about media and media regulation, B. User Behaviour, and C. Understanding Media Content.

Using a qualitative

ethnographic analysis, employing a grounded theory, the domain of critical understanding has been evaluated.

66

2.A$Knowledge$About$Media$and$Media$Regulation.$

Ability)to)Distinguish)between)different) media)contents) Totally!Disagree! 0%!

Totally!Agree! 44%!

Disagree! 4%!

Agree! 52%!

Graphic 11 Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 10

Ability)to)Distinguish)between)different) categories)of)Websites) Totally!Disagree! 0%! Totally!Agree! 44%!

Disagree! 4%!

Agree! 52%!

Graphic 12. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 11

Ability)to)Understand)the)concepts)of) Media)Concentration)and)Media) Pluralism) Totally!Agree! 9%!

Totally!Disagree! 13%! Disagree! 17%!

Agree! 61%!

67

Graphic 13. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 13

Understanding)How)Media)Regulation) works) Totally!Disagree! 9%!

Totally!Agree! 4%!

Disagree! 30%! Agree! 57%!

Graphic 14. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 14

Understand)Which)institution)sanctions) legal)violations)for)Television) Totally!Disagree! 4%!

Totally!Agree! 17%!

Disagree! 31%! Agree! 48%!

Graphic 15. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 15 In general, the data suggest individual competencies concerning media knowledge and media regulation was expressed to be low among youth. Of the seven categories of knowledge surrounding media and media regulation, youth perception was generally low, averaging 66.5%.

Compared with all other

categories within the dimension of Individual Competencies, youth perception was lowest regarding knowledge about media and media regulation. It is not surprising to view that youth lack confidence in understanding knowledge about media and media regulation, particularly when we look at the challenges facing media literacy today. In particular, media literacy is often competing with the more instrumental skill of digital literacy. Buckingham outlines this

68

challenge and explains that “we run the risk of resurrecting an old and wellestablished confusion between teaching about media and teaching through media”(Buckingham, 2010; p.5).

Instead of teaching about the media in a

critically reflective way, where students have the ability to receive and respond to media messages while understanding the context in which the media operates, it appears that when ICT’s and digital media are introduced in educational institutions, it is often in an instrumental, mechanical method. Concepts such as Media concentration and pluralism, rules and rights applicable to media content, Internet regulation, and user rights are all critical elements involved in living in a ubiquitous media society. However, these appear to be overlooked inside the classroom. In referring to table 1. on the Environmental factors influencing media literacy levels in Spain, there is evidence to suggest that although there is media literacy activity and resources within Spain, including official initial teacher training on media literacy, as well as reference to media education in the national curriculum, there is no core course on media literacy nor is there an evaluation of media literacy for students. It can be inferred that low youth perceptions surrounding knowledge about media and media regulation is directly associated with Environmental Factors within the Spanish education system and civil society relating to media literacy levels. In addition, low youth perceptions surrounding media knowledge and media regulation is also in accordance with Spain’s position in a medium level of media literacy assessment in Europe, scoring roughly 85 out of 150 (EAVI study, 2009; p. 68). It is evident that an increased focus about media knowledge and media regulation within the Spanish curriculum, through a core course on media education, would help youth competencies towards media literacy.

69

The 20 Country Reports were formatted in accordance with the established structure of the criteria and components. Each of the questionnaires was analyzed and homogeneous criteria were elaborated to assess the different answers given by the experts. After the analysis, a summary table of the answers was drafted for each questionnaire, illustrating the level of indicators perFactors country,inaccording Table 1 Media Literacy Environmental Spain. to the information provided by the experts and in comparison with the defined criteria. Taking the Spain Country Report as an example, the summary table is as(E.A.V.I., follows:

2009; p.62)

Table 5: Classification of Answers in the Questionnaire MEDIA EDUCATION Curriculum Reference to media education in the curriculum Media Literacy as part of the key competences Core course on media literacy Optional course Cross curricular topic Ad hoc Governmental department Any evaluation of media literacy Teacher Training Official initial training on media literacy Evaluation of the teachers media literacy levels Official system of tutoring for teachers’ training on media literacy Media Education Activities Main events Specific actions at national or regional level directly linked to media literacy in school Resources Main resources Studies/Publications MEDIA LITERACY POLICY Legislation (it exists) Actual legislation activity (it exists) Media communications authority (it exists) MEDIA INDUSTRY Newspaper Implicated in media literacy TV stations implicated in media literacy Cinema Festivals implicated in Media Literacy Telephone companies implicated in Media Literacy Internet Providers implicated in Media Literacy Others initiatives CIVIL SOCIETY Relevant associations (good level) Initiatives (good levels) Coordination (good level)

Study Assessment Criteria for Media Literacy Levels Final Report edited by EAVI for the European Commission

p. 62/92

YES YES NO YES YES YES NO YES NO NO YES NO YES YES NO NO YES YES YES YES NO NO NO YES YES NO

Final Report Brussels, October 2009

70

3.3 
Findings
and
Assessments
 
 Table 18: Media Literacy Assessment in Europe


Value guide Level above 130 Advanced 70 - 130 Medium below 70 Basic

Table 18 illustrates the preliminary media literacy assessment per country of this Study. This result combines

Graphic 16. Media Literacy Assessment Graph Representing Final M.L. Levels the Individual Competences and Environmental Factors which compose the framework.

in Europe

The primary observation is the widely differing results (E.A.V.I. 2009; p.68)across Europe. The differences range from 150 or 140, as obtained by countries such as Finland, Denmark, Netherlands or United Kingdom, to 45 and 60, obtained by Bulgaria, Romania or Greece. However, although the European average stood at 100, to which Austria, Ireland, Germany and Spain, et al, rank, many countries are to be found in the range of 60 to 80. The difference between countries with advanced levels and basic levels, therefore, is considerable.

Study Assessment Criteria for Media Literacy Levels Final Report edited by EAVI for the European Commission

Final Report Brussels, October 2009

p. 68/92

71

2.B.$User$Behaviour$$

Abilities)to)critically)explore)and)access) information) Totally!Disagree! 0%!

Disagree! 4%!

Totally!Agree! 39%! Agree! 57%!

Graphic 17. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 20

When)I)visit)a)new)website,)I)check) information)about)the)website)to) evaluate)information)encountered) Totally!Disagree! 9%!

Totally!Agree! 13%! Agree! 22%! Disagree! 56%!

Graphic 18. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question. 21

Before)entering)personal)information) into)a)website,)I)re\lect)about)the)website) and)it's)owner) Totally!Disagree! 0%!

Totally!Agree! 52%!

Disagree! 4%!

Agree! 44%!

72

Graphic 19. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 22 The EAVI study outline’s user behavior as “the ability to develop Critical Understanding relating to strategies of information use”(EAVI, 2009; p. 41). Evidently, this is an essential element of navigating the new communication spaces within a global communications ecology. Youth perceptions surrounding their online behavior are high. For instance, 96% feel they have the ability to critically search for information online. Another 96% acknowledged they make judgments about websites before entering any personal data. However, only 66% acknowledged they make checks when visiting a website for the first time. User behavior is a critical element of new communication spaces. Accordingly, youth need appropriate strategies to navigate these sites.

Their perceived

behavior is adequate, however, implementing assessment activities to evaluate how youth behave in online environments would be an effective educational strategy in preparation for more advanced networked behavior. 2.C.$Understanding$Media$Content$$

Ability)to)read)across)different)media) (Transmedia)Navigation)) Totally!Disagree! 0%!

Totally!Agree! 61%!

Diagree! 4%! Agree! 35%!

Graphic 20 Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 8 Mcluhan’s

seminal

work

“Understanding

Media”(1964)

still

has

fundamental applications in education today. Understanding media content, according to the EAVI framework, involves “coding and decoding; critically evaluate, compare, and contrast information and media text; to synthesize; and exploring and searching information actively” (EAVI study, 2009 p. 39). As is not surprising, all (100%) respondents perceived to have the ability to classify 73

between audio-visual and written communication. Further, 96% of respondents agreed they could distinguish between different media content while an additional 96% agreed they could read across varying texts, what Sue Thomas refers to as “transliteracy”. Thomas defines tansliteracy “as the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks”(Thomas et al, 2012). Youth’s strong perceptions towards their ability in understanding media content have important implications for education inside and outside the classroom.

High perceptions surrounding their

understanding of media content may indicate that youth confidence may be stronger than their actual competencies in this area. Naturally, this is a critical area to explore in future debates inside the classroom as youth continue to engage on a daily basis with media content across varying platforms. In this sense, trans-media navigation and trans-literacy are important theoretical concepts to explore in future educational debates. 3. Communicative and participative abilities

The final category within the dimension of individual competencies is communicative and participative abilities. The EAVI study (2009) affirms that this category “is the capacity of individuals to make and maintain contact with others via the media”(EAVI, 2009; p. 42). This category is broken down into three sub-categories which were approached within two distinct online survey’s as well as within school visits and group interviews. They include A. Social Relations, B. Citizen Participation, and C. Content Creation. As in previous categories the same domain analysis will be applied with an aim at summarizing the data in order to generate theory surrounding youth perceptions of literacy and media use.

74

3.A.$Social$Relations$

I)have)produced)original)media)content) Totally!Agree! 9%!

Totally!Disagree! 9%! Disagree! 26%! Agree! 56%!

Graphic 21. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 23

Con\ident)in)my)abilities)to)create)a) pro\ile)and)send)messages)across)social) media)

Totally!Disagree! 9%!

Disagree! 0%!

Totally!Agree! 30%!

Agree! 61%!

Graphic 22. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 24 Increasingly, youth live within a permanently connected, multi-screen, mobile and networked reality (Tornero, 2008). In addition, social networks as a networked public space play a critical role in the socialization of youth, as it is in these spaces where social identities are shaped and enacted (Boyd, 2008). The sub-category of social relations refers to the ability to make and maintain contact through media and social media as well as the ability to follow trends relayed by the media and peer groups, referred to as mimesis (EAVI, 2009). Given the ubiquity of social media and networked public spaces in the lives of youth, it is not surprising that 91% of respondents express confidence in their ability to 75

create profiles and send and receive messages using social media. However, in contrast, only 66% of youth participants responded that social media was important in their everyday personal lives. This perspective was also witnessed within the group interviews, where students communicated that social media was useful and entertaining in their lives, but possibly not as important as teachers, parents, or society portray in their lives. For instance, many students offered that they would rather meet their friends on the street, play football, or meet in a café than spend time on Facebook (Parque Lisboa Field notes, 2012). Additionally, only 34% of youth respondents saw social media as valued in their learning community. Finally, another 34% viewed social media as important in their learning within school. Here, the data indicates that social media is not significant in their educational institution. As youth participants responded with confidence surrounding their social media competencies, they also saw little value placed on social media in learning contexts. The data leads to the question of whether an increased value on social media in learning spaces and learning processes would make learning more meaningful and significant in the lives of youth. 3.B.$Participation$in$the$Public$Sphere$

I)have)used)the)internet)for)social)) co`operation) Totally!Disagree! 4%! Disagree! 22%!

Totally!Agree! 26%!

Agree! 48%!

Graphic 23. Youth Response to Media LIteracy Survey. Question 25

76

I)have)used)the)internet)for)citizenship) participation)activities) Totally!Disagree! 13%! Totally! Agree! 26%! Agree! 9%!

Disagree! 52%!

Graphic 24. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 26

I)have)used)the)internet)for)Government) Services) Totally!Agree! 9%! Agree! 9%! Totally!Disagree! 43%!

Disagree! 39%!

Graphic 25. Youth Responses to Media Literacy Survey. Question 27 One! of! the! most! important! roles! of! social! media! is! the! participatory!nature!it!relays!to!its!users.!!An!important!indicator!for!a!media! literacy! assessment! is! the! ability! to! participate! in! the! new! mass! communication!space.!!As!numerous!authors!note!(Rheingold,!2011,!Jenkins,! 2006.!Kafai!et!al.!2011),!it!may!just!be!one!of!the!most!important!skills!of!the! 21st! century,! the! ability! to! participate! with! democratic! principles! in! the! transformation!of!your!community!and!world.!!The!EAVI!report!outlines!four! key! participation! skills! as! “1.! Maintaining! participation! with! groups! that! share!common!models!2.!Using!social!media!to!manage!strategically!contacts!

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with! others! through! pragmatic! acts! 3.Appropriate! presentations! of! identity! (avatars!

and!

profiles)!

4.Interacting!

with!

multiple!

institutions!

appropriately”(EAVI,! 2009;! p.43).! ! Youth! participant’s! responses! toward! citizenship! participation! through! media! platforms! were! expectedly! low.!! Responses! are! likely! in! line! with! youth! citizenship! participation! in! their! everyday! off\line! lives.! ! For! instance,! 74%! of! youth! have! used! Internet! for! social! cooperation,! 56%! of! youth! have! used! the! internet! for! citizenship! participation,!and!only!18%)of!youth!respondents!have!used!the!internet!for! government! services.! ! The! underlying! association! which! emerges! from! the! data!is!that!youth!respondents!appear!to!lack!experience!with!or!exposure!to! the!use!of!digital!media!engagement!for!citizenship!participation.! Inferences for low participation levels may include lack of motivation or necessity to engage in the public sphere, lack of experience in public sphere engagement, lack of experience with or availability of citizenship education, and low levels of school-community relations which support and foster community engagement and civic participation. What emerges from the data is a critical need to promote civic participation in the classroom across networked spaces. 3.C.$Content$Creation$

I)have)media)Production)Competencies) Totally!Disagree! 9%! Disagree! 13%! Totally! Agree! 30%! Agree! 48%!

Graphic 26. Youth Responses from Media Literacy Survey. Question 28

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I)produce)User)created)content)to)share) through)social)media)and)online) networks) Totally!Agree! 31%!

Totally!Disagree! Disagree! 0%! 17%!

Agree! 52%!

Graphic 27. Youth Responses from Media Literacy Survey. Question 29

I)have)used)creativity)to)produce)content) and)share)it)online.) Totally!Disagree! 0%! Disagree! 13%!

Totally!Agree! 39%! Agree! 48%!

Graphic 28. Youth Responses to Media LIteracy Survey. Question 23 !!!!!!!!!!The! final! category! within! the! Individual! Competency! dimension! includes! a! fundamental! and! often! overlooked! element! of! media! literacy,!content!creation.!!The!largest!catalyst!for!content!creation!has!been! the!transformation!of!the!Internet!from!its!original!centralized!model,!1.0,!to! the! interoperable,! interactive! and! user\centered! model! known! as! Web! 2.0.!! The! EAVI! report! defines! the! key! abilities! of! content! creation! as! “sharing! commonly! created! devices,! fostering! active! collaborative! work! and! cooperation,! solving! problems! through! active! cooperation,! conceptualizing,! creating! and! producing! new! media! texts,! and! to! create! original! media! 79

messages”(EAVI! Report,! 2009;! p.43\44).! ! Content! creation,! analysis,! and! evaluation! can! be! considered! higher\order! thinking! concepts! that! require! advanced!skills!and!competencies!to!accomplish.!!It!is!therefore!important!to! understand! how! youth! perceive! their! creative! production! behaviour! and! how! these! activities! relate! to! the! ways! they! form! concepts! of! literacy.! For! instance,!78%!of!youth!respondents!agree!that!they!have!media!production! skills!and!87%!of!respondents!agree!that!they!have!created!original!content! and! shared! it! online.! ! Another! 83%! agree! that! they! have! created! original! content!and!relayed!these!messages!across!social!media!networks.!!The!data! indicates! that! youth! respondents! have! experience! creating! online! content! using!Web!2.0!tools.! !!!

Frequency)of)Media)Production)Among) Youth)

Once!a!Year! Once!a!Month! Twice!a!Month!

How!frequent!do!you!create!original! content!at!school!and!share!it! online?!

Once!a!Week! Daily!

How!frequent!do!you!create!original! content!at!home!and!share!it!online?! 0!

2!

4!

6!

8! 10! 12! 14! 16!

!! ! Graphic 29. Youth Response from Youth and Literacy Survey. D.3 and D.4

Beyond content creation, it is important to understand with what

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frequency youth are creating original content and sharing it online. From the data emerge interesting linkages and associations.

We see in Graphic 29 that

youth participants at ISE Parque Lisboa are creating more original content and sharing it online at school. Contrastingly, youth overwhelmingly agreed that they are more consumers of digital media (85%) than producers, presented in Graphic 30. What emerges from the data is that although youth are producing original content both at home and in school, their principal role in the digital media landscape is that of consumer.

I)am)more)a)consumer)of)digital)media) content) Totally!Agree! 12%!

Totally!Disagree! Disagree! 5%! 7%!

Agree! 73%!

Graphic 30. Response from youth and Literacy survey. question D.6 Media literacy scholar Roberto Aparici proposes a model of interactivity which characterizes new communication spaces and which could be appropriate for a new framework of learning inside the classroom.

He

anticipates Internet culture in the classroom as “radically different from television which is a restrictive, centralizing machine designed to transmit information manufactured by a production center, the Net is an open space for users to interact, allowing for authorship and co-creation in the exchange of information and the construction of knowledge. This socio-technical landscape sees the transition from the information logic of the «one-to-all» model (transmission model) to the communication logic of the «all-to-all» model, (interactive model) (Aparici and Silvia, 2012; p. 53). Content creation in new communication spaces is founded on the “all-to-all” model, where coauthorship, creativity, and production converge to transform passive media consumers into judicious and critical media producers. As old and new media

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converge in society, so too must old and new pedagogy converge in order to connect youth activities and habits outside of school with content creation practices inside the classroom.

As a final indicator for a pedagogy of

interactivity and content creation in the classroom, youth respondents overwhelmingly (95%) acknowledged their desire in learning to produce and share more original digital media content.

We must move away from

transmission models of learning towards models centered on interactivity and participation.

If)I)had)the)opportunity,)I'd)like)to)learn) to)produce)and)share)more)digital) content)online) No! 5%! Yes! 95%!

Graphic 31. Response to Youth and Literacy Survey. Question D.8

III. Youth Perceptions “Literacy is important for today, tomorrow, and for the future”(Youth Respondent) Youth perceptions have been gathered through online surveys as well as semi-structured group interviews. This dimension aims to transcribe and translate youth attitudes surrounding concepts of ‘literacy’ and how they may be changing in the 21st century. Students were asked to define literacy and express how literacy was meaningful in their lives. This dimension will explore how youth perceive the changing role of ICT’s and media in their lives and how it relates to changing notions of literacy. Within this dimension, there are three categories; A. Perceptions towards Literacy B. Perceptions towards New Literacies and Media Literacy and C. Perceptions towards Social Media and Participatory Media Tools.

The results will be analysed using a grounded

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theory method. The data will also enter into discussion with current trends and approaches to new literacy and media literacy education in Spain and in Europe. 1. Towards Literacy

"Alfabetización)es)un) proceso)por)el)cual) las)personas) aprenden)a)leer)y) escribir.")

"Alfabetización) signi\ica)enseñar)a) personas)a)escribir)y) leer.")

"La)Alfabetización) son)todos)los) conceptos)que) relacionan)todos)los) medio)para) comunicarse)y) relacionarse)con)los) demás"!

"La)alfabetizacion) para)mi)es)la)manera) por)la)que)una) persona)aprende)a) leer,)escuchar)y) entender)en)un) idioma)y)de)unas) maneras. (conocimientos)")

Graphic 32. Sample of Youth Responses to Youth and Literacy Survey. Question B.1 As has been outlined in the theoretical framework, literacy must be understood as a dynamic concept. It is inextricably linked with communication and our relationship with the world around us. A European commission funded Study on current approaches and trends in media literacy remarks “From an historical point of view each stage of the development of communications – in terms of codes, techniques and mediums- correspond to a specific development of the communicative and cultural competences and in consequence a different literacy model. Seen in a different way, they have always initiated new power struggles

over

access

to

the

means

of

creating

and

disseminating

information”(European Commission, 2007; p. 3). Seen in this way, the model that is most appropriate for our contemporary communicative and cultural

83

framework is that of media literacy or new literacies. Yet the concept of literacy is part of the daily practice of teaching as well as a permanent educational policy topic (Lanksheare et al. 2009). It has become a buzzword and a political and social struggle in order to promote social inclusion and life-long learning. It is in this context that youth perceptions about literacy become important in forming future debates and discussion about a fundamental educational concept. Within the first survey, respondents had an opportunity to write what the concept of ‘literacy meant to them. Out of 40 text-based responses, 90% defined literacy in traditional framework, defined by little more than reading and writing. In addition, 3 respondents out of 40, 7.75% made reference to a Freirian concept of literacy, as a means of relating to and communicating with the world around you. Graphic 32 provides examples of youth repsonses. An underlying association which emerges from the data is that the model of literacy which youth are formed in is linked to the mechanical model of writing and reading texts, a Guttenburg model which has dominated for 500 years, and which has been the principle model of the industrial style, transmission model of schooling.

The)concept)of)Literacy)is)important)to) me.) Totally!Disagree! 0%!

Disagree! 0%!

Agree! 40%! Totally!Agree! 60%!

Graphic 33. Response to Youth and Literacy Survey. Question B.2 As students appear to maintain a traditional sense of the concept of literacy, they also agree that it is important in their lives “for today, for tomorrow, and for the future”(group interview, 2012).

All students (100%)

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agreed that literacy was important in their lives, as well as in meeting their professional objectives. Slightly less (91%) agreed that literacy was also helpful in meeting their personal goals and that literacy was linked to social inclusion and community participation.

Key elements which emerged in the data

surrounding youth perceptions of literacy is that all students recognized the value of literacy in their lives, particularly in relation to life-long learning. However, their conception of literacy reflected a traditional model of text based reading and writing.

Literacy)is)important)to)me)as)it)allows) me)to)participate)fully)in)my)community) and)in)society.) Totally!Disagree! 0%!

Totally!Agree! 58%!

Disagree! 5%!

Agree! 37%!

Graphic 34. Youth Responses to Literacy Survey. Question B.5 2. Towards New Literacies/ Media Literacy Media literacy and new literacies are a part of civilizations evolutionary communicative and cultural competencies. This evolution began with the classical alphabet and has reached a new networked communication space which, as Aparici and Silva remark “proposes immediacy, acceleration, emotional shock, intuition, collaborative work, rapid interaction, the individual screen and a form of group authority”(Aparici and Silva, 2012; p. 57). As Jenkins (2006a) describes convergence culture in new communication spaces, youth live out another form of convergence between traditional learning models and frameworks, and between a permanently connected, multi-screen digital media driven society. As Tornero explains “Hoy en día, el énfasis fundamental de esta

85

nueva alfabetización hay que ponerlo, además, en la capacidad de generar nuevos contenidos, de interactuar y de participar en las nuevas relaciones que tejen las nuevas redes. Capacidad de interpretación y capacidad de creación se hallan unidas;y la mejor expresión es el concepto de apropiación”(Tornero, 2008; p. 21). A fundamental question which is absent from much of the literature is how youth perceive these new literacies, the model related to their new communicative reality, media literacy?

Media)Literacy)is)valued)within)my) learning)community) Totally!Disagree! 0%! Totally!Agree! 25%!

Disagree! 0%! Agree! 75%!

Graphic 35. Responses to Youth and Literacy Survey. Question B.6 From youth perceptions of literacy we have seen that the predominant understanding is text based, and the corresponding hypotheses for this was that the predominant literacy model within their educational institution was a traditional model.

However, within the survey, youth respondents

unanimously (100%) agreed that media literacy was seen as valued within their learning environment. A discrepant or negative case emerges in the data that must be resolved. How can students view and define literacy in a traditional sense while at the same time view new forms of literacy valued within their learning institution? A hypothesis is that valuing media literacy in the school would appear as a socially acceptable response. Further, youth may categorize concepts of literacy within their lives, much like our modern education system categorizes subjects to be learned in 50 minute fragments divided throughout the day. Additionally, youth respondents also perceive their media literacy skills to be adequate with 95% approving that they have competencies in audiovisual communication and 81% agreeing that they have skills and competencies

86

in Media literacy. As Spain has been assessed with a medium level of Media Literacy criteria by the EAVI study on M.L. levels, with no core course on media literacy in the curriculum, no official legislation on Media Literacy, no evaluation for media literacy in the curriculum, and no ongoing support for inservice teachers, students still perceive that they have strong competencies in this area. This is a discrepant case within the research that must be resolved. However, given the scope and limitations of the current research, it appears this case could be of value to future lines of investigation: what media literacy levels do students have in the current educational climate?

I)feel)I)have)competencies)in)audio`visual) communication) Totally!Disagree! 0%! Totally!Agree! 33%!

Disagree! 5%!

Agree! 62%!

Graphic 36. Response to Youth and Literacy Survey. Question B.7

I)have)competencies)in)Media)Literacy) Totally!Disagree! 2%!

Disagree! 15%!

Totally! Agree! 23%! Agree! 60%!

Graphic 37. Response to Youth and Literacy Survey. Question D.9 In order to provide perspective, a recent study elaborated by Ferres

87

et al, (2011) attempted to measure citizen media competencies across Spain carried out in all regions through a network of research and university centers. As the study proposes “los resultados de la investigación ponen de manifiesto que entre los ciudadanos y ciudadanas españoles hay graves carencias en cuanto al grado de competencia mediática, entendida como capacidad para interpretar mensajes audiovisuales de manera reflexiva y crítica y para expresarse a través del audiovisual con unos mínimos de corrección y de creatividad”(Ferrés, J. et al. 2011; p. 82). This ambitious citizen-wide study affirms that there is a deeply troubling social phenomenon of media illiteracy and a lack of media competencies

among

Spanish

citizens.

Accordingly,

the

primary

recommendation of the study is to introduce, within educational centers, a core course on Media Literacy (Ferrés, J. et al. 2011). Given the perceived confidence of student respondents within this study in relation to media literacy competencies, a similar recommendation is proposed. 3. Towards Social Media/Participatory Media

As!important!in! my!learning! inside!the!school! 34%!Agree!

As!a!learning!tool! inside!the!school! 44%!Agree!

In!my!personal! learning!outside! of!school! 44%!Agree!

Social! Media!is! Valued!

In!my!personal!! social!life! 66%!Agree!

! Graphic 38. Responses to Youth and Literacy Survey. Questions C.1,2,3,and 4 Facebook, Myspace, Tuenti, twitter, youtube, and blogger among numerous other networked spaces are becoming fundamental focuses in the 88

lives of youth. Within the case-study, 66% of youth respondents use social media on a daily basis (Field notes, 2012).

As danah boyd remarks “The

fundamental properties of networked publics—persistence, searchability, replicability, and invisible audiences—are unfamiliar to the adults that are guiding them through social life”(boyd, 2008; p138). As educators and teachers play an immense role in guiding youth through social life, how are they relating the role of social media and participatory tools in ways that engage youth in learning? How, in turn, do youth perceive the role of social media in their lives and in their learning?

Despite the potential that many authors have given

social networks inside the classroom as a pedagogical tool (Lavandera and Real, 2011; p.6), 63% of youth respondents viewed social media as not valued within their learning community.

Students interviewed in the case-study had

experience in only one class using social networks. Lavandera and Real remark that “la observación, en cada uno de sus aspectos, sugiere que (los redes sociales) puede convertirse en una buena estrategia de aprendizaje porque invita a entender cómo a veces, cuando las personas creen en lo que hacen, la práctica puede superar con creces la teoría” (Lavandera and Real, 2011). The same number (63%) did not perceive social networks as important to their learning inside the school. Further, only 44% view social media as important to their learning outside of school. And finally, surprisingly, only 66% agreed that social networks are important in their daily lives. Key elements that emerge from the data are that social media and networks are not valued as learning strategies or objects inside or outside the classroom. With characteristics of collaboration, communicative competencies, interactivity, all-to-all model of transmission, social media in education has powerful implications for promoting new literacies, media literacy, and new learning. In an effort to create hypotheses for further research, what would valuing social media within the classroom look like? How would the use of social networks as a pedagogical tool inside the classroom contribute to new literacies and individual competencies in media literacy?

IV. Summary and Theory Generation 1. Individual competencies 1.A. Use 89

In general, youth perceive their Internet use to be balanced and active, although it appears they may have difficulty distinguishing what a balance use of media may look like. A practical exercise for classroom teaching would be for youth to reflect on their media consumption through media journals. Internet use among youth is hypothetically linked to their education level, experience, interests and responsibilities, which translates that they are not often experiencing advanced operations on the internet such as banking, shopping, or mobile account management. However, it emerges that advanced Internet skills could be a valuable element of curriculum as youth enter into adult worlds where more and more services and responsibilities are carried out online. All youth respondents are very confident in their computer and internet skills, given the ubiquity of technology in their lives, however the data suggests that much use is instrumental or technocratic, and less reflexive or critical in the understanding of how ICT functions.

The area of perceived Internet and

computer skills is a key concept for further investigation in youth media studies. Finally, the underlying associations between Web 2.0 tools used inside and outside the classroom is that educative activities often use tools with monomedia extensions of text-based concepts of literacy. Linking multi-modal Web 2.0 tools with learning inside the classroom may promote more advanced use of networked spaces. Computer and technological use is ubiquitous in the lives of youth, how they perceive their skills in this area has important implications for education policy and practice. Computer use may be adequate among youth, however the data suggest that a greater variety of use and forms of assessment may be effective in better understanding individual competencies in the use of new technologies among youth.

This is particularly important when students

perceive their skills to be strong in this area. 1.B. Critical understanding It is evident that an increased focus on critical understanding of new technologies in the public education system would help youth have more confidence surrounding media knowledge and media regulation, their own behaviour, as well as understanding a diverse array of media content. As media content is increasingly accessed across varying platforms, the concept of 90

“transliteracy” will be increasingly important. The main feature to emerge from this category of individual competencies is that youth perceptions surrounding a critical understanding may be stronger than their actual competencies in this area. Further, this may be present across the data, an overconfidence in relation to a hyper-mediated landscape for which youth have lived most of their lives. With only instrumental or technical skills, youth fail to meet a fundamental element of new literacies, which in our current communicative model is known as media literacy. This element is a critical understanding of digital media in their lives as well as a deep understanding of the context in which media operates. 1.C. Communicative and participative abilities In the new horizontal global communication ecology characterized by connectivity, mobility, multimodality and interactivity, participation and communication are essential competencies all citizens must develop. Advancing a theory of communication and participation in education today is a critical priority. As an overwhelming number of youth respondents agreed that they would like to learn to create more original content online and share across social networks, integrating multi-media production among youth within secondary schools would be a fundamental approach. As youth are more consumers of digital media than producers, it is critical that future pedagogy transforms this relationship between consumer and producer in order to give youth the communicative and participative abilities which will allow them to make positive contributions in their communities and transformative actions in their world. In particular, the use of a pedagogy of interactivity, proposed by Aparici and Silva (2012), would be an appropriate framework for making such abilities a focus in today’s classroom. 2. Youth Perceptions 2.A. Towards Literacy As the data suggests, youth have positive views towards the concept of literacy in their lives, in meeting their professional goals, and in communicating with their world.

It is important to extend literacy education in order to

91

promote a broader vision of literacy in the lives of youth, particularly as literacy is a central element of the education process, and is a daily preoccupation in the practice of teaching. From the data, it appears that youth have a traditional framework for literacy as text based reading and writing.

However, in a

contradictory way, youth also perceive media literacy as valued in their learning community. A theory must emerge in current pedagogy that can resolve this contradiction in the lives of youth in a way that their vision of literacy is more dynamic and reflective of the current communicative and cultural competencies in which we are living in. A pedagogy of New literacies proposed by the New London Group (1996) is an appropriate starting point for such a transformation in education today. 2.B. Towards New Literacy/Media Literacy New literacies and media literacy inherently refer to a new approach to learning inside the classroom. If new methodologies are not approached within the classroom, youth today will not have formal approaches to understanding the new communicative and cultural competencies required within today’s society. As youth have demonstrated traditional frameworks for understanding literacy within the current study, they have also seen media literacy as valued within their learning institution. In their daily lives, as they engage with mobile devices, video games, mp3 players, digital media, and portable and desktop computers, they are experiencing first hand trans-media navigation and new forms of knowledge and emergent ways of thinking. A convergent theory of literacy needs to be present for youth to understand the dynamic between traditional concepts of literacy and new forms that are emerging at rapid rates. New literacy education must also incorporate the concept that as communicative and cultural competencies change, so too does our framework for understanding literacy. Indeed, our current model for understanding literacy; new literacies, will one day be viewed as a traditional framework. Finally, as Ferrés et al, (2011) indicate, there is an urgent need to promote media literacy education in the classroom, as results from a recent National study indicate deeply troubling developments in the media competency levels of Spanish citizens. 2.C. Towards Social Media/Participatory Media

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According to a Government study on social media in Spain, 48.6% of all social network accounts are frequented on a daily basis (ONTSI, 2011). There is a strong conception, influenced by media representations, that social media and social networks are invaluable in the lives of youth. An important task of this study is to embed itself in the social and cultural ecology of youth in an effort to uncover how youth relate to new concepts of literacy in new communication spaces. Social media, within the current study, was not seen as valued as an educational strategy within the classroom. An additional discrepant case in the data is that youth perceive media literacy as valued within their school, yet they do not perceive social media to be valued within their learning environment. In order to bridge such a contradictory dynamic within the data, a theory of participatory media pedagogy has emerged as an appropriate solution. Proposed by Rheingold, Jenkins, and Kellner, among others, a participatory media pedagogy promotes networked learning that aims to harness the excitement of digital media which youth experience outside the classroom and to connect it with learning inside the classroom. Again, Lavandera and Reál Garcia (2011) propose an effective strategy to implement the social network Google + as a new methodology in the classroom. Indeed, in order to resolve contradictions that emerge in the data as new media and social networks converge with traditional practices of literacy in the classroom; a grounded theory of participatory media pedagogy can emerge. As participatory media activist Howard Rheingold proposes, “learning to use participatory media to learn and speak and organize about issues might well be the most important citizenship skill that digital natives need to learn if they are going to maintain or revive democratic governance”(Rheingold, 2010 b). It is clear that youth relate to social media in their lives, while at the same time living in a world with powerful tools for communicative participation at their disposal. Emerging from the data is a need to resolve contradictions youth have surrounding traditional concepts of literacy and new media practices in their lives.

With this in mind, a participatory media pedagogy founded on a

pedagogy of interactivity proposed by Aparici et al (2012) may be a powerful solution for tomorrow’s classroom. Within this chapter, the framework for data analysis was introduced, using a domain analysis between the dimensions of A. individual competencies 93

towards Media Literacy, and B. Youth Perceptions towards literacy. Numerous sub-categories were presented, using the data to establish relationships and linkages between the dimensions.

From the data emerge key concepts and

features that allowed hypotheses to be made surrounding how youth perceive the role of ICT and new media in their lives, and how these relate to concepts of literacy. A grounded theory approach was used to yield results, where theory was derived from the data.

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Conclusion I. Research Context and Contribution to the Field

The current research has attempted to embed itself into the social and cultural ecology of youth through an ethnographic case-study at IES Parque Lisboa in Alcorcón, Spain. As a general objective, the study aimed to explore the changing relations between youth, education and media. Through a youthcentered approach, the aim was to give voice to youth within the scientific research surrounding information and communication technology, digital media, and learning. The research aimed to contribute in a qualitative way, the documentation of youth practices, understandings, and experiences with digital media that go beyond a quantitative analysis commonly found in youth-focused scientific research. The contribution to the field of media education and critical pedagogy will be to inform future pedagogy surrounding new literacy education, and in specific media literacy education. In this way, the current research aims to contribute new knowledge which may help advance pedagogy that promotes critical reflection and understanding among youth surrounding media use in new communication spaces, engages youth in new communication methods with an aim to promote positive transformations in their communities and in their everyday lives.

II. Research Approach Through a two and a half month ethnographic research period, youth were visited within the context of a course on Information and Communication technology.

Data was collected using various methods,

including semi-structured group interviews, online surveys, field notes,

95

participant observation and discussion with current scientific research in the field of media literacy education.

The specific objective of the research was to

explore how youth perceive the changing role of ICT and media in their everyday lives and how it relates to changing conceptions of literacy.

The

youth-oriented study was focused in one specific geographic site, the (Instituto de Ensenanza Secudaria, IES) Parque Lisboa, in Alcorcón, Madrid. Within the first of two distinct surveys, verified by a panel of 5 experts, the research focus was on A. youth attitudes towards literacy B. Attitudes surrounding participatory media C. use of participatory media tools. The second survey was derived from an E.A.V.I.(2009) framework surrounding assessment criteria for media literacy levels in Europe.

The research applied the individual

competencies dimension that was broken down into two dimensions I. Personal Competencies and II. Social Competencies. These two dimensions were then divided into three categories: A. Media Use B. Critical Understanding and C. Communicative Abilities.

These three categories made up the second

questionnaire. The data was analyzed using a 7-step approach outlined in the chapter 4, appropriate for an ethnographic methodology.

These included

establishing domains followed by a domain analysis, establish relationships between the domains, generate speculative inferences, summarize the data, seek discrepancies in the results, and finally a process of theory generation. Finally, results were generated.

III. Evaluation of Research Objectives Objective 1. Explore how youth perceive the changing role of ICT and media in their everyday lives and how it relates to changing conceptions of literacy.

1. Individual competencies. In general, youth have high perceptions surrounding their individual competencies in relation to Information and communication technology and digital media use.

This phenomenon may accordingly pose problems in

preparing youth for a globally networked and multi-modal society. 96

1.1 Use. Specifically, youth have strong perceptions about their use of ICT and participatory media tools. Computer use may be adequate among youth, however the data suggest that a greater variety of use and forms of assessment may be effective in better understanding individual competencies across a variety of uses of new technologies among youth. 1.2 Critical Understanding. Their perceptions surrounding their critical understanding of media content and media regulation were comparatively low. A key feature to emerge in the data is that youth perceptions surrounding a critical understanding may be stronger than their actual competencies in this area. In particular, low perceptions of knowledge about media content and regulation mean that further curricular work in this area is critical. 1.3 Communicative Abilities. Youth perceptions of their participation levels are low. By contrast, youth perceive their social relations using ICT and new media to be strong, and although youth have created original content, the majority expressed interest in opportunities to learn to create more original content online. A key feature is that although most youth responded to having created original content at home, the majority of youth are consumers of digital media.

This research proposes that an increased focus on communicative

abilities within public education, particularly digital multi-media production and sharing using social networks, would facilitate an expanded understanding of literacy today. This expansion must move beyond a text based reading and writing framework of literacy toward a multi-modal, dynamic vision.

2. Youth Perceptions Towards Literacy 2.1 Towards Literacy. The majority of youth respondents express their understanding of literacy through a text-based, reading and writing framework. Youth placed a strong significance toward literacy in their lives and in meeting their professional and personal goals. A majority of youth relates literacy to the ability to communicate with the world, valuable for today, tomorrow, and in the future. What emerged as a key construct in this study is that youth need greater experience with and exposure to expanded concepts of literacy in their lives, in line with the communicative and cultural competencies dominant in our society today. 97

2.2 Towards New Literacy/Media Literacy. Discrepancies emerged in the data regarding how youth view the role of media literacy in their lives, and in their educational institutions. All youth perceived media literacy to be valued within their school, despite no core course on media literacy and limited ICT infrastructure within the school.

Additionally, most respondents failed to

incorporate new literacy perspectives in their understanding of literacy today. Respondents perceived they have high competencies in Media literacy as well as Audio-visual communication. A key concept to emerge within the data is that with relative low media literacy environmental factors (EAVI, 2009) in Spain, contributing to media literacy criteria in the lives of youth, their confidence in media literacy competencies may be stronger than their actual abilities. This is a challenge for future pedagogy to resolve. 2.3 Towards Social Media and Participatory Media. Although Social Media is used in the daily lives of most youth, the data suggests that it does not play an important role in the lives of all youth. A majority of youth do not perceive Social Media or participatory media tools to be valued as a pedagogical tool within their learning community.

Even less find social media as a

significant personal learning tool outside of school spaces. Given the potential of social media as a pedagogical tool in networked spaces, numerous questions emerge in relation to how youth perceive social media relative to literacy and learning. This research suggests that a lack of focus on social and participatory media inside educational spaces contributes to a limited understanding of literacy today.

Accordingly, a greater emphasis on social and participatory

media across all subjects is recommended to foster an expanded conception of literacy. Objective 2. Provide knowledge that may help advance future pedagogy. We are currently in a space where trends, concepts, and approaches to literacy are in tension inside and outside the classroom. Literacy is a dynamic concept

and

must

correspond

with

the

development

of

particular

communicative and cultural competencies. Today, we are witnessing rapid and discontinuous change in all dimensions of life. Specifically, our communicative and cultural competencies have advanced at rapid rate with the rise of ICT’s in 98

our everyday lives. Accordingly, pedagogy must adapt to this transformation with a focus on skills and competencies that can transform youth from passive consumers of mass-media and digital media, to judicious and creative producers. An effective framework for such action is proposed by the New London Group (1996) in the call for a Pedagogy of Multi-literacies, as well as in a model proposed by Aparici and Silva (2012), entitled a Pedagogy of Interactivity. The current study proposes that youth voice and youth perceptions must be an important part of this process as students become actors in the transformation toward an “all-to-all” model of education, conforming with our new horizontal networked communication spaces. In this model, teachers are learners, and learners are teachers. The current study proposes that youth have perceived confidence in their abilities in audio-visual communication as well as in their competencies as media literate citizens, yet without curriculum focus and skill development inside educative spaces, youth may have an inflated sense of confidence when facing a global communications ecology.

These

discrepancies pose serious problems for future pedagogy that must be addressed in any debate about educational innovation. Finally, the theoretical foundations elaborated in this study, critical pedagogy, media literacy, and new literacies, working in concert, provide an effective framework from which to build a future pedagogy. Education and communication pioneer Mario Kaplun captures the convergence of new learning and communication in his pedagogy for communication in which he proposes, “it is only by participating, getting involved, investigating, asking questions and looking for answers, discovering problems and resolving them that we can really attain knowledge. Learning comes from experiencing, creating and inventing, not just from reading and listening. Real learning only occurs when there is a process: when the student manages his own learning”(Kaplun, 1998; p.51). In future pedagogy, students must be participants in the transformation of education from a transmission model of learning to an interactive process where youth learn the communicative and cultural competencies to make positive transformations in their communities, and in their worlds.

This

research aims to contribute such a model to the community of educators who are shaping the lives of youth. 99

IV. Limitations and difficulties The current study encountered certain limitations and challenges. Within any ethnographic method, the aim is to portray a social phenomenon through the eyes of the participants, and to provoke socio-cultural knowledge that can be interpreted in an effort to create new knowledge within a scientific discipline. In this sense, two central limitations emerged, the first being the need for more time in the field, and the second being the need for a wider and more representative sample. Another limitation was the context, which was within an educational institution, it would be appropriate for future research to engage with youth across a variety of contexts, both inside the classroom, as well as where youth spend time “hanging out” and “geeking around’. A final difficulty was more philosophical in nature; the challenges of placing the research on a firm epistemological foundation, ensuring validity in the construction of new knowledge, while remaining consistent, focused, and constructively critical.

V. Future Lines for Investigation As is routine in most social research, the current study has generated more questions than answers. The underlying theme of the current investigation has implications across school systems on a global scale; the radical transformations in the relations between youth, media, and education. Most school systems globally are undertaking dramatic re-structuring, reform, and innovation as we transform from a transmission model of education to a model more appropriate for our networked, global, democratic, and multi-cultural society. A continuation of youth-focused studies will be invaluable in shaping the public education systems of tomorrow by giving a democratic voice to youth. This is particularly important as educators, researchers, policy-makers, and politicians continue to have the greatest influence concerning the public education process. Who better to be experts in public education than youth 1518 years who have spent most of their lives inside classrooms? Little research exists to date on creative youth media production, making it an appropriate focus for future research in relation to new literacies and media literacy education (Kafai & Peppler, 2011). Exploring the role of participatory media for education is an emerging field of inquiry with immense benefits in the 100

lives of youth as they learn to engage in their communities and make transformative actions through the use of ICT and digital media (Knight & Gandomi, 2010). A participatory methodology is essential in future research, where a student-centered approach is favored, seeing youth becoming the designers of their own learning. In addition, future forms of Possible future research questions may include: •

What!would!valuing!social!media!within!the!classroom!look!like?!!!



How! would! the! use! of! social! media! as! a! pedagogical! tool! inside! the! classroom!contribute!to!new!literacies!and!individual!competencies!in!media! literacy?!



What! are! the! limits! and! possibilities! of! a! participatory! media! pedagogy! among!youth?!



What! distinctions! exist! between! youth! literacy! experiences! inside! and! outside!the!classroom?!



How!can!students!become!designers!of!their!on!learning!using!participatory! media?!

VI. Final Word. The research results suggest that youth express significant experiences with traditional concepts of literacy, while having high confidence in their audio-visual communication and media literacy competencies. Accordingly, a recommendation emerging from the data suggests that an increased focus on media literacy education may help bridge discrepancies between actual and perceived literacy competencies in the 21st century. In addition, what emerges from the data is a critical need to promote civic participation and engagement in the classroom across networked spaces to promote transformative actions in the lives of youth. A potential strategy is to use social media and participatory media in the classroom to encourage civic voice and participation in society, while at the same time promoting an expanded vision of literacy for the 21st century. A continued youth-centered approach to research surrounding digital media and learning is encouraged as a means to make learning relevant in the lives of youth and to give youth voice surrounding future pedagogy.

101

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Appendix)) I. Survey On Youth and Literacy A. Información General

1. Edad * 2. Ciudad * 2. Genero *



feminino



masculino 3. Nivel de estudios * 4. Ciudad * 5. Asignatura Favorita *Elegir tu assignature Favorita



Matemáticas



Ciencias sociales



Idiomas



Música



Educación fisica



Tecnologia de Información y comunicación

B. Actitudes en relación con “alfabetización”

1. Por favor, explica brevemente qué significa “alfabetización” para ti *

108

2. El Concepto de “alfabetización” es importante para mi *1=Totalmente en Desacuerdo 2=En desacuerdo 3=En Acuerdo 4= Totalmente en acuerdo



Totalmente desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en Acuerdo

• 4. ¿Durante cuanto tiempo al día lees o ves programas online al día? * 3. ¿Durante cuanto tiempo al día lees textos tradicionales: “libros, periódicos, revistas...” al día? * 5. La alfabetización es importante para mi porque me permitirá participar plenamente en mi comunidad y en la sociedad en general. *



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo 6. La alfabetización mediática es algo que veo como un valor dentro de mi comunidad de aprendizaje (en el instituo u otro centro educativo) *



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo

7. Creo que tengo competencias (conocimiento, capacidad y actitud) en comunicación audiovisual. *



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo

8. La alfabetización me ayudará a alcanzar mis objetivos profesionales. *



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo 8. La alfabetización me ayudará a alcanzar mis objetivos personales. *



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo

109



C. Actitudes en frente de los Medios de Communicación Participativos

1. Las redes sociales son importantes en mi vida personal *



Totalemente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo 3. Las redes sociales son importantes en mi aprendizaje fuera de mi centro educativa. *



Totalemente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo 2. Las redes sociales son importantes en mi aprendizaje en la escuela. *



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo 4. Las redes sociales estan valorados como una herramienta aprendizaje en mi centro educativa. *



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo 4. Por favor describe tu ambiente personal de aprendizaje en el que aprendes mejor (cómo, cuándo, por qué y dónde) *

5. ¿Cuáles de las siguientes herramientas forman parte de tu tiempo de estudio personal? *Puede responder más de una opción



Wikis



Blogs



Foros

110



Redes Sociales



Chats



Compartir videos/fotos



Narración de cuentas Digital 6. Es importante para mi tener un ambiente de aprendizaje abierto y flexible que me permita alcanzar los contenidos y debates de clase. *



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo

D. Uso de herramientas 2.0 y Medios de Comunicación Participativos

1. Señala qué tipo de herramientas 2.0 y Medios de Comunicación Participativos usas FUERA de clase. *Puede responder más de una opción



Wikis



Blogs



Foros



Redes Sociales



Chats



Compartir videos



Narración de cuentas Digital



Compartir Fotos 2. Señala qué tipo de herramientas 2.0 y Medios de Comunicación Participativos usas DENTRO de clase *Puede responder más de una opción



Wikis



Blogs



Foros



Redes Sociales



Chats



Compartir videos



Narración de cuentas Digital



Compartir Fotos

3 ¿Con qué frecuencia creas contenido original en CASA y lo distribuyes a través de internet? *

111

4 ¿Con qué frecuencia creas contenido original en CLASE y lo distribuyes a través de internet? *

5 ¿Durante cuanto tiempo te conectas a internet al día? * 6. Soy más consumidor de contenidos digitales de información *



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo

7. Soy más productor de contenidos digitales de información *



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo

8. Si tuviera la oportunidad, me gustaría aprender a producir y compartir más contenidos de media digital online.*



Si



No

9. Tengo habilidades y competencias para evaluar, analizar y producir mensajes digitales a través de diferentes modos, formas y géneros de medios. *

!



Totalmente en desacuerdo



En desacuerdo



En acuerdo



Totalmente en acuerdo

112

II. Survey On Media Literacy Individual Competencies Información General

1. Edad * Genero *



Masculino



Feminino

2. Ciudad * 3. Nivel de Estudios *



Estudiante de ESO



Bachillerato

4. Asignatura Favorita *

1 A. Uso (Habilidades Técnicas)

5. Mis habilidades informáticas y de internet son adecuadas *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

6. Uso de forma active los media ( por ejemplo, normalmente uso de forma equilibrada internet,periódicos, cine, leo libros, subcripciones de móviles, itunes…etc.) *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

7. Uso internet de forma avanzada ( compro por interner, leo noticias ppor internet, uso mis cuentas en internet, comparto a través de redes sociales) *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

2A. Comprensión Critica

113

8. Mi comprensión de los medios y es funcional (puedo leer textos a través de diferentes medios: tv, internet, periódicos, libros, móvil, videojuegos) *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

9. Puedo clasificar entre textos escritos y audiovisuals *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

10. Puedo distinguir entre diferentes contenidos mediáticos *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

11. Puedo diferencias entre diferentes categorías de páginas webs ( blog, periódicos, redes sociales, fotos compartidas, vídeos compartidos, etc) *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

12. Puedo diferencias entre diferentes plataformas y sistemas de interacción ( redes de trabajo sociales, chat, blogs, video conferencias) *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

2 B. Conocimiento entre media y regulación de los media

13. Entiendo los conceptos de concentración de los medios y pluralidad de medios *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

114

14. Entiendo como funciona la regulación de los medios *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

15. Conozco qué institución es la encargada de sancionar una possible violación de la ley por los canales de televisión. *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

16. Conozco la institución que autoriza “el cambio” cuando aparece algún insult, injuria u ofensa en TV, radio o internet. *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

17. Conozco y entiendo las reglas y derechos que se aplican a los contenido mediáticos. *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

18. Tengo conocimiento sobre la regulación de internet *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

19. Conozco como funcionan los derechos de autor *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

2 C. Comportamiento de uso

115

20. Tengo habilidades para explorer información y actuar de forma crítica en la búsqueda de información. *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

21. Cuando visito una nueva web, busco información sobre el sitio para evaluar el contenido de la información que presenta. *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

22. Antes de introducer datos personales en una web, reflexiono sobre la pagina web y su propietario. *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

3. Habilidades de Creación A. Relaciónes Sociales

23. A menudo produzco contenidos creativos *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

24. Confío en mis habilidades para crear un perfil o enviar mensajes en una red social. *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

B. Particapación Ciudadana 25. He usado internet para la cooperación social *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo

116



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

26. He usado internet para actividades de participación ciudadana *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

27. He usado internet para servicios del gobierno *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

C. Creación de Contenidos

28. Tengo habilidades de producción con medios. *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

29. He usado la creatividad para producer contenidos y compartirlos de forma online. *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo

30. Produzco contenidos propios para compartir a través de los medios sociales y redes sociales online. *



Totalmente En Desacuerdo



En Desacuerdo



En Acuerdo



Totalmente En Acuerdo!

!

117

III. Semi Structured Group Interview Guide Juventud, Educación, Y los Medios!

•  Que significa alfabetización para ti?

•  1. Como están las actividades que tu haces fuera del escuela diferente que los actividades que tu haces dentro del escuela?

' •  3. Que actividades hacen fuera del escuela que tu quería hacer dentro del escuela?

•  2. Como se nota las relaciones entre educación, juventud, y los medios?

•  4. Hace una distinción entre diferente formas de alfabetización.

'

•  5. Que forma de alfabetización es mas importante para ti? Y porque?'

' •  6. Te das cuenta entre nuevas formas de alfabetización y antiguas formas de alfabetización?

•  7. Durante cuanto tiempo al día lees textos tradicionales: “libros, periódicos, revistas...” al día?

•  8. Si Juventud, Educación, y los medios serian una forma de transportación, que forma de transportación serian?

•  9. ¿Durante cuanto tiempo al día lees o ves programas online al día? !'

•  10. La alfabetización mediática es algo que veo como un valor dentro de mi comunidad de aprendizaje (en el instituo u otro centro educativo)

'

•   11. Creo que tengo competencias (conocimiento, capacidad y actitud) en comunicación audiovisual.

•  12. La alfabetización me ayudará a alcanzar mis objetivos profesionales.''

•  13. Las redes sociales son importantes en mi vida personal

•  14. Las redes sociales son importantes en mi aprendizaje EN la escuela.

16!

•  15. Las redes sociales son importantes en mi aprendizaje FUERA de la escuela.

'

17!

18!

19!

20!

21!

22!

'

23!

•  25. Porque has participado en este clase de TIC en educación.

•  27. ¿Con qué frecuencia creas contenido original en CLASE y lo distribuyes a través de internet? !' •  !'

24'

•  26. ¿Con qué frecuencia creas contenido original en CASA y lo distribuyes a través de internet? !' •  !'

28. Tengo un equilibrado y activo uso de los medios. •  Cinema •  periodicos tradicional •  el web •  movil (Smartphone) •  Libros •  television '

'

29. !!Tengo un uso avanzado del internet. •  hacer compras en internet •  manejar mi identidad digital •  leer noticias por internet •  manejar mis cuentas financieras •  aprender por internet !' ' !'

•  31. ¿Señala qué tipo de herramientas 2.0 y Medios de Comunicación Participativos usas FUERA de clase. •  Wikis' •  ''Blogs' •  ''Foros' •  ''Redes'Sociales' •  ''Chats' •  ''Compar@r'videos' •  ''Narración'de'cuentas'Digital' •  ''Compar@r'Fotos' ' !'

•  33. Si tuviera la oportunidad, me gustaría aprender a producir y compartir más contenidos de media digital online  

•  30. Para comprender los contenidos de los Medios y sus funcionamientos. •  distinguir diferente contenido •  que elementos o criteria utiliza para dar importancia a información en un sitio web. •  como clasificar un sitio web •  como clasificar una plataforma mediatica o un sistema interactiva ? !'

•  32. Señala qué tipo de herramientas 2.0 y Medios de Comunicación Participativos usas DENTRO de clase !' •  Wikis' •  ''Blogs' •  ''Foros' •  ''Redes'Sociales' •  ''Chats' •  ''Compar@r'videos' •  ''Narración'de'cuentas'Digital' •  ''Compar@r'Fotos' ' !'

•  34. Soy más consumidor de contenidos digitales de información  

'

.  

•  35. Soy más productor de contenidos digitales de información !

 

 

.  

¿Cómo se pueden cambiar las escuelas para mejorar  # el aprendizaje en el aula?# # ¿Para vincular tu vida fuera y dentro del aula?#



#

. ¿Qué tipo de proyectos te gustaría hacer más en la # Escuela utilizando las tecnologías de la información y # de la comunicación?# #  ¿Por qué?# ! #

¿Cómo   deben los profesores cambiar el método de enseñanza para mejorar el aprendizaje en el aula? #

'