Article Assessment #3: Ohler, Orchestrating the Media Collage

Ohler, J. (2020). Orchestrating the Media Collage. Retrieved November 29, 2009 from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/mar09/vol66/num06/Orchestrating_the_Media_Collage.aspx


Overview

In "Orchestrating the Media Collage", Jason Ohler describes literacy as an evolving concept that goes beyond the reading and writing of text. He describes the need for students to be able to make a "media collage" composed of writing, sound, images, animation, and any other relevant media that develops. Ohler points out that newer forms of media demand new forms of literacy, and that these new forms of media are usually participatory and collaborative. The lag time between a new form of communication being "read-only" and when it becomes "read/ write" is shrinking as well. Ohler goes on to list eight insightful guidelines for teachers in working with this concept of evolving literacy.


Reference Points

• The ability to integrate multiple forms of reading and writing into a meaningful whole is a sign of fluency.
• Literacy is an evolving concept. Being literate means being able to read and write "in the media forms of the day, whatever they may be."
• A shift from text-focused work to media-collage focused work is appropriate. Students can and should represent their learning, curiosity, and creativity in a way that combines multiple modes of communication.
• Traditional essay writing and the visually differentiated writing of the web should support each other, not work against each other in school.
• Highly creative, effective writing is the foundation for most new media, if it is to be done well. That writing is not the end product, however.
• Art concepts are essential to effective literacy in its multiple forms.
• The report-story continuum offers a rich opportunity to explore areas of interest.
• People need to develop literacy both with and about digital tools. Learning how to use digital tools is not enough. Students must also learn when to use them, and the consequences of their use.

Reflection

This is one of the more insightful articles I have read about the overall changes in education related to the collaborative nature of the internet. One quote near the end of the article caught my attention in particular: "The fluent will lead, the literate will follow, and the rest will get left behind." A teacher who understands the changing nature of literacy and learning can help students become fluent in existing media forms, and comfortable with the unknown changes that will come. Effective teaching and learning is an ongoing intellectual challenge, and one we should all embrace for the opportunity to significantly improve our practice.

Article Assessment #2: Richardson, The Read/ Write Web

Richardson, W. (2006). The Read/ Write Web. Retrieved November 28, 2009 from www.corwinpress.com/upm-data/10848_Chapter_1.pdf


Overview

In "The Read/ Write Web" Will Richardson discusses the evolution of the internet from a primarily one-way platform to a collaborative tool. Richardson considers the earlier internet one thtat focused on reading, while the current version of the internet balances reading with writing, the consumption of content with the production of content. Richardson discusses specific examples such as Howard Dean's use of blogging in his 2004 presidential campaign, and the use of blogging in language arts classes. He lists the tools of the collaborative internet including blogs, wikis, RSS, social bookmarking, online photo galleries, and audio/ video casting.


Reference Points

• The original intent of the internet, according to the people who created its early structure, was to make a collaborative environment.
• Students today are not only readers and writers, but editors and collaborators of online content.
• There is an important distinction between publishing and managing information. Anyone can publish information online, but it takes a more critical mindset to manage information effectively.
• I would like to begin using wikis and social bookmarking with students.
• I would like to learn more about the Children's Internet Protection Act, and research effective filtering practices. Overly restrictive practices take away much of the collaborative nature of the internet. Anyone who doubts this should try working behind a filter that blocks all blogs and Google Images.
• In the first video, Richardson calls writing on the internet "connective writing". I like this way of thinking about the difference between writing that stays in the classroom and writing for an online audience.
• Richardson also says we "read as editors" online, taking information from less polished posts.
• Richardson says, "I don't save anything on my hard drive anymore," and adds that he posts everything online to facilitate collaboration. This seems to be an exaggeration; it is hard to imagine he wrote a book through an entirely transparent process. This form of exaggeration misleads people who look to Richardson to help them understand how to use the current version of the internet.
• Richardson quotes Clarence Fisher, who speaks of "thinly-walled classrooms". This metaphor sounds better than the more commonly heard "classrooms without walls". Some walls are important, but recognizing the need to go beyond them is important as well. Fisher's phrase captures the balance we should all be after.

Reflection

At first I found little of significance in this article. The internet has become steadily more collaborative over the last five to ten years, so many of these concepts are not very new. It was interesting to rethink the long history of the internet, however. At its beginning the internet was fully collaborative, fully read/ write, because everyone using it knew how to share content. As the audience expanded, many new users started out as "read-only" users. So the "evolution" towards a read/ write web is really a return to a more level playing field for most users.