When thinking of education, the media has traditionally meant one thing and literacy another. Contemporary education and learners demonstrate how the two are increasingly a package deal.
The media consists of television, internet, movies, newspapers, blogs and more. It represents a multitude of platforms for global consumption.
Literacy, on the other hand, has typically involved reading and writing comprehension and creation that serve the purpose of succeeding in school or of securing a job.
Since literacy is a functional skill for everyone and the media is a global connector, their "package deal" is a 21st Century must-have.
Media literacy may be defined as 'the ability to access, analyse and evaluate the power of images, sounds and messages which we are now being confronted with on a daily basis and are an important part of our contemporary culture, as well as to communicate competently in media available on a personal basis. Media literacy relates to all media, including television and film, radio and recorded music, print media, the Internet and other new digital communication technologies'. European Commission (http://jackcommunity.ning.com/page/media-literacy-1)
For 21st Century learners education needs to be as relevant, interesting, and evolving as the technology they use and the media they are exposed to.
"We need to be in it, not just above it and learning about it"
John Seely Brown
Through the media students are able to connect to each other and make global connections to their learning. Essentially, they are able to connect the reality of the digital world to what they are learning in the classroom. George Siemens, connectivism theorist, states that "we derive our competence from forming connections." This does not mean, however, that connections are limited to the digital sphere because they can also be our everyday life experiences. Constructivism suggests that we form our knowledge through our personal experiences. For 21st century learners, teachers, and classrooms, the two are interconnected.
The internet itself is a richly collaborative space and can be an incredible educational benefit.
When we take into account the 21st century learner and the abundance of educational media technologies, we take into account the unlimited possibilities of this network age. Using these resources to re-imagine learning expands the "learning-scape" and progressively moves education forward.
Australia-based 21st Century Education relative to other global examples.
Twenty-first century education consists of entrepreneurial learners and evolving educators. If learners create and educators connect, learning itself is amplified. In this digital and networked age technology opens doors that did not even exist before; however, technology has to re-imagine learning in order to be to be useful, otherwise it simply digitizes traditional educational practices (George Siemens).
"Technology is the easy part, what's hard is defining the social practices"
John Seely Brown
John Seely Brown (Video)
The Global One Room Schoolhouse
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