"The flowering of DIY (do it yourself) values that are embedded in many online communities holds tremendous promise for supporting people's social interaction in ways that enrich our culture and support practices of self-governance."
Due to the internet's participatory culture that exists, it is very open to all people--including amateurs. In fact, I've found that it seems to be specifically geared toward the amateur. Technologically-savvy users have learned that they can just "google" something and find anything they want or need to know about it.
Just the other day somebody was telling me that they were having vehicle troubles, so they "googled" the characteristics of their problem (which was a noise that sounded like it was coming from the timing belt) and came up with a forum where contributors all agreed that it was a plug that was bad. The person proceeded to tell me that there was even a YouTube video on how to properly find and replace the plug in that specific model.
"Adolescents are developmentally focused on taking risks, pursuing experience for the sake of experience, and seeking out novelty, complexity, and intense situations."
This couldn't be more true. The more I see adolescents in action, the more I see this quote come to life. As an adolescent myself, I felt invincible and was always jumping at the opportunity to take a risk somewhere. A large part of this adolescent nature can be contributed to the developing brain, and I believe that it is our duty as educators to make the most of these developmental stages.
"When we reinvigorate the humanities by using the pedagogies of digital and media literacy, our students gain the sense of wholeness called integrity. When our choices and actions, as both authors and audiences, match up to our values, we become humane, responsible, and effective communicators."
This quote is beautiful, but I admit I had to dissect it a bit. I had to begin by really thinking about what digital and media literacy education entails--most notably it gives us (educators) the ability to make authentic connections to students' lives. If we can successfully use technology to harness the power of learning, then we have the potential to reinvigorate or bring new life to what students see as "outdated" humanities.
As an advocate of digital learning, I also see the wealth of learning that can take place in literature and other disciplines in the humanities. Whereas many teachers are instructing students to read Martin Luther King Jr.'s I have a Dream speech, we should be watching it on YouTube. There are a multitude of ways to breathe new life into the humanities, and digital media literacy offers us that first stepping stone.
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