PBS Broadcast: Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century

In the process of doing research for my concept paper, I came across the wonderful PBS documentary Digital Media: New Learners of the 21^st Century, brought to my attention by Liz Delzell on the Media in the News forum on the Moodle. Thanks, Liz!

Here is the link to the whole video, which is 53 minutes long, and well worth a viewing!

http://www.pbs.org/programs/digital-media/

If you, like many of us, are time-strapped, take just seven minutes to watch this excerpt:

http://video.pbs.org/video/1767466274/

This segment features an extended interview with cultural anthropologist Dr. Mimi Ito. In it, she explains her work in the field of digital media and youth, and discusses her findings. She challenges the assumption that teen socializing and online play are not learning, and asks why schools cannot incorporate a “spirit of entertainment and play“ in the structured learning environment.

Dr. Ito notes that all digital media are not created equal, and that there are major differences between teen use of “friendship driven” digital media, like Myspace and Facebook, and the less popular “interest driven” digital media creation, which she refers to as “geeking out”. She accurately points out the value to be found in the creation side of engaging with digital media, and encourages parents and educators to recognize the importance of social interaction in teen development when they use social networking tools.

I echo Dr. Ito’s assertion that digital media creation is a powerful tool to promote civic engagement in teens. In fact, it was this video which inspired my concept paper proposing teen programming at the public library in digital media creation. I feel that this short seven minutes of insight from Dr. Mimi Ito is valuable for all of us studying media literacy.