Blog Post 4 - Final Project Preparation

 💻Final Project Preparation📱

For my final research project, the topic that I am choosing to research is, social justice in terms of new media and new literacies. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart and it is engrained in nearly everything I do in my classroom. My current students will inevitably become adults who will participate in society and democracy. If I did not at least try to prepare them for these realities then I would not be doing my job as an educator. Empowering students to not only want to learn about social justice but to partake in the process and become a producer of knowledge is crucial, especially in our modern, technological world. Students are constantly inundated with media and its opinions; teachers need to be providing students with the tools they will need to navigate those opinions by means of questioning them and their intentions.

There are many practical applications of this in my classroom. I teach 6th grade English. My students are still relatively young, however, they’re not too young to be learning lessons in humanity and observing/creating media. I provide my students with opportunities to interact with diverse texts from points of view of people other than themselves. We analyze points of views and intentions of authors in the texts we examine. I also engage them in lessons that allow them to create digital media and present it with their classmates, digitally and presentation style. If we’re not providing our students with meaningful opportunities that inspire compassion, empathy, understanding of the past, and an interest in social justice, what are we teaching?

Annotated Bibliography

Brauer, L. (2018). Access to What? English, Texts, and Social Justice Pedagogy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(6), 631–642. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.731

Lydia Brauer raises many valid concerns about what “access” students truly gain access through with the Common Core Standards. She drew from Buckingham’s research about the alignment of Common Core Standards to a true social justice pedagogy. She compared the standards concerning media education, analyzing texts, the language used in texts and writing, and content creating. In her research, Brauer concluded that the Common Core Standards were insufficient in providing students with critical opportunities. Critical and media literacies, at their core, strive to engage readers in multiple perspectives, ask questions about the function of literature, and creating knowledge content. Common Core on the other hand, gives broad expectations to educators, mainly focusing on reading, writing, and speaking. As opposed to utilizing those foundational skills to enhance critical learning. Not only this, but Common Core also does not give students the opportunity to engage with media and texts in ways that they can relate their own experience to the content. Common Core does not allow literacy to go beyond reading and writing; a great disservice to our students. It asks students to see text and media as individual happenings rather than encouraging them to make connections on a larger scale. As English teachers, we need to reexamine what literacy means in our classroom and recognize that it is so much more than just reading and writing.

Kibbey, J. S. (2017). CHAPTER FOUR: Media Literacy and Social Justice in a Visual World. Counterpoints (New York, N.Y.), 515, 55–66.

Jaquelyn Kibbey argues the importance of visual and media literacy in this article. She argues that these kinds of literacies being taught in school has a direct correlation to students becoming adults who are concerned about social justice. By providing students opportunities to interact with literacy in terms of images and videos, students will become more equipped and concerned with the problems that plague our society. Kibbey argues that not only do students need to analyze current media, they also need to be the creators of the media. The author speaks about multiplies studies across content areas that incorporate media and visual literacies. These educators were able to engage students with media and facilitate their questionings and discussions on the origin and intent. Students begin to develop and understanding that the media, television, social media, and film all reinforce stereotypical norms. Students also begin to understand that the way each person views media and visual arts ad unique; it opens their minds to comprehending another person’s point of view. One study in particular showed a massive increase in student participation, optional repetition of the elective, and consistent attendance related to students taking this class. This article proves that educating students in visual and media literacies can motivate them into becoming creators of content and people who have concern for social justice.

Liang, B., Commins, M., & Duffy, N. (2010). Using Social Media to Engage Youth: Education, Social Justice, & Humanitarianism. The Prevention Researcher, 17(5), 13–16.

Liang, Commins, and Duffy opened their article by talking about the strong influence that social media has on the youth. Although this article is a little older, I decided to include it in my research because the message the authors bring is about positive social engagement online; a key component in media literacy. Liang, Commins, and Duffy explain that there are “Five Cs” related to positive youth development, (PYD). The “Five Cs” being competence, confidence, connection, character, and caring. I believe that this translates into 2024 because part of molding digital learners is to teach them how to be good and just people along the way. PYD does this naturally by building empathy within their students and then having their students engage in solving the problem they empathized with. By having students working with technology, they’re able to access the perspectives of people that in “traditional” times they wouldn’t have been able to due to proximity. This expands students’ viewpoints and encourages understanding. Not only do these authors develop the idea that media literacy is good for social justice concerns, but they also address the fact that it is also correlated with physical and mental health. It’s common knowledge to educators that students thrive when they’re in an environment they feel as though they belong to. This is known as the Relational-Cultural Theory (RCT). The internet and social media can create a safe space for students to express themselves; allowing them to fulfil their need for understanding and inclusion. Boston College students worked with their professor to create a website where the youth impacted by Hurricane Katrina could share out about their experiences and make connections to people with similar experiences. Not only that, but students across the country who were not impacted were able to relate to those who were and create empathy and understanding between one another. Creating and learning to meaningfully participate in these spaces is at the core of media literacy.

Spruce, L., & Leaf, K. (2017). Social Media for Social Justice. Journal of Museum Education, 42(1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2016.1265852

The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), has utilized their social media platforms to identify, connect with, and educate larger audiences of people. NMAAHC follows basic principles of staying centered on their educational mission, listening and engaging with what others have to say, even if that means adjusting due to criticisms, and educating the consumers of their platform on African American History and Culture. One of the main ways they engage with people is by storytelling. They utilize visual images and social media postings to illicit interaction with media consumers and create spaces where people can interact with one another. Being able to digest and analyze this kind of media is a skill that should be taught in the classroom, as well as being able to participate respectfully with a person that may have a difference in opinion. NMAAHC also made it clear that their objective on social media is not to market, but rather to truly educate their followers about history through the use of media and visual literacies. NMAAHC does this by providing insight on the viewpoint of minorities or the voices of people who are historically left out of the socially accepted narratives. Challenging people to put themselves in the shoes of other people will create room for empathy and personal growth; exactly what educators want to see in our students. When students are able to make sense of the media they’re being provided, that media can then give them perspective and empathy on situations involving people other than the race, gender, or class they identify with. This can also create discourse about issues that are occurring in a student’s community. Students learn from what they are able to relate to. By giving them opportunities to interact with the perspective and history of someone other than themselves, teachers will be helping to create a generation of social justice advocates.

Zyad, H. (2023). An exploration of the effects of social media on youth online and offline sociopolitical engagement. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 18(1), 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/17461979211048676

In 2018, the youth in Morocco utilized social media to start a boycott against due to dissatisfaction with a policy that was created. This sparked the author’s interest into researching civic engagement in relation to social media; while also exploring the role that demographics plays. Hicham Zyad interviewed college aged students in Morocco and analyzed their responses to questions about civic engagement, demographics, social media usage, etc. This study concluded that their social media is in fact directly correlated to youth participation. However, the students that are participating in civic engagements online, are students that typically have prior interest in politics due to family nature and choice of study. This study also concluded that youths do not feel understood and represented by the people who represent them, creating a divide and mistrust to be formed between the youth and political activism. Therefore, young people tend to turn to social media as an outlet for political concerns and research. Influence in the homes and, in the context of my research, classrooms is essential in creating students that care about and can meaningfully participate in democracy. Without opportunities for students to engage with and create media, they will become satisfied and complicit with society as is.

References

Brauer, L. (2018). Access to What? English, Texts, and Social Justice Pedagogy. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 61(6), 631–642. https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.731

Kibbey, J. S. (2017). CHAPTER FOUR: Media Literacy and Social Justice in a Visual World. Counterpoints (New York, N.Y.), 515, 55–66.

Liang, B., Commins, M., & Duffy, N. (2010). Using Social Media to Engage Youth: Education, Social Justice, & Humanitarianism. The Prevention Researcher, 17(5), 13–16.

Spruce, L., & Leaf, K. (2017). Social Media for Social Justice. Journal of Museum Education, 42(1), 41–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2016.1265852

Zyad, H. (2023). An exploration of the effects of social media on youth online and offline sociopolitical engagement. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 18(1), 71–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/17461979211048676