Learning and Literacy & Commercial Culture by Henry Jenkins, Mizuko Ito, and danah boyd

In Mimi’s introduction, she discusses her research and its focus on young people’s use of digital culture. The learning approach she is developing, “connected learning” is impressive, as well as her investment and its growth among educators. I especially liked her example of math and its applied practice. So many people insist they are not proficient at anything mathematical, yet can and do manage to use math every day; they measure ingredients, pay bills, and add up groceries, to name a few. Perhaps they had a hard time with classroom math yet can apply it in their daily actions. This practice is put to the test every year in my store when local schools bring their students in for “Young Consumers Day” where students are given a sum of money to shop with and must create a list they have to shop for. They are split into groups and use their own learning tools to “shop” and must stay within their budget.

Some use a calculator, pen and paper, or mental math to keep track of their shopping; teachers and employees, are stationed throughout the store to help but the responsibility is theirs. At the checkout, each group sees if they succeeded and what they might have to leave off their order. Most do very well as their teachers do prep them beforehand and they find this practical application much more fun than the classroom---plus they get tee shirts, lunch, and goodies to take home.

 Mimi Ito illustrates a similar learning experience for “US anime fans” as they gain both knowledge and skills engaging—for the purpose of this game—with peers from the other side of the world! Learning Japanese, new digital tools, and more sophisticated writing skills are benefits they probably would not get in a formal classroom setting. But, through this passion for a shared interest, they acquire skills and knowledge for the purpose of the game that can be applied to other learning interests. She does explain the young people who learn like this are “positive deviants” or a select group who can successfully use the resources from the game successfully in other areas. 

I believe that most kids, including my own, gain knowledge about anything they enjoy doing with their peers, online or through other afterschool ventures. They also take pride using that knowledge in scholarly pursuits because they believe they learned without studying. Peer learning is as vital as peer review in classrooms; great strides can be made by this type of learning approach as students are not trying to get a good grade, but having fun learning a game with their classmates. Even the less confident students might feel they can take the lead if it’s a game—everyone has an equal opportunity. The goal is to understand the details of the game so one can get to the next step; through this process, they are picking up numerous other skills that can be pointed out later, so they realize their accomplishments. 

I was quite impressed by the work being done in “connected learning” for all students and its predecessor, the Digital Youth Study. The “wide range of youth interests” (94) really make this such an exciting platform—I was a dance, music, Theatre and Lit nerd as a teen myself! My own kids all had different interests, as did their friends, so this variety offers everyone something they will embrace—and will find peers with similar tastes. I agree with Henry that a classroom which is too authoritarian leaves little room for a student’s individual voice, or provides a safe haven to pursue their passions. It seems that Henry uses participatory learning to define what Mimi Ito refers to as connected learning. Henry explains why it was introduced as participatory which clarifies the discrepancy; at times, the back and forth discussion was almost like being with them as they voiced their opinions. As danah spoke of information overload, I agreed wholeheartedly, and Henry’s history review brought to light what I was thinking—this has happened before and probably will again. History does repeat itself and humans do adapt.

I personally cheered for Wikipedia and their support and here is why; I always go there as I am researching, much like as a kid, I went to the encyclopedia first as a sound resource. Since research shows that Wikipedia is at least as good as Britannica, I do not understand certain educator’s adversity to its use. It is seemingly more objective than personal discussions and there are always lots of scholarly sources to pick from that they have referenced and cited. This can be an incredibly valuable first step in the research process, and Google is now and has been my very best friend.

Loved danah boyd’s historical review (in chapter 6) on Web 2.0 and how it came on the scene. She seemed to be right in the thick of it, which was great for me as I really know very little about that whole period. Her enthusiasm and memories made it come to life, and Henry’s grasp of how to deal with the very capitalism that danah hates was an interesting dichotomy. Enjoyed the insight on Mark Zuckerberg that danah gave; I was rather curious about him and his success. From the conversations in this section, it is easy to see how danah’s idealism conflicts with the capitalism she faces in her work. Henry finds a medium to help the capitalists work for the greater good—to some extent. Mimi seems eternally the optimist, which is a remarkable quality; together they are informative through their very diverse and often similar experiences in this growing field.