Margaret Weigel bambini media OLPC Workshop

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessment Margaret Weigel, bambini media margaret@bambini-media. com Innovation in Evaluation April 4 th and 5 th, 2011 Cambridge, MA | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments About me… http: //www. bambini-media. com http: //www. pz. harvard. edu http: //www. projectnml. org | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Project New Media Literacies… http: //www. projectnml. org -- one of the first three projects funded by the Mac. Arthur Foundations $50 M Digital Media and Learning Initiative (2005). -- Year One: Framework for new media literacies Prototypes of potential work “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21 st Century” | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments What constitutes a participatory culture? -- Low barriers to participation (i. e. access) -- Strong support for creating and sharing work with others -- Informal mentorship where experience and knowledge is passed down to novices -- A sense of meaning and purpose -- Some degree of social connection with others (individuals, a community) | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Two fundamental challenges… -- What to teach -- How to teach it -- The Transparency Problem: educating students to identity how media shapes information via presentation… -- The Ethics Challenge: educating students to behave as a responsible participant and community member…. | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments What skills can be cultivated? -- Play -- Performance -- Simulation -- Appropriation -- Multitasking -- Distributed Cognition -- Collective Intelligence -- Judgment -- Transmedia Navigation -- Networking -- Negotiation | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 “the capacity to experiment with one’s surroundings as a form of problem-solving” + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Play Students are given ‘free time’ online to explore what interests them. - Students use time online to chat with friends, skim the web, or browse inappropriate content. ? Is there an identifiable academic payoff? Is there sustained/deeper exploration? Does it captivate the student’s attention? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 “the ability to interpret and construct dynamic models of real world processes” + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Simulation Students grow a functional society from the ground up by playing “Sim. City. ” - Students do not bother to discover what facilitates (or even breaks) the Sim. City model. ? Does the student understand processes better? Can the student deliberately alter outcomes by manipulating variables? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Performance - ? “the ability to adopt alternative identities for the purposes of improvisation and discovery” A student adopts a professional role (I. e. architect) in a sustained fashion (epistemic games). A student either chooses a role s/he is not interested in, and/or cannot sustain the role. Does the student demonstrate an understanding of this role? Can the student engage with others while performing this role? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 “the ability to meaningfully sample and remix media content” + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Appropriation A student creates a collage out of photos of the Civil War found online. - A student finds some random images and slaps them together in no particular order. ? Has the student found meaning in the content? Is this meaning new? Is it apparent to an external audience? Can s/he explain the choices made? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 “the ability to scan one’s environment and shift focus onto salient details on an ad hoc basis” + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Multi-tasking A student works on a ‘breaking news’ blog, updating content as it is sent along. - A student gets distracted by text messages and email, and does not return to the work at hand. ? Does the student focus on appropriate material? Can s/he pick up where s/he left off? Can s/he ignore stimuli as necessary? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 “the ability to interact meaningfully with tools that expand our cognition. ” + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Distributed Cognition Student teams play a roleplaying game using handheld devices, which allow them to share information with other team members. - Students don’t share information, can’t or won’t operate the devices, and show no interest in solving the puzzle. ? Can the student operate the device? Does s/he use it appropriately? Can s/he understand/synthesize information? Is s/he engaged in solving the puzzle? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 “the ability to pool knowledge and compare notes with others towards a common goal. ” + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Collective Intelligence Students compile a list of local government resources, publish it in a wiki, and initiate dialogues with community residents. - Students don’t share information with the broader community, or find it independently, that further the common goal. ? Can the student interact with individuals and groups outside of school? Can the student identify existing information? Is the student engaged in the problem? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 “the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources. ” + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Judgment A student searches and finds several different cropped versions of a single news photo online. - A student uncritically accepts the validity of images and content found online, and forwards found content along to friends. ? Does the student look for markers of credibility? Does s/he seek out different perspectives? Does s/he look for the source of online content, and the perspective(s) of the author(s)? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Transmedia Navigation - ? “the ability to deal with the flow of stories and information across multiple modalities. ” A student uses a variety of platforms (instant message, Power. Point, video camera) to create and share a story. A student uses a single modality to create a story, which is not shared online. Can the student find and create content in various forms? Can s/he conduct a search across multiple modalities? Can s/he follow a narrative across different platforms? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 “the ability to search for, synthesize and disseminate information in a social network. ” + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Networking Students stage a citywide protest about a pending bill in the State House via My. Space. - Students are upset about a pending bill in the State House, but can’t coordinate a protest. ? Can a student network with peers? Can s/he contact adults and professionals via online tools? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 “the ability to travel across diverse communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and following alternative sets of norms. ” + Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments Negotiation A student successfully participates in a national online forum with a wide range of participants and opinions. - A student does not participate, and/or is unable to respectfully listen to different perspectives and opinions. ? Can a student respect alternate opinions? Can he express himself clearly? Can she argue her case ? Can he change his mind when appropriate? | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |

Margaret Weigel, bambini media || OLPC Workshop || April 5, 2011 Frameworks for New Media Literacy Assessments More challenges… -- standardized testing -- synthesizing assessment into existing subject domains -- shared standards across districts/states/nations -- combine assessment with taxonomy of skills, i. e. Bloom’s taxonomy | INTRODUCTION | LEARNING CONTEXT | LEARNING CONTENT | MORE CHALLENGES |