Blog Response 3

Before I start, when I was reading the article and it was talking about different forms of participatory culture, and one of them was Expressions, most specifically mash-ups, I was reminded of a really cool youtube video I saw! (I know a lot of people do this, where they mash-up the year's hit songs into one, but this guy mashed fifty together and it sounds really good!)

Click HERE to see it.

Anyways, on with participatory culture.

Jenkin's article discusses the different forms of participatory culture, why it is a good thing, and how it is the responsibility of the school and of the parents to teach children to take part in media. He says that in each of the forms of participatory culture there is the opportunity for "learning, creative expression, civic engagement, political empowerment, and economic advancement." No one is saying that participatory culture can't be used for negative things, but if teachers and parents are allowing students to participate in various forms of media, and are actively teaching them how to use it for self-improvement, then it can be a very good thing. 
There are challenges that come with participatory culture, and we will face challenges in our classroom, but the benefits can outweigh the risks. The term "affinity space" in reference to participatory cultures, means that students can learn so much more from them than they can just a textbook. Using a variety of media in your classroom, encouraging students to participate, teaches them more than you could otherwise. We should allow time in our classrooms, instead of expecting the children to be able to use media at home. We should teach students how to use the various forms of participatory culture. 
(Another example is this blog we use to write our reading response. It could just as easily be printed off and turned in during class, but we are being encouraged to use different forms of participatory culture.)

I think just being aware of the problems that encouraging participatory culture can cause, and knowing the benefits can help when we are teaching. Being consciously aware of the struggles our student's face with it, and also being able to teach certain aspects of it to students who don't follow as easily. If we, as teachers, are making an effort to teach this way, then it won't be so bad!