The introduction to Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century poses a question, the answer to which educators and parental watchdog groups have been trying to agree upon since computers were introduced into the daily lives of children. “What is literacy?” It used to be the ability to recite a story orally, and then it evolved to mean the ability to read and write. In an age when so much of what we consume on a daily basis is more likely to be an audio and visual experience, is teaching children to problem solve only according to how they’re posed in the written or spoken language really preparing them for the future? Or have digital tools and games become the future of teaching children how to think laterally and problem solve in an ever changing world? The five stories of Digital Media don’t just support this evolution of education, they show us exactly what the future of education looks like.
The first school is called Quest to Learn and it uses a combination of multimedia assignments and digital resources to teach children everything from math to history to art. Gone are the heavy textbooks, and in their places are Playstation 3’s Little Big Planet, collectible card games, digital comics, and podcasts – each offering its own set of objectives to teach kids a new way of thinking.
The Digital Youth network in Chicago mentors children in self-expression and self-realization through media; whether that means blogging, creating digital music, or becoming a master of photoshop, the program started as an after school place for students, but has since expanded with the aim of helping them prepare for a world shifting ever more towards digital art. But above all, it instills in kids the love of learning new skills, and in a world where the resumes of tomorrow will be as much about where you worked as what you’ve learned to do in a digital sphere, that desire to expand a skillset gives them an edge moving forward.
That message of discovering one’s passion and engaging it at school and then in your spare time is repeated again and again as Digital Media continues looking at youth media programs at Smithsonian Institution, Middleton, and the Science Leadership Academy. What schools used to call distractions (cellphones, video games, etc.) only have that stigma if society says they should. If instead educational institutions find ways to integrate those devices into the ways they teach, suddenly the tools available to teachers and students increases dramatically. It’s an increase that needs to happen if American education is to remain relevant in a digital world.
And yet, though the schools teach practical knowledge, not all of the programs highlighted here seem to be created equally. Some seem to lack any true focus on cold historical record or scientific facts. It might be important to know how to use that information and apply it in real life, but you need to learn them first, and Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century doesn’t make it clear that that’s always happening. It’s great that teaching courses in a more groupthink fashion, and yes that does make people try harder, but again, there’s an argument to be made that a better focus is needed on actual academic data and not creating films about replacing a filter.
DVD Bonus Features
Extended interviews are the only extra.
"Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century" is on sale January 31, 2012 and is not rated. Documentary. Directed by Drea Cooper.
