New Literacies in an Era of Participatory Culture

Participatory Culture is when members are free to contribute to society with their creation of problem-solving on an issue that is being valued.  It also related to the new literacies of online reading comprehension that create new skills for meaningful decision making.

The “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21^st Century” paper mentioned that media is a social mode of production, and I agree with this point. He also mentioned that participatory culture revolves around learning and investigating with technology and creating something and solving problems by thinking out of the box to change society.

Embracing participatory cultures into everyday practice in classrooms are vital and teachers need to be guides for the learners.  There might be some difficulties the teacher and the students face, but it is how these problems are being dealt with rather than to avoid having problems.  Learners would be using technology to create collaborations with their peers, augmenting on a topic by defending their opinion on an issue and solving real-world problems. Having online activities also give opportunities for learners to think critically, which is very crucial for our learners’ education and building technology skills on privacy in online communities. It is also crucial for the learners' future and preparing them for whatever occupation they are pursuing.