Digital Media, Culture and Education: Theorising Third Space Literacies

212 Pages·2017·8.76 MB·English

by  John Potter

Digital Media, Culture
and Education
JohnPotter(cid:129)JulianMcDougall
Digital Media,
Culture
and Education
Theorising Third Space Literacies
JohnPotter JulianMcDougall
UCLKnowledgeLab BournemouthMediaSchool
UniversityCollegeLondonInstitute BournemouthUniversity
ofEducation Bournemouth,UK
London,UK
ISBN978-1-137-55314-0 ISBN978-1-137-55315-7(eBook)
DOI10.1057/978-1-137-55315-7
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2017933329
©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s)2017
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For mysister Frances,an inspirationto all ofus
and remembering Tony(1927–2015)and Bernie(1928–1990)
(John)
For BarrieKendall–Happy 80th
(Julian)
This book makes a valuable contribution to the fields it inhabits, not least by
refusingreductiveandeasy polaritiessuch asculture andtechnology, schooland
not-school,digitalliteracyandmedialiteracy.Instead,PotterandMcDougallset
up a dialogue between fields of research, concepts of literacy, and domains of
practice,acooperativeratherthanadversarialmodel.Theyelaboratetheircentral
ideas of third-space learning, dynamic literacies, porous expertise, and digital
curation with a rich array of researched examples, showing the importance of
collaborative learning in practice. This will be an essential read for lecturers,
students, and practitioners hoping to understand the landscape of literacy and
learninginthetwenty-firstcentury.
—AndrewBurn,ProfessorofEnglish,Media,andDrama,UniversityCollege
London,UK.
Hereisahopefulbookaboutdynamicliteraciesineducationthatbringstolifethe
livedexperienceandcreativityofyoungpeople andmakesvisible theirmeaning-
makingpractices.Itsurfacesideasinwaysthataretheoreticallyandmethodologi-
cally groundbreaking. This is a refreshing, hopeful, and above all, challenging
book that enables, develops, and supports new thinking in media education
together with literacy studies. By situating itself within cultural studies the work
is re-vitalized. The book gathers together scholarship in the fields of cultural
studies, digital literacies, multimodality, and new media but locates this within
practice, so that the ideas come alive for educators. Acceptably written, this is a
welcome addition to the field, which speaks to the cultural context of civic
engagement for young people in and out of school, or ‘not-school’. Now, more
than ever these voices are needed as resistance isa keypart ofsurvival for young
peoplewhosemodesofparticipationneedtobestrengthenedandsupportedina
challengingworld.Dynamicliteraciesarethewayforward–andthisbookarticu-
latesandmapsoutapathwaythroughtoaction.
—KatePahl,ProfessorofLiteraciesinEducation,UniversityofSheffield,UK.
This book is for all those who realize we face new and complex problems in
education today; that staying in our academic silos and engaging in business as
usual will no longer do; and that digital technology can free teachers to be
designers,curators,andaggregators,bringingastonishingresourcestolearnersof
allagesandinallplaces.Itisamagnificentpieceofworkandabreathoffreshair.
—JamesPaulGee,MaryLouFultonPresidentialProfessorofLiteracyStudies,
Regents’Professor,ArizonaStateUniversity,USA.
A
CKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Joint Acknowledgements
We wrote this book together after a series of conversations about our
researchandteachingoveranumberofyears.Itisajointeffort,withthe
bulkofthefirsthalfbelongingmainlytoJohn,andthesecondhalfmainly
to Julian. For the final chapter, however, we wanted jointly to reflect on
thekeythemesrunningthroughthewholetext.Wedecidedtodothisas
part of a reflective conversation between us and colleagues in the field.
ThisbeganasanemailexchangewithNeilSelwynandCathyBurnettand
wewouldbothliketoacknowledgethegreatcontributionstheymadeto
our ‘Afterword’. They engaged fully and generously with our questions
andtookonthekeythemesofthebook.WewouldliketothankMichelle
Cannon and Fiona Scott for their support as our co-presenters in the
conversation strand at the Media Education Summit in Rome in 2016.
We would also like to thank participants in that session for permission to
share their contributions: Kathleen Tyner, Ashley Woodfall, Christa Van
Raalte, Anne Dawson, James Cohen, Steve Connolly and Spencer
Brayton.
John’sAcknowledgements
JohnwouldliketothankMonashUniversityinMelbournefortheaward
ofaVisitingFellowshiplastAutumn,withoutwhichhiscontributionson
Dynamic literacies, Third Spaces and Curation would never have been
written. In particular, he would like to acknowledge the support, good
conversations and good company of members of the Learning and New
Media group: Neil Selwyn, Luci Pangrazio, Michael Henderson, Scott
vii
viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Bulfin and Selena Nemorin. Also in Australia, the encouragement of
Catherine Beavis and Michael Dezuanni, talks and seminars with
Graham Parr, Nicola Johnson and Julie Faulkner, and participants in the
‘Young People and the Digital’ event at the Australian Centre for the
Moving Image. In London, although study leave didn’t quite go to plan
forvariousreasons,JohnwouldliketoacknowledgethesupportofLesley
Gourlay and Myrrh Domingo in trying to provide some space in the
summer of 2016. Andrew Burn gave constant encouragement as always,
asdidMichelleCannon.AlisonGazzardandthewholeMADigitalMedia
team were highly supportive. The UCL Knowledge Lab, directed by
Carey Jewitt, and previously by Richard Noss, is an inspiring place to
work and I would like to acknowledge the great conversations down the
years with colleagues there which have helped to shape my thinking. In
Sheffield,inspiteofseriousillness,mysisterwasaninspiration,aswasher
partner,Jimmy.Onthehomefront,inLondon,Johnwouldliketothank
Janet,Alice andJack foreverything.
Julian’sAcknowledgements
Julian would like to thank everyone involved in the work which led to
his chapters, amongst whom were: the PE department at Chew Valley
School – Jo Hibbert, Phil Edwards, Dave Hill, Mandy Clarke, Gareth
Jones,JackHinckley,Celia ButcherandSuzanneDaly.Julianwouldalso
like to acknowledge Pete Fraser, for time served in the cause of media
education and for putting up with much nonsense from him over the
years. Julian also sends thanks to Alex, Lydia, Ned and Stan for all the
more importantstuff.
C
ONTENTS
1 Foreword–Terms andConditions 1
2 DynamicLiteracies 15
3 ThirdSpaces andDigitalMaking 37
4 DigitalCuration/DigitalProduction: Storying
the DigitalLearner 61
5 PorousExpertiseand PowerfulKnowledge 83
6 TheNetworked Educator andOpen Learning 107
7 CulturalStudiesGoesto Not-School:DigitalStruggles 139
8 Afterword–AnExchange withCathy Burnett,
NeilSelwyn andOthers 167
References 183
Index 201
ix
L F
IST OF IGURES
Fig.2.1 Dynamicliteraciesandpedagogicalpractices 34
Fig.6.1 Jo 133
Fig.6.2 Gareth 133
Fig.7.1 Mastersdiagram(StephenHeppell) 148
Fig.8.1 Apictureofsomeonetakingapicture 174
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