Journalism is in a paradigm shift. More than any generation to come before them, today’s young people are participating in the creation and sharing of culture with the immediacy and connectedness that a digitally networked world provides. In many cases, these young adults are actively involved in what we are calling participatory cultures; a participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to one of community involvement.

1. Erin Brockette Reilly
Comparative Media Studies
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
I’m Erin Reilly. I’m the Research Director for MIT’s Comparative Media Studies Project New Media Literacies.

2. As journalists, we gather data, analyze, write about it, check our sources along the way and disseminate out the stories to the communities. But today, young adults are actively involved in what we are
calling participatory cultures A participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to one of community involvement and this is creating a paradigm shift for journalism.
Rather than just consuming the news, the community is organizing to be creators, circulators, connectors and collaborators of information.

3. as journalists...
gather data
analyze
write
check sources
disseminate stories
As journalists, we gather data, analyze, write about it, check our sources along the way and disseminate out the stories to the communities. But today, young adults are actively involved in what we are
calling participatory cultures A participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to one of community involvement and this is creating a paradigm shift for journalism.
Rather than just consuming the news, the community is organizing to be creators, circulators, connectors and collaborators of information.

4. characteristics of a participatory culture
1. Relatively low barriers for engagement
2. Strong support for sharing creations with others
3. Informal mentorships
4. Members believe their contributions matter
5. Care about others’ opinions of self and work
As journalists, we gather data, analyze, write about it, check our sources along the way and disseminate out the stories to the communities. But today, young adults are actively involved in what we are
calling participatory cultures A participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to one of community involvement and this is creating a paradigm shift for journalism.
Rather than just consuming the news, the community is organizing to be creators, circulators, connectors and collaborators of information.

5. characteristics of a participatory culture
1. Relatively low barriers for engagement
2. Strong support for sharing creations with others
3. Informal mentorships
4. Members believe their contributions matter
5. Care about others’ opinions of self and work
Shifts the focus from individual expression to one of community involvement
As journalists, we gather data, analyze, write about it, check our sources along the way and disseminate out the stories to the communities. But today, young adults are actively involved in what we are
calling participatory cultures A participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to one of community involvement and this is creating a paradigm shift for journalism.
Rather than just consuming the news, the community is organizing to be creators, circulators, connectors and collaborators of information.

6. consumers
creators
circulators
connectors
collaborators
Participatory Culture
As journalists, we gather data, analyze, write about it, check our sources along the way and disseminate out the stories to the communities. But today, young adults are actively involved in what we are
calling participatory cultures A participatory culture shifts the focus of literacy from one of individual expression to one of community involvement and this is creating a paradigm shift for journalism.
Rather than just consuming the news, the community is organizing to be creators, circulators, connectors and collaborators of information.

7. In our white paper, “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education in the 21st Century”, that you can download here at our website.

8. www.newmedialiteracies.org
In our white paper, “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education in the 21st Century”, that you can download here at our website.

9. In our white paper, “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education in the 21st Century”, that you can download here at our website.

10. • Print Literacies
• Media Literacies
• Research Skills
•Technical Skills
In our white paper, “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education in the 21st Century”, that you can download here at our website.

11. collective intelligence
networking
negotiation
judgment
play
performance
simulation
multitasking
distributed cognition
transmedia navigation
appropriation
visualization
social skills and cultural competencies
“tools to think with”
collective intelligence
networking
negotiation
judgment
play
performance
simulation
multitasking
distributed cognition
transmedia navigation
appropriation
visualization
We outline that the New Media Literacies, a set of social practices and cultural competencies And build upon literacies already taught in the classroom, including print literacy, media literacy, research,
technical and critical analysis skills. The New Media Literacies are great “tools to think with”. They provide a deeper understanding of how all forms of media interacts with our daily lives. One of the
most notable current events that exemplify the NML skills in action happened in Pakistan.

12. social skills and cultural competencies
“tools to think with”
collective intelligence
networking
negotiation
judgment
play
performance
simulation
multitasking
distributed cognition
transmedia navigation
appropriation
visualization
We outline that the New Media Literacies, a set of social practices and cultural competencies And build upon literacies already taught in the classroom, including print literacy, media literacy, research,
technical and critical analysis skills. The New Media Literacies are great “tools to think with”. They provide a deeper understanding of how all forms of media interacts with our daily lives. One of the
most notable current events that exemplify the NML skills in action happened in Pakistan.

13. Pakistan’s State of Emergency
2007 - 2008
President Musharraf of Pakistan
For 42 days at the end of 2007, President Musharraf of Pakistan declared a state of emergency cracking down on all televisions stations to deliver the news. This arguably had a greater impact on
Pakistan’s media landscape than on the whole of its political history. During emergency rule, the ban of traditional media outlets allowed for the rise of new media outlets as viable alternatives for
information dissemination and community organizing.

14. Pakistan’s State of Emergency
2007 - 2008
media vacuum created -- rise of new media outlets
For 42 days at the end of 2007, President Musharraf of Pakistan declared a state of emergency cracking down on all televisions stations to deliver the news. This arguably had a greater impact on
Pakistan’s media landscape than on the whole of its political history. During emergency rule, the ban of traditional media outlets allowed for the rise of new media outlets as viable alternatives for
information dissemination and community organizing.

15. collaborating in the news
The gathering at Lahore University of Management Sciences was among the largest of the civil movements launched by lawyers, journalists, and students against the emergency. Practicing the NML
skill, Collective Intelligence — Students organized, documented, warned, monitored and created a dialogue on their current situation.

16. collaborating in the news
collective intelligence: the ability to pool
knowledge and compare notes with others
toward a common goal
The gathering at Lahore University of Management Sciences was among the largest of the civil movements launched by lawyers, journalists, and students against the emergency. Practicing the NML
skill, Collective Intelligence — Students organized, documented, warned, monitored and created a dialogue on their current situation.

17. creating the news
What began as an informative on-campus handout turned quickly to multiple alternative media platforms. Students used both offline and online media including posters, bulletin boards, blogs,
newsletters, social networks, SMS messaging, flickR and YouTube to express solidarity and oppose emergency rule. The Emergency Times blog and newsletter exemplify the collision and collusion
between old and new media that helped shape civic action against President Musharraf’s increasingly authoritarian rule. All of these media forms exemplify the NML skill, Transmedia Navigation

18. creating the news
What began as an informative on-campus handout turned quickly to multiple alternative media platforms. Students used both offline and online media including posters, bulletin boards, blogs,
newsletters, social networks, SMS messaging, flickR and YouTube to express solidarity and oppose emergency rule. The Emergency Times blog and newsletter exemplify the collision and collusion
between old and new media that helped shape civic action against President Musharraf’s increasingly authoritarian rule. All of these media forms exemplify the NML skill, Transmedia Navigation

19. creating the news
transmedia navigation: the ability to
follow the flow of stories and information
across multiple platforms
What began as an informative on-campus handout turned quickly to multiple alternative media platforms. Students used both offline and online media including posters, bulletin boards, blogs,
newsletters, social networks, SMS messaging, flickR and YouTube to express solidarity and oppose emergency rule. The Emergency Times blog and newsletter exemplify the collision and collusion
between old and new media that helped shape civic action against President Musharraf’s increasingly authoritarian rule. All of these media forms exemplify the NML skill, Transmedia Navigation

20. circulating the news
captions
date of event
location
context of activities
people involved
Another motivating factor was that within 5 days from start of emergency rule, the community learned that in order to spread and replicate the message, media had to be clearly titled and tagged. In
many cases, the clips included captions that dated the event, identified the location, and contextualized the students’ activities, which allowed consumers of the news to better use the NML skill,
Judgment. This difference suggests that students were aware that their collectively generated coverage of the campus protests was the primary source of information for those looking for coverage of
responses to the political crisis, on both local and global levels.

21. circulating the news
judgment: the ability to evaluate the
reliability and credibility of different
information sources
Another motivating factor was that within 5 days from start of emergency rule, the community learned that in order to spread and replicate the message, media had to be clearly titled and tagged. In
many cases, the clips included captions that dated the event, identified the location, and contextualized the students’ activities, which allowed consumers of the news to better use the NML skill,
Judgment. This difference suggests that students were aware that their collectively generated coverage of the campus protests was the primary source of information for those looking for coverage of
responses to the political crisis, on both local and global levels.

22. connecting with the news
“Influentials”
What motivated this movement were the people within it. Within every network are “influentials,” certain people on the list who forward the message to their wider network that are eventually
incorporated into the original list. By using the NML skill, Networking — These connectors help gather momentum and the information from the students at the University gained credibility as it
expanded to serve the activist community at large.

23. connecting with the news
networking: the ability to search for,
synthesize, and disseminate information
What motivated this movement were the people within it. Within every network are “influentials,” certain people on the list who forward the message to their wider network that are eventually
incorporated into the original list. By using the NML skill, Networking — These connectors help gather momentum and the information from the students at the University gained credibility as it
expanded to serve the activist community at large.

24. Pakistan’s State of Emergency
As we think of the needs for journalism education and training, we don’t have to wait for an emergency to engage students in participating. You can argue that this example shows that students acquire
these key skills and competencies on their own by interacting with culture. Three concerns, however, suggest the need for policy and pedagogical interventions.

25. engaged youth
As we think of the needs for journalism education and training, we don’t have to wait for an emergency to engage students in participating. You can argue that this example shows that students acquire
these key skills and competencies on their own by interacting with culture. Three concerns, however, suggest the need for policy and pedagogical interventions.

26. our view: three core challenges
the participation gap
≠
There is unequal access to the opportunities, experiences, skills, and knowledge that will prepare youth for full participation in the world of tomorrow, both on a local and global scale. There will be
students at different levels with the NML skills. We need to validate the skills and learn to harness them in relation to school content. These skills put the people first and not the technology.

27. our view: three core challenges
the transparency problem
Students need to have a better understanding of the way media is touching their lives and learn to see clearly the ways that media shape perceptions of the world.

28. our view: three core challenges
the ethics challenge
The more we move towards a dialogue, the more the possibility of a breakdown of traditional forms of professional training and socialization that might prepare young people for their increasingly
public roles as media-makers and community participants.

29. Overall Guiding Research Question
What’s the most effective and scaleable way of fostering
equitable, ethical, and transparent new media literacy
practices in formal and informal learning environments?
Our over-arching question that pushes our research forward is “What’s the most effective and scaleable way of fostering equitable, ethical, and transparent new media literacy practices in formal and
informal learning environments?

30. how do we integrate these new media literacies
across curricula?
So, how do we integrate the new media literacies across curricula? We have identified the 4 E’s as an approach to integrating the new media literacies across curricula. When developing material in
both formal and informal learning environments, we work to incorporate exemplars, exercises, expressions and ethical choices into the framework

31. how do we integrate these new media literacies
across curricula?
exercises - explore and practice skills
exemplars - critically analyze media texts
expressions - create and share content
ethics - critically reflect on consequences of choices
So, how do we integrate the new media literacies across curricula? We have identified the 4 E’s as an approach to integrating the new media literacies across curricula. When developing material in
both formal and informal learning environments, we work to incorporate exemplars, exercises, expressions and ethical choices into the framework

32. explores collaborative knowledge building
among expert and novice voices
learning in a participatory culture
So, how do we integrate the new media literacies across curricula? We have identified the 4 E’s as an approach to integrating the new media literacies across curricula. When developing material in
both formal and informal learning environments, we work to incorporate exemplars, exercises, expressions and ethical choices into the framework

33. Next Steps...
Expand the global connection
of New Media Literacies by
understanding the emerging
“global media culture,” the
cross-pollination of national
and international cultural
traditions, and the new styles
and genres developing in this
context.
To practice what we preach and explore collaborative knowledge building among expert and novice voices. Fostering the new media literacies requires collaboration and networking and practice at
pooling knowledge, comparing notes and having the ability to evaluate the reliability and credibility of different information sources.

34. www.newmedialiteracies.org